Tag Archives: hope

Devotional, Holy Week Series, Previous Post

A LOOK BACK: SON OF GOD: Holy Tuesday

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Read Matthew 26:6-13

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” (John 12:7-8 NRSV)

Perfume_PotteryPeople who are caregivers do so because they are compassionate people who want to help others. They provide the care out of love. Jesus was a caregiver on so many different levels, and he brought that care to others because of his profound love and compassion for them. I can only imagine, at the end of the day, how exhausted Jesus was. In his caring, he also was compelled to speak out against injustices and woes of society. So, when Jesus finally left Jerusalem after a long day of healing the sick and the paralyzed, after preaching in the Temple and cleansing it of it’s impurity, I can only imagine how drained and exhausted Jesus must have been. Then to top it off, he was carrying around the weight of his imminent torture, humiliation, and excruciating death. Jesus was spent emotionally, physically, psychologically, and even spiritually.

In Bethany, after having performed miracles and after teaching, Jesus sat down to relax. It was then that a woman came into him and broke open an alabaster jar and began to anoint Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. The disciples were incensed because that could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor; however, Jesus welcomed it and scolded his disciples. The woman, Jesus revealed to them, was caring for Jesus in his moment of great need. The Son of God, who had cared for so many, was being cared for by someone who saw his need and had compassion for him.

We often reflect the attitude of the disciple, do we not? We are often to busy caring or to busy being cared for to notice the needs that lay right by us. We look to our caregivers for their guidance and support, we look to them for their care, and for their example in caring. In the process of that we often forget that they, too, need to be cared for. They are, after all, human like the rest of us. On the flip-side, we caregivers are often so busy that we don’t ever take the time to stop and assess the kind of care we need. Caregivers are notorious for constantly going as if we are the furry pink bunny in the Energizer commercials…you know, the one who keeps on going, and going, and going, and…well you get the drift. In the process, we fail to give others the opportunity to care for us.

Just as in the story about the woman with the alabaster jar, the Son of God is calling us to be his disciples and to start taking note of the needs around us. Don’t turn a blind eye, or be apathetic to the needs of those around you. Also, take note that those who provide you care are, themselves, in need of care too! As a community, God is calling us to be mutual caregivers. Just as in the aforementioned story, Jesus is also calling those of us who are caregivers (doctors, nurses, CNAs, first responders, educators, community leaders/organizers, and spiritual caregivers) to take a break and allow others to care for us once in a while. We aren’t superhuman, we aren’t omnipotent or omnipresent; rather, we are human beings. Remember that caring for others also means giving them the opportunity to care for you. In doing so, you will live into the example hat Jesus, in his humility and in his humanity, set for all of us.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Many of us follow the commandment ‘Love One Another.’ When it relates to caregiving, we must love one another with boundaries. We must acknowledge that we are included in the ‘Love One Another.’” – Peggi Spears

PRAYER
Lord, you have called me to be a caregiver in my own unique way, and you have gifted me with the talents and gifts to carry that caregiving out. Please give me the discernment to know that I, too, need care and that I need to be willing to allow for others to care for me. Amen.

Devotional, Holy Week Series, Previous Post

A LOOK BACK: SON OF GOD: Holy Monday

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Read Mark 11:12-14, 20-22

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’” (Matthew 13:31-32 NRSV)

fig_tree2Have you ever been in an apple orchard, or in a strawberry field, or in a garden and really desire to eat the food you come upon? One of my favorite things to do is to eat the fruit fresh from the tree. I get hungry walking through the orchards and the fields and, for whatever reason, the fruit tastes so much more fresh and desirable when freshly picked. There is nothing like it.

I can only imagine that Jesus, heading in to Jerusalem on that Monday morning nearly 2,000 years ago would have felt the same way as he passed that fig tree. The only difference is that, as he was passing, the fig tree was not in season to grow fruit. It only had leaves on it. Jesus surely knew this and understood it, yet when he arrived at the tree he cursed it upon the sight of it not having fruit. Odd, right? His disciples must have thought so.

