For Faith
Do you know the story about Ezekiel and the dry bones? The Spirit of God showed Ezekiel a vast valley full of dry bones. Then God asked Ezekiel if he thought the bones could live. Ezekiel answers as we would, “Only you know God.” But God told Ezekiel to speak life to those dry bones, “let them hear the word of the Lord.” The present valley we find ourselves in isn’t different from Ezekiel’s valley. Our dry bones are dislocation, despair, and fear. Our dry bones are family dynamics that siphon off joy. Our dry bones are broken social systems that fatten the few and starve the many. Speak, God told Ezekiel. Speak life to the dead things. Not condemnation, life. Speak God’s preferred reality. We believe that God’s word has generative properties. We believe that God’s word breathed on us and then by us makes a difference, especially in troubling times and circumstances. So speak life, especially when it seems ridiculous, and wait for the bones to rattle. Chin-up, wash your hands, take care of one another and be encouraged!
A weekly conversation focused on the intersections of life and faith.
“Hablar”
By definition a virus infects and brings disease. You could say then, Covid-19 is an enemy! Psalm 23 has a word for us when confronted by an enemy. The poem reminds us that, “…in the presence of an enemy a table is set for us.” The presence of an enemy is not the absence of God or God’s blessing, for us, just the opposite. God does God’s best work with the faith we offer in the face of the enemy. Covid-19 is here, and its consequences will be present for some time. Still, Psalm 23 puts us on high alert for God’s blessings! Now is the time to lean into our God and our faith at our kitchen tables with family devotions. Now is the time to look for the grace in this disruption. Now is the time to see the foolishness in our partisanship and find the unity possible as we face a common enemy. Now is the time to appreciate with new gratitude the portion of health we do enjoy. Now is the time to defy the enemies of compassion and peace and to be other-centered; to strengthen the weak, console the fearful and encourage the sick and lonely. No enemy in two thousand years has been able to cancel the church. In every age, all the enemy has ever accomplished is the rekindling of our commitment to the genius and indestructibility of the power of love as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth.
“Enemigo”
Yes, all around us there’s anxiety. Yes, concerns are legitimate. Yes, the market is down and meetings are being cancelled all around. Yes, even how we do church is being disrupted. Yes, there’s still a lot we don’t know. What we do know is that a spirit of panic is not necessary for the facing of these days. What we do know is that God has given us reason and skill. What we do know is that now is the time to encourage, care for, and pray for one another. Now is the time for taking necessary precautions. (How about each time you wash your hands you use that as prayer time!).
What is distinct about us is that we are in a relationship with a non-anxious, never sleeping God who begs us to cast our cares in his direction. This virus comes while the Church is observing Lent. So, rather than the giving up of chocolate and ice cream, maybe we can switch our discipline to practicing what it means to rest in God. The start of that practice for me always begins with a word from scripture. How about this: “…be calm, cool, and steady, accept and suffer unflinchingly every hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fully perform all the duties of your ministry.” Remember, beloved, we are not anxious like those who don’t know God. And we don’t go stoic or perform steadiness either. For us, God’s steadiness causes steadiness in us especially for the facing of these days.
God bless you.
“Estable”
“Life is not what you see, but what you’ve projected. It’s not what you’ve felt, but what you’ve decided. It’s not what you’ve experienced, but how you’ve remembered it. It’s not what you have forged, but what you’ve allowed. And it’s not who’s appeared, but who you’ve summoned. This should serve you well, beloved, until you find what you already have.” The Apostle Paul said it this way, “God will not be mocked, you reap what you sow.” Jesus said it this way, “Greater is the One in you than the one that is in the world.”
Amy Sherald, Painter.
Galatians 6.7
1 John 4. 4
“Más Poderoso”
Lent is a gift, it’s 40 days where we without shame or guilt can identify, confess and abandon ideas and habits that frustrate God, injure us and our neighbors. One behavior we must abandon is the Death Penalty. We must confess that we chose ignorance, indifference or vengeance as individuals and as a state in this matter. And, we must be clear there’s no justification for Capital Punishment in the life and teaching of Jesus. None! The Episcopal Church as a whole has been opposed to Capital Punishment since 1958. Right now the state of Georgia is entertaining a bi-partisan bill HB 702 that replaces the death penalty with life, without the possibility of parole. This Lent, I am asking you to join me in opposing state sanctioned murder reserved for the poor and the mentally ill in our state. Below you will find information and concrete steps on how you can make a difference.
