And then, around the “corner” in March 2020, we were aware of cases in the US and people dying from lung suffocation due to the virus. And, what we thought would be over by Easter was rushing like a tsunami throughout the world, overwhelming everyone in its path. Vacations were canceled. Businesses shut down, some never to recover. Around the next corner, people we knew close to home died and hospitals and healthcare staff were hard hit with the shock, overload of desperate patients, distraught families. Society in general was reeling with grief, fear, anger, weariness and the growing pathos of it all mixed with the “false” news complaints and resistance of masks and vaccines.

Around the next corner came more of the same, but with new variants—but also vaccines. Like many of earth’s diseases before, this one began to have treatment plans and even some immunity from the worst outcomes of the virus. Hopefully, it will go the way of polio, smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis, and other controlled and managed diseases. That is what we have been hoping is around the next corner. But we rounded other corners that brought immense human suffering into plain view on our TVs and phones—fires, floods and wars.

Whenever we round a corner, we leave behind a lot. It lies in our memories like stones on a path. We can go back there and recall—even take on the fear and the dread of what has transpired until it weighs us down and makes it impossible to move forward positively. We carry yesterday’s griefs in our loins, in our very tissues. Someone has said that every sorrow has a zip code some place in our bodies. So, what do we do with it all? Ignore it and hope it will go away seems to be a popular option. Cover it up with careless living or super ambitious work. But the deep place in our being where it resides will speak up, sometimes in chronic illness or in acute crises.

It needs attention, and that is where the ancient spiritual formation practices come to our rescue. We cannot always be in the safety of a counselor’s office—and many people cannot afford it. No matter how much time we spend in healthcare facilities, the root of the problem is not addressed by medications and treatments alone, though the symptoms may be relieved. As much as we need to care for our bodies, we need to care for our souls—that inner being that we received from God at our birth and through which we can know God as more than an idea. A healed soul soothes the rattled psyche and makes possible the restoration of health for our bodies and peace for our lives.

So, I invite you to turn another corner and give your soul a daily “spa treatment.” Perhaps you have ignored it too long. For we who know ourselves as Christians, we have been discipled to undergird our lives with Bible study and Sunday School, Worship, Christian Music, Missions and Ministry. In my Protestant tradition, though, I was not made aware in my early faith development of other life practices that could enable me to open to the Spirit of God more fully. Our Savor the Sacred website exists to introduce Christians and other seekers to spiritual habits we can weave into our lives that can expand our spiritual consciousness of God’s Love.

With COVID less of a threat and with great desire to heal from the effects of isolation, job changes, anxiety, as well as to gather strength for the daily news of other world threats, the first practice I would recommend is to read Scripture differently. Read it from your heart. Read it as a “place” to meet God, rather than simply learn about Him. Read it especially as a place to enter into communion with Jesus, who is the main character in the Bible. From beginning to end, everything points to the Messiah who would come, has come and is ever coming to us as we learn to open our souls to Him as more than an intellectual concept.

Approach Scripture from the stance of one who has been invited into eternal communion with the Creator and Savior of the universe. Let the Spirit of Christ speak to you through the pages of the Bible and Christian literature. Listen for His voice in all the places you go, with all the people you interact, in all that surrounds you in nature, art and music. He is always speaking. As Jesus said, “Let those who have ears to hear, hear.” In other words, listen up! God is near, nearer than your latest breath.

And one more thing. Actually, this is the most important thing. I urge you to turn the corner away from existential fear and doubt of God and let yourself relax into Divine Love which is shown in glimmers in the Old Testament but shines brightly through Jesus. While the roots of Christian faith reach back into the Old Testament, we are citizens of a new realm of faith in which God has been revealed fully through the Christ—His teachings and His life. As He said, “Greater Love has no one than to lay down His life for his friends.” By the way, He has called us “friends.” We are not enemies. We are God’s creation, and He loves all that He has made. So, turn the corner into friendship with the Divine Lover of your soul, our Gentle Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

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Following Jesus requires change.

