pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

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Reflect the Light of the World

Reading: John 9:1-23

Verse 5: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Photo credit: Savvas Kalimeris

In this week’s gospel passage we continue with the themes of light and dark, of good and evil. The disciples notice a blind man and they ask Jesus, ‘Who sinned?’ Going against the Jewish understanding Jesus says that no one sinned. The man is here to display the power of God. Jesus proclaims that “the night is coming.” He is alluding to the evil that will rise up to orchestrate his crucifixion. It will be a time when his disciples and followers will go into hiding. It will feel as if darkness has won. Continuing on, Jesus says, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Right now, Jesus is alive. It is time for the light to shine.

Without any prompting, Jesus makes mud and applies it to the man’s eyes. He is sent to wash in the Pool of Siloam and he emerges with clear vision. The man shares his good news with all who ask – “the man they call Jesus… mud… wash… then I could see.” He tells neighbors and acquaintances and he tells the Pharisees. All are divided but the evidence speaks for itself. The man who was healed now reflects the light of the world to one and all.

Today I ask: How has Jesus healed you? Did he heal some blindness that hindered you? Did he root out some sin that held you captive? Did he heal a hurt in your heart? Did he restore a relationship or situation? What did Jesus do for you?

The blind man encountered Jesus Christ, the light of the world. He was forever changed. His good news was, ‘I was blind but now I see.’ Mine is, ‘I was lost but now I am found.’ Others may be, ‘I was broken but now I am whole.’ We who have encountered Jesus all have good news to share. May we too reflect the light of the world with all that we meet.

Prayer: Lord God, oh how you have changed my life. You’ve shifted my focus from me to you and to others. You’ve turned my greed to generosity, my pride to humility. Now, I’m far from who you want me to be. So I ask that you would continue to love me anyway, that you would continue to shape and form me into who you want me to be. All for your glory, O Lord. Amen.


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Grace and Peace

Reading: Romans 1:7

Verse 7: “Grace and peace to you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Photo credit: Jon Tyson

“Grace and peace to you.” This phrase and the meaning that it carried flows throughout the New Testament and is foundational to the body of Christ. These two essential elements of the gospel create a holy community when lived out. When the Christian community says and lives out these two concepts both within and outside the community, barriers such as socio-economics, gender, race, ethnicity… are broken down and removed. Being loved by God transforms the way that we love others.

Grace is the gift of God and Jesus Christ that leads to forgiveness and reconciliation. Grace is something we do not deserve but receive abundantly anyway. It is the backbone of our covenant relationship with the Lord. Grace is what drives the no-matter-what love that God has for us and that we are called to practice with others. Peace was first a Jewish concept. We’ve lost some of its original meaning. “Shalom” was their word. It conveyed the basic ideas of peace – contentment, assurance, ease – but it extended much wider for the Jews. Shalom longs for and works toward God’s vision for the world – nothing broken, everything made whole. That’s why caring for the needy, welcoming the stranger, protecting the weak… were deeply engrained in the Hebrew people. Peace should long for this for all people and for all of creation.

When we live and extend these ideas of grace and peace, we are building holy community and we are inviting all to be a part of that community. May it be so for you and for me. Grace and peace to you!

Prayer: Lord God, help me first to be a person of grace and peace within. Remove all within me that prevents me from seeing all as you see it. Purge away those things that create barriers in my heart. Then, through me, may all come to know your grace and peace and love. Amen.


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Healed and Whole

Reading: Psalm 30

Verse 5: “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

Psalm 30 is a typical Psalm. It displays a range of emotion and a range of connections to God. Scholars believe that David wrote these words after recovering from a grave illness. As we read it we can imagine hearing some of these words from Naaman. They’d be a bit different – he came to know God during his healing.

Our text begins with David rejoicing over God lifting him out of “the depths.” He celebrates God’s healing touch. David offers songs of praise as an expression of his gratitude. In verse 5 he reflects: “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” As we know, God’s time isn’t our time. So a “night” can be a season. In these times when we have suffered for multiple nights, we long for the sun to rise again, proverbially speaking. Afflicted for many years with a skin disease, how bright the sun shown for Naaman as he emerged clean and whole again. We too have each experienced times when the sun finally rose, when we felt healed and whole again.

Psalm 30 is David’s expression of these feelings and emotions. We can read these words as encouragement, as hope, as assurance, as light in the darkness. We too are called to remember our “weeping” for a “night” and our “rejoicing” in the “morning.” Remembering, may we seek opportunities to share encouragement, hope, assurance, and light with someone who is in the midst of a dark night.

Prayer: Lord God, use me today to help another walk in the valley. Guide me to share my experience if your presence so that one in need of your love may experience that today. Amen.


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Justice, Equity, Righteousness

Reading: Psalm 99:1-5

Verse 4: “The King is mighty, he loves justice… equity.”

