First...
Thank you for all who have called and stopped by to visit Sandra in this time of double ordeal. She had a good surgery and was ok for about the first hour after getting to her room on Wednesday. But the evening, night and Thursday morning have been rough. They increased her pain meds and then Physical Therapy came by and got her up on her feet to the bedside chair.
It was a real struggle but she made it. They have gotten her up again as I write this and she has had significant pain so they are trying her on different pain meds this time.
She's from cheerful to painful over a matter of minutes but the staff is very happy with her present progression. We will know more Friday or Saturday about her next step in care.
Thank you all for caring...
Oh, by the way she is listed in the hospital as Sandra Rogers (her licensed therapist name) room 575, St Marys Bon Secours
Walter Morton for Sandra Rogers Morton
Thursday, July 30, 2009
This Thing Called Love
Scripture Passages for August 2-Part 2
John 6:24-35, Ephesians 4:1-16
" If we all learned what we should learn the first time 'round, we wouldn't need love at all." Karla in Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
David fell victim to his passions, which led to his demise, but also ultimately to his restitution. And in today's scripture, a thousand years later, the people following Jesus across the lake are still looking for immediate gratification instead of something long-lasting and restorative.
Just as Nathan had opened David's eyes, Jesus helps his would-be fans see that there is a bread that sustains for a day and another that sustains for eternity. One fills the stomach, but the other fills the soul, changes self-centered focus, erases fear, and brings peace. It seems easier said than done, and necessitates dedication, discipline, and devotion, things that lead one to the mirror for a closer look. With this kind of determination, the benefits of the Bread infiltrate and begin to seep in and then out of our pores.
In Ephesians 4:1-16, our last scripture focus, we see one final piece of the puzzle-the need to work together as a unit in our endeavor to be worthy of this new Bread we have been given. Christ's love and acceptance of us, foibles and all, propels us to practice humility, gentleness, and patience as we learn to extend Jesus's love for us to each other. We practice grace because Grace has been given to us, and "under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly and each part in its own special way helps the other parts, so the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." Ephesians 1:16b This verse is our dream. So why don't we see it fulfilled each day?
Why don't we learn the first time 'round as stated in the quote above? Why do we need love? What is it about love that matters? What is the difference between love and Love? How does this compare to bread and Bread?
See you in class!
John 6:24-35, Ephesians 4:1-16
" If we all learned what we should learn the first time 'round, we wouldn't need love at all." Karla in Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
David fell victim to his passions, which led to his demise, but also ultimately to his restitution. And in today's scripture, a thousand years later, the people following Jesus across the lake are still looking for immediate gratification instead of something long-lasting and restorative.
Just as Nathan had opened David's eyes, Jesus helps his would-be fans see that there is a bread that sustains for a day and another that sustains for eternity. One fills the stomach, but the other fills the soul, changes self-centered focus, erases fear, and brings peace. It seems easier said than done, and necessitates dedication, discipline, and devotion, things that lead one to the mirror for a closer look. With this kind of determination, the benefits of the Bread infiltrate and begin to seep in and then out of our pores.
In Ephesians 4:1-16, our last scripture focus, we see one final piece of the puzzle-the need to work together as a unit in our endeavor to be worthy of this new Bread we have been given. Christ's love and acceptance of us, foibles and all, propels us to practice humility, gentleness, and patience as we learn to extend Jesus's love for us to each other. We practice grace because Grace has been given to us, and "under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly and each part in its own special way helps the other parts, so the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." Ephesians 1:16b This verse is our dream. So why don't we see it fulfilled each day?
Why don't we learn the first time 'round as stated in the quote above? Why do we need love? What is it about love that matters? What is the difference between love and Love? How does this compare to bread and Bread?
See you in class!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Man in the Mirror
Scripture Passages for August 2-Part 1
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a, Psalm 51:1-12
We humans are sorely lacking in insight when it comes to knowing ourselves. David's elevated political position caused him to abuse his power by coveting and seducing Bathsheba, murdering her husband, and then marrying her. The prophet Nathan's courageous confrontation helped David face the dirty truth behind his actions when he related a parable about a rich man with many flocks who killed a poor man's only lamb. Recognizing his sin, repenting, and accepting his punishment was the turning point in David's life. In Psalm 51:16 & 17, he expressed what he had learned, "You would not be pleased with sacrifices, or I would bring them. If I brought you a burnt offering, you would not accept it. The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise."