Then this Jesus headed into Jerusalem, and went straight to the Temple. It is there that he began teaching against the religious establishment of his time period. You see, Jesus felt that they had become more focused on upholding their power and status, rather than being servants of the people. Rather than leading the people closer to God, Jesus felt the establishment was crushing the very people it was meant to serve. Jesus did not parse words as he levied the indictment of those who stood to gain from the establishment. On the way out of Jerusalem on the morning after that long and tense day, the disciples had noticed that the tree had withered and they remembered the curse Jesus had pronounced against the tree.

The tree is a symbol, a metaphor, and it represents the religious establishment and all of those who would claim to be God’s. When God comes, when God shows looking for fruit, we had better be bearing some. There are no excuses that will fly. We cannot claim to be out of season, or unaware of the coming of the Lord. Rather, we are called to ALWAYS be bearing fruit and we are not only called to bear fruit for some…but for ALL!

The question for us, as it was for those in Jesus’ day, is this: are we bearing fruit, or are we just a tall trunk with leaves? Are our branches far reaching, do they reach out to all who are in need of the fruit they bear, or are short and sparce? Are we like the great tree that grew from the mustard seed that shelters all of the birds of the air in its shade? Or are we a tree that shelters only the few and privileged? The Son of God wants us to bear fruit. The Son of God is calling us to recognize that all are children of God and all are chosen to receive the fruit of God’s love…the fruit of God’s hope, healing and wholeness. All we need to do is to root ourselves in God’s unfailing love and grow.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” – Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 7:18-19 NRSV)

PRAYER
Lord, produce in me a clean heart. Prune away the dead branches and nurture me into a strong tree that produces much fruit for your Kingdom of hope, healing, wholeness, love, peace, justice, compassion, mercy, and humility. Amen.

Devotional, Holy Week Series, Previous Post

A LOOK BACK: SON OF GOD: Palm Sunday

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Read Mark 1:1-11

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.” The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them.” (Matthew 21:11-14 NRSV)

PalmSundayThe mob rules, does it not? We all know about “mob mentality” and how it is really a force to be reckoned with. We have seen on the news how people in mobs can do some crazy, scary and unimaginable things. I instantly think of Beauty and the Beast, when Belle magically shows her fellow villagers the beast through her enchanted mirror. Once the villagers see him, once they lay eyes on him, terror overcomes them. Seizing the moment, Gaston pulls out his sword and begins to sway the crowd to follow him in killing the beast. Of course, Gaston is successful and they do, indeed, take up arms and follow him.

When we think of Palm Sunday, we see such a fickle crowd. They were looking for a hero, for anyone, to come along and claim the role of Messiah. So, when Jesus comes (intentionally and prophetically) riding in on a donkey, the crowd was there and ready to hail him as king. “Hosanna, hosanna!” The crowd roared with excitement, “Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna, hosanna!” But was it the Lord they were praising, or was it their idea of the Lord? Without being too critical or judgmental, they had good reason to hope for their idea of the Lord. After centuries of subjugation and oppression, they were longing for God to come and liberate them.

This “king”, however, was not going to live up to their hopes and expectations; rather, this “king” was going to ride into the city, head to the Temple and start turning stuff, quite literally, upside down. Jesus’ first move as the crowd-proclaimed “king” was to go into the heart of Jewish worship and call out the religious leaders of his day and age. This is a far cry from the anti-Roman Messiah that everyone was hoping for. That’s not to say Jesus was pro-Roman. No, not at all. He was pro-Jewish without a shadow of a doubt and it was from that passion for his people, and his God, that Jesus acted out in anger toward a temple and its leadership. As a result, the fickle mob changed its opinion of this Jesus and went from proclaiming him “king” to handing him over to Pontius Pilate as a criminal and a traitor.

We too, like the Temple, get corrupted by the surrounding world and its influences. We may be the church, we may be Christ’s community of faith, we may be proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of God; however, does Jesus meet up to our hopes and expectations? Will Jesus come in and champion our “Christian” cause, will he love our theology, and uphold our rigorous doctrines? Or, like he did in the temple, will Christ come and start turning stuff upside down in a fit of cleansing anger? This holy week, let us be challenged to not be a part of the fickle crowd; rather, let us begin to reflect on who we are and what Christ is calling us to be. Let the things that need cleansing be purged from us, and let the Christ who would be king reign in our hearts forever.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“A [person] who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” – Max Lucado

PRAYER
Lord, give me the strength to turn my heart over to you regardless of what the “crowd” is shouting. Turn the tables in my temple so that I may see the need to change and so that I may act accordingly. Amen.

