Adopted by God

All my life, I have felt like I was being judged against some plumb line and found wanting.  And just like Amos, God took me from teaching and set me a task to minister to his people.  Even then I have looked back to that plumb line wondering if I measure up.

But glory of glories, in our Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul says, “He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will.”  And I know what that means!

 

I have been on a journey since Christmas.  A journey of discovery, to find my family of origin.  All my life I have cared nothing about history.  If you mentioned history to me, my mind shut down, didn’t want to go there.  It held nothing for me, didn’t exist for me.  I was adopted when I was 11 days old.  That is the day history began.

 

So I have a basis for understanding what Paul is talking about when he talks about “adoption as children of God.”  I was adopted into a new family and loved and cared for as if I was their own.  It wasn’t until after Mom died, that God plainly told me that He was my father and called me into his household.  He also told me if I wanted to know about my family to read the Bible.  It was only then that history began to be important to me – and then only Biblical history.

 

Over the last 30 years, I have grieved the loss of the mother who gave birth and who gave me away.  I went through various stages of grief: anger, guilt, depression and finally acceptance as I acknowledged the calling God had placed on my life.  It is only recently that God has placed a longing in my heart to find closure, and I began my search not knowing if my birth mother was alive or dead. 

 

Over the past two months, as I petitioned the court to unseal my records and as I searched through the DNA matches, my thirst for history – my history – came alive.  Knowing my mother’s name was Lillie, and finding a positive DNA match for an uncle, I was able to identify my mother and track my family history back several generations.

 

Using the information gathered through Ancestry.com and internet searches, Sam and I left Thursday to search for my mother.  We came up dry on Thursday – no luck at all.  So we went to Palestine and spent the night with some old friends.  We visited and laughed and prayed and enjoyed the fellowship and support and encouragement we found there.

 

We went back on Friday to begin our search anew.  This is when all my skills learned through teaching math and being a police officer and pastoral care all came together.

 

I had already decided that my mother must be in a nursing home somewhere.  The first place we visited gave me a clue – we went to a nursing home in a different town and that is where we found her.  I was trembling as the nurse took me back to where “Miss Lillie” was having lunch with a friend.  The moment I saw her, I had no doubt that she was my mother.  I visited with her for about 10 minutes.  I doubt that she would remember it the next day, but it was monumental for me.  To be able to gaze at her and say, “This is my mother” was simply amazing.  This was a gift from God

 

As adult beings, we are formed by more than our DNA and our environment.  We are also formed by the love God pours out on us and our response to that love.  Here in this letter to the Ephesians we are reminded that we have been adopted into the family of God.  We are reminded that Jesus Christ died to redeem our sins.  Wisdom and insight are given that we might know the depths of his love.

Sometimes we are fighting issues involving physical, emotional or spiritual pain, or disabilities, or inadequacies. Sometimes it is hard to remember that God has a plan, and that plan includes us.  Sometimes it is hard to wait for the fullness of time in God’s plan.  We want to bull right ahead and force issues instead of waiting for God’s timing and God’s plan. Just like this search for my mother…  I had considered doing a DNA test, but just never seemed to get around to ordering the kit – the time wasn’t right, or maybe I didn’t want to open up that Pandora’s box – but then I was given a DNA test kit as a Christmas present from my son and daughter-in-law – and it was God’s timing.

Our lesson says, “when you have heard the word of truth. . .”  The word of truth as I visited with my mother was that this woman had given me birth, and then unselfishly given me up, so that I might be adopted into a particular family to grow up in the knowledge and love of God as demonstrated through that adoptive family.  The environment I grew up in and the church family I called home were instrumental in bringing me to where I am today.  

Our Psalm today begins, “I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him. . .  Mercy and truth have met together.”  After the turmoil that has resided in my heart at times through the years, when truth was found, there was mercy also.  In the fullness of time, God has brought it together for me and I have seen his glory in the face of one who had the courage to bear a child and give her over to the Lord’s loving care.

I have believed in Jesus Christ and been sealed by the Holy Spirit and that’s all it takes.  God has a plan and a path for each of us to travel.  This is the pledge God gives us – we are redeemed by his blood, forgiven our sins, and adopted as full members of Christ’s body, co-heirs with Christ of the kingdom of heaven.

How compelling a message for a whole generation of children who have been "cut loose" by parents through adoption or divorce or misfortune, or simply those who have sprouted their wings and flown away! How amazing to remind ourselves that no matter what our family system may be, we are not alone – never alone, but have been adopted as precious children of the Creator of the universe, our gracious heavenly Father!   Amen

 

Life and God

You lift me up on the wind, you make me ride on it, and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.  Job 30:22

Job is talking about his experience of life - in my experience, life can be a lot like a rollercoaster ride. You ride up to the heights, and then you often tumble down to the lowest of the low and after you bottom out you may be on your way up again.  The people of old, biblical people, saw everything that happened to them to be a direct result of God messing in their life.  A very subjective or egotistical view.  Often in the Bible, God is portrayed as a puppet master pulling the strings of various people to make them do certain things or behave in certain ways. 

