Monday, December 30, 2002

Tuesday, 31 December, 2002

Again, from the second lesson on the First Sunday after Christmas. Also, please note that there will be no devotion sent out on New Year's Day.



But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoptions as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. (Galatians 4:4-7)



Today I read a story about a father who was explaining to his adopted son what it means to be adopted. The father talked about how his parents really wanted to make him their own and bring him into the family. The father went on to say that different from their biological son, this adopted son had been "specifically singled out, chosen, waited for, and welcomed by his parents into the family." The story goes on to say how the adopted son had to chew on this news and then with a smile spreading across his face enthused: "Well, can't we adopt him too!" The image of God taking us and claiming us is powerful. God picks us up before we have done anything and says, "You are mine." That's the beginning and the end of the story. That is how it will always be. The image of God acting over and against all things and always for us...as a parent whose love claims and never is lost...is a dynamic power for all of us as we go about our day.



Connection: Claim the adoption...and see what it can and will do to life as we enter it today.



Loving Parent, you have grasped us in your gracious arms and remind us that we are forever within your tender care and love. Nurture in us a life that is can dance and sing because of the great gift you see in us and the great gift you give to us as you call us Sons and Daughters. Amen.

Monday, 30 December, 2002

From the second lesson on the First Sunday after Christmas

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoptions as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. (Galatians 4:4-7)



The "fullness of time" is an odd description. At first, I want to hear in it that point that there was at one time in history a time that was the best time...the time when it was most possible for the Christ of God to come. But then, the fullness of time is the time in which the Son is born of a woman and God becomes incarnate among us. That is what makes it full - God stands with us. From that point, we have an identity that is given to us from our God. No longer can a bully call me by a name that sticks. No longer can a racist control another person by calling them a name. No longer can one person label another person too sinful to be within the family of God for God has surprised everyone by introducing all of us as God's children...and appropriate heirs of the life of the one who would be children of God. We still live within the pregnant moment of the fullness of time for unto us is born each day the gift of new life that cannot be hushed up by any law.



Connection: Stand tall and live as though you are the daughters and sons of God. Stand with others as though that is the way you see them also. What a day that can make for all of us.



Eternal Lord, you change the face of all of life. You turn enemy into friend, stranger into neighbor, and the whole community of humanity into a beloved family. Guide us as we walk among others. Guide us and remind us of our status in your eyes and inspire us to treat one another as sister and brother. Amen.

Friday, December 27, 2002

Friday, 27 December, 2002

Due to the Christmas week celebrations, the devotions for Thursday and Friday of this week will be from our July, 2000 archives. The live devotions will return on Monday.



Text: Matthew 6:24

No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

This is not reserved as a word for "them". It is for all of us. Even the poor can suffer from misplaced values. At the same time, most of us are living within situation in which wealth & material things are expected. It can be the piece of our lives that keeps us from coming in contact with others. We must keep ourselves involved in the discipline of watching for what master is attempting to lead us. What is informing my decisions...what is the lord of my life? In a society that suffers from "affluenza" it may be very difficult to see that we are often possessed, controlled, by something that is so basic to our culture...things! In the DooDah parade, there was an SUV being pulled by ten or fifteen bikes and a few people pushing it. It was now labeled an energy-saver. As that float went by, people - including me - applauded. And yet, we all fit into that boat of wanting the biggest, the best, more of whatever we can have, and then look to justify our own allegiance to the "stuff of our lives" and the systems that help us get what we want. Remember, God still gives us all things as a gift. Gifts are given for the welfare of the whole community. We follow the vision of the reign of God not the vision of what we can have. Even in the Church we have to watch out for the times when mission and ministry to and with people is placed into a secondary position to pleasing the sources of financial support. Two masters?



Connection: In the twinkling of an eye, we make decisions to follow one master or the other. It would be a good exercise to evaluate our decisions as to what is the core value that leads us to make those decisions. It is there at that very basic level of our lives that we will begin to see the face of the power that drives us. That again, is why we continue to pray, They kingdom come, thy will be done.



O Rock of our Lives, be our foundation. Help us to be wise as we move through this day. Strengthen us that we will make the decisions of our day under the guiding light of your Reign. Amen

Thursday, December 26, 2002

Thursday, 26 December, 2002

Due to the Christmas week celebrations, the devotions for Thursday and Friday of this week will be from our July, 2000 archives. The live devotions will return on Monday.



Text: Matthew 6:22-23

The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness.



