Blogging toward Sunday

In preparation for worship this Sunday, read Philemon 1-21 and Luke 14:25-33. Then read the following excerpt from Jesus before Christianity: The Gospel of Liberation by Albert Nolan.

Jesus appealed…for a loving solidarity which would exclude nobody at all.

            Solidarity with humankind is the basic attitude. It must take precedence over every other kind of love and every other kind of solidarity. ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple’ (Luke 14:26).

             The commentators always point out that because of the paucity of the Hebrew and Aramaic languages, the word ‘hate’ is used to cover all the attitudes which are not love. Thus it could mean hating, being indifferent to, detached from, or not preferring, someone. In this context, we are told, Jesus is asking for detachment: that one should not give preference to one’s families and relatives. This is true but it does not do justice to the mode of thinking of Jesus and his contemporaries.

            If love means solidarity then hate means non-solidarity. What Jesus is asking for is that the group solidarity of the family be replaced by a more basic solidarity with all humankind. This obviously does not mean that one’s kith and kin are to be excluded—as enemies! They are included in the new solidarity because they too are human beings. Nor does this mean that one should love them any the less. It is the basis of the love that is being altered.  They are not to be loved just because they happen to be your family and relatives but because they too are persons. They are to be loved with an inclusive love. In the end this will mean that they are loved all the more. They will be loved, not merely preferred.

            All the other references to the family in the gospels confirm this interpretation.

Until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and bless others through you.

Shalom,
Glenda

Blogging toward Sunday

Photograph via Google Images

For Sunday, September 1, 2013 prayerfully read Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 and Luke 14:1, 7-14. Reflect on what seems most meaningful to you from each passage. Then meditate on the following readings as your journey toward Sunday.

The Christian gospel declares that people are of inestimable value because they are the children of God, the concern of his love, created for an eternal destiny; not just people in general, but individual men, women and children, each with a name, each having priceless worth. This was made startlingly plain by Jesus when he told his disciples 'the very hairs of your head are all numbered': an extravagant piece of imagery to drive home what he was saying. When we take his word seriously, we begin to realize how far-reaching their significance is. If they are true, if that is how things really are, if God really does care for every single man, woman and child in the teeming millions that inhabit the globe, not to speak of the countless generations of the past and those as yet unborn, we cannot dismiss anyone as of no consequence; nor are we entitled to suppose that some are more important than others or that any should be sacrificed to serve some interest which takes precedence over their inherent worth. The consequences of accepting this basic presupposition are shattering, calling in question not only the way in which we commonly behave towards many of our fellow human beings, but the international, military, political, economic, and social policies which have been and still are considered reasonable by those who are responsible for them. (Paul Rowntree Clifford, Government by the People?)

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Blogging toward Sunday

The texts for Sunday, August 25, 2013 include Hebrews 12:18-29 and Luke 13:10-17. Prayerfully read through each of these passages. What questions arise for you? Afterward, reflect on the following poem and try to put yourself in the shoes of the bent over woman whom Jesus heals.

Google Images

Free to Stand and See

Stoop and bent
Unable to see
Any beauty
Any good
Only my feet do I see

Bowed and burdened
With painful cares
Sore from aches and pains
Is there any where
There isn’t pain?

But wait.
What was that?
A whisper
Floats on the air
I hear–barely

Come it says
Come to me
Bring your burdens
Bring your cares
Come, give them to me.

Come release what weighs
You down
Yes, I will take this.
Now sit and rest.
Look up and see

So I sat and I breathed
I lifted my eyes
To blue skies with
Clouds and wildflowers
And him
He who called me

I see love and mirth
In his eyes
And I realized
The burden was no longer
Mine to bear.

We talked and we laughed
Then left hand in hand
Arm and arm
The burden
He easily bore.[i]

May the Lord bless you and keep you as you journey toward Sunday worship.

 

Shalom,

Glenda

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[i] By Shawna R. B. Atteberry , author, theologian, and storyteller; http://www.shawnaatteberry.com/2008/05/02/sermon-the-bent-and-burdened-woman/

Blogging toward Sunday

In preparation for worship on Sunday, August 18, 2013 read Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16, 29-12:2. Afterward, take some time to reflect on the following questions:

1. In the Bible, who has been a hero of faith to me?
2. In my own life, who has acted as a hero of faith to me?
3. How have I acted as a person of faith in the life of someone else?

