Category: Meditations

Meditation 231

Mark 1:9-15

The way Mark tells the story of the beginning of Jesus’s ministry sounds like it all happened very quickly. Jesus was baptized by John, he was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days, and he began to preach the good news of God. Mark uses very few words, so we can be sure that the things that he tells us are important. We are told that at Jesus’ baptism the Spirit descended on him like a dove and a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.” We are told the Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness where he was tempted, where he was with the wild beasts and where angels waited on him, and we are told that he proclaimed the Good News of God. Other gospels give us more details than Mark. In Mark’s choice of words, we see that the Spirit of God was active in Jesus’ life, and there seems to be a purpose or mission in what Jesus is doing.

When Jesus was baptized the Spirit identified him as God’s Son, the Beloved with whom God was well pleased. Very early in the work that Jesus did on earth he was publicly identified as God’s beloved son at the time that he took part in the initiation ritual of baptism.  Baptism was a known practice in the ancient world, John had a baptism of repentance, and other religious teachers would also baptize their disciples. In the case of the baptism of Jesus, there was more going on than in the usual practice of this rite. Jesus was not becoming a disciple of another teacher, and Jesus was not repenting. One purpose in the baptism of Jesus was to make a public declaration of him as the beloved Son of God who was beginning his ministry.

We are then told that the Spirit led Jesus to the wilderness to be temped. A long period of isolated preparation was a spiritual practice known in Jesus’ day. A person would devote time to prayer and often fast, so that a person’s focus was entirely given to God, and he or she would not be distracted by mundane activity. (In Mark’s gospel we are only told that Jesus went to the wilderness to be tempted, it is in Matthew and Luke that we are told that Jesus fasted. It would be a known practice in that day to fast while praying for a dedicated time) Jesus may have gone to the wilderness to pray so that he would not be distracted by people and the busyness of life. In the wilderness he could be with God, and while he was tempted, he would rely on the strength of God to sustain him. We are told that when Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted that he was with the wild beasts. Was this fact given to underline the fact that there were no people or signs of civilization where he was? We are also told that angles waited on him, the Spirt led him into the wilderness and while there he was helped by angles. Although Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted, he was not beyond the reach of God.

After the temptation was over Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. All of the preparation, the baptism, the identification by the Spirit, the fasting and the help of the angels had been to ready Jesus for a ministry of proclamation. A proclamation that goes on today. In a few verses Mark tells us about a lot in the life of Jesus. It seems in his telling of this story, that the length of narrative is not as important as the one who is the focus of the telling. Mark is drawing our attention to Jesus, and as we go into the season of Lent, we would do well to do the same. In the days leading up to Easter, keep your focus on Jesus.

Meditation 230

1 Peter 3: 18-22

On Tuesday we looked at a reading in Genesis that told of the rainbow being a symbol of God’s promise. God had given a promise to Noah that God would put aside the option of destruction and that God would seek people out as those who were dearly loved. There would be a second chance given to all creation to be in harmony with God’s plan. God had made a promise to not destroy, and so children, women and men would have the opportunity to live in covenant with God.

Our reading in 1 Peter is a reminder that Jesus has also made it possible for us to abide under God’s loving covenant. As the waters of the flood swept away the disorder that had at one time marked creation, so in Jesus the waters of baptism are an appeal to God for a good conscience. The word translated appeal is eperotema, which was the term for the pledge baptismal candidates made to resist the evil forces that rebel against God. This is still part of our observance of baptism. In the order of baptism that is in the Book of Common Worship, this question is put to the candidates for baptism or the parents of infant candidates. “Trusting in the gracious mercy of God who has been faithful to us in all generations, do you turn away from sin, renounce all evil powers in the world which rebel against God or oppose God’s rule of justice and love?  To which the answer is “I renounce them.”

This passage in 1 Peter reminds us that baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism is an earthly action with a heavenly meaning, it is an action that points to something bigger than itself.  Baptism is a reminder to us of the new life that we have because of the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus was more than any of the others sent by God who pointed to the ways of God. Jesus was the one who stood up for truth, who taught people what they needed to know and who faced down the power of sin and death, and who, by his resurrection conquered the power of sin and death. We have life with God through Jesus.

This week we have entered the season of Lent, a journey of preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. As we walk that journey, we may take time to ponder the great truths that are ours because we are part of the family of God. One of these truths is the appeal to God for a good conscience, an appeal that we know will be granted. We can trust that the appeal will be granted because it is made through Jesus, who had shown himself to be reliable and who is at the right hand of God.

