Tag: pain

Dead and gone. Dead and here.

‌???? Read

‌Matthew 22:31-32; Hebrews 11:33–12:2

Focus

‌

“‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead but of the living.”
Matthew 22:32

‌“[Jesus] will come again to judge the living and the dead”
The Apostle’s Creed

‌”I believe in…the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting”
The Apostle’s Creed

Devotion

‌The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos in Spanish) has become a cross-cultural celebration/observation in the US, as the holidays south of the border gain prevalence due to population changes. There is a belief that the Conquistadors brought the Day of the Dead to the New World with them, and because the Black Plague was their backdrop, it became a more morbid observation of All Souls Day.

‌In many cultures, there is a belief that for a time period (from a day to a week), the “veil” between the dead and the living is “thinned”, so that the two “sides” of the veil can interact. It probably was over varying times, but as the Western Church (particularly the Roman Catholic Church) spread, it likely coalesced to today (and yesterday for some).

‌Is the thinning of the veil true? Perhaps. It could also be, because its a day set aside for that belief, that we become aware of the separation between the living and dead. Then there was an older Christian belief that the communion of saints was such that the thinning was irrelevant, because believers were already unified.

‌The spreading of the Day of the Dead across cultures might be something more that an excuse to party or to eat or display Calavera (edible or cast skull-shaped items). The modern culture, particularly in the US, does not do death well. The Dying with Dignity movement, hospice, and other things are a shadowing of this, too (not to disparage either).

‌We fear death. The Day of the Dead and even Halloween (with its macabre and scary themes) are signs of it. They are a play, so-to-speak, that we “cheated” death. Yet, death comes for us all.

‌All Souls Day is a day set aside to recognized, grieve, mourn, those who had died. We don’t mourn those we’ve lost very well. “They’ve gone to a better place,” is a common refrain. However, their death still impacts our being, and All Souls Day is a good day to recognize that.

Reflection

‌Have you lost anyone this year? If so, thank God (as you are able) for their life and their impact upon your life? If they harmed you, ask God to be released from the burden of the pain, and to heal the wounds.

‌Whose death do you forget (on purpose or accidently)? What can you do to remember them?

‌Why is it important to remember the dead in our lives as relationships, rather than historical fact?

Prayer

‌Thank you, God, for the reminder of those you have placed in our lives for good. May we recall the blessings of the people. Amen.

2024-11-02
Happiness and Joy…or Not

Psalm 44; Isaiah 22:8b–14; James 4:4–10

Focus

‌Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
James 4:4 NRSVue

‌…you did not look at the One who did it, nor did you see the One who planned it…
Isaiah 22:11 NRSVue

We don’t like pain or suffering. We often do anything to avoid it. We can also do anything in an attempt to make it feel better, when we’re suffering from it.

‌It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of everyone, and the living will lay it to heart.
Ecclesiastes 7:2 NRSVue

Often sitting in our mourning and pain is more honest and healing than living and striving for revelry and happiness. When we do not confront and deal well with our pain, our wrongs, our being wronged, we react in ways that can be unhealthy for us and for others.

Devotion

‌The full passage in Isaiah talks about how Jerusalem’s vulnerabilities were uncovered (or unhidden) by God. Why? Because of iniquity. What does iniquity have to do with pain and suffering? Well, by this point, the people of Jerusalem (and by extension Judah), had ignored the testing of prophets by the words, and of God by many means.

‌Instead, they chose to tear down homes (and likely the homes of the poor and powerless) to fill the holes in their walls. Were they literal holes in the walls, or is this a more figurative imagery indicating that there was a wrong focus? Probably both.

‌It would be completely within expectations for Isaiah (as inspired by God) to use a practical and physical example to examine the spiritual life of the People of God. Instead of doing the hard (and sometimes painful) work of self-reflection, they chose to do the easier, more worldly thing, find something to dull the pain.

‌They forgot the One.

‌This is James’ starting point with his tirade against Christians who have forgotten whose they are and have reverted to the ways of the world. Instead of putting cooperative peace and mutually humble care for one another—the called for characteristics of Christians—first, they chose to be no different than behavior in the world. Instead of being God’s light and reflecting God’s love, they were reflecting the world’s darkness.

‌What ought to catch our attention is that James equates worldly behavior among Christians to adultery. The ultimate betrayal of marital union is equated to worldly behavior.

‌We, as Christians, aren’t paragons of what we are supposed to be. Per James, we are adulterers. Perhaps not individually (but how do we contribute), but collectively we are. This is something we need to do the hard work on and not skip it. This covers politics, church theology, even pastors and leaders.

