Author: rsferguson

Meditation 301

John 3: 1-17

Today’s is the last of the meditations that I have been writing for the past 14 months. This pandemic project has been an interesting experience. I have found that the practice of writing 5 or 6 meditations a week has been a way to express thoughts that come to me, and I have found in the sharing of these thoughts that there has been help for others. The reflections and comments from those of you who have been reading these meditations have been a blessing to me. Thank you all for being part of the reading community that has grown in the past 14 months.

This coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday, the day we are reminded of the doctrine that God is one in three and three in one. In this passage in John there is reference made to God in three different persons. We hear of God who sent Jesus, who sent his son, and who is by implication is a Father. We hear from Jesus who talks with Nicodemus, and we are told of the spirit that is like the wind that blows where it will, enabling us to be born of water and of the Spirit. Father, son and spirit. The traditional names for the members of the Trinity.

In this passage Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, telling him about God, and about how to know God.

Nicodemus has seen in Jesus something different than the other rabbis, so he goes to him to ask questions. This passage is so familiar to us, and the verse about being born again is quoted so much that we can miss the drastic nature of this story. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, this meant he was devoted to the law of God. He loved God and wanted to serve God. He had dedicated his life to studying the law, and he had a good understanding of what God wanted. In a way he was comparable to a moderator of General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. He had recognition from his group of believers, and he would have some recognition from those outside of his group of followers. Nicodemus was respected.

Into Nicodemus’s ordered world came Jesus, a young radical rabbi who questioned the status quo. He was questioning religious traditions; he was questioning power balances, and he was upsetting everything with the stories he told, and the miracles he performed. Yet somehow in the midst of the upset Jesus was creating Nicodemus could see that he was more than a rabble rouser and he came to Jesus to find out more. This would be like an established, respected minister, asking one of the young men with piercings and tattoos what he had to say about God. For an established Pharisee, like Nicodemus, to come to a young man like Jesus for instruction, was an event that would simply not be expected. The older men did not go to the young men for instruction.

Nicodemus recognized that Jesus has been sent by God when he says “No one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Nicodemus recognized authority in Jesus, and as unlikely as it would be for his day and age; Nicodemus goes to visit Jesus. As unbelievable as that story would be for the original hearers, we find that it was chosen to be recorded in the gospel of John. Just as it was unusual for Nicodemus to come to Jesus there are also people that we do not expect to approach for spiritual insight. Who are the people that are hard for us to approach? What would it be like for us to go to the people on the fringes and ask what they knew of God? What story might a street person tell of an experience of God? What story might a chronically unemployed person have to tell? Would they tell of Christians who showed them the love of God? Would they tell of believers who looked them in the eye and gave them the help they asked for? There are times that we are the face of Jesus to those we meet.

We see in this example that Jesus was open to talking with those who are asking questions, and teaching truth that will help them to grow. The truth that Jesus gives to Nicodemus; that he must be born from above is the truth that we need as well. This is not something that we have to hold over others, not a way of making us out to be better or closer to God, but a way that the spirit is at work in our lives enabling us to be born of water and the spirit. We are invited to be born from above or born anew. When we encounter God, we become new people.

Meditation 300

John 3: 1-17

Imagine that you are Nicodemus on that night that he went to talk to Jesus. It is getting dark, and you see the people of the village lighting lamps in their homes, and some of the people going up on their roofs to sleep in the cool night air. Even though most people are getting ready to settle down for the night, you step outside and you walk to the house where Jesus is staying. As you walk you notice the stars shining in the night sky, and you wonder what Jesus will say when you show up. As you approach the house where Jesus is staying you wonder if he will be surprised to see you, and you wonder what he will say.

As you reach the door of the house you see Jesus sitting inside and he invites you in. You tell him that you have many questions to ask him. You say “Jesus, I have so many questions to ask you! I know that you are a teacher of God’s love. I would like to learn more about what it means to live in God’s way.”

Jesus smiles and says “Then let’s start. What do you want to know?” You take a deep breath, and then you begin to ask Jesus about the things that you want to know. There were so many things to learn! And Jesus answers every question, and sometimes Jesus asks you questions, too.

If you were able to bring your own questions to Jesus, what might they be? Maybe it would go something like this: “Jesus, here I sit by you – the night around us and I find myself shaping many questions about my life and my times and my living in this world. You say I cannot enter your realm without being born anew. Yet I confess the ways I cling to the habits and the patterns that keep me from living and sharing my life to the full. I hear your words: “What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit.” Hear me, my Saviour, as I confess the ways I live by the flesh, and turn away from your Spirit, following the ways of the world, rather than the greater truth of your way.