The Word of God for the People of God

John 21:1-22

Reflection on the Word of God

Many sermons have been and could be preached from this chapter. It is hard to zero in on a central thought because so many things rush into the foreground of our thinking. If nothing else, there are many baffling questions, such as why the disciples did not recognize Jesus, with whom they had spent so much time for at least three years. This was not the first resurrection appearance, so I think I would have been looking for him in every corner! It was only in the miraculous catch of fish that the light dawned in Peter’s mind and he exclaimed, “It is the Lord!”

I always wonder why Peter put on his outer garment before jumping into the sea. Wouldn’t you expect him to take it off first? I also marvel that he was not afraid to jump in with so many fish around him. Did they not have any dangerous creatures in the Sea of Tiberias who would have been hungry for such a large school of fish? And yes, we always wonder how Jesus already had fish, built a fire and was cooking—in his post-resurrection state.

One thing does not puzzle us. We are not surprised at Peter’s decision to go fishing, nor that the other disciples so quickly jumped in the boat with him. After all, they had been through a lot and just needed the comfort of the familiar. It is all too easy for us to return to the comfort of the familiar when things get tough. Some people are overweight for that very reason, because they eat when they are stressed. Food is a comfort for them, because they associate it with some sense of love and safety in an earlier time. I think mid-life crises signal a desire to return to a simpler, happier time as well. So, yes, I think I would have gone fishing too after witnessing the horrors of Jesus’ crucifixion!

But, there is more to be gleaned here than answers to the many questions we could raise. This is not just about resurrection revelation. It is about how to follow Jesus. And it is not just in the dialogue about taking care of sheep that we get the central message. It is a story about change. Peter could not follow Jesus and continue to fish, no matter how lucrative fishing might be. Even if he could have counted on miraculous catches from then on, his goals had to change if he was to follow Jesus. He had to love something else more than fish. His perspective had to change. His love for Jesus had to overcome his love for the familiar. He had to work for what mattered most.

We all chuckle at the popular saying, “The test of insanity is continuing to do the same things and expecting a better outcome.” Jesus was demonstrating and teaching an important lesson. Continue to fish for what you need in order to eat (hence, the small amount of fish on the fire), but go beyond that and focus on what you need to do in order to love and care for others. Don’t be stuck in the past. Trust in Jesus’ forgiveness and venture forth into a new life. Forgive yourself and others, and then move on. Don’t keep going back. Put God’s will before yours and move forward. Put the needs of others and the will of God first, and don’t worry about the future. The main word to take from this passage is: Don’t worry about what others are doing or not doing. Leave that to Jesus. “You follow me,” He said.

Our Response to God

Lord, help me move forward and give up attachments to the past that hold me back from truly following you. I hear in your challenge to Peter the words of calling that you have for me. Help me give up any sense of unworthiness, release all resentment, anger and hurt, let go of judgment and release criticism. I turn to you with fresh courage to embrace change and put on a new way of being. I want to put on a new coat of faith, jump into the sea of your love and surrender my desire to change anyone other than myself. Enlarge my understanding until I welcome all that comes as the gift and plan of God for my life. Grant me the wisdom to choose what is needed and helpful every day as I follow Jesus all the way!

For the praise of Jesus Christ, Amen!

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The Lord is near—not a doomsday warning, but our blessed state every day.

The Word of God for the People of God

Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

May the Lord bless our reading and understanding of His Word.

Reflection on the Word of God

As we listen for the word of the Lord to each of us in this passage, and to all of us in the community of shared faith, let us listen from the perspective of one of the key lines in this passage: “The Lord is near.”

This may bring to mind images of a bearded figure holding a doomsday sign, warning all to repent and turn to God. In today’s world, that might be fitting for sure. However, that is not Paul’s message in these verses. He was encouraging believers to rejoice in the presence of the Lord in order to live gentle, thankful lives of faith in God.