‌We forget the One.

Reflection

‌What do you think of non-Christian behavior as adultery? Does it change your view of non-Christian behavior? How do you work through disagreements on things, even what defines non-Christian behavior, with other Christians?

Act

‌Choose a light topic that you know a fellow Christian disagrees with you on. Discuss it with respect and love. The goal is not to change minds, but to understand the other.

‌???? Prayer

‌Gracious God, while we might know intellectually that you are gracious, help us to believe it to the depths of our souls, so that we are gracious to one another. Help us to see our faults, failures, even our love affair with the ways of the world, in light of your gracious love. Guide us to see where we have placed the world and its ways ahead of you and your ways. Amen.

2023-10-13
Know Yourself. Know Your Idol.

The two latest tragedies that are in front of me are the school shooting in Texas, and the abuse scandal unraveling in another Christian denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. Both are incredibly painful. They should be. They are another example of how humanity has fallen and how determined, it seems, humanity is to stay mired there.

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
1 John 5:21, New Living Translation

It was this verse, however, that strikes me as the core issue…idols. Whether one is a Christian, in a Christian community, or not a Christian at all, we each have idols or, more importantly, something that is so close to being an idol that it may not be one spiritually (though that may be debatable), but functionally is.

I speak from ignorance regarding the shooter at the school tragedy, and deliberately so. Reading what pundits and talking heads have to say, even first-person testimonies aren’t particularly helpful and may be more damaging in regard to a solution. From a shepherd’s standpoint, I see pain. Whether it is generational pain, cultural pain, and/or personal pain, it seems to me that someone was in such spiritual and emotional pain that they reacted in a seemingly inhumane way.

He responded inhumanely, but he responded far too humanly.

One of the words I’ve seen applied to him, the accused SBC abusers, and the abuse enablers (in the cases of both shooter and abusers) is inhumane. That can be a misleading term. Humane is a moral stance that is, in the US at least, based upon cultural and supposedly Judeo-Christian frameworks. Humane from a Christian standpoint can best be framed by using Charles Sheldon’s words (culturally popularized in the ’90s), What Would Jesus Do?

On the other hand, human (i.e., less the “e”) is different. Frankly, both tragedies are emblematic of human-ness. Yes, both were inhumane, as are we. I bring this forward, as we often respond to inhumane as if it were the same as being inhuman, or not human. This is a grave danger for us, as when we remove the “e”, we tend to make others out to be less than we are. This leads to tirades against others and the hardening of hearts.

I’m convinced that the Gospel has not lost its power. I’m equally convinced that we have lost the power of the Gospel. We are agents, it seems, of becoming more human and less humane.

In What’s Wrong with the World, G.K. Chesterton wrote, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” I might amend Chesterton and say, “it was found difficult and abandoned.”

Each of us has an issue that ignites us. Each of us has a pain that motivates or chains us. These can be our idols. Pray with me that God frees us from them all and that we become more like Jesus (humane) and less a sinner (human).

2022-05-30
Future Tensely

Psalm 126; Isaiah 40:1-11; Romans 8:22-25

Have you realized that Advent is weird? I love Advent, don’t get me wrong. However, the world has done a successful job of retraining us on what Advent is all about.

Partially, I think, this is because of the image of an unthreatening baby Jesus with lambs, other baby animals, with the inferred warm smiles of (an exhausted) Mary and Joseph. This is a fairly safe form of evangelism, and it’s easy to put out little statues in our homes and on our lawns.

We, the modern church, have become very comfortable with this form of Advent, which creates this weird situation of celebrating the Advent of the birth of Jesus, which already happened. By simple definition, advent is about an event that is coming. Except Jesus came already, and Jesus went already.

Yet, we treat this as more than a simple birthday. This is also more than the annual “discussion” of which Christmas tradition is really of pagan origin and the dispute/defense of those traditions (either way). The problem is that when we talk about the Advent of Christ, it isn’t just about the birth of Jesus. This is where it gets uncomfortable, including for the Western Church.

The Advent Season is about the event of Jesus being born. It is also about the Advent of Christ’s return. It’s that whole return thing that gets uncomfortable.

Today’s passages are about the past. They are also about the future. Psalm 126:1 talks about the past blessings of God. We can equate this to the birth of Jesus (for the sake of example, not making a theological tie-in).

Psalm 126:4 is about the restoration of those fortunes lost. And that’s important. God provided previously. The blessings were “lost”. So, the request is that the blessings be restored. We, too, are in that in between time. The time between blessings.

