Category: Meditations

Meditation 281

John 15: 1-8

This passage begins with one of the “I am” statements that Jesus makes in John’s gospel. When Jesus said “I am” he would have gotten the attention of the faithful people, because “I am” is the way God had chosen to be known. (Exodus 3). When Jesus said “I am the true vine” he was using words that were loaded with meaning. He was claiming oneness with God and he was using the known metaphor of a vine to describe the caring of God.

Here in John’s gospel, we see that God tends “the Son-vine, pruning the branches for abundant fruitfulness. Grapevines do need pruning; grapes need sun but not too much. So, in this image the Father does that precision tending for the perfect balance of light and shade.”

God is a very good vine keeper and the careful work is described further. the branches on the vine that bears no fruit are pruned and removed. The words for prune and remove in John 15:2 and cleansed in v. 3 are very similar in the original Greek and the way Jesus uses them so close together would have caught the ear of his first audience. “The work of the gardener-God continues the Son’s cleansing work of love.”

“The overwhelming thrust of the passage is fruitfulness. The words bear fruit appear six times in these eight verses. Fruit-bearing is not something that the branches do by force of will. The fruit happens organically because the vine is true and the gardener good. But the branches of this passage do choose to abide.”

“Abiding is important in John, where love of God means mutual indwelling. …the vine image is [a] … way of talking about abiding places (places where one is deeply at home), and both the vine and the abiding places are ways of talking about love.”

 

“Abide is one of the two imperatives of the passage. The branches have to abide because without the vine, they are fruitless; they can do nothing. And if they do abide and Jesus’ words abide in them, then [they will ask] …. There can be little doubt that what the branches will ask for will be shaped by the one who tends them; they will surely ask for the fruitfulness for which they have been pruned.”

(Quotations from Meda Stamper. Working Preacher)

The image of God as the caring vine keeper who tends the vine and branches so that the branches bear fruit is comforting and encouraging. I can’t help but feel that Jesus was being very generous when he said that we are the branches grafted into the vine. The branches of a vine do need a lot of care as described above, but they stay in place. The branches are not actively disobedient the way people can be, going off in our own direction on impulse. (In this way the sheep/shepherd image is more accurate). Regardless of how we are in relation to who Jesus is, he remains as the vine. Jesus is the one who gives life and God is the very good vine keeper who gives good care so that we may bear fruit.

Meditation 280

John 15: 1-8

When Jesus spoke to people and used images like being a shepherd (last weeks’ gospel reading) and being the vine (John 15), he was using images that were familiar to those who knew the Hebrew Bible. They would know such references as Psalm 95:7 where we read “For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.” Similarly in Psalm 79:13 we read “So we are your people and the sheep of your pasture.”

In a similar way, the image of Israel as a vine is found in the Psalms and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Hosea. The people of God, or Israel, is the vine that God cares for as carefully as a vinedresser cared for a vineyard. To keep a vineyard healthy there needs to be constant care of the vine and the soil, as well as protection from insects and weeds. A vine keeper is always at work, just as God is always at work to care for the people of God.

When Jesus has used the image of the vineyard in other places it has been one of warning. In Mark 12, the owner of the vineyard goes away; the tenants left in charge are boisterous and disobedient. The owner of the vineyard sends messenger after messenger who are beaten or killed. Finally, the owner sends his son, who the tenants also put to death. As a result, the owner of the vineyard gives the vineyard to others. In Mark the vine image is one of warning to be aware.

In John the vine image is used differently than in the other gospels. In John there is an image of the vine being cared for to give life to the branches grafted on. The description of the pruning that keeps the vine healthy would be familiar to those who lived in Jesus’ day, as vineyards were a part of the local economy. The vine is healthy and the branches grafted onto the vine bear fruit. Those who know about growing grapevines know that they bear on new growth. A branch must be pruned to be able to bear fruit. The well-tended vine will be watered, fertilized and, pruned so that life can be given.

Jesus says that he is the vine and then he invites those who hear this parable to abide in him. Jesus is telling his hearers that they will be kept safe by him. When they abide in Jesus they will be deeply at home (Meda Stamper. Working Preacher)

Take time today to be deeply at home with Jesus. Find a quiet place where there will be no distraction. Close your eyes and imagine that you are resting on a strong vine or tree. This vine will support you, and in this quiet place you can let go of the concerns that you carry with you. You can trust the vine because it is strong and it is healthy. As you trust that you are supported, feel the tension leave your body. When you open your eyes again, revel in the feeling of calm, give thanks to God for caring for you. As you go through your day, return to this feeling of calm and ask for God’s strength to live from this place of security.