Clarity of vision. When the vision of the Reign of God, the will of God is so much a part of our lives, we will see in a whole new way. When our vision is not made cloudy by the various things that Matthew is calling "treasures" or "allegiances" or "concerns" of the world, we will live within the brightness of the Reign of God. How we see our world is a matter of life and death for we will often let our lives be led by that which takes from us all of our life. Years ago when I was a part of an anti-nuclear weapons group in Detroit I remember hearing a speaker talk about idols being those things or powers in our lives that demand that we sacrifice our lives for their existence. In many ways, most everything we let cloud our vision of the life in God's Reign, demands our full attention...and even our lives. Try it: How do the things and people in your life restrict the vision of God's call for justice for all in our world...how can family and/jobs restrict us from giving time to others and being proactive in our care of others...how can what we want (because so often "having" is something that must be constantly maintained so that we always "have" that which is the stuff we are supposed to have) steal our attention away from that which we could be giving to others in love? Vision...it is how we begin each day and how we carry on through the day. We read scripture and talk with other followers of Jesus, and worship our God in order that the vision of God's Reign will stay fresh in our lives and will be the lense through which we see our world and the lense that helps us walk into this day.



Connection: Take an inventory. What are the things (material, people, organizations, philosophical stances, etc) that cloud your vision so that we lose the light of the ways of life God invites us to share? How can we re-view all those things and make them into opportunities to open up the life of the Reign of God more fully. Ex: how can my love of family be an opportunity to share time with others rather than sacrifice time with others. How can I make family or close relationships an instrument by which I come to grasp a bit more of the life vision of the Reign of God?



O God of all things, make us insightful people. Guide our days so that we may enjoy the many gifts of your creation as we follow along the way of our Lord, Jesus. Amen.

Monday, December 23, 2002

Tuesday, 24 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner.

Today's devotion continues the section from yesterday. Therefore the text from yesterday is included.



"Once you acknowledge that bad things happen and that people do evil things, there are only two options," said Hanna Rachel, "Satan and God." She took a handful of pebbles and dropped them in two small piles before him. "Alternate worlds. In every way except one, these worlds of strewn pebbles are identical. In both worlds the sun shines, people make love, children play and people do astonishingly terrible things.

"In one universe, people maintain their 'selves,' their sanity, and God by giving evil its independence. Such wickedness, they reason, could not possibly have anything to do with God. There must be some other non-God power that makes it real and gives it vitality, and with whom God is in eternal conflict. In such a universe, where the source of evil is other than God, sooner or later, one way or another, you wind up with some kind of demonic force, sitra achra, Other Side, devil, or Satan.

"In the second world, God is somehow part of the evil, present even in its depths. This is the meaning of our assertion that 'God is One' (Deut.6:4). A Oneness at the core of all being in whom everything - yes, even evil- ultimately converges. The source of all reality. If God is the source of all being and human evil is real, then God therefore must be in it also. The evil does not derive its being from some extra-Divine source. This is certainly what Job learns when God speaks to him from out of the whirlwind. God does not cause, tolerate, or even forebear the evil, but God, as with everything else in creations, is in it."



Evil is. God is in all things...all things. That may not be the easiest thing to hear. And yet, I find that for some people it is an encouraging word for it is a reminder that no time...no event...no situation...no life is left alone without God standing alongside. For Christians, that is what we see in the incarnation. God is with us...from the holiest places to the those considered utterly unholy...God is with us when grace abounds and when threat abounds and attempts to claim the day. The story of the birth of the Christ child is for us a story that will bring God right into the very depths of all that is human and fallible and...evil...always, with us.



Connection: So now what do we do in the presence of one another knowing that our God is in the midst of us without exception. Maybe we will not blame others as much as we might ask, "What must we do to see God among us in what is going on around us?"



Be with us, Gracious Lord, and as you walk with us, help us to see you and to hear your promise for new life even when we find it so hard to see anything new. Amen

Monday, 23 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner.

Today's devotion will be a longer piece extended over two days.



"Once you acknowledge that bad things happen and that people do evil things, there are only two options," said Hanna Rachel, "Satan and God." She took a handful of pebbles and dropped them in two small piles before him. "Alternate worlds. In every way except one, these worlds of strewn pebbles are identical. In both worlds the sun shines, people make love, children play and people do astonishingly terrible things.

"In one universe, people maintain their 'selves,' their sanity, and God by giving evil its independence. Such wickedness, they reason, could not possibly have anything to do with God. There must be some other non-God power that makes it real and gives it vitality, and with whom God is in eternal conflict. In such a universe, where the source of evil is other than God, sooner or later, one way or another, you wind up with some kind of demonic force, sitra achra, Other Side, devil, or Satan.




