Devotion - Thursday, April 3

I Corinthians 12 speaks of the members of Christ's Church as members of one body.  Each member (like the various members of any body) has a specific purpose.  And the whole of the body depends upon the well-being of each part of the body.

Dr. Joseph Sittler (Gravity and Grace) reminds us of the language in the Common Service Book which spoke to this same reality.  "Almighty God, who has knit together Thine elect in one communion and fellowship....."

If you have ever knitted (or watched someone knit) you know how each stitch is interlocked and interwoven with the next.  If one stitch is dropped the whole line disintegrates.  So it is with this mystical body of Christ, which He has knit together.

There will always be differences of style, personality, opinion among this diverse, multifaceted body.  It is the variety which allows us to come to distinguish one from another; which leads to our finding one more pleasing to our tastes than another; it is how we can identify a best-friend-forever.  The distinguishable nature of the various members makes this possible.  Let us always give thanks for the diversity; and never allow it to lead us to rejection of the parts with which we are less enamored.

We are knit together.  We are each like stitches in a beautiful sweater.  "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together."  I Cor 12:26

Devotion - Wednesday, April 2

Some of my most spirit-filled conversations begin with "I am not all that good about praying; I am not even sure how good I am with regard to faith....."  With preconceptions out of the way, it is easier to discuss what is happening and where things are moving within the spirit.

In reading this morning from I Corinthians 12, I noted that "faith" is one of the gifts which Paul lists.  He also lists "utterance of wisdom," "utterance of knowledge," (interesting that these are two differing gifts) "the working of miracles," "prophecy," and so on.  "Faith" is one of the gifts.

In this listing (as with most) Paul says that to each is given differing gifts, but all are given from the common good.  No one person possess all the gifts.  We share and are dependent upon the community, within which all the gifts are distributed.

So back to that one particular gift - faith.  

Do too many conversations with pastors only make allowance for expressions of one gift of the spirit?  Have we (as a church) become so fixated on that one gift that none of the others seem important?  Has there developed a hierarchy of gifts, in which faith ranks supreme?

I am not discouraging the seeking of faith, nor its importance among us.  But as we involve ourselves in this community, this community where God has provided the great variety of resources we will need in order to fully be His people, let's not overlook the importance of each gift and let's not think that our inclusion in this community depends upon any one gift alone.

My latest spirit-filled conversation revealed a servant of God prepared to alter their life in order to more fully be the person God has made them to be.  "Lacking faith," had not prevented their ability to hear the message in last week's Sunday School class, nor had it permitted the dismissing of a voice speaking to them in the silence of the darkest hour of the night.

Seek the gifts of the Spirit - among them, seek faith.  But do not allow this pursuit to close you off to other expressions of God's presence and to ways in which God is equipping you to be a contributing member of the community which bears His name.

Tuesday Devotion - April 1

Today's offering is from Pastor Danielle Shealy, Univeristy Lutheran, Clemson

My son recently had a chorus performance at a church in our neighborhood which does not observe communion as regularly as we do at University Lutheran. As we were waiting for it to begin my 5 year old look around "is this their sanctuary?". Yes. Noticing the lack of an altar and communion rails she asked "where do they do communion?". I replied we could ask a friend who went to that church. I said they may bring things on communion Sundays and said they probably didn't do communion every Sunday, maybe once a month. To the question of why I responded different churches do things differently. At this point, my 7 year old, who has been listening said "wow! They must be starving!"

That sentence has stayed with me. Wow. They must be starving!  We often talk about feeding the hungry, but never had I thought of communion quite that bluntly.  But she captured exactly how I feel without weekly communion:  starving. Starving for forgiveness. Starving for the gift of unconditional love in the gift of body and blood. Staving to be feed with the holy spirit so that in the coming week I burn with justice peace and love (paraphrased from one ELW proper preface).   

 

Psalm 34 invites us to taste and see that the lord is good. It reminds us that those who seek the lord lack no good thing. Perhaps remembering that without the gifts God gives us we are starving on a spiritual level will give us pause to examine our relationship with God. And then, perhaps we can share the experience of the God that feeds us with one person who is starving. . . For love, for peace, for justice. And extend the invitation to come taste and see!

Pastor Shealey

Devotion - Monday, March 31

I was visiting with a family on Saturday afternoon.  As is typical, the two-year old disappeared shortly after my arrival, then returned with a book.  He positioned himself in such a way as to make it clear that he expected me to lift him into my lap and read the book to him.  This gave rise to my being told the story of events earlier in the day when his father was sitting in his chair reading a book.  The son crawled into the chair close by and opened a book of his own.