Devotional, Previous Post

A LOOK BACK: Out of the Chaos

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Read Genesis 1

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.” (Psalms 46:1-3 NRSV)

JokerIn the film, “The Dark Knight”, Heath Ledger plays one of my favorite versions of the Joker. As a method actor, Ledger isolated himself and immersed himself in the role in order to “become” the Joker. His interpretation of the Joker was that of a maniacal mass murderer who was hell-bent on projecting the inner chaos within his tormented soul out into the world at large. Sure, this Joker has all of the attributes that you’d expect the Joker to have: the clown face, the broad and menacing grin, the crazed laugh, and the green(ish) hair; yet, this Joker is wild, extremely dark and utterly chaotic.

There are many awesome quotes to pull from this Joker character that Ledger plays, but the one that struck me the most came toward the end of the film as it was approaching its tragic and climactic end. Sitting in the hospital next to the bedside of Harvey Dent, the District Attorney who the Joker severely burned with a gasoline explosion, the Joker began to explain himself. “I just did what I do best. I took your little plan and I turned it on itself. Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets. Hmmm? You know… You know what I’ve noticed? Nobody panics when things go ’according to plan.’ Even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it’s all ‘part of the plan’. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!”

In that moment, the Joker hands Harvey Dent a gun and has him point it directly at his (the Joker’s) head, “Introduce a little anarchy,” the Joker continues. “Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair!”

Whether or not chaos is actually fair, it is certainly indiscriminate. The world, much to our dismay, is filled with chaos and always has been. The Jews who were exiled in Babylon certainly understood what chaos was and they sought some sort of plan in order to explain why the chaos was surrounding them.

While the prophets tried to explain the chaos and the reasons it befell the Jews, the scribes didn’t try to, for there is no real answer why. Yes, our bad decisions could help in creating chaos around us, as can the bad choices of others, as can the forces of nature. Yet, all of those are chaos because they are NOT a part of any sort of divine plan. Rather than explaining why, the priestly scribes wrote what we now know as Genesis 1, which tells of a God who, at the beginning, hovered over the chaos. What’s more, out of the chaos, God brought order and new life.

It is so easy for us to get caught up, or even tripped up, in the chaos of this world. It is easy for us to allow our lives to spin out of control and for us to fall into chaos ourselves. Who knows why the Joker became the Joker? Who really knows why he chose the path of chaos rather than the path of hope? There is really no explanation that answers those questions, and those questions really miss the point. The point is that if we succumb to the chaos around us in our lives we, too, become agents of chaos. Just like the Joker, we can choose to be chaotic, but God is calling us to let go of the control we think we have in our lives, to let go of trying to avoid chaos, and to let go of the fear that keeps us imprisoned within it. If we do that, and we need to trust in God in order to do that, then God will create order in the midst of the chaos and we, in the end will experience true and lasting peace.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.” – Carl Jung

PRAYER
“Lord, help me to trust in you, for I know that out of the chaos you bring order. I trust that you can do this in my life.” Amen.

Devotional, Previous Post

The Plan 2.0

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Read John 9:1-17

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.” (1 John 5:4 NRSV)

VME-The-PlanWe, as human beings, have a very difficult time dealing with the unknown. We absolutely desire to be in control and nothing seems more “out of control”, then uncertainty and the great unknown. Right now, our world is going through traumatic and fatal pandemic that is leaving everyone in the dark, confused, isolated, in shock, and wondering why any of this is “allowed” to happen. It is in such moments, especially when we are caught off guard, that we begin to ask the question, “Why?”

