Psalm 63 New International Version (NIV)
A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
¹ You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.
² I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
³ Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
 
We are longing to be together and to be in worship.  We have been staying inside and doing what is right to help others for it seems an awfully long time and we are weary.  We long for God and each other.  We need to remember that God has not left us, that God has always been with us, through all of this quarantine God has been with us.  The church is here and is worshipping.  While it is not our preferred way of worship, we still worship together online.  We pray for each other; we call each other to see how people are doing.  We offer help to each other by running errands for those who should not go out right now.  We are still the church.  We are still ministering to our local community through our shower ministry for the homeless and our food closet for those on the margins.  We are still living out our call to be the church.

I know that it is difficult for most to worship online.  It is not the same as being here. I also long for the time when we can be together; however, we need to remember that God and the church has not left us.  We are just doing things in a different way for a while. Even when the staff and leadership at CUMC believe that it is safe to come back for most people and when we have protocols in place to make it safe to have people come back to worship on campus it will be different.  It will not be the same.  For some that will be difficult, for others that will be a good thing. 

During this time of social distancing we need to remember why we do this, and yes, the wording and reason from the powers that govern us have changed on that.  The one thing that has not changed is that we are doing this to help others.

One of my favorite books is Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living by Ruben P. Job.  It is a small jewel of a book.  In it Bishop Job gives us his interpretation of John Wesley’s General Rules for people of this age.  The three simple but very challenging rules are “Do no harm, Do good, and stay in love with God”  saying and remembering them is easy, living into them is any but, for it sound deceptively simple to do.

I have taught this book a few times, I carry a copy of it in my purse. I try to live it out in my life, and fail at it, but I am trying and that is all that anyone can do.  Try. CUMC is trying to live into these rules as well, and yes, that can be difficult.

We need to be in the desert a little while longer, however we can still be connected with each other in ways that David would never comprehended, and we are always connected with God, that David understood, most of the time.  We can praise God for all the blessings we have every day, and for seeing us through these difficult times.  And one day we will be able to praise God in person together, however it will be different.

Stay connected with God, each other and try to live into these three simple rules: do no harm, do good and stay in love with God.

Grace and Peace, Suzanne

⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit; because apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

Dear Friends,
John 15, is one of the most challenging passages in scripture, but one of my favorites. I am offering this devotional to you from “Abiding in Christ” by Cynthia Heald.

Jesus is gathered with his disciples in what will be their final evenings together. He knows that the time for fulfilling his mission is near, and so these last few hours with his disciples are precious. He wants to impart to them his very heart; he wants to leave them with truth that they will never forget.

The scriptures give us the privilege of listening in on this intimate encounter. As I read this passage, I like to imagine how it would fell to be one of the disciples in the upper room with Jesus. As I listen to him speak, I respond in my heart to his teaching.

“I am the Vine, and you are the branches.” –  Lord, how easy it is for me to confuse our relationship! I tend to act as if I am the vine. I try to live life in my own strength instead of depending on You for guidance, nourishment, and grace. No wonder the fruit in my life seems to dry up and disappear. “Your responsibility is to abide in Me to let Me abide in you.” – Jesus, you are asking me to take time to stay in Your presence, to allow you to live continuously in me. Sometimes this seems very hard to do. Yet it is as simple as consistently siting at your feet with a desire to listen and receive. “The key to fruit bearing is to stay connected to the Vine.”

Lord, you have said that apart form you I can do nothing. The only way to be fruitful, to become like you, is to stay united to you. I don’t want to live a fruitless life, yet that’s what happens when I try to bear fruit with my own efforts. Perhaps this is why I struggle so often to live according to your will. Instead of striving and straining, my great need is just to be still and abide. “You can do many things without depending on me, but one things you cannot do is bear fruit.” – Lord, you say whoever abides in you will bear much fruit. This is what I desire. To do this I know that I must offer up my ways of doing, to be willing to be transformed by your love and grace, so that my life will bear the priceless fruit that is the product of abiding in you.

“This is what life in Christ is all about, abiding. It is not the fruit-bearing that matters, it is the abiding. The producing comes from the vine; the branches are only the fruit bearers. To be an abiding branch is to be a faithful branch. The fruit will come. And the fruit that is borne, whether it be large fruit or small, abundant or not so abundant, is his doing. Our role is to be attached to the vine of life giving love.”

Reflection: What hinders me from bearing much fruit in my life?
Lord, help us to understand that we don’t need to strive and strain in our walk with you. Help us to rest in you, to abide in you, so that we may always remain connected to the One True Vine that is you. Amen.

As we go begin to open things up, I am surprised with the mixed emotions that I am feeling.  I thought I would be happy and eager to return to whatever life is going to be now, but I am aware that I am not just  feeling excitement and eagerness to be with people like I thought I would. I am also feeling some anxiety. I wonder if this is the right time.  I worry that people will get caught up in the joy of being together and will not be diligent on safety protocols.  But I also know that I have had unexpected blessings that have come out of this time of quiet and I am saddened that some may come to an end.  Rebekah Simon-Peter who writes for Ministry Mattersspoke of just this.  She called them the “post-pandemic blues” Here are some of her suggestions to help us as we move forward:

Consider your unexpected blessings
Start by consider how you may have…

• Simplified your life
• Spent less time working
• Cleaned, organize or de-cluttered
• Cooked and ate meals
• Paused
• Helped the people around you
• Started a spiritual discipline

For me it has been having two of my three young adult sons home every evening. I have been spending more time tending to my front and backyard. Schedules have eased so my 5 siblings and I have all been able to come together virtually. Life has just been simpler, and I have just been home more. 