Meditation 279

1 John 4: 7-21

We could read this passage and come away thinking that people are pretty great and that there is no need for growth in our lives. God loves us, so what more is needed. For those who come away with this opinion, “1 John expresses it in a way that leaves no room for doubt: “just as God is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17 b). In context, it’s clear that 1 John is not saying that Christians are omnipotent or omniscient or morally pure. No, 1 John is saying that because God lives in us, we embody God’s love for the world. We are not gods, but we are God’s. God’s love is incarnate in us. (Judith Jones. Working Preacher)

As those who know first hand that we are loved by God and cherished, we are invited to share that love with others. 1 John is very clear on that point. In verse 20 we read “Those who say. ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers and sisters, are liars for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen.” To love someone who is like us and who is kind and giving is easy, we all do that. God wants us to love in the same way that God loves, to love all without exception.

We have seen the way people react to one another when we watch and listen to the news. Politicians have vile things to say about their opponents, and those who stand for a cause may belittle those who have another point of view. The practice of tolerance can be seen as a weakness. Against this backdrop of human flaw and frailty we have the example of God’s love, which is best shown in the life of Jesus. Jesus was one who reached out to both the weak and the poor, he healed the outcast and he healed the Roman solider who was wounded on the night of Jesus’ arrest. Jesus was respectful to Nicodemus the Pharisee as he was respectful of the woman taken in adultery. Jesus spoke the truth boldly, but he hated no one.

As we come to God in our faith walk, we may be confident that we do not have to earn God’s approval. God loves us as we are, and as those who are loved by God, we are invited to live that love to show to others the Holy One that we serve and adore. This is a marvellous thing. It is hard for people to accept that they are loved as they are, and that God has a purpose for them. The writer Marianne Williamson put it this way “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” (“A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles”. Marianne Williamson)

Daily we may revel in the truth that we are loved by God. We do God no service by belittling this truth, and by doubting that we are of use in our world. God loves us and will work with us to be the means by which another sees the grace of God at work.

Meditation 278

Acts 8:26-40

This story of Philip is an intriguing one. Philip is directed by an angel of the Lord to go toward the south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. Here Philip finds someone who needs him to explain scripture.

This story raises a lot of questions for me. How did Philip know that he was talking to an angel? Do angels still move among us with messages? Did Philip question whether or not he should as the angel said? Was Philip nervous? Or excited?

We are told that when Philip went down that road he saw the Ethiopian reading the book of Isaiah, and the Spirit directed him to go to the man’s chariot and join him. Again we see that Philip is compliant. Philip is so in tune with God that he recognizes the messengers from God as soon as they speak to him. What might that be like, to have such a close connection to God that we hear and follow such messages?

While we may not have angels appear to us, or hear the Spirit speak to us in words that our ear understands, we believe in our hearts that God is still active in our world. We are the future generation that the psalmist mentioned in yesterday’s reading, the ones that would proclaim [the Lord’s] deliverance to a people yet unborn. (Psalm 22: 30-31). We may wish that God would appear and give a definitive answer and action when we pray for peace and healing and guidance. But we also know that this has not been God’s way. God gives an invitation and we chose to follow it or not. Those who are faithful to God’s invitation do so in a world where sometimes good things happen and sometimes bad things happen.

From the days of the giving of the Ten Commandments, to the prophets, to the letters of the early church; God invites people to live according to the covenant and they do so right beside those who ignore the covenant. We know that when Jesus came to be with us, and when he died and rose again, he was the final answer to sin. The good news about Jesus that Philip explained to the Ethiopian was the good news that we are free to be children of God.

We may think that it would be nice if all of the things that we look upon as bad were taken away, and if we all lived lives of loving God, and loving our neighbours as ourselves. A part of us may long for no conflict or trouble, but this is not the way God does things. Each day we may chose to live the way God has revealed to us, to be the ones who have hope, to be the ones who do not give up, to be the ones who live the truth the God has made known to us.

