pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: grieving


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Steadfast Presence

Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-9

Jeremiah 31:9 – “With tears of joy they will come… I will lead them by quiet streams and on smooth paths so they don’t stumble.”

Photo credit: Lili Popper

Jeremiah proclaims a glorious future for the people of God in chapter 31. We pick up today in verse 7, where the prophet calls on the “remaining few” to sing with joy because God will save them. Speaking to those scattered during the time of exile, God declares that they will be brought back “from the ends of the earth.” For a nation living in exile, grieving all that has been lost, sorrowful over their present but seemingly unchangeable reality, the promise of God acting to redeem and restore them offered great hope.

Life will make us feel like the exiles felt. At times we will grieve – over the loss of a loved one or a career, over the ending of a relationship, over the changes caused by aging… We feel scattered and often all alone during these seasons. It is good to be reminded that God’s plan is to save us, to restore us, to redeem us, to bring healing and wholeness back to our lives.

Turning to verses 8b and 9, we see that God will bring back all of the people of God, including the blind, the disabled, the pregnant… By naming those on the margins and those who are most vulnerable, by including them specifically, God is emphasizing that “all” means ALL. This is good news for the “least of these” and it is for us when we feel this way too. Tears of joy and prayers of thanksgiving will both flow freely. God “will lead them by quiet streams and on smooth paths so they don’t stumble.” God will guide the way, making the return peaceful and safe, two essentials when healing from grief and loss. God will comfort Israel as a parent comforts a child. In our seasons of need, God will bring us peace and safety, comfort and healing too. Thanks be to God!

Prayer: Lord God, we rejoice in your steadfast presence in the past, with us now, and in the future. Your love never fails. Your mercy and compassion always meet us in our times of need. Your grace brings us peace. Your strength lifts us up and guides our journey. Thank you for being with us always, especially in our times of grief and sorrow. Amen.


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A Charge to Keep

Reading: Psalm 98:4-9

Psalm 98:9a – “He is coming to establish justice on earth!”

Continuing in Psalm 98 today, the new song kicks off. All the earth shouts triumphantly to the Lord. Humanity adds lyre, trumpet, and horn to their voices. The seas roar and humanity echoes. The mountains rejoice as the rivers clap along. There is a great rejoicing when all of creation joins together to praise God. Reading these five verses, one can sense the connection that God designed between humanity and the created world. If you’ve walked quietly in the woods or sat alone on the beach or looked peacefully out from the mountaintop, you’ve likely sensed this connection between self, creation, and God. In these moments, it is as God intended it to be.

Humanity has not always gotten this intention “right.” Often we tilt the relationship in our favor, exploiting creation and even one another for our own benefit. Even though we have gotten “better,” too often we fail to treat all of creation as an intimately connected part of who we are. God recognizes this. In verse 9 the psalmist declares, “He is coming to establish justice on earth!” Since the writing of this Psalm, the verb tense has changed. Jesus has come to establish justice. He walked among us, teaching humanity about living justly with one another and with creation.

Jesus’ dual purposes – to live amongst us to teach us how to love and to die for us to free us from the power of sin and death – these meant that he could not be here forever. So he left the task of establishing justice to his disciples. Eventually this charge fell to you and me. As I look at the world, it is far from a just place for all people and for all of creation. There is much work to do. The work must begin where we are – feeding the hungry family next door, comforting the grieving elder down the street, standing with the abused spouse and children who need protection, fighting for the just treatment of the vulnerable in our communities… A charge we have to keep. May it be so until all have justice.

Prayer: Lord God, one of us cannot fix all of the injustice in the world – or even in our smallest of communities. But together… Together with you, we are powerful and mighty. Lord, walk with us, using us to bring justice to creation and to one another. Amen.


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God at Work

Reading: Jeremiah 4:11-12 and 22-28

Jeremiah 4:22 – “My people are foolish. They don’t even know me!… they are skilled at doing wrong, inept at doing good.”

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God tells Judah that “a blistering wind” is coming from the north. God is speaking of the Babylonians – a wind that will not winnow the wheat or cleanse their sins, but one that will bring devestation to the land. This coming empire will fall heavily upon Judah and Jerusalem, taking the city in 586 BCE. In verse 12, God pronounces this sentence upon Judah.

