Tag: gratitude

All Saints Day (Psalm 34:1-10, 22)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

I will praise the Lord at all times;
my mouth will continually praise him.
I will boast in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.
Magnify the Lord with me.
Let us praise his name together.
I sought the Lord’s help and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him and be radiant;
do not let your faces be ashamed.
This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him from all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord camps around
the Lord’s loyal followers and delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed is the one who takes shelter in him.
Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing…

The Lord rescues his servants;
all who take shelter in him escape punishment. (New English Translation)

In all times and every place throughout history God has specialized in taking imperfect and broken people and transforming their lives. On the Christian Calendar, November 1 is the day each year to remember the saints who have gone before us. This day is meant to be an intentional way of not forgetting the people, friends, and family – as well as long-dead historical saints – who made a significant impact in our spiritual lives.

All Saints Day is more than a focus on extraordinary persons; it highlights the work of ordinary Christians who faithfully lived their lives. We give thanks for the gift of how they lived their faith every day. We also remember that all believers in Jesus are united and connected through the cross.

Remembering is a prominent theme in Holy Scripture. Over one-hundred times we are told to remember God’s covenant and actions on behalf of people; to remember the needy and those less fortunate; and to remember the important people who influenced us in our journey of faith.

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.  Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. (Hebrews 13:7, NIV)

We are to be inspired now in the present with the actions of faithful saints of the past. They serve as a model of faithfulness, so that we will persevere in our Christian lives and not give up. Through biblical stories of very human persons being used of God, as well as reading biographies of godly people, we can gain motivation for patience and perseverance until Jesus returns.

Who were the people in your life that went out of their way to communicate God’s love to you with both words and actions? Who were those persons who labored behind the scenes in prayer so that you and others would know Jesus? 

If any of those persons are still around, and you know where they are, remember them. Drop them a note. Express to them a simple thank you for their influence in your life. You will not only encourage that person – it will help you remember and re-engage with something in your life you may have forgotten or have just taken for granted for too long.

We are not to live our Christian lives in isolation from others, as if we do not need them. You and I are here today because someone influenced us in the way of Jesus. And we will continue to persevere and thrive in the faith when we remember those who have gone before us and allow those here in the present to journey with us along this road of faith.

Today is all about remembrance. We remember answered prayer and salvation. We recollect the people who gave us the life-giving gospel message in both word and deed. We remember the death of Christ and recall that he said he is coming back.

The psalmist recalled his rescue and pulled it forward into the present so that all God’s worshipers could taste and see that the Lord is good. This is exactly what the Apostle Peter did for a church which needed to recall and remember the mighty acts of God:

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:2-5, NIV)

Our memories are accessed through symbols and with taste and sight. God uses symbols to reveal himself to us.  For example, when God wanted to show us the ugliness of sin and the cost of forgiveness, the Lord told the Israelites to kill an animal and sprinkle its blood on their clothing and on the altar.

That sounds awful. Yet, worshipers never walked away from the experience scratching their heads and wondering what it was all about. That’s because they encountered and tasted the drama of sin and redemption. Their senses saw it, felt it, smelled it, and tasted the meat from it. 

Symbols have power. We cannot know God with only our minds; we’re more than brains on a stick. People need ordinary events, like shared meals, that include symbols and rituals. 

Every year faithful Jews gather to remember and re-enact the Passover – the story of how they were enslaved in Egypt, oppressed by Pharaoh, and set free by God.  To this day pious Jews still remember the Passover by eating and drinking together and telling stories.

We need both words and sacraments. Therefore, holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas involve both verbal expressions of gratitude and love, and particular actions of love in giving gifts and sharing food. Together, it all connects us to God, to one another, and to a history of God’s people. 

Jesus met his disciples in the Upper Room to celebrate Passover together. Jesus energized their time together by filling it with words and symbols of love and redemption. Christ told the disciples about his upcoming death and acted symbolically. “Take and eat – this is my body….  Take this cup – drink from it, all of you.” (Luke 22:7-20)

Rather than sitting around, analyzing the bread, and discussing the wine’s vintage, the disciples ate and drank.  They tasted real food and drink. They also tasted real spiritual food. It’s one thing to speak of God’s presence, and it’s another thing to experience that presence through an ordinary shared ritual of bread and cup.

