-
        What Are we afraid of? What are you afraid of? I am afraid of heights, and growing up, I was always afraid of fireworks. Until I was about 8, I couldn't enjoy 4th of July festivities. Silly I know, but loud noises scared me. They still do, if I am not expecting them. That’s part of why I don’t like horror movies, not so much the blood or gore, but the unexpected noises and surprises.  But we are all afraid of something. 
We read psalm 46. A psalm I have prayed at countless bedsides before surgery, at the time of death and times of grief. A simple passage that directs to not fear, to trust and hope in God; to trust in his providence, his power and his grace in even the worst of times. This psalm imperils us to trust, to trust with confidence who God is. HE is our source of refuge, our strength and very present help in times of need. 
I have sat at the bedsides of so many people in the times of need, at times when they have joined the cloud of witnesses. And it is at these times that God has spoken the words written here in Psalm 46. Be still and know that I AM GOD. I believe he says that when I sit with people at the hospital and on our healthcare unit. And I know folks hear it too at the end of their lives. If you do a quick survey of scripture, ok maybe not so quick,  and you will find that: “do not fear” is found 57 times. The phrase “do not be afraid” 46 times. Fear not in one phrase or another is in scripture 365 times. That works out to one reference for every day in the year. FEAR, will always be present. But the kicker is this. God always responds, fear not for I am WITH YOU. Scripture assures us that our days are filled with the love and the hope that we have in Christ. A love and hope that has embraced all of us, and a love that will sustain us and carry us as we continue until we meet him again. God is Love. And love is as BIG as heaven. Love is as small as the crack in our hearts that no one else sees. But Love always wins. 

          I feel like we are forgetting God's imperative to not fear, and in doing so we are forgetting the very core of what Jesus taught us. The Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell us that the greatest rule that comes through the scriptures is to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbors as our self. (Mt 22:37-40, Mk 12:30-31, Luke 10:27) But Luke is the only one to tell us specifically who our neighbor is, ie the hurt, the stranger, and the outcast. And why do we forget to love our neighbor. Because of fear.
          I believe in a graceful God. Where my sin has abounded, God's love has abounded more. Even in my brokenness, God in Christ has accepted me for who I am. And it is in this grace that I have responded. God's grace is so powerful that I cannot help but to respond.
         And how should I respond? In gratitude, by Loving God. And we love God by loving and honoring our neighbors; the lost, the stranger, the outcast, those thirsty and seeking refuge.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bread of Life. A reflection on John 6:35-40

-
        I love this middle part of John’s Gospel. From chapter 5 through 12, John’s Gospel deals with unbelief. Well, persecution and unbelief, but today I want to focus on the unbelief. John’s Gospel is the Gospel of Love, a spiritual manifest of who Jesus declares, repeatedly, who he is. And we don't we believe him. I think it would be safe to assume, that a lot of us go through periods of belief and unbelief. I’ll let you in on a little secret. I did. It was only for about two years, but who’s keeping track. I know many folks in ministry, maybe more so in my field of chaplaincy, that struggle continuously with unbelief. But it doesn't make you a bad person, and especially not a bad Christian.  I recently read a quote by Timothy Keller. He’s a well known Presbyterian Pastor and has written about experiencing God during periods of doubt and struggle. He says: “The basic premise of religion-that if you live a good life, things will go well for you-is wrong. Jesus was t
Read more

Paternity Leave

-
Image
 I haven't blogged in over a year. Father forgive for I have sinned.  It's been a busy year. My wife and I now have a son, Calvin who is now 3 months old. Oh, and the pandemic. I have done something I don't normally do. I took time off from work. *Gasp* I have taken a month to be on paternity leave with Calvin while my wife returns to work, albeit from home. (see pandemic.)  So I will attempt to use the next 3 weeks to blog my experience of being a stay at home dad and some theological musings around that.  Oh, and if you haven't guessed, our son is named after that reformer, and a certain cartoon. 
Read more

Love is as deep as the tears in our hearts that no one sees

-
Joel 2:13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Rend your hearts and not your garments. Well what the heck does that even mean!? Well good thing I went to seminary and barely survived, I mean studied Hebrew! Well the Hebrew word qara (kaw-rah) actually means to  tear, so Joel here is telling us to tear our hearts, and not clothes. Um, no, that would hurt!          But the prophet Joel is talking here in the 2nd chapter about coming to the Lord with fasting, mourning and weeping and to tear your heart and not your clothing. In ancient Israel, tearing your clothing was an act of symbolism, it expressed grief and morning. So Joel is telling the people to come to God when in grief not ripping your clothes in an outward expression of sorrow, but in a inward looking, self reflective, self aware act of submission and mourning.     
Read more