Lesson 3: Jeremiah 9:17-21; Matthew 2:16-18 Elizabeth and her son, Andrew, had set out early in the morning to meet with the admissions officer at the University of Virginia. Andrew was a high school senior and looking at various colleges. The other son, William, had already left for school on the bus. When Elizabeth and Andrew returned home at 2:30 p.m., they found 45-year-old Paul, Elizabeth’s husband and the boys’ dad, on the floor in a diabetic coma. Paul’s breakfast lay untouched. Paul was rushed to intensive care, but he never revived. In planning the memorial with the family, I asked if Elizabeth wanted the Apostles’ Creed as part of the worship service. Elizabeth replied, “I won’t be able to say it, so the congregation will have to say it for me.” Though the family’s names have been changed, those days are seared into my memory. The women in the church filled the house with food. Relatives came into town. People sent sympathy cards and made memorial gifts to the church. … [Read more...]
Horizons 2 “Into the Light: Finding Hope Through Prayers of Lament”
Lesson 2: Psalm 137 What do you do with your anger? What do you do with rage? Do you bottle it up until you explode, or does it come out sideways in nagging or snide remarks? Do you run, pull weeds, clean with a manic intensity or do something that will wear you out? Do you hold on to your anger like a treasured possession, and rehearse it over and over again? Most of us would be shocked if anger was a part of a worship service. But that is what the people of Israel did. They offered up their anger, rage and desire for terrible revenge to God. Consider Psalm 137. If we used it in worship at all, we would probably leave out verses 8 and 9: O daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock! Is this a religiously sanctioned call to violence? The sentiments expressed in these verses are shocking and hardly square with Jesus telling us to love our … [Read more...]
Horizons 1: “Into the Light: Finding Hope Through Prayers of Lament”
Lesson 1: Psalm 22; Matthew 27:45-56 My name is John. For years, clinical depression has dogged at my heels. It rolls in like a dense, gray fog, dulling my senses and sapping my energy. Work, life and even getting out of bed can become a terrible struggle. Medication helps only a little. I wait for those days when the fog lifts and the sky is bright with light. But there is no calendar that can tell me when there will be good days nor predict the days when the fog takes over. Healer Jesus, why have you abandoned me to this illness? It has been months of death for me. I am Amy. First, it was my younger brother, only 20 years old, who died from COVID-19. Then my mother ended up alone, on a ventilator in intensive care as the virus took her life. She had no one to hold her hand, to stroke her hair or pray with her. There was no memorial service at church, no gathering of friends and family to mourn, support and share memories. My God, where were you? You did not even show up! I … [Read more...]
Horizons preview: “Into the Light: Finding Hope Through Prayers of Lament”
Anguish, anger, regret, guilt, sadness, loneliness, rage, cries for justice — I have felt all of these in this time of COVID-19 and the protests and the riots following George Floyd’s murder. My anguish is at another unarmed Black person killed. My frustration, anger and rage are directed at those who knowingly oppress and dehumanize others and I cry out for justice. My regret and guilt are focused at my own denial of my own racism, even as I work to be anti-racist. All these feelings are gathered up into prayers of lament. Such prayers are acts of faith. Biblically, lament includes a wide range of emotions and situations — even into the dark nights of the soul when we feel deserted by God. Laments are the moans and cries of our spirits uttered to God, out of relationship with God and with trust that God can do something to change the situation. Author Lynn Miller takes us on a journey of biblical lament in her study and art in “Into the Light: Finding Hope Through Prayers of … [Read more...]
Don’t Fixate on What You Don’t Have (Horizons 9)
“Words of Love: Don’t Fixate on What You Don’t Have” Exodus 20:17-21; 1 Kings 21:1-16; Luke 12:13-15 When I was in middle school, it seemed as though everyone had these really cute Pappagallo shoes and clothing but me. The shoes were flats in soft leather with bows in a variety of colors. The clothes were bright pinks and greens or blues and yellows. Pappagallo products were expensive and my family couldn’t afford them. But how I longed for them so I would fit in more. In my case, the commandment to not covet fell on deaf ears. Covetousness is believing that our lives would be so much better if we had something or someone that another person has. We may covet an affectionate marriage, a great golf handicap, a lovely home, a larger television, glittering jewelry, a close relationship with our grown children or designer clothes (and the sleek body to wear them). If we were to make a list of things that people covet, the paper would run out the door and into the street. Like a … [Read more...]
Words of Love: Speak Truthfully (Horizons 8)
Love Carved in Stone: A Fresh Look at the Ten Commandments Lesson 8 Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20; Matthew 12:36-37 We are daily assaulted by false witnesses. Casual conversations and public statements contain prejudice, fractured truth, accusations of fake news and hatred flung at those we view as opponents. Disparaging generalizations are made about the poor, people of color, other religions and foreigners. Deeply divided along political lines, truth is filtered through the prejudices we have of the opponent. Majorities of both parties see the opposition as immoral and close-minded and about 35% of both parties see their opposite party as unintelligent, according to a Pew Research Center study. “You shall not bear false witness” is God’s word to us today. It is a commandment that all of us regularly and willfully break. What is “false witness”? Eugenia Anne Gamble examines the meaning of the Hebrew words for false witness used in Exodus 20:16, Deuteronomy 5:20 and elsewhere … [Read more...]
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