Devotional 3-14-13

One of my favorite writers is Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest of the Diocese of Atlanta, and author of several books, including  Leaving Church, The Bread of Angels, and An Altar in the World.

Her words, delivered as a sermon at a conference at Piedmont College, spoke to my heart.  I trust they will speak to yours as well. Following are excerpts from that sermon.

“‘Follow the money,’ people say when they are trying to get to the bottom of something corrupt.  Follow the money and it will lead you to the perp.  Since they are so often right, I want to take the advice but change the subject.  It is bread I want to follow, not to the perp but to God.  Follow the bread and it will lead you to the source of all life.  That is John’s gospel in a sentence, but the bread in it is not for believers only.  It is bread for the world – the one God so loves – and for everyone in it whose stomach has ever growled.

“Have you ever counted the bread stories in the gospels?  There are dozens of them..Add to those teachings the stories that happened around supper tables – at Levi the tax collector’s house, where Jesus was criticized for the low-class company he kept; at Simon the Pharisee’s house, where a woman bathed his feet with her tears; in the large upper room where he ate his last Passover with his friends, reminding them that it was better to serve than to be served.  Add those stories to the list, and the trail of breadcrumbs starts to look more like a lit path…

“If you are paying attention, then there might be something scratching at the door of your subconscious right about now.  Isn’t there another story about bread in the gospels – one that took place in another wilderness – when the devil tempted Jesus to make bread out of stones so no one ever had to go hungry again?...

“Here is something easy to miss:  Jesus never turns stones to bread – not in the wilderness, not on the beach, not anywhere.  He never makes manna rain from heaven…He always works with what his disciples give him.  When he asks his disciples to feed the crowd and they give him exact numbers so he will understand how little they have (two fish and five loaves), he ignores their math along with their insecurity and asks them to bring him what they have…Here is a teacher who does not separate body from soul.  He wants his followers to have more than words to eat.  So he decides to make them some food right where they are.

“Then he makes more of it (they add; he multiplies) without ever cutting his disciples out of the equation.  His miracles depend on their willingness to give him what they have, because he “takes no bread” either.  He carries no bottomless backpack full of Super Bread so that he can be the one-man solution to a world of need.  Instead, he relies on his followers to remember what he taught them when he sent them out two by two: when God answers the prayer for daily bread, God does it through other people…

Do you love me?  You know I do.  Feed my lambs.

Do you love me?  You know I do.  Tend my sheep.

Do you love me?  You know everything; you know I do.  Feed my sheep.

“I guess we could have a long discussion about who those sheep are, exactly.  Do only Christians need apply?  If you have ever been fed, body and soul, at a supper table where you broke bread with friends (or friendly strangers), then you know the answer.  This is a story for anyone blessed with hunger.

“When you break bread, the bread opens up.  When the bread opens up, so does the table.  When the table opens up, so does your heart.  When your heart opens up, so do your hands – reaching out for some of what you have to hand it to someone else – only to discover that you have more instead of less.  This is how the miracle goes on happening, again and again.  You follow the bread, and the bread leads you to life – not only for you, and not only for your flock, but for every lamb of God.”

 Holy Father, During this Lenten Season, open our eyes and hearts to those around us whose bodies and souls hunger.  Encourage us, as followers of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to offer back to You what You have given us. Forgive and free us from judgmental attitudes which often hinder our willingness to reach out in love.  May we instead demonstrate our love and devotion through serving - feeding and tending His sheep, be they in His fold or in another’s.  Amen.

Linda Summers

Devotional 3-23-12

Dusty Freedom

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:10-12)

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people…they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:33, 34b)
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in the world will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. (John 12:24-26)

The Scripture readings for this week reveal:

• David’s sorrow for his sinful activity and a plea for the forgiveness and restoration only God could supply. He asked for a clean heart and the restoration of God’s presence and spirit. Only in this renewal could David know forgiveness, joy, and the strength needed to sustain a willing spirit.
• Jeremiah’s message from God giving hope to Israel, the promise of a new covenant through which God promised forgiveness and restoration, an internal assurance - a new way of being the people of God.
• Jesus demonstrating the true image of God; a new vision of identity which would transform behaviors, perspectives and desires.

Being in the Kingdom of God gives us forgiveness, joy and restoration. Being in the Kingdom of God gives us a new identity and a new approach to life, to love and to service, as the New Covenant is written on our hearts. Being in the Kingdom of God offers us the freedom to lose the life of earthly expectations and values, desiring instead to follow Jesus.

