ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 10, 2020 Prayer for the Week: Our lips, our vocal chords, our lungs – they create song; they give witness to a joy that may not be easily expressed in expository form; they provide a mechanism by which our gratitude reverberates in the hearts of others. We sing to you a new song, O Lord. The melody may not be well known. In fact, it may not be appreciated as beautiful from the perspective of many. Yet even joy that is a little off key and causes the fillings in one’s mouth to hurt, is still recognizable as an unimpeded expression of a person’s encounter with love. It may not be the tune that catches the attention of others, but the wellspring of euphoria that has as its source the deep well of your divine life. Holy God of Creation, you inspire creativity within us. Your immeasurable and inexhaustible love finds us wherever we are. In the lostness of our existence, your love acts with reckless abandonment in its attempt to reveal our value and purpose. May our lives never pause from expressing appreciation for who you are and what you have done. Allow for our thankfulness to manifest itself not only in song, but in service as well. This we pray in the name of Christ. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2OFUdzZ
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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 9, 2020 Scripture: Psalm 98:3-4 The Lord remembered to love us, a gift to his dear family, Israel – a tireless love. The whole earth comes to attention. Look – God’s work of salvation! Shout your praises to God, everybody! Let loose and sing! Thought for the Day: This is a portion of this morning’s scripture. I must confess how I’m drawn to the language of “tireless love.” How many of us find our love to be more tired than tireless? We look to Jesus, attend church, read some scripture, but life is exhausting. Our fatigue reduces the capacity of our emotional and spiritual selves to rise anywhere close to the ideal God set forth for us. Sabbath rest is essential for those who desire to be a bit more like Jesus, and to see the tireless love of God made real in this world. It can be a short nap, 20 minutes on the back porch with a cup of your favorite morning beverage or a few minutes between meetings when you take time to concentrate on your breathing. If we do not take time for ourselves, we will never have the energy for others. Prayer: Lord of tireless love, encourage me to do what is necessary so that the love I have been given is not love lost in my daily grind. Wherever I can find rest in you is time well spent. Amen. _____ via WordPress https://ift.tt/2StJfhT ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 8, 2020 Scripture: Psalm 30:10-12 Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!” You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever. Thought for the Day: As a kid, we used to visit an older couple who had worked with my parents during their college days. These two amazing people had remained very supportive of my family, especially us kids. In their home was this enormous stereo console, as big as a couch. You lifted-up the wooden top to reveal the record player. The couple had many LP recordings, including the amazing voice of Ella Fitzgerald. I wish I had a few of those albums now as they probably have some good value. I remember her unique style, and so I wasn’t surprised when I came across recently a quote from her: The only thing better than singing is more singing. It echos the words of the song: How Can I Keep From Singing. The author of the Psalm appears to know that experience. Tomorrow in worship, the community will spend time singing and reflecting on the songs that have shaped our faith. Prayer: How can I keep from singing praises unto you, O Lord my God! My joy is but a reflection of your gifts shared with me and the world. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2vTAkP8 ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 7, 2020 Scripture: Colossians 1:24 I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. Thought for the Day: I am rereading Ronald Osborn’s book, “Creative Disarray,” a discussion on ministry and church-life in America. Osborn was one of our denomination’s great teachers, including teaching for more than two decades at Christian Theological Seminary where I attended (though he retired before I got there). Osborn wrote in his book: Responding with the automatic reflexes of an organism threatened by change in its environment, the church has undertaken to adapt in order to survive. In behavior consistent with its past, it has begun to conform its institutions once again to the prevailing patterns in the secular world… Largely on the basis of that assumption, the major denominations in America have recast their mode of operation to conform with the dominant contemporary mode in business and government, the bureaucracy… In developing this mode of procedure, denominational officials have been neither wicked nor stupid. As great and good persons devoted to the Christian cause, they did not set out deliberately to diminish the sacral character of the church or to recast the pastor in the role of branch manager or executive secretary. But that is what they have done. As you might guess, Osborn is not speaking of this shift in a favorable light. Too often I hear people say, “The church is a business and must be run as a business.” There is nothing further from the truth. Can we borrow some business wisdom and practices along the way to help us? I believe we can, but using business models hook, line and sinker is