Devotion.al

Tag: family

  • Community Essentials

    Community Essentials

    Psalm 133; John 20:19–31; Acts 4:32–35; 1 John 1:1–2:2

    Security is a very important thing. In many respects, a number of the high-profile political arguments are over what exactly is security. Differing opinions of what includes security and the perception of who is responsible for such security can really create the potential for discord.

    The reason security should be part of our analysis of (in practicality) policies and reactions. experiences can dramatically affect one’s personal perception of security, and may dramatically affect what one considers essential for security.

    As we read Psalm 133, the essentials of security were pretty minimal. Modern conveniences didn’t exist. Concepts such as hospitals and medical care would exist until centuries later. Food, wild animals, and war were the biggest security things. Security was generally among one’s “brothers”. In other words, was security. Security was also firmly ground on God’s blessings.

    We can find unity in many things. Often unity goes hand-in-hand with security. The disciples were unified in their following of Jesus and their fear. Fear would not seem to be a security characteristic. Yet fear often drives the pursuit of security, and fear often provides a unifying characteristic so that people are united in pursuing the same security with the same motive.

    The unified fear of the Disciples after the crucifixion of Jesus was transformed into a unified sharing of resources that we see in Acts. This passage in Acts is often held up as one of the litmus tests of “true” Christians and the “true” . There is an ideal in it that most of us can appreciate; look out for the benefit of others.

    The part that those that hold this up as a litmus test disregards what got them there in the first place. First, we had the unifying story of the 11 original Disciples. Then in the same spirit of unity, the greater circle (of at least 60 or 72) raised 1 of their number (Matthias) to the 12. Then, as the group expanded, there were the struggles that the people of the church has with the Jews and with the Romans. Again, shared fears (and realities) created security in unity.

    This creates emotional security that allows one to be free to care for others in a way that is rarely seen in human history. Even in more collectivist cultures, what is described in acts is unusual.

    This is not to say that we shouldn’t strive for it, but this unique time and place should not be a litmus test for the “perfection” of one’s faith and one’s church. In many respects, those that use it as a litmus test are using worldly stuff (i.e., mammon) to define “real” Christians.

    The real litmus test can be found in 1 John. A that submits to be held accountable to the of God, and to each other. True unity is knowing that your fellow Christians are looking out for your interests, in particular, the growth up, wide, and down of your faith in and relationship with Jesus Christ.

    To be fair, this kind of community is often harder to find than a community that shares stuff. Be so united, loving, and trusting with one’s self (versus one’s stuff) is probably the highest bar to hurdle.

    ※Reflection※

    • Can you imagine a community of commons, such as the one in Acts? What would you expect of such a community towards you (and your family) and towards others? How about those outside the community? What would be the requirements of membership in such a community?
    • Are you in a community where your spiritual struggles and growth are shared, encouraged, strengthened, sharpened, and questioned (for improvement)?
      • If not, what would it take for you to be in one? How would you get started with one? Should you?
      • If so, how did the group form? How would you keep it and focused? What are lessons from it that you can share so that other groups like yours could be formed?

    ※Prayer※

    Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal established the new covenant of : Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the , one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

    Second Sunday of Easter Collect, Book of Common 2019
  • The New Communal

    The New Communal

    Psalm 133; Daniel 1:1–21; Acts 2:42–47

    Most of us have at least one food dislike. I read this story of Daniel and I’m not sure how I would do living with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Only vegetables? Eventually, I suppose, I would get accustomed to it, but…just ew. Vegetables.

    At this point in my family, there is tension over vegetables. One member has gone vegetarian (mercifully, not vegan). You can imagine the dinner difficulties between that person and myself. Finding ways to eat becomes challenging. Eating together is one of the big features of communal living.

    Even in monasteries and convents, meals are more communal than and prayer time (usually). There is just something about it that breaks barriers. Greatly dysfunctional and unloving families can actually get along while food is being consumed.

    It’s not hard to imagine that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah ate in the presence of the other “competitors”, but were viewed as strange due to their lack of meat and wine consumption. That probably solidified both their relationships with one another. It also likely reinforced their “Jewishness”. Communal activities are significant in forming mutual . It is no coincidence that the grew despite opposition. Communal identity was formed through worship and daily meetings.

    This is one of the biggest issues facing the US at this point…a lack of formative communal activities. The formative piece is important. We are all part of various communal activities. It could be walking the neighborhood and greeting neighbors. It could be sitting in the same season ticket seats for a sporting event (Go, Tips! Go, Kraken!). It could be leading or participating in fundraisers. There are so many options!

    The freedom of choice also means that people may have a singular common interest, but not any . When you have a communal activity with one group during a set time (like a hockey game), that doesn’t mean you will have communal time with those people at other points. In fact, you both may have other competing communal activities.

