Love and Faithfulness ARE the Path

All the paths of the LORD are love and faithfulness *
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.  Psalm 25:9

The pathways to the Lord are love and faithfulness, the Psalmist writes. This week I am, like many of you, joining together with family and friends to give thanks to God for all our blessings. It is a particularly poignant Thanksgiving for me because my husband is not here with me this year. 

It is poignant also because of the shape in which the world finds itself. Life (either personally or geopolitically) does not always play out on straight, well marked paths. Often, the paths are poorly marked and full of tree roots that cause us to stumble. 

What God promises us is this: when we set out on a path, whether its well marked or barely there, God will be there. Our task is to look for love and faithfulness wherever we find ourselves, and there we will find God. The path itself may be poorly marked, but love and faithfulness are the signs assure us that we are on the right course. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

Christ as King?

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1: 5-6

Świebodzin, Poland, 6 November 2010

It is hard for us living in a modern democracy to visualize kingship. Even in our relationships with Jesus, as varied as they are, I suspect most of us are more comfortable relating to Jesus as the man who came, a man born of a woman. He dwelled among us - he was with us - Emmanuel.

Kingship is different, and yet, Jesus' kingship is an integral part of Christian doctrine. Jesus as King of the Universe. Jesus as fully divine. Jesus, the name above all names: Redeemer, Sanctifier, Messiah. Sunday we celebrate Christ as King. As we do, we must consider Jesus as the Christ, Jesus as King. May he become fully integrated as both human and divine and not live as a sort of disembodied man-god in our hearts.

Kingship is hard for us, but His kingship is essential.

For the Beauty of the Psalms

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God,
    for in you I take refuge.

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    apart from you I have no good thing.”
3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,
    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
    or take up their names on my lips.

5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

         For the Fullness of the Earth         J.E. Swanson

To be sure, there are more familiar Psalms than Psalm 16, Psalms like the 23rd or Psalm 121, but this little Psalm is a powerhouse. It will sustain us through thick and thin. We make King David's words into our own prayer. 

Why? Just read it. It reminds us of all that is essential:    

Take refuge in God. Apart from God, we have nothing. When we stray and begin to worship other gods, our sorrows will increase. God alone is our portion and our cup; God alone is enough. We can live through our darkest imaginings because God is always at our right hand; always present. God will never give us up to the Pit, and will never forsake us. 

For all of this, I sing praises to the Lord who is my refuge and my strength.  Alleluia!

Sanctuaries?

Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands,a mere copy of the true one... Hebrews 9:24

                              Caring for the Sick     L.M. Horthemels

Jesus had it right. The sanctuaries where we gather for worship are mere copies of the true one. As we come together each week, it is not simply to have a perfunctory visit with God. Coming to worship is far more important than that because it prepares us for the true heaven and is practice for life itself in the Kingdom of God.

The care we take with practicing our anthems, in ironing our linens, with polishing our silver mirrors how God wants us to be with each other: careful, gentle, loving. And, similarly, each liturgical action set in motion during times of public worship, whether it's bowing our heads, bending our knees, or extending our hands for Eucharist is practice for the same. Each movement, each action, each breath prepares us for living and being in God's world.

Thanks be to God.