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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: I have a Senior in High School, and though we are not quite there yet, I am concerned about the dreaded senioritis, that affliction that seems to leave many looking past the present moment. The first time I ran a marathon, I hit mile marker 23 and thought to myself, it’s just over 3 miles more. I thought I could pick up my pace. Big mistake! I was wanting to get to the finish line ahead of myself, and the last two miles nearly killed me. In fact, it almost kept me from finishing. When we see the finish line or at least feel that it’s not too far away, there is a tendency to forget where we are and all that has brought us to that moment. Today, I went to the grocery store. I would guess that somewhere between 10-15% of the people were not wearing masks. We are not at the finish line yet, and we must remain vigilant for the sake of all, but especially the most vulnerable. Or as 2nd John suggests, we do not want to lose what we have worked for. We’ve got this! We can do this! And by faith, we shall… assuming we understand that with faith comes responsibility. Prayer: Keep me vigilant, Gracious God! It is not always easy, especially when I feel as if the destination is close at hand. But in this case, life and death are in our collective hands these final months. Keep me vigilant! Amen! WATCH TODAY’S SERVICE via WordPress https://ift.tt/2K1fXad ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: I have a Senior in High School, and though we are not quite there yet, I am concerned about the dreaded senioritis, that affliction that seems to leave many looking past the present moment. The first time I ran a marathon, I hit mile marker 23 and thought to myself, it’s just over 3 miles more. I thought I could pick up my pace. Big mistake! I was wanting to get to the finish line ahead of myself, and the last two miles nearly killed me. In fact, it almost kept me from finishing. When we see the finish line or at least feel that it’s not too far away, there is a tendency to forget where we are and all that has brought us to that moment. Today, I went to the grocery store. I would guess that somewhere between 10-15% of the people were not wearing masks. We are not at the finish line yet, and we must remain vigilant for the sake of all, but especially the most vulnerable. Or as 2nd John suggests, we do not want to lose what we have worked for. We’ve got this! We can do this! And by faith, we shall… assuming we understand that with faith comes responsibility. Prayer: Keep me vigilant, Gracious God! It is not always easy, especially when I feel as if the destination is close at hand. But in this case, life and death are in our collective hands these final months. Keep me vigilant! Amen! WATCH TODAY’S SERVICE via WordPress https://ift.tt/2K1fXad ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: On this day in the year 1349, approximately 70 Jewish residents of the city of Basel (modern day Switzerland) were rounded up, locked inside a shed and burned to death. The plague known as Black Death was sweeping across Europe, and fearful people looked for an excuse, looked for someone to blame. The plague had not made its way to Basel at that point, yet unsubstantiated accusations suggested that Jewish people were poisoning wells. Other cities nearby blamed the Jewish people living among them and followed the lead of Basel. How is it that fear causes us to seek out someone to blame even when there is no evidence? How is it that we turn so easily on our neighbors in moments of crisis? Integrity is a wonderful attribute to guide people in wise and thoughtful ways. Too often the gift has not been present or not present with enough strength to hold off the fear among the masses. Let us always pray for there to be those with integrity who will be unafraid to offer their wise and calm counsel in our tense moments. Prayer: O Provider of Peace, help me to always pause for a moment when fear seizes my heart. Give me a moment to breathe and to seek the counsel of those whose integrity can offer a trusted and wise word. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/39dfv1j ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: With everything that happened at the Capitol in D.C. on Wednesday, I was yanked in another direction a short time ago by the number of deaths and hospitalizations from COVID. Within a 48 hour period, nearly 8,000 people in the United States died of COVID. Those numbers, alongside all the other chaos in our nation, makes me feel very uncomfortable with the last few words of the scripture: God has been right there, listening. It makes me want to scream, “Do more than listen! We need more than a good listener in this moment.” And then as I settle back down again, I realize that 80% of the problems we currently face (Bruce’s guess) have not been caused by some great outside force or something beyond our control. We have ignored the common sense recommendations of experts, while promoting cousin Vinny’s antidotal claim that he read on his Facebook