    The time of COVID has had some dramatic effect upon this. People have become more isolated than before. Children who used to play together were often prevented from doing so. People have been consuming all sorts of content to fill the “gaps”. Most of this consumption was alone…sort of.

    What it takes to build a communal identity hasn’t really changed, but the modes have. People are building real relationships through the (not Facebook “friends”, Twitter “followers”, or YouTube “subscribers”). They are forming identities on and through the internet (extremist and conspiracy theory groups are prime examples).

    It is hard to grasp how people will form communities without the frameworks that we are familiar with (in-person church, sporting events, potlucks, etc.). The question isn’t whether, it is how.

    ※Reflection※

    • What communal relationships and identities can you think of for yourself?
    • How were these relationships and identities formed?
    • Do you feel as connected to these relationships and identities as you have before? What has changed? What has remained the same?

    ※Prayer※

    Almighty God, you show those in error the light of your so that they may turn to the path of righteousness: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. [ Thursday Collect, Book of Common Prayer 2019]

  • Can’t Wait to Wait

    Can’t Wait to Wait

    Job 14:1–14; Lamentations 3:1–9, 19–24; Psalm 31:1–4, 15–16

    “, 33, of Joseph and Mary, was crucified and died yesterday. Survived by mother Mary. Wandering prophet who proclaimed the Kingdom of God was near. Performed miracles. Challenged the status quo. Caused the leaders heartache.”

    Even in our days, in one’s 30s is sad, but doesn’t have the same resonance as dying in one’s 20s or younger. There is something about age that leads us to directly evaluate a person’s . If they lived to 90 or 100 or beyond, no one really questions it. As our modern lifespan increases, we may begin to push at that, but not by much.

    By measurements such as children (Jesus had none), wealth (Jesus had none), or influence (he was crucified), Jesus was a failure. It’s jarring to think that way. We look beyond Good Friday and Holy Saturday. We know what is next.

    In many respects, Saturday is the hardest day of waiting in the Christian year. The tragedy and horror of Good Friday. The promise and glory of Resurrection Sunday. No one wants to sit in the in-between time and . On Holy Saturday, our lives are often filled with activity. It is a “standard” day off from the 5-day work week. It is also the day we prepare for Easter celebrations. We don’t wait very well.

    Even the lectionary (the set of Scripture readings for each day) doesn’t wait very well. In there are 3 readings that were skipped as part of today’s devotional (1 Peter 4:1–8; Matthew 27:57–66; John 19:38–42) as there couldn’t “rest” between Good Friday and Easter when one includes them. In particular, is the shock, grieving, despair, and even the feeling of abandonment that is so central to Holy Saturday.

    I wish that the Church (and even I) could treat Holy Saturday as a pre-. Saturday for Jesus’ followers was a rest day, no matter how much they had to do to complete Jesus’ burial rites and process. Perhaps it may be time to have a 2-day Holy Day time, each with its own purpose.

    The one unique part of Holy Saturday that I have personally continued to come back to is how much it resembles our lives right now. We have been saved and reconciled to God: Good Friday and Salvation (no matter when our salvation occurred). We are in a state of hopeful expectation: Easter, the of the Messiah, our , and eternal life. Our lives, our very , are between the two.

    ※Reflection※

    • We are all waiting for something in our lives, often in different aspects. What are you waiting for in regards to career, education, faith, family, or other areas?
    • What your reflections on waiting? Are you good about waiting? What do you do with your waiting time?

    ※Prayer※

    O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[Holy Saturday Collect, Book of Common Prayer 2019]

  • Wood and Metal

    Wood and Metal

    Psalm 22; Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Hebrews 10:16–24; John 19:16–30

    Perhaps instead of , it should be Great Friday. The greatness of God succumbed willingly to the , , and hatred of humanity. The purpose was to provide a path for humanity to to God that humanity had abandoned.

    We could talk about all the theology of the cross. We could talk about the theology of atonement. There’s the Justification Theory. There’s the Penal Theory. There’s the Ransom theory. There’s the Relational Theory. There’s the Redemption theory.

    They are all great theories. All of them have an aspect of the in them. Until we God face-to-face, the of the cross is not something to be understood by the mind of humanity. The mystery of the cross is…a mystery.

    All the theories are about “how” it works as if that really matters. That God did it. That is what matters.

    Good Friday is that time where we have to face the Truth. We are the reason for the cross. We are the reason that the only blameless human died on a cross.

    The cross is morbid. It is brutal. It is in the midst of on earth.

    I used to lead a Good Friday service. As part of the service, I drove 3 big nails into a wooden cross: BANG, BANG, BANG for each nail. Three hits each for 3 nails. The cross was on a hollow wooden floor. Each hit on a nail could be felt by everyone. That I drove the nails into the cross, into the symbolic representation of the sacrifice of my Savior, affected me deeply.