Meditation 277

Psalm 22:25- 31

The writer Anne Lamont has this to say about hope.  “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.” We may like to think of hope in different terms than that. Hope is a light that calls you forward, hope it the sunrise, it is the promise of something better to come. It can be all those things, but sometimes hope is that refusal to give up in the midst of darkness as you wait for the faint light of dawn.

The reading for this Sunday has us look at the second half of Psalm 22. The first half is the struggle of the psalmist as he gives a prayer for deliverance from the tragedy of his life. We have all been there, whether we are worried for a loved one, or grieving a loss, or questioning the unfairness of the way life unfolds, there are times that we rail out. When we cry to the Lord, we are not left in the darkness of despair forever. It seems that people need to recognize what they are leaving behind before they reach out and take hold of hope. Beginning in verse 25 of this psalm we have the description of the deliverance from hopelessness.

We read of the congregation praising God. Not only the congregation of God’s people praise God, but all the ends of the earth shall worship before him as dominion belongs to the Lord. The psalmist does not stop there, future generations will be told about the Lord and proclaim his deliverance. While the psalmist began this psalm by crying out that the Lord had forsaken him, he has worked through this despair, and he is full of hope and praise as he promises that the future generations will also proclaim that the Lord has done great things.

How would it be for us, if when we are full of despair that we read this whole psalm? If we began with the words that describe the believer feeling abandoned and then read the reminders of what the Lord has done and end with praise for all that the Lord has done, is doing and will do. We may be able to identify with phrases such as “my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast” as we remember the disappointments of life. But the psalmist does not stay here; he goes on to say “but you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help come quickly to my aid!” This place of turning to the Lord is as real as the place of floundering in despair. The Lord is faithful and will hear the cries of the people and will bring about deliverance to those who cry out.

The chapter divisions in the book of psalms are artificial, and are impose for ease of being able to identify particular passages. In reality the conclusion that is drawn at the end of Psalm 22, that we will “proclaim [the Lord’s] deliverance” is the lead in to Psalm 23. Psalm 23 describes the way the Lord cares for the people as a shepherd cares for the sheep. On days that the words of despair of the psalmist resonate with you, take time to read all of Psalm 22, and even Psalm 23, to bring yourself into the presence of the Lord who is greater than our woes.

Meditation 276

John 10:11-18

This is one of the well known I am statements in the gospel of John. Jesus says I am the good shepherd, and one of the ways that the good shepherd is known, is that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Jesus then gives an example of the hired hand who will abandon the sheep in the face of danger. The hired hand will run away when a wolf shows up because the hired hand does not care for the sheep. The good shepherd cares for the sheep and knows them, just as God knows Jesus, so Jesus knows the sheep, or the people under his care.

We think of the way the good shepherd cares for the sheep as a loving relationship. This love is something of substance. It is not just the pleasant feeling the shepherd has when looking at a new born lamb. Love is what makes the shepherd get between the sheep and the wolf. Love is what makes the shepherd lay down his life for the sheep, love is what makes the shepherd take up the life again. Jesus gives life to the sheep and will care for them in all aspects of living.

We read this passage on the fourth Sunday of Easter after the resurrection of Jesus has been celebrated. We know the lengths that Jesus was willing to go to for the people he loves. In light of the empty tomb, Jesus is shown to be the one who will be there for the believers. Jesus did not back down or go into hiding when people needed to hear God’s truth. Jesus healed and taught and stood up for what was right even when it was not popular. His caring for the sheep under his protection (that would be us) was so great that he did not back down even when it would have suited his own advantage.

There are examples of people who have been touched by the love of the good shepherd and who pass that love on. There are teachers who go the extra mile for the good of a student who needs more than classroom instruction to understand, there are youth leaders who let the members of their group know that they are important even if that is not the message they get from others, there are health care workers and nurses who daily care for the elderly and listen to the same story for the hundredth time with ears of compassion. There are many ways that the love of the good shepherd is passed on.

We know that love is so much more than the warm feeling you get when something lovely takes place.

Love is what gives you reason to go on when all around you is falling apart. A few years ago I quoted a poem written by a woman whose husband was killed by a distracted driver, leaving her to raise their young daughter alone. She wrote of feeling that she was walking through the shadow of death. She said” I’ve walked through the valley. It’s an ugly place. It’s dark and cold. The mountains are high on each side. Tall and forbidding. Too high to climb.

