Trinity United Church of Christ Post-Easter Devotional for Saturday, April 11, 2015 "God Still Speaks"

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV)

.-By Nancy Boorman

Interpretation, perspective and life experience are all overlaid on scripture as we read and look for meaning within it. That isn't to say there isn't a wrong way to interpret a text, because there is,  but to say that each time we read scripture God reveals himself/herself in a new way. One could say ," to each his own meaning."  This process is revelation in motion. There is no period '.' at the end of the ancient text but merely a comma ',' that continues the Word of God today.  God is not stagnant,  or static  never to reveal the divine mystery again but alive, speaking in our contemporary culture. 

Revealing new meaning within life is an active part of the Spirit. All the Lord asks is for you to be open in heart, and spirit to what might be spoken out of scripture today, in this present time. We worship a limitless God . Don't box the Almighty into a space of your own creation.

Prayer: Lord,in your mercy forgive us when we place our own physical limits and boundaries upon you. When we form you from our own limited thoughts and understanding. Help us expand and break down the barrier to your revelation that we have built. Let us embrace further revelation even as it challenges us . In your Sons name. AMEN.

There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.”

Rumi

Trinity United Church of Christ Post-Easter Devotional for Friday, April 10, 2015 "Home"

 

John 10:27 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

 

Finding the way home

 

by Nancy Boorman

One would think that finding our way home is easy but what if it’s dark, your vision clouded, your mind  unsure, you have been turned upside down and sideways, well that makes it a bit more difficult. That’s how she felt. She was searching for healing and healing for her spirit and soul could only come from God. She was not ready yet though, at least that is what she told him; I’m still too raw, sore from the battle, and not willing to put myself out there yet.  But he called anyway, called over and over again. Then it happened, the place of healing was placed in front of her, practically on her lap. She entered in tentatively, then all at once. The church was non-denominational, filled with a flowing Spirit wrapped in a contemporary expression. No questions asked, just come.

 

So she did and the Lord washed over her. First in a gentle ebb and flow then in waves of grace and mercy. Her spirt and soul began to unfold again, her energy restore and her faith in all things begin to bloom again. She went form sitting, to walking, to running to soaring. She could still fly and that surprised her. She wasn’t sure when it happened but one day she felt whole again, renewed by the God who had called her and stronger this time. Months passed, 9 to be exact.

 

Then it came again; She could feel the calling again, soft then louder and stronger. She ignored it. She didn’t want to leave, she wanted to stay in this house of the Lord. “But,” he said, “I have others plans.” She still ignored the voice. One more months would pass. It was Easter.

As she entered worship that Sunday and sat in the chair, she could feel it, things were changing in her heart and her head. It was Easter Sunday, and as everyone rose to sing, arms raised, she remained seated, tears streaming down her face, knowing this would be her last time in this familiar space. She had no choice, he had spoken loud and clear it was time to go, to get back to the business at hand. To be about the Fathers work.  When she left that day she didn’t look back, only ahead to what God was calling her to. One month later she walked into a new church, and it was home.

Sometimes God speaks so clearly in the loud roaring din and not the still silence. God speaks to each of us, but it’s up to us to listen and accept the invitation. He will issue it over and over again if we decline, until we have no choice but to say “Yes Lord.”

God still is speaking…can you hear him?

 

 

 

 

Prayer: Prayer of Sir Francis Drake

 

Disturb us, Lord, when We are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love. AMEN.

 

“We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”

 

C.S. Lewis

 

Trinity United Church of Christ Post-Easter Devotional for Wednesday, April 8, 2015 "God Still Speaks"

Judges 2: 18

¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them

 by Nancy Boorman

Investigative reporter and author Lee Strobel, took on his hardest topic to date, faith, when he wrote a series of books that became best sellers, selling millions of copies. One of the books, a Case for Faith, possess the question, “How can there be a good and loving God when so many bad things happen in the world.”  Strobel was an atheist and wanted to prove the absence of God but in the process of his research was converted to Christianity based on what he heard. Why, he asked if there is a God does he allow such bad things to happen, why does God not interfere. The question Strobel asked is one many people ask. It is also a question we all form our own understanding around. It is a question the ancient Hebrews struggled with as well, we see it so well in the book of Judges.

In the book of Judges we have a cycle of idolatry by the Hebrews, hard times befall them and they cry out to God. God answers them by raising up a judge to champion the people. The people rejoice but the cycle soon begins yet again.