As an Episcopalian I believe in the doctrine of freewill - we along with everyone else are allowed to make our own choices in and about life.  This means that things might happen to us that are not the direct result of God's action.  It also means that we can be affected by the choices of others - i.e. drunk drivers.  But that doesn't mean that God does not know what happens to us and it doesn't mean that God doesn't care.  One philosophy of life is that God is a "clockmaker" - that he set thing in motion in the beginning and has not interfered since.  I don't believe that either. 

I believe that God knows what happens to us and that he cares.  I believe that he has a general plan for our life and encourages us along the way.  I also believe that God is active - at work behind the scenes to bring about opportunities for us to experience and know him.  I believe that he brings about encounters that can be life changing. God is Lord of All and if he sent Jesus Christ to offer the ultimate sacrifice, then he can and will help be available to aid us as we walk through life.

Lord God, most loving Father, help us as we struggle through this life and make yourself known to us at all times - even in the hour of our greatest need.  Amen.

You give them something to eat...

Excerpt from yesterday's sermon...

Jesus Christ is always affirming, renewing, redeeming, and restoring us.  Instead of guilt, Jesus offers us forgiveness; instead of hunger, food; instead of loneliness, his caring presence; instead of death, life; instead of alienation, adoption and belonging.  Jesus takes our need and reaches through it to restore us. 

 Like the disciples, we are called to participate in his miracles;  To reach out in Christ name, in his love and with his power to those in any need.  To give witness to the power of God in Christ and to bring hope into lives that have been left abandoned or broken.  We are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give rest to the weary, bring good news to those held captive.

He must increase. . .

From today's reading:  John answered, 'No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, "I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him. . .   He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:27-28, 30

John the baptizer was always clear about his mission.  He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness.  His was a ministry to call the people to repentance, to prepare their hearts to receive the greatest gift that God would give - the gift of God's own son.  "One is coming, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."  

The thing that John knew was that once Jesus appeared on the scene, he would become the focus, the prominent one.  "He must increase, but I must decrease."  John did not have to have center stage, he was willing to step back and let Jesus flourish.  This also becomes the pattern that should dictate our own relationship with Christ.  He must increase, and we must decrease.  As we get to know Christ, as we allow him to grow in us, then that should become visible in the way we live our life.  He should be seen more and more in us as we learn to live our life more and more for him. 

Lord Jesus, come fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we may decrease and allow you to increase in us. Grant that wherever we may go, we may be agents of your grace and others may know your presence.  Amen.

Rejoicing in the face of struggle

From today's reading:  Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation.  Habakkuk 3:17-18

Once a month there is a Friday night celebration service at Fr. Jim's house in Huntsville.  The person in charge of the music would often pick a song called "I will rejoice in the Lord always" based on these verses from Habakkuk and it always drove Fr. Jim crazy.  I think he questioned the reason for such rejoicing when everything was obviously going wrong.  But the truth is, that even when things go wrong, and maybe especially when they go wrong, that is the time when we often draw closer to God. 

There are so many things that happen to us that we have no control over, and those are the times that we feel helpless.  When we are helpless to do anything ourselves, it helps to know that there is a God who is in control - even when things don't go the way we want them to go.  My sister-in-law Jane died three weeks ago.  That was a hard loss for the whole family.  When we first learned that she was dying, she told me, "I don't like God's plan.". She had so much she wanted to do and to accomplish before leaving this earth and no time to do it.  And yet, God was so present at her bedside.  I saw an acceptance come over her and a smile on her face as she listen to her favorite scriptures being read.  I was not there as she died, but I understand from those who were that she began to get glimpses of heaven and those who were waiting for her to cross over.

Those of us who are left behind take comfort that she is in the arms of a loving God who has taken away the cancer and the pain and raised her to new life.  I will rejoice in the Lord always.  And we live in the promise that we will be with her when our time has come.  I will exult in God my Savior.

Advent 1 meditation - Monday

From Monday’s reading:  Make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.  2 Peter 1:5-7

What a list: Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, mutual affection and love.  Peter tells us that without these qualities we are short-sighted and fall short of the grace of God.  God, our cheerleader, is anxious that we all come into grace through Jesus Christ.  God gives us what we need, but we often ignore the messages God sends us.  It all begins with divine love and after that, anything is possible.  Live into God’s grace today by remembering to call on the Name of Jesus when you are sad, when you are happy, or when you need help.  His presence will be the guiding grace for the life you live.  Amen.

