September 3, 2010
Matthew 7:12 – 12“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”
Proverbs 24:29 – 29Do not say, “I will do to others as they have done to me; I will pay them back for what they have done.” (NRSV)
Most of us learned “The Golden Rule” early on in life. We are supposed to treat people the way we would like to be treated. This is a natural corollary of loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. Despite the technicality that some people may have different preferences than we do, this is a solid guideline for behavior. It offers a clear measure of whether our actions are right or wrong.
And yet, too often, we are tempted to twist it around into justification for bad behavior. “He did it to me first!” “She started it!” These are the cries of children, yet we act them out, even if we don’t say them out loud. We tell ourselves that if someone did such-and-such to us, that must be the way they want to be treated, so we can respond in kind.
The author of this saying from Proverbs knows about our tendency to rationalize this way. And he points it out for the lie it is. The Golden Rule doesn’t go in both directions. It is a standard for our behavior toward others, not a justification for our reactions to others. The truth is that we all fail at it much of the time. But the example of Jesus is one of forgiveness and grace. We are asked to turn the other cheek and walk the extra mile, even if the other person will never in a million years do so.
Just like children, we are so often obsessed with fairness. But our preoccupation with what’s fair comes from our preference to judge other people’s behavior and not stay focused on our own. That is not what Jesus asks of us. When it comes to judgment, the gospel says MYOB – Mind Your Own Business!
Collect for the Week: Gracious and Loving God, who sent your Son to show us how to live your will, grant that our hearts might be filled with grace, mercy and love, that we might offer a gospel witness in the face of injustice and discord. Through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
By Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn
+ + + + + + +
August 27, 2010
1 John 2:9-11 – 9Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. 10Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. 11But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness. (NRSV)
Many of the epistles have very strong words about peace among the community of believers, like these verses from First John. These warnings draw a clear line connecting Jesus’ two commands to love God and to love our neighbors. If we’re not doing the second, we’re not able to do the first as well as we might think. This is why we start our worship service each week with the act of reconciliation, the “Passing of the Peace.”
But we must note the shift from Jesus’ teaching in the gospels to what the epistle writers tell us. In First John and other places, the concern seems to be for fellow believers. But when Jesus told a story to illustrate loving the neighbor, it involved a person who would never have been considered a “brother or sister.”
Sometimes even the most devout among us attempt to narrow Jesus’ gospel of love. Loving our brothers and sisters, our fellow believers, is hard enough. But if we’re honest, we know that Jesus calls us to love our enemies, those the world tells us we should hate, as well. John’s words here, though he may not stretch them far enough, speak to why.
Hatred brings a darkness upon us that causes blindness. If we’re still using the eyes of our hearts to cast angry glares at another person, we are not keeping our eyes on Jesus. If we are not giving our whole heart to be filled with God’s love, we cannot be transformed by God’s love as the Spirit intends.
Collect for the Week: Gracious and Loving God, who sends rain on the just and the unjust, fill us with the transformative love of Jesus that we might love you and all people with our whole hearts. Through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
By Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn
+ + + + + + +
August 20, 2010
Psalm 103:11-14 – 11For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. 13As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him. 14For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust. (NRSV)
Everyone knows that if you really want a congregation to remember something, you should put it in the children’s sermon, not the regular sermon. Psalm 103 almost has that feel in these short verses. How high are the heavens above the earth? How far is east from west? The kids could stretch out their arms wide, but what answer do we have besides, “Really far”?
The point is that we don’t need to know the details – and probably we couldn’t comprehend them anyway – to get that God is huge and wonderful and amazing. And that God loves us, “as a father has compassion for his children.” The contrast is stark.
For there at the end is that reminder of our humble origins. God’s grace, which we are called to embody, is so incredible. Following Jesus seems so challenging. The expectations of the faithful are so high. And yet, then again, God knows us through and through. “He remembers that we are dust.” Probably more often than we do ourselves. And so God has compassion on our pitiful attempts at being good.
God knows us and loves us. God works on us and through us. It is God’s breath that gives our dust life, and God made the dust too. God gives us the free will that allows our transgressions, and God’s mercy removes those transgressions from us. How far? Really far.
Collect for the Week: Great and Loving God, who gave your son that we might know life eternal, renew our faith in your steadfast love, that we might trust in the abundance of your promises and be agents of your grace for those in need of healing and mercy. Through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
By Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn
+ + + + + + +
August 13, 2010
Psalm 23:3 – 4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
Bold words. So many of the statements we make in the context of our faith are aspirational language – things we say because we want them to be true. As Christians, we know that we have been promised that we have nothing to fear from death, and yet, to claim that we “fear no evil” even while walking “through the valley of the shadow of death” is probably an exaggeration.
In truth, there are many things we may fear about death, whether our own or a loved one’s. We fear the unknown. We fear the pain. We fear the separation from our loved ones. We fear the long days of adjusting to someone’s absence, an unending emptiness opening up in front of us. We fear being forgotten.
What does the psalmist suggest might help? The first assurance is that whatever happens, we will not be alone. God is with us, always, through all things, in all places and all states of being. But then as the line continues, a more specific sort of assurance is suggested. The images of the rod and staff are images of guidance, discipline even. They are the tools a shepherd uses to keep the sheep in line as they move.
The psalmist insists these tools of discipline are objects of comfort. Can you imagine a sheep carefully making its way through a rocky valley in the shadows of evening? A guiding touch from the shepherd is what keeps it safe from slipping or falling. The practices of our faith are the rod and staff that keep us steady during the times in our lives when the shadow of death threatens. Prayer, worship, devotional time—these disciplines help us to keep focused on that first promise: that God will be with us no matter what. When we feel afraid, these faith practices can renew our courage and help us to truly fear no evil.
Collect for the Week: Gracious, Living God, who sent your Son to pour out life abundant, grant that we might turn to you in all moments of fear and worry, offering our hearts for your renewal and healing. Through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
By Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn
+ + + + + + +
August 6, 2010
John 7:37-38 – 37On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty, come to me, 38and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” (NRSV)
As the community prepares for the Woodstock 5K this weekend, there has been lots of coverage of the need to stay hydrated in this heat. That goes for those of us who will just be sitting, and even more so for the brave souls running and walking the course. So this brief passage from John seems fitting, to remind us that hydration is not just a physical issue.
We’ve all had periods of spiritual dryness. Prayer feels pointless; God seems far away. There are times when it’s just hard to connect, as well as times when life is overwhelming and we hardly have time to try. So the idea of Jesus offering living water is relieving. Just imagining it can make us feel a little better.
But there’s something else to notice in what Jesus says here. He talks about the believer drinking. But the scripture he quotes describes things the other way around: the rivers of living water aren’t going to the believer, but from the believer. I think what Jesus is alluding to here is the abundance of God’s promises. There isn’t just enough water to quench your thirst. There is more than enough, a cup that overflows, rivers that pour forth restoring life all around.
Sometimes, when we’re dry, our focus narrows to just taking care of ourselves. But God calls us to be overflowing vessels of grace – not to just carry enough for ourselves, but so that God’s grace can bring life and hope and love to many.
Collect for the Week: Gracious, Living God, who nourishes all life, grant that we might be refreshed to the point that your transformative love and grace pour from us into all the world. Through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
By Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn
+ + + + + + +