I wish you a holy and restorative Lent.
Click here for more about HB702 and to find resources for your parish.
“Abandonar”
Jesus’ teachings can sound outrageous! For him, angry words are the same as murder; a lustful heart is the same as committing adultery. Divorce can be legal cover for selfishness and the practice of hiding our true selves beneath fine sounding words is empty and leads to us going wrong. The warning here is obvious; big sins and callous hearts find their beginning in our small, socially acceptable behavior. So stop and listen to your heart. Review the items you’ve laid on the altar of your heart and ask God for help in purging what needs to be purged.
“Yendo Mal”
When I hear Aretha Franklin sing those words, I hear God speaking to each of us:
If you want my lovin’ / If you really do / Don’t be afraid baby
Just ask me / Ya know I’m gonna give it to you / Oh and I do declare (I do)
I wanna see you with it / Stretch out your arms little boy / You’re gonna get it / ‘Cause I love you, oh (Baby, baby, baby I love you) / There ain’t no doubt about it / Baby I love you (Baby, baby, baby I love you) / I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, baby, I love you.
If you feel you wanna kiss me / Go right ahead I don’t mind /
All you got to do is snap your fingers / And I’ll come a runnin, I ain’t lyin’ (I ain’t lyin’) /
And oh what you want / Little boy you know you got it /
I’d deny my own self / Before I see you without it / ‘Cause I love you /
Ain’t no doubt about it baby I love you (Baby, baby, baby I love you) /
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, baby I love you.
“Te Amo”
The word Selah appears in the Bible 77 times. It’s also my third child’s name. As far as we know, it’s a musical notation. An instruction to the choir to stop and listen. But it’s more than that. It’s also stop and feel. Really consider. Like in Psalm 3:2-3: “Many say there is no help for my soul in God Selah.” We’re to stop, empathize and realize we have felt this ourselves. And, just as we stop and listen, Selah has perfectly prepared us to rejoice in the next verse, “But you O Lord are my shield, my glory and the lifter up of my head.”
“Selah”
Paul made an appeal, that two quarreling factions of Christians would be of “…the same mind and same purpose.” That they would put Christ first. For the sake of the world and the church and so their living and faith might have integrity and be generative. Christ above partisanship. Christ first, not just a syrupy, sentimental, Sunday morning only kind of putting Christ first. Rather, a today, at work, at home in the ways I use my breath, my social media, my time and money and how I approach division and attempt to solve my problems kind of putting Christ first!
“Apelación”
Pablo apeló, para que dos facciones de cristianos en disputa tuvieran “… la misma mente y el mismo propósito”. Que pusieran a Cristo primero. Por el bien del mundo y la iglesia y, por lo tanto, su vida y fe podrían tener integridad y ser generativas. Cristo por encima del partidismo. Cristo primero, no solo una mañana de domingo almibarada y sentimental para poner a Cristo primero. Más bien, un día de hoy, en el trabajo, en casa, en la forma en que uso mi aliento, mis redes sociales, mi tiempo y dinero, y cómo abordo la división e intento resolver mis problemas, ¡poniendo a Cristo primero!
Jesus named Simon “Peter,” which means “rock.” But Peter looks like anything but a rock. He’s not strong like granite or shimmering like gold. Given the evidence, Jesus could have named him “cowardly,” “impetuous” or “dense.” But Jesus knows the violence we do to ourselves and others through the giving and acceptance of names. Elbowing his way into this mess comes Jesus, naming us for our future, beloved, forgiven, faithful, neighbor, friend, redeemed, generous. Maybe Jesus named Simon “rock” because he saw in him the quality that marble has, the ability to accept a polish.
“Llamado”
Jesús llamó a Simón “Pedro”, que significa “piedra”. Pero Pedro parece cualquier cosa menos una piedra. El no es fuerte como el granito ni brillante como el oro. Dada la evidencia, Jesús podría haberlo llamado “cobarde”, “impetuoso” o “denso”. Pero Jesús conoce la violencia que generamos a nosotros mismos y a los demás al dar y aceptar nombres. Abriéndose paso en este desastre llega Jesús, nombrándonos para nuestro futuro, amados, perdonados, fieles, vecinos, amigos, redimidos, generosos. Tal vez Jesús llamó a Simón “piedra” porque vio en él la calidad que tiene el mármol, la capacidad de ser pulido.