Do you know that God loves you? Oh sure, everyone tosses the phrase around so much that it’s become some trite saying. I see these bumper stickers with “Jesus loves you” or “God loves you” all the time. Generally, I just go, “Big deal.” However, God really believes you are the most wonderful thing God has ever seen. It doesn’t matter what you look like, whether you’re young or old, light or dark, tall or short or any other criteria you can dream up. None of that matters to God. God is in love with you – in a very deep, unconditional love with you. Yes! – you. It’s almost too good to believe. But believe it, God loves you. How can this be? Just read the Bible. Over the course of thousands of years, God has reached out to humankind to let us know that we are loved. Jesus’ whole ministry can be boiled down to a simple statement, “God loves you and I love you too.”
The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said that the love of God can be seen in the face of other people. I see this all the time. God’s love shows through all sorts of people. Of course there are times when it’s a little harder to see than other times. But God’s love is always there. Some people have asked me why I’m so happy all the time. Well it’s because I’m loved. I’m loved by God so deeply that words cannot describe it. When you think of it, who couldn’t be happy? My prayer is that you are happy as well. Because above all things - God truly, deeply, completely, loves you – no matter what. This Sunday we celebrate the Birthday of the Church – Pentecost. The word “Pentecost” comes from the Greek, meaning “fiftieth.” It is the fiftieth day since Easter Sunday. On this day, the disciples were gathered – hiding and praying on what to do. Suddenly the Holy Spirit came and the disciples were given the power of voice.
Some of us get caught up in the details of this narrative. We ponder over the facts and have serious doubts about what really happened. I believe this misses the truth which underlies the story. It wasn’t that the disciples were given a language necessarily – it was that they were given the power of speech. To be more accurate, they were given the power of proclamation. No more hiding for this group. The word was to be proclaimed to all the corners of the earth. This harkens back directly to Jesus in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” It is my prayer and my hope that each and every person in the church today could receive this same power. The forces of our society are very effective in suppressing our proclamations. But it is the Spirit that gives us strength. All we have to do is accept the Spirit into our lives. It’s all too easy to say that the Spirit has not acted upon us – denying that God is actually at work in each and every person. It’s easy to stand on the outside and say, “They’re just drunk.” Proclamation can be done in lots of ways – by word or by action. So what will you say to the Spirit that acts in you? Or are you just going to stand on the outside and sneer? I was working at Saint Luke’s Hospital in the Human Resources Department and was an Elder for Lee’s Summit Christian Church. To help out the ministerial staff, I was doing some hospital calling for members of the church that were patients at Saint Luke’s. One of the members, Richard, was hospitalized in Intensive Care and was not expected to survive. Since employees of the hospital could move around to any area, I was able to get into Richard and to visit with the nurses overseeing his care. The situation was grim to say the least. In the visit I had with him the last day of his earthly life, he was in and out of consciousness. When he was awake, he motioned to me to pick up a letter that was on his bedside stand. His wife told me it was a letter he had dictated to her a few days back. Richard whispered to me that he wanted me to read the letter to the nurses after he was gone. I told him I would be proud to do so. Richard passed away that evening into the arms of God.
A couple of days later, I arranged a meeting with the group of nurses who had worked with Richard. I read them the letter. In the letter, Richard thanked each of them by name and told them he appreciated all of the care they had given him and how wonderful they were. He wanted to make sure each of them knew that they were special and that they made a difference – making his life better every time they walked into his room. It is important to give thanks to those who are around us each day. There are many people who touch our lives that we don’t think a lot about. The person at the grocery checkout, the server at the restaurant, the person that hauls off your trash each week – all of them working to make your life a little easier. So take time to give thanks to someone that touches your life. The world will be changed and you will be the one changing it for the better. This Sunday we recognize Mother’s Day. For some, this brings back sweet memories of Mother, the love they gave to us and the love we have for them. Whether or not Mother is still with you, the love continues. For others, maybe the memory of Mother is not of Mother, but Grandmother or Aunt or some other person in their lives. There are perhaps as many forms of Mothers as there are people. Each is unique and is special in its own way.
For me, my Mother is a very positive image and I couldn’t have asked for a better role model or ideal to look up to. For all the times I tried her patience, she endured and is a constant source of inspiration for me. My prayer is that someone in your life, whether it be Mother or some other person has been a vital part of your life as my Mother has been in mine. We often think God as Father, but that only tells half the story. God is Mother as well. The traits that we assign to Mother as nurturer, comforter and provider of unconditional love are all traits of God as well. I would invite you to think about this when you’re praying with God. Are you taking in the full nature of God? If not, give it a try. You might be surprised how God will meet you in all your thoughts and you will feel the fullness of God’s love. |
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This blog consists of reflections written by the minister each week for the Sunday bulletin. We hope that you enjoy the musings! Archives
January 2020
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