ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: This is a dramatic moment in the story of Jesus. In fact, it would make for an excellent movie. Oh wait! It has been depicted in numerous movies, but in almost all of them, I believe they miss what makes this moment so dramatic. Directors and writers try to overplay certain aspects of this moment, using gripping music, make-up and special effects. That’s all well and good, but we need to remember that Rome was executing what they believed to be a criminal, an insurrectionist. They did this as a tool of intimidation. What makes this so dramatic is that it appears as if Rome has won. There will be a lengthy pause, from Friday night to Sunday morning, when it sure looks as if the way of Rome has defeated the way of Jesus. Spend a few moments reflecting upon that. Prayer: Love embodied in the face of hate and violence is often overlooked by everyone except you, my gracious King. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2UWarsc
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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: This is a dramatic moment in the story of Jesus. In fact, it would make for an excellent movie. Oh wait! It has been depicted in numerous movies, but in almost all of them, I believe they miss what makes this moment so dramatic. Directors and writers try to overplay certain aspects of this moment, using gripping music, make-up and special effects. That’s all well and good, but we need to remember that Rome was executing what they believed to be a criminal, an insurrectionist. They did this as a tool of intimidation. What makes this so dramatic is that it appears as if Rome has won. There will be a lengthy pause, from Friday night to Sunday morning, when it sure looks as if the way of Rome has defeated the way of Jesus. Spend a few moments reflecting upon that. Prayer: Love embodied in the face of hate and violence is often overlooked by everyone except you, my gracious King. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2UWarsc MAUNDY THURSDAY via WordPress https://ift.tt/2Rn1G8g MAUNDY THURSDAY via WordPress https://ift.tt/2Rs2rgt 5AM VIDEO DEVOTIONAL via WordPress https://ift.tt/2wqI7Vr ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: Today, is in fact, the beginning of the Jewish Passover. It is an ancient celebration, including a meal, that continues to define the Jewish Community to this day. Jesus did not ignore or dismiss its power, but used it in his last meal with his disciples to speak to a new community in a new moment. Too often Christianity has looked back at the life of Jesus, specifically how he reinterpreted or modified or offered a new perspective, and the assumption is the church must lock it in that historic moment in time. Could it be that Jesus was providing us a model for how we continue to grow in what it means to be faithful and to participate in the transformation of the world through love? Are we in need of Jesus once again to pull us out of the concrete where we have attempted to solidify his amazing words? Shouldn’t we hear his message and view his life as an invitation to begin a new journey each new day, not to create an immovable belief system? How is this moment in time pushing us to rethink and reinterpret the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Please understand, I am not suggesting the heart of the Gospel will change – God’s love will remain unconditional and relentless in its power to heal and transform the world. But I have a feeling this moment gives us a chance to acknowledge the nudging of the Spirit as we need to see new ways of allowing the heart of the Gospel to take on a fresh word for this moment of time. Prayer: Let us celebrate the power of Passover in a meal that is ancient yet as fresh as the Spirit is present. Holy God, give us eyes to see how you are making the message of Jesus relevant and significant for this unique moment. You’ve done it before, and you are doing it again. Thank you. Amen. HOLY WEEK via WordPress https://ift.tt/2XkCbIs ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: This is the first of what are often called the Seven Woes. Jesus does not present his usual compassion, but as he moves throughout this Holy Week, he lays down some challenges, mostly on the religious leadership. So basically most of you are fine, but I’m the one who needs to listen and to feel the discomfort. Today, I hear these words of Jesus with a specific group of clergy in mind. There are some churches that continue to meet face-to-face in this pandemic. Now Christians are always quick to remind me that we do not judge, but let’s be very clear about what scripture teaches us. As followers of Jesus, we do not judge the people around us who are still searching and exploring spirituality. We love these people, as we do all folks. But Jesus, Paul, Peter and other voices in the early church spoke harshly against aspects of their own religious establishment. They judged garbage theology and self-centered religious leaders in the early Christian movement. There was often little room for compassion or kindness if one claimed to be a follower of Jesus but did a poor job of portraying Jesus. What I see happening among a handful of Christian leaders who are opening their church buildings