Jumping to verses 22-28 the conversation begins with God, shifts to Jeremiah, and then goes back to God. In verse 22 God says, “My people are foolish. They don’t even know me!… they are skilled at doing wrong, inept at doing good.” God’s people have wandered far away from God, for a long time. This is a sad indictment. It may be tempting this was or is a “then” problem, as in “back then things were awful.” When one looks at the homelessness and poverty on our reservations and in our cities, when one sees the division in our society, when one sees the oppression and mistreatment of vulnerable populations, one could argue that the people of God are still inept at doing good. After all, we live in a “Christian” nation.

In verses 23-26 Jeremiah shares his observations of the devestation. The earth itself shakes, the birds have fled, the cities lie in ruins. While it feels like there is little hope in what the prophet sees, God is still present. In verse 27 God declares that the devestation will not be complete. There will be grieving and darkness, yes. But God will remain at work.

The same is true today. At times we can feel helpless and hopeless. At times it feels like we are near the end. But if one pushes past the headlines and sound bites, there is good being done in the name of Christ: people being fed and clothed, grievers being comforted, widows being cared for. God is at work. There is still hope for God’s people and for our world.

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for your consistent walk with us. Thank you for loving us always in spite of who and what we are at times. And thank you for moving us out into the world, into places of hurt and grief and need, being your light and love in the world. Lord, continue to use us, your people, to shine your light and love into the world. Amen.


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Time and Space to Mourn

Reading: Matthew 14:22-23

Verse 23: “He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.”

The first two verses of this week’s gospel lesson are a microcosm, a snapshot. Most often they are verses that we read and understand, but do not sit with. These two verses give a wonderful insight into Jesus’ humanity – and into ours.

After healing all day and then feeding the 5,000 Jesus sends the disciples off in the boat and then he dismisses the crowd. He is making time for what he needed to do before the huge crowd arrived. Jesus makes time to mourn the loss of his cousin and fellow prophet. In verse 23 we read, “He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” Going up the mountain is God-speak for finding time alone with God. For Jesus, going up the mountain is time to connect with God, just as it was for Moses and Elijah.

Caring for immediate needs can defer grieving. It happens to many of us when we lose a loved one. The immediate and necessary tasks of writing an obituary, of planning and attending a funeral… they consume our attention and energy, much as the healing and feeding of the crowd did for Jesus. This was the divine Jesus in action. Then the human Jesus needed care. He needed time and space to mourn and to be with God in that grieving. Jesus honored his grief. In our times of loss may we follow this example too.

Prayer: Lord God, it can be tempting to defer or ignore our grief. The initial days of autopilot, of getting necessary things done, they can trick us. When that flurry passes, remind us of the intentional choice that Jesus made. Draw us into your peace and consolation, for there we begin to find real healing. Amen.


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Healing and Wholeness

Reading: 2nd Samuel 6: 14-19

Verse 16: “When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart”.

Photo credit: Noah Silliman

The Ark enters Jerusalem to a great and joyous celebration. There are sacrifices and singing and dancing and music and rejoicing. In verse fifteen we read, “the entire house of Israel” was present to celebrate this event. It seems that everyone is enjoying this time of celebration.

Some nights at youth group we are playing a game or singing worship songs and a kid is off by themselves, either physically or emotionally. They do not want to participate. More often than not they have been hurt by something someone did or said and rightly so. Some of the time it is because of something that happened at school or at home. The same thing can happen with us as adults. We wall up when we are hurting. We’re just better at hiding it. People are hurting all around us.

As the Ark proceeded we read of Michal watching from a window. She is not down in the street with the crowd. As she watches David we read, “When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart”. To see her husband, the king, celebrating when she was grieving, it hardened her heart. She had just lost her father and three brothers.

At youth group that young person looks at us playing or worshipping and wonders how we could do that when they’re hurting. In church the one who has lost a job or a loved one or… wonders how we can be joyous when they are in such pain. There are hurting people all around.

Our task is to notice – to connect with that kid at youth group or that person in church or that stranger on the bench. We are to have eyes that see and hearts that feel – gifts that allow and help us to draw others into the circle of God’s love. Doing so, may God’s love and our love bring healing and wholeness to our broken and hurting world.

Prayer: Lord God, grant that I may see and sense those who need to know your love today. May your love flow in and through me. Amen.


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Knowing Hope

Reading: Ephesians 1: 15-19

Verse 18: “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you”.

Photo credit: Nick Fewings

Today’s passage is about Paul’s thanks and prayers for the church in Ephasus. It can also be read as a prayer for each believer and for the church universal. In verse fifteen Paul gives thanks for the church’s faith in Jesus and for their love for the faithful. In verse seventeen Paul prays that the Holy Spirit bring wisdom and revelation from God. Receiving these blessings from the Spirit will help them to know God better and better. Each believer will grow closer and closer to Jesus. Witnessing to Jesus’ love will be the outpouring of the church. As a part of a local church and as a member of the larger body of Christ these too are my prayers locally and globally for the church.