But, our own thoughts get in our way. We let worry get in the way. We allow anxieties to cloud our view of God. Anger and hurt feelings bind and blind us to the Presence of God. We fail to train our minds to give thanks in all things for every little blessing we can discern. There is no sorrow so deep and no crisis so horrible that we cannot find some little speck of blessing—that is, if we want to.

If we are alive, drawing a breath, that is a blessing. God gave us that breath, so He is near. Thank Him. If we are able to see or touch anything He has made or that has been made from resources He has created, we are able to give thanks. It means He is near. In everything that is true, honorable, just, pure, commendable, and pleasing to all, God’s Presence has been at work. Thank Him.

In every good relationship that brings meaning to our lives, the work of God is found in acceptance, forgiveness, assurance, comfort and peace.

Thank Him.

In every good endeavor that fulfills a helpful purpose in our lives, for family or friends, in our church, the community and the world, God’s Presence has been at work. Thank Him.

When we recognize the loving presence of the Lord near to us in all of life, it affects what we think, say and do in positive ways. For one thing, it takes the burden out of worry and renders worry powerless. When we believe that a loving God hears our prayers, it puts grateful confidence in our hearts.

Peace begins to replace the fear and anxiety; love begins to replace the anger and resentment.

When we make it our intention to fill our hearts and minds with positive thoughts, images, words and activities, the Holy Spirit begins to purify us, and a hedge of protection grows around our souls.

But, it will cost us something. To know the Lord is near, we must draw near to Him. This means taking time to draw close to Him and spend time with Him. He will do His work of Grace in you if you will give Him your time. Jesus said that anyone who follows Him must deny himself (or herself). We must make different choices about the way we live our lives.

It means beginning your day with a new orientation shaped by prayer and scripture, letting His voice be the first you hear. It also requires turning to the Lord often throughout the day, and engaging with a community of believers in a church that nurtures your soul, supporting and encouraging you to live into what you learn of His Will.

It also means celebrating His creation, loving and forgiving as He has forgiven you, helping those around you and concluding each day with a grateful review—and confession if needed (and for most of us, it will be needed often).

All of these steps toward greater awareness of God may be enhanced and strengthened through various classic spiritual disciplines. You may explore these disciplines in other areas of this website, such as the article titled Spiritual Formation Fundamentals. Knowing the Lord is near is worth making some changes in our lives! It is worth some steps of self-denial.

Rejoice! The Lord is near!

Our Response to God

May the Lord bless our hearing and doing of His Word, as we pray from our hearts:

Our Glorious Father, whose Name is hallowed above all names, we praise you for all the ways in which we know you as our Perfect Father in Heaven, our Creator Father who brings into being that which did not exist before. We worship you as our Redeeming and Forgiving Savior, Comforting and Guiding Spirit who loves us like a tender mother. You are The Omnipotent Spirit of Everlasting Being, Omniscient and Omni-Present in the universe. You are worthy of first place in our lives.

Thank you for not letting go of us, not forgetting us, not giving up on us when we rush through life without much time spent with You. We thank you for searching for us throughout our days—for searching our hearts and minds for that flicker of soul that longs for you and is ready to respond to your Love—and for meeting us there. Thank you for being near to us, nearer than our nearest breath.

We praise you for hearing us in prayer and giving good spiritual gifts so that we might become faithful children who fulfill your purpose to care for one another and live positive lives. In the light of your glory and love and by the model of your forgiveness and grace, we can live and move and have our being in more fruitful ways. We are blessed. We have you, and you are near.

Yet, we fail You, fail ourselves, and fail one another. We fail in our parenting roles, in our careers, relationships and responsibilities, and even in our church service. Yet, we have you and you are near. 

Individually and corporately, throughout the world in all our groups, companies, neighborhoods, states and nations, people fail to rise to the great potential of human beings as you designed us. We fight rather than negotiate and reconcile. We hate rather than accept and welcome. We miss the mark of greatness our souls are capable of. Yet, we have you and you are near.