Meditation 229

Mathew 6: 1-6

Today is Ash Wednesday, which was not something that was part of my observance of Christianity as I was growing up. I learned more about Ash Wednesday and Lent as I became older, and in the last twenty years or so, including Ash Wednesday in preparation for Easter has become more significant. Sometimes there have been community observances, either a special service offered to the community by one congregation, or an inter church service. For a few years we had a pancake supper at St Stephen’s Presbyterian Church on Shrove Tuesday, and then we would work on activities that would lead us into Lent, and close with a brief worship with an Ash Wednesday theme. Whether the observance of this day is new or familiar in our observances of belief it has good things for us to learn.

Part of the practise of Ash Wednesday and Lent is prayer and repentance. In the passage in Matthew that is suggested to be read on Ash Wednesday, Jesus has some things to say about prayer. He says to be private in your prayers, he cautions against standing up in the place of meeting (in this case the synagogue) or the street corners to pray. Jesus says that those who pray in this way to be seen by others have their reward. In other words, if you are praying publicly in order to be noticed as a pious person then you will have that reward. Jesus seems to be implying that such a prayer is not really offered to God. The one who comes to God in private will be the one who really connects with God. It would be easy to be absolute in our understanding of this teaching and say that all public prayer is vain glorious, and all private devotions will be fruitful. Experience shows otherwise.

As much as Jesus contrasts public and private prayers, we know that not all public prayers are hypocritical. A few years ago, the people of St Stephen had gone through a stressful year. There had been accidents and deaths, and the manager of the town suggested that it would be a helpful thing for the town to have a public service of prayer to come together before God. Many worked together to create this truly ecumenical service that was held outside. It was a time of worship and devotion as people publicly bowed in faithfulness.

I believe that one thing that Jesus is encouraging in this teaching is to examine out hearts. We need to come to God in a spirit of supplication and entreaty. Prayer is a way of communication with God, not a way of promoting the piety of the person. Today as you come to God in prayer, you may do so in confidence that God wants to hear from you and that God will hear the quietest and simplest of prayers.

Prayer is more that asking God for what we want, it is communion with God that helps us to know and follow God better. When we pray on this Ash Wednesday, we might want to use the words of one of the choruses “Have your own way Lord, have your own way. You are the potter, we are the clay, mold me and make me after your will, While I am silent yielded and still.“  Such a prayer can be said as we sit quietly in our room, as we drive to appointments, or as we do our work. As we begin the season of Lent, we may want to be intentional about spending more time with God in prayer.

Meditation 228

Genesis 9:8-17

This passage tells of the covenant that God makes with human kind after the great flood. The flood had been sent because people had wandered too far from the good ways to live that God intended for humanity. The flood gave a new beginning. After the flood waters cleared away, there is a new opportunity to live in the harmony that God intended. God promises that there will never be another flood that will destroy the world, and the rainbow is a sign of that promise. The rainbow is a reminder that God will reach to people to give a better way of living than people find on their own. For the next several hundred years God sends prophets to bring the message of God to the world, God sends the rains and harvests as signs of caring, God gives the law as a gift to help people find the right way, and finally God sends the gift of Jesus to be our teacher.

This story in Genesis is one that shows God to be desiring of communion with people, and also it reminds us that God is good and wants us to be as well. The rainbow is a reminder of the promise that God will not destroy, as well as a reminder for people to seek the way of God. Many years late the prophet Isaiah would write “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near;” (Isaiah 55:6)

One of the messages that God would give over the years was “be holy for I am holy,” which sounds like a tall order. How is it possible for people to be holy? One meaning of holy is to be set apart. Some things that are apart are special symbols and vessels that are used in worship, or the Bible because we know it contains the word of God. In popular usage people who are considered to be holy may well be on the receiving end of a sarcastic comment, as in “She thinks she is so holy, better than the rest of us!” In reality, it someone is trying to be holy, that one would be humble.  To be trying to be set apart from the usual way of being needs serious self-examination. Attempting holiness requires recognizing the things that pull you away from God, and asking God to help you give them up.

The best way to be holy is not to try and try on your own to be better, but to look to God. Whatever gets the greatest amount of our attention will be what we are like. To that end, take some time to focus on the rainbow, how does it make you feel to see one? What does it tell you of God? What prayer rises within you? What song do you want to sing? Are you able to pain a rainbow? To make one with ribbon or streamers? If you had a rainbow in your office or living room, how might that influence you? The rainbow is a sign that God has given to draw us to him. It may help you to take time today to reflect upon God’s constancy and nurture whether you use a rainbow symbol or another symbol to do so. Take time as we enter the season of Lent to spend more time with God, so that you may be holy as God is holy.