In verses eighteen and nineteen is a blessing prayer. In verse eighteen Paul prays, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you”. Faith is both a matter of the heart and mind. Receiving God’s wisdom and guidance are important. Knowing the hope to which we are called is essential. Hope is both a now and future thing. The future holds the “glorious inheritance” of life eternal. The now contains the “incomparably great power” that we receive in this life. In and through the power of Jesus’ name we can do great things for the Lord and for our world. We can feed the hungry, clothe the naked, bring justice to the oppressed, liberate the captive, comfort the grieving… In and through Jesus we can change the world. May it begin today.

Prayer: Lord of all creation, thank you for the Spirit that teaches, guides, and realigns me with your will and ways. Thank you for the hope for today and for one day with you. Use me today to help others find hope through a relationship with you. Amen.


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Why We Came

Reading: Mark 1: 29-39

Verses 32 and 34: “…the people brought to Jesus all their sick and demon- possessed… Jesus healed many”.

Photo credit: Ben White

In today’s reading we don’t get any fancy healings or deeply profound teachings. Today’s passage is simply about Jesus’ love for the people. Arriving at Simon and Andrew’s home, Jesus hears of and goes to Simon’s mother-in-law and heals her. Then we read that later that evening “…the people brought to Jesus all their sick and demon- possessed… Jesus healed many”. Folks from all over bring their loved ones to Jesus and he makes them well. Can you picture this scene? I imagine Jesus standing out in the front yard, at the end of the path that leads to the house, there where the path meets the road. I envision a long line of people there along the road. For a long time the line doesn’t seem to get any shorter. One by one, person by person, the next stands before Jesus. With a soft touch or with a few gentle words he makes that person whole. Their lives are forever changed. Jesus is simply loving others as they meet there on the side of the road.

I like to think of this Jesus now and then. This Jesus reminds me of the many worker bees who selflessly serve. For some it is on Sunday morning, for others it is at VBS or youth group. For some it is leading a small group, for others it is feeding the hungry or giving aid to the needy. For some this is comforting the grieving, for others this is visiting the lonely. This group of humble servants makes me smile and feel all warm inside. I see them loving others just as Jesus loved others.

Later in the passage, after Jesus slipped away to pray, the disciples find him and tell him everyone is looking for him. They are drawn to Jesus and to his love. He goes on to preach and heal because “that is why I came”. Jesus came to love others. As we enter the world today, tomorrow, and on and on, may we too offer others Jesus and his love. This is our purpose. This too is why we came into the world: to love others more than self. May it be so.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the reminder that the small and faithful things matter so much. Small acts of love can change lives and can change the world. Guide me to help do both. Amen.


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Redemption

Reading: Luke 2: 36-40

Verse 38: “She spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem”.

Today as we read this short section from Luke 2 we focus in on Anna and her words concerning Jesus. Anna is an old woman, a prophet with a deep devotion to God. She has been a widow for a long time and the focus of her life is praying and fasting in the temple. After thanking God – for the encounter, for seeing the Messiah, for what Jesus means to her people – Anna “spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem”. At this point in their history, all Jews are looking forward to Jerusalem’s redemption.

The act of redeeming has always been a part of the Jewish faith. Mary and Joseph have just redeemed Jesus, Boaz was the kinsman redeemer, and the Jews celebrated the Year of Jubilee every 50 years. In each of these acts, one is released or freed – from their debts, from their slavery, from a burden that forced them to sell family land. This idea of being freed from that which binds us is very much a part of Jesus’ ministry and healing. Jesus healed both relationships and physical ailments. Often these were tied together. Physical healing often led to relational healing. By revealing the depth of God’s love, mercy, and grace, Jesus drew many back into relationship with God and with one another. He brought a wholeness to life that invited people to live with joy, peace, and hope. Jesus also healed people physically – lepers, the blind, lame, mute, deaf, the possessed – also inviting people back to God and back into society, family, and community. Jesus brought a completeness and unity to life that was freeing and welcoming, that was unconditional and full.