I hear your words that God loved this word so much that you were sent to live among us. Hear me, my Saviour, as I ask for your forgiveness, trusting the love that opens the way of life to me for your compassion is greater than any of my sins.

After your questions have been asked, imagine Jesus saying to you:

“Thank you for talking with me, and I have listened to your questions and concerns. You have heard my words and my word to you is: you are forgiven. For I have been sent into the world not to condemn it but to save it and I have come to save you, my child. Receive this forgiveness and may my spirit birth new life within you.”

Whatever questions we have about living with God while also living in the world can be brought to Jesus who will hear us and who will help us to live the new life he gives.

(The content of this meditation draws from a sermon I preached in 2008 and the quotation beginning “Jesus I have so many questions…” in line 2 paragraph 2 and going to the end of the meditation is from Seasons of the Spirit 2008)

Meditation 299

Romans 8: 12-17

As we prepare for Trinity Sunday, we have this scripture lesson that gives a glimpse into how the trinity works. Those who are adopted by God are led by the Spirit, we are children of God who call the Father “abba” and we are heirs with Christ, who we have been told in verse 11 has been raised from the dead. The persons of the trinity work together for the salvation of those who are adopted into the family of God.

It is an amazing thing that we have the privilege to call God Abba. This is what Jesus called God before facing his crucifixion. (Mark 14:36). Abba is a term used by a child for a loved father. It is a name that denotes trust and love between the two. According to this passage in Romans, those of us who call God Abba are those who have been adopted, chosen with love to be part of the family. There is a special bond in adoptive families. Parents who chose to adopt do so to enlarge their families, to draw the circle of relationship wider, to find more ways to live love. Children of adoptive families know that they have been particularly chosen to make a family complete. When we know that we are adopted to be a part of the family of God, we are recognizing a precious truth.

We who have received a spirit of adoption, and are called children of God, are joint heirs with Christ, which means that while we may suffer with him, we also will be glorified with him. Through Jesus we are no longer under the direction and control of sin, but we have life with, and from God. “This is not something that Christians do in their own strength. Paul doesn’t give a list of ten tips for righteous living, but rather calls believers to continually let themselves be led by the Spirit who dwells in them (verses 9, 13-14)” (Jennifer V. Pietz. Working Preacher)

In this passage in Romans, we see that the Spirit leads believers to come to be adopted by Abba to be heirs of the work of Christ. Each member of the trinity supports the word of the others, so that we people may know the love and security of being in God’s family. When we are children of God we are not longer living according to the flesh. That is the urge of sin is no longer the main power in our lives. One of the ways sin imprints upon people is to convince them that they are worthless, that if they do not scratch their way to the top that they will be overlooked, that they do not deserve love, and that they must hide their vulnerabilities from those who will take advantage. Abba says to us that we are loved, and we can give up the striving to be heard or be noticed. Abba loves us as we are, the Spirit brings us to the family of God and Jesus has made it possible for us to be heirs.

God is three in one and one in three, always active in our world to bring the kingdom of God into completion.

As the hymnwriter says:

Great Trinity for this new day, we need your presence still.

Create, redeem sustain us now to do your work and will.

(Book of Praise #286)

Meditation 298

Isaiah 6: 1-8

In reading of this dramatic vision of Isaiah’s we are drawn into his experience that was realized through all of his senses. Isaiah saw the Lord and the seraphs, he felt the pivots shake, he heard the voice call out, he would have smelled the smoke and maybe had the taste of smoke in his mouth. The Lord was sitting on a throne and the hem of the robe filled the temple, and at this majestic sight the prophet is filled with a sense of his own unworthiness in comparison. He cries out “Woe is me!…I am a man of unclean lips and I live among people of unclean lips” (verse 5) Isaiah is overwhelmed at the sight of the Lord and cries out that he is unworthy. In a dramatic gesture Isaiah’s lips are touched with a live coal and Isaiah knows that he has been forgiven.

Isaiah will bring the word of the Lord to people who are reluctant to hear what he has to say. He is a willing prophet, unlike others who protested when they were called by God. (Moses and Jonah quickly come to mind) Even though Isaiah is willing to preach, and even though the content of his message will be the word of the Lord, there will be an indifference to what he has to say. In the first fie chapters of the book of Isaiah we learn that the Judeans, to whom his is to preach, have forsaken the Lord (1:4), that their worship is futile (111-17), their leadership is corrupt (1:23), and they exhibit greed that leads to injustice (5:8). Up until the year of Isaiah’s vision, Uzziah had been king. In the early part of Uzziah’s reign he was faithful to God, but as he led the people in military victories, and as wealth increased, he became proud of his accomplishments, which led to his downfall. The length of Uzziah’s reign had given a sense of stability to the country, but now that he had died, there was a loss of leader in the context of spiritual indifference.