    After I was done with the teaching, each person was invited to write something on a piece of paper and nail it to the cross. I never read any of them. Not even my kids’ or my wife’s. That was their “thing” to nail to the cross.

    Oddly, there was something meaningful to many during that service. It wasn’t publicized, but it grew. I don’t know if it was the Savior Himself that drew them or the act of being rid of a weight that drew them. I do know that people let me know that it was their “favorite” service.

    Sounds weird, doesn’t it? Yet, we all seem to know that there is always something else that we need to leave at the cross.

    ※Reflection※

    • What does Good Friday tell you about God? What does Good Friday tell you about how God feels about you?
    • What is something that you need to put at/on the cross, and leave there with your Savior?

    ※Prayer※

    Almighty God, we beseech you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Christ was willing to be betrayed and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the Cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

  • Together Time

    Together Time

    Exodus 12:1–4, 5–10, 11–14; Psalm 116:1–2, 12–19; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26; John 13:1–17, 31b–35

    The tie between Passover and the Last Supper is obvious just based on the fact that the Last Supper was in the context of Passover. Part of the first Passover was the blood of the Lamb that was placed upon doorjambs in obedience to God so that the plague of the of the firstborn male would Passover the Jewish people. The sacrifice for the firstborn remained part of the Law, insofar as a blood sacrifice being needed to atone for the firstborn son.

    The road that ends on the cross tomorrow is the sacrifice of the firstborn of God, God’s only Son.

    Just as it appears that the of Egypt was in the place of the sacrifice of the firstborn (many outweighing the few), so too was God (the infinite) in the place of his Creation (us).

    Maundy Thursday (as this day is called) is, for me, the second hardest day of the Christian Year. Meals are special. Especially as my kids are at the point of being so busy working and with activities and at school, meals together are even more special. For , this special meal may well have been the most important of his . I cannot imagine having this high holy day overshadowed by , torture, and death. Then knowing that all but one would run away.

    Jesus still embraced the pain of that meal. Oddly, I think there was , too. Despite the human failings of the 11 that would remain, there is something comforting being with people that you care for deeply, especially when confronting the darkness head-on. The 11 would carry-on the that you and I have inherited.

    reminds the Corinthians that they were inheritors, too. The Last Supper was really the first supper. Just as I treasure the time around the table with my family, we should all treasure our time around the table of (the Eucharist). This is the place where the boundaries of time and space are thinned that all of the people of the Body of Christ can be joined together in this fateful and binding meal of love.

    ※Reflection※

    • What does Communion (the Eucharist) mean to you? If you missed it, would it bother you? Would you go without it? Why?
    • What is your favorite meal experience? A restaurant? Thanksgiving? New Year’s? St. Patrick’s Day? Are any of these traditions for you and/or your family? Why?

    ※Prayer※

    Almighty Father, whose most dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it in thankful remembrance of Jesus Christ our Savior, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who lives and reigns with you and the Holy , one God, for ever and ever. Amen. [Maundy Thursday Collect, Book of Common Prayer 2019]

  • In the Shadows of Triumph

    In the Shadows of Triumph

    Isaiah 42:1–9; Psalm 36:5–11; Hebrews 9:11–15; John 12:1–11

    Yesterday, we celebrated Palm Sunday. The Messiah, no, the King, no, God (!) entered Jerusalem! At churches around the world, children paraded waving palm branches. The triumphant entry is a big thing!

    I being part of a multi- parade on Palm Sunday. We walked from one church to another. It was different. It provided some emotional and experiential context, but just as we read yesterday, the triumphal resulted in a quiet departure.

    Traditionally, there are a couple of events that are “assigned” to Holy Monday. One of them is the anointing of Jesus by Mary. As Judas so kindly (sarcasm) pointed out, what she did was expensive. It could be seen as a waste. It was something used with a dead body, and Jesus wasn’t dead.

    It was, however, a foreshadowing of what would happen in a few days (granted, no one understood that). It was a beautiful teaching point. In the midst of the smell of death (for the perfume was associated with that), Jesus lived!

    This not-so-insignificant event was at the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. A household that was already a place of significant events. This household seemed to have a pretty significant with Jesus. The anointing of Jesus is also very intimate (which is telling, too) for only the immediate would anoint the dead.

    That Jesus went from the triumphal entry to quiet to the home of this family probably has lessons for us if we knew more. We can only presume and assume. As Jesus understood his time was short, he wanted to spend some extra time with this family that was significant to him.

    Perhaps that is the lesson for us. We have spent the last year in a strange “space”. Time with others was limited. Extend family was discouraged. We have learned some valuable lessons. Others are important, even for us introverts. As our times and interactions became limited, they became more valuable, and we began to choose which was the most significant to us.