This makes me think of the film, “Miracles From Heaven,” which tells the true story of a young girl who has a rare, serious, and terminal illness that causes her to not be able to digest food. This, of course, leaves her in considerable amounts of pain most of the time. Her life, at the age of 9 (or so), was relegated to bed rest in hospital rooms. In the midst of it, her family was seeking answers as to what they could do in order to cure their daughter of this illness. Yet, doctor after doctor could not even come up with what the illness was, let alone why it was or how they could cure it. One doctor, who was a renowned specialist at the renowned Children’s Hospital in Boston, was able to put his finger on what the disease was; however, with that said, he was also certain there really was no cure for it. All they could do was try to give the little girl pain medicine to keep her comfortable and wait for illness to take it’s inevitable course.

In the midst of their struggle to help their daughter, they turned to their church for spiritual and emotional support. While all certainly intended to provide that, what the family really got was a bucket load of terrible theology. Some congregation members were asking the mother if there was anything she or her husband did, or if there was anything the little girl did, to bring this terrible illness down on them. The pastor, thankfully, was not a part of this…and did try to support the family, however, the response of some of the congregation members was enough to drive the mother further and further away from her faith. What kind of God would punish an innocent little 9 year old because of the sins of her parents? What kind of God would punish a 9 year old girl, whose not even old enough to be held accountable according to Biblical standards, for her own sins?

While, I will not spoil the rest of the film (and I highly recommend that you watch it if you are able), I will say that THEOLOGY MATTERS. We often think that our suffering and struggles are a part of GOD’s PLAN. We will try to comfort people who are struggling by telling them that “they’ll be okay,” that “things will work out in the end,” and that “this is all a part of God’s plan” in order to “test them” and “help them grow.” Or, more judgmental people will try and speculate on what sorts of wrong people did to “deserve” the things that have befallen them. Both lines of theology are appalling, egregious, and dangerous. What kind of God causes people to suffer in order to help them grow? What kind of God blinds people, cripples them, puts them into gas chambers, or kills their family members as a part of “the plan?” What kind of God gives us “what we deserve?” Certainly the not Grace-filled God of Christianity.

Just as Jesus Christ did with his disciples, he is calling us to rethink our theology and to be careful in it. God’s plan is not to hurt, punish, or kill people as some sort of twisted means to an end. That never was God’s plan, nor will it ever be God’s plan. People have articulated it that way, even in the Bible, but only out of ignorance. Overall, the Scripture is consistent in what God’s plan is: to LOVE creation and to be present in relationship with it. That is God’s plan. Things happen, circumstances take us by storm, and life hits us in various ways, but GOD’s LOVE for us and GOD’s PRESENCE with us NEVER changes. God’s plan is to be with us and to be with others through us. That is the plan…and it certainly is a MIRACLE when we acknowledge the plan and LIVE INTO IT.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“You know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go according to plan, even if the plan is horrifying.” – The Joker
PRAYER
Lord, even when things do not go according to plan, you are present with me. Help me to acknowledge that and be a witness to your presence in my life and the lives of others. Amen.

Devotional, Previous Post

A LOOK BACK: Don’t Feed the Trolls!

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Read Matthew 16:1-4

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.” (Matthew 7:6)

troll1Have you ever encountered a troll? You may be scratching your head at such a question. You might be wondering, “Why in the world would he ever ask me if I’ve encountered a troll?” After all, surely such a fantastical creature doesn’t exist, outside of fantasy novels and fairy tales such as “Three Billy Goats Gruff.” What an odd, and seemingly trivial question for someone to ask, right?

Yet, I ask it. Have you ever encountered a troll? My guess is you probably have even if you’ve never referred to it that way. So, what exactly is a troll? Anyone who has ever spent any amount of time reading blogs, chatting in chat rooms, or participating in discussions on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube knows what a troll is. It is very easy to find these trolls online. Indeed, one does not have to look far at all, and if one is not careful, he or she might end up a victim of trolling.

A troll, in this sense of the word, is a person who goes on to blogs, into chatrooms, into conversations on social media and seeks to cause trouble. They will go online and, as the Urban Dictionary defines it, “deliberately post provocative messages with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.” Such a person, in the online community, is referred to as a troll…for obvious reasons.