In some ways preachers are facing a similar situation to that which was faced by Isaiah. In a post-modern world cynicism and questioning are often the norm. We have seen how individuals and countries have used power to destroy, we have seen how some religious leaders have abused power as thoroughly as some political leaders. A preacher can bring the word of the Lord to the people and have little to show in the way of numerical growth. In the face of such results, we need to remember that the task that is given is to go for the Lord, the task is not necessarily to build a successful institution.

The Lectionary has cut this passage off before we hear what the message is that Isaiah is to preach. On behalf of God who is so majestic as to fill the temple and inspire the prophet to follow, Isaiah is to preach to those who will not hear. That is Isaiah knows from the start that his preaching and ministry will not “work.” God sends Isaiah into an uncertain, sinful and unstable situation. While the task is huge, there is hope found in God who is strong enough to withstand the evil in the world. (Charles L. Aaron Jr. Working Preacher)

And so, for those of us who follow God, we like Isaiah look to God for our guidance rather than finding hope in what the business world defines as success. We serve and love the holy God who is stronger than any challenge that comes.

Meditation 297

Psalm 29

According to my records I started writing these meditations on March 21^st of 2020. One of my minister friends had suggested that during the COVID lockdown, that people would appreciate a reflective writing based on scripture, that would give them a sense of God’s presence and guiding during this time.  I thought that for a few months I would share some thoughts on the scripture lessons for the coming Sunday. I thought I would share with folks in the congregations where I serve, and maybe a few friends would also be interested in what I wrote. Well, here we are 14 months later. I hope that these meditations that have been shared have been a help, maybe they gave you a new point of view on a scripture reading, maybe there was hope shared when you needed it, or maybe they touched you in some other way, as I said, I hope they have been helpful.

The point of the rambling first paragraph is that this week will be the last week that I share these meditations, as I will be retiring, and May 30^th is the last Sunday that I will be in the pulpit at the Charlotte County Pastoral Charge. My husband and I have plans in place for the retirement stage of life, and the execution of those plans will be affected by – guess what – COVID 19! The words of Psalm 29 are helpful for me in these days of anticipation.

Psalm 29 is an invitation to all of creation to give praise to God for the majesty of God that is displayed in the force of nature. The description of the storm that is over mighty waters, and that moves over the land is believed to be the description of a storm over the Mediterranean Sea. The winds and lightening are perceived to be signs of God’s strength and power. Those of us who live near large bodies of water know the power of water, how it can surge onto land and bring the land back with it, or how the water can beat at a dock until it breaks. We also know that water gives life and habitat to creature great and small. Water is an amazing sign of the grace and power of God.

The writer of Psalm 29, and the early audience would accept that God speaks to us in creation, but this may not be as likely for those of us who live in the 21^st century. We may understand more about how life systems operate and how they interact with each other, but we are less likely to expect to hear the voice of the Lord in the wind or the rain. Our experience of faith may have been shaped by worship in a faith community with an emphasis on the word and music, with the word having prominence. Psalm 29 tells us that the Lord is enthroned over all that is happening in the storm. If we have confidence that the Lord is not overcome by the strong forces of nature, then we may also have confidence that the Lord has strength over whatever turmoil is in our lives.

We see in Psalm 29 that the psalmist does not ask the Lord to stop the storm, but is confident that the Lord will give the people strength and peace. Those of us who have met an obstacle and have worked through it often are stronger for it, whether the obstacle be a fitness goal, sitting with a loved on who is ill, or waiting out a pandemic. When the strength of the Lord increases our own strength through the training or the waiting, we arrive at peace that passes understanding.

