For I Am Your God

After Isaiah 43:1-7

The One who created you speaks,
The One who formed you opens his mouth with good tidings:

Do not fear your God,
Your sins do not crush you in my judgement;

For I have redeemed you,
I have called you by name, and you are mine;

You may feel overwhelmed,
Your problems may seem insurmountable;

But though the waters press down upon you, you shall not be drowned,
Though the fire burn all around you, you shall not be burned;

For I am your God,
The Holy One, your Savior;

I overturn kingdoms and empires for your sake,
I make the darkness light to comfort and deliver you;

Because you are precious in my sight,
I love you, and you stand in honor among my servants;

Do not fear, for I am with you,
I will rescue your children from distant lands,
And the prisons of men shall not hold them from you;

I will ransom every one who is called by my name,
Whom I created in glory,
Whom I formed and made.


May Love, Peace and Grace Reign About You

-LE

After 2 Timothy 2, Reprise

This is a re-run of After 2 Timothy 2 (with some formatting changes), which text is speaking to me today.

Remember Jesus in your sufferings,
and if you are chained,
remember that the word of God cannot be chained.

Endure for the sake of the world,
that the world may also obtain salvation,
for if we die with Jesus,
we will rise with Christ,
and if we endure we will also reign with him.

Jesus cannot save us while we deny him,
but he remains faithful to us,
seeking us and consoling us when we despair.

Even in our denial,
in our guilt and sin,
Jesus must remain faithful to us,
because he cannot deny himself,
and there is great hope in that.

Jesus is our redeemer,
and seeks our redemption,
so seek to return to and keep true to Jesus,
even as he keeps true to you.

Peace,
LE

Some minor blog changes - you will notice the 'Zeitgeist' of tags is now alphabetical - much more useful. Some blogs that ceased to inspire me have been removed, and I have re-resurrected my rotating 'taglines' at the top.

A brief flash of consolation

A brief flash of consolation
Is worth months and months of pain
When God bends down to be near us
As He does now and again

Or, is it that in peaceful moments
When our minds slow down
We can notice Divine presence
And we know that God bends down

If we make it to that country
Where we walk in endless light
Then we'll know true consolation
And see Love in all its might

Work to be worthy of that city
Where the very plainest can
Dine at table with Life's master
And help work the Divine plan

That great city has so much joy
It would make the nations cry
We can glimpse it where we're standing
We do not have to die

There every beggar is annointed
(Kings wear no crowns at all)
There the humblest and the smallest
Feel as if they're ten feet tall

There all the troubles that we teethed on
And all the locust stole
Are restored, repaid and healed
We will be made more than whole

There the ending and beginning
Are knit joyfully to one
Errors, missteps, pain and shortfalls
Are completed and are done

Pray to see that holy city
Work to make it here
It is worth our minor troubles
To see our God bends near

Peace,
LE

So

So:

If we don't have sin from Adam,
Or Cain, or from the Jews;
If we are not corrupted
Then why is Christ good news?

Why did God come to us
Why did he have to die?
Does tossing out original sin
Make Christian faith a lie?

Christ was not big on judging
He did not tally sin
He did not judge between us
Did not say; "You aren't in!"

He was named; 'God is with us';
And he said; "The kingdom's near";
He said to love each other
As our God holds us each dear

He said to treat each other
As we'd like, if we were they
He named us sisters, brothers;
These are the things he'd say

So why did Jesus come to us?
To show that God is near;
To show God's great love for us;
To make God's message clear.

And why the cross and calvary?
Why did Christ have to die?
To show how much God loved us
To draw to God each eye.

So let's learn to love each other;
Let us be calm and kind
Let's leave old wrongs and grudges
In the dust behind

Let's live through Christ's commandment;
To love each other well,
So that when some person meets us;
That we're Christian, they can tell.

Words of Comfort

There are many who feel rejected and judged by the faith - judged unworthy - found to be reprobate - irredeemable and vile, doomed to torment, cast out of community, shunned.

It is for them I copy out the following words of comfort. May meditating on them bring you joy in this Advent season:

From John 12:

And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.


From John 3:

God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have eternal life.


From 1 Timothy 1:

This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.


