A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.  Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.  But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves

Luke 22:24-26

Disclaimer: The material in this blog is of a sensitive nature, and caution should be exercised in determining who reads this material.

The uproar over the Epstein files is still going strong- and it should. The perpetrators named in those files were in some way involved in a horrific violation of young girls. Decency demands that we pursue such abusers no matter where it may lead. If we are a nation of laws and morality, then justice must be pursued in the satisfaction of maintaining a functioning society.

The trafficking of young girls for sexual exploitation has been in the world perhaps since the beginning of time. The underlying motives- sexual gratification, dominance, power, extortion, amassing great sums of money etc. all fall somewhere into the famous “seven deadly sins” category.  

As we look at the rape of these young girls and young women, we know that rape is not just a sexual sin, but it is an exercise and a perversion of power. Men involved in this Epstein mess not only could gratify their sexual lust, but they exerted a sense of power and dominance over their victims. As I have said in past blogs, pride is the source of all sin. Every one of the so-called seven deadly sins are descendants of the root cause- pride. Pride says, in effect, “I am entitled to do what I want whenever I want to. I can have my way if I dominate you, so, I will do just that. The rules that apply to other people do not apply to me”.

Pride involves more than that little statement above, but it serves as a quick capsule of the sins that we see being exposed in the Epstein files. Indeed, the need to dominate another person, to force them to submit to my will for my gratification, is a grievous sin. History is replete with examples of this- slavery, colonization, exploitation of other people groups, etc.

Why does God hate sin? It hurts people. Whenever we deliberately exploit or hurt others, it is sin. Indeed, none of us is exempt from sinful behavior, and we all must be held accountable for things that we have done to hurt others. On a societal scale, these searches for justice for the victims of Jeffery Epstein must be pursued to ensure that we still want to strive for a society that can function remotely close to what God has intended for us.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for having fallen so short of your plans for this world, Amen

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.  A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”  So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.                                                                      Luke 19:1-10

Today I want to look at an encounter with Jesus. The story of Zacchaeus is well known. There is even a children’s song or two about this charming story.

My first look at this story zooms in on the intent of Zacchaeus. He wanted to see Jesus. Because he was short, Zacchaeus climbed a tree to get a better view. Because he was up high, Jesus spotted him, knew his intent, and invited Zacchaeus to dine with him. This was a courageous and loving move on the part of Jesus, because we see that Jesus was immediately judged by others for this bold action.

When Zacchaeus encountered Jesus and his invitation, he was moved- by the love and courage of Jesus I’m sure, and also the fact that Jesus cared about an outcast like Zacchaeus. The response of Zacchaeus was the spontaneous reaction of a person who encounters the love and courage of Jesus- he offers to immediately make restitution to the people he has stolen from.

The response of Zacchaeus to an encounter with Jesus was an action of repentance. When one encounters Jesus, there must be a response. The decision to follow Jesus is a verb- it involves a change in how we treat others. As I have written before, belief is a verb. Believing involves action. Zacchaeus gave us a good example.

Prayer: Lord, help us to respond rightly to our encounters with Jesus, Amen

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy                                          I Peter 2:9-10

I spoke to the Care Ministry Team at my church yesterday about the history of that ministry at the church. I was responsible for developing and training that aspect of ministry for 20 years. I spoke with them about our former pastor, Mike Slaughter, who had emphasized that the ministry of caring for one another was not the job of the senior pastor, or really any of the paid staff at the church. He emphasized the priesthood of every believer.

Yes, nearly all churches of any size have a staff member to coordinate the ministry of calling on those who are sick, leading prayer groups, hospital and nursing home visits etc. But in truth, the responsibility of caring for one another in the church body is- everyone’s responsibility.

This means that people need to be connected enough with one another to know when and who needs extra help. It is interesting to me how the concept of church in Western culture somehow evolved into the structure that we now accept as “how church is done”.

Don’t get me wrong, churches make honest and heartfelt efforts to care for their people and to live out the commands of Jesus to love one another. However, we also have come to see the local church through the lens of our culture. What did the early church look like? It was set up in homes where small groups gathered to pray, learn, worship, and encourage one another. Gatherings were small and intimate. The church grew because people told the stories of the transformation of how Jesus had changed their life.  People outside of those gatherings saw the dramatic examples of love shown toward both fellow believers and those outside of the faith.

We have become acculturated to understand “church” through a particular Western lens. Sometimes it is good to reflect that we are creatures of our culture, and that there have been models of church that exist throughout the world that may look very different than our churches in the United States.

Not a criticism by any means, just some food for thought.

Prayer: Lord, you have given us a diversity of how to worship and organize our faith and we are thankful for that, Amen

Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all, and, in fact,Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory. He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together. 

