Scripture

1 John 2.7-11

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is la new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in God and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says they are in the light and hates their sister or brother are still in darkness. Whoever loves their siblings abides in the light, and in them there is no cause for stumbling. But those who hate their brothers and sisters are in the darkness and walk in the darkness, and do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded their eyes.

Words of Hope

Why so much hate? That is not an uncommon question in our turbulent world. In a recent discussion with an old friend, in his frustration over the current political and ideological differences that plague our country, he concluded that “It’s time for a divorce!” He went on to say that in lieu of a bloody civil war, the most logical solution for our country is to divide into Red States and Blue States, with independent systems of government, but with interstate trade agreements. In his estimation, the ability to love one another is beyond the realm of reality. My friend is a highly intelligent and well-informed individual, but he is not a person of faith.

The writer of 1 John lived in oppressive, tyrannical, and dangerous times beyond our scope of understanding, but through it all he was a person of faith. In the letter to his readers, he doesn’t have to immediately state the text of the “old commandment that you had from the beginning.” By the time of the writing of this very late New Testament epistle, they had it engraved on their hearts from their earliest memories of being members of their faith community. It takes John three- and one-half chapters to finally write down the words, “Love One Another.”

This was Jesus’ most difficult teaching to many of his generation and maybe even more difficult to ours. Those three words are infinitely simple to say but unquestionable challenging to practice. The commandment leaves no options. There were no exceptions as to who the recipient of love was to be in John’s community. Though not as inclusive as “Love your neighbor” which included not only the immediate community of believers but the whole world, the words then and now command us to love people who we cannot possibly like.

Where does that leave our present community of followers of Jesus Christ? I can never like a person who practices injustices and preaches hatred, but I must love that person as one who has been blinded by the darkness. Jesus’ light was already shining then and is in no danger of flickering out now, especially when we take his words, his commandment, seriously. He didn’t say to love only those who return your love. That is not a relevant issue to a Messiah who loved the ones who condemned him and nailed him to a cross. His love was unconditional and so should ours be. It is the only way for the people of the Light.

Prayer

Before we react to, revile, or reject any of your children, our sisters and our brothers, teach us to look on them through your eyes and think of them through your heart and mind. Amen

Devotion Author

Dan Peeler
Order of St Francis and St. Clare

Scripture

(Luke 22:42)

“Abba Father, if you are willing, remove this cup [of suffering] from me; yet, not my will but your will be done.”

Words of Hope

How is your relationship with God holding up these days? In the Hebrew Scriptures, Jacob literally wrestled with God. It is impossible for human beings to fully understand the Divine nature, the will of God. Even Jesus struggled, ultimately within his own nature, to face the inevitable.

After Jesus had served that Last Supper with his disciples, he went to a quiet space in the garden of Gethsemane to pray. For several hours he wrestled with the pain and anguish of his probable betrayal, torture and brutal death. He prayed: “Abba Father, if you are willing, remove this cup [of suffering] from me; yet not my will but your will be done.”

After several hours of intense prayer, he got off the ground and was met by his betrayer, Judas. A scuffle broke out among the Temple police and some of Jesus’ disciples, and a Temple servant was struck with the sword. After Jesus healed the young man’s wound, he announced to all present: “No more of this.” (Luke 22:51) And then Jesus was seized by the authorities and taken away to be judged. There in the garden and during his trial, Jesus was resolved to allow God’s will be done.

Even in the most challenging and painful of the actions that were to follow, Jesus remained obedient to God because he trusted in divine goodness and wisdom even without seeing the endpoint. As we live through the uncertainties and fears of these troubled times, with a pandemic far from over, international divisiveness, and countless unresolved National debates, we can still have absolute trust in our God’s will. We may not be able to see what things will be on the other side of these troubles, but we can be confident in our loving and caring God, and in the end: “Thy will be done”.

We know that God is Love and ultimately Love will triumph.

Prayer

All-knowing God, when the weight of the world seems unbearable, when the news around us reports nothing but doom, give us the strength to say, “No more of this” and center our confidence on the wisdom of your divine will.

Devotion Author

Donald (Luke) Day

Reading

“Alongside the hard realities we must deal with, life offers a million moments of delight, and they too are real. Staying in touch with delight as it comes and goes, will help us do our share of the world’s heavy lifting.” Parker Palmer

Words of Hope

It doesn’t take a majestic mountain or cresting ocean to fill us with delight, wondrous as they are. A simple walk in the neighborhood will do. A mother cardinal feeding her fledgling. Sunflowers blooming. Walking barefoot on soft grass. A melody remembered. The strong embrace of a good friend. Watching my young neighbors on their morning walk to the elementary school—mom and dad with their coffee, big brother all tall and straight for his 7 years, little brother laughing as he sprints to the front of the pack.

But sometimes heaviness veils our eyes and we walk mechanically, checking our phones, blindly getting our steps in, but not alive to God’s grandeur. We carry the weight of the world and can’t seem to shake it.

Attending to the sacrament of the present draws us out of ourselves. In his poem “The Gift,” Czeslaw Milosz images such an experience.