The path is windy ahead. It curves where I can’t see. Each day I make it a little farther. I sleep alone. I’m scared.

But there’s a tiny flame inside my heart. A first it is the tiniest flicker. From the first moment I can feel it. As cold and scared and dark as it is I can feel the burn in my heart.

The flame brings peace. Comfort. Light.

The flame leads me. Shows me the way to the green pastures of my home and the still waters of my family. The flame anoints me with the warmth of love.

I cling to the flame. I seek it. Tend it. And it grows.

It can’t carry me out of the valley. That job is mine. But it lights my path. Guides my feet. Stays with me. Protects me from my fears. And day by day, step by step, it leads me.  (Seasons of the Spirit)

This is the way the good shepherd leads.

Meditation 275                  John 10:11-18

I think it is safe to say that when we think of the parable of the Good Shepherd, we see ourselves as the sheep and Jesus as the shepherd. The Good Shepherd protects the sheep from predators and keeps them in the sheepfold. The sheep know that Jesus will lay down his life for them, that is he stands up for the sheep, not grudgingly, not out of a sense of obligation, but because he chooses to. What a nice safe place for the sheep to be. The sheep will be influenced by the Good Shepherd who is known by the sheep, and one who will lay down his life. The sheep would know that they could trust and follow the shepherd.

Since we are the sheep and Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and we know that the Good Shepherd loves us enough to lay down his life for us, this has some implications for us. How does this touch our lives? When you know that you are loved and valued, how does that affect your behaviour?

A number of years ago there was a prison chaplain who was a guest at a presbyterial meeting in NS. He was talking about the work he did as part of the rehabilitation work with male offenders. He told us that those who find themselves incarcerated come from all walks of life. There are those who are from poor homes, those from wealthy homes, those from the middle class. There are those who are educated, and those who are not. Those who are visible minorities, and those who are not. The one characteristic that most men who find themselves behind bars have in common is that they did not know they were loved. Being poor causes troubles, being rich can bring temptation, lacking education brings its own challenges, as does belonging to a group that is shunned for being racially different. But it seems that those who know they are loved, those who know their lives have value, are able to confront these external challenges more easily than those who have not had good messages sent to them. The Good Shepherd tells us that we are cared for, that the Shepherd will lay down his life for us, in short, the Good Shepherd tells us we are lovely and loveable. How does that affect us? One thing that being loved can do is motivate us to share that love with others.

One way we might share love with others is by observing Earth Day. Today is Earth Day, a day when we take time to cherish the earth. When we cherish the earth, we are helping to create a healthy environment for plants, animals and people to live. If Earth Day is an idea that has come to you without much notice, you might make the end of this week Earth Weekend. Take some time to notice the beauty of the earth, give thanks to God for the way the earth gives us all we need and do something definite to show care for the earth. Jesus, the Good Shepherd was present at creation. The earth is our safe place to live, and out of thankfulness for what God has given, we can care for the earth so that it will continue to be the place for people to live in safety.

Meditation 274

1 John 3:16-24

This is [God’s] commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us. (verses 23 & 24)

Those of us who are believers will be known by the love of and love for God that we have, and by the way we love one another. This passage begins by reminding us that Jesus laid down his life for us and we ought to be willing to lay down our lives for one another. The love that we have as believers is to be modelled upon the love of Jesus, which was shown to us in a life of service. Jesus laid aside any claim he had to being treated with honour and majesty and he came and lived among us, teaching and healing and finally giving his life for people. Jesus also triumphed over death and sin, and so he gives us eternal life, (John 3) which is knowing God well and closely, and living a life that shows God to the world. Just as Jesus was willing to put aside his right to be honoured, so we can be willing to set aside expectations to be recognized for what we do in God’s name. Like Jesus we are motivated by love.

One way that we show the love of God is by helping those in need. Verse 17 asks the question; how does God’s love abide in one who sees a brother or sister in need and refuse to help? The mark of one who believes in God and follows the life exemplified by Jesus is to be helpful. Helpfulness can be letting someone know about agencies that will give food and shelter when needed. Sometimes helping is being a friend and listening, sometimes it is showing others what choices they can make and respecting their choice.

There are many needs around us, and we respond to them as we are blessed and as we are gifted. Some of us make donations to the food bank, some of us are frontline workers at the food bank, both levels of help are needed. Some of us are volunteers in literacy programs, some of us give books to libraries, both levels of help are needed. There are many levels of help that can be given to the needs that present themselves to us. When we are involved because we are motivated by the love of God, then we are doing what God has asked of us, and we are introducing our loving God to those about us.