While Jesus didn’t have the Internet in his day, he certainly had his share of trolls. People were purposely setting out traps for him to fall into, with the intention of discrediting him, causing disruption and division among the people following him. These people were out to get Jesus, and they made trolling him their mission in life every chance they got.  Yet, they could never seem to get an edge on Jesus, and he taught his disciples to turn the other cheek all the while moving on from people who clearly had no intention of engaging in serious and sincere dialog with them.

Often times, we want to please others to the point that we will endure all sorts of abuse. We want people to like us and we want people to accept us. We want them to see worth in us and to at least see our worldview as being valid; however, some people are simply not interested in seeing that no matter what you do to show it to them. Some people are simply out to trap, humiliate and discourage you.

While Jesus did call us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, he did not call us to suffer abuse needlessly. There are times when we suffer abuse unexpectedly and that is bad enough. We certainly do not need to be persistently putting ourselves in situations that set us up for abuse. In fact, loving our enemies sometimes means recognizing that there can be no mutual relationship with them and, therefore, recognizing the need to let such a relationship go.

That may be a hard thing to do, but sometimes it is the loving thing to do. Jesus did it with those who only intended to troll him and his followers, with those who refused to seriously engage in a meaningful and constructive way. It follows, then, that Jesus frees you to do the same. Don’t feed the trolls! Don’t play into their game of division and derision. It’s simply not worth it as there is nothing you can do to change them. As Jesus rightfully said, “Don’t give what is holy to dogs, and don’t throw your pearls before swine, or they trample them under their foot and turn to maul you.” But do not hold grudges either. Rather, lovingly and respectfully let such people go and continue building meaningful relationships of hope, healing and wholeness with those who truly seek it.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.” – Jesus of Nazareth in Matthew 7:16-17.

PRAYER

Lord, teach me to profoundly and unconditionally love everyone, and to learn to let go out of that love. Amen.

Devotional

The Christian Way

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Read Acts 4:32-37

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35, NLT)

BodyOfChrist-TheChristianWayI decided to take a short break from the ongoing “God’s People” series this week in order to write what I hope you will find to be a hopeful, encouraging, comforting and inspiring devotion in a time that has been super stressful, panic-laden, and uncertain. The COVID-19 virus has taken the world by storm and caused everyone’s lives to come to a standstill, with no foreseeable end in sight. Reporters and others keep saying we’ll get past this, that we’ll “win the war”, as it were, against the virus; however, those reports are followed by exponentially increased amount of cases each day, and an exponentially increased number of deaths.

Then there are the stores, with all of their empty shelves. People hoarding toilet paper, paper towels, water, chicken, hand sanitizer and other things. I have to say that, as a fan of the TV show The Walking Dead, I really think the author’s have it right when the show how such crises can transform people into monsters. People go into “me, myself, and my own” mode and don’t stop to think how their actions might be harming others.

Now, don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I am not calling the person with 450,000 rolls of toilet paper stored in their finished basement a “monster”, but the result of their decision to hoard can be monstrous for those who must suffer without the basic necessities. All jokes about TP aside, it doesn’t take much to get people to fall into their base, primal, survival of the fittest state.

What’s more, look at the hospitals and medical workers who have a shortage of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and have to put on used masks and gloves because there is a shortage. Why is there a shortage? Because the same people who pillaged the supermarkets aslo bought out the entire nation’s supply of PPE. This is what I mean by the word “monster”. When our egos take control and we only look out for numero uno, the result can be deadly.

The Christian way of living is much different from that. Of course, I am sure at least some of the hoarders identify as Christian; however, the behavior of hoarding is NOT Christian. The Christian way of living is the complete opposite of that. I am not saying that those Christians who panicked and ravaged the stores are not Christian, but that their behavior is NOT Christian. Christians, after all, are human beings and prone to sin like everyone else.

As was written about in the God’s People devotion series, the earliest Jesus followers lived a much different lifestyle than that which is bred in our Capitalist society. Conversely, their way of living was also different from that of Communist and/or Socialist societies as well. The way of life for the early Christian was one that came from no government or political philosophy; rather, it came out of a profoundly deep relationship with the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, the earliest Christians recognized Jesus’ identity as God, and that God had chosen them to have an intimate and transformative relationship with. Not only that, but God had infused Godself within them and began a regeneration within them. They were new creations, no longer living for themselves but living for God. Everything they had was God’s gift to them and, therefore, they shared everything with each other. Everything belonged to everyone, equally.