Colossians 1:15-17 (Living Bible)

I have been fascinated by this passage for many years now. I think that this is not merely metaphorical language to describe Jesus as the Son of God and creator of the universe. I truly think that the Physics of this passage is amazing.

What do I mean by that? Well, my regular readers know of my fascination with science and Physics in particular. This despite the fact that I am only an admirer of such subjects, and not a scientist. I think that allows me to speculate on things without having to come up with a scientific basis. I just have the curiosity and joy of expounding my own ideas. How fun! So, here goes, given that caveat…

This passage states that everything is held together by Jesus. He is the First Cause of creation, and he is also the power that holds life together. Take the equation E = mc²                                                                     

We are familiar with this equation of Albert Einstein because it explains the amazing notion that energy and matter are interchangeable. Matter can be turned into energy, and energy can be turned into matter. We understand that fission and fusion, which are ways of changing the matter and structure of atomic particles, release tremendous amounts of energy when that change takes place. Similarly, in order for energy to be turned into matter, it takes an enormous input of energy to do that.

But what if Jesus, the Light of the World, indeed the author of light (energy) caused the making of all matter by that incredible Big Bang of creation? That energy still exists today because there is no new energy being produced or destroyed. That is the Law of the Conservation of Energy. The same energy that Jesus used in creation is now preserving that creation today. The very atoms of the universe are his energy in play still at this time.

So, Jesus rules the universe he created, and he maintains it literally in his presence in everything.

Yes, I can hear you now saying that this sounds like some weird heresy. It is a little different slant on how the universe is maintained, and it is just my ideation gone wild.

But I think it is fun, and I wanted to share my understanding of this amazing passage. Hope it gets you thinking! Thanks for indulging me!

Prayer: Lord, you are Creator and maintainer of this marvelous universe. You are the Lord of Creation! Amen

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.                                                                                                      Philippians 4:8-9 (The Message)

Think back to a time in the summer when you were young and carefree. You had no particular responsibilities, and you were free to do pretty much what you wanted to do- within parental limits of course. Okay, we won’t tell about some of those other times…

My point here is that our memory bank can be just that- a bank to store refreshing memories to be drawn out when needed. We have within us the tools and resources to restore our soul when things get difficult in life. Those memories can serve as little oases to refresh a weary mind. We cannot go back and actually relive those times, but they can remain with us as precious parts of our life.  Those memories can actually change our brain chemistry and improve mood, lower blood pressure, and give us a more positive outlook, even if the respite is only a temporary one.

I am aware that for some people, their childhood may not have contained a lot of those great memories of carefree times. They may have lived in an abusive environment, or perhaps had illnesses that limited those carefree times. But we all can look back to some times in our life that literally can bring a smile to our face as we think of them.  We can use that tool to bring some light into a day that may feel heavy.

I hope your memories can bring that smile…

Prayer: Lord, help us to remember those times in life that restore our soul, Amen.

Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all, and, in fact,Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can’t; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory. He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together. 

Colossians 1:15-17 (Living Bible)

I have been fascinated by this passage for many years now. I think that this is not merely metaphorical language to describe Jesus as the Son of God and creator of the universe. I truly think that the Physics of this passage is amazing.

What do I mean by that? Well, my regular readers know of my fascination with science and Physics in particular. This despite the fact that I am only an admirer of such subjects, and not a scientist. I think that allows me to speculate on things without having to come up with a scientific basis. I just have the curiosity and joy of expounding my own ideas. How fun! So, here goes, given that caveat…

This passage states that everything is held together by Jesus. He is the First Cause of creation, and he is also the power that holds life together. Take the equation E = mc²                                                                     

We are familiar with this equation of Albert Einstein because it explains the amazing notion that energy and matter are interchangeable. Matter can be turned into energy, and energy can be turned into matter. We understand that fission and fusion, which are ways of changing the matter and structure of atomic particles, release tremendous amounts of energy when that change takes place. Similarly, in order for energy to be turned into matter, it takes an enormous input of energy to do that.

But what if Jesus, the Light of the World, indeed the author of light (energy) caused the making of all matter by that incredible Big Bang of creation? That energy still exists today because there is no new energy being produced or destroyed. That is the Law of the Conservation of Energy. The same energy that Jesus used in creation is now preserving that creation today. The very atoms of the universe are his energy in play still at this time.

So, Jesus rules the universe he created, and he maintains it literally in his presence in everything.

Yes, I can hear you now saying that this sounds like some weird heresy. It is a little different slant on how the universe is maintained, and it is just my ideation gone wild.

But I think it is fun, and I wanted to share my understanding of this amazing passage. Hope it gets you thinking! Thanks for indulging me!

