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"Running in Faith" is an electronic devotional guide written by members of Abiding Presence Lutheran Church. Each week, writers use their personal interpretation of scripture to write an inspirational message they hope will help readers take their Sunday faith into weekday lives. Your comments are appreciated and, when related to a particular devotion, passed to the writer. We hope you will share these devotions with friends and coworkers. We are always happy to add new names to our e-mail list. Please contact us if you wish your name to be added. |
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My "early American summer" consisted of a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia, and the reading of Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer and 1776 by David McCullough. Though I've visited Colonial Williamsburg more than a dozen times, studied early American history in high school and college, attended Christmas re-enactments of the crossing at Trenton, and pondered the painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware, I was reminded anew how vital perseverance was to the outcome of the revolution. "Without Washington's ... unrelenting perseverance," McCullough writes, "the revolution almost certainly would have failed." When, by all reasonable signs the war was over and the Americans had lost, the pivotal victories of Trenton and Princeton happened, they happened because, above all, Washington and his ragtag army manifested the ability to persist. This crucial factor of perseverance in early American history highlights the importance of the same in the accomplishment of Christian mission. When the Apostle Paul heard about members of the church in Thessalonica slipping into passive idleness, he admonished the congregation, saying: "Do not be weary in well-doing" (2 Thessalonians 3:13). That's good counsel, for stick-to-it-iveness is essential to the fulfillment of mission. "Hang in there!" is more than a commonplace expression of encouragement, it is sound advice for anyone intent on serving the Christ and bringing in the kingdom.
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The Psalm for this Sunday is about the greatness of the steadfast love of God. It reminds us that we are like grass or the flowers of the field that flourish only for a brief season before returning to the dust. But surrounding us is God's greatness, his immense kingdom and, best of all, his everlasting love and forgiveness. My family spent almost a month this summer journeying West visiting National Parks. As we beheld strange formations of awesome beauty and vast expanses of sky and distance, and experienced the kindness of so many strangers, we felt uplifted. At once insignificant in the shadow of the Rockies, childlike passing by layers of rock in the Big Horn Mountains that were 2.5 billion years old, flabbergasted at the variety of weather systems observable simultaneously in the Utah Valley, quite weak (in our car) in the presence of two Grizzlies feeding (at a great distance) on a dead Bison, and wonderfully connected as we shared binoculars watching an Osprey dive into the base of the falls on the Yellowstone River. The recent celebrations of the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition have reminded us of the symbolism of traveling West, of journeying into an unknown region filled with boundless potential. Our vacation showed us the immensity of God's creation and instilled in us a sense of peace at being lucky enough to be part of this world.
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"Zacchaeus, hurry and come down."
Soon after I was confirmed, I became a Sunday school teacher for the preschool class at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Ronkonkoma, NY. This may have been partly because my father, the Sunday school superintendent, wanted to make sure I continued to attend Sunday School each week, or because there was a shortage of teachers. Either way, it was the beginning of many years of experiencing the joy of teaching little ones about Jesus. Zacchaeus was one of the first songs we taught the kids. They liked it ... maybe because they, too, were very small people, or that they could stand up and shake a finger at the imaginary little man in the tree and order some adult around. Zacchaeus, the tax collector, was not one of the most beloved persons in Jericho. He was wealthy, and he had not earned his wealth fairly, but by overcharging the citizens of the city. Tax collecting was not as regulated as it is today, and there were no rebates. The people resented the fact that Jesus would pass up their engraved invitations to dine with one they considered a sinner and altogether not nice guy. The event turned Zacchaeus into a changed man. The repentant Zach announced that he would give half of his possessions to the poor and repay quadruple amounts to anyone whom he might have cheated. He did this because he was forgiven by Jesus for all his wrongdoings and his faith now counted him among God's people. Jesus came to bring salvation to everyone who will seek him and turn over their life to Him. Later, I found out the usual last line of the Zacchaeus song was really, "for I'm going to your house TODAY." Someone in our group must have decided that taking tea was a more appropriate thing to do for a government official. Suppose Jesus came to your town and announced He was coming to your house today. What would you do? Would you, like Martha, prepare a great feast? Would you hurry home to vacuum, mop, and polish the silver? Dust the family Bible and place it in a conspicuous place on the coffee table? How would a visit from Jesus change your life?
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There have been many who have spoken of the planning and actions that should have taken place before the disaster of Hurricane Katrina as well as of what should/could have been done afterwards. I am reminded the verity of the old cliché: "Analysis leads to Paralysis." The scripture quote has the heading "Circumspection enjoined." This passage spoke to me and reminded me of the necessity for triage at scenes of disaster. For those of you not familiar with the term, triage is the decision to segregate the affect into three groups: those that can survive without immediate attention; those that that can survive with immediate attention and those that cannot survive with any attention. Triage forces uncomfortable and harsh realities and actions to be faced by the decision makers and the victims. Triage to me is necessary action personified with emphasis upon the most effective use of resources and time. It is hard for me to justify all the blaming and ranting that has been going on of late in the media and in the halls of those who govern and those who would govern. All that furor begs the questions of what to do and how to succor the devastated Gulf Coast area and people. I believe that all our energies must be directed towards solving the immediate problems and to also look to the future with resolve to take action to mediate potential disasters through appropriate planning and actions. It is truly awe inspiring to hear of the tremendous sacrifices and actions of this country's people and institutions as they rally their resources and folks to aid the hard stricken areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. I am proud of our nation's resolve and response to the tragedies and horrible impacts of the terrible storm. I am pleased that the other nations of the world are also reaching out to help us as we have reached out to them when they were in need. I am touched by the overwhelming unity of folks everywhere to help just because it needs to be done.
Let the words of my mouth | ||
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