Can you imagine how different this world would be if Christians today actually lived in a generous, giving and radically hospitable way? Friends, the world’s way is to eat or be eaten, to take or have nothing, to be the fittest or die. Christ’s way, in contrast, is the way of self-sacrifice, of extravagant generosity, of empathy, compassion and radical hospitality.

Let us be challenged to repent of the ways in which we have followed the world instead of Christ; however, more importantly, let us remember that Christ died for us and that our sins ARE forgiven. Let us embrace that reality and rise up to be the body of Christ together. Let us, through our Lord Jesus Christ, be the hope, the healing, and the wholeness this broken and shattered world so desperately needs.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Christ is with you, within you, and transcends you.

PRAYER
Lord, help me to draw closer to you and grow to be more like you in all that I do. Amen.

Special Statement

Coronavirus Update…

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IMG_6127To all of my readers,

I pray that the grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, be upon you all! As you know, the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has spread virulently throughout the world and that there is no place that really has avoided the spread. I live and serve in New Jersey, USA, and we are in an area that the virus is spreading exponentially. Our state as shut down bars, restaurants, movie theaters, and there is an 8 p.m. curfew here that will continue throughout the foreseeable future. What’s more, our president and federal government has asked that groups of no more than 10 people gather at any given time. Thus, as a pastor, I have had to make the hard decision of closing our place of worship and moving to an online format. I have also been placed on a Coronavirus Response Team for our Skylands District of the United Methodist Church of Greater NJ. All of this has taken tremendous amount of time and energy and, as a result, I have not had the chance to write this week’s devotions. I am fully planning on getting back into the swing of things next week, the Lord willing. I thank you all for your readership, understanding, your patience, and your prayers.

In the mean time, check out this message of encouragement I gave to my church on our Facebook Page:

With Love in Christ,

Rev. Todd Lattig

Devotional

God’s People, part 239: Stephen

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Read Acts 7

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.”  (Acts 6:10, NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

Craughwell-STEPHENPart 239: Stephen. When it comes to Stephen, not a lot is known about him prior to becoming a Christian. One can assume he was Jewish because, unlike “Nicholas of Antioch”, a foreign location was not added to his name. Aside from that, all we have to go on is what is found in Acts 6-7.

We first learn of Stephen in Acts 6, where he was described by Luke as “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (v. 5) and “a man full of God’s grace and power.” He was one of the seven deacons that the Apostles appointed to judiciously take care of the distribution of food to the church. Thus, Stephen was one of the seven people ensuring that everyone would get food and not be discriminated against.

At some point a group of Diaspora Jewish freedmen, or freed slaves, got into a debate with Stephen. It is not certain where this happened; however, the result of the debate did not end well for Stephen. According to Luke, he evidently won the debate, which further enraged these Hellenistic Jews. Luke says that they persuaded some men to lie about overhearing Stephen blaspheme against Moses and God. To “blaspheme against Moses”, more than likely, meant to blaspheme against God’s Law or Torah, which was given from God to the Israelites through Moses.

Thus, as a result of that charge, Stephen was arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin to be tried for blasphemy. Of course, the punishment for blasphemy was death by stoning. Thus, Stephen’s life was very much in jeopardy. These were serious charges, as was the fact that Stephen was following Jesus, whose death the Sanhedrin was partially responsible for.

Before we go further, I want to clear something up. I have seen Stephen’s words used by ultra-conservative Christians as a way of perpetrating anti-semitism. I have also seen ultra-progressive Christians call Stephen’s speech as the most antisemitic speech in the Bible. Both sides are wrong. Stephen was not an antisemite, as he was Jewish. He also was not speaking out against ALL JEWS, but rather against the Jewish Religious Leadership…aka the Sanhedrin! That context matters and needs to be acknowledged.