Meditation 227

Psalm 25: 1-10

This psalm was one that was well known to me and the members of my youth group. We used to sing some of the verses accompanied by the guitar. The chorus we sang was “Oh my God. I trust in thee. Let me not be ashamed, let not my enemies triumph over me” (verse 1 in the King Janes Version) This could be our prayer each day, “Oh my God in you I trust.” (New Revised Standard Version)

This week we are getting ready for Lent. Tuesday will be Pancake Day and Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time to repent, to reflect upon one’s place before God, to pray more, to remember that we trust in God. Lent can be a helpful time in our growth in faith, a time to focus on God and what God hopes for us.

This psalm reminds us to lift our soul to God. To me this is an invitation to bring our whole self to God. Our minds and our hearts, our plans and our hopes, our families and our friends. We bring it all to God. In this psalm David asks to be shown God’s paths, to be led in God’s truth, and for God to teach him. David’s humanness is shown when he also asks for his enemies to not exalt over him, and for those who are treacherous to be put to shame. It can be satisfying to see one’s enemies in the place of not being able to exalt, that is for one’s enemies to not show either power or extreme happiness. I don’t know about David, but I know in my own heart that if I look to be sure that my enemy is not too happy or successful that I lose sight of God, and therefore lose sight of the path that leads to God’s truth.  Our focus needs to be God in whom we trust.

Reminders of God are everywhere as the conversation we had before the church service began yesterday showed. We were talking about things that had happened through the week. We were getting caught up with each other as one person talked about going tobogganing, we touched on the party lines that used to be the means of having a phone in the home, we talked about Valentine’s Day, and the beautiful sunrise that God had given yesterday morning. The mention of sunrise was a reminder of the good that God gives to us. The reminders of God’s power in creating the world, God’s love in giving us beauty and God’s constancy in the way we see sunrise and sunset each day. It is enough for us to look to God. David says in verse 6, “Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.” This must be a turn of phrase that David uses in the psalm, because we know that God does not need to be reminded to be merciful and loving, since it is God’s nature to be merciful, just, and loving. When we look to God, we are looking away from the messiness and meanness of life. When we look to God and make God the point of our meditation we become more like God, or as the proverb says, as people think within their hearts, so are they. We can make this our prayer “create in me a clean heart O God and put a new and right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

Meditation 226

Mark 9: 2-9

The important symbol in this gospel lesson is light. We read of the light that Transfigured Jesus and transformed the disciples. In the human mind light and love are often thought of together. This coming Sunday is a day that highlights love and on that day we will observe Valentine’s Day. I suppose this year there may not have been the cards exchanged at school. There will however be cards sent to loved ones, chocolates bought and dozens and dozens of roses! Valentine’s Day is fun.

Valentine’s Day also has a background that is removed from flowers and candy. It is a day named for St Valentine, who was a third century Roman saint. One common story about St. Valentine is that in one point of his life, he was on house arrest with Judge Asterius.

While discussing religion and faith with the Judge, Valentine pledged the validity of Jesus.

The judge immediately put Valentine and his faith to the test. St. Valentine was presented with the judge’s blind daughter and told to restore her sight. If he succeeded, the judge vowed to do anything for Valentine. Placing his hands onto her eyes, Valentine restored the child’s vision.

Judge Asterius was humbled and obeyed Valentine’s requests. Asterius broke all the idols around his house, fasted for three days and became baptized, along with his family and entire 44-member household. The now faithful judge then freed all of his Christian inmates.

St Valentine continued to share the story of Jesus with many people and he was again arrested and brought before emperor Claudius II. Again he was imprisoned. Another story is told of Valentine while he was imprisoned. He missed his friends and wanted to send them messages of hope. There was a little bird that used to sing to Valentine at the window of his cell, and there was a vine that grew around that same window. One day Valentine picked up one of the bird’s feathers from the floor of his cell. He took one of the leaves from the vine and wrote “Yours, Valentine” on the leaf. Valentine used the feather to write on many leaves, and the little bird carried the leaves to Valentine’s friends. If the leaf was held with the stem at the top it looked like the shape of a heart, and so the custom of sending messages on heart shaped cards was begun.

Valentine was a devoted believer who always was true to his faith in Jesus. It is said that while Valentine was in prison that a relationship between the holy and emperor began to grow, until Valentine attempted to convince Claudius of Christianity. Claudius became enraged and sentenced Valentine to death, commanding him to renounce his faith or be executed.