The impetus behind all abuse is a need for power and control. It is fear-based and seen in schoolyard bullying, domineering, oppressive parenting, marital condescension and disrespect, or boardroom tyranny and manipulation, just to name a few examples. This Bible story, therefore, applies to all of us, but the tricky part is recognizing when we are abusing our power or position. How do we recognize it? Or are we willing to? When are we David and when are we called to be Nathan? We know people who cannot or will not see how their actions hurt others. They are more concerned with self-protection and guarding their image. But David was different and we can learn from him. When are you willing to be as vulnerable as David was when he condemned himself and admitted, "I have sinned against the Lord." 2 Samuel 12:13
He looked in the mirror and saw the truth.
To be continued.....
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a, Psalm 51:1-12
We humans are sorely lacking in insight when it comes to knowing ourselves. David's elevated political position caused him to abuse his power by coveting and seducing Bathsheba, murdering her husband, and then marrying her. The prophet Nathan's courageous confrontation helped David face the dirty truth behind his actions when he related a parable about a rich man with many flocks who killed a poor man's only lamb. Recognizing his sin, repenting, and accepting his punishment was the turning point in David's life. In Psalm 51:16 & 17, he expressed what he had learned, "You would not be pleased with sacrifices, or I would bring them. If I brought you a burnt offering, you would not accept it. The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise."
The impetus behind all abuse is a need for power and control. It is fear-based and seen in schoolyard bullying, domineering, oppressive parenting, marital condescension and disrespect, or boardroom tyranny and manipulation, just to name a few examples. This Bible story, therefore, applies to all of us, but the tricky part is recognizing when we are abusing our power or position. How do we recognize it? Or are we willing to? When are we David and when are we called to be Nathan? We know people who cannot or will not see how their actions hurt others. They are more concerned with self-protection and guarding their image. But David was different and we can learn from him. When are you willing to be as vulnerable as David was when he condemned himself and admitted, "I have sinned against the Lord." 2 Samuel 12:13
He looked in the mirror and saw the truth.
To be continued.....
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Living in the Fullness of God...
Our Scripture passage for Sunday, July 26th
Ephesians 3:14-21 (The Message)
14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
20-21God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!
COMMENT:
When you read this scripture, how do you relate to it? Paul was attempting to find a common denominator for all. What does it mean for us to plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! And live full lives in our everyday existence today?
How would your envision your life if you were living at this full level? How is it different from where you feel you are now?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Lectionary Scripture for July 19, 2009
Have you ever felt, outside, not welcome or somewhat unsure about your acceptance in a group, in your work, in your own family? What does it take to be accepted? Can you think of a time in your life when you felt welcome into a community? Felt welcomed into a church? Is this what Paul is talking of here? Read through the passages given here and don’t forget to check out the last question at the end? Look forward to bloggin’ with you.
Ephesians 2:11-22 (The Message)
11-13But don't take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God's ways had no idea of any of this, didn't know the first thing about the way God works, hadn't the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God's covenants and promises in Israel, hadn't a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.
14-15The Messiah has made things up between us so that we're now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.
16-18Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.
19-22That's plain enough, isn't it? You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He's using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
Closing inquiry:
What would you say is the most important thing you consider about another when accepting them?
Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line...
Have you ever felt, outside, not welcome or somewhat unsure about your acceptance in a group, in your work, in your own family? What does it take to be accepted? Can you think of a time in your life when you felt welcome into a community? Felt welcomed into a church? Is this what Paul is talking of here? Read through the passages given here and don’t forget to check out the last question at the end? Look forward to bloggin’ with you.
Ephesians 2:11-22 (The Message)
11-13But don't take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God's ways had no idea of any of this, didn't know the first thing about the way God works, hadn't the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God's covenants and promises in Israel, hadn't a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.
14-15The Messiah has made things up between us so that we're now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.
16-18Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.
19-22That's plain enough, isn't it? You're no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He's using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he's using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
Closing inquiry:
What would you say is the most important thing you consider about another when accepting them?
Walter Morton for Journey Across the Line...