incredibly dangerous. For the bottom line of a business is to find a way to keep the customers happy by doing or spending as little as possible. The church, on the other hand, is convicted by the life of Jesus who gave more than was expected. In fact, he remained faithful to an ideal even in the face of death. That’s a business model that does not fly in any environment. Stockholders will not be happy. Let us continue to be challenged in regard to what the church is called to be in this moment of time. How are we to fully express the unconditional and relentless love of God revealed in Jesus, and to stay clear of practices that by their very nature undermine this message. Prayer: We like success! We are in favor of good returns! Taking up a cross and following Jesus faithfully does not always look good on the bottom line, yet it is what you have invited us to do, Merciful and Gracious God. Continue to challenge how we think of ourselves and this body called the church. Amen. ___ via WordPress https://ift.tt/2S9d34G ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 6, 2020 Scripture: Exodus 15:20-21 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her playing tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang the refrain back to them: Sing to the LORD, for an overflowing victory! Horse and rider he threw into the sea! Thought for the Day: I can’t say that it would have made Casey Kasem’s Top 40 as it doesn’t quite have the catchy lyrics of a successful pop song, yet it is the heartfelt song of the underdog and oppressed who have discovered that God is on their side. Miriam cannot remain quiet! She has known slavery; she has known the brokenness of a family unit; she has felt the hopelessness of Pharaoh’s exploitation. This pain is behind her, and though the future is so very uncertain, there is a joy that must be expressed in the playing of a tambourine and the singing of a song. Too often we limit our musical celebration to the shower or the confines of our car during a solo trip to the store. There is nothing wrong with singing alone, but communal worship has an amazing value. People come alongside one another and join voices in songs of celebration. I may not necessarily be in the place where I am feeling that joy, but if I am truly a participant in the community, I am able to appreciate the Miriams of the world who have just stepped from their experiences of bondage and into life. And as I sing with them, it provides hope of what might not yet be for me, while also making me aware of what I might have overlooked. Prayer: May the moments of joy, liberation and life be the catalyst for a song. Call me to a time of worship, Gracious God, where I can join the voices of others who have reason to give thanks. Amen. _____ via WordPress https://ift.tt/2H1LYtz ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 5, 2020 Scripture: Matthew 5:46-48 If you love only those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be complete. Thought for the Day: On this day in 79AD, the city of Pompeii was covered with something like 18-25 feet of volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted. Imagine you live in that time, and maybe you were on an island close enough to observe but far enough to not be impacted. What do you think of this eruption? No one had a real scientific explanation for a volcanic eruption at that time, and so most people explained it through a religious or theological lens. “Someone must have really ticked off the gods!” In an ancient world view, that theory is not only plausible, but summarizes things quite well. What other explanation was creditable? People will often say to me, “Theology (the way we think or talk about God) is not that important as long as we believe in Jesus.” I love the sentiment, but how do you explain tragedies? From devastating tornadoes to hurricanes to fires, it is interesting to hear the explanations that folks offer. If the people impacted were not valued by society, then the explanation is to blame them by suggesting it was God’s judgment. Notice, though, how the story changes when “good people” are impacted. In those cases, it is usually defined as the work of the devil. To suggest that God kills innocent people, including children, to make a point is deeply troubling. Equally troubling is when the church encourages or gives voice to those ideas. It reinforces some pretty barbaric perceptions of God, while also fueling the devaluing of certain groups of people. I’m not suggesting everyone needs a PhD in Theology, but we need to ask ourselves good questions about what we say – especially in times of crisis. Do our words portray the Jesus of the Gospels? Or are we drawing upon a passage that needs to be cautiously interpreted and even more cautiously used in providing meaning for some current event? The message of Jesus is beautiful and life-giving, while also challenging and confrontational. Followers of this Jesus, prior to making some theological declaration, need to always ask: Does this sound even remotely like something Jesus would say? If the answer is even somewhat uncertain, then maybe caution would be the better choice. Prayer: I give you thanks, God, for the Good Words of Jesus who spoke of your complete love and then challenged me to do the same. May my words strive to resemble the goodness and kindness he conveyed. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/37VQllT ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 4, 2020 Scripture: Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Thought for the Day: If my Greek is coming back to me, a literal reading of the passage would be: All things I have vigor/strength in/with the one empowering me. The Greek word for ‘strengthening” (I translated it as empowering) is Endunamoo. En = in, by or with; dunamoo = to make strong. Dunamoo comes from the noun, Dunamis which is where we get our English word for dynamite. This past Sunday, I spoke about power and how it has been used in the life of the church. Churches and other institutions are in constant struggle with good and bad uses of power. A person or group can become convinced that something needs to happen for the sake of the institution’s integrity or mission, and power will be used to sway or even force that outcome. One of the real problems arrises when whatever that conviction that has been pushed is not for the betterment of the institution, but the self-serving purpose of an individual or group within the institution. As a pastor, I spend a considerable amount of time wresting with my motivation. I don’t see myself as a power-hungry individual, but my job and title do provide me with power. And the institution, Cypress Creek Christian Church, pays me money every two weeks, and I enjoy getting that paycheck. There is a self-serving reason to protect the revenue above the mission. Do I choose to ignore the tap of the Holy Spirit when it comes to preaching on a certain topic simply because I am afraid that someone might get mad and leave? Am I even able to name that self-serving motivation because it is so close to home? This is where it is good that the church has a structure beyond the pastor, and I have colleagues and friends outside the church who I use as sounding boards. These people have been given permission to speak honestly to me, call me out when necessary, and even to tell me that it might be time to pack it up. This isn’t necessarily perfect, but power has the potential of corrupting both individuals and the institution. At the same time, power that is used wisely, with humility and openness, has the potential of doing great things. Jesus had power, though maybe not traditional power. His power was found in his compassion, love and generosity that got him killed. Self-serving was the very last thing on the mind of Jesus. May he be our mentor and our model! Prayer: Continue to be that mindful voice, that reflective presence, in my life. O Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me this day. Continue to shape me so that my life grows in its capacity to reflect Jesus, and his humble and self-sacrificing use of power. Amen. ___ via WordPress https://ift.tt/36YRtDS ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 3, 2020 Prayer for the Week: How do we not see? How do we not recognize the historic bias, the prejudice born from insecurity, the limits we have placed upon your limitless potential, your immeasurable creativity? Our skewed perception is alive and well, it is at work in and through your church -attempting to the restrict- -aiming to fetter- your Spirit’s work in the world, or at least our capacity to perceive that work. Wonderful and Breath-taking God, create within each of us the capacity to enjoy your skillfulness -your proficiency- at ignoring our expectations, at disregarding our presuppositions that seek to tell you how you need to do your thing in this world. Too many people have rejected or denied their own calling, not because the call was empty of you, Extravagant Spirit of Love, but because the so-called orthodoxy of the faith laughed at the suggestion. If some segment of the church wishes to keep laughing, let us distance ourselves as we – all of us – move forward together into the amazing and inclusive future you are creating. We pray in the name of the one who had no interest in boundaries of this insecure world. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/36RNTeM ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS February 2, 2020 Scripture: Genesis 38:15-16 When Judah saw Tamar, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.” “And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked. Thought for the Day: Is your family complicated? I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way, just complicated. Tamar’s family situation was complicated to begin with, and then she decides to trick her father-in-law into having sex with her. She did this without him realizing who it was, and to even complicate the story more, she becomes pregnant. There is a lot to unpack in that story, a lot more than is possible in this writing. Yet it is important to remember that Judah and Tamar are central figures in the genealogy found in the Gospel of Matthew. This genealogy shows the lineage of Jesus. I find it comforting and a bit liberating to think that Jesus came from a complicated family… one that might even be a bit more complicated than my own. Equally important is to remember how Tamar finds a way. Jewish writers have often described her as having unconventional wisdom. I like that language, as it describes many of the faithful who made a way when there did not appear to be a way. Tamar might not be a model we invite our children to use, but it remains a helpful story of how God continues to utilize complicated families and unconventional wisdom. Prayer: With all the issues I got, alongside all the issues my family has, I look to the stories of scripture and realize how well I fit in your family, Holy God. Thank you for making me feel welcome and revealing to me a purpose in spite of complicating factors. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/31oWG72 |
AuthorRev. Bruce Frogge Archives
April 2024
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