ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 13, 2020 Prayer for the Week: You seek to inspire our imaginations, O Source of Life and Love. Yet your existence raises concerns with no simple remedy. Your love enfleshed was rejected and executed by those who believed the existence of such love undermined their power. They believed, as we so often do, that love is too weak, fragile and inadequate. It is given plenty of lip service, but very little influence over our lives. Science adds its voice and suddenly those whose faith is in religion are left angry and defensive. Doubt is construed as feebleness for the faithful, and for that reason, it is rejected as having no place in the lives of followers. A purity test is set up by sanctimonious institutions, and many fall in line out of fear of some fiery damnation. O Giver of the Christ, forgive us for what we have done with your gift. We have made science, inquiry and exploration the adversary of you, yet you are the Source of our creativity that stimulates our minds and souls. There is mystery in the universe, some of it science will some day demystify, but there is also Holy Mystery that is intended to simply be. No church-devised doctrine or alarmist preacher or self-enthroned religion will ever provide an explanation. The poets, musicians, dancers, painters and sculptors might provide a doorway through which we can enter your mystery, the Holy Otherness that needs no explanation. Allow for grace in all its manifestations to be the gift that no one seeks to own, but simply to know as the Sacred Other through which we find meaning and purpose. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2FGTiKG
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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 12, 2020 Scripture: Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. Thought for the Day: Transforming and renewing are the life ambitions of those who wish to be participants in the good and acceptable and perfect things of God – the will of God. Steady and unchanging might be attributes assigned to God, but not to us. If we believe our task it to be steady and unchanging, then we are suggesting that we are God. There is a hint of the divine, a spark of the holy that is found within each of us, but we are also a mix of insecurity, pettiness, selfishness and greed. Those are things that need transforming and renewing, and with each moment of reshaping and reclaiming by the Spirit, we discover something else yet unchanged. Both individuals and the corporate body known as the church require ongoing transformation and renewal. Let us be thankful that we are not still justifying slavery or women as lesser humans by cheery-picking scriptures that revealed, not the heart of God, but the cultural context of the ancient world. Let us not arrogantly assume that we now have risen to the level where transformation and renewal are no longer required. Instead, let us be those who our grandchildren will look back upon and say, “Wow, they sure were willing to risk and ask the hard questions that so few others were willing to do.” Prayer: As you continue to be gracious to me, Wonderful God, I promise to remain open to what your Spirit is seeking to do within me and through me. There is much that I do not know, and in my unknowing, there are certainly things I am doing that are not your will. Forgive my ignorance and blindness, and then restore me as one with a more clear vision of what it means to be a good human being, living acceptably in your sight, and seeking to make all of creation a little more perfect for all. Amen. -- via WordPress https://ift.tt/2TiKnqz ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 11, 2020 Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-7 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Thought for the Day: The Shema, this specific section of scripture, is the centerpiece of morning and evening prayers for an observant Jew. The name Shema comes from the Hebrew word for “Hear,” the first word of vs. 4. It invites us to have a singular focus on God, and we are to teach the next generation to have the same focal point in their lives. It’s interesting that the reader is commanded to keep these words within the heart, but also to recite them again and again and again. An initial reading of the passage might have someone assuming the task is to simply pass on information, but the act of teaching is actually a reinforcing for the teacher. If I am saying the words over and over to my child, they are not simply spilling off my lips and into the ears of the young one. Those words are being instilled within me whether I recognize it or not. The act of teaching through repetition often creates greater understanding and appreciation for the teacher. Prayer: Provide me good words, O Lord Jesus. Give me a phrase full of hope that I can share with others, and in my sharing, better learn for myself its power and beauty. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2NjIBC2 ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 10, 2020 Scripture: Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Thought for the Day: I did some graduate work with a guy who was twenty years older than I was, and he often spoke about his early school years. He attended a religious school in which the punishment for rule infractions, and the intimidation that went alongside it, would probably be considered abuse in today’s world. Yes, it got the job done…sort of. Young people did what they were told, got their homework done, moved from class to class in an orderly way, but it was out of fear. A person may learn the dates and formulas and authors, but what happens to the human psyche in that environment? The Proverb, as we translate it, suggests that fear of the Lord is where knowledge begins. But I would suggest that fear, true fear of the Lord, is not where wisdom and instruction can begin or exist or end. Wisdom is from God, and no one who believes that approaching God requires fear is going to actually be approaching God. And for that reason, s/he is not going to encounter wisdom. You’ve heard me say it dozens of times, but I believe a better translation is Awe before the Lord is the beginning knowledge. Standing before the love of God inspires and uplifts. By its very beauty and immensity, it might make your knees shake just a bit, but it isn’t fear in the sense of intimidation or terror. It is an experience of God’s immeasurable love that begins a journey by which we come to know and learn about who this God is that loves us unconditionally. Prayer: Let your love bring joy and peace and hope! Let me learn who you are, Merciful Maker of the Universe. Provide me opportunities to experience your love that is radical and redemptive, a love that brings fear only to the demonic forces of hate, abuse and injustice. Yet even for them, your love is given unconditionally, and in the end, they too will give into the beautiful welcome that is your love. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2s7WKuu ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 9, 2020 Scripture: Ephesians 4:14-15 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, Thought for the Day: If you know the musical Godspell, then you probably know the song, Day By Day. I remember singing it at church camp as a young kid, but it was only recently that I learned how those words were much older than the musical. A 13th Century Bishop named Richard of Chichester wrote the following words: Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits thou hast given me, for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me. O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother, may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, day by day. Amen. The Apostle Paul challenged us to grow up, and this growing up is like a child beginning to look more and more like his/her parents. The hope is that we are looking more and more like Jesus, but this happens with the intentional work of knowing Jesus more clearly, loving him more dearly and following him more nearly…and doing it day after day after day. Prayer: Make me more consistent in learning about you, O Lord, and sitting quietly with you and being challenged to seek you. It is in this work that our lives will better reflect you. Amen. -0- via WordPress https://ift.tt/36D338x ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 8, 2020 Scripture: John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Thought for the Day: Jesus speaks of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit that shall come in his stead. Of course, in good Trinitarian thinking, Jesus is of the same essence as the Spirit/Advocate. With that in mind, Jesus suggests that the Spirit will teach everything needed. Does this suggest that faith and a living relationship with the Spirit teaches us what we need in all situations and circumstances? Can individuals stop going to Medical School and stop seeking Engineering Degrees? I hope not! I still want well qualified and educated individuals cutting on me and designing the bridges on which I drive. I’m kind of selfish that way. I do believe the Spirit of God, which is the Spirit of Love, is a full participant, whether named or not, in all that is good and life-giving. The shaping of minds and hearts, whether it is in the area of science, mathematics, computers, art, music, relationships, political science, history, English or religion, includes the work of the Spirit that inspires and encourages. For those of us in the church, the Spirit is inviting us to a classroom where long held attitudes and opinions are challenged by the basic conviction that love – not just for some, but all – is the single greatest force in the universe. The Spirit seeks to convict our hearts with that idea so that no matter what our area of study or interest might be, the work we do is toward that goal of love. What is the specific lesson the Spirit is trying to teach you today? Prayer: Make every moment a classroom moment, Heavenly Teacher, so that what I am and what I do and what I know is unified in the work of putting love first. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2T6fB47 ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 7, 2020 Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:4 Everything that has been created by God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected. Thought for the Day: Let me do some fun confessing in this devotional. I know that “confessing” and “fun” are not words usually put alongside one another. On Sunday, I was wearing a new casual sports coat that I got on a really good deal. Like most sports coats that I buy, I had to have the sleeves shortened. What I didn’t realize was that my alteration person did not remove the Vent X. That’s the very obvious string they use to keep the vent (the split just above your butt) straight during shipping. In the 45 years I have been wearing suits, I have never left it in. The alterations person almost always removes it, but if not, I see it and remove it. But not this time. I share that because I had my oops very kindly pointed out to me during the soup luncheon after worship on Sunday. My first reaction was embarrassment, but I had been rolling this verse of scripture around in my head for a week, and in that moment I laughed and took his words with thanksgiving. How many times have we watched someone with a clothing faux pas and never said a word. It’s usually your family who will speak the truth to you, and with thanksgiving, that’s how I took those words. I truly was thankful, for I was among family… the people who, in love, will speak the truth. Prayer: I give you thanks, Merciful God, for the people who see my flaws and mistakes and love me, not in spite of my many imperfections, but just as I am. For each of us is such a mix-up mess of all kinds of good and less than good parts, and separating it all is rather complicated. Thanks for loving me in the complicated work of learning to love myself. Amen. -- via WordPress https://ift.tt/39Id5Hv ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 6, 2020 Prayer for the Week: No category defines those who seek you – No class or classification, no degree or distinction, no title or entitlement delineates the boundaries of those who yearn to know you. O Holy One born in Bethlehem, O Nativity of Grace formed upon the earth, the world is drawn to you because of a deep yearning. As we begin a new year facing old issues – weighed down by brokenness unresolved grief trauma emotional injury – we acknowledge a force greater than ourselves that calls us forward and onward. Call us to the journey, not because we have met certain criteria or we score above average in math. Call us to the journey as it is the place where our spirits are humbled before the way of love. This is our request in these early days of 2020, a new year filled with so much joyous potential. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2QPlT5z ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS January 5, 2020 Scripture: Matthew 2:12 Because the Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route. Thought for the Day: It is one thing to return home and something very different to return to a place you once called home that no longer feels like your home because of a transformative experience. Have you ever learned something new or witnessed something wonderful that forever changed how you viewed life? It is tough to return home and to interact with those who did not have the same experience. There would be plenty of eye rolling as they listened to what sounded like nonsense to them. This is where it is important to spend less time trying to retell the experience and simply live a life that represents what you experienced during your travels. You have a better chance of convincing people if your life looks radically different. The problem within many circles of Christianity is the talk sounds all good, but the lives appear to reinforce the same cultural priorities of greed, selfishness and self-preservation. It’s ok to return home and to realize that you’ll never be comfortable there again because your life is probably going to make everyone else feel uncomfortable…assuming you choose to live as one who made the journey. Prayer: Lead me to where I need to go, O Spirit of the Beckoning Star. And the transformative power of your radical and relentless love for all humanity shall become the souvenir I treasure from my travels. When friends do not understand, help me continue to love them without compromising the new life you expect me to live. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2MUUiia via WordPress https://ift.tt/2ZPLAqE |
AuthorRev. Bruce Frogge Archives
April 2024
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