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Lesson Blog for this Sunday, July 12th from Ephesians 1:3-14
Theme Question:
As I was growing up as a young Christian, I remember being told in Sunday School that "God has a plan for your life!" Do you remember being told this?
Hold onto that thought, while first, we explore some background (stolen directly from Wikipedia.com) regarding the letter of Ephesians.
Wikipedia mentions there is some question by scholars whether Paul was the actual author of the book of Ephesians. Ooh! Big surprise there! I have yet to read critique of a book of the bible where the first question wasn't whether or not it was written by who it was traditionally ascribed to...so let's get onto what they say about purpose and content.
Purpose
Theme Question:
As I was growing up as a young Christian, I remember being told in Sunday School that "God has a plan for your life!" Do you remember being told this?
Hold onto that thought, while first, we explore some background (stolen directly from Wikipedia.com) regarding the letter of Ephesians.
Wikipedia mentions there is some question by scholars whether Paul was the actual author of the book of Ephesians. Ooh! Big surprise there! I have yet to read critique of a book of the bible where the first question wasn't whether or not it was written by who it was traditionally ascribed to...so let's get onto what they say about purpose and content.
Purpose
The purpose of the Epistle to the Ephesians is born out of its particular socio-historical context and the situational context of both the author and the audience. Originating in the circumstance of a multicultural church (primarily Jewish and Hellenistic) the author addressed issues appropriate to the diverse religious and cultural backgrounds present in the community.
For reasons that are unclear in the context and content of the letter itself, Paul exhorts the church repeatedly to embrace a specific view of salvation, which he then explicates. It seems most likely that Paul's Christology of sacrifice is the manner in which he intends to affect an environment of peace within the church. In short: "If Christ was sacrificed for your sake, be like him and be in submission to one another." Paul addresses hostility, division, and self-interest more than any other topic in the letter, leading many scholars to believe that his primary concern was not doctrinal, but behavioral.
Some theologians, such as Frank Charles Thompson agree the main theme of Ephesians is in response to the newly converted Jews who often separated themselves from their Gentile brethren. The unity of the church, especially between Jew and Gentile believers, is the keynote of the book. This is shown by the recurrence of such words and phrases as:
Together: made alive together, 2:5; raised up together, sitting together, 2:6; built together, 2:22
One, indicating unity: one new man, 2:15; one body, 2:16; one Spirit, 2:18; one hope, 4:4; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, 4:5-6.
In the passages for Sunday, July 12, Ephesians 1:3-14 (the Message)
7-10Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
11-12It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
13-14It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.
Observation:
Paul definitely appears to be laying the groundwork of his argument for unity in the faith here and that groundwork is Christ himself for all Jew and Gentile alike in the Ephesian church. Paul states in a rhetoric of pre-determinism that Christ "had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone."
Theme Question:
Did you hold that thought I asked at the first about if you've ever been told "God has a plan for your life?" Well, what about it? What does that mean to you? Does it mean anything to you at all in this day and age, in the many experiences you have had in your life? If so how is this possibly expressed to others in your daily experience? In your daily expression of reality?
Friday, July 3, 2009
Journey Profile
Remember . . . Walter asked us to write 5 things about our class. Here are mine:
The class was formed for folks wanting a place to explore and question, without someone having definitive answers. We have discussions, different opinions, questions, doubts. No thoughts or ideas are labeled "wrong" -- we do not always agree. I love it when we disagree.
We are a group of people who are trying to be "transparent." We talk about our struggles and share at a level not experienced in many church groups.
Our group is generous with time, talents and cash--at the church, with the larger community as well as among ourselves.
Journey is a diverse group. We have young and old, well-to-do and homeless, married and single. We have widows, widowers, divorced and never married. We have a full spectrum of developmental stages of life and of faith. We have sovereigntists and skeptics (well, at lease one).
We are all seeking spiritual truth and learning to live in love for God and others. We try to strike a balance between what we know and what we do--who we are. I think it is safe to say we want to learn from the example of the life of Christ.
That's my 5 cents. SM
The class was formed for folks wanting a place to explore and question, without someone having definitive answers. We have discussions, different opinions, questions, doubts. No thoughts or ideas are labeled "wrong" -- we do not always agree. I love it when we disagree.
We are a group of people who are trying to be "transparent." We talk about our struggles and share at a level not experienced in many church groups.