We look back at the blessings provided and look forward to the blessings to come (the return of Christ). Yet, contrary to the sentimental Jesus of the manger (which was not sentimental in reality), the coming of Christ is not foretold as being comfortable.

For both who have declared Christ their Lord and Savior, and for those who don’t, the Day of the Lord always comes at a cost. Some who thought they were saved may discover they are not. The pain of losing loved ones and the pangs of the world will be unpleasant. So, it makes sense that we don’t talk about it when we want to talk about baby Jesus.

Except, the true hope is that this life is not the end. The pain, misery, injustice, degradation, death, war, pestilence, poverty, slavery that is all around is proof that all is not well. The Advent of baby Jesus didn’t solve that. Only the next Advent will solve it.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

2021-12-06
Let ‘Em Fight
Psalm 145:10–18; 2 Kings 3:4–20; Colossians 3:12–17

It can be hard to be rid of wounds. Many physical ones heal with scars, though the deeper body ones may not heal well. For most of us, the emotional and spiritual wounds are the ones with deep and lasting effects. These are the ones that can hold us back; they can also be the ones that drive us forward. When our loved ones are wounded, often our response is heightened due to our desire to protect them and our subsequent failure to do so. We, then, may react toward them in ways that may seem unwise or over the top.

Elisha’s response to Joram (or Jehoram) may have been a bit harsh. Elisha was the spiritual son of Elijah as the inheritor of the prophetic position. Joram was the son of Ahab. Elijah and Ahab had a poor relationship. Horrible relationship might be more appropriate. Elijah lived much of his life in fear of Ahab. That likely deeply affected Elisha’s response to Joram. Even prophetic people are human.

Although it often seems impossible to live beyond our pains or the pains of our loved ones, we are still called to do it. Will we fail? More often than not. Yet, often it is only through the striving to move beyond the pain that we can begin to heal and gain new perspectives.

We bring our hurts with us everywhere we go, including church. In fact, one of the biggest reasons people leave a church (or the church or the faith) is because people at church hurt them. The reality is that the church proportionally contains as many hurt people as the world…100%. How we deal with the hurts should be what separates Christian behavior from the world’s behavior.

We should be honest…Christian behavior in this regard is often worse than the world’s. The world has put systems into place to mitigate some of it. It still misses a lot of it. Across the denominational landscape (i.e., in no way limited to a single tradition or denomination), the church has done a horrible job. Whether it is the burying and hiding of failures or the annihilation of the failed, the church has left a large body count in its wake.

Paul’s words to the Colossians aren’t just to a “church”, it is to individuals. One of the biggest mistakes we in/of the church make is thinking in institutional terms, rather than individual terms. This is very peculiar as the primary Western expression of Christianity is all about individual salvation, individual sin (for repentance and salvation). Yet, we are quick to move to an institutional framework when it (even just) might require us to deal with the failures of another.

There is a huge piece of personal responsibility. There is a huge piece of institutional responsibility. Institutions are made of individuals, so it still comes down to individuals. How we are formed by each other and the Scriptures will play a significant part of how we deal with things. Though, the hardest part is not running away every time, and yet—after doing the hard work—there is a time to leave.

The peace of one body is hard to achieve. Paul commends sing psalms and worship songs to one another. That “to” is interesting. Our worship songs are “to” God (as they should be as reflections of praise, adoration, and thanksgiving). It would be nice to know which songs and psalms Paul meant. It does mean though that we are to work on one another in the love of Christ. It also means, that we are to allow ourselves to be worked on, which often means our pains and hurts come out. What we do with ours and those of others may well reflect how much we really let the Holy Spirit renovate our hearts.

※Reflection※
- What worship songs (of any era) or psalms would you think of to sing to others to help form them in the image of Christ?
- When it comes to conflict how do you deal with it at home, at work, extended family, socially, at church? How do you respond when you witness conflict at each of these places?
- How do Paul’s words affect your responses, or your future responses, to conflict?
※Prayer※

Lord, we wrestle with one another, often out of pain. Blessed Healer, heal our hearts so that we do not hurt the hearts of others.
2021-07-23
Tabled Enemies
Psalm 23; Jeremiah 10:17–25; Acts 17:16–31

One of the things that will make many Christians fall away from the faith is a weak foundation when it comes to trials. We say many platitudes, and try not to think about what happens where we actually tested. If you’ve ever read anything on the many martyrs of the church (from of old to the present day), you will often come away with, “Thank you, Lord, for that not being me.”

