Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
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Words of Grace for Today –
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Gather.
Gathering Together.
A mess of humanity getting together.
Singing and praising God, sharing the meal with all with grateful hearts and active minds.
Of course the ‘adding to our numbers’ has long since not been in the works. We’ve been bleeding people for decades now.
So the great congregation is no longer so great, just 2 or 3 gathering, maybe a dozen or so.
But the best are the blessed ones who can live joyfully in the solitude of a hermitage with the basics all in place, able to give God praise with readings and songs.
Most of the faithful can still gather, one way or another, to share a meal (and diseases rampant), sing and praise God, and be grateful for all God provides.
The mess of humanity, as God knew we’d be, living out the promises of God,
Then Job answered the Lord: ‘See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.
.
1 Corinthians 13:12
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
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Words of Grace for Today –
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There is nothing more frightening than to not be seen.
To have no one see one as a person, as a person of worth.
Or worse, to be seen and valued as worthy only for what one is not. To be a lie.
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In the Psalm for this coming Sunday we read
O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Our hearts, minds and spirits know from where we have come, and they thirst to be seen and known for who we are.
Most often we seek to be seen and known by other people. This is not misguided, for God created us people to be for each other God’s presence, God’s voice, heart, hands, and feet, graciously sharing all God’s gifts.
And as Jesus taught, to be God’s loving presence especially for the poor, the ill, the lost, the outcast, the foreigner, and even for our enemies.
What does God do for those, like Job, whom all others have rejected and there is no one to be God’s presence?
God comes and makes God’s own self visible, palatable, healing, loving, and enlivening in mysterious ways, in ways mystics have spoken of for generations.
Just as Paul knew there was no danger in not being seen by other people, because God still sees us, and knows us.
We need not bring our protests to God for how terrible the world has treated us, though we may. God can take it. We can know that God is Great above all, and we are but dust given spirit as a gift from God,
and we therefore can, especially during our Lenten journey, remain humble and still, bending low before the wonders of God all around us,
witnesses to God’s steadfast love for us.
And when we pray it can be in thanks in words the Psalmist gives us this Sunday:
For you have been my helper, and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice. My whole being clings to you; your right hand holds me fast.
God Encounters happen many times each day for everyone!
Psalm 118:14
The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
James 5:13
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.
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Words of Grace For Today
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Scripture reports people responding to their encounters with God in many different ways:
Glowing faces (Moses)
Glowing clothes (Jesus)
Humility (David)
Astonishment (witnesses to Jesus’ healings and calming of the sea)
Thankful Survival (Elijah and the Widow)
Gratitude (Psalms and many others)
Naming God as one’s Rock, Salvation, Helper (Psalms and )
Calls to prayer and praise
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So how can we respond with indifference as if God were irrelevant?
Or with Ho-Hum, business as usual?
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Too used to miracle stories, we reduce them to elements of science and explain them away or dismiss them as false reports by fanatics.
Too successful in our own endeavours we choose to ‘rely’ on ourselves, while sinking into profound sadness as individuals and as a people, since no matter how we succeed (wealth, power, fame, or supposed freedom) our achievements remain unable to ‘pull us up by our bootstraps’ into joy at being alive.
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Scripture is full of acknowledgements that we think, speak, and live in such fogs of denial about God.
Thus Scripture and Tradition is full of Wisdom of the ages admonishes us to
Breathe.
Be still.
Listen.
Be humble.
Be thankful.
Be contrite.
Be bold.
Be as God created us to be, those who embody God’s Grace for us all… again today.
Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that belongs to you, which lives alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land.
Ephesians 4:11-12
The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
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Words of Grace For Today
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There are lots of callings, all according to the gifts we receive. All given to be shared so that others will have life abundant, knowing God loves them.
So God guides us all.
Let us be guided by the Spirit, this day, too.
For that is who we are, Spirit led saints, God’s voice, feet, and hands in this world.
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
Luke 5:5-6
Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.
Psalm 37:7a
Be still before the Lord.
