Blog Archives

ELOGOS for Wednesday

8/31/2016

Psalm 1:3
They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.
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"It is good to be around someone who is so grounded." I heard this phrase the other day and I rolled the words around in my head. Grounded sounds rather dull. But then, grounded also means being able to withstand a stiff wind. In electrical terms, it means the ability to take a hit from a bolt of lightning and channel it into the ground away from doing any harm to those nearby. A tree that isn't grounded and near a source of water won't be a tree for long. Being "so grounded" may be cooler than I first thought. Consider what nurtures your roots today.
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May we wiggle the toes of our lives deeply into the streams of your living water. Amen.

ELOGOS for Tuesday

8/30/2016

Philemon 1:15-19
Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it.
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This little letter amid the Gospels and the gloriously rich epistles is on the surface of things, a letter of reference for a former slave to be received as a partner in service. It is, at least, a hint of recognition that the flawed hierarchy of social economic status should be reshuffled by the criteria of the heart. Paul gives us all a window into what it means to treat one another which affection and dignity and how to call others up to that higher road. Those who are an example of service and sacrifice are noteworthy proponents of justice. A handwritten note and a sincerely heartfelt plea sound through the ages and will continue to resound long after the din of violent opining has passed.
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Direct my hand and quiet voice to those who most need it today, Lord.

ELOGOS for Monday

8/29/2016

Luke 14:33
So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
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To understand this verse is to decide which part of the sentence holds more weight for us. It is the difference between a scam artist and Jesus. One places the emphasis on the word "possessions" and the other on "give up." It is the difference between the object and the verb. The scam artist is interested in the object - your possessions. Jesus is interested in the action verb: give up. The danger of the scam artist is that the emphasis implied continues to be on the value of the possession: It has value to you - I value what you value - Give what you value to me and I will increase its value. Jesus values us and wants nothing getting in between us.
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May I seek your face, O Lord. Amen.

ELOGOS Author's Note

8/25/2016

Proverbs 25:6-7
Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
or stand in the place of the great;
for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.
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My apologies for the absence of ELOGOS this week. I had jury duty. Though called before, I was never chosen. There was always the mixed emotion of being relieved that I didn't have to serve and the confusion of wondering why I wasn't chosen. This time, I was chosen. In the course of the week, we were thanked for our service over and over again. I confess that when "All rise for the judge" turned into "All rise for the jury" it was a prideful moment. The jury was a mixed group of men, women, ethnicities, ages. We were a few engineers, a concierge, a food service administrator, a couple health care professions, a graphic artist, a couple clerks, office administrators and a pastor. We were treated equally with respect. It was not a position we sought but one we were willing to do. As professional and serious as the proceeding were, it was not perfect. We all heard different information mixed with differing opinions. In the midst of a time when civility, respect, order, responsibility and compassion seem to be shoved from the headlines, jury duty was remarkably hopeful. May we all rise in the presence of the king who rose for our sake.
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Holy God, may we order our days and our deeds in your justice and truth. Amen.

ELOGOS for Thursday

8/18/2016

Isaiah 58: 13-14
If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord
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One of the low points of the history of God's people was when Jerusalem was conquered, the temple destroyed and the people were sent into exile. Instead of being in their own land living among their own people, they were dispersed into cities and communities. Honoring their rituals required more effort. The rituals of their faith were harder to make happen. It wasn't like it used to be. It wasn't as good as the olden days back in Jerusalem. There were more distractions and other things to do. They began to lose their identity as God's people as their rituals grew more infrequent. Along with their identity, they began to lose hope. Rituals by themselves may seem like strange or even foolish practices. Sticking candles in a cake and then blowing them out by itself is pretty silly. Communion by itself is silly. It is a pinch of bread and a little shot glass of inexpensive wine. When we disconnect the people, the story from the ritual, the ritual looks silly. We can think of a thousand things to do that make more sense or serve our own purposes better. However, everything changes that one time we feel ourselves just going through the motions of the ritual when we are suddenly aware of connecting to something greater than ourselves that we find our true identity and our purpose as God's people.
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Make us hungry for the rituals and the story that give us life. Amen.

