July 1, 2023 — Psalm 72 

“Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor. May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more. May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service.” Psalm 72:1-11 

I’m not sure about you but I’m getting tired, and I am sick of worrying about getting sick, wither from the flu, Covid 19, or some other bug. This world is heading in a direction that seems less and less certain to me. The rule of people on this planet has been a dismal failure since the beginning of time. I just learned of an eight-year-old child who was diagnosed with Sepsis – and it is in the bones in his face. How can a child get Sepsis without there existing some underlying condition. Money and power talk on this planet, not the righteousness of G-d, nor G-d’s wisdom and justice. The world is ever more upside down and inside out. Bad is good; up is down — Left is right; right is wrong. Evil is good; insanity is sanity.  The Western world especially is moving and changing, and not necessarily for the better. Christians who believe that G-d created all things, and that G-d is in all things are quick to be labeled crazy, or at least as science deniers.  

What a crazy world we live in. But this is the world that G-d has given to all of us. Like the Psalmist, we pray for the leaders of this world — in America and across the globe. We can only pray that more leaders will see the need for the love of G-d to be made manifest in their ruling and in their lives. If we truly believe that prayer is powerful and effective, then now is the time to be a prayer warrior. 

Prayer

Almighty God, you gave the kingdom of justice and peace to your servant David. Extend to every nation the dominion of our Lord Jesus, David’s son, so that in the light of his reign the poor may receive justice and all people of the earth may dwell in peace; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. 

Amen. 

July 2, 2023 – Pentecost +5A: Matthew 10:40-42

[Jesus said to the twelve:] “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

When I used to go to Walmart to shop, I would be greeted by someone at the front door who would say something like “Welcome to Walmart”. This was back in the 1990’s — remember those days? It always made me feel good, while a friend of mine would not shop at Walmart because he hated being greeted at the front door. Over the years, this position was phased out — and instead of being greeted at the entrance, you were greeted at the exit, where you needed to present your receipt whereupon they would inspect your bags to see if the two “matched”. That was not so welcoming. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel very welcome in a lot of places anymore.

Now, I know why Walmart progressed through these phases of turning “welcoming into unwelcoming” — first there was the need to be friendly — then the need to be guarding against theft. I wonder what the next step will be — maybe they will give you a bracelet when you enter that will take your temperature and track your movement throughout the store. Sounds a little dystopian, but welcome to 21^st century America. I feel we have become a very “unwelcoming” and suspicious people in this world, and this country. I hear people complain about being watched and stared at – there are very few places you can go where you are not on camera having your every move tracked. People used to say things like “It’s a free country, I can do as I please.” I am not so sure that is true anymore. It raises the question: How welcoming are we now that this pandemic is well in our rear view mirror?

We pretend we are welcoming — we put welcome mats on our doorsteps and hang signs that say things like “NASCAR fans welcome” and “Yankee fans welcome”. Unfortunately, that also gives some kind of hint of who we subconsciously are not so quick to welcome, like perhaps “Redsox” fans. How about this — you see some members of the local “Mormon” church walking down your sidewalk, and before they get to your house, you close the door and the garage door, turn out the lights and close the blinds and pretend you are not home. I am sure none of you have done that, Amen?

[Jesus said to the twelve:] “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me.” We need to re-learn how to be welcoming in our society today – because so many people are afraid, uncertain and unsure. If we do not welcome them, as Christians, and as a church, then who will welcome them?

Pastor Dave

July 3, 2023 — Psalm 73 

“Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth. Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them.” Psalm 73:1-10 

What do you do when your theology, your beliefs about how G-d works in the world clashes with what G-d is truly like? Many people have the false belief that if their faith is strong enoug then nothing bad will happen to them. So how do you hold to the conviction that G-d is good, that G-d cares intimately about all people, even when life stinks?  

We all have our struggles, our depressions, our sadness and our pain — times when we feel so alone and have no ready answers for why bad things happen to seemingly good people. This is one of the reasons we turn to the Psalms, where the raw emotions of real people are expressed — where deep reservoirs of truth are found that can help us all through these tough times. I want you to remember and to never forget this axiom: GOD IS ALWAYS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK. 

G-d does not abandon us nor forsake us when times get tough. G-d continues to love us beyond all measure and will make G-d’s self known in ways we often miss and forget. We begin our services with these words: G-d is good all the time, and all the time G-d is good. They are words to live by — always. 

Prayer 

God our strength, you give honor to the pure in heart and uphold all who trust in you. Deliver us from chasing after this world’s illusions, that we may follow instead the imperishable truth of your Word in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. 

Amen.