From 1 John 2:

If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins.


From Romans 8:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [...] I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


From 1 John 1:

And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.


May you find joy in your path this Advent season, wherever your wanderings take you.

-LE

Are you Saved?

Are you saved... ...when were you saved?
People used to ask a lot.
We do speak of salvation sometimes now,
But more often not.

Is saving what happens in this life?
Or does it happen when we die?
Can it happen a long time later,
When in the grave we lie?

Can we be saved in both,
Can we be saved again?
Do we know what saving is?
Can you please explain?

Is saving like pickling,
Or like a photo that we take?
Or is saving like a change
Like love or when hearts break?

And did Jesus save us long ago,
Or does he save today?
And when we say our God came down to save us,
What do we mean? What way?

And if the saved can fall, can they fall from grace in death?
Can you still fall from grace when you can't draw a breath?

Are these important questions,
or do we all just need
to hear God's word and do it?
That would be good indeed!

We are Created Good

We are created good;
As all God creates is;

And God asks us to work;
In his fields out of love;

Love bears fruit and saves us;
Making us fit dwellings;

For our holy Father;
And his blessed Jesus.

Who calls out to each soul;
To offer them his yoke:

"Take it upon yourselves!"
"This burden is quite light!"

Sharing his life with us;
For all of us he died.

Though many start away;
He calls them "Come inside!"

Some from the faith will fall;
And others faith attain.

Yet Jesus came for all;
And calls each one by name.

(Not a definitive work on theology, just a finger, pointing...)

A God of Sacrifice

Shirley Guthrie on the one-ness of the Trinity from Christian Doctrine
Westminster/John Knox Press, Louisville

[...] The doctrine of the Trinity means that the will and action of God the Son in our behalf are not opposed to the will and action of God the Father; they are the Father's will and action. Christ does not change the attitude of God towards [sinful humanity]; Christ is the deepest expression of God's desire to be with and for us. If Jesus is the friend of sinners, then so is God. If God the Son takes the consequences of our sins on himself in self-giving, suffering love, then that is what God the Father does too.

Indeed, the self-sacrificing love of the Son is the love of God.

Hear and understand; the Lord our God is One.

Thanks be to God.

Peace,
LE

This Painful Journey

We are born in pain, and its sharp claws prod us throughout our lives. They are never far away. Pain helps us to learn how to stay healthy, how to avoid harm. But at the end of our journey, pain seems worthless. When there is nothing to be done, when no cure will suffice, pain can be an unbearable burden that must be carried anyway. And so we bear it. We share it with Christ, whose capacity for pain knows no bounds, we distract ourselves, we hang on for one more moment. Perhaps we yell, pound our fists, even go a little mad.

Soon, soon, the cool waters will come, the baptismal waters will return, lapping higher, taking away the pain, washing you clean, submerging you in the comfort of Christ. And you will rise, dry, and clothed in white robes of love, ready to join the feast of the lamb.

Today is painful, today is hard, today there is still a race to run, a struggle to be finished; but tomorrow is swiftly coming, when the bridegroom will take your hand and lead you to the great city where you will join in the great marriage feast, where you will dine on true food, and quench your thirst with living waters.

And then, together with those who have gone before and those who come after, you will take up the great song, the masterwork that creates, encourages and binds. And you will have true joy as you have never known it.

May you find your peace in the Lamb

We Are Alike

We are alike
We love
We care
We love beauty
We care for others
We are alike

Our hearts beat
Our blood flows
We can be hurt
We can cry
We are alike

We make friends
We like to share
We like to talk
We like to take food together
We are alike

We can walk
We can walk together
We can help each other
We can help others
We get joy from helping
We are alike

We can give
We can give to the needy
We can share knowledge
We can see justice done
We can comfort the sorrowful
We are alike

Our love can flow
Can flow out from us
Together it can be
It can be a river
A cataract
A torrent
A flood
An ocean
Covering all the earth
Filling every hollow
Rushing into every closed room and cell
Washing out every dark hole and sewer
Flooding the caverns and canyons of the earth with liquid light
We are alike
And together we can do wonderous things

Let us begin

Our God is a River

Our God lies before us-
A stream broad and strong-
From its springs in the mountains
Hear its fountain-head song!