is an arrogance and complete disregard to the central teaching of love. Instead, there is manipulation as a few pastors lay guilt at the feet of the fearful, suggesting that spiritual strength and health are tied to a demonstration of faith – which they suggest is coming to a church service in this pandemic. And of course, these pastors are strangely enjoying the publicity. They might have talked themselves into believing their actions are God-inspired, but it sure appears more like a narcissistic attribute that is inviting others to endanger themselves so that a leader can have his (I’ve only seen male pastors) ego fed. If we want to talk real demonstrations of faith, let’s talk about those who are going into the hospitals each day and placing themselves at risk. Faith is not about getting some sort of magical protection against the virus. Faith is the awareness of a calling from God and the courage to fall that call. Thus ends the lesson from Bruce’s Soapbox, but let me add that ego is one of the great concerns for most of us preachers. I confess that it is one of the areas where I spend a lot of time in prayer and self-reflection as the desire for praise and affirmation can become more powerful than one’s desire to serve Jesus. This is where sisters and brothers in the faith need to call out one another with honesty and grace. I have a handful of friends who have full permission to hold me accountable, to call me out when I need to be called out. I also go to them for advice and insight, and they have been known to tell me things I did not want to hear. Yet in most cases, their wisdom has been God-given. Prayer: Gracious God, continue to inspire our creativity in regard to what it means to worship and serve you. Thinking that we must worship face-to-face diminishes our perception of you and how you work in this world. Our thoughts can never limit you, but they can limit our capacity to see you. May your Spirit awaken within each of us a vision of how you are at work in this moment. Amen. HOLY WEEK via WordPress https://ift.tt/2yH41EG ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS via WordPress https://ift.tt/2yvVc0a ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: A lesser known character in scripture is a woman named Abigail. She is married to a jerk (scripture uses words like hardheaded, fool and evil to describe him) named Nabal which actually means fool. That should probably be our first clue. Let’s just say he has ticked off King David, and Nabal is about ready to receive a major beatdown from the King. Abigail meets David and his army along the road, to catch him before he gets to Nabal. She is described as intelligent and full of good judgment. It’s as if Abigail is everything that Nabal is not. Not only does she stand between David and Nabal, but David’s plan was to kill all of Nabal’s men…who were in fact innocent. How often is someone needing to fix the errors of the arrogant and extraordinarily brainless? How often is the foolishness of one dangerous to the many? We need the Abigails of this world who are willing to leap in front of the fast moving train (that was David and his army) to explain and calm the situation, doing so to save the lives of the blameless. Let us pray that God sends plenty of Abigails our way. Prayer: For the gracious hearts of those who do good work, O Lord, I give you thanks! I express this gratitude for those who are often cleaning up the messes of individuals whose egos were a little bit too big. Amen. WORSHIP THIS MORNING YouTube or Vimeo Join Bruce on FacebookLive via WordPress https://ift.tt/2V2BzEz ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: Deborah is one of the 12 Judges in the Book of Judges, though she is the only woman among the group. I must confess that I have always been drawn to Deborah because she tells you how it’s going to be, and she doesn’t mince words, especially when she breaks into song (chapter 5). When Barak was hesitant about going into battle, and suggested that he would go only if Deborah went with him, her response was classic. She said, “I’ll definitely go with you. However, the path you’re taking won’t bring honor to you, because the LORD will hand over Sisera to a woman” (vs.9). In a time when women rarely had a voice, and quite often their characters in scripture were not valued enough to even receive a name, I appreciate what I can only describe as one who was sassy, saucy and secure. In today’s world, a strong and confident woman is still not respected in the way a man is (sadly), but in those ancient days, Deborah must have caught some people off guard. It’s interesting that she not only received attention in the Book of Judges, but she received two full chapters, only being out “worded” by the story of Samson. Since the victors, and those in power, write history and the national stories, what does it tell us that men (probably a man wrote Judges) included Deborah in the story? Prayer: I don’t ever wish to be arrogant, O God of Grace, but I desire to be strong and confident in my faith. Let Deborah be a model for me as I live and serve with a spirit of assurance and resilience. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/34dYHEy |
AuthorRev. Bruce Frogge Archives
April 2024
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