From Adam and Eve until now, families have struggled to create homes where love and forgiveness are the norm. Often, instead of harmony, there are dark times of discontent, distrust and disappointment. Yet, we have you and you are near.

As St. Augustine prayed in the 4th century, we pray today….

Father, you are full of compassion, and we commit ourselves to you. Be the Goal of our pilgrimage on earth and our Rest by the way. Let our souls take refuge from the crowding turmoil of worldly thoughts; let our hearts, as a sea of restless waves, find peace in you, O God.

We pray in the name of the Eternal Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who sends forth His Spirit and opens the pure and holy life of our Loving God to us—sinful children though we be. To God be the Glory, Amen.

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The measure of greatness is how low we are willing to go to help someone else.

The Word of God for the People of God

Mark 10:32-45 (excerpt)

When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflection on the Word of God

Jesus lived by a different set of rules than those in authority in his day—and ours. He saw life as Isaiah did when he declared as God’s voice, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” (Isaiah 55:8) He lived in tune with God’s ways and continues to lead us through the Spirit to do the same.

Under the world’s ways, in his day as in ours, rulers “rule” over those who are not rulers. They “lord” it over them, establishing their authority, status, pomp and self-aggrandizement as indubitable reality. We see it played out on the world’s stage and the evening news every day.

Jesus had a different vision. In the realm of Jesus, no one “rules” over another. No one has more authority in God’s Kingdom than another, though there are a variety of roles and responsibilities. We are all servants of Christ and of one another. We are all called to share one baptism, one cup, one cross and one calling. Though that calling may be lived out in many different ways, it is at its heart a simple calling to obey God and serve the needs of others who need human kindness.

This goes against the grain at all levels of the world’s culture, in business and government, and even in the church, because we are so influenced by the self-focused world culture. We know how to talk the talk of servant leadership, but often we don’t walk the walk. Pride and ego creep in, and soon the church looks just like the world. If it happened for the disciples, we need to look carefully at our own attitudes. There are subtle ways that we can envision great things for ourselves that leave others out.

On their way to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way and teaching of his impending death, James and John began to dream of grandeur. “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” What were they thinking? Did they have any twinge of conscience when they left the other disciples out of their leadership plan? How did these men, steeped in Jesus’ teachings about humility, acquire such an exclusive sense of entitlement? How do we?

Let us remember that we follow the Son of Man who did not come to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). May we find our measure of greatness in how low we are willing to go in service, rather than how high in status.

If status comes, may we use it for God’s Glory, to lessen someone’s burdens and make the world a better place, and not for selfish gain or prideful ego.

Our Response to God

Lord Jesus, we/I fall far short of the vision you set before us. In your teachings and by your example, we know you call us to seek and to do what we shrink away from. You lead us to do what we want others to do for us—for people far different from ourselves—even our enemies. Like the disciples, we dream dreams of grandeur too. We see great things for ourselves more often than visions of lowly servanthood.

Help us to show the world your way and relinquish our inordinate desires for status, authority, applause, wealth and power—and take your hand into the fulfillment we will gain from meeting the needs of a world in trouble, or a person in trouble. Let no task be too small or lowly, nor too great or lofty, but all be done with humility. May our compassionate actions of service touch the lives of those seeking human kindness and bring credit to the name of Christ in the church, community and world. For the Glory of God, revealed in Christ and at work through the Holy Spirit, Amen.

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“Here is the work of today—which is also the work of the whole of life. I’m called daily to open my heart afresh to the living Word of God.”

— Chris Webb, The Fire of the Word: Meeting God on Holy Ground, page 14

The Word of God for the People of God

Exodus 3:1-7 (excerpt) – Moses and the Burning Bush

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. . .

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. . .”

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.”

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflection on the Word of God

This is a beloved story that many heard first in Sunday School as very young children. It fascinated our imaginations with visions of a bush on fire but not consumed by the flames. If we were lucky, our teachers let us marvel without explaining the mystery away with scientific theories. You were blessed if you were enabled to believe the account and accept it as a story that holds truth worth believing.