I would have to say that this may be the "universe" with which most people are familiar. "The devil made me do it," may be one example. This is also a problem that crops up all the time. We must in some way become apologists for God whenever there is terror and brutality and terrible things that take place all around us...for we cannot let God be a part of them or in them. Unfortunately, do we then say that God is not over and in all things? I find that this is the way people usually act when dealing with the good and bad things that take place everyday in our lives. There must be a bad or evil out there because "I'm a good person." Rather than admit that we are like two sides of a coin - that is - we have the potential for good and evil, we point fingers and blame someone or something else for the evil and brokenness around us.



Connection: Is it difficult for you to see your part in the "dark side" whenever you take a look at our world and attempt to point a finger at "them"? Even in a day when many want to blame an "evil axis" for all the bad in the world, I cannot help but wonder if we see the evil we perpetrate...or are we all "good."



Lord of all things, make us a people of reconciliation so that we may be a part of the healing of our world when it become filled with hatred and run by fear. Remind us that you are the Creator of all and will be with us in all things. Amen

Friday, December 20, 2002

Friday, 20 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner.



Continuing a look at good and evil and God's presence in both.

If we rule out "accidental" tragedies that could have been prevented had the victim not taken some voluntary risk, we are left with only freak, hopelessly unforeseeable accidents like a tornado or a rare illness. And if we hold our society similarly responsible, for example, for not creating adequate safety measures or directing its energy to the prevention of disease, then the list is diminished even further. How much misery might be prevented, for example, if humanity chose to allocate its resources toward healing rather than war?



Another way to ask the question at the end of this piece would put it like this: How many wars would we enter if we used our resources toward healing and ending the misery of others? Someday we may actually begin to thing about others and adjust all of our lives as part of a way to live together peacefully. The other day I read an editorial or letter to the editor about SUVs. The person wrote about how safe they were and that their miles-per-gallon were as good as one of the old cars the writer used to drive. The line that caught me was the line about safety. The writer didn't worry about his wife in the vehicle as she drove around town or drove the kids to the events of the day. Very true...I guess. But how safe are these vehicles for the other vehicles and other passengers all around them. Without even going into the global impact of these vehicles that have weak regulation on emissions, it is so easy to sit elevated from the road and other drivers that the only thing that "counts" is...once again...me and myself. Isn't that the beginning of that cycle that leads to so much division in an already divided and warring world?



Connection: We can begin within our own lives to look beyond our own lives and see what part we play or do not play in the well being of God's people everywhere. I like to think it is as easy as keeping our eyes and ears open to see how connected we really are to one another.



Lord God, you call us to be one people within our diversity. We need you to inspire our vision so that we may see the potential for new life that is wrapped up in the well being of others as we live together both now and in the time to come. Amen

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Thursday, 19 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner.



God does not intervene in the affairs of people, at least not in the way a parent might step in to settle a fight between children, take one of them to a physician, judge between children the righteous and wicked, punish the guilty, reward the innocent. These things can and do occur, but only through human agency. Therefore the question "Why is there evil in the world?" means "Why are human beings evil?" or "What is the origin of human cruelty?" Sometimes people suffer because of some evil they themselves or others do or did not do, and sometimes they suffer through no one's fault, although the range of accidents tends to diminish sharply with maturity and responsibility.



I know that some folks will not like the beginning statement of the first sentence in this quote. Then again, many people really do affirm this kind of world view. It does not mean that God is not active and moving within our lives. On the contrary, Kushner seems to really place the action of God's will within the lives of God's people. From yesterday, when we heard about evil having to do with "intentions," it makes sense that the question about how God works in the world would be directed back into a question about you and I...and why we act the way we do. We are called to be a people who prayerfully turn to the will of God that it may be a part of our lives...that justice, peace, mercy, loving kindness and forgiveness may indeed be the present face of God's people within our world. What would such a face offer to the world in the face of evil as it presents itself among us? Hopefully, as we continue to remind each other of the story of our God who is eternally for us and with us, we may be a part of compassionate life that will not tolerate the forces of evil and how evil tears at the human community.



Connection: How does maturity and responsibility within the reign of God look in everyday matters? I suppose we must practice such disciplines and see how it takes shape.



O God Most High, linger with us and guide us into the paths of your will so we may begin to move through this day as agents of your gracious reign. Amen.

Wednesday, 18 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner.



First of all many things are bad that are not evil. This is a very important but often overlooked distinction. "Bad" means "unfortunate," "painful," and even "horrible," but it does not mean that someone is necessarily responsible for what has happened. A freak accident, for which no one is to blame, for instance, is "bad," but it is not "evil." Other times "bad" means "unethical," "wicked," and "evil." We cry out that things should have been otherwise and that someone is to blame. And if the one who is to blame acted intentionally, the the "bad" is also "evil." So "bad" can mean either "unfortunate," as in "no one is to blame," or it can also mean "evil" as in "someone has caused this bad thing to happen.