A day so happy.
Fog lifted early, I worked in the garden.
Hummingbirds were stopping over honeysuckle flowers.
There was no thing on earth I wanted to possess. I knew no one worth my envying him.
Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot.
To think that once I was the same man did not embarrass me.
In my body I felt no pain.
When straightening up, I saw the blue sea and sails.

Mary Oliver is the master of sacred attention and delight. In her poem “Mindful” she says: “Everyday/I see or hear/something/that more or less/ kills me/with delight,/that leaves me/like a needle/in the haystack/of light. It was what I was born for —/to look, to listen, to lose myself/inside this soft world.” https://wordsfortheyear.com/2015/07/22/mindful-by-mary-oliver/

Prompts from one of Oliver’s poems can be used as a nightly examen—a spiritual practice of reflection before bed. This particular model would recount experiences of gladness during the day. Each subsection of her piece titled “Gratitude” begins with a question which the poet follows with a listing of her own images. Taken together the catalogue is a full-throated chorus of things for which she is thankful. And it could be so for us—before bed—and even in the night-waking when worry strangles sleep. Here are her questions: What did you notice? What did you hear? What did you admire? What astonished you? What would you like to see again?

What was most wonderful? What would you like to see again? What did you think was happening? Of the latter, she imagines: so it is—with all the experiences of delight– that the “gods shake us from our sleep.” http://www.findingsolace.org/gratitude-by-mary-oliver/

Prayer

Holy and Living God, rouse us from our slumber, open our eyes, and fill us with your delight. Amen.

Devotion Author

Dr. Pat Saxon

Scripture

Romans 15:5-13

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Words of Hope

A commitment to live as God desires for your life begins with your commitment of each day and yourself to be obedient to divine help and direction. Think about the day ahead of you as if it were a day trip driving to an assigned work responsibility.

You have made yourself ready to go, then what happens? Do you sit down in a comfortable chair and do little about what actions come your way, or do you go out, get into your car, and set out on a day of opportunities and activities? As you get into the car, you must be mindful about going to work and getting the work done. Is there enough gas in the car’s tank to get you there and back? You probably need to get more gasoline, but from which gas station? Some people behave as if they can fill their car’s tank with some of their own home brewed, but left -over, morning coffee. Others seek the cheapest and maybe questionable source of fuel for their car.

However, wisdom suggests that it is best to trust your driving life with a single gas station that will always provide you with quality and powerful auto fuel. And which single gas station is that? Your decision to hook up to its fuel pump is one of the most important decisions you’ll make all day!

For a successful spiritual day of activity, you must acknowledge that God provides the best, most trustworthy and powerful fuel energy you can use to succeed each day! The best daily spiritual fuel I have found is the recitation of the prayer below. It could be your prayer, too. Each morning as you say this prayer, you acknowledge God’s provision and commit to “hook your spiritual tank” to God’s source of powerful fuel.

Prayer

Lord God, quiet my mind and open my heart to receive your words of guidance, so that today you’ll be glorified in all that I do and all that I am. Amen.

Devotion Author

Donald (Luke) Day

Scripture

Luke 24:50

And lifting up his hands Jesus blessed them.

A Word of Hope

“Holding Hands”

It is both an expression of affection and a practice of justice. Two senior adult men, married, holding hands as they walk across a public parking lot or down a busy sidewalk. It is a simple gesture that my husband and I began to practice with intention after we initially did it out of love and connection.

We noticed that more people smiled at us. Two aging sexagenarians, walking from our car to a restaurant, a shop, a church or a polling place. At times it took courage for both of us, and that courage was needed more in certain places. Especially when we travelled to areas where it was more likely that gay men were not openly embraced. We took a chance. Hoping that this act of both love and, in some communities, civil disobedience—if not by law but by custom—would start conversations that may lead to more accepting attitudes and positive outcomes.

Some people engaged us in conversation. If they noticed our wedding rings, we were often asked how long we had been married. This was followed by surprise when our answer was a date in 2015. Then we would remind them that it was only legal in Texas in 2015, but told them that we had been together longer. Several seemed embarrassed not to realize that, or perhaps gained a deeper understanding of the meaning of the Supreme Court ruling for non-heterosexual couples.

Being a gay, cisgender male couple, a sexual-orientation minority in a family, religion, culture and region where that was looked down upon by many until only recently, is our reality. We realized how difficult it still is—even with the great progress our country and society has made—for many youth and young adults, especially in the Bible Belt of the American South. Prejudice and hate are real. So, we hold hands in public.

Originally, for us, holding hands simply flowed from the desire to love and be loved. Perhaps that is what the world needs now. To be less afraid to hold hands, literally or figuratively, even when it may be uncomfortable or new. May it be so for our culture, our communities, our nation and our world.

Prayer

May we all, like the Christ, use our hands for healing, blessing, helping and holding the least of these; all of God’s beloved children we call the human family. Amen.

Devotion Author

Rev. Dr. Gary G Kindley
Pastoral Psychotherapist
CCIADallas.org