It isn't only two year olds who imitate others.  We all do, to a certain degree.  Sometimes it is without realizing it.  We ought to step back and be sure that we are imitating appropriate models for the life that we would choose to live.

In I Corinthians 11.1, Paul says "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."  Thomas a'Kempis has written a book The Imitation of Christ.  Being aware of who we mimic and intentionally choosing the habits we will imitate is an important step in our spiritual journey.

I would also point out that we often become the model for another's imitation.  Give thought to that as well.  You may not yet have the eyes of a two year old child watching you, but you do have eyes looking to you.  If you are the one being imitated, would the imitation reflect the things you profess to be of utmost importance?

Sermon - March 30

4^th Sunday in Lent -  Year A
Psalm 23         

                     A Psalm of Trust

 

Donna called me in a bit of a panic on Friday.  The lessons were so long they would not fit on the back of the bulletin.  “What do you want me to include; what should I leave off?” she asked.  I am the one who told her to leave them all off.  I asked her to replace the other three appointed texts with the one set of verses to which you already had access.  “Print the words to the 23^rd Psalm,” I told her.  “Make sure to use the translation that also occurs in the hymnal.”   

I also asked her to space the verses out on the page.  Perhaps in the ill-founded hope that you might take out a pen and make a few notes about this Psalm, as we give it our full attention.  There is a lot in the Psalm, worthy of our full attention.  When asked “Is there a text important to you in troubled times,” the overwhelming response is Psalm 23.   It does speak to us, in troubling situations.  It’s message of a God in whom we can trust needs repeating. 

I want to start with the 5^th verse.  This is the verse which exposes the setting to which this psalm speaks.  Try to repeat it with me, from memory if possible.  If not completely from memory, allow the chorus around you to remind you of what words come next.  Verse 5 – “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.”

This psalm is spoken to those who find themselves surrounded.  At every turn, in every direction the challenges and chances are pressing in tight.  The LORD does not come and remove me from this; the LORD comes and prepares a table for me right there, in the presence of my enemies.  When this banquet is over, some of those enemies might breach the perimeter and overtake me.  But before that happens, they are going to have to watch the oil flow over me and see that overflowing cup.

 

Psalm 23 is in the category of psalms referred to as “Trust Psalms.”  They strengthen my resolve to trust; to trust in God, to trust in God’s promises.   

Ready to try the verse again?  Say it with me:  “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.”

Now we can go back up to the top of the page.  With an assurance that the LORD is fully aware that we are in the midst of a whole host of enemies, that opening affirmation doesn’t seem so naive.  The psalm was surely written by one who had passed through the valley of the shadow of death, and having come out the other side; they can now affirm the goodness and mercy of the LORD. 

Verse 1 is probably already committed to memory.  Say it with me:  “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.”  I know that there are things that you want.  There are even a lot of things that you need.  But isn’t it also true that we have are being cared for in a deep and compassionate way? 

Maybe it is our humility or our anxiety that if we lift too highly those signs of good fortune they may be cut off.  But it helps to acknowledge these and to practice giving thanks for them.  So turn to someone around you.  If you are seated next to a family with some small children, help them out by paring with one of the kids.  Let the parents find another adult to speak with.  Now share with each other an example of how God’s shepherding of you has removed from you your fear that your wants will not be met.   

Let me help you get started by sharing mine.  Caleb got a phone call this week from the Director of our church camp in Asheville.  He was offered a Senior Staff position for the summer.  Caleb has been struggling to find his career path; but he loves working at camp and particularly at Lutheridge.  This invitation has strengthened his confidence and allowed him to see in himself what we so easily see in him.  God has proven to be a very “good shepherd.”

How has God shepherded you?  How has God removed your “want”?

Say the verse with me again:  The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

 

To get the impact of the next two verses, you have to know a bit about sheep.  Sheep will eat so long as there is food in front of them.  Lying down in green pastures is tough for them.  They live with such a fear of sacristy that they just keep on eating.  “Relax.  God will provide in abundance.”  They are also prone to drowning.  Still waters are preferable to rushing waters. 

 

Even without that background, verse 2 speaks to us, doesn’t it?  Say it with me:  The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.

Verse 3 might be the most difficult to remember.   It is devoid of poetic imagery; it actually fits more in the category of theology.  You will see that it also serves as a transition verse.  It is the affirmation, while difficult to remember, that gives the psalm its purpose.

You restore my soul, O Lord, and guide me along right pathways for your name’s sake.

Any idea what that last phrase means?  “For your name’s sake”?  What is the psalmist talking about here? 