The word that sticks out in my mind is "intentionally." If the one who is to blame for something bad happening acted intentionally, then we look at the action as evil and not only bad. Even as I am typing, I'm beginning to wonder about all the actions of our day that may be difficult to connect to someone's or a groups intentional actions. We hear word like "axis of evil" and "evil empire" to refer to countries and coalitions of countries and this includes the a view point from one side toward another. In fact, the best way to gain support for going off to war is to paint another side as acting in an evil way intentionally. But this is a odd nut to crack. Fighting against evil is why we may go to war in Iraq. Fighting against evil is also the reason given for the bombing of the world trade center. It may be much easier to find out whether an act was bad or evil when we are talking about the actions of individuals, but as it comes in the form of systemic actions and reactions, finding a specific actor and the intention behind the act is very difficult. Maybe we need to keep asking if the harm done...if the "bad" event...was something that could be prevented...could we do something as people/nations/human beings that would stop the spiral of evil that so quickly takes root among us.



Connection: We begin our work against evil by taking responsibilities for our actions. Yes, we do things in our lives that are evil...as individuals and as groups. And yet, we are able to turn to one another and admit our intentional acts and ask for forgiveness and seek to rebuild relationships and repair done within our lives. Confession and forgiveness always has a place within the confrontation of evil and the facing of bad stuff that goes on among us.



Lord of All Things, let you Spirit of Wholeness abide with us and empower us to be truthful and seek the welfare of others. Continue to forgive us for our participation in all that goes against your loving reign and turn us into the ways of your peace and reconciliation. Amen

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

Tuesday, 17 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner.



We continue to take a look at God in the midst of evil. This is particularly important as we live after the devastation of the Holocaust. Evil is a difficult reality to deal with especially as we hear some of the stories from the scripture.

Biblical accounts of earth swallowing villains, seas splitting to save innocents, or wicked nations being blotted out seem now, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, clearly to be metaphors - never meant to be taken literally. If the world of the Bible were so ontologically different from our world today as to permit such divine intervention, then truths from such a time would be irrelevant. For us, the snowflakes and rays of sunlight fall without discrimination on righteous and wicked alike. This is simply how the world works. And all theology after the Holocaust must begin with this acknowledgment... What then is evil and where does it come from?



"Like in the Bible..." How many times have you heard that kind of a statement when referring to miraculous events and great interventions into our world? Some people will actually say that our God doesn't act like that anymore. Others will claim that if these things don't happen, God is not active in your life and therefore your faith must not be strong enough. Well, first of all, there is never a time when God is not active in our lives. Second, if God is only active when something "grand and out of the ordinary" take place, then what do we do with the majority of people whose illness never goes away...whose lives are not spared...etc. Why are we so afraid to talk about metaphors. I suppose people begin to think that an event or story is not true if it is a metaphor. I don't buy it. The only way we can talk about the way God can make for new life and bring life into a community that is facing hopelessness it through stories that help to ignite a Spirit of life that cannot be quenched. In the face of a reality where the rain and the sun falls on the righteous and the wicked alike...or say it any way you like...our God is with us in the midst of it all...all...for all time and in all places. What stories help us to bring the life our God calls forth from us no matter what the situation?



Connection: Can we walk through today praising God for God's mighty acts within this day even as we have a mundane and ordinary day? I think there is much to see within God's compassionate and powerful grasp even as we face whatever evil or good enters our lives.



Lord God you preside over all things. You remain with us even as we become blind and lose our hearing and will not turn to you any more. Praise be to you for keeping your promises and being eternally for us in all the days of our lives. Amen.

Monday, December 16, 2002

Monday, 16 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner.



This section of Kusher's book is drawn from the stories and images from Hannah Rachel. She was a famous rebbe, the Ludomirer Moid. Men came from miles around to learn from her. The chapter carries this theme into the discussion of Jacob and the dream of the ladder: God is present, even in the midst of evil.



Kushner writes about the wall-sized photograph in Yad VaShem, Israel's memorial to those who perished in the Holocaust. It is the site of a mass grave and the executions taking place at its edge.

If there is a God, where was that God when this photograph was taken? God was there. See, we have a photograph. There is God, over there in the ditch, in the mother's terrified eyes, even in the psychosis of the Nazi soldier. There is God, an ashen reality, now almost two generations later, more mysterious and holy than ever. The question is not Where was God? but Why do human beings do such things? Blaming God not only absolves us but increases the likelihood that we will allow such horrors to happen again.