Every mile it grows stronger!
Much deeper, more wide!
How far will it carry me,
If I dare plunge inside?

The leap, and the splash-
The breathtaking cool!
To those on the shore
I must look like a fool.

But now I am moving
Quite swiftly along
The river of God it is swift,
It is strong.

God lies all about me,
God enters each pore...
I never, -no never!
Will swim back to shore-

But swim in God's current;
And go where God leads;
Having faith in God's providence;
To see to my needs.

Come join us who swim
In God's Holy Flow! -
It is much more rewarding
Than mere watchers can know.

After Isaiah 2:

(Subverted lightly from the NRSV)

It will come to pass that the Lord will establish his house among the nations, it shall be raised above the hills and all the world shall see it's light. Many peoples will say; ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,  to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths,’ So all nations shall stream to the house of the Lord, and out of Zion shall go forth instruction,  and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. The Lord shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they study war any more.

My brothers and sisters, let us walk again in the light of the Lord! For we have forsaken God's ways and wander in foolishness.

No More Barns

With reference to last week's lectionary lesson;

To be sung to a country, sprightly melody.

There ain't no barns in heaven,
Lest maybe you are a cow;

And you won't need a big bank vault-
For treasure anyhow;

So don't go building storage,
For things that you don't need;

If you give away what you can share,
You'll find you're rich indeed!

May your kindness and generosity build you mansions in the hereafter...

Love to all!

-LE

"They'll Take Anyone"

Jesus stands at the door and knocks,
But not just at your door,
You'll find him knocking along every street
Mine, and theirs, and yours

This feast that we are called to
Is open to all who'll come;
And it's our job to welcome
Each and every one

We must mean it when we say that
Our sins belong to God;
Jesus himself has told us
We may find the guest list odd.

Forgiveness is for sinners,
For us sinners, every one;
And a mixed lot of repentant sinners,
Will make our feasting much more fun.

So may we be among the guilty;
Told: "You'll take anyone",
And be numbered with those oddball saints,
When at last our lives are done.

Peace,
LE

After Psalm 33

...
Praise and thank God for our many blessings, because we are truly blessed.
Thank God with music, with dance, and with art
Proclaim your love and praise God loudly, so all can hear and see - because God is good and God's every deed is done in faithfulness.

God loves Mercy and Justice; the world is full of the steadfast love of the Lord;
God spoke and the universe was created, and God's breath lives within all life. God knows the fish of the sea, and the stars of the sky, every one by its own name.

God is awesome; God stands before time and also after; God was concerned with the events of your life before your eldest ancestor crept from the sea, and lovingly contemplates the echo of your features in the descendants of generations to come.

There is nothing that is hidden from God, and each of us is in God's sight. God knows us from the inside out, in our most shameful secrets and our hidden joys.

Nations, leaders and movements plot and plan, and seek to own the world, but the world is in God's hands, and God frustrates their plans. God's direction is clear and unchanged. Judgment and time belong to God, and from God no wealth, no power, and no physical strength can save you.

Happy are the people who follow in God's footsteps, who enter into God's labors. God watches over the faithful, who find eternal life in his steadfast love, and manna in the midst of want.

We wait upon the love of God, who is our help and protector. In God we find our joy and in God's name renewal. O Lord, be with us and bless us, even as we hope in you.

Peace,
Locust Eater

To Those Discussing Salvation

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

The text above is from the beginning to John, chapter 1. It speaks about Jesus as the effective Word of God - a part, facet, personality or form of God.

It speaks of God's creation of all things through this personalty, and of how through this personality comes the Light of Man.

Many came before we named The Word as Jesus, many who were blessed, beloved, and saved. Many also have come since and are still to come who don't know The Word as Jesus, but love the light and with whom God dwells.

Judgement is God's alone, and God will choose whom God will save. But I can tell you it will be more about faith than formulas, more about love than learning, and more about deeds than dogma.

So I say: stop chattering amongst yourselves about who is in or out, and roll up your sleeves, and put on your apron. Those who hunger and thirst have arrived, and it is ours to get busy to serve them.