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Words of Grace For Today
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He told his wife he’d be back the next day. Just a little business to take care of so that they’d have the money for that great retirement home they’d looked at. Well, he’d looked at for them. She was too sick that day.
She said they should spend time together. She was feeling exceptionally well. We don’t want to miss out. Not like before.
Before. I was there with you for every birth, every birthday and milestone. Well, most anyway.
Really?!, she said.
Well, I was right there with you, for the birth of our first two children. Though I had to leave for that business meeting and then your water broke. Still I was there early the next day to spend the first day with you and our youngest.
Time flies. Now they’re all grown and have families of their own.
So that’s what you think being there is? Then go, go do your business. But remember I invited you to stay with me today.
So off he went.
She had a massive heart attack six hours later.
When he returned ….
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There wasn’t a thing now he wouldn’t give to have those six hours with her. To be wise enough to not run off when she invited him to stay with her. They could have played chess, gone for a short walk out around the yard, listened to all the birds, squirrels, maybe seen a deer.
Instead, he’d gone to finalize the sale of part of his business. It had to be that day for the extra bonus, the unbelievable bonus of nearly 50% more than he’d gotten otherwise.
Now that extra money meant nothing. He certainly didn’t want to move into that retirement home without her. He didn’t want to do anything, not without her.
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No matter what we work at, when we take no time to be still before the Lord, we run off like chickens without their heads. We cover lots of ground, and it’s all for nought. We build great homes, and it’s all for nought. We make great plans for our future, and it’s all for nought.
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Be still.
Listen to Jesus’ heart beating in your chest.
Feel the Spirit moving through your mind.
Sense God All-Everything flowing in your veins.
Be still and know God’s Word in you, around you, for you, for all people.
For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, ‘Peace, peace’, when there is no peace.
Romans 12:9
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
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Words of Grace For Today
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We’ve all heard again that famous, or infamous, Rant, I am Canadian. With quiet music building to swells of patriotic music Joe states his case:
Hey, I’m not a lumberjack or a fur trader
I don’t live in an igloo or eat blubber or own a dogsled.
and I don’t know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I’m certain that their really, really nice.
Uh
I have a prime minister, not a president.
I speak English and French not American
and I pronounce it about, not aboot.
I can proudly sew my country’s flag on my backpack.
I believe in peacekeeping not in policing.
I believe in diversity, not assimilation.
And I believe the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.
A toque is a hat.
And a chesterfield is a couch.
And it’s pronounced Zed, not Zee, Zed.
Canada is the second largest landmass
The first nation of hockey
and the best part of North America.
My name is Joe
and I am Canadian.
Reality
Given Trump and his threats and actual tariffs that will do great damage to our economy, one can understand the call to be patriotic.
At the core of our problems, though, we do not find economics or politics, but good old fashion love, faith, and hope, expressed as empathy and care for all people, especially the poor.
So ours is not a rant but a chant backed by any number of great pieces of music, for example “Canticle of the Turning” (ELW 723) by Rory Cooney, to the lively Irish folk tune used as a rugby match song:
Hey, I am not a crusading knight, nor a desert ascetic.
I don’t hold exorcisms, live in Corinth or Bethlehem or Nazareth.
I have a pastor and a bishop, not a coach or a guru.
I speak many native languages, but not Latin or Sanskritic.
I proudly were a cross on a fine chain around my neck.
I believe in peace not in war or violence.
I believe in respecting and welcoming diversity, not excluding strangers or foreigners.
I believe the fish is a wonderful symbol of faith, as is the boat.
I’m not concerned with how people pronounce words, but that we share the radical Word of God.
God’s favour is not won by what we do or say or believe, but is God’s free gift given to us.
We can refuse it and we do, sinners that we are. But God keeps saving us over and over again, making us saints able to do miraculous things for others, especially the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the outcasts, refugees, strangers, and especially children.
Christianity may be worldwide and messed up in many places, sometimes even here at home, but it is the gift of life,
the gift of life abundant for all people.