Choose practices you want to continue
Look at your list of the unexpected blessings and think about the ones that you would like to continue.  I have started a garden and want to continue giving time to it and to my yards. Perhaps you might like to continue those virtual connections that you have begun with people in different parts of the country or world.

Create intentional change 
Begin to plan now how you will continue to practice those unexpected blessings that you have discovered. You might want to pull out a calendar and block out times those practices that you want to keep. Being intentional and having a plan will help when the busyness swells, so we don’t get carried away in it. 
Creating intentional change will be challenging but as with all challenges we face we have God beside us all the way cheering us on, giving us support. How lucky we are. 

Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.  Isaiah 41:10

Gracious God, we come to you with mixed emotions as we begin to go back into this world and out of the quiet.  Thank you for listening to our concerns our worries and our apprehensions. Guide us as we come back into the busyness and give us strength as we face the challenges that may come our way.  We are so very blessed to have your comfort through all of this.  Thank you for being on this journey with us.  Amen.

Marty

God “will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” – Isaiah 2:4

On this day we rightly honor the valor and commitment of those warriors who sacrificed their lives in the cause for which they fought.

At the same time, the images of this day speak to something more simple and basic than these lofty words: scenes of parents, children, partners, friends and colleagues of the fallen, kneeling in tears at the grave of a loved one whose life was cut short. On this day we mourn for those who did not return from war; those who never had the chance to live out a full life. They did not ever have the opportunity to lay down their arms and take up the tools of their trade. We imagine what these brave souls could have done.

Before it was Memorial Day it was Decoration Day, when loved ones, and those who benefitted from the sacrifice of the fallen, decorated their graves. This was a way of fulfilling a simple promise: “I will remember you.” This remembering is a poor substitute for what might have been, but decorating the grave allows for the impact of that person to, in some small way, live on.

And far from glorifying war, mourning this loss allows us to comprehend the futility of violence. We honor their sacrifice by working as individuals and as a people to be peacemakers. The promise of God through Isaiah is not that we will simply stop fighting, but that we will actively find ways of settling disputes without violence. This takes guidance and judgement which God offers, if we would only humble our pride before God.

Gracious God, we thank you for those we love but see no more. Allow our pain and sorrow to move us to a commitment to be makers of peace. Grant to us imagination, ingenuity, and grace, that we may open lines of communication and build relationships. Help us to remember the lives and the commitment of those who have gone before, and honor them by building a better world for those who will follow. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

“Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.”

— 1 Peter 5:8-9

On Wednesday we started a new small group gathering on Zoom. I am calling it a “Lectionary Lunch.” The plan is simple: At noon I open a meeting on Zoom and anyone who has the time can join in for a discussion of the four passages of Scripture scheduled for the coming Sunday’s worship services. I am being very clear: I fully intend to let your reflections on the Word guide my preaching on Sunday morning. In this time of isolation, I need such sharing in order to remain connected with you!

The selection of four readings for each Sunday, on a three year cycle follows an ancient tradition of Hebrew worship. As a United Methodist I make use of the ecumenical “Revised Common Lectionary.” While the Scriptures are chosen in advance (the most recent revision of the schedule was released in 1994) they are not chosen at random. During Advent, Christmastide, Lent, Eastertide and Pentecost, readings will reflect stories and writings appropriate to those seasons. In the rest of the year, they will often follow through large parts of one book. For example, in the upcoming season after Pentecost, in this year A of the cycle, we will focus on Paul’s letter to the Romans. The readings often clearly have been chosen because they reflect similar themes.

Still, with all of this structure, forethought, and planning, there is great room for the movement of the Holy Spirit. You might call it coincidence, but I am blown away by how often the readings apply to a current matter at hand.

So. This Wednesday, we read Psalm 68 and talked about remembering the deliverance God has given to people, and in that finding strength in a time of trial. Then we read John 17:1-11 where Jesus, praying, acknowledges that his authority stems from the fullness of God, and gives the care of the disciples back to the Creator. Next we read from Acts chapter 1 about the Ascension of Jesus (which one online wag described as “when Jesus left the disciples to go work from home!”).

As you can imagine, we were already discussing how appropriate these passages were to our current crisis. We could see clear application to our time of fear, frustration, and sense of being out of control. I was thinking of one of our homeless guests, who has tried to convince me that COVID isn’t real, but a plot by one party to skew the upcoming election. I was reflecting on how, like him, I have focused on myself and my tribe in this crisis, and have chafed at the restrictions as an imposition upon my freedom.

So reading Peter’s writing felt like the Holy Spirit smacking the back of my head. “You know that people around the world are suffering and dying from this!” “It isn’t about you!” “This virus is real, and it is out there!” “Disciplines of handwashing, distancing, and wearing a mask work!” “Keep at it!”

Peter had no idea that his words would be read almost 2000 years later. He was addressing very real problems faced by the people of his day. The saints who gathered the writings had no idea that we would be in the midst of a pandemic today. Likewise, the leaders who selected Peter’s words for the edification of believers on the occasion of the commemoration of Jesus’ ascension had no idea that I would need those words this day.

But the Holy Spirit did.

Or at least the Holy Spirit took the opportunity of the lectionary, and a new class, to let me hear a word I needed to hear.

Open us to hear your word, O God, with our hearts as well as our minds. Open us to recognize that we are all struggling. Give us the strength and hope to humble ourselves and maintain our disciplines, that together we might overcome this crisis. Comfort us in our mourning, and invigorate us for that which is to come. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.

Pastor George