Prayer for Families- reposted

 This is a prayer I wrote and then spoke about 12 years ago for a special prayer service at the local church I attend.  If you choose to pray it, I encourage you to think of specific people you know that fit the various categories.

Heavenly Father,

   We acknowledge your loving design in placing us within families.  Thank you for the secure environment many of us have experienced in childhood as our parents raised us with an awareness that You are Lord of all.  We praise you for the memories built in our homes and for the everyday conversation we can have over meals and chores.  We are grateful for ways to keep in contact with our loved ones who live far away.

   We confess, Lord God, that our homes do not always exemplify the harmony we long for because we are broken people.  So many pressures threaten to pull us apart, and our selfishness often makes us insensitive to the needs of others.  Guide us by Jesus’ humility and giving nature to care for one another.  Please make us quick to admit our faults and willing to forgive.

   We ask for your nearness on behalf of those who live alone.  May their friends and communities and church families be attuned to their needs.  Make yourself known as their constant companion.

   We pray for parents caring for their young children day and night and through illnesses that require extra care.  Grant them loving endurance and needed rest.

   Please be with families facing worries about the future and finances.  Provide peace of mind and wisdom to move forward in faith, we pray.

   Merciful Father, please give Your special strength to families where there is a heavy burden of care giving.  Please give loving patience to the caregivers and needed support so that they will not be overwhelmed by the task.

   We ask for your grace to be given to single parents.  Their task is enormous, so please show us how we can support and encourage them.

   We pray for couples experiencing the pain of infertility.  Please make a way for them to receive the desire of their hearts.

   Please guide couples who are growing apart.  Give them the courage to seek help and the willingness to work at their relationship.

   For the sake of our witness in the world, Heavenly Father, please strengthen all our homes and families.

   In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Things I Learned in Church, Part 6: Easter People

A church in Europe anticipating Easter, April 2019

It is the day after Easter as I compose this piece. Easter is one of those days that draws people [back] to church. Yesterday, I joined a celebration that brought out all the musical instruments & players that my community of believers could assemble; the hymns and anthems invited everyone to sing along. The good news that "Christ has risen / He has risen indeed" was repeated throughout the liturgy. This one day is the hinge point for the church, and it has been from the beginning.

   

   Reflecting back on my childhood, I can't say that any particular Easter Sunday service stands out in my mind. Part of me wishes I could remember something more specific than the hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" being sung with organ accompaniment and with "Alleluia" punctuating each line. And yet, this annual holy-day made itself felt in other ways.

   That's because my parents made every effort to take us to worship each Sunday. And every Sunday was a mini-celebration of Easter. The fact that Sunday was the day that early believers in Jesus chose to gather together has a direct connection to the "first day of the week," when the women disciples found the tomb empty and heard the angels declare, "He is risen."  The music, prayers and teaching each week direct us to become Easter People, people shaped by the Resurrection of Jesus.

  Call it the hinge, the foundation, or the hub of Christian faith, Easter & the Resurrection of Jesus is it!

  Without the Resurrection, there would be no reason to gather. Without the Resurrection, there would be no assurance of forgiveness. Without the Resurrection, Christian hope would be misguided. Without the Resurrection, prayers to Jesus would be pointless. Without the Resurrection, the unity of Jesus' followers in any form would be impossible. Without the Resurrection, the motivation to bring blessing to others would expire when obstacles mounted. Without the Resurrection, Jesus' call to love one another would sound weak.

  But because of the Resurrection:

• Gathering with others for worship is desirable
• Forgiveness has been secured
• Christian hope is appropriate
• Prayers to Jesus are purposeful
• Unity with other followers of Jesus is viable
• The desire to bring blessing to others has perseverance
• The call to love one another is accompanied by boldness

  If you missed "Easter" this week or this year, it's not too late to catch up on what you missed. The doors are open every Sunday, to meet and celebrate the One who rose again and is alive forevermore. You'll also find Easter People, imperfect humans trying to live out the way of Jesus.

   

   

"Everything is Plastic"

   My mother tells a story about me as a young child visiting my aunt's house. On one of the tables was an appealing fruit basket. I took one of the apples and attempted to bite into it, only to be told it was "plastic." Some time later, I allegedly composed an original song with the repeated line, "Everything is plastic." My childish brain could not comprehend what benefit there was in setting out fruit that did not nourish.

   This week I was visiting somewhere else and came upon this tray of plastic fruit on a counter. I was not deceived this time.

