July 16, 2022 — Words of Wisdom, Terry Pratchett (English Satirist)

“In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.” – Terry Pratchett

“Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely spiritual you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.” Acts 17:22-25

To An Unknown God

Paul was so taken by the altar to an “Unknown God” that he chose to address the presence of this altar with the Athenians. His words drip with sarcasm when he says “I see how extremely spiritual you are…” They are so spiritual they have an altar to something that does not exist – just to hedge their bets.

We live in the very presence of Jesus Christ, the Son of our Living G-d. G-d makes G-d’s presence known to us through the Son and the Holy Spirit. Even though we cannot see the Father, we know Jesus is present in the sacraments of the church, in the words that we read, in the water of our baptism — all through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We do not worship an unknown G-d. We worship a crucified and risen G-d whose presence is with us every day in all that G-d has made – in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, you make yourself known to us in the word, in the breaking of the bread, in the wine and in the water. Come to me now and be present with me every day. Amen.

Pastor Dave

July 15, 2022 — Words of Wisdom, Champfleury (French Author and Art Critic)

“A kitten is the delight of a household. All day long a comedy is played out by an incomparable actor.” –Champfleury

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.” Matthew 23:13-15

Acting the Part

Those who go into acting study their craft for many years before they may find true success. They may take parts in local plays, college performances and even off, off, off Broadway plays using each opportunity to hone their craft.

The other day I was reading the obituary of a man whom his children ended the “tribute” with words similar to the fact that he did no more than act the part of a father: “…he was a father to many but a dad to none”. There are many roles in which we play in life where we just cannot “act” the part. Jesus accused the scribes and the Pharisees of just the same saying, in part, that they denounce others of behaviors in which they also participate. In other words, they were truly hypocrites. As I am writing this devotion Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson is suffering from his actions that proved not only that he lied about his actions during the pandemic, but that he truly played the part of the hypocrite – telling others to do one thing while he refused to do the same.

Jesus is looking for each person to make a reckoning of their behavior and to make honest repentance for their actions. For even in the word “repentance” there is the demand and the expectation that our actions reverse course. If they do not, then we play the hypocrite. As we have heard over and over again, if we are going to talk the talk of our faith then we need to walk the walk of that faith as well.

Let us pray,

Lord Christ, it is always hard to stick with change – to follow the course of true repentance. Give me the strength today not only to talk the talk of my faith, but to walk that walk as well. Amen.

Pastor Dave