Psalm 23:5 reads, “You set a table for me right in front of my enemies…” While it is often read and interpreted as a “thumb your nose at your enemies” that is probably not the intent. As this Psalm is one of shepherding, the intent is likely more along the lines of being so confident in God, so reliant on God’s power, that even a resting meal (versus standing up or eating hurriedly) is possible in peace while among one’s enemies.

Though, many of us are probably not so assured of God’s protection were we to be placed in a so-called relaxing position among our enemies. How bold would we really be? How ready would we be to deal with the emotional anxiety that it would involve?

The concept in Jeremiah 10:19 is that there is pain and a consequence to deal with in these situations. It’s not just deal with it, but not even seeking to escape it. In Jeremiah, the consequences and pains of exile are coming and the God-honoring response is to accept it and not try to escape it. The reality of soon having a table in the presence of one’s enemies really comes into focus for Jeremiah.

※Reflection※
- What does it mean to you to be seated in the presence of your enemies? Who have been your enemies? Who are your enemies?
- What does it mean to have enemies, and yet be told to love them and pray for them? If this is the case, do Christians really have enemies?
- What battle or pain are you trying to escape right now that God may actually be calling you to lean into?
※Prayer※

Holy Spirit, thank you for your presence wherever we are. Guide us through the times we are to embrace our trouble and pain and lead us out of the times when they are not for your benefit or ours. Amen.
2021-07-16
Who Is For You

Amos 7:7–15; Psalm 85:8–13; Ephesians 1:3–14; Mark 6:14–29

There are many people in the world who have a person they focus on. That person could be an individual they look up to. That person could also be a person who was the source of a lot of pain or conflict. When there is such a person in our lives, we will often not see others as important as that person, even when that person is more significant to others.

There was very little to commend Herod. He wasn’t known as the best ruler. He definitely had some difficulties seeing the next step. Herodias probably wasn’t the only one who had Herod wrapped around her finger.

Herod’s response to Jesus was to claim that John the Baptist was raised from the dead. That’s more than a little weird unless John the Baptist was that singular person for Herod.

It makes sense. John the Baptist apparently spoke to Herod quite a bit. Herod liked listening to him, but couldn’t understand him. Knowing the language that John used (“you brood of vipers” comes to mind), either Herod was clueless or John spoke to him differently, which seems unlikely.

Herod also didn’t seem to understand what was going on in his territory. John the Baptist? He knew John. Jesus? Nope. We know later Herod got a clue, but at this point, it was John over Jesus.

There are times where one person is “the” person. For a time and a place, they are the person to lead or to influence. Then their time is over. Generally, we assume that the next person will be younger, but not always.

Whose time and place will have the greatest impact upon us will usually not be figured out until the time has passed.

Often the person we think was the most influential is not the person we think it should be. For each of us, we often think it is Jesus. We have a hard time imagining John the Baptist outshining John the Baptist. Yet, for Herod—at that time—it was John the Baptist.

※Reflection※

Who have been the influential people in your life? Were they the “important” people of the world? How did they influence you?

2021-07-10
Facing It

Psalm 119:81–88; Jeremiah 16:1–13; James 5:7–12

The yearning in Psalm 119:81–88 is almost palpable. The need for relief with a counterbalance of trust produces a huge amount of tension within a few verses. This tension is often part of our own lives as we desire immediate relief from our trials, the fulfillment of our hopes and dreams, and trusting God. Far too often, however, we have trusting God within that, so end up doing it in our own power.

This may be part of the reason why for God’s warning to the residents of Jerusalem through Jeremiah. Don’t try to make up for the exile through childbirth. That dream is more than you can bear. If you try, everything around you will fall apart in ways beyond your ability to bear.

The reality was that Jerusalem would not be a healthy place to remain. Due to resource issues, it would have difficulties sustaining a significant population. When that happens, disease and famine will come. It’s not a God-caused thing, it is the reality of an overdrawn environment.

When it comes to our trials and dreams, however, patience is often not one of our strengths. Often we also begin to bite at and attack one another. In an attempt to appease the tension and pain, we often turn to things and actions outside of ourselves: alcohol, drugs, food, sex, anger, fighting, hatred, insults, ridicule, complaints, discord, control, withdrawal. Various people find ways to deal with their pains.

Strengthening our resolve in God and following God’s lead is often difficult in the light of our dreams and trials, yet that is where God meets us. We just have to have the courage and faith to face it.