   Plastic fruit is a fitting metaphor when so many of the things that surround us are not real. The voice on the other end of the telephone is not always a real person, but a recording or sounds generated by a computer.  The so-called candid photos on our social media feeds are curated and embellished. Computers having what seem like life-like conversations with people was tested out as early as the 1960's [1], and many chatbots appear on websites to "help" us. We have an obsession with the virtual world and its technology, but it does not nourish us. Loneliness has recently been called an epidemic, and a social worker named Jake Ernst "blames technology and social deterioration for this trend" [2].

   Discerning what's real and what's plastic/fake or at best a representation of reality is not just a problem that started with personal computers or smartphones. Projecting an image of ourselves that is better than reality has been a temptation humans have struggled with from the beginning. Societies do the same, rewriting history to cover up the unpleasant parts and to kindle greater loyalty. 

  So, how to we wade through the media and the messages to arrive at anything resembling reality?French mathematician René DesCartes in the 1600's proposed doubting everything. He then rebuilt a system of reality based on his own senses and rationality: "I think, therefore I am." Maybe I'm not the only one that finds this human-centred, individualistic approach less than satisfactory.

  I offer a few ideas that have helped me.

• Whenever possible, connect with people face to face. Real people are not just voices, faces, or the words they generate. Real people are embodied, complex beings with emotions and histories. We're able to take in more of this complexity when we meet in person. We're also more able to take in this complexity when we listen at least as much as we speak.

• Interact with the real, created world whenever possible. Yes, Alexa or Google can tell you what the weather is like, but stepping outside and experiencing it is more real than their descriptions. Looking at photographs of birds and butterflies can be enriching, but looking out your window or walking in your neighbourhood and focusing your eyes on 3-dimensional wonders will nourish you in a deeper way. Allowing children to watch someone else play Minecraft or to play Minecraft themselves may have a place, but building with tangible objects like blocks or LEGO widens their sensory inputs and horizons.

• Remind yourself that everything presented to you comes from a limited perspective. It can never give you the complete picture because reality is so complex. Pay attention to the bias of the source. Sometimes, it helps to look behind the bias to see if there is something to be gained for the source by including particular details or ignoring or downplaying others.

• As a person of faith, I'm finding it increasingly crucial to be humble and to admit when I'm not sure or don't know enough to be an authority on topics outside my expertise. Even when I might be considered an expert by being an eye-witness of an event or situation, I can't claim to be the only authority. I need to admit that others have experienced it differently. If we disagree about some aspect, I need to give others the benefit of the doubt, unless there's evidence of malice.

My simple musical composition "Everything is plastic," was a reaction to being tricked by fake fruit. Some things are indeed plastic imitations of a real thing, so I keep seeking to better understand the complexity of reality in the light of God's grace.

   [1] Between 1964 and 1967, Joseph Weizenbaum developed ELIZA. It was a computer program that could carry on a seemingly natural conversation with a therapy client, who typed in thoughts and responses to its prompts.

   [2]Global News article about increasing loneliness consulted social worker Jake Ernst among others.

Solid and Dynamic Faith

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." 

Colossians 2:6-7, New International Version

We are given some word pictures by the Apostle Paul that show us that our life of faith is both solid and dynamic [1].

Photo by Bruce Kee on Unsplash

We’ll start with the solid pieces. Paul says, “Continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught.” This first image talks about plant life. As we know, roots provide stability to a tree or plant so that it can remain intact when winds and storms come. When we are rooted in Christ, we have a solid base and receive our nourishment from him rather than other sources.

And Christ also builds us up. Christ is the sure foundation of our lives, much stronger than reinforced concrete, steel or titanium. We can fully trust Christ in every situation, and he will never leave or forsake us.

Then two other word pictures indicate that unlike a tree or a building, we are not meant to stand still. They are dynamic images. The encouragement to “continue to live your lives in him” contains a reference to walking in the Greek. The New King James Version translates this phrase as “walk in Him.” 

Photo by Soroush Karimi on Unsplash

British theologian N.T. Wright comments that we need to move forward in this life with Christ. He says, “Being a Christian is like riding a bicycle; unless you go forward, you’ll fall off. And going forward as a Christian means, once more, nothing more nor less than going forward ‘in Christ,’ in the king” [2].

Finally, Paul adds, “and overflowing with thankfulness.” When something overflows, there’s movement and action. The storyline of Christ is enough to satisfy us, and we don’t seek anything in addition to Him. Our response is gratitude, which flows into good works and kind deeds. 

For further reflections on gratitude, you may enjoy the following posts:

Gratitude: Weakness or Strength

Easy Go, Easy Come

Give or Receive, Part 1

[1] Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat (2004) Colossians Remixed, page 135 says, "Paul frames metaphors of solidity and stability (rooted, built, established) with metaphors of growth and dynamic change."

[2] N. T. Wright (2002) Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters, p. 164.