Stephen, knowing the jeopardy he was in, did indeed give an impassioned speech that brought his audience on a journey through Jewish history. He honored Moses and the prophets in his speech, but he also called out the pattern of resistance and persecution that were inflicted on the prophets by the religious establishment and Jewish leadership. In doing this, he severely angered the members of the Sanhedrin and, consequently, was stoned to death for blasphemy. His last words as he died were, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin.” In other words, his last words were a prayer for forgiveness for those who were killing him.

In the midst of adversity, Stephen’s love for Jesus Christ took over and he did not let fear or consequence stand in his way of preaching the Good News. It cost him his life; however, his witness (martyr is Greek for witness) has endured the last 2,000 years. As people of God, we are being called to have Stephen’s passion for Christ.  We are being called to stand up for the truth and to preach the Good News to all people everywhere, even if that means facing the consequences for doing so. There are different ways in which we are each called to be faithful witnesses. I hope you will reflect on how Christ is calling you to be his witness in your community.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins.” – Søren Kierkegaard

PRAYER
Lord, help me be as faithful a witness as Stephen so that, through me, others may see the glory of your salvation offered freely to them. Amen.

Devotional

God’s People, part 238: Discrimination

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Read Acts 6:1-7

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, ‘You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor’—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?”  (James 2:4-5, NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

discriminationPart 238: Discrimination. Discrimination has been around for as long as humans have been around. Often times it is done unintentionally out of subconscious preference and/or ignorance. Still, there are times when it is being done on purpose in order to keep people in their places.

In the Scripture reading above, we have a case of discrimination. As was discussed in an earlier devotion, the early Christians lived with sharing everything in common. What that meant was that nobody individually owned anything. Instead, everything they had was shared with the community as a whole. This put everyone on an equal level with each other. No one person was richer or better off than the next.

This form of communal sharing also included food. The Apostles were overseeing the daily distribution of food to all of the Christians in Jerusalem. In the early church in Jerusalem, there were two different types of believers, the Hebrew-speaking believers and the Greek-speaking believers. It is important for us to understand that all that distinguished these believers from each other was their language.

In other words, both of these groups were Jewish. The Hebrew-speaking believers grew up in Judaea and, therefore, spoke Hebrew. The Greek-speaking believers grew up in Diaspora (or displaced) Jewish communities around the Roman empire and spoke Greek, which was the common language throughout the ancient Roman world, as opposed to Latin which was mainly spoke in and around Rome itself.

The situation that Scripture mentions was this: the Greek-speaking believers felt that their widows were getting discriminated against by the Hebrew-speaking believers when it came to food distribution. It seems as if the Apostles, who were overseeing the daily distribution of food, tried to handle the situation themselves, but it got out of hand and so they had to call a meeting to figure out how to move forward.

What needs to be understood is that, though both groups are Jewish, Diaspora Jews were looked down upon by purist Hebrew-speaking Jews. Why? Because they believed that they ought to be separate from the rest of the world, including speaking Hebrew instead of Greek. It’s what kept the Jews distinct and separate from the Greco-Roman culture. Jews who lived outside of Judaea, in the views of the Hebrew-speaking Jews, had been compromised by the Greco-Roman culture and therefore, they were cause for suspicion.

Though the Bible doesn’t elaborate on the ways in which these Greek-speaking believers were being discriminated against or why it was happening, we can guess that the aforementioned purist Jewish mentality was at play. This controversy was, at best, was not getting properly addressed and it was pulling the Apostles away from spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The solution they came up with was to appoint seven well-known and trusted people to oversee the daily distribution of food and to make sure it wass being done fairly to all people. The group of people they chose were diverse, including an earlier Syrian convert to the Jewish faith who later became a believer in Jesus Christ. This group’s diversity would ensure that the discrimination came to an end.

This Scripture teaches us a couple of things. First, God’s people are NOT immune to the sin of discrimination. Even Christians can find themselves discriminating against others. Second, discrimination has NO PLACE among God’s people. Let us be challenged by the fact that the Apostles took the charge of discrimination seriously and found a way to counteract it. If they took it seriously, so should we. Let us, who are God’s People living today, do everything we can to put an end to discrimination.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“We’ve come a long way, but there is still a lot of discrimination.” – Aretha Franklin

PRAYER
Lord, make me aware of the ways in which I discriminate and help me to root out discrimination from my life. Amen.