ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: Those familiar with the creation account in Genesis 1 will recognize the importance of wind when something new is emerging. This wind/spirit is not only present in the moment of creation, but is the creative power behind every new thing God is doing. I remember sitting in a meeting with church folks where we were doing some dreaming, and suddenly the creativity began to explode around us. People were getting excited, and one person’s idea was built upon by another person and then another. Out of the blue, someone said, “Did you feel that breeze?” No one understood the comment, so she clarified it for us. She believed the spirit was moving among us as seen in the creativity from which something new was emerging in that moment. It makes me wonder how often we feel the divine wind/spirit move among us, and we just go close the window because we assume it was nothing more than a draft. Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, and do what you always do. Come among us and create a new expression of your love in this moment of time. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3wr59EK
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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: The name Pentecost is really associated with a Christian holiday, the day the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and gave birth to the church. At the same time, the Jewish religion (of which the disciples still belonged) was celebrating the Feast of Weeks. It came 50 days after Passover (Pentecost means 50), and Greek writers would sometimes use it to describe this Feast Day. This is all to say that it wasn’t surprising for the Disciples to be in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost/Feast of Weeks. The Jewish faith expected for all Jewish males to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem for this holiday, among other things to give an offering of thanksgiving. During the holiday, it was common for the Book of Ruth to be read. Imagine the disciples hearing a story being read where an outsider, someone who no one expected to bring anything to the story of faith, would in fact become this amazing vision of devotion, compassion and perseverance. And she would later become the great grandmother of King David. It is a story of the unimaginable not intimidating God. For the disciples of Jesus who were feeling a bit lost and uncertain about the future, the story of Ruth would have been empowering. You can imagine them saying to themselves, “Maybe God can use us.” What stories in scripture are empowering for you? Where do you, once again, need to hear a story of God using someone who everyone else had dismissed? Prayer: Speak through the scriptures, O Spirit of Pentecost. Remind me of how you do not follow the rules of this world when it comes to who you believe is worthy of your calling. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3f4aVGQ AUDIO ETCHING CLICK HERE Scripture: Ephesians 1:18-19 Thought for the Day: Last Wednesday evening, we put out our recycling at the curb as we do every Wednesday. Thursday night, it was still there. There have been a few weeks when they didn’t come until Friday, so I just left it by the curb. It was still there Saturday and Sunday, so Donna asked me, “Don’t you think you should bring back in the recycling?” I had convinced myself that they were going to come if I just left it there. Well it is still sitting there, and assuming they don’t skip another week, I will have technically been correct in my belief that they would eventually pick it up. Hope springs eternal in Bruce! What does Paul mean when he speaks of having enough light to see the hope of God’s calling? I think he was talking about something a bit more sophisticated than whether my recycling was going to be picked up, yet I do believe hope is developed slowly… especially for those who have know pain and rejection and great difficulty. You’ve got to start somewhere, and since God’s light of love is always shining upon us, then maybe our prayers might want to include a simple request: Let me catch a glimpse of your hope. Even if it is just a sliver of divine hope, it has the capacity to sustain us and encourage us along the journey. And when we’ve glimpsed a little bit of hope, it’s as if the eyes of faith become a bit more sensitive to other appearances of that hope. Keep looking! Prayer: Lord God, I seek the hope Paul referenced, the same hope made real in the life of Jesus. As your light shines upon my life, may it cast out more of the darkness and allow for my eyes to see where hope has always been present. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3ynXiK3 ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: Monday is my day off, and it is the one day I usually have for getting my lawn mowed. As you might have guessed, I never found a break from the rain to actually get it done. There was a bit of griping on my part until I remembered to check where Houston is currently in regard to rain fall for the year. And come to find out, we are behind… though after yesterday’s rain, I don’t think we are quite as far behind. It was one of those good reminders that what was feeling like an inconvenience to me was sort of a good thing for our larger community (except where there was some flooding). Now I’m not suggesting I was praying or lighting candles in hopes of turning away the rain, but how often have I acted all bent out of shape because of something that was a mild inconvenience, and might just have been something good for a lot of other folks. So much of scripture is an invitation for us to think more broadly. We are wired for survival, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but life in community requires us to think, act and live with others in mind. And if each member of the community is looking out for everyone else, it is a whole lot easier to let go of the self-absorption. Prayer: Keep revealing the importance of living in community, and the responsibility that comes with being a member of that community. Holy God, it is good to step outside of our narrow and self-focused ways of living. There is true joy found in living a life for others. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3hyseBm ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING via WordPress https://ift.tt/3eStzRE ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: Some of you may remember this scripture from our Crossing Over Campaign more than five years ago. The passage describes a threshold moment for the Israelites. It is not a casual move between one place and another. It is a transition from one stage of life to another, and it almost always has implications for body, mind and spirit. I raise this today, in part, because Zach and some of our other high school youth had Prom last night, a step toward graduation. As I was flipping through Facebook, I came across 44 different threshold moments. Some were high school proms, a number of them were graduations (high school, college and graduate degrees), two of them were weddings, two were births and three were funerals. Threshold moments have been paused for the last year (not entirely, but definitely impacted), yet they are so important to who we are as human beings. They define and shape us, and so I pray for all of us to return to those needed celebrations in life. We need to honor every passage from life to greater life, or what Jesus described as the journey to the fullness of life. Prayer: Continue to guide us into greater experiences of life, Holy God. As we transition from one stage of life to the next, may there be space for singing and celebrating, remembering and honoring, gratitude and joy. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3tLRc2N ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: Yesterday I had lunch with someone whose story is very different than my story. Our life experiences, the things we have encountered in life, are really quite dissimilar. Except that we are both pastors… so some common ground. As he shared a number of his life experiences, I had to quiet myself and just listen. Trying to find places where there was commonality would have been a mistake as I just needed to hear his story – not judge it or dismiss it or gloss over it. It was different and I needed to respect that. We are always going to see the world through our own lenses, so one of the great challenges is to humble oneself and allow others to speak to their lived experience. The story of the Gerasene man possessed by a demon is a central story in Luke’s Gospel. But imagine those who heard this excited man tell his story about being made whole by Jesus. How did they process what they heard? I picture a few folks dismissing the man’s comments because they had never personally been possessed by a demon. There were others who felt threatened as if it were some sort of competition to see who had known the most difficult life. And still a handful of people who wanted to shutdown the conversation all together because hearing about his problems made them feel uncomfortable. When we listen, we are saying to others, “Your story and life experience have value,” and especially for someone like this formerly possessed man who had probably never felt heard. Prayer: If I can be a gift by simply listening, then lead me to that place. O Lord of Heaven and Earth, provide me the courage to listen and learn without assuming that someone else’s very different story is somehow wrong or inferior or a threat to who I am. I make this request in the name of Jesus who provided space for so many to share their stories. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3hrvkXO ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: I used to hear a pastor who would say, “The church is this amazing community, and the only thing that would make it better would be if it didn’t have any people.” We all kind of chuckle with the understanding that people are people, and there are going to be moments when people will challenge us. Have I experienced a few of those moments in my ministry? Absolutely! Have there been times when I have been one of “those” people? Absolutely! But at the end of the day, even when it has been hard, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. My capacity to love, show grace or demonstrate forgiveness has known failure, but I have also experienced immense love, received grace upon grace and have been forgiven even before I knew to ask for forgiveness. The church is this amazingly diverse body of human beings where its members will occasionally bump up against each another in some hurtful ways, but the capacity to make real the life and love of Jesus is quite extraordinary. I don’t want a church without the people. I really have the best job in the world. Prayer: Allow your Spirit to bind us together anew this day, Gracious God. We all have our baggage and quirks, but you plan to use us for your good work in the world. Help us to be the body of Jesus Christ wherever we might go this day. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2RQh3t8 ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: The life of faith is an amazing, yet sometimes awkward dance with God. Too often we try to lead, and then out of frustration, we sulk in the corner and refuse to dance. Despite our lousy capacity to learn the ebb and flow of the partnership, God’s grace continues to beckon us back to the dance floor. I recognize the mixing of the metaphors – planting vs. dancing, tossing seed vs. doing the twist – but there is a point to be made. In the parable Jesus shared, there is responsibility on the farmer to plant the seed, then there is a time of waiting in which God and the soil and the bumblebees do their thing, and then the farmer needs to step back in for the harvest. It is a holy collaboration through which the Good News of God’s love impacts the world. Whether you like the metaphor of the farmer or the metaphor of dancing, just remember you have an important part in God’s kingdom being made manifest in this world. It doesn’t rest entirely on your shoulders, but don’t shrink from what you have been called to do. Prayer: I know there is a part for me in bringing your grace to the world, O Giver of this Gift. Help me to own my task and to honor the work you have called me to do. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/33DxNpQ Listen to Today’s Etching ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING Thought for the Day: Are there days when you feel like nothing could knock you down? Your confidence and convictions are aligned, and there is an unshakeable resilience in your heart and mind. Of course, such moments are often followed by “life”. I think you know what I mean. Suddenly life changes, and the unexpected or the unimaginable happens. A lot of people have been experiencing this lately. The author of the Psalm reflects on how trusting the Lord is like a mountain, something that is steadfast and resolute. I hear this idea when people say, “Just trust the Lord and everything will be ok.” Maybe that’s true, yet I do not believe the author was naive. I know so many incredibly faithful people who live a life of trust, yet they have been shaken to the core. When reading these words, we need to remember that Mount Zion was a real place, the centerpiece of the Jewish faith. It represented God’s presence in the world. When you think of it in those terms, it is less about claiming some perfect faith where we never experience a lapse in our trust. It is the capacity to connect with God, including through the symbols that represent God (Mount Zion among them) as a way of reconnecting with the unshakeable nature of God. It’s a little like speaking of God’s unconditional love and welcome, while having the capacity to come to the communion table each week as a reminder… especially those weeks when something might have called that love and welcome into question. To claim any conviction about God assumes an ongoing development of one’s faith that includes the use of symbols, rituals and practices. I can imagine people whose lives have been turned upside down, and it felt as if their capacity to trust in God had diminished. In those moments, there was something compelling about walking up Mount Zion and reconnecting with the God whose unshakeable nature was as old as the mountain itself. Prayer: Lord, may the trust in your love and mercy grow as we experience you through ancient practices and symbols. Let them reconnect us to you, especially in those moments when we have been shaken. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3tKHjlD |
AuthorRev. Bruce Frogge Archives
April 2024
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