ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: Both Ruth and Naomi’s grief must have been debilitating. Unless you’ve walked that journey, it is impossible to even fathom what that must have been like. Yet Ruth’s well known declaration aligning herself with her mother-in-law suggested a belief that her future would be found alongside Naomi. In the moment, Ruth would have been unable to picture how it could happen or what it would look like, yet there seems to be the belief that her restoration would be found with Naomi. At the time, Ruth had no relationship with God, yet it was as if she trusted Naomi’s relationship to God. The story doesn’t tell us this, but I envision that somewhere earlier in their life together before all the tragedy, Ruth saw something in her mother-in-law’s faith. To be a young widow and to commit to traveling to Bethlehem that was recovering from a famine with another widow would have been insane. Yet between trusting Naomi, and what I could imagine to be some nebulous sense of hope, she chose the path no one else would have chosen. I am not suggesting it as a model for everyone, but my one take away for all of us is, on occasion, to trust the faith of someone else when we don’t currently have the needed faith ourselves. Prayer: Give me friends, a few faithful saints, whose lives I can trust. Holy God, provide me a few generous souls who I can trust even when I’m not too sure why I am trusting them. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2Cxy2Jk
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ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS via WordPress https://ift.tt/3eG4hmt ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: First, I must say how much I enjoy finding this very practical sentence about not wishing to waste paper and ink. That aside, the author of 2 John (probably someone from the “Johannine” community, those who were influenced by the author of John’s Gospel) desires to meet in person so that their joy can be complete. The Greek word we translate as “complete” is where we get our English word plethora. It means to fill to the brim or even overflowing. I don’t mean to misuse these words of scripture, but I feel as if they could be rewritten for today: I have a lot to tell you. I don’t want to use any more bandwidth or time on Zoom, but I hope to visit you and talk with you face-to-face, so that our joy can overflow. I know you all are yearning for in person worship. I sure am! The day will come, and though we have found creative ways of meeting, I believe those first services post-pandemic will be filled with so much joy that it will be spilling out of the sanctuary and onto the streets. Prayer: Provide us patience and peace as we travel life in a pandemic. Holy God, each day feels like the previous day, yet that is not entirely true. There is boredom that is followed with new and unexpected revelations. Through your Spirit, provide us hope for the day when we are able to come alongside each other in joyful worship. Amen. SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP Also, join Pastor Bruce at 9am or 11am via WordPress https://ift.tt/2OERJkM ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: Wouldn’t it be nice if the world was together in mood. When it was time to grieve, everyone stood still and grieved. When it was time to celebrate, everyone lifted their voices in song. When it was time to pause and reflect, the world paused and made time to reflect. It would be nice, for in reality, what most often happens is a collision of emotions, some of them in the same community or even household. I have watched extended families attempt to maneuver dramatically different emotions – a wedding and a funeral in the same week; the birth of a baby and a pending divorce discussed around the same table; a wonderful promotion at work while someone else just got laid off. This is the reality of life, but it is challenging for everyone, especially those who feel pulled between both worlds. The person in the Psalm is filled with an immense amount of joy, while those close by feel as if God has deserted them. Does the one bursting with joy parade this jubilation in the face of those who are hurting? Probably not! At the same time, the one enjoying the joy does not need to take on the spirit of hopelessness. It is not easy to navigate, yet the joy is a potential gift of transformation. How it is introduced among those who find no goodness whatsoever is the tricky part, but it can be done… done with grace and compassion. Prayer: When I am overflowing with your Spirit of Joy, O Lord, let me find places to share it. In my search, make me aware of how best to offer what I have been given, being especially mindful of those who might not be receptive quite yet. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3eBvlTT ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: There is a part of me that simply wishes to say, “Amen,” as I believe these words to be true. Of course, the suggestion that a joyful heart helps healing assumes illness or grief or some other form of ailment to be present. That’s where I realize that such words are usually spoken from the perspective of the healthy. In fact, some have made similar statements in hopes of squelching the sorrow or sadness being expressed by an individual. It sounds like a kind way of saying, “I don’t wish to hear your complaining.” Proverbial wisdom can speak truth, but there is a cautionary note in regard to where, when and how it is shared. For me, the first half of this Proverb is more of a mantra that I speak to myself in my own times of darkness. It is spoken again and again, and in time, a heart might not only come to believe it but to embrace the divine presence that was ever present in the darkness. That’s joy! Prayer: Holy One, provide me a mantra, a simple word of scripture or a sacred thought onto which I can latch my heart and mind. Allow it to become a reminder of how I am forever connected to you. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3fytcd0 ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: Intensity and decibels appear to be the means by which one measures enthusiasm for God. I have participated in some worship services over the years where we rattled the rafters. Often it was a combination of the message and the music. We might have been clapping during the sermon as the energy and response was building, but often the music was the beginning of the corporate answer to the message. I emphasize the word “beginning,” as the closing prayer should never be understood as the closing down of what has been experienced. I remember a General Assembly years ago when the final song was I Am Walking In the Light of God, and we walked and danced and sang our way out of the space and into the night. God is surely pleased with clapping hands and loud songs of joy, but don’t you think God is wanting that to be the genesis of compassionate hands and lasting acts of justice? Prayer: Let the Living Word, spoken and put to music, inspire me. Lord God, continue to bring joy into my life, a joy that cannot be contained to a single hour or single service of worship. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/2DNMU6G ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: Paul and Silas had been beaten and thrown into jail, though it sounds as if they were not afforded the rights to which they were entitled as Roman Citizens. Now Paul hadn’t mentioned the important fact of his Roman Citizenship to anyone, but nonetheless, the magistrates were nervous once this news reached them. In response to their error, they did what any good person would do. They tried to resolve the problem by getting rid of the problem. This wasn’t a minor mistake. The magistrates, the representatives of the Roman legal system, had not only failed to protect these Roman Citizens from an angry crowd, but they tossed Paul and Silas in jail without a trial. When you make a mistake, a real doozy, what is your first reaction? Does your mind quickly process options for dealing with the mistake by getting rid of the mistake? What the magistrates did to Paul and Silas was serious, and there would have been significant repercussions for their blunder. With that in mind, why is it so hard to admit our mistakes and accept the consequences? Now in true confession, I have tried to distance myself from a number of mistakes in my own life. It can be frightening when we are held accountable, especially when it requires confession that exposes our failures. We are also surrounded, in both politics and business, by so many examples of those in power who refuse to take any blame for what they’ve done. We can bemoan this problem, or we can work hard to model what it looks like to name our mistakes and take responsibility. We do so believing that someone needs to set the example, and maybe it should begin with us…even when the implications of being accountable are not pleasant. Prayer: Merciful God, even if it is embarrassing or will bring with it painful consequences, assist me in stepping forward and being accountable for what I have done, especially when my actions have brought discomfort to others. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/3fwwptG ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Thought for the Day: How do we read those words? For too many people, they believe Paul was suggesting that God caused his difficulty, including his imprisonment for the sake of sharing the Gospel. That is, in my opinion, a very dangerous theological path to travel. To suggest that God causes bad things to happen for the purpose of producing good things is troubling at best, and should probably fall into the category of abuse. It should be deeply troubling to suggest that God is loving and God inflicts pain on people. Abusers often justify what they have done by saying, “But I love you.” That never justifies it or even makes it excusable. This is all to say that Paul, it appears to me, was simply saying that life and his context had caused some bad things to happen. God wasn’t the source of the problem or pain, but God was the source of something. That something was God’s ability to use our life experiences, even the most tragic and gut-wrenching, for something good. It is a reflection of the Easter story. If there is goodness to be found in life’s tragedies, God will find it. What God is able to do will never erase, explain or vindicate what has happened. But God does allow for new life and purpose to arise from great brokenness. Prayer: Thank you for meeting me in my worst moments of life, O Lord of Love. You stand with me and promise to walk alongside me as I find the strength to move forward with a sense of purpose. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/38YSv5t ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS Our most precious gift; Holy God whose voice spoke of the goodness within creation, you have given us the responsibility to be good stewards of life and health. There is great anxiousness and consternation this day as parents and grandparents, teachers and educational staff, find themselves making decisions about school this fall. So many people have an abundance of opinions, but often their conclusions appear driven by something other than the health and wellbeing of those who are most vulnerable. Options are offered, yet often families have no real options. Provide grace to households that are torn over what is best in this challenging time. We offer before you those who will be in the classroom, yet both parents and children will know a constant uneasiness. There is nothing we want more than for our young people to be in school, not only receiving an education, but experiencing the richness of socialization. But what is truly best? We lift before you, Holy God, school leadership and decision-makers who feel stuck between medical experts, politicians and budgets. We pray for teachers who must be in the classroom for their paychecks, but carry with them deep concern because of their own health issues. Holy God whose voice spoke of the goodness within creation, we claim our responsibility to be the best stewards of the life and health of our brothers and sisters, young and old. Let us be attentive to what we truly value, never being comfortable with the idea of risking lives for some short term gain. This is tough, and we know good people are trying to determine what’s best in a constantly changing landscape. Provide them peace and wisdom as they seek to do what is best…especially when the reality of best remains elusive. We make these requests in the name of Jesus, who loves all the little children. Amen. via WordPress https://ift.tt/38PBvyy ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Thought for the Day: Depending on how we interpret these words, we could put off anything as long as we wanted by simply saying, “Well, it’s not yet the day of Jesus Christ.” Could it be that each day has the potential of being the day of Jesus Christ? What I mean is that each day presents the possibility of being the day of Jesus Christ, the day when another human being is transformed by love. Maybe the one who began a good work among us, Jesus Christ, is inviting us to be very aware of those in our sphere of influence who need to experience that fullness of life – the grace and mercy of God. Today, who might that be in your life? Prayer: Provide me with a discerning spirit, Lord God, so that I might know exactly who is needing my help on their way to completion. Amen. 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AuthorRev. Bruce Frogge Archives
April 2024
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