    It’s probably a good time to contemplate the quiet, the time before the ; the contrast between the triumph and the quiet. The time to celebrate, and the time to take a breath…and hear the of the Holy .

    ※Reflection※

    • Where do you “meet” Jesus most, in the triumph or in the quiet? Why do you think that is?
    • What do you see happening this week that will echo the emotional ups and downs of Holy Week?

    ※Prayer※

    Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the Cross, may find it none other than the way of life and ; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. [Monday of Holy Week Collect, Book of Common , 2019]

  • Ready To Wait

    Ready To Wait

    Psalm 51:1–12; Isaiah 30:15–18; Hebrews 4:1–13

    This passage from Isaiah was written for me. It sounds like my life. “Lord, help me figure this out.” “.” “Argh! It’s too much! I’ve got to do something!” “Wait.” “I can’t wait! It’s too much!” [time passes] “Well, THAT was a stupid decision.” “I did say, wait.”

    I’m sure it’s just me. I’m certain that God has never told you to wait, and then wait some more. I’m the only one. Right?

    This, of course, is not to direct waiting at all times and in all places, but only when God says to. Then God adds the hard part, waiting in quietness (i.e., ) and peace. The linchpin, however, is when to move.

    There was a time, many years ago, where I could or lay awake quietly for hours. Now? I’m often just a jumping bean in a can.

    Waiting is an art. Waiting in quietness and peace is a gift.

    Sometimes, we just won’t wait. There can often be good (so we think) reasons. There are other times that we just cannot think beyond ourselves or the hour at hand. Despite all the bad that can happen when we don’t wait, God still promises to be there when we are to rest in his embrace.

    Rest can be defined as many things. The author of Hebrews talks about the ultimate Shalom rest that is beyond this life but can be experienced as a foreshadow in this life. There is always another rest until the final one.

    There can also be many types of rest. This is important for often our waiting is a form of resting.

    An athlete can only train so much before their body needs to rest and recharge. Many of the most successful entrepreneurs and leaders take a “rest” (sometimes to start their day) just staring out a window. Introverts will often rest by avoiding people (guilty). As a person in a of 5 introverts, I actually have no clue how extroverts rest (do they?). Perhaps the commandment to rest was directed at extroverts? Not that introverts don’t need to rest, too.

    What we can confuse, however, is resting when we are to be waiting (which often involves preparation) and waiting (preparing often for the wrong thing) when we are to be resting.

    The beauty of the Year (e.g., ) is the combination of rest and waiting that are part of the plan. Not that many (even liturgical) churches do it completely, but the intent was to rest in God and wait for God.

    ※Reflection※

    • Are you waiting, resting, or waiting and resting for God? How do you tell which one you are doing?
    • If you are waiting, do you know what you are waiting for? If you know you are waiting, do you know how you will know to move?
    • If you are resting, what are you resting from? If you don’t know what you are resting from, are you really resting?

    ※Prayer※

    Lord, many of us feel that we have been waiting for over a year. While we were waiting, many of us failed to rest. Help us to rest so that we are prepared for the coming storm of your . Amen.

  • Feeling Real

    Feeling Real

    Psalm 84; 1 Kings 6:1–4, 21–22; 1 Corinthians 3:10–23

    Based upon the description of the First , it was impressive. The structure perched on a hill made it even more so. Culturally, physically, and religiously, it was the center of the Israelite city.  We are often amazed and awed by impressive architecture. If you’ve ever been to any of the ‘s capitals (state or nation), you have likely seen something that impressed you.

    Our cities historically were built around some center point, but as cities have grown in odd fashions, often the original center is at an extreme of the city as it expanded in a single direction out from center. Our homes also have a center, but perhaps that is no longer the case. There was a time where the dining room table or the kitchen was the center of life.

    There was a time when that seemed to be fading away. One of the of the COVID reaction is that we may see a recovery of the home as the center. It is also just as likely, sadly, that this is only a blip.

    The trouble with a center is that when it becomes too much of the focus, it can distract us from the real focus, especially when it comes to our with God.

    alludes to the understanding that each follower of Christ is a temple of God due to the being present in each believer. However, while he uses the implication of a physical temple to describe things, it is about the inner working of the Holy Spirit in the believer. This change of emphasis would indeed be different for both Jewish and Gentile Christians. Jew and Gentile were both very concerned about the rituals and practices of their former lifestyles. The change from external to internal was very significant.

    Often, we focus on the external because it’s easier. Whether it is idols, temples, buildings, what have you. Physical is easier for us to interact with. The physical can also draw us away from God.

    ※Reflection※

    • When have you found the physical to cause struggles with your relationship with God?
    • What kind of physical things could (maybe not for you) cause people to struggle with their relationship with God?

    ※Prayer※

    Dear Lord, keep our hearts focused on you. Amen