In this season of Advent, there is no other time so available to the concept of God within the most horrible brutalities of our day as to call out the name Immanuel - God With Us. This is not to be a sentimental image...like a cozy God who pats our head and keeps us safe and secure. Our God is with us - right in that which is good ...and right with us in that which is too horrible to imagine. Our God who comes in Christ, Jesus, and who rules until the end of time is not Lord of All if God is not wrapped up in the evil that can crash into our day. Kushner's last line is very important to keep in front of us: Blaming God not only absolves us but increases the likelihood that we will allow such horrors to happen again.



Connection: Do not be afraid to say God is With Us. God is standing and crying in the midst of our pain whenever it occurs.



Lord of All, we count on you to be our foundation and our rock. Help us to stand upon your presence even as there is evidence of evil all around us. Help us to see in the ashes of our lives the never-failing love that is you always in all things. Amen.

Friday, December 13, 2002

Friday, 13 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner.



The precious uniqueness of each creature makes them all equally beloved. You want to be like God? Start by trying to love all creatures with equal love! Get your self out of the way.



The first time I read this it really hit me how different we are from our God. To love all creatures with equal love!...can that be? I think we have all the necessary rhetoric, but I think their is still quite some distance between rhetoric and reality...in my case at least. As much as we may try, it is not easy to see the presence of God in others. I think we can do it in a "general" fashion, but when it comes to that individual in the room with me right now...loving all people equally is a pipe dream. And yet, we are invited into such a reality. We are invited to reach out and encounter and come to some understanding of the worth of another person so that we may find what love really can be. Love of neighbor is very specific and pushes us to be very general. Love of neighbor is ignited by the power of the Holy Spirit for we tend not to have such passion for the love of others. In that sense, we cannot be like God...for we are in constant need of God, the Holy Spirit, to bring us into relationships that can be expressions of love and compassion.



Connection: Is it possible to "get your self out of the way" and begin to love the neighbors you encounter today. Even at work...at home...at play!



Wind of Life, send us into this day refreshed by your Holy Breath and gifted with eyes that can see the precious gift you bring into our day in the shape of those around us. May we find ways to love one another and reflect your glory. Amen

Wednesday, December 11, 2002

Thursday, 12 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner.



In Judaism, the most elegant and commonly practiced method for subduing the ego is a loose catalog of acts called gemilut hasidim,usually translated as deeds of loving kindness. (leaving unharvested produce in the corners of the field for the poor & the stranger, extending hospitality to wayfarers, visiting the sick, ransoming those held captive, providing clothing for the naked, feeding the hungry, dowering the impoverished bride, attending the dead to the grave, comforting mourners, showing deference to the aged)

These deeds do not say, "You are more important," but "You are every bit as important as I am." In most cases repayment is unlikely. In one way or another, they all involve some form of selflessness in the service of someone else.




Such an outlook toward others builds character in people. Such an outlook toward those in need is that way we begin to shape the story of a people. When we are able to have our lives surrounded with such stories of loving kindness, they begin to shape how we live. Such story telling gives direction for us when it would be so easy to simply direct ourselves in the ways we want to go. Such a reminder that we are a people who are grasped by the loving kindness of our God that then comes to life within our lives has the power to change us and bring new life into our old self-centered ways. Entering into the service of others...others who are just as important as I am...is one of the most powerful building blocks of a community that we can ever expect to see take hold.



Connection: Imagine. Walking through your day looking out at those around you and living with them as though you know and believe that they are just as important as you are. Imagine that.



Compassionate God you hold us and you show us the ways of your loving kindness as a parent teaches a child how to sow or to ride a bike. Ever present and ever touching us as we learn the ways of your blessed reign and make them a part of this time. Praise and thanks be to you. Amen.

Wednesday, 11 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner.



In discussing the call of Abraham, Rabbi Aryeh Leib of Ger goes on to asks how Abraham's leaving home was a difficult test to endure if God promised Abraham great reward. He continues:

Actually this was an enormously difficult test for Abraham. For the biblical text says a few verses later that ultimately Abraham did not set out on the journey for his own reward but simply, "And Abraham went as God had told him." He went, in other words only because of the command of God, without any other motive. The real test was whether, after all these assurances of reward, Abraham would be able to preserve the purity of simply doing as God wanted without contaminating the act with his own motives or confusing it with his own benefits.

This first test of the first Jew was not whether or not he would do what God said but whether or not he could do it only because God said it. Would he be able to put his self out of the way?