In today’s world where we as God’s people still seek a champion God still answers by raising up a champion.  People like, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the Freedom Riders, Sojourn Truth, Fredrick Douglas, Harvey Milk, the textile workers who strike, the immigrant workers who band together to fight the sweat shop conditions,  NOH8 and organizations like them, and our very own United Church of Christ. All raised up by God to champion the people. God is speaking in and through people like this. He is still speaking through each of us each time we take a stand against something we know is wrong, each time we champion the weak and the helpless. Each time we invite, embrace and champion love, God is speaking.

Is God calling you to be a champion, to be his voice?

 

Prayer: Lord, in your grace and mercy you strengthen us to be your hands and feet in this broken world.

Give us the strength to reach deep inside and be your voice. Call us to the dark places where there is need. Give us a heart like Jesus for your people. Amen

 

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Martin Luther King Jr.,

I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World

 

Trinity UCC Post-East Devotional for Tuesday, April 7, 2015

1 John 4:9-11 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another

Love one another, and by your love they will know me

 by Nancy Boorman

Unbidden Came God’s Love

Unbidden came God’s love,

Not rushing from the skies

As angel, flame or dove

But shining through your eyes

 

At first I did not see

That God was there in you-

Your love was all to me,

Was all I sought and knew.

 

But then as if the sun

Took years and years to dawn

Event’s led one by one

To deeper meanings drawn.

 

Each time you took my hand,

Each time you helped me face

What I could barely stand

God reached to me with grace.

 

Through these plain common things

Rich mysteries I heard:

The fluttering of wings

And God’s incarnate word.

 

By Thomas H. Troger-Borrowed Light

 

 

 

 

Lenten Devotional for Monday, April 6, 2015 "God Still Speaks" by Nancy Boorman

 

Luke 24: 30-32

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

 

The road less traveled

Christ had been taken, beaten, crucified, dead and buried. They had just sat at the Passover meal and he was there, he was talking to them, and now he is gone. They were scattered, separated and floundering. Christ united the men as his disciples but without him they seemed to not have any direction.  Walking the dusty road to Emmaus Cleopas and another disciple meet another traveler, Jesus, but they are blind to it. Their perception is veiled from the grief and confusion of the events that have torn the fabric of their lives apart. They talk with the traveler, he speaks of the Christ they knew but still no recognition by his own disciples. Not until they sat down to break bread did the veil fall and they recognize the man as Jesus Christ. And they he was gone in an instant.

When I read this gospel account I am struck by the fact that they didn’t recognize him. How they were so preoccupied they could not see Christ before them. It makes me wonder how often we miss it as well. If his own disciples didn’t ‘get it’, then what chance do we have of seeing Christ before us.  In the busy lives we lead what are the chances we will slow down long enough to see the face of Christ, hear his words to us and feel his spirit with us?  Is it because we feel God is done speaking, or that he doesn’t have anything to say to us? Maybe we, like the disciples, don’t see him because we are expecting him to look a certain way, appear in a manner we perceive to be relevant?

God is still speaking, take the road less traveled you never know who you may encounter, and how God will speak in or thru them.

 

Prayer: Almighty Lord, your selfless sacrifice for our salvation leaves us speechless. Let us not pass by, look over or dismiss your words today and every day as you speak to us in the context of our lives. Let us have eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to be open to your presence. Lord, never stop speaking to us, never. In your precious Son’s name, AMEN.

 

“If we must “feel” God’s presence before we believe he is with us, we again reduce God to our ability to grasp him, making him an idol instead of acknowledging him as God.”

 

Craig S. Keener, Gift & Giver: The Holy Spirit for Today

Trinity United Church of Christ Lenten Devotions for Good Friday, April 3, 2015 Obedience

Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross

           

            ^"As they led Jesus away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus." Luke 23:26

 

 

Obedience

 

by  Kevan Franklin

 

On Good Friday we recall the Stations of the cross.  Our devotion today focuses on the fifth station, Simon carrying the Cross for Jesus.

 

The story is entirely believable.

 

Jerusalem would have been packed with visitors on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.  Simon would have traveled about 1000 miles from Northern Africa to be in the crowd of onlookers the day Jesus was crucified. Cyrene is what we know today as Libya which at the time also had a Jewish colony living there, about 100,000 people.

 

What must Simon have thought about this foreign town under domination from Rome?  Lining the streets into town the  Centurion executioners were eager to provide a demonstration of what happens to people who get out of line.  They even benefited from this practice as every once in a while they would cast lots to see who gets the deceased's clothes. 