We may be getting fewer in number, but being a follower of Jesus is the best part of life.
My name is not important because God knows it and everything about me and still loves me. I’m not ashamed of my name, yet it’s not what I’m proud of.
I’m proud that I bear Jesus’ cross and Jesus’ name,
You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbour.
James 2:1
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?
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Words of Grace For Today
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God calls us to make and support just judgments, not partial to the poor nor deferring to the great (the rich, who are not all that great most of the time), but with clear justice for all.
Not that it is easy.
Sometimes the truth does seem to win:
A man walks on a park path.
A dog walks behind him.
A policeman approaches him and speaks to him. The man and the dog stop and listen to him.
He says the man must put a leash on his dog.
Without a word, the man walks on with the dog behind him.
The policeman follows the two, and stops them again.
The man and the dog look at the policeman as he warns the man again to put a leash on his dog.
Without a word, the man walks on again. The dog follows behind him.
The policeman follows behind them and tells them to stop, waving a ticket in the man’s face telling him to pay the fine.
The man protests asking why he should pay the fine?
That dog is not his.
But the policeman points out the dog walks behind him on the path.
The man answer, ‘Well, so do you. Must I put a leash on you, too?’
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So we pray, may we not behave like lying dogs towards our neighbours, keeping the leashes where they belong, and letting our neighbours be free.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
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Words of Grace For Today
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In today’s world everything has a cost, everyone can be bought, time is money, money speaks … and on it goes… supposedly!
But in God’s world everything has a cost, except, for what is most precious, the cost is covered
by the Creator, All-powerful, All-knowing, Present-in-all-time, righteous Judge, who loves us so much
that Jesus gave his life that we might receive the most precious of all: Life ( our lives with all the details known, good and bad, past, present, future … all our sins forgiven … life restored to us filled with perseverance, empathy, love, joy, hope, and the purpose that makes life so good: to share all that with others.)
Let the barkers cry all they want for us to buy, buy, buy,
Joseph said to his brothers: Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.
Luke 6:28
Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
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Words of Grace For Today
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I woke to a clear morning,
early before the sun rose
in the twilight of dawn
in the thick fog
holding visibility to less than a quarter kilometre.
How can this be, you rightfully ask.
Take Joseph’s words to his brothers: you intended to do me harm, but God made something good of it, preserving our lives and helping us grow to a great and numerous people.
If they hadn’t thrown in the pit, and then sold him into slavery, where he served, was falsely accused by the wife of his master, and finally freed by Pharaoh for his wisdom and set as Pharaoh’s right hand, in charge of saving grain to prepare for the 7 year famine to come,
which would have wiped out his family back home,
then Joseph would not have been in a position to save his family.
Things are never just what they seem to be.
Most often things are very complicated, an interwoven set of events, actors, sufferers, and results.
Jesus knows this full well. Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
Why?
Because things are never so simple.
The person who curses you today, when blessed may well be the person who saves you on the most challenging day of your life.
But even before that, cursing another person costs the person cursing as much as, if not more than, the person being cursed.
So how is this a clear morning in the soup of thick fog?
It’s complicated and true.
After a very short night’s sleep the night before last, leaving me in a brain fog of exhaustion yesterday, while I had to deal with a vehicle that just did not want to run,
last night I slept long and fast, a full 8.5 hours plus.
So the brain fog is gone. I see, think, hear clearly. I can work without risking making costly mistakes. It’s a wonderful recovery, made so marked by the comparison with how difficult yesterday was.
The fog shrouding the lake and touching even the trees across the meadow may limit visibility, but I need not see far to know what I see actually is what I can deal with, and must deal with.
Of course, I’m not driving or flying, in which case what you don’t see in the distance can literally knock you about until you are silly or never going see, hear, or smell anything ever again.
Today I am thankful (it is that weekend after all) that it is a crystal clear morning, shrouded in a wonderful hug of fog.
What has God done lately to use evil intentions, aimed at you, in order to bring about greater good? What can you be unexpectedly thankful for this morning?