Living in the Kingdom of God, however, is more than following Jesus. Living in the Kingdom of God cannot be a personal, isolated religious pilgrimage; a private solitary journey. Living in the Kingdom of God is experiencing servanthood, carrying out the new vision, living and loving genuinely in community.

One Sunday, our Middle/High School Sunday School Class watched Rob Bell’s video entitled “DUST.” We learned that rabbinic “apprentices” were expected to learn from and imitate the life of the rabbi; to follow the rabbi so closely that they would find themselves literally covered by the dust from his footsteps.

When we embrace the inner assurance and reality of life lived in the Kingdom of God, we experience the joyous freedom to get dirty – to plant the seeds of the Kingdom – to serve and follow Jesus, wherever His journey leads us, knowing we will be honored by the Father.

Loving God, we thank you for the freedom to choose to follow Jesus – to follow so closely that we wear the dust of His footsteps. May our journey with Jesus offer daily opportunities to demonstrate our love and desire to serve as Jesus did so many years ago. Amen

Linda Summers

Devotional 4-3-11

Valley Property for Sale

What does your “valley” look like? We have all experienced valleys. Are you living in yours? I’ve sent a change of address form to the Post Office because my valley has become so comfortable. It seems that’s how I’ve chosen to live the past several months…becoming complacent, self-absorbed, grieving the loss of a job, living with my parents while I recuperate from surgery brought on by my failed attempt to rescue a baby raccoon. I have almost found myself believing Kenny when he jokingly says, “No good deed goes unpunished.”

Don’t you feel sorry for me? My attempt to do what I believed a good, valiant deed resulted in nothing but loss. The raccoon died. I can’t wear “big girl shoes,” or walk without limping, or lose weight, or maintain the belief that I’m irreplaceable at the office because I truly care about doing my job honestly and well. By now I’m sure you get the general idea. I’m just a joy to be with, especially because I’m a Christian, and my life demonstrates my faith, a life transformed by God! Really?

The first verse of the Old Testament lectionary reading for this week stopped me cold. “The LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’” (I Samuel 16:1) NRSV

Looks like I need to reassess the property value of my valley. Even though it has been my preferred pouting place several times, this particular pilgrimage has been filled with God’s blessings, and I chose not to see or appreciate or be thankful for them. My husband, my children, my parents have all been cheering me on – especially during my frequent melt-downs; my church family has visited me, prayed for me, stayed in touch with me, given me reassuring hugs; the love of Christ has been given to me on a daily basis, but I let the darkness of my valley blind me to the light of love these wonderful people continue to bring.

I must confess and ask forgiveness for grieving over past failures – and sins – and ask that God’s grace will allow me to see how God is opening a new chapter in my life. And in the process, I’ll be completing another change of address form …. and if you’re my neighbor here, let’s move forward together in the warm, loving light Christ shines on the path out of this valley, confident that God has better plans and a better place for us. Amen

Linda Summers

Devotional 3-14-10

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (II Corinthians 5:16-21) NRSV

When you read this scripture, who comes to mind? Whose lives speak the language of this “new creation” in Christ? How did their fire start? What draws you to their warmth? Why do you just want to be in their presence and learn why they look at life differently?

Our congregation is blessed with many whose lives speak to the rest of us about their relationships with God through Christ – about their being “new creations.” I’m sure every life’s story is different. Some have held on by their fingernails and faith. Some have met Christ, and simply blossomed. Some can identify their transformation and reconciliation as falling somewhere between these two extremes. But the blessing they all offer us as a result of their love and faith is the reality of kingdom of God – here – now – being lived out in front of us!

They’re holding the door open for us to come in from the cold; to hear their stories and feel the warmth of God’s love, to experience the freedom found in the Good News of Jesus Christ. Don’t you want to go in? I know I do – and I’m sure we will all be welcomed as beloved members of His family.

Father, we offer thanks for those whose hearts speak Your love to our hearts. May we learn to share as they have shared. May we be willing to serve as they have served. And may we see You in the faces we encounter each day, knowing You love us all simply, ferociously, unconditionally. In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Linda Summers

Devotional 3-19-09

*FOR THE LOVE OF IT ALL*

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin, who visited Jesus at night to engage Him in a conversation concerning His teaching. Imagine the confusion and bewilderment as Jesus tells him,

“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be save through him...And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world...” (John 3:14-17, 19a)

No doubt Nicodemus has lived his life adhering to Jewish laws, believing strict obedience to Jewish tradition would be the way to please God. Perhaps he has been harsh in his relationships with those who don’t follow a similar life of rigorous self-discipline. He has put his faith in his own ability to follow the rules, to tithe, to fast, to pray, to settle disputes and render judgments.
Now this man Nicodemus believes to be a “teacher Who has come from God” is in essence telling him he just doesn’t “get it.” Where is God, the Source of Love, in the living of his life? Perhaps Nicodemus begins to realize he has somehow lost the light of love God wants His Creation to know, to embrace and to offer to one another.