Kushner writes that in Judaism, doing something entirely because of God's request, without any thought of personal pleasure or reward, is said to be "lishma," for its own sake. That is...we don't get anything out of doing it. It is done, you could say, because it needs to be done. This may be an odd example but yesterday, I left the house early and noticed that all the garbage bins were out and many of the red plastic containers for recycling were on the curbs. I know for me, it is one of those things that simply needs to be done and therefore, if I remember, the trash is put out. But trash is not usually the case. It can be so easy to get sucked into taking part in something for more than the act of doing something. "Just like that"...the self-interest in something taking place escalates and we quickly "contaminate the act with our own motives or confuse it with our own benefits." I remember sitting in a car with a group of teens and we talked about doing something when no one is watching. How do we act? How does that show the shape of someone's character? How do we act when seen and how do we act when no one is around? Can we follow the ways of God's reign simply because we have been invited to share in the journey?



Connection: I can remember a person saying to me that once you start thinking about why you do things, you will be caught in an endless cycle of self-evaluation and introspection. That can be a real mess. We are not called to deliberate the motives of every action. But we are called to act faithfully...I think there can be quite a bit of freedom in that calling.



Lead us Lord and lift us up into the life of your blessed reign so that we may begin each day as though we face the opportunity of a lifetime...for it is simply there before us. Amen.

Tuesday, December 10, 2002

Tuesday, 10 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner.



The prohibition against idolatry, in effect, also prohibits egotism, self-centeredness at the expense of someone else. Self-centeredness at the expense of someone else is the root of being a mean person. Therefore the prohibition against worshiping idols is just a fancy theological way of saying, don't be self-centered. And the first two utterances at Sinai now mean: "If you let Me be God, then you won't be a louse," or conversely, "When you are a louse, there is no God!" The barrier between us and God is our ego, and the focus of the tension is the personal pronoun, I.



Often I see a bumper sticker that reads "Mean People Suck." From what Kushner writes, it may be more fitting to have a bumper sticker that says "Mean People are Idolaters." Do we become mean when we are so consumed by ourselves that we cannot stand others? For at that point, the only perspective of life is the one I hold and any other suggestion for how life is to be lived is simply out of the question. Such idolatry will always put us at odds with others. It is how we fashion wars. Self-centeredness seeks the destruction of others...or at least their humiliation so that I may make more of myself at their expense. To counter act the temptation to be swept up into idolatrous lives we must be willing to keep listening to others and begin to see and hear things other than the way we want life to be. It is not always easy to do that. Once we are centered on our selves, it is not a simple task to turn around and be open to the wonderful fullness of God's gracious and loving reign. The bible is filled with such stories of stubborn people who resist every call to repentance.



Connection: What's going on when we are down right "mean?" Or...how do we live alongside "mean" people? How can this day be shaken from self-centeredness and become centered around God's invitation to be God's beloved...all of us?



Lord lift up our eyes from our own little worlds so that we may see the richness of your reign in which all your people come together as one. Encourage us to let go of our need to control this day and then enter into conversation with others so that we may see the world with new eyes every day. Amen

Monday, December 9, 2002

Monday, 9 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner



Menachem Mendl writes:

Normally not even an iron barrier can separate Israel from God, but self-love, egotism will drive them apart.

Kushner then comments about idolatry.

Idolatry believes there is a divine Ego that is accessible to human manipulation - not just cajoling, persuasion, or bargaining but actual control. Idolaters infiltrate heaven and remake God into their own images. They become their own gods. Jews tried it once at the very foot of Sinai.



There is such a strong temptation to have life and the things of life go "my way." We even sing about it...base fast food images on it...and base our economy on it. But then there is the temptation to "remake God" so that we now have some divine power behind and at least divine blessing for who we are and what we do. It doesn't take much for us to make ourselves the center of the universe. We can do it in either ways that make us bigger that others...or we can go the other way and become the center of all things by making less of ourselves. In the end, the focus of all things is...me and mine. This is where it is so important to hang around people who will say "baloney" to us. Imagine what would have happened if as they were beginning to spread the word that the people of Israel were going to build a calf out of gold, someone stood up and said, "This is baloney! What will a golden calf bring us out here in the wilderness?" When you think about it. Once the golden calf is built, it now needs people who will be in charge of carrying it...setting it up...enforcing rules about who can touch it...whatever. Idolatry cannot stand waiting for our God for we want our life now...my way.



Connection: So, do you have someone or a group of people who help you keep your ego in perspective? We could all use a community like that.



Lord of all that is and all that will be, we count on the power of the Holy Spirit to keep us faithful and to make our days into a living witness to your gracious reign. When we are tempted to walk away from you and seek out other objects of trust, stir up our hearts to hear your never failing promise to be for us. Amen.