 

We don't know why Simon was chosen.  Maybe he was a big, strong guy.  Maybe he leaned out to see what was happening a bit too far and a Centurion grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the crowd.  Maybe he willingly moved closer to Jesus and demonstrated compassion in his time of need.  We don't know.  All scripture says is he was "seized" or "Compelled"  to carry the cross for Jesus.

 

Simon's motives for carrying Jesus' cross are never revealed.  Simon was like any of us who have slowed down to see an accident. We've all been there. He was just there at the moment when Jesus couldn't carry his cross any further. We've all been there too.  We find someone homeless, or injured, or in distress and we are compelled to step in and help them in a moment of need.

 

 

Isn't this the way you came into service to Jesus?  Someone asked you to carry someone else's cross.  You took them food.  You carried them down the road.  You befriended a total stranger.  God calls us through the everyday circumstances of our lives. 

 

We can only wonder what the rest of Simon's life journey was like.  Scripture is silent about that.  What we do know is that Cyrene became an important early center for the Church. Maybe Simon went home and told his friends the story. Maybe he was one of the witnesses to Christ's resurrection. We also know that helping others, whether someone else compels us to do so or we do it out of the "goodness of our heart" is transformative!

 

 

Lent Check;

 

When have you heard God's call through the needs of another?

When did someone pull you into a project or mission that transformed your life?

Make a commitment to help someone that you don't know.

Remember that there is a world of need out there.  Today, someone is walking the same

difficult road that Jesus walked. 

You do have the power to ease suffering.

 

Prayer;

 

 Lord,  Simon stood in for us when we couldn’t go forward with you.  Witnessing your courage and love, he became your friend and ours.  Give us courage to step forward when others can’t go on.  Amen. 

Trinity United Church of Christ Lenten Devotional for Maundy Thursday April 2, 2015 "Obedience"

Luke 22:66-23:5   New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Jesus before the Council

⁶⁶ When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought Jesus  to their council. ⁶⁷ They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” He replied, “If I tell you, you will not believe; ⁶⁸ and if I question you, you will not answer. ⁶⁹ But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰ All of them asked, “Are you, then, the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say that I am.” ⁷¹ Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!

23 Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. ² They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.” ³ Then Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He answered, “You say so.” ⁴ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.” ⁵ But they were insistent and said, “He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.”

 

Obedience

by Kevan Franklin

Today is Maundy Thursday, remembered as the day that Jesus and the disciples shared a Last Supper in an Upper Room in Jerusalem on the evening before he was crucified.  Jesus was arrested shortly after praying the and was taken first to be judged before the local Council. 

We can imagine what the Sanhedrin looked like.  We have all experienced local leaders who gather to make important decisions on behalf of other people.  None of them would have been viewed as evil.  Most of them had been chosen because of their wisdom and training. They were human.  Just like us, trying to keep peace and do the best they could.  They knew that in order to eliminate Jesus they would have to convince the authorities that he was a threat to their position, so they charged him with claiming political authority. 

 

We can only wonder what was going on in the minds of the Council that day. Were some of them uneasy about the decision?  Had some of them been intimidated into  voting against Jesus?  Did some of them cut political deals in order to get someone else to vote favorably for their pet project?  We know how ugly politics can be.  We know that innocent people often bear the brunt of bad decisions made by public officials.  No one sets out to do a bad thing.  Bad things are always done in the name of some great virtue or cause. 

It's easy for us to be oblivious to the needs of the world.  Most people like easy answers, but there are no easy answers.  Most easy answers are harsh.  This council just wanted an easy answer so they could go back to business as usual and the whole problem of Jesus would just  go away. It appears as though later, a remorseful Joseph of Arimathea, a council member, made sure that Jesus' body was properly respected.

The following letter of Cyprian, to Donatus in the mid 3rd Century is a wonderful statement of the meaning of following Jesus. 

 

"This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see. Brigands on the high road, pirates on the seas, in the amphitheatres men murdered to please the applauding crowds, under all roofs misery and selfishness. It is a really bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. Yet in the midst of it I have found a quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasures of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians ... and I am one of them"
~St Cyprian

Most of us prefer to remain in our fair gardens under the shadow of the vines.  We close our ears to God's call to be about the work of liberation.

 

For further reflection on making sense of the darkness I suggest the following excellent explorations of why Good people make bad decisions.

 

The dark interval    John Dominic Crossan

    The Parabler (Jesus) became the parable.  Jesus' life became a storyline for us to understand why we do what we do.  Crossan has a wonderful line at the end of the book.  "Which do we prefer?  Comfort or Courage?  It may be necessary to make a choice."