St. Valentine refused to renew his faith and Christianity and was executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269. The romantic nature of Valentine’s Day may have derived during the Middle Ages, when it was believed that birds paired in mid-February. Although the exact origin of the holiday is not widely agreed upon, it is widely recognized as a day for love, devotion and romance.

Whoever he was, Valentine did really exist, because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to St. Valentine. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom. St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, and young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses and his feast day is celebrated on February 14.

Most importantly we remember that Valentine was one who knew God so well that love of Jesus and discipleship were the focus of his life

He had a life changing experience when he put God face to face

Such a life changing event was experienced by three of the disciples on the day of transfiguration. We read that on that day the appearance of Jesus was changed

He was still himself, but he was brighter, more beautiful and elevated. He was transformed

And Peter, James and John witnessed this transformation. For those men this was what some would call a thin place. A thin place is where the membrane between heaven and earth breaks and you feel closer to the divine. It was such a breath taking experience that Peter wanted to stay there. Instead he found that he was to go from that breath taking experience and share the good news of God with his world.

Meditation 225

Mark 9: 2-9

This gospel lesson for this week is the story of the transfiguration of Jesus. It is the point to which the other scriptures have been leading us. Psalm 50 praised the glory of God, in the lesson in 2 Corinthians we are reminded of the light of the glory of God, and in Mark 9 we read of Jesus being transformed into something more elevated and beautiful than the disciples had ever seen before. This is the Jesus that we love and follow.

Scriptures reminds us to let the light of the gospel shine out of darkness. When we lived in St Stephen, I often had a reminder in the morning of the glorious light of God when I looked out the kitchen window and saw the sunrise. Frequently the sunrise was magnificent. At his time of year the grey blue sky over the middle school would hold fluffy clouds tinged with rosy red, behind which the light of the sun was made its way known. The image of light conjured forth by this scene made a strong impression that would stay with me through the day. The light of the sun that showed forth the wonder of God the creator was breath taking.

On the day of transfiguration there was a different kind of light show that the disciples saw. Transfiguration means to transform into something more beautiful and elevated, so on that day Jesus was made more beautiful. Consider, the disciples who loved Jesus saw him as more beautiful than he had appeared to them before. When they looked upon Jesus on that mountaintop, they saw Jesus as more beautiful than he had been when they climbed the mountain together. His clothes became dazzling white, and Peter said, “Master, it is good for us to be here.”

It may have been that Peter saw this wonder before him as a time to get Jesus to do what Peter thought was a good thing. It had only been six days since Jesus had talked with his disciples about his death (Mark 8:31) and that was not a conversation they wanted to have. Peter had tried to get Jesus to stop. Even before Jesus talked about his death the disciples had to know that Jesus was not popular with powers that be. Surely the disciples had noticed that Jesus did not get the respect that was due him. The leaders were against Jesus, the Pharisees challenged him, the Romans were watchful around him. In short Jesus had made friends of the outcasts and had alienated the powerful. Even with the truth of who Jesus chose to connect with, the disciples did not want to hear of his untimely end. When Jesus was transfigured, they wanted to stay on that mountain top. This place of light and beauty was a good place to be

We like Peter can hope to stay at the places in our faith life that are our mountaintop experiences. The glimpses of nature that have us recognize the glory of God, the times that we feel the presence of God as we act in love toward others, the times we are attending worship and the Spirit speaks to our heart. Like Peter we are strengthened by these gifts of the presence of God, and like Peter we find that we are then able to face the difficult circumstances because we are not alone, we live in the presence of the God who is light and love.

Meditation 224

2 Corinthians 4: 3-6

The last verse of today’s passage says “For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” This light which is the light of God is shown most openly in the life of Jesus. This light is the light of the gospel. It is the good news upon which we can base our lives.

The light of God directs us and reorients our lives. God’s light points us towards the truth that God has for us, and points us away from things that are of lesser value and worth. One of our new hymns written by Daniel Shiells describes the path we walk with God well.

One more step along the world I go,
One more step along the world I go;
From the old things to the new
Keep me traveling along with you
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
Keep me traveling along with you.
As I travel through the bad and good, keep me traveling the way I

should;
Where I see no way to go
You’ll be telling me the way, I know
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
Keep me traveling along with you.

Give me courage when the world is rough,
keep me loving though the world is tough;
Leap and sing in all I do,
keep me traveling along with you
And it’s from the old I travel to the new;
Keep me traveling along with you.

You are older than the world can be,
You are younger than the life in me;
Ever old and ever new,
Keep me traveling along with you
And it’s from the old I travel to the new; Keep me traveling along with you.