feed. We have tolerated everything from outright hatred to the casual disregard of human life and suffering. In creating us with free will, God provided us an amazing gift, but a gift that assumes we take responsibility. And something a bit more than a responsibility to self. We not only can do better, but we must! God is not only listening, but watching… and reminding us that we have a very clear mandate to be the agents of real change in our community, nation and world. Let’s get to work, making sure love, justice, kindness and equality are the goal and the path to the goal. Prayer: 8000 members of the human family have died in this country in two days! It didn’t need to be this way. Forgive us for our selfishness, Lord God, and then call us to step up and live as those who represent your great vision for all creation. This can be a moment when the love of Christ is manifest for all to see and experience. Let it be so! Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/35m2O2U ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS via WordPress https://ift.tt/35g29jq ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: I wish I could remember the exact details of the story as I am sure I’ll get a piece of it wrong, but a number of years ago a parent of one of my church kids (back when I was doing youth and children’s ministry) had something funny to share. The family had been reading the Epiphany Story (the NRSV translation was brand new), and the boy’s mother asked him what “paid him homage” meant. The boy thought homage was a type of porridge, and along with the gold, frankincense and myrrh, the Magi had brought breakfast as some sort of payment. For a while, we joked about the fourth Magi bringing Cream of Wheat for the Holy Family. In fact, the word homage describes the kissing of the Master’s hand by a servant or subordinate, and though I doubt the Magi kissed the hand of the baby Jesus, the idea of paying homage describes an act of humility and reverence before the Christ Child. Though we celebrated Epiphany this past Sunday, today is the official day (January 6). Let us look to the actions of the Magi who showed reverence for this Gift of God, and did so in a setting that was not usually associated with religious reverence. Outside of Sunday morning, how does your life show reverence to God’s gift? Prayer: O Gift of God, O Love Enfleshed, let my life and how I live my life show the highest admiration possible for what you represent in this world. And may it happen beyond the usual time associated with worship. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/399Rwjg ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: Immediately after the Magi headed home, we find Joseph packing up the family and moving to Egypt. It was probably good that they had received gifts, making the trip and their extended stay away from home possible. Because the story is limited to a few verses, and it sits as a transitional piece in the larger narrative, it is often read with some nostalgia, almost romanticizing the journey. Now I wasn’t there, but even with the sudden increase in their net value as a family, the trip had to have been frightening. What would it be like to be forced from home, traveling a long distance to a strange land? Though most of us don’t have a clue, there are so many refugees in the world today who have been forced from their homes and their land because of war, violence, drug cartels, droughts, etc. Today, as we read these words in Matthew’s Gospel, let us spend a few moments in prayer for all those who this day are fleeing for their lives. Prayer: God of All Creation, Creator of every human being, allow us a glimpse into the fear and suffering of so many in our world. Through this awareness, may true compassion emerge, a compassion that refuses to ignore the plight of those, who like the Christ Child, have been forced to seek safety away from home. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/38ffBpO ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS via WordPress https://ift.tt/3oeP7ds ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: For centuries, people have tried to determine what these gifts represented. There is some interesting speculation, but putting it all aside, we can make the basic conclusion that the gifts represented a lot of money. No one had gone to the Dollar Store to see what was on the sale rack. With that in mind, there is an underlying question put before any reader of this story: What gift of real value will I present. It may not be of great monetary value, but sacrifice is assumed. It was not gold, frankincense and a bottle of cheap aftershave. What is it that you bring to the work of Christ in this new year? Prayer: Holy God, as the child and mother received the gifts, we hear an unspoken invitation to bring with us an offering of substance, gifts by which the world will be touched with your breath-taking love, kindness and goodness. Amen. EPIPHANY SUNDAY via WordPress https://ift.tt/3o9pYAV |
AuthorRev. Bruce Frogge Archives
April 2024
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