pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: poor


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Hope … in a Child

Hannah’s prayer is answered and she gives birth to a son.  After weaning him, Samuel is given to Eli the priest to fulfill her pledge to God: “as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.”  For the end to long years of shame and feelings of inadequacy and out of thanks for God answering her prayers, Samuel is given as a gift to the Lord.

Following these events Hannah offers up a moving prayer to the Lord.  One might expect it to be thanking God for a child or seeking blessings upon his life.  But it is not.  One can read Hannah’s experience into the prayer, but it is much more about God and who God is for us all.  It speaks of no rock like our God.  It reminds us that He raises the faithful up.  It tells us that God raises up the poor and needy to seats of honor.  It warns of what God will bring to those who think they are high and mighty.  The prayer flows with God’s love, grace, mercy, justice, and equality.  The prayer is quite upside down compared to the society of Hannah’s day – and to our’s today as well.

Yet today we still have hope in a child who was born to us, who descended from heaven’s riches and glory to dwell among us and to live a poor and simple life here on earth.  In Jesus we are taught that love, grace, mercy, justice, and equality are what matters and that we are to live our lives sharing these with others.  In Christ we learn that none of thee can be earned but that they are freely given so that we too can freely give them away to others.  Through His promise and by His example, may we do so today.

Scripture reference: 1 Samuel 2: 1-10


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Mirrors

Celebrations are fun.  Whether a birthday or an anniversary it is a joyous occasion to celebrate all that has been and to look forward to the future with excitement.  Holidays are often the same although they can also have a somber side to them.  Such is the case with the Jewish holiday Purim.  After being saved from sure death and annihilation by Esther and Mordecai, Mordecai sends out a letter to all Jews in the region instructing them to celebrate God’s saving act with feasting and the giving of gift to the poor.  The act of giving mirrored God’s amazing gift of saved the Jews when all seemed lost.  The captives in the foreign land experienced God’s extravagant love in a way that should be celebrated.

As Christians we too have reason to celebrate each day.  Left on our own we would be dead in our sins.  Without the saving grace of God and without the gift that Christ bought with His life, we would be slaves to sin and death.  Although we are in a constant battle with the desires of the flesh, once we have called on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we know we are saved.  What a reason to celebrate!

Just as during Purim the Jews give gifts to the poor, each day we too are called to share this amazing gift we have received with those who have not.  We are called to lead others into a relationship with Jesus Christ as that they too can be freed from their captivity to the desires of the flesh.  May our lives this day mirror God’s love as we seek to share the light and love of Christ with a world in need.

Scripture reference: Esther 9: 20-22


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Doing Much, Together

Scenario 1 – Load up all of your home into a U-Haul.  Place all of the neighborhoods in your community on a big roulette wheel.  Spin the wheel to find out where your family will now be living.

Scenario 2 – You get paid once a month and it is the 23rd.  You are out of money and the credit cards are maxed.  You are cooking the last food in the house for dinner tonight.  Tomorrow you will take the car title down to the loan place.  Try to figure out how you’ll catch up next month.

In the first scenario, are there places where you really hope the spinner does not stop on?  What makes you not want to live in certain areas of town?  In the second scenario, have you ever had to put something essential on the line just to put food on the table?  Ever had to choose between food for the kids and heat for the house or gas for the car?  These are real choices real people have to make every day.

God pleads the case of the poor.  In Proverbs we are earned not to exploit the poor.  How broad should our definition of ‘exploit’ be?  Should it include ‘ignore’?  In many places in scripture we are instructed on how to care for those in need.  It is our call to do all we can.

When we are able to donate a few cans of food at church, we must because if we don’t then someone will have less.  When we are able to teach a class on budgeting and sound finances, we must because then someone will not have to go to the loan place.  When we are able to advocate for better housing and safer streets, we must because then others start to have a chance.

Individually we cannot do it all.  But we can all do something.  Together we can do much.  What will you do today to help another in need?

Scripture reference: Proverbs 22: 22-23


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Moments and Encounters

Anthony came to church yesterday.  He arrived almost at the end of the 9:30 service. I recognized his face but couldn’t remember his name.  I confessed that to him as I greeted him at the back of the sanctuary.  He kindly reminded me and he apologized for being so late.  I assured him that is was OK and shared that I was glad to see him in church again.  Anthony asked for a Coke and I went downstairs and bought him one.  He did not follow me downstairs but he did wait for my return at the top of the stairs.  After a couple cookies and some conversation with others in the Parlor, Anthony headed off for the next part of his day.  Our paths will cross again.