Friday, December 6, 2002

Friday, 6 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner



In the first devotion using this book, I referred to Menachem Mendl of Kotzk - also known simply as Kotzker. He would say Jacob could see that God was with him only when he was able to subdue his ego. Here is a little story to make just such a point.

The Talmud says: "When Nebuchadnezzar, the might King of Babylonia, wanted to sing praises to God, an angel came and slapped him in the face." Asked the Kotzker, "Why did he deserve to be slapped if his intention was to sing God's praises?" He answered himself: "You want to sing praises while you are wearing your crown? Let me hear how you praise me after having been slapped in the face."



For the Kotzker, each day "the truth had to be found anew as it had never been found." As followers of Jesus, we claim that the way, the truth, & the life is in Christ, Jesus. The reminder we may need to carry with us each day is one that presses for that truth no matte what might be the situation of the day. Do we trust in God's word of love for us...God's promise to be our foundation...God's never failing presence among us, even when the things in our lives do not treat us as though we are kings and queens who rule our own little world? Trusting in our God - being faithful - is a constant calling. And yet, there can be so many thing we let get in the way of trusting that word of life that is offered to us. A good slap in the face is not a "put down," it helps put things into perspective so that our lives may be seen within the eternal grasp of our God...the God who Create all things...is for us. But often, we will let everything in the world rule us but that. Whack! Thanks I needed that.



Connection: Our journey is not one in which we are to belittle ourselves. Rather we are given the freedom to find our worth in something other than what sells in the marketplace or what I am able to do as compared with others. Beginning from our place before God...the promise of new life, the day can be viewed from a position of new strength and humility.



Praise to you O God! Let our lives be filled with the creative power of your love so that we may face all things with a sense of confidence that comes as we see ourselves as your beloved. Amen.

Wednesday, December 4, 2002

Thursday, 5 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner



Universal consciousness is too much to handle and would burn out the circuitry (of our being - I suppose). In Thoreau's words, "I have never met a (person) who was quite awake. How could I have looked (that person) in the face? We must therefore create an elaborate system of filters, lenses, and blinders to screen out the extraneous images, leaving us with a very small field of vision. What we call consciousness is all that remains visible in this tiny patch of the light of our attention. We can aim it at anything we like, but only a very few things at a time. How we will focus and direct the bean is up to us.



We each miss so much of what is going on around us. The words, the images, the smells, the feel, and then...the various combinations of all these as they play off one another. One way to be aware of the world around us is to come into our world with a story that helps guide us...a lens that gives us the ability to see in a specific way. No matter what we do, we enter into this day with some sort of filter or lens that attempts to provide us with a way of dealing with all that is going on around us. Fill a room with people and ask them to make some comments about an object in the room or an activity that they have just experienced, and watch how the filters work to interpret and to screen. What if our default filter...our lens, was the grace of God. How would the world look to us and what would our vision do to how we then lived our lives? One thing to remember. No matter what our lens may be and no matter how we then live our lives, others may have a lens that does not let them see us as we would like to be seen.



Connection: With the lens of our lives being the grace of God, we cannot be in control of everything. Our God will inspire our living and we may then live by grace alone, but that may not be greeted well by others. By grace, we then continue.



Lord of Love, in all times keep us firm on the foundation of your graceful reign so that whatever this day may bring we will persistently put on the gracious lens of your reign and be steadfast in our love of others. Amen.

Wednesday, 4 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner



In a section labeled "Oblivious to Miracles" it is noted that the greatest miracle ever performed...more than all the miracles beheld by the prophets...was the splitting of the Red Sea as Israel fled Egypt. One Midrash (story explaining stories) mentions the experience of two Israelites, Reuven & Shimon:

Apparently the bottom of the sea, though safe to walk on, was not completely dry but a little muddy, like a beach at low tide. Reuven stepped into it and curled his lip. "What is this muck?"

Shimon scowled, "There's mud all over the place!"

"This is just like the slime pits of Egypt!" replied Reuven.

"What's the difference?" Complained Shimon. "Mud here, mud there: it's all the same."

And so it went for the two of them, grumbling all the way across the bottom of the sea. And, because they never once looked up, they never understood why on the distant shore everyone else was singing songs of praise. For Reuven and Shimon the miracle never happened.




I may share this story at our Wednesday Advent worship because there is so much here about awareness...seeing what is there and yet, at times, missing the full story that is much more than what we often choose to see. What we choose to see often makes the whole picture quite unrecognizable. Advent is a time of the Church Year that directs us to look into the promise of God to be with us and that presence is the beginning and end of the Good News. But there are many times and many, many moments when we cannot see anything but the muck in which we have stepped. Too often, that means we forget our place...we forget the whole story...we forget that we are not alone nor abandoned.



