The Gift of Health

Sacred Gifts and Holy Gatherings
Four Weddings and a Funeral
A Wedding in Cana

Matthew 15:29-39  The Message

^29-31 After Jesus returned, he walked along Lake Galilee and then climbed a mountain and took his place, ready to receive visitors. They came, tons of them, bringing along the paraplegic, the blind, the maimed, the mute—all sorts of people in need—and more or less threw them down at Jesus’ feet to see what he would do with them. He healed them. When the people saw the mutes speaking, the maimed healthy, the paraplegics walking around, the blind looking around, they were astonished and let everyone know that God was blazingly alive among them.

³² But Jesus wasn’t finished with them. He called his disciples and said, “I hurt for these people. For three days now they’ve been with me, and now they have nothing to eat. I can’t send them away without a meal—they’d probably collapse on the road.”

³³ His disciples said, “But where in this deserted place are you going to dig up enough food for a meal?”
^34-39 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”
“Seven loaves,” they said, “plus a few fish.” At that, Jesus directed the people to sit down. He took the seven loaves and the fish. After giving thanks, he divided it up and gave it to the people. Everyone ate. They had all they wanted. It took seven large baskets to collect the leftovers. Over four thousand people ate their fill at that meal. After Jesus sent them away, he climbed in the boat and crossed over to the Magadan hills.

For Reflection 

This is such a well known story.  Compassion and justice are its themes.  Unhealthy people were treated unjustly and Christ healed them.  With compassion Jesus fed them.  Salvation is not just about spiritual healing.  It is also physical healing.

Perhaps you cannot turn water into wine, or heal the sick with a touch of your hand, but, you can engage in compassion acts of justice and healing.  Then, through you too, others will see your sign that God is blazingly alive!

Pray

that you will take advantage of the opportunities for service which are placed squarely in you path by the blazingly alive God.

The Gift of Sight

Sacred Gifts and Holy Gatherings
Four Weddings and a Funeral
A Wedding in Cana

John 9:1-11  The Message

True Blindness

9 ^1-2 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?”

^3-5 Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world’s Light.”
^6-7 He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man’s eyes, and said, “Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “Sent”). The man went and washed—and saw.
⁸ Soon the town was buzzing. His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, “Why, isn’t this the man we knew, who sat here and begged?”
⁹ Others said, “It’s him all right!”
But others objected, “It’s not the same man at all. It just looks like him.”
He said, “It’s me, the very one.”
¹⁰ They said, “How did your eyes get opened?”
¹¹ “A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ I did what he said. When I washed, I saw.”

 

For Reflection 

God does not inflict birth defects, illnesses, or just plain bad luck.   The way some speak of God, one would think that God is the original born looser.  When things go wrong for many, God is blamed.  When inexplicable events occur we call them acts of God!

We suffer from the human condition.  The mystery can only be accepted, not rationalized or explained.

Very often we neglect to thank God for sending us into comforting arms and opportunities for healing.  Jesus not only healed the blind man's eyes, He healed all of those who suffered from misguided understandings of God relationship to humankind.  Why was an unacceptable blind beggar who was often ignored and shunned, suddenly rendered acceptable?  How did the disciples understanding of their religion cause them and other believers to see and understand?

Pray

for the wisdom found in the parables of Jesus.  Pray so that your eyes will see beyond your religion and into your faith in God.

The Resurrected Messiah

Sacred Gifts and Holy Gatherings
Four Weddings and a Funeral
A Wedding in Cana

Acts 2:22-28  The Message

^22-28 “Fellow Israelites, listen carefully to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man thoroughly accredited by God to you—the miracles and wonders and signs that God did through him are common knowledge—this Jesus, following the deliberate and well-thought-out plan of God, was betrayed by men who took the law into their own hands, and was handed over to you. And you pinned him to a cross and killed him. But God untied the death ropes and raised him up. Death was no match for him. David said it all:

I saw God before me for all time.
    Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side.
I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic;
    I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope.
I know you’ll never dump me in Hades;
    I’ll never even smell the stench of death.
You’ve got my feet on the life-path, This proves what you are all bound to believe, that Christ Jesus is the true Messiah and Savior of the world; this he closes his sermon with,
    with your face shining sun-joy all around.

For Reflection 

In a tangle of wars, economic and social upheaval, perversions of the Law, and Roman occupation, tere were many before Christ who were called messiah.  However, condemned by men and approved by God, Jesus is proven to be the true Messiah and Savior of the World.  the Christ event is not only a cause for hope, but also, a cause for deep abiding belief in the promise of God.

Pray

prayers of thanksgiving for the living God, found in Jesus Christ.   Pray so that you remain in an intimate relationship with Christ.

Faithful God

Sacred Gifts and Holy Gatherings
Four Weddings and a Funeral
An Unfaithful Bride

Hosea 2:18-23  The Message

^16-20 “At that time”—this is God’s Message still—
    “you’ll address me, ‘Dear husband!’
Never again will you address me,
    ‘My slave-master!’
I’ll wash your mouth out with soap,
    get rid of all the dirty false-god names,
    not so much as a whisper of those names again.
At the same time I’ll make a peace treaty between you
    and wild animals and birds and reptiles,
And get rid of all weapons of war.
    Think of it! Safe from beasts and bullies!
And then I’ll marry you for good—forever!
    I’ll marry you true and proper, in love and tenderness.
Yes, I’ll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go.
    You’ll know me, God, for who I really am.