God’s purpose, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, is to demonstrate to everyone His redeeming love for us all. He understands our confusion, our questions, our doubts, our failures, and still offers us the promise of eternal life with Him if we will simply believe. Isn’t that the best news – the best reassurance – the best gift we could ever hope for?

*For the Love of It All
by Noel Paul Stookey

In the beginning, as life became form,
The oceans heaved, the mountains were cleaved,
The firmament stormed.
At the center of being, immensely small
Was the master of now, don't ask me how
The Love of it all

And the seasons were many.
Creation was new.
And there on a tree (deceptively free)
A forbidden fruit
Upon leaving the garden, after the fall,
One thing was clear; we chose not to hear
The Love of it all

But for the Love of it all
I would go anywhere.
To the ends of the earth,
What is it worth if Love would be there?
Walking the thin line between fear and the call
One learns to bend and finally depend
On the Love of it all

"Irresistible targets"
I heard someone say.
They were speaking of angels
Who are so courageous day after day
Gunned down on a highway (as we often recall)
I hear a scream; I have a dream
The Love of it all

Still the world is in labor,
She groans in travail.
She cries with the eagle, the dolphin,
She sighs in the song of the whale.
While the heart of her people
Prays at the wall.
A spirit inside is preparing a bride
For the Love of it all

For the Love of it all,
Like the stars and the sun,
We are hearts on the rise,
Separate eyes with the vision of one.
No valley too deep, no mountain too tall,
We can turn back the night with merely the light
From the Love of it all.

And so we are marching 'to give peace a chance'
Brother and sister as one in this mystery dance.
ong ago on a hilltop where now the curious crawl
A man on a cross paid the ultimate cost
For the Love of it all

For the Love of it all
We are gathered by grace
We have followed our hearts
To take up our partsIn this time and place.
Hands for the harvest,
Hear the centuries call:
It is still not too late to come celebrate
The Love of it all

"Eli, eli, lemana shabakthani"
The Love of it all

Linda Summers

Mission Prayer and Response Focus:
March 19: HHH Enjoy being outside in the summer? Give a nickel for every vegetable garden you have.

Devotional 2-25-08

Belonging To Community

Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:15-16) NRSV

The days of Lent are days of personal reflection in order to recognize and confess our sinfulness, to repent, to be penitent, as we strive to develop a more intimate relationship with God our Father, through the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. If I were an artist, I would paint these days a shade of gray – indicative of the feeling of loss we experience as we endure these 40 days of “sacrificing something for Lent.”

This Lenten Season, however, I’m so thankful we’re centering attention on our Vision and Mission Statements. This focus has encouraged me to live these 40 days of Lent in the belief that my relationship with God will be deepened, strengthened, and best demonstrated, by my offering a sacrifice of love daily, deliberately. These acts of love are offered prayerfully; that my words, attitudes and behavior will be spoken, conveyed and carried out as an expression of my loving obedience to Christ. We are all recipients of Christ’s love, and He tells us the world will recognize us as His disciples by our love for one another (see John 13:35). Responding in love – regardless of how I’m feeling about the person or situation – adds a glimpse of color, the color of His love, to my previously dismal palette. I cannot respond in any other way, if I want to live my life as Christ’s disciple.

May the small sacrifices of the heart, willingly offered in Christ’s name, be pleasing to our heavenly Father:

• welcoming someone we don’t know as one of our own
• sharing out of our abundance and out of our poverty
• listening with compassion
• striving to do right rather than needing to be right
• serving with humility
• comforting someone’s sadness
• celebrating someone’s joy
• praying with one another, for one another
• refusing to judge anyone
• loving someone else simply because we know the love of Jesus
• ____________________________( your turn to fill in the blank )

May His blessing be on each act of love, creating an ever widening circle of belonging known as Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church, a covenant community transformed by God’s grace to share the love of Christ with the world.

Loving Father:
May the sacrifices of our hearts be rooted in the love, compassion and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remind us how important it is that we belong to You and to each other. We pray that You will hold us in love and keep us in peace all the days of our lives. Amen.

Linda Summers