Holy Adventure - Day 19

In Jesus’ teaching, one important thing that distinguishes his followers from others is the practice of loving one’s enemies. Yet there is no more reinforcement to do this in our culture than there was in Jesus’ day. Loving enemies is counter to what we are taught by prominent attitudes around. Most books and movies deal with enemies by wiping them out. We expect enemies to “get their due.” We think of enemies as “less than human.” We have to because it is harder to hate or wish suffering or death or ill on those who may be not all that different than we are.

In his sermon on the mount, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt. 5:43-48)

This is one of those difficult teachings. Yet it is filled with hope. Everyone is worthy of God’s love. Everyone can change. Each day is a new day, and you never know when an enemy may just become a friend, through the power of Christ.

Holy Adventure - Day 18

“Just as you did it to the least of these…you did it to me…” Jesus’ words in Matthew 25 about caring for the most vulnerable have been read and preached about and turned into skits and litanies. They are unsettling in their clarity. Jesus does not ask us to be nice to those less fortunate. Jesus does not ask us to take pity on “those” poor people, as if they were separate from him. Jesus basically says that he is those marginalized in society and when we help those who are sick or cold or homeless or hungry or in prison, we are caring for him. In extending God’s love to those who have little, we are serving and loving Christ.

Who are those people in our community? Who are the ones who are poor or suffering or lonely? We know there are homeless people in Ames. We can care about them and do what we can to make sure everyone has shelter over their heads. There are certainly people who struggle to have enough food to put on the table. We can help connect people with the resources in the Ames community such as free meals at Food at First (United Methodist Church) and the food pantries. Bethesda Lutheran Church has a clothing closet for those who need clothes. We can contribute to that and make sure people who need it know about it. We can visit and send cards to people who are sick. We can visit those who are homebound and just need to know they are cared for.

As you think about the scripture and see Christ in those who are in need, what ways do you imagine responding? Are there neighbors you could check in on? Are there people you encounter in your daily life who just need a listening ear?

I like Epperly’s line “We are called to contribute beauty, creativity, goodness, and compassion to God’s evolving experience of the world.” (p.106) What will your contribution be?

Holy Adventure - Day 17

In 1986, just two weeks after Tim and I were married, I went to Nicaragua as part of a delegation through Disciple’ Peace Fellowship. I spent 10 days learning to know some of the people of that country and the struggles they faced due to some insurgents who would come into the villages and kidnap their children and kill their husbands and fathers.

I went because I wanted to be part of a group of Christians who would share God’s love with those who suffer. I went in order to give some kind of hope to people in a hopeless situation. Being raised in the church, I had a deep sense in which my life, in part, was about giving to others and I saw this trip as a way to do just that.

You know the phrase, “it is in giving that we receive.” Well, that is precisely what happened. The people of Nicaragua that I encountered were so generous and faithful. Even though they were extremely poor, and even though they had every reason to doubt and despair, I have no doubt they gave more to me than I could even begin to give to them. They gave us the best, and in some cases, last of their food. They gave us their beds. They gave us their stories and songs. They gave us their infectious spirit of hope and faith from the depth of their soul. I left that place amazed and awed by how God’s love was alive and real and soaring. I came back and knew I needed to go to seminary.

Giving and receiving are funny things. It may start out with one of them and quickly turn into the other. Do you have stories of giving and receiving?

Holy Adventure - Day 16

As we think of God’s abundance and how hard it is to live into that sometimes, I was reminded of an African story that is kind of the opposite of Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana. It really gives “food for thought.”

A Nigerian tribal chief sent out his messengers to invite all of the men of the tribe to a great feast. “All of the food will be provided,” they announced, “but each man must bring one jug of palm wine.”

Ezra wanted to attend the great festival very much, but he had no wine. He paced the floor trying to think of a solution for his dilemma. Finally his wife suggested, “You could buy a jug of wine. It is not too expensive for such a great occasion.”

“How foolish,” Ezra cried, “to spend money when there is a way to go free.” Once again he paced until he came upon a plan. “Rather than wine I will carry water in my jug. Several hundred men will attend the festival. What will it hurt to add one jug of water to the great pot of wine?”

On the day of the feast the tribal drums began to beat early in the morning, reminding the people of the great festival. All of the men came dressed in their finest clothes, gathering by midmorning at the home of the chief. As each man entered the tribal grounds, he poured his jug of wine into a large earthen pot. Ezra carefully poured the contents of his container into the pot, greeted the chief, and joined the dancers.

When all of the guests arrived, the chief commanded the music to cease and ordered the servants to fill everyone’s glass with wine. As the chief spoke the opening words of the festival, all of the guests raised their glasses and drank. Suddenly a cry of disbelief arose from the crowd, and they quickly drank again. What they tasted was not wine, but water. Each guest had decided that his one jug of water could not spoil the great pot of palm wine.

Holy Adventure - Day 14

Check in. It is now 2 weeks since we began this Holy Adventure. How has it been going for you? Have you done the reading each day? Have you prayed the prayers and said the affirmations and reflected upon the material? Have you been keeping a journal of your thoughts and reflections?

What has stirred in the deep places within you? Do you sense/hear God calling you in a particular direction? Are you feeling affirmed, or challenged? Is there an opening to see something differently than you have before? Are there points of disagreement you have with the author? Have you had any “ah-hah” moments?

Now would be a good time to reflect on what you’d like from this adventure. If you haven’t been doing the readings, would you like to renew your commitment to do so? Today is a new day and you can start fresh! If you haven’t started a journal, it’s not too late. Will you be in worship tomorrow so you can offer your heart, soul, strength and mind to God this week and get ready for what is in store?

Think about it. Pray about it. Pray for not only yourself, but your fellow adventurers.

Blessings!

Holy Adventure - Day 13

Luke 5:1-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

What are the areas in your life where you may being called to “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch”?

If you read this story through a couple of times and let the words and images really take hold in your imagination, what comes to your mind?

When things don’t happen in our time, sometimes we want to give up, or we assume “it wasn’t meant to be” but what if we just need to cast deeper? What if we need to change something just a little in order to bring in the catch of a lifetime!

Holy Adventure - Day 12

When I was in college, majoring in Speech Communication, I remember very early on learning the concept of the “self-fulfilling prophecy.” You may have heard of the concept. It is the notion that if you think and say something enough (especially the negative, it seems) it has a way of happening. When we walk around in fear and suspicion that people are going to disappoint us or that we can’t do a particular thing, we are looking for that to happen, and so often, it does!

Another angle on this is the glass half empty vs. half full test. When you look at the glass on the table, do you see “half empty” (what is lacking) or “half full” what is there? When we walk around seeing the world through the lens of the “half empty glass” we miss SO much because we don’t see what is right in front of our eyes.

So what happens if we “have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus”? Instead of seeing only a few loaves of bread and some tiny fish, we see a meal to feed 5,000! We see little children as a blessing instead of a nuisance. We see the wisdom of a foreign woman who asks for the same treatment as the locals. We see the nets bursting with so many fish after a night of emptiness.

With the mind of Christ, today, what will you see?