Tag: LOVE

A moment of hunger

Photo by Monstera on Pexels.com

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+14&version=NRSV

Psalm 14:4 reads, “Have they no knowledge, all those evildoers who eat up my people like bread and do not call upon the Lord?”
And I wonder.
Who are these evildoers? I am inclined to say they are other people, not myself or people that I know.
But verse three tells us, “there is none who does good; no, not one.” So maybe it is me, at those times when I forget to seek God or when He seems out of my reach.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Samuel+11%3A1-15&version=NRSV

In the Old Testament story, there is no doubt that the evildoer is David as we enter into a dark moment in the life of a great leader.

Instead of going into battle against the Ammonites himself, David stays back and sends Joab to do a job that was meant for him. Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t tell us why he made this choice. Perhaps David was tired and needing some respite, this poet shepherd/king. Whatever the reason, David wasn’t where he belonged, which put him in a situation he wasn’t supposed to be in, which exposed him to temptation he would not have had, which led him to some awful decisions.

I believe there is a longing or hunger that runs through the scripture readings this morning. David, who has lost sight of God and forgotten himself, experiences a hunger. He is hungry and not sure how to have his hunger satisfied.

Hunger plus temptation is a dangerous combination and today’s reading tells a disturbing tale. David has reached a low point where God seems very distant from him. This David is “the David” who, in the service of the Lord, is a musician, a shepherd, a giant slayer, a conqueror, and a King. This is the David who God called “a man after my own heart.”

And David, being where he wasn’t supposed to be, with a feeling of emptiness, sees Bathsheba, another man’s attractive wife, and attempting to satisfy this emptiness takes her for himself. Bathsheba becomes pregnant. Bathsheba is the wife of Uriah, one of David’s loyal and steadfast top commanders. David, in his guilt, is desperate to cover up his terrible choice and sends Uriah home to his wife. When Uriah refuses to leave his men, David sends him to the front ranks of a planned assault to die. Uriah was a good and loyal man who, though he was not born into them, embraced the values of the people of God. Unfortunately, Uriah, a good man, was devoured like bread.

David was hungry but not hungry in the physical sense. Instead, he was spiritually hungry and couldn’t see what he needed, so as soon as temptation presented itself in his weakness, he sought to fill the longing with a woman that did not belong to him.

Think for a minute about the last time you were hungry, so hungry that you could feel it in the pit of your stomach.

Hunger, in the physical sense, is a signal that the body needs fuel. When we eat, we have more energy and more stamina to carry on the activities the day requires.

What David was experiencing here is another type of hunger. A spiritual hunger that sometimes we can also feel in our gut. It is an unsettling indicator that something is missing, but it is less clear what that might be.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+6%3A1-21&version=NRSV


In the Gospel reading, five thousand plus people gathered around Jesus to fill this type of hunger. This large crowd had been and continued to follow Jesus, hungry for knowledge and understanding. But, as time passed, Jesus recognized that physical hunger would also need to be addressed.
He chose this opportunity to teach Phillip how when looking to God and trusting, what you need to be satisfied in hunger, will be provided.

Remember David as a boy, too small to wear armor, defeats Goliath with five smooth stones. So we look now at a small boy with five loaves of bread and some fish and whose contribution feeds five thousand in the hands of Jesus. It says that the crowd was satisfied, but this satisfaction did not last long. They were fed spiritually and physically, but now they wanted to make Jesus king.

Wanting is another form of hunger. This hunger is similar to a longing for food and spiritual nourishment. But unlike spiritual and physical hunger, it is not true hunger and cannot be satisfied by the acquisition of what we want.

We, in our weakness, are easily moved by temptations and can find ourselves making poor choices to satisfy these pangs of hunger, especially when we lose sight of who God is and who we are in Christ.

What are you hungry for?
Peace, love, nourishment, understanding?
What are you wanting?

Something to think about, When was the last time you took something that you wanted but did not necessarily belong to you? This question is tricky because we can often justify the taking by convincing ourselves of our need for a particular thing. Understanding the difference between want and need can come from clues that our body gives us. When you have acquired the thing you wanted, did you feel satisfied, are you still uncomfortable, or did your discomfort increase?

I imagine David’s discomfort increased as long as he continued to pursue his wants instead of looking to God for his needs. We all experience wilderness times where our pursuit of God seems unnoticed by him; however, we must remember God is with us and remains with us. Jesus takes the weight of our hunger, reveals to us where our strength comes from, and carries the burden when we give in to our weaknesses and act as an evildoer.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians+3%3A14-21&version=NRSV

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians tells us that our hunger will be satisfied when we remain in the presence of Jesus. When we know the fullness of God’s love, and we act from a place of abundance. We are enough, and we have enough when we allow Christ to fill our hearts.

And in the words of Paul,
“I pray that you may have the power to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Amen.

A moment of spark

Pexels.com

Make ready for the Christ, Whose smile, like lightning,
Sets free the song of everlasting glory
That now sleeps, in your paper flesh, like dynamite.
—Thomas Merton

I love this image by Thomas Merton. It sparks the idea that inside something small and fragile there is power and strength ready to be larger than life. Infants have the power to induce a love so mighty it can take your breath away. Throughout our whole lives, we hold enough power to fill others with love so deep it can heal inner wounds and broken hearts. We have the ability in our later years to leave a long legacy of love and acceptance through the generations that follow us.