The truth is that there is more to the story than a bush on fire, or even the life-changing call that Moses would receive from God—which would become a world-changing event and a nation-shaping event for Israel. It is a window through which we meet God and find Him to be in love with His created children. He said to Moses, “I have seen the affliction of my people.” Notice the verb and notice the personal pronoun. We are God’s people. We belong to Him. He sees us and He cares about us. That is the essence of the story. It is not only about fire and flame, power and might. It is about being loved by the God who created us.

Personalize God’s words by replacing the words “my people” with the names of those you love who are in distress of some kind. Put your name in the blank as well. God went on to say, “I have heard the deep heart cries; I have felt the tears flowing in despair.” God hears us and—wonder of all wonders—He feels our sorrow. Jesus lived out this aspect of God’s love for us, when he confronted Paul on the road to Damascus and declared that the suffering which Paul was imposing on God’s people was felt by Jesus. (Acts 9:4)

We are not reading more into the text than is conveyed when we paraphrase it to read: I know and feel the suffering of grief and loss. I have come down to deliver them and you out of the grip of the evil that has entrapped you, to bring you into my abundant life. That is the way Jesus came to us. He came as the incarnation of God, saying at different times and different ways, “Take heart. Have no fear. I have come to bring you abundant life.” He came revealing God to us—a God who loves us like a Perfect, Holy Father. He came seeing, hearing and feeling our pain—to redeem and transform us, so that we can know that God loves us with everlasting love.

The God of Moses is the God of Incarnation in Christ—and our beloved Father in Heaven.

May your heart overflow with relief that the Great God of the Universe has come to you in Jesus, as He came to Moses in a flame. By faith, you can have confidence that you are greatly loved.

Our Response to God

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow! Amen.

The post God Feels Our Suffering appeared first on Savor the Sacred.

In spite of all the evil that surrounds us, the lamp of God has not yet gone out.

The Word of God for the People of God

I Samuel 3:1-10 (excerpt)

The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was . . .  

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflection on the Word of God

The Word of the Lord is rare in our days. Indeed, there is no frequent vision. While there are some respectable visionaries and creative entrepreneurs around the world, the revered statesmen and insightful orators of bygone years have all but vanished from the land. Leaders are no longer trusted. Integrity is absent, so true leadership is absent. True leaders need people of conscience to work with them, for them, and not against them. Aggressive, militant responses are forcefully carried out against anyone brave enough to take a stand on any issue. In a country that prides itself on freedom of speech, people of faith (especially people who follow the teachings of Christ) are not as free as they should be.

Anarchy was the norm in the times of Samuel, so this is nothing new in the world. It breeds in the hearts of all who reject the guidance of the Lord. It is sad that we seem intent on repeating the dark cycles of history of the past. However, there is good news. We can take heart in the phrase in verse 3: “The lamp of God had not yet gone out. . .” Let us take courage that the lamp of God has not gone out. In fact, through the work of the Spirit of Christ, it is flaming brightly for those who draw near enough to see by its light. Samuel was lying as close as He could to the Presence of God, lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. As a result, he was hearing God’s voice calling to him.

Through prayer and a sacred approach to the reading of God’s Holy Word, we too can “lie down” close to the Presence of God and begin hearing God’s voice like never before. If we read farther in I Samuel 3, we learn that the word Samuel was given to carry to the priest Eli was not a pleasant message. When times are bad and people are bad, the news from God may be hard to bear and hard to hear; but it is always a word that leads toward redemption if we will receive it and act on it.

Our Response to God

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I come in prayer to lie down within the temple of the Lord in my heart, where Christ has promised to dwell. I wait here to hear my name and to answer, “Here I am, Lord. Speak for Thy servant is waiting and listening. Come, stand forth, and speak to me in a still, small voice of gentle wisdom or a mighty thundering voice of absolute sovereignty. But, give me the courage to hear and carry out your Word.”  We pray in the name of Jesus, the Living Word and the Light of the World. Amen.

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