I have benefited from the suggestion that it is God’s good name which is at stake here.  God does these things BECAUSE failure to do so would reflect badly on God.  God restores me; God guides me – for the sake of His name among the peoples and among the nations.  God does shepherd me because God is in a good mood – this is who God has promised to be.  And thus, if God fails to guild me, his name loses its luster.  But, of course, He won’t.  Too much is at stake here.  For the sake of his name God will restore and guide. 

I much prefer this translation of verse 4 to the translation in the NRSV.  Gone in that translation is the reference to the place through which I pass as the “valley of the shadow of death.”  Dr. Joseph Sittler pointed out that death isn’t the threat; it is the “shadow” of death.  Our fear of death is what is likely to separate us from God;  death itself cannot. 

Ready for verse 4?  Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; For you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

 

I do remember that we are in the middle of the season of Lent and I know that the focus of Lent is to identify our sins and work to seek a more pietistic response to God.  But our Lenten activities are to accomplish something more significant that scoring brownie points with God.  They are to position us to carry forth into the world the hope and promise which Easter brings.  I can’t think of a better way to accomplish that than by speaking and living the blessings of which Psalm 23 speaks.  If you haven’t accomplished anything else as a result of a Lenten discipline, take on the task of learning by heart Psalm 23.  Speak it to yourself; repeat it to your children; have it in mind when you find yourself at a loss for words.

How are we doing?  Ready to repeat the whole thing with me?  I am a bit nervous, and performance anxiety is a real possibility.  But let’s try it.  And when you find yourself at a loss for what comes next, listen all the more intently for the clues given by a neighbor and fellow pilgrim.

 

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.

You restore my soul, O Lord, and guide me along right pathways for your name’s sake.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil;

For you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil, and my cup is running over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

 

Amen.

Devotion - Friday, March 28

Today's offering is from Andrew Nichols

 

Mark 6: 1-6

This is the story of Jesus being rejected by the people in his hometown of Nazareth. Prior to it Jesus had been healing people, working miracles, and attracting followers with his new teaching. But the reaction he gets in Nazareth is one of indignation. The people there do not feel that this man they have known – Mary and Joseph’s son, the carpenter – is worthy of their respect just because he’s somehow acquired some strange new wisdom. Jesus is amazed by their unbelief and, because of it, is unable to work any miracles there.

In his devotion this past Wednesday night, Pastor Chris spoke of an experience from the Spring Break trip in D.C. which opened his eyes to the way we consistently fail to see – really see – others around us. Going along with that idea, I believe this passage challenges us to look more deeply at the people who surround us in community and to be open to the ways God works through them.

How often do we fail to see the blessings that the people in our life are to us? How often do we fail to see God revealed in them?  And how often do we talk loved ones down from dreams that we feel are too lofty, unrealistic, or risky for them?

It is all too easy to decide that we have the people in our lives – our friends, family, and neighbors – “figured out”. They become familiar and we believe we know what they have to offer. But when we feel this way we run the risk of closing off the people who can most easily open our eyes to God’s work in the world. When we feel this way we fall – through good intentions – in danger of trapping those around us into positions where they are not able to perform the “miracles” they might otherwise be capable of.

When you talk to the people who you love and who fill your life on a daily basis realize that you are talking to children of God. Look into their eyes and know that behind them lies an entire universe that you are privileged to be shown a portion of. And understand that they always have something to offer you and are capable of performing great things in this world with the belief and support of those around them.

Devotion - Thursday, March 27

One of the Lenten disciplines I took up was to avoid the temptation to say, or give off the impression that I am "too busy."  My fear is that as you encounter the demons that need exorcising, and think it might be helpful to speak with your pastor about such that you may decide (out of consideration for my schedule) to go it alone.  A pastor should never be too busy for rituals of confession or absolution.

But a pastor must also not be so sterile of the unfinished business of life.

In Mark 6, Jesus and his disciples are experiencing the coming of so many that "they had no leisure even to eat."  Jesus leads them away, to a lonely place, by themselves.  The crowd sees them going, guesses where they will land, and rushes to get there ahead of them.  This is Mark's establishing of the situation into which it is necessary for Jesus to feed the 5,000 with a few loaves and fish.

Carlyle Marney writes this of how God's servants are to balance their own piety with their charge to care for others:
"All of us need our moments for solitude.  But sometimes we have to learn to pray while we go, to create as we sweep by, and to meditate between the acts.  A man who would live in this frenzied time without being himself in a frenzy must learn that life has enough room for solitude, and creation, but much of one's solitude is caught in a crowd.  We ought not overlook the creative potential of a busy life."