ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 25, 2023Have you ever heard someone say to another person, “Hey! Show some compassion!” It is typically used when someone is oblivious, or worse, indifferent, to the suffering of another. Yet, can something like compassion be demanded? In Matthew 9:36, we read how Jesus saw the crowds and had compassion for them. The Greek word we translate as compassion is one of my favorite Greek words.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 24, 2023“Is tomorrow trash day?” This is a question asked a lot around our house. Part of it could be due to bad memory, but part of it is due to the actual trash pickup occurring one or two days late. And we just learned the pickup days are changing again in a few weeks, after another change that occurred less than a year ago. This
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 23, 2023I grew up hearing about the National Benevolent Association. Though the word ‘benevolent’ was not a common word for a young kid, I had heard stories about the six women in St. Louis who gather for a Prayer Meeting. The year was 1886, and these women from First Christian Church were praying “about the plight of the homeless and helpless.” Some of these women went
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 22, 2023How would you describe the experience of compassion? What are the repercussions of compassion? Jesus brought both words and actions to the people who were like sheep without a shepherd and who were dealing with all kinds of illness (Matthew 9). The church has always struggled to balance word and action. Sadly, there have been times when we’ve been all words and devoid of action.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 21, 2023Every year, there is the World Happiness Report. I find it fascinating to read into the report and the markers used to determine happiness. They are: Psychological wellbeing, health, education, time use, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards. It is interesting how the wealthiest countries are not necessarily the happiest, nor are the poorest. People don’t
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 20, 2023Prayer for the Week: There is often a yearning in our lives that does not comprehend the possibility of appeasement or satisfaction. The craving within our souls is often seeking fulfillment in the very things that will never satisfy. This does not deter or dissuade you, O God, for you are the One who seeks to meet the genuine needs of every single human being.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 19, 2023In worship today, we will spend some time reflecting on God naming us and anointing us. In a passage from 1st Peter 2, we hear how we have become God’s people so that we may speak of the wonderful acts of the one who called us out of darkness and into an amazing light. There is something interesting going on in that passage because we
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 18, 2023The author, Rob Bell, continually offers insights into scripture that never seemed to catch my attention until he pointed them out. In his book, “Everything Is Spiritual,” he makes a passing comment about Ruth, the Moabite, who, after the death of her husband, is ready to follow her mother-in-law and leave behind her place of origin. If Ruth follows Naomi, she will be a foreigner
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 17, 2023In a funeral I officiated yesterday, I shared a quote from Maya Angelou. She wrote: “While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God’s creation.” It is not an either-or situation, though many have suggested it is and/or acted as if it were so. Too many people have
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSMarch 16, 2023Based on some reading I have been doing lately, I have found the story of The Tower of Babel more and more informative. Despite the persistent and consistent teaching by Jesus of the equality of all humanity, there has been a persistent and consistent attempt for some to rise above others. When humanity was nothing more than a tribe, there were battles for supremacy between