Meditation 296

John 15

The work of the Spirit is action, and the following story, found at the site “After Hours Inspirational Stories “, tells of such action. A man named Chris tells of an event that changed his life many years ago. Christ and his wife were driving home to College Station, Texas one day around 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning, and they decided to stop at a local gas station to get coffee and something to snack on since it was a good hour and a half before they got home. As soon as they got their supplies they quickly got back in the car as it was a cold morning. It was then noticed a homeless man standing outside in front of the building. He was holding a coffee as much to keep warm as to have it to drink, and Chris assumed that he could not afford food as well. Before Chris and his wife drove away a dog walked up to the front of the building. Chris, a dog lover noticed that she had been feeding puppies, and that she was hungry. Chris and his wife also noticed that people walked by the hungry dog without noticing her in the same way they walked by the homeless man. Even though Chris was moved by the dog’s plight he still did nothing, but someone did. The homeless man, who it was thought could not buy himself anything to eat, went back into the store. And what he did brought tears to Chris and his wife. The homeless man went into the store and with what money he may have had, bought a can of dog food and fed that dog.

One way the Spirit is evident is our lives is by helping us to give without counting the cost. This is when we are able to be like God, it is the work of the Spirit in our lives. When Jesus lived on earth, he lived such love, he was an example of grace to the people he met, and when he went to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the spirit of truth who would both testify on Jesus’ behalf and enable the followers of Jesus to be like God.

In John’s gospel, Jesus promised the gift of the Spirit to be with us, in the account of the gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts that spirit came rushing down in a dramatic way. According to John’s gospel account, Jesus had to leave for the advocate to be sent. This advocate or spirit is going to bridge 2 realms. The spirit will operate in both the community of the faithful and in the world

Jesus had promised in John 14: 26 that the spirit would teach all things and so the spirit helps us to see how to connect with those beyond the faith community. The spirit teaches us how to respond to the hurts of the world that didn’t even exist in the ancient world, and so the spirit helps us to address concerns that are not clearly addressed in Scripture. The exciting news in this is that the Spirit will proclaim Jesus’ own teachings in the new and changing circumstances that the community will face when Jesus is gone.

Up to that Pentecost day on which the spirit descended upon the crowd, Pentecost was an observation of the “in” group. Those who were the chosen celebrated the feast of weeks 7 weeks after the Passover.

It was a ritual belonging to the children of Israel, but on this Pentecost at day in Jerusalem that is described in the book of Acts, the spirit swept down and the manifestation of the spirit was evidenced to everyone. Pentecost was no longer the observation of a select group. Pentecost was now in the public domain as it were. That day of Pentecost was a way of showing that God was the God of everyone. Pentecost was not meant to become another set in stone observance or merely an historical happening

Pentecost is a celebration of the fact that the spirit is active today. (Ginger Barfield)  This year as we observe Pentecost we may give thanks that God is the God of everyone.

Meditation 295

Romans 8:22-27

The book of Acts tells of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a dramatic and unifying way, as the sound as of the rushing of wind was heard and the disciples spoke in many languages, so that all the people in Jerusalem were able to hear the gospel message in their own language. In John’s gospel we hear Jesus promising the Paraclete, or intercessor and comforter, which is how the Holy Spirit would be manifest to the believers when Jesus was no longer with them. Here, in the book of Romans, we have a description of how the Spirit is at work within the world. The Spirit has been manifested in a dramatic way, it is a promised gift from Jesus, and it is also helps us in our weakness. (verse 26)

When the book of Romans was written the church of Jesus Christ was in its early stages. In Rome there were house churches, some of which were Jewish and some of which were Gentile, and the author of Romans is laying a theological ground work that will help them to see that they are all one in Jesus Christ. This change in the way of dealing with those who are different was likely the source of struggle for many of the believers in Rome. It flew in the face of how they had been raised and what they had been taught. The church was also existing within a context of the struggles that would be evident in day to day life. There would be economic struggles, health care issues, and political situations to be navigated. To those believers in Rome in the ancient world, and to those of us who follow Jesus today, we are told that the troubles that we experience are like labour pains that the whole of creation is experiencing.

People have a tendency to point to suffering as a result of a wrong doing, as something bad that has no purpose other than as a consequence of mistakes made. In this passage in Romans, we are given a different point of view of suffering where it is compared to labour pains. In this context suffering in part of the process that will lead to something better. This is not to say that we do not walk empathetically with those who are seriously ill or those who grieve, but it does give us another way to look at our own circumstances. If trouble is part of the process that will lead to something better, then we are able to see learning a new skill, or serious healthcare treatment, or working together to combat a pandemic, as process rather than punishment.

We are assured in all of the stories of the giving of the Holy Spirit that God has not left us alone. We walk with God in our lives, and we may always pray, and when we do not have the right words, the spirit makes intercession for us. (verse 26) As we prepare to celebrate Pentecost, we do so with the confidence that God is present in our lives, giving us hope and courage for each day.