Connection: Do the people within your day often seem to be just that...people within your day? What if we were able to see them through the eyes of promise? See them as though they play a part in a cosmic drama in which we too are placed. We don't need to dwell on what "part" everyone plays - that can become a horrible religious game. Instead, maybe asking the questions simply will help us lift up our heads and become more aware of the many possibilities for life that are placed all around us.



Lord of the Exodus, you promise to deliver your people and we long to be grabbed up and brought within your gracious reign where justice and peace kiss. Let this time be one in which our eyes begin to see more of your reign breaking in all around us. With such vision, inspire our praise of you. Amen.

Monday, December 2, 2002

Tuesday, 3 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner



The Great Rabbi known as Rashi sees in the story of Jacob and the Angels & the ladder with an eye toward awareness..."had I known God was here, I would not have fallen asleep." Kushner goes on to speak of Moses' encounter with the burning bush that was not consumed. And that you would have had to stay there a look at it for a while before you would notice it was not being consumed.

The "burning bush" was not a miracle. It was a test. God wanted to find out whether or not Moses could pay attention to something for more than a few minutes. When Moses did, God Spoke. The trick is to pay attention to what is going on around you long enough to behold the miracle without falling asleep. There is another world, right here within this one , whenever we pay attention.



I know, it sounds like something Yoda would say in the "Star Wars" movies. I am not one who sits and waits and observe as much as I know is necessary. Too often, I am willing to jump forward at the first piece of information or insight that rips through the day. One of the ways this comes to most profoundly is when I am preparing for the Children's lesson for worship on Sunday. Rather than run around looking for what to do, I was told by a teacher many years ago that it is best to simply sit...or...simply take the time to observe what is already all around us. There will be a lesson. There will be an opportunity to see something new about life and the way I am engaging in life. Becoming aware of the world around us may simply mean we take the time to look at our world and be a child who knows nothing and yet wants to see the new toy or the object before her...more deeply. The smallest details may expose the greatest wealth of insight about many things - even life as it is before our God.



Connection: Within the movement of this day we are able to stop and look and become aware of the many facets of our day that make for the wonderful fullness of life that we too often shuffle past. The training sign for students who are learning to cross a set of train tracks is a simply one to remember as a sign for all the engagements of our lives: Stop, Look, Listen.



Surprise us Lord God with the wonderful gifts of your creation that remind us of your glory and the many ways you are present among us to shape us into the people you call beloved and promise to be with in all time. Calm our hearts that we may become aware of your burning desire to be with us. Amen.

Monday, 2 December, 2002

This is a part of a series of devotions based on: God Was In This Place & I , i Did Not Know - by Lawrence Kushner



Like the One who has no mouth, who spoke the first letter that has no sound, the biblical word conceals an infinity of meanings. "She open a little window in her hidden palace and reveals her face to her lover, then swiftly withdraws, concealing herself." We read the Bible, fix our attention on a phrase, and suddenly find ourselves in a conversation with centuries of teachers who also have come hoping to penetrate the meaning of the same text, convinced that holy words are intimately related not only to what God means but even to who God is and who we are.



This entire book is focused around one verse in scripture: Genesis 28:16. Here Jacob wakes from his dream in which angels are ascending and descending a ladder going from earth to heaven. The verse is the name of the book. Each chapter demonstrates how different rabbis of old and present have interpreted the passage. In many ways, it shows how profoundly inadequate are the "literal" translations of scripture...and how the same can be said for those who say a passage can and must be read in one way. Our journey into scripture is a journey in which we may meet ourselves and find out just who we are as we are looking to see and gain a glimpse of the God who calls all things into being. Sometime we forget to carry on a conversation with scripture as we read it. And then, we do not give ourselves the time to carry on a conversation with other in regard to the text we are reading. More and more, I find it is so important to actually read the scriptures and begin to hear what takes place as we sit together and share the visions and insights that may come from any and all directions - each a window that gives us a glance at our God...one another...and ourselves.



Connection: Listening is a skill we must all take time to develop more fully. It takes time to listen. Especially if we want to hear more than our own side of the story trying to filter what someone is trying to say to us. When we meet and work with others today, it may do us well to see them as a text that is engaging us and demanding our complete attention...a text that will add to the fullness of our lives.



Lord God, you speak the first word of creation and there is life. You engage us in conversation and we become a people whose lives are shaped by you word and the words of those around us. Inspire us to look again and again at the image for life that is presented to us as we converse with one another in the presence of your word of life. Amen.