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Week of February 7, 2010 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. (Luke 5: 9-11) "You should have seen the one that got away!" doesn't seem to be a part of this fish story. With Jesus, they simply hear the call ...and leave everything to follow him and become fishers of men. Imagine that! I've heard it said that faith is not so much taught as caught. As disciples, we are all called by The Holy Spirit, to be both casters and receivers in this catching ministry. It is not something to be delegated to the Evangelism Committee, letting us off the hook. The old fashioned, yet effective, door knocking style of evangelism doesn't hold much appeal for many of us. Yet, we are nonetheless already engaged in casting our net for Christ by offering our time, talent and treasure in various ways that share the welcoming and healing arms of Christ to those who are suffering, both here at home and around the globe. We are engaged in casting our net each time we share our faith walk with a neighbor, friend, or coworker; each time we invite or welcome a visitor to our congregation; each time we reach out to help someone in need. This catching ministry Jesus is calling us to, is not really about increasing worship attendance, though that may often be the natural outcome. I was pleased to read recently that the State of Florida has enlisted the help of Lutherans to receive Haitians and accompany injured Haitians entering the US from earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Florida's Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) asked Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) and Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) to gather Creole-speaking volunteers to help with translation services needed at Florida airports and hospitals. LDR coordinators reported that volunteers are providing translation services around the clock. "When they are greeted by a volunteer with a friendly face and who speak Creole, they are comforted. As the people arrive, some are nervous. The look of relief is so overwhelming." May God bless those volunteers who left everything to be Christ's healing presence to these Haitians. We don't need to go as far as Florida or Haiti to find someone whose world has been rocked. All Jesus is asking us to do is cast our net as we go...to work, to school...to the supermarket...to share the immeasurable richness of His grace, which we have received so abundantly from Him. Lord, you made the church to be a net gathering people together. Now teach us the skills to proclaim your gospel with clarity and fervor. You filled this world with good things and with an abundance of riches for us to share. Now give us generous hearts and caring hands. Make good your purpose in us, oh Lord. Amen.
Week of February 14, 2010
We love because God first loved us. This short sentence from a rather short book of the Bible sums up our life together in Christ. Before we are aware of it, God loves us unconditionally. Propelled by the love that God has for us, we are then able to love others -- family, friends, even strangers! It is good news for us to know that God loves us first -- before we prove ourselves, before we shape up, before we know the right things or say the right things! God loves us first because that is who God is, the God of love. And in Jesus Christ, God pours out such love for us that we are made worthy, made loveable, made holy. On Valentine's Day, the world tells us that true love means buying the right card, getting the perfect gift, eating at the right restaurant and proving ourselves worthy for another. Wrapped in God's love, we know better! Thanks be to God. God of love, thank you for loving us first. Help us to show and share that love with those you put into our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Week of February 14, 2010
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.. Pictured above are two treasured family heirlooms. They are the lamps my fraternal grandpa and dad clipped onto their caps when they worked in the coalmines of southeastern Ohio. My grandpa started to work in the mines when he was 8 years old and had finished the third reader at the local one-room school. My dad joined him working in the mines when he was fifteen and had finished tenth grade at the high school. My grandpa worked in the mines for over sixty years and my father for nearly twenty years. They stopped digging coal - manual labor using only a pickax - when the veins of coal ran out in those Appalachian hills. Both men told me that in their early years of working the mines they would enter the mine before the light of day and exit once the light of day was over. Thus, these little lamps produced the only light they saw during what we call working hours until weekends and holidays. As I grew to an age to understand what they did to earn a living, working conditions in the mines had improved - largely because of the efforts of John L. Lewis that led to the formation of unions. However, mining coal was still a dirty, dangerous job resulting in many deaths and poor health conditions for the men who dug the coal. My maternal grandfather, also a coalminer, died of black lung disease caused from the dust created during the mining of coal. When hand-mining coal, like my relatives did, the advance team would dig a tunnel into the hills and crawl through it looking for veins of coal. Once a vein large enough to mine was discovered, the tunnel would be enlarged, shored up with timbers, railroad ties put down, and coal dug out of the hill with a pickax and placed into railroad flatcars to be delivered to waiting markets. Before the mines played out, both my grandpa and dad had worked all positions involved in the manual extraction of coal from the southeastern Ohio hills. Young boys and men of small stature were the ones assigned to the advance-team work. Thus, when grandpa and dad started their work in the mines as young boys, each of them was assigned to an advance team and wore one of the little lights shown in the picture while they dug tunnels into the hills. When I took the photo, I included an apple to give you an idea of the small size of the lamps. The larger lamp measures a lttle more than 2 inches high and the smaller lamp is 2 inches high. You can see that the body of the lamp holds only a small amount of oil. I think you will agree with me that the light these lamps shed to guide the path of coalminers was extremely small. Each of the little lamps would have had a wick made from cloth sticking out of its spout. The wick would soak up oil from the small cylinder. The wick would be burned and thus create a tiny point of light. The tiny point of light coming from the lamp on each miner's cap was the only light available to him in the pitch-dark underground. That is, this man-made light was the only visible light available to young workers as they crawled through the tiny tunnels they dug as they moved deeper and deeper into the hills searching for veins of coal. Today we are fortunate to have abundant light as we do our work. Light abounds in our lives. Whether in our homes or in outside locations, we do our work in places blazing with light. And, just as it did during the lives of my grandfathers and father, the word of God still shines brightest of all - continuing to light our paths and guide our every footstep. Then grant that I may follow your gleam, Earnet R. Ryden Thank you Lord for your gift of light. Most of all, thank you for your beautiful light that shines on me when I listen to and read your word. Amen
Week of Februarynbsp;28, 2010 Shalom Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:2-6 NIV Pax vobiscum! Peace be with you! Shalom! What is the picture of "perfect peace" that comes to your mind? Could it be of a quiet lake with the opposite shore and skyline reflecting tranquilly off the water's surface? Perhaps it would be a picture of a quiet moment shared by loved ones. Or could it be of a bird sitting on a nest behind a water fall? The base of the fall was just a few feet away from her nest. The pool was frothing from the cascade and the sky was wild with storm clouds. Maybe not... The noise and constant dripping off the mist condensing on the rocks overhead seems anything but peaceful. There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, and he chose the picture of the bird sitting on her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest... perfect peace. Do you know why? "Because," explained the King, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace." I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. It isn't like the peace that this world can give. So don't be worried or afraid. John 14:27 (Contemporary English Version) Let us pray: Dear Heavenly Father, May we be united by the peace we receive when Jesus is in our heart; patient, caring and calm from your love! For we pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Running in Faithis a personal interpretation of scripture, written by members of Abiding Presence Lutheran Church Lutheran Church to help readers take their Sunday faith into their weekday lives. Each Devotion represents the personal opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent Abiding Presence Lutheran Church. Permission is granted to link to this page and to use the Devotions for personal, non-commercial purposes only. |