※Reflection※

Where is the tension in your life right now? How do you see that tension in your dreams and your pain (trials)

※Prayer※

Lord, build our capability to endure the tension between our dreams and our trials as we rely upon and have faith in you. Amen.

2021-07-06
Fairly Cruci-Formed
Psalm 30; Lamentations 3:22–33; Mark 5:21–43; 2 Corinthians 8:7–15

Grace. Unmerited favor. Overwhelming love. Not words that would usually be associated with Lamentations. With the content of Lamentations being a result of the fall of Israel (and in particular, Jerusalem), it is peculiar to think of grace.

Lamentations is poetry, lament, and theology all wrapped into one. In Lamentations, probably more than even in Job, someone (or someones) wrestles with grief, loss, death, the (un)fairness of life, and other things that people question when in the throes of significant pain of the heart.

Despite all that they have gone through, including their recognition of their sin and transgressions, God hasn’t abandoned them. For a time, they would be wandering in a new kind of wilderness, but God would not let that way remain forever.

The world really isn’t fair. We often aren’t fair to the ones we love, or even ourselves. One of the biggest and most painful lessons we learn as children is that the world is not fair. What makes that even more interesting is that no matter how deep that wound is, there is something that we cannot tolerate about things not being fair.

Even in the verses of Mark, there are “not fair” examples. Some leader gets to ask Jesus into his home. Normal people wouldn’t get to do that. Some random woman touches his outer garment and is completely healed. There were probably others touching Jesus’ garment, and they didn’t get healed. It’s not fair.

Then Paul dares to ask the Corinthians to send money. He doesn’t demand it. He puts it in nice gentle language. He still wants our money. It’s not fair.

Except, Paul’s point, God’s point isn’t fairness. It’s not even reciprocity. It’s doing right because it is right. Not because it’s fair (or unfair, honestly).

Fair and right are often at odds. When we add time to the mix, it becomes even more difficult, for the long-term consequences may well change what is truly fair and right.

With this in mind, it is important for us, as followers of Jesus, to pursue fair and right from the perspective of God. Of course, what that means is up for debate in the current era, which is a problem in and of itself. When we are no longer able to determine fair or right, or we really the children of God?

※Reflection※
- What does fair mean to you? How does “fair” reflect the nature and/or character of God? What does a “fair” Christian do that a non-Christian wouldn’t?
- What does right mean to you? How does “right” reflect the nature and/or character of God? What does a “right” Christian do that a non-Christian wouldn’t?
- How do you learn and discern fair and right in your daily life?
※Prayer※

God of judgment, may the Holy Spirit shape and form us to be reflections of you in how we see and do fair and right. Amen.
2021-06-27
Our Warring Hearts
Psalm 30; Lamentations 2:18–22; Luke 4:31–37

In the science fiction series, Babylon 5, we learn about the “great” war. The great war was between two sides fighting for the benefit (or the evolution) of the “lesser” species. Each side has a different method to initiate change and improvement. One side (“the light”) seeks to change people through peaceful means. The other side (“the shadows”) seeks to change people through fear, pain, and, most importantly, war. The sad part about this is the ultimate conclusion from the series is that both sides are right and wrong. It really does echo human history.

For those who have grown up in these last few decades and for those who seek the love of God, passages of destruction and penalty are often emotionally hard to read and more difficult to understand the seeming conflict between the God of love and the apparent God of wrath.

When we read Lamentations it should, if we have our empathy intact, lead our hearts to ache for the loss and pain of Israel. It’s not that we do not understand that this is a consequence of Israel’s abandonment of God. We are human. We are called to empathize with others, even while we understand that these were consequences. Part of the struggle is that we long for comfort and security. We want our God to protect our understanding of our comfort and security. Whenever God even appears to challenge our comfort and security (even if it is for our own good), we cry out to and at God.

We will often sound like that man in Capernaum. “What have you do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?”

Our earthly minds will often disregard the man either because of his possession, or (if we don’t believe in literal possession) because he is a mentally ill man (the modern view). Regardless of which choice, the man still sounds like many of us. “Don’t change us. We like the way we are living.”

Change often ends up being a little death and a little mourning. We either have the courage to face and embrace it, or we respond in fear and anger when it comes upon us.

※Reflection※
- Have you ever had a personal life change that felt a little like death (not talking about the death of a loved one)?
- Why do we often reject war (of many kinds) and pain, pursue and desire change, and yet often only change when thrust into the middle of war and pain?
※Prayer※

Help pursue a life of holy change. Train our hearts to see you and not the trials that temper us. Amen.
2021-06-26