^21-23 “On the very same day, I’ll answer”—this is God’s Message—
    “I’ll answer the sky, sky will answer earth,
Earth will answer grain and wine and olive oil,
    and they’ll all answer Jezreel.
I’ll plant her in the good earth.
    I’ll have mercy on No-Mercy.
I’ll say to Nobody, ‘You’re my dear Somebody,’
    and he’ll say ‘You’re my God!’”

For Reflection 

I, for one, am tired of the invocation of dirty false God names.  How about you?

How, in the portion of God's universe that you reside as tenant, do you shepherd God's flock?  How do you contribute to the realization of the Kingdom of God?

Pray

for righteous living.  Pray for the realization of the Kingdom of  God.  Pray that your life will be lived in dedication to the promise of God.

Unfaithful Israel

Sacred Gifts and Holy Gatherings
Four Weddings and a Funeral
An Unfaithful Bride

Hosea 4:1-10  The Message

No One Is Faithful

4 ^1-3 Attention all Israelites! God’s Message!
    God indicts the whole population:
“No one is faithful. No one loves.
    No one knows the first thing about God.
All this cussing and lying and killing, theft and loose sex,
    sheer anarchy, one murder after another!
And because of all this, the very land itself weeps
    and everything in it is grief-stricken—
animals in the fields and birds on the wing,
    even the fish in the sea are listless, lifeless.

^4-10 “But don’t look for someone to blame.
    No finger pointing!
You, priest, are the one in the dock.
    You stumble around in broad daylight,
And then the prophets take over and stumble all night.
    Your mother is as bad as you.
My people are ruined
    because they don’t know what’s right or true.
Because you’ve turned your back on knowledge,
    I’ve turned my back on you priests.
Because you refuse to recognize the revelation of God,
    I’m no longer recognizing your children.
The more priests, the more sin.
    They traded in their glory for shame.
They pig out on my people’s sins.
    They can’t wait for the latest in evil.
The result: You can’t tell the people from the priests,
    the priests from the people.
I’m on my way to make them both pay
    and take the consequences of the bad lives they’ve lived.
They’ll eat and be as hungry as ever,
    have sex and get no satisfaction.
They walked out on me, their God,
    for a life of rutting with whores.

For Reflection 

What a powerful indictment of organized religion!  Doesn't it strike you that even though there seems to be a church on every corner, Godlessness is so pervasive , even among those who claim to be Christian?  

 

What is your test of true Christian Faith?  What cultural embedded religious beliefs and actions seem contrary to the teachings of Jesus?

Pray

for the wisdom to differentiate true Christian beliefs and action from perversions of the gospel.

Faithful to Truth

Sacred Gifts and Holy Gatherings
Four Weddings and a Funeral
An Unfaithful Bride

Psalm 119:25-32  The Message

^25-32 I’m feeling terrible—I couldn’t feel worse!
    Get me on my feet again. You promised, remember?
When I told my story, you responded;
    train me well in your deep wisdom.
Help me understand these things inside and out
    so I can ponder your miracle-wonders.
My sad life’s dilapidated, a falling-down barn;
    build me up again by your Word.
Barricade the road that goes Nowhere;
    grace me with your clear revelation.
I choose the true road to Somewhere,
    I post your road signs at every curve and corner.
I grasp and cling to whatever you tell me;
    God, don’t let me down!
I’ll run the course you lay out for me
    if you’ll just show me how.

For Reflection 

Oh how we yearn for the wisdom of God.  We see evidence of the use of false wisdom daily and know the limitations of human self-determination.  Justice struggles against injustice.  Fear rather thatntrust drives human decision.  Domination smothers compassion.  And the veracity of human wisdom pales in comparison to wisdom derived from the compassion and love of God.

Pray

for the wisdom to do justice, to practice forgiveness, and to act compassionately.

The Faithful God

Sacred Gifts and Holy Gatherings
Four Weddings and a Funeral
An Unfaithful Bride

Psalm 89:24-37 The Message

^19-37 A long time ago you spoke in a vision,
    you spoke to your faithful beloved:
“I’ve crowned a hero,
    I chose the best I could find;
I found David, my servant,
    poured holy oil on his head,
And I’ll keep my hand steadily on him,
    yes, I’ll stick with him through thick and thin.
No enemy will get the best of him,
    no scoundrel will do him in.
I’ll weed out all who oppose him,
    I’ll clean out all who hate him.
I’m with him for good and I’ll love him forever;
    I’ve set him on high—he’s riding high!
I’ve put Ocean in his one hand, River in the other;
    he’ll call out, ‘Oh, my Father—my God, my Rock of Salvation!’
Yes, I’m setting him apart as the First of the royal line,
    High King over all of earth’s kings.
I’ll preserve him eternally in my love,
    I’ll faithfully do all I so solemnly promised.
I’ll guarantee his family tree
    and underwrite his rule.
If his children refuse to do what I tell them,
    if they refuse to walk in the way I show them,
If they spit on the directions I give them
    and tear up the rules I post for them—
I’ll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion
    and make them face the music.
But I’ll never throw them out,
    never abandon or disown them.
Do you think I’d withdraw my holy promise?
    or take back words I’d already spoken?
I’ve given my word, my whole and holy word;
    do you think I would lie to David?
His family tree is here for good,
    his sovereignty as sure as the sun,
Dependable as the phases of the moon,
    inescapable as weather.”

For Reflection 

We humans have a history of abandoning God.  However, in contrast, God has a history of abiding with us in spite of our frailties.  We can no more escape the love of God than we can change the phases of the moon.

Pray

prayers of praise and thanksgiving for the living Lord who stands by us no matter what, whose love knows no restrictions, whose desire is the reconciliation of human kind, whose kingdom is growing.