These beautiful moments are often hidden from us. Because they can be small, simple, and part of everyday life we sometimes fail to recognize them. Sometimes this great love is hidden in us. It can be concealed under our wounds and brokenness. Moments of acceptance, love, encouragement, and belonging can come to us and be offered by us in little ways. As we begin to recognize these moments they increase, momentum builds, and great love bursts forth in our hearts and in our lives. Christ is love and Christ in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)

 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:18-19

Lord lead our hearts. Guide our thoughts. Bless our spirits. Give us the strength we need each day and help us delight in all things. May we allow the spark of love in us to burst forth. May we, in your love, embrace each moment to the fullest until it is time to leave this world behind and answer the call to join you in your everlasting glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:12)

A moment of choice

I feel it is essential to study and spend time with the events that transpired leading up to the Resurrection of Jesus. It is a beautiful time for me, with all the pain and suffering, to see the events unfolding into joy. This year, as I was contemplating the moments before the crucifixion of Christ, the individuals who each played a role in these pivotal moments struck me. In Luke’s account of the story, these are the players I see:  

  • The chief priests and scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death.
  • Judas, who after Satan entered him, went to the chief priests and officers and agreed to betray Jesus for money.  He later joins Jesus and the disciples at the Passover meal.
  • Peter and John were sent by Jesus to find and prepare a place for them to meet and eat the Passover meal together.
  • A man carrying a jar of water leads Peter and John to a home.
  • The owner of the house offers his guestroom for the gathering.
  • The apostles spend time at Jesus’ final meal disputing which one of them is the greatest.
  • Simon Peter, in fear, denies knowing Jesus three times and yet Jesus tells him he will pray for him and that Peter will turn back and strengthen others.
  • A disciple, in fear and haste, strikes the slave of a high priest and cuts off his ear.
  • Three people point Peter out and say he is one of the followers of Jesus.
  • The men who held Jesus ridicule and beat him.
  • Pilate, finding no fault in Jesus, sentences him to appease the crowd. 
  • Herod, who questioned Jesus, found no guilt, then with his soldiers mocked and treated Jesus with contempt, put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate.
  • Barabbas escaped his own death only because of the uproarious attention on Jesus.
  • Simon of Cyrene, who by happenstance was traveling in the area, was called to carry the cross behind Jesus.
  • The women were mourning and lamenting for Jesus.
  • One criminal hanging next to Jesus derided him and told him to save all of them.
  • The criminal on the other side said they deserved to die, while Jesus did not and faithfully asks Jesus to remember him in the Kingdom of Heaven.
  • The people cast lots for his clothing.
  • People stood by watching.
  • Leaders sneered at him and said, “If he is the Messiah let him save himself.”
  • The soldiers mocked him and offered him sour wine.
  • The centurion, after witnessing the events of the day, said, “Surely, this man was innocent.”
  • Joseph, a member of the council who did not support the plan, asked for Jesus’ body to see Him properly buried before the Sabbath.
  • Women prepared the spices and ointments for his body.

In Luke 22:22,Jesus says, “The Son of Man is going as it has been determined.”  

And I wonder, have all of these people been predestined for their roles all along?  Was there any other option for Judas other than to be “Judas the Betrayer?”  Did the man who offered the room to the disciples have the opportunity to say no?  Are our lives predestined and we just are who we are?

I have to believe we make choices every day.  The choices we make are based on our predisposition, our personality, and our experiences.  How do we make sure we are like the man who leads the disciples to the house and like the owner who welcomes them and offers a room?  Can we decide to be like Peter who after repeating bad behavior recovers and leads others to Christ?  Can we be like Simon who assists Jesus with his heavy burden?  Can we decide not to be like the many people in the story who were deliberately or maybe even accidentally malicious?

I believe we can.  We have the gift of the Scriptures.  When we open our hearts and minds to the truths revealed in God’s word not only do we begin to understand the truths offered to us there, but also, the love of God becomes part of our personal experiences.  I don’t think the people in this story got to the place they were by accident.  They arrived there by choice.  They chose to believe in and follow the truth, the truth of flawed humanity, and a perfect plan for redemption.  They chose Love.

​A moment for walking

person wearing blue denim jacket while walking on foggy road

“Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” Mark 2:8-12

Why were they so amazed? People get up and walk all the time.

Many years ago I was told by someone, “You don’t reward someone for doing what they are supposed to do.”  When I heard this, I was at first taken aback, but then I somewhat bought into the idea. Recently this perspective has been brought to my attention again, and I realize how much my viewpoint has matured.  I now know, there is no love, dignity, honor, or faith, in that statement.

We are not all equally capable of everything.  We are each made up of strengths and weaknesses.  Sometimes our weaknesses get the best of us, and we become convinced that that is all we are.  Jesus, in this story of healing, first addressed the inner-weakness in the person brought to him by saying “Your sins are forgiven.”  All the things that make you feel less than worthy, all the things you have done that make you feel ashamed, all the things you are that you are not proud of.  They are gone, now get up and walk.

Letting go of our “sins” is difficult if not impossible on our own.  We often need a formal release from the guilt or punishment we inflict on ourselves or others.   We are not given an explanation of what this man’s sins were.  Jesus does not list them and then check them off.  He incontrovertibly says “the past is the past now go forward.”  What a gift to have such release!

Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”  Mark 2:3-5 

For a person who is mentally paralyzed by sin, shame, depression or fear, healing is complicated.   The person who needs healing must let down all the preconceived notions of self-sufficiency and allow others to lead them to the place where healing can begin.  This act in weakness is also a moment of considerable strength.  It is a moment of humility for the individual, and yet it takes courage to acknowledge the need for help and to receive it.  Those with the strength to help must treat this person and this moment with love, dignity, honor, and faith.  The barriers of judgment and pride must be removed, and openness to love and healing must take its place.  In this story, Jesus saw not only the faith of the man but also the faith of his companions.   A moment of unity in the desire to encounter Christ produced a perfect reward for everyone.

“they were all amazed and glorified God”

When was the last time you were amazed?

Take a moment today to celebrate the simple acts of others.  It might be more difficult for them than you know.