Photo credit: Wylly Suhendra

Psalm 99 is a song of God’s faithfulness, holiness, and justice. It calls us to worship God and it reminds us of God’s actions on behalf of the people of God. The psalmist opens with, “The Lord reigns.” For all who believe, this remains true. As the Psalm continues we read, “Great is the Lord in Zion.” At the time, that meant Israel, where God’s “chosen people,” the Jews, lived. Today “Zion” is many places. It is everywhere and anywhere that those who love and worship God are found.

In verse four we read, “The King is mighty, he loves justice… equity.” The psalmist continues in this same verse, noting that God has done “what is just and right.” The heart of God has always been bent towards justice and to equity, to what is right. Today ‘right’ seems to be a subjective term in many ways and places. But in God’s kingdom it is living according to God’s ways as defined and exemplified in the Bible. To me, this way of living is best exemplified and modeled by Jesus.

God in Jesus has a heart for those experiencing injustice, inequality, marginalization… Over and over Jesus was drawn to these people and situations and those experiencing these unrighteous things were drawn to Jesus. He saw their plight, their struggle, their suffering and he offered healing, wholeness, life in community… Jesus loved them as they were and sought to restore and redeem them and/or their situation.

God remains the God of justice, equity, righteousness… As God’s hand and feet and voice in this world, we are called to see and be drawn to the lives and places where these things are missing, lacking, inadequate. In love, may we walk with and minister to these, bringing God’s restoration, healing, and wholeness. May it be so.

Prayer: O God of all people, lead me to live and love as Jesus did, with a heart for the vulnerable and the hurting. In all I say and do and think, use me to build the kingdom that you desire here on earth. Amen.


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Run to Meet Jesus

Reading: Mark 6: 53-56

Verse 56: “They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed”.

Photo credit: Sarah Berriman

Once again as the boat lands, a crowd gathers. Mark tells us that the people “ran throughout that whole region” as they rushed to bring the sick to wherever Jesus was. As Jesus traveled to villages or towns and as he was simply out in the countryside, crowds of people came to Jesus. In these ongoing encounters, Jesus remains compassionate and loving, meeting all people as they were and where they were at. He welcomed one and all.

Jesus continues to meet us as we are and where we are at in life. He meets us when we are tired and worn. He meets us in the joys and celebrations. Jesus meets us when we feel all alone and when we gather for worship or study or prayer. He meets us wherever and whenever. In verse 56 we read that those who came “begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak”. They knew that even such a brief encounter would bring healing and wholeness. All were healed.

Jesus continues to meet us as we are and where we are. This day may we too run to meet Jesus. There we can find healing and wholeness, compassion and love.

Prayer: Lord God, your love astounds me. No matter how I am when I come to you, you love me. Your compassion amazes me. No matter what I’ve done, you welcome me into your presence. There you cover me in your grace and peace, making me whole again. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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Run to Meet Jesus

Reading: Mark 6: 53-56

Verse 56: “They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed”.

Photo credit: Sarah Berriman

Once again as the boat lands, a crowd gathers. Mark tells us that the people “ran throughout that whole region” as they rushed to bring the sick to wherever Jesus was. As Jesus traveled to villages or towns and as he was simply out in the countryside, crowds of people came to Jesus. In these ongoing encounters, Jesus remains compassionate and loving, meeting all people as they were and where they were at. He welcomed one and all.

Jesus continues to meet us as we are and where we are at in life. He meets us when we are tired and worn. He meets us in the joys and celebrations. Jesus meets us when we feel all alone and when we gather for worship or study or prayer. He meets us wherever and whenever. In verse 56 we read that those who came “begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak”. They knew that even such a brief encounter would bring healing and wholeness. All were healed.

Jesus continues to meet us as we are and where we are. This day may we too run to meet Jesus. There we can find healing and wholeness, compassion and love.

Prayer: Lord God, your love astounds me. No matter how I am when I come to you, you love me. Your compassion amazes me. No matter what I’ve done, you welcome me into your presence. There you cover me in your grace and peace, making me whole again. Thank you, Lord. Amen.


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Limitless Love

Reading: Acts 10: 44-48

Verse 45: “The gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles”.

Today’s passage is a great example of the growing circle of God’s love. Throughout the Bible we see that God’s love is much more expansive than was currently realized. At first it was just God and Adam and Eve. Then the immediate family grew. It was just Noah and family on an ark, then it grew. It was just Abram and family that headed out, following God’s promise. Eventually the people of God end up as slaves in Egypt. God redeems them and under Moses’ and then Joshua’s leadership the Israelites were God’s “chosen people”. For many years, one was a Jew or one was not. One was beloved by God or one was not. Even during most of Jesus’ ministry his focus was on his fellow Jews. There were hints of God’s love being bigger than that but the prevailing feeling was still one of exclusivity.