Our group is generous with time, talents and cash--at the church, with the larger community as well as among ourselves.
Journey is a diverse group. We have young and old, well-to-do and homeless, married and single. We have widows, widowers, divorced and never married. We have a full spectrum of developmental stages of life and of faith. We have sovereigntists and skeptics (well, at lease one).
We are all seeking spiritual truth and learning to live in love for God and others. We try to strike a balance between what we know and what we do--who we are. I think it is safe to say we want to learn from the example of the life of Christ.
That's my 5 cents. SM
Thursday, July 2, 2009
What's Love Got to Do With It?
“If you live far enough away from trouble, trouble will never find you.” So says Henry Smith’s father in Gary D. Schmidt’s Newbery Award winning novel, Trouble. Of course, when Henry’s older brother is hit by a car and eventually dies, Henry must reevaluate his father’s words. He and his brother had planned to climb Maine’s Mount Katahdin together, but now, Henry musters the courage to proceed with their plans, partly as a tribute, but mostly “to learn how to live with trouble,” terrified as he is to face this challenge alone. Later, Henry is in the hospital, having escaped death himself while on Mount Katahdin. Contemplating all he has been through, he says, “The world is trouble and grace. That’s all there is.”
In last week’s Sunday school lesson we read and discussed two passages where trouble’s results were favorable, but how should Christians react when the outcome is a sad one, despite much faith and prayer? Yesterday we attended the funeral of a 41 year old father of four who had been pressing toward the goal of a heart transplant for 6 months before succumbing to complications related to the transplant itself. Hundreds of friends and relatives are still reeling at the devastating results experienced by a Christian family buoyed up by hope and prayer for so long. We just received an email from the daddy of the heart transplant recipient. He said that though God did not touch his son directly in terms of a complete healing, his family felt that God had communicated with them, fed them, and ministered to them through all of us in cyberspace or in person, by the giving of our support and prayers. God had shown His face through us, and that by sharing in their burden, they were better able to carry it.
Some Christian’s believe that their faith shields them from calamity, but rabbit’s foot theology will always let us down. Jesus’s love and example won’t. Love will never disappoint, and God’s love is always visible when we come together to share our joys or sorrows in a Sunday school class, on a blog, when we pray together, or when we are gathered together to honor anyone, dead or alive. As the rector at the funeral said yesterday, “When there is love in the house, God is there.”
When trouble knocks at your door, do you think it’s God’s doing? Do you think He allows trouble for a purpose, that there is method in His madness, that trouble happens and God’s grace gets you through it, or that there is another reason why bad things happen to good people? Any thoughts?
PS. I just noticed that Jim Somerville's latest post "Vending Machine Prayers" is about this same subject, and so interesting. Check it out here!
In last week’s Sunday school lesson we read and discussed two passages where trouble’s results were favorable, but how should Christians react when the outcome is a sad one, despite much faith and prayer? Yesterday we attended the funeral of a 41 year old father of four who had been pressing toward the goal of a heart transplant for 6 months before succumbing to complications related to the transplant itself. Hundreds of friends and relatives are still reeling at the devastating results experienced by a Christian family buoyed up by hope and prayer for so long. We just received an email from the daddy of the heart transplant recipient. He said that though God did not touch his son directly in terms of a complete healing, his family felt that God had communicated with them, fed them, and ministered to them through all of us in cyberspace or in person, by the giving of our support and prayers. God had shown His face through us, and that by sharing in their burden, they were better able to carry it.
Some Christian’s believe that their faith shields them from calamity, but rabbit’s foot theology will always let us down. Jesus’s love and example won’t. Love will never disappoint, and God’s love is always visible when we come together to share our joys or sorrows in a Sunday school class, on a blog, when we pray together, or when we are gathered together to honor anyone, dead or alive. As the rector at the funeral said yesterday, “When there is love in the house, God is there.”
When trouble knocks at your door, do you think it’s God’s doing? Do you think He allows trouble for a purpose, that there is method in His madness, that trouble happens and God’s grace gets you through it, or that there is another reason why bad things happen to good people? Any thoughts?
PS. I just noticed that Jim Somerville's latest post "Vending Machine Prayers" is about this same subject, and so interesting. Check it out here!
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