Prayer: Lord, you are Creator and maintainer of this marvelous universe. You are the Lord of Creation! Amen

When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?                                                                                                                                

Psalm 8:3-4

Some fun facts about March 20^th which is the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. To my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the autumnal equinox, the first day of Autumn. The equinox, of course is the day that the hours of daylight and darkness are approximately equal in length. Therefore, it is a symbol of symmetry. It is also a symbol of hope as, here in the north, our days are getting longer- more sunlight. Interestingly, March 20 is also celebrated as an “International Day of Happiness”. Yes, I looked it up!

This is the day I get out my compass and look at the rising sun. It is exactly at 90 degrees on the compass. Also, at the time of equinox, at 4:24PM on March 20 this year, as it is described by Adler Planetarium experts, “Chicagohenge” marks the point when the sunrise or sunset happens almost precisely between buildings on Chicago’s east- and west-facing streets. (www.nbcchicago.com).

So, those are some fun facts for March 20. I hope this day of happiness brings YOU happiness!

Prayer: Lord, you have given us an ordered world, full of wonder. We are grateful, Amen

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,
    in secure homes,
    in undisturbed places of rest.                                                                                                    Isaiah 32:18

My wife and I live in a relatively small Ohio city called Troy. We have lived here for 52 years, and we have loved this place. We have moved to different neighborhoods in the city over the years, but we have always loved this town we live in. How did we get here? Well, that is a long story, and someday I will probably share it, but suffice it to say that we did not plan to live here- it was, we believe, the hand of God.

We have wonderful neighbors, you know, the kind that take in one another’s mail and water plants when one is on vacation; will take in each other’s trash cans; pick up an Amazon order left on the porch; visit with one another outside in the summer- well you get the idea.

This coming Sunday, a large portion of the neighborhood will gather at one neighbor’s home and celebrate St. Joseph day, which happens to be today! The neighbors who throw this party invite the entire neighborhood to celebrate the feast of St. Joseph. The priest from the local Catholic church will offer the blessing, and there will be lots of Italian food, because this couple has a rich Italian heritage.

This type of small-town activity happens all over the country, and indeed, all over the world. In a time when there is so much attention paid to differences in people, gatherings like the one we will attend Sunday show that people want to be good neighbors- kind to one another, and happy to share in the festivities that help define faith and community.

No wonder that we love this place. By the way, happy St. Joesph Day!

Prayer: Lord, what a blessing it is for people to dwell in peace, Amen.  

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.                                                                                  Matthew 5:44-48

So, when Jesus called us to be “perfect” what did he mean? We are all quite clear that we are far from perfect, so what does this calling mean? I think, (as a non-theologian), that Jesus meant that “perfect” was defined as “used as it was meant to be used”. In other words, the perfect condition, the intended condition, of mankind is what he described in the passage above. We are called to love everyone, whether or not they love us. In a perfect creation, we are called to do the supernatural.

Our fallen nature does not allow us to be perfect in this world, but that does not mean that we do not strive to be. It is like choosing to be on the right road. We have a choice to go down the road that God has called us to- that of loving our fellow humans. Even if we choose that right road, there may still be detours, potholes, road hazards, etc. But at least we are on the right road, that is the road of following the commands of Jesus. We will not be perfect at it, but we are on the right road.

If however, we choose the wrong road- the road of selfish ambition, cruelty, carelessness about the plight of others- we have missed the mark completely. That is the wrong road that leads to soul death.

So, take heart. Even when we are not perfect, we can perhaps take comfort about being on the right road. Jesus calls us to that.

Prayer: Lord, help us to follow you to the place you want us, Amen

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in                                                                               Matthew 25:35

One of the enjoyable cultural traditions in America and Ireland, and indeed other countries, is the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. In America, cities like Boston, Chicago and New York (and others of course) have wonderful celebrations of this venerated saint of the Catholic Church. The celebrations include parades, speeches, parties, political appearances, and of course drinking.

On St. Patrick’s Day, people playfully wear buttons that say things like “kiss me, I’m Irish”. Many people wear green of some type to honor the tradition. On this day, many people claim some type of Irish lineage. That is fun, and has become an acceptable part of American life.

However, if you go back to the middle to late 19^th century in the United States, claiming to be Irish was not always celebrated. Indeed, there were often signs posted on mill and factory gates stating “No Irish Need Apply”. After the “great potato famine” in Ireland (1845-52) many Irish emigrated to the United States to simply survive. Many of those immigrants were seen as taking away American jobs. Interestingly, many of those Irish immigrants fought in the American Civil War on the side of the Union, helping to turn the tide of the war.  

We have a checkered history of accepting immigrants into the United States. Some people groups were accepted more than others. After a period of time, assimilation happens, and we forget that we even had set up barriers to those groups. The Irish are one of those groups, others being Italians, Eastern Europeans, and Asians.

So, let us celebrate Americans of Irish lineage and party with them on St. Patrick’s Day! Let us also remember that the American experiment is open to people from around the world.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see beyond borders to welcome your people wherever we are, Amen