ELOGOS for Wednesday

8/17/2016

Psalm 103: 7-8
He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
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I just finished reading a book about a man who grew up in a small, rural poor community with deeply wounded family relationships, economic despair and addiction. At a particularly low point in the boy's life, he asked his grandmother if God loved them. What she answered was less important than the fact that he had to ask. God has made himself known as gracious, slow to anger, full of love. What we don't seem to get is that the only power that can lift a child from the despair that they know is the love that they know. The God of love continues to make himself known to us. The kingdom of heaven is that day when we never hear a child have to ask if God loves them. We hasten the dawn of that day when we arise as children of that God who beckons us to share what we know.
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The next person we see, Lord, may not know you love them. Help us to change that. Amen.

ELOGOS for Tuesday

8/16/2016

Hebrews 12:28-29
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
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There are days when I want God to shake things up! I want God to come in Richter-Scale earthquake measurements (without the corresponding death and destruction). I want God to rattle the planet and and whack it upside the head until it pays attention. And then I think better of it. I walk it back. I remember how much I like my life stirred but not shaken. I want a nice, little tame God that yawns and shows its teeth from time to time, but goes back to a sleepy regard to my daily contributions or lack there of. We are torn between wanting a God who is powerful, but we want a peace that is status quo. God is shaking even our understanding of peace until we know it to be nothing else but the holiest of love.
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Shake up our hearts and minds to love like you, O Lord. Amen.

ELOGOS for Monday

8/15/2016

Luke 13:13-14
When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.”
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Everybody's a critic. An Olympian on the medal stand overwhelmed in the moment forgets to assume the posture for the national anthem, critics erupt and more critics erupt against those who erupted. A victorious accomplishment is splattered in a barrage of word fire. To what end? I can't throw stones. I am not without sin. I have brandished the arsenal of my vocabulary on occasion for the sole purpose of causing pain. The leaders of the synagogue could not heal that woman even if she followed the rules. Powerless against Jesus, they chose to abuse those who were already in pain. Jesus stands between the critics and the suffering and calls out the critics for their lack of compassion. A word can heal. A word can hurt. Silence is cowardice. The best word to brandish in this war of words is Jesus.
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Teach me how to speak with compassion, Lord. Amen.

ELOGOS for Thursday

8/11/2016

Jeremiah 23:29
Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
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I lived in Pittsburgh for a short time. But it didn't take long for the city to become a part of me. Though Pittsburgh had begun a renaissance of movement from industrial steel production to a more diverse businesses, it still lived its label as the Iron City. Processing iron ore into steel is a massive, heated undertaking of controlled violence. There was giant machinery to crush rocks. Boiling caldrons of molten iron were manhandled volcanoes. Hammers and fire and blistering power transform a mountain of mines into skyscrapers, rocket ships, bridges, scapels, and spoons. Why are we, then, surprised at the process of making a disciple?
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We are in your hands, O Lord. Amen.

ELOGOS for Wednesday

8/10/2016

Psalm 82:8
Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!
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Hold that thought, Lord. Let's be careful what we think that means. Right now, it could mean "This world is a mess and you, God, need to fix it." Sounds a little pushy of us given we made the mess and we are not God. Hmmm, let's try again. It could mean "We know right and wrong and those people are wrong and we are right and we need you, God, to stand for what is right with us." Sounds a tad arrogant. Okay, how about this. It could mean, "We gave it our best shot, God, but we are the ones being picked on here so help us out and go punish the bad ones for our sake." A little more humble but it is more complicated. Justice to us is simple math. Do something bad equals punishment. Our sense of right and wrong leaves no room for understanding and consequently no compassion. When we are the victim, we want fairness. When we are the wrong-doer, the last thing we want is fairness. When human beings want justice, we are always asking for someone else to be punished. As humans beings, we are simultaneously victim and wrong-doer. Now we are stuck. However, your justice, O Lord, brings a new definition of justice - one that abides by the law of love. Okay, Lord, judge the earth....we like your justice better.
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Holy God, we turn to you. Amen.