When I think about this side of redemption that Jesus offered, I am drawn to my community and to my neighborhood. Nearby, there are folks who are bound up in or with addiction and abuse, folks who feel enslaved to financial debt, folks who feel isolated and alone, folks who are grieving because of loss. Jesus offers the same redemption, the same healing, the same freeing today. He offers it through you and through me. May we be a part of building other’s faith, seizing the opportunities that God gives us to share our faith with others, inviting them into the love, hope, peace, and joy of Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Loving God, you seek to redeem, to free all people. You are a God of love and justice and community. Use me this day to draw others in, to add to the family of faith, to bring your healing and freeing love to those who need to know you. Amen.


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Hope in Exile

Reading: Ezekiel 34: 11-16

Verse 16: “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak”.

Ezekiel was one of God’s prophets. He ministered to Israel during their time in exile in Babylon. After being defeated by the Babylonians, many Israelites were dispersed throughout the kingdom of their conquerors. These words from God’s prophet would bring hope during a difficult time. These words of God would remind the people that their current experience will not be their reality forever. Both of these circumstances are true today. In our current pandemic, there is no doubt that this is a difficult time for almost everyone. Although it feels like it has been a really long time, we know that the virus and its effects will not last forever. Yet, in the midst of it, we are much like the Israelites in Babylon – isolated, feeling powerless, becoming a bit hopeless, grieving, separated.

Beginning in verse eleven God reveals his plan. In this verse God tells the people that he will “search for my sheep and look after them”. In the next verse God promises to “rescue them” from isolation, from exile, from “all the places where they were scattered”. Then God shares that he will bring them back home. In verse thirteen God states, “I will bring them into their own land”. God will search for his children; God will rescue them and gather them; and, God will bring them back home. Living in a time of defeat, in a time of exile, to hear that God is still God, that God loves and cares for them, that God will once again bring them all back together – these are words of healing and hope.

During these COVID times, just as was the case in exile, some people are coping or doing okay, some are not. Those who are naturally resilient, those who are disposed to optimism, those whose faith has grown in these times – these folks are going alright. There is a middle group who are mostly getting by. They have some of these positive characteristics, but life is now a delicate balance. And there are those who have depleted their reserves of these characteristics. They are struggling emotionally, physically, spiritually, relationally. This last group, especially, needs to hear verse sixteen’s promise: “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak”. God has a special love for those hurting the most. Jesus, his son, modeled this love. Jesus, our Lord, calls us to follow his lead. To those around us most feeling like they are in exile, may we share these words of hope and love. And, if we dare, may we be these words of hope and love. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, lead and guide me to the list, to the strays, to the weak. Set my feet towards those hurting in my communities. Break my heart for what breaks yours. Fill my broken heart with your love and care. Use me to bring hope to those without. May it be so. Amen.


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Living Fully in Christ

Reading: Philippians 1: 21-30

Verse 27: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ”.

As our passage opens today, Paul writes of his inner struggle. He weighs going on to heaven against remaining on earth in service to the Lord. Paul opens with: “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”. Living he continues to share the good news of Jesus Christ. But to die is “gain” – he longs to be in glory. At points in life, particularly later in life, we experience this pull. Paul knows that heaven will be “better by far”. Yet he knows that now, at least, “fruitful labor” lies ahead. God still has work for him to do. While some of us lose this perspective, it still remains true for all believers. God can always use us for his purposes and glory.

Paul does not know if he will see the people of the church in Philippi again. Life is tenuous for Paul. The Jews and, at times, the Romans persecute him. He knows that at any point he could die for his faith. The same is true for all followers of Jesus. This reality is what leads him to say, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” in verse 27. Paul knows that the life of a believer is not always easy. Not only is there persecution and suffering, but there are also the desires of the flesh and the lures of the world. Almost 2,000 years later we live within the same realities.

So what does Paul mean by “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ”? Part of the gospel life is what Paul alludes to in the opening verses. Faith in Jesus Christ empowers us with the promise of salvation, of eternal life. It will be “better by far”, to again quote Paul. Like Paul, our current life is lived in the here and now. There are gospel implications for that as well. These are mainly to be like Jesus Christ in our daily living. Doing so, we are generous not only with our time and resources but with our love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, patience, kindness, and compassion as well. It means grieving with the hurting and sorrowful and it means rejoicing with the blessed and cared for. It means welcoming the stranger and fellowshipping with the believers. It is a call to live fully in Christ, all the while knowing that to die is gain.

When we choose to live fully in Christ, we too will have “fruitful labor”. In doing so, others will come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. May we each live fully in Christ, bearing fruit for the kingdom of God.

Prayer: Loving God, consume me. Consume me with your love. Consume me so that all I say and do and think reflects your love. Guide me moment by moment, step by step, to share Jesus with others today. Amen.