 

People of the lie  Scott Peck

    Peck is most widely known for  his book, "The Road Less Traveled".  But he also wrote "People of the Lie" as an exploration of how a lack of personal understanding causes us to do harmful things to ourselves and others. His book "A Different Drum" also gets at the ways that community can bring spiritual healing.

 

The Lucifer complex  Phillip Zimbardo

    You may  remember Zimbardo as the Psychologist who created the "Stanford Prison Experiment" that took a look at how just a little power and position can alter and corrupt how we treat others.  Zimbardo explores how the image we portray to the world has a negative shadow side.

 

Why Bad things happen to good people  Harold Kushner

 

    I recommend reading anything that Rabbi Harold Kushner has written, and this is the easiest book on this list to read.

 

The power of Blackness    Harry Levin    about Poe, Hawthorne and Melville

       Levin explores darkness in the writings of three great authors.  Great insights about  Moby Dick and how we harm ourselves and others when we are driven by compulsions.

 

 

Lent Check;

 

We could almost title this scripture, "Why Good people do bad things."  This is one of the most important questions we can ask.  We all have blind spots.  Where have my good intentions gone astray? 

 

The ancient formula for spiritual growth is; No Groan.  No Growth.  No Cross. No Crown.

 

 

Prayer

O Lord, we all make decisions, sometimes wrong decisions, affecting the lives and destinies of others.  Help us to not take our responsibility and powers lightly.  Help me to be sensitive to the effect of my decisions on others.  Grant me courage to act honestly and compassionately in matters involving others.  Through Jesus, who suffered the greatest injustice at the hands of “good” men.  Amen.

 

Trinity United Church of Christ Lenten Devotional for Wednesday, April 1, 2015 "Obedience"

Luke 22:54-62

 

Then they seized Jesus and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house. But Peter was following at a distance. When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”  Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, “Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.”  But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about!” At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed.  The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.”  And he went out and wept bitterly.

 

Obedience

 

By Kevan Franklin

 

Lent awakens us to hope in God whose "steadfast love endures forever" and to struggle against everything that leads us away from the love of God and neighbor. The Lenten disciplines of repentance, fasting, prayer, study and works of love are guides for returning to the steadfast love of God.

 

One of the most compelling questions about the Passion of Christ is;  Why did Peter deny that he even knew Jesus?  Sometimes fear gets in the way of our love for God and others.

 

Peter was one of the first to follow Jesus, he left everything behind to walk the rugged road of discipleship. Jesus made it a point to take Peter, James and John with him whenever something significant was about to happen.  Peter was there to see Jesus heal the sick, Shine like the sun, cast out evil spirits, and even raise the dead. Peter was an eyewitness! And he even took a few steps on water before his faith wavered. So why did Peter, of all people, deny Jesus?  

 

One clear answer is; Because Peter was afraid. Fear prevents us from doing the right thing.  Fear creates separation between people.  Just the night before, at teh Last Supper, Jesus encouraged the disciples, by telling them “Do not be afraid.  Trust God, trust also in me.”  Jesus knew the value of trust.  Do you trust Jesus enough to take risks?

 

Fear can hold absolute power over us! Fear has ruined friendships and nations.  Unjust rulers have held whole nations under control through fear. Most commercials are designed around our fear of embarassment.  Social change leaders have realized that when you overcome your fear of death you can change the world. The airwaves are filled with stories designed to make you afraid of people who are different from you.

 

Science tells us that fear resides in a deep part of our brain that causes us our fight or flight response.  When we're afraid, we can forget our commitments, our values, and even our loves. In fearful moments all we can think about is how to protect ourselves.  We strike out at the people closest to us.  In fear we run away rather than standing for what we believe. Fear causes our heart to race and clouds our judgment.

 

Here is the real meaning of Lent;

Jesus was crucified by people who couldn’t see who he really was.
Because they were afraid, they thought that Jesus was the enemy.
If someone who speaks peace and love can be seen as the enemy, then where is the real source of our evil?   It comes from within us.  From our human tendency to be afraid and to destroy that which we do not understand.

 

Lent Check;

How has your fear kept you from a full, genuine relationship with God and others?

Who do you trust? 

Who trusts you and why should they?

Prayer

Jesus, lead me beyond my fears.  Anxiety rules my life.  I want the freedom of a new life in you.  Free me from the fears that get in the way of my relationships. Forgive me for the times I've fallen short in my discipleship because I've been afraid. Forgive me for failing to trust You when You've proven Yourself  trustworthy.  Amen.