In encounters such as these, I often wonder if I did enough.  It was a good chat and I was able to meet his request for a pop, but should have I done more?  In the time and space between services on a busy Sunday morning, it was probably what I could offer.  And maybe Anthony sensed that and kept his request simple as well.  And now I will remember his name next time so I can start our conversation by greeting him by name when our paths cross again.  In asking the question about doing enough, we prepare ourselves to do a little more the next time.

Our God has a special place in His heart for the poor and needy, for the widow and the orphan, for the  destitute and powerless.  In many places in the Bible we read about this love and our charge to care for those in need.  In those moments and encounters today and in the week ahead, may we offer all we can, seeking to be His hands and feet.

Scripture reference: Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, and 22-23


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A Voice Calling

Job description: challenge the status quo, push people to grow and stretch themselves, be directly accountable to God

Any applicants?

Many jobs can be thankless.  Among them the job ‘prophet’ could be pretty high on a lot of people’s lists.  For most that were called in the Bible,”Yes!” was not their first reaction.

Prophets of old and prophets today have pretty much the same role.  A prophet has two primary job functions.  The first is to keep people oriented towards God.  A prophet calls us to live our lives with God at the center, following His ways and commands.  This runs counter to what the world so often tries to tell us and is therefore difficult.  A prophet tells us that ‘me’ does not come first.

The second role is to call for justice and equality for those whose voices are not heard by the those in power and in positions that can affect change.  A prophet calls for the care of the weak, for fair treatment of all, and for the stranger to be welcomed into our midst.  These calls too run counter to society’s norms.  A prophet tells us to give of ourselves and to become less so that others can become more.

Today most of us like to be comfortable, to maintain the status quo.  Change can be hard.  No wonder being a prophet is difficult.  But a faith that is not active and growing, bringing light into darkness, is dead.  That is not a good place to be.

May we learn to hear and welcome the prophet’s voice, both for what it calls us to spiritually and for the words spoken on behalf of the poor and powerless, words that bring hope, healing, justice, and love.

Scripture reference: Deuteronomy 18: 15-20


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Willingness to Give

In many places in the Bible we are called to give. We are called to give of our time, our talents, and our gifts. We find this call in other religions as well. On our confirmation trip to Denver this past weekend, we heard this call to give to those in need echoed in the foundational beliefs of the Jewish and the Muslim faiths. To give to those in need is such a basic human drive when we can set selfishness aside and allow our natural compassion to rise to the surface.

In Leviticus 19 God directs the farmers to leave the produce missed in the first picking so that the poor and the traveler may come and glean from the fields. God instructs them not to pick all the way to the edges and not to go over the field a second time. In the New Testament we see Jesus and his disciples being the recipient of this practice. When harvests were bountiful, this must not have been so hard to do. But in a year with drought and a poor crop coming in, a farmer would be tempted to get every last grape or head of grain out of the field. Society knew this practice was in place and that people could come glean from the harvested fields. Because it was a social norm, it removed the need for the poor and alien to have to come beg from the landowner. It was an early form of social justice and loving neighbor in the biggest sense of the word neighbor.

So… how do we seek to administer similar acts of social justice and giving? How do we honor the call to share our time, talents, and gifts? How intertwined these can be!! For most the simplest way is to share our gifts (money) – we give some back to the church to use in various outreach and mission projects or causes. Some also chose to donate directly to a cause or to sponsor a child in a third world country. We may volunteer to teach Sunday school or to help with Youth group or donate some time each week through a program like CASA that helps those in need. All great ways to say ‘thank you’ to God for all that he has blessed us with. All ways to share with our neighbor the things that God has given to us!

However we chose to make a difference in our world, it is all based on the same underlying idea. All that we have is God’s. In the days of old Israel, the farmers got to keep almost all of the crop that God had blessed them with. Today if you go so far as to tithe, you still get to keep 90% of what God has blessed you with. May we joyfully give from what we have been blessed with!! In the end, it is all God’s anyway!!