Meditate on the following "Faith Heroes" as you journey toward Sunday:

Moses & the Red Sea; Image by Lidia Kozenitzsky via Wikimedia Commons

The Prophet Samuel via Wikimedia Commons

Abraham & Sarah hosting 3 angels; via Wikimedia Commons

Apostle Paul, Rembrandt; via Wikimedia Commons

As always, I look forward to worshiping with you Sunday morning. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Shalom,

Glenda

Blogging toward Sunday

The Nature Sermon Series ends this Sunday with a look at "The Message of Creation." The sermon texts include Psalm 96, Job 38:1-18 and Romans 8:18-25. You may also wish to read Acts 17:22-28.

Sea of Galilee via Wikimedia Commons

As you journey toward Sunday, take time to consider what speaks to you most from God's creation? Does a sunset speak to your heart and soul? Or does a mountain or ocean seem to bring you closer to God?

The following, written by Walter Rauschenbusch, is a prayer of thanksgiving to God for all of creation.

O God, we thank you for this earth, our home;
for the wide sky and the blessed sun,
for the sea salt and the running water,
for the everlasting hills and the never-resting winds,
for trees and the common grass underfoot.

We thank you for our senses by which we hear the song of birds,
and see the splendor of the summer fields,
and taste of the autumn fruits,
and rejoice in the feel of the snow,
and smell the breath of spring.

Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty;
and save our souls from being so blind
that we pass unseeing when even the common thornbush
is aflame with your glory,
O God our creator,
who lives and reigns forever and ever.

And all  God's people said, "Amen."

I look forward to seeing you at our Celtic worship service Saturday at 5 p.m. and at morning worship Sunday.

Shalom,
Glenda

Blogging toward Sunday

Saint Anthony Abbot Blessing the Animals, the Poor, and the Sick; Image via Wikimedia Commons

Our sermon series on nature continues with a look at animals. In preparation for worship, read Job 40:15-41:10 and Isaiah 11:6-9. What strikes you as important from each of these readings?

As you journey toward Sunday, may the following song of praise ( a version of Psalm 148) make you ever more aware and appreciative of God's wonderful creatures.

All dogs and cats, large and small:

Praise the Lord!

All rabbits, hamsters, and guinea pigs:

Praise the Lord!

All goldfish, guppies, and swimming creatures:

Praise the Lord!

All robins, wrens, and singing birds:

Praise the Lord!

All bats, squirrels, and raccoons:

Praise the Lord!

All horses, cows, and sheep:

Praise the Lord!

All lizards, snakes and creeping things:

Praise the Lord!

Every animal in the sky, the sea, and the forest:

Praise the Lord! [i]

May God continue to rain blessings down upon you this week. I look forward to worshiping with you on Sunday.

Shalom,

Glenda

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[i] http://www.letallcreationpraise.org/worship-services/blessing-of-the-animals

 

Blogging toward Sunday

This Sunday the nature sermon series continues with a look at birds. In preparation for worship, you may wish to read Genesis 1:29-31, Psalm 84:1-5, and Luke 12:4-7. In these passages, what do you find most interesting about birds? If you had to pick a favorite bird, which one would you choose? Why?

Image via Wikimedia Commons

The photograph of the statue above is of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is well known as a man of God who loved all of God's creation. In fact, he is often pictured with a bird because, tradition tells us, he preached even to the birds. Below is one such "sermon." Take time to read it slowly and prayerfully.

My little sisters the birds, ye owe much to God, your Creator, and ye ought to sing his praise at all times and in all places, because he has given you liberty to fly about into all places; and though ye neither spin nor sew, he has given you a twofold and a threefold clothing for yourselves and for your offspring. Two of all your species he sent into the Ark with Noah that you might not be lost to the world; besides which, he feeds you, though ye neither sow nor reap. He has given you fountains and rivers to quench your thirst, mountains and valleys in which to take refuge, and trees in which to build your nests; so that your Creator loves you much, having thus favored you with such bounties. Beware, my little sisters, of the sin of ingratitude, and study always to give praise to God.

As you journey toward Sunday, may you be blessed by a bird in song. May you join the tune with your own notes of gratitude.

Shalom,
Glenda