In God we have light that shows the way we are to go. The light of God may be experienced as the light of the morning that shows us what is around us, it may be the light of consciousness as we make a choice, or it may be the light of caring as we respond to the people around us. The light of God’s glory spoken of in Psalm 50 contiunues to lead the people of God in a powerful and redeeming way. The light leads us into the way of truth and we are able to share that light with our world.

Meditation 223

2 Kings 2:1-12

Yesterday we read Psalm 50:1-6, which refers to God’s glory shining forth in a powerful and redeeming way. Today we are looing at the story of the end of the work of the prophet Elijah and the transfer of responsibility and calling to his disciple Elisha.

At the beginning of this narrative Elijah urges Elisha to stay where he is. Elijah knows that God has called him to meet God at Bethel, and he feels that it is not necessary for Elisha to travel with him for the entire journey. Elisha however insists that he will not let Elijah make this journey on his own. What might be the feelings that Elisha had on that day? Was he already beginning to grieve the loss of his mentor? Was he sure that the right thing for him to do was to accompany his mentor regardless of the obstacles put in his way? Or did he simply want or spend as much time as he could in the presence of Elijah before Elijah was taken by God? The other prophets who they meet along the way were not really much help, as the companies of prophets at both Bethel and Jericho made sure to tell Elisha that “today the Lord will take your master away from you.” When they reach the Jordon River there is a third group of prophets, but these simply stand at a distance, these prophets have nothing to say. It must have been hard for Elisha to stick with the plan he made to accompany Elijah. Elijah, the teacher he respected was urging him to come no further, and the companies of prophets were making sure that he knew to expect bad news. Still, he persisted.

As I read this story of Elijah and Elisha and the determination that Elisha showed to stay with Elijah and then to ask for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, I thought of the story of Jacob who was visited by an angel one night. (Genesis 32) Jacob wrestled with the angel and would not let him go unless the angel blessed Jacob. For me, the thought of being blessed by an angel or by God conjures an image of a gentle laying on of hands and a holy glow as the one being blessed beams with radiance. In the case of Jacob and it seems Elisha, there was determination and effort put into receiving a blessing. Maybe we can take from this the fact that when we are feeling so down that we have to look up to find bottom, that it is good to look for God. We do not have to sit and wait for the divine intervention that will give our lives hope and purpose, but we can reach out to God and ask for a blessing.

Each day seems to bring its share of bad news, whether it is about the pandemic, about people we love or about the loss of a loved one. As we receive the bad news of life, God does reach to us, and we see from Elisha that it is OK for us to reach to God as well. May your day be filled with the blessing that God alone can give, as you experience the glory of God in a powerful and redeeming way.

Meditation 222

Psalm 50: 1-6

Psalm 50 was one of the readings that was used at the Festival of Booths or Sukkot when the people of God used to gather at the temple in Jerusalem. Sukkot was the festival of the autumn harvest, and it was one of the three festivals that required the people to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the celebration. The other two festivals that were to be observed in Jerusalem were the festival of unleavened bread, and the festival of Pentecost. The Festival of Booths, or the autumn harvest, was a time to celebrate the way the glory of God shined forth before the people, and to give thanks for the harvest that was enjoyed. The people would bring their offerings to the temple, it was a service of praise that the people did not attend empty handed.

The words of psalm 50 were read to invite the people to praise God, and to take part in the temple activities. The priest would step forward and give these words “The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.” What a stirring invitation to worship! The phrase referring to God’s glory shining forth is a rare one in Hebrew Scriptures, and when it is used it points to the presence of God in a powerful and redeeming way—not just in an accompanying way. As the people brought forth their offerings from the harvest in thanksgiving for God’s good gifts to them, they were reminded of God’s power and saving might. They would be reminded of the stories of God’s glory and might being shown to the prophets and leaders in the writings of scripture. The words of this psalm would invite the people to worship God the Lord.

This psalm introduces us to the glory of God, which is the theme for this coming Sunday. This week we will look at the Transfiguration of Jesus, when a few of his disciples saw him in all his glory. The disciples were amazed and overwhelmed. They were not used to seeing the glory of God in this way. Similarly, we may miss the glory of God when it is right in front of us. The glory of God is not for show purposes only. The glory of God transforms. We may see the evidence of the glory of God in the life of an addict who can overcome the substance that used to control his or her life, we see evidence of the glory of God in a family where reconciliation has taken place, we see evidence of the glory of God in the nurse who sits with tears in her eyes holding the hand of a dying patient, because no one should die alone, even in days of pandemic. The glory of God may be revealed in the wonder of creation or in the wonder of life changing love.