Meditation 273

Acts 4: 5-12

The task of being an apostle was not for the faint of heart. No sooner had Peter and John healed a lame man, and Peter gave testimony to the power of God at work, then they were arrested. The next day they appeared before the elders, scribes and high priests. The officials wanted to know by what power and what name the apostles performed the healing of the lame man.

Have you ever had the experience of having explained something, only to have the same questions asked again because the hearer did not agree with what you said? This seems to be what is happening here. Before Peter and John were arrested, they had very publically said that the healing of the man at the temple was accomplished by the power of God. Although the people who arrested Peter and John were religious leaders, they did not like what they were hearing. This manifestation of power was not in keeping with their experience of God. They knew God was powerful, that God had spoken through the prophets, and that God had given the law. They also knew that their roles were to worship God, and to bring the truth of God to the people. They do not seem to like the way these two apostles have begun preaching, teaching and healing. Rather than being gladdened by further experience of God the authorities are threatened. Peter and John are arrested and after a night in jail they are questioned again. Maybe the authorities hope that a night to think will have the apostles give a different answer.

Peter and John remain faithful to what they have said so far. They know that whatever they are able to do is the result of the power of God at work in them. God healed the man at the temple and they will not say otherwise. Peter and John also know that this healing opportunity is a way for them to share the truth about Jesus. Peter says to the leaders “let it be known to all of you, and all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. … There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved. “(verses 10 and 12)

It was the work of God that had healed the man at the temple; Peter and John knew God as well as they did because of the ministry of Jesus. The apostles are not going to change their story no matter how unpopular it is with the powers that be. We can find ourselves in a similar place when we are led to do the work of Jesus. When we speak up for the homeless, when we take time to befriend the friendless, when we speak up for nature because we know this is required of God’s stewards of creation, and when we show in a number of ways that we are listening to God’s direction to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God, we like the apostles may find ourselves having to give an answer for what we are doing. When God brings us a job to do, may we take Peter and John as examples of remaining true to what God has asked.

Meditation 272

Psalm 23

This week the readings remind us of the loving care we receive from God, beginning with the well known and loved shepherd’s psalm, which is accepted as a psalm of David.

David had worked as a shepherd when he was young, so he knew that a shepherd was to keep the sheep safe and healthy. A good shepherd would find lush pasture with clean still water where the sheep could be nourished, and a good shepherd would protect the sheep from predators. Sheep are creatures that are followers; who are not able to protect themselves. Sheep are weighed down and slowed down by their coats of wool, and they have neither sharp teeth nor claws to protect themselves. They rely completely on the shepherd.

The psalm begins by saying that the Lord is David’s shepherd, and because of that: David will not want, he will have a safe place to lie down, and he will he given food and drink. The Lord, as a good shepherd, will do more than simply look after the physical needs of the one who follows. The Lord will restore the soul. The inner life will be nurtured as well as the physical being. The Lord will also lead the one who follows in the right paths, and this depends upon the reputation of God, as the phrase “for his name’s sake” implies. The psalmist is describing a life of security that relies upon God.

The Lord will not just be a fair weather shepherd. Even if the psalmist was taken from the green pastures and find that the path is in the darkest valley, even here it is both known, and felt in the heart, that no evil is to be feared; the Lord is with David, and the rod and staff of the shepherd will guide and protect the one following the shepherd.

So far we are told that the Lord will the give care of green pastures and protection in the darkest valley. The shepherd’s protection does not stop here. Even in the presence of enemies, the Lord will give a public demonstration of the affection and care for the one who follows. To prepare a table and anoint a person’s head with oil was to show hospitality. In the day in which this psalm was written, hospitality was considered a virtue, and a way of showing compassion. When a host anointed the head of a guest it was an act of welcome and an implied promise of protection.

In response to the goodness that David knows of the Lord, David’s cup overflows. In other words, he has received abundantly from God. He is confident that goodness and mercy will be with him for his entire life and that he will live in God’s presence forever.

As believers we are privileged to be able to take the psalms and the faith life that they describe, and make them our own. As we begin each day, we like David may do so in the confidence that the Lord is our shepherd who guides us in right ways.