Two promises for All Saints Day

Luke reminded us in his gospel that in order to follow Christ we must  - Love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who abuse us.  That is a tall order - very counter-cultural - and one that is (if we are honest with ourselves) sometimes very hard to follow.  The world around us tells us that we don't have to put up with bull from anyone - and it almost sounds like Jesus wants us to become victims.  But that is not at all what this means.  In this lesson, we are given a way to approach the world around us, and the unpleasant things that sometimes happen, with a positive attitude and gives us a response that keeps us connected to God and prevents us from being victimized.

In this life, we are not promised happiness, riches, health, love, or any other thing that many people desire in this life.  The promise we have from God is that regardless of what happens to us, regardless of what state we find ourselves in – God will be there with us!  That is his promise for this life – our life on earth.  God will be with us – to encourage us, to strengthen us, to comfort us, to fill us, to love us.  That is his promise for our life here on earth.  When we are going through tough times – when we are in pain, when we are alone, when we grieve, God is there with us.  He is there with us in both the good times and the bad times - because through the life and suffering of Jesus, he understands.  He laughs with us, he cries with us, he rejoices with us, and he grieves with us.  He is there to share with us.  We don’t see him, but we can feel his presence.  His Spirit lives within us and we are never alone.

God's first promise to us is that in this life, God will be will us - we will never be alone.   The second promise that is given to us is this… in death, we will be with God.  In Genesis we are told that we are made in the image of God and when the "ruah," the breath of God was breathed into us, Spirit of God came to live within us.  We are connected, now and always.

Radical Hospitality

From today's reading:  The Golden Rule   12  "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12

Many people at Grace Church in Alvin have accepted the Bible Challenge to read the whole Bible in one year.  Today's readings are Gen. 19-22, Psalm 7 and Matthew 7.  Much of the reading has to do with hospitality acccording to Old Testament rules.  You see a positive example in Lot who invites the strangers in and feeds them and keeps them safe.  That is contrasted with the people of Sodom who are intent on abusing the strangers.  So what are the things we are to do to be hospitable in today's world?

Jesus gives us the answer to the hospitality question in the reading from Matthew.  Every religion has some form of the "Golden Rule," but in the other forms, it is always a passive statement - "don't do to others what you don't what them to do to you..." in other words, don't do bad things to other people.  But what Jesus says is a positive, active statement - DO to others - what you would like for them to do for you, IF your positions were reversed.  

Radical hospitality is a Christian ideal that has been in place for 2000 years.  This doesn't mean that we have to be a doormat for people, but we can live our life by being aware of the world and the people around us and the situations and needs that present themselves.    

Lord, as I walk through this day, help me to see places where I can be a positive and redeeming influence for others.  Amen.

Faith, hope and love - these three remain

From today's reading:  Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.  1 Thessalonians 5:8

Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians to remain faithful in their life in Christ.  Too often the human response to the trials of this life is to run away and hide under a rock.  Here Paul gives us images that can help us to stand firm and upright.  Not unlike his letter to the Ephesians, we hear these images of armor - the breastplate that protects the Roman soldier in battle and his helmet.  Here Paul suggests a breastplate of faith and love, to remind us of Christ and protect us from the spiritual anarchy that often swirls around us.   And he suggests a helmet consisting of the hope of salvation that will keep us ever positive in the face of adversity.  Paul cares forthose he ministers to and always tries to give them tools to cope with their situations.  We can use those same tools in our own lives.

Lord, keep us ever mindful that your love surrounds us and protects us like a breastplate so that our faith in you can remain firm and undaunted.  Help us to always keep the helmet of hope in place so that we know that you are ever with us and protecting us in all the cares of this life.  Thank you, Lord, for your son, Jesus, and for the teaching of your servant, Paul.  May we look to you in all things at all times through the power and leading of your Holy Spirit. Amen

For love of God and neighbor

From today's reading:  You will show me the path of life; *

in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand 

are pleasures for evermore.  Psalm 16:11

I had trouble reading the Psalm today - I wanted to sing it.  These are the words for John Foley's song, "For You are my God."  For you are my God, you alone are my joy.  Defend me, O Lord.  As we came out of church one Sunday, a young man asked me, "I thought I heard him say we are to love God first above everything else.  My father always taught me that you should love family above every thing else."  

The young man had heard correctly.  We are to love God above all, because it is in God's perfect love that we learn to love family and others more perfectly.  Without God's perfect love, other love runs the risk of becoming possessive or even obsessive.  Loving God first keeps all else in perspective.

Another verse says, "You give marvelous comrades to me."  God does place wonderful people in our path to accompany us on our journey through life.  These are the ones that we are to love with the love born of God.  And if we allow him to, God will guide us through the maze that we call life.  We don't have to struggle with all the questions that arise, God will be with us and lead us to right decisions and actions.

Loving God, help us to love those around us more perfectly remembering that we are all made in your image.  Open our eyes and ears to following your leading to reach out in love to a broken and hurting world.  Amen.