Peter was born and raised a Jew, steeped in this understanding of the Jews being THE chosen people. They were all that really mattered to God. And then God’s says, ‘Excuse me, Peter, but…’. In two visions that come in the first part of Acts 10 God shows Peter that his love is bigger. God begins by revising the traditional Jewish dietary restrictions – one of the big exclusivity definers. All that God created is clean. This is followed up by the Holy Spirit instructing Peter to go with three men to Cornelius’ home. Wait for it… Cornelius is a Roman centurion, a Gentile!

Turning to today’s passage, at Cornelius’ house Peter tells of the good news of Jesus Christ. During his teaching the same Holy Spirit falls on Cornelius and all who are present. All that God created is clean, acceptable, valued and loved by God. Preparing to baptize these new believers, an astonished Peter declares, “The gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles”. In God’s sight the whole world is the mission field. All people are beloved by God. All people are created by God to be in the family of God. All people.

When I think about Peter being astonished, initially I feel a bit superior. I think, ‘Of course God loves the Gentiles. How silly of Peter to try and limit God’s love’. And then the Holy Spirit convicts me too – slaps me upside the head. There are folks I’d be astonished to see in the family of God. There are times I try and limit God’s love. I too need to better understand the limitless and unconditional nature of God’s love. Like Peter, I am still a work in progress. May God continue to break my heart for what breaks his.

Prayer: Loving God, this day help me to love more fully, to love more openly, to love deeper and wider. Keep praying open the circle of my love too. Your love knows no bounds, no barriers. Make my love the same. 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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God Still Speaks

Reading: 1st Samuel 3: 1-20

Verse 6: “Again the Lord called, ‘Samuel'”!

We begin this week’s readings with the calling of Samuel. One night when Samuel lay down in the temple, as he had done for many years, God decided to speak to him. In some ways it must have been a shock but in other ways it was expected. To understand why, a little background from the previous chapter. Samuel was, after all, born to Hannah, the fruit of a desperate prayer to the Lord. This barren woman had taken her case to God and he responded. Eli was there that day in the temple as she poured our her heart and her pain. After understanding her prayer, Eli blessed her, saying, “May the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him”. When he is born, Hannah names him ‘Samuel’ “because I asked the Lord for him”. After Samuel is weaned he is brought to the temple so that “his whole life is given over to the Lord”. Samuel is raised in the temple by Eli, learning much about God. So, it is not a shock when God calls, “Samuel”!

Samuel’s story reminds me of my story and perhaps it also reminds you of your story. Long before I began to remember things for myself, my parents brought me before the Lord and baptized me, committing my life to a faithful walk with the Lord. My birth was an answer to prayer, some comfort to hurting hearts. Although I did not live at the church, worship and Sunday school were regular parts of my childhood. Youth group eventually replaced Sunday school. I was confirmed and became a member of the Congregational church. During my high school years I made the personal decision to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Perhaps your faith journey is similar to mine and, therefore, to Samuel’s. God has long been at work in our lives. God knows us well.

It took Samuel a while to realize that God was speaking to him and he needed Eli’s help to realize it. This too I recognize in my life. I do not always recognize that it is God “speaking” to me. At times I too need others to help me recognize the whispers, the nudged, the guidance. Sometimes three calls are just the beginning of the process for me.

Just as with Samuel, God has plans for our lives. God will call and call, full of patience and love. As we live out our faith each day, may we grow in our connection to the Lord so that we too are faithful in responding, “Speak, for your servant is listening”.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your faithful and persistent call upon my life. I am grateful for each person that has helped me to hear the call throughout my life. Open my eyes and heart to hear you better and better each time you call. Give me a willing spirit, ever ready to respond. Amen.


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Bearing the Light

Reading: Psalm 8

Verse 4: “What is man that you are mindful of him”?

Psalm 8 begins and ends with the same words: “O Lord, our God, how majestic is your name in all the earth”. For David, God was an active and vibrant part of his life. If we are looking, if we are seeking it, we too can and will see God’s majesty all around. Like David, we can see it in the glory of the heavens and in the “work of your fingers”. For example, as I write the sun is creeping up, casting a beautiful light on the ridges west of the house. God’s beauty and majesty are all around us if we but have eyes to see.

In light of the beauty and majesty of creation that David celebrates in Psalm 8’s opening verses, he poses a question in verse four. Here David asks, “What is man that you are mindful of him”? It is a great question to ponder, especially when we consider that God made you and me in his image, like the incarnate Jesus, just “a little lower than the heavenly beings”. David speaks of the works of God’s hands, of all things, being under his rule. Is David here talking of humanity or of Jesus? Or is he referring to both?

The pine tree outside my window is now bathed in a golden light. There is a glow as the light spreads over the tree. I believe “both” is the correct answer to the question above. You are I were created in God’s image to be like Jesus, to bear his light into the world, just as Jesus witnessed to God’s light in the world. May each day of our lives be a part of helping the whole world to see God’s light and love, leading all people everywhere to declare, “O Lord, our God, how majestic is your name in all the earth”.

Prayer: Lord of all, how majestic is your name! Use me today and each day to bear witness to the light. Through me may others come to know your love. Amen.