God is good. Jesus is our Emmanuel, God with us. Christ is present with us through our ritual of fellowship and food. When the sixteenth-century Reformer John Calvin was asked how Jesus is present to us at the Lord’s Supper he explained: “Now if anyone asks me how this takes place I shall not be ashamed to confess that it is a secret too lofty for either the mind to comprehend or my words to declare….  I rather experience it than understand it.”

The taste of bread reminds us of the incarnation of Christ, and Christ’s humiliation and death. The taste of drinking the cup reminds us of the sacrifice of Christ, the drops of blood which Jesus sweated in Gethsemane, and the beatings, floggings, nails, and crown of thorns that caused the bleeding.

Tasting the bread and cup when we celebrate communion reminds us that our sins are forgiven, we are united to Christ, and we are united together. 

There are historical events which are just that. Then, there are past actions which linger with continual results into the present. The incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification of the Lord Jesus are past redemptive events which continue to exert powerful force into the here and now.

Saints throughout church history have moved the message of Christ along and demonstrated for us that the past lives in the person of Jesus Christ.

Along with them, we proclaim that Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ is coming again. And God has something planned for those who have gone before us, along with us, so that together we will experience the perfect righteousness of Christ forever. (Hebrews 11:39-40)

We are encouraged through word and sacrament to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ until he comes again. Let us respond to God’s wooing invitation to eat and drink, to taste and see that the Lord is good through faith, hope, and love. Let us find in God our refuge and strength, our ever-present help.

Soli Deo Gloria

Rejoice instead of Complain (Philippians 2:14-18, 3:1-4a)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me…

Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reasons for such confidence. (New International Version)

Here is a simple observation: Complaining and rejoicing cannot come out of the same mouth at the same time. The two of them mix about as well as toasters and bathtubs.

Everything is to be done without grumbling or arguing. Sheer willpower is insufficient for the task. Instead, you and I need to replace words of complaint with words of joy. Rejoicing is the antidote to murmuring. The world already has more than enough curmudgeons who crank on about everything from politics and religion to the weather and social media. Grumblers seem to always find the negative in just about everything.

Any fool can complain. It’s easy. Complaining takes little effort, and even less brains. Joy, however, takes some work. The sage person practices gratitude and joy so that it becomes the default response to most situations. We need a lot more folks with joy in this sad world.

Yesterday I visited a dear woman who was just diagnosed with cancer, and is expected to have only months to live. She had many tears, yet she also had lots of smiles. In fact, she was either crying or smiling most of the time. And her smile was genuine, not forced.

Whenever I encounter folks like this, who do not complain but rather rejoice, I ask them, “What gives you such joy in the midst of such sorrow?” This particular woman answered, “I have a simple faith. I trust God. I believe the Lord is good. I am blessed with many friends, a supportive family, and a God who loves me.” May her tribe increase.

On this same day, I visited another woman. She also had just been diagnosed with cancer and was facing a shortened lifespan. She yelled at the doctor and argued with the nurse, screamed at and quarreled with her family, and cried without any joy in my presence. Eventually, she left the hospital against medical advice because all she did was complain about everything and everyone.

Although I believe it is quite appropriate to have anger against disease, it’s inappropriate to rage against other people. The woman was miserable and had no smiles. I couldn’t help but see the incredible contrast between the two women in a single day of visits.

For all the talk we hear about how important it is to be positive, it is, unfortunately, negativity that sells, wins elections, and moves people. The irony of it all is that a large chunk of people continually grumbles, complains, and argues about all the negativity in the world. *Sigh*

Complaining and arguing are nasty practices; they breed disunity and division within groups and families. Murmuring only warps the ones who do it and infects others with spiritual disease.

Grumbling is always the first building block of a crooked and depraved generation. Conversely, being blameless and pure is winsomely attractive and unites folks together as a cohesive force for the world. Joy inoculates people from divisive pathogens. A people who rejoice together produce generations of individuals who impact their culture with delight and satisfaction.

Not even suffering and hard circumstances can curtail the comfort and cheer of the joyful. Rejoicing is a way of life – a path which no one and nothing can take away from us. Unwanted situations can be imposed on us, yet a person’s joy cannot be dislodged.

Eleanor Porter’s 1913 storybook character, Pollyanna, learned to take such a look upon life from her parents. Even after losing them to an accident and being orphaned, she honored their memory by saying, “… there is something about everything that you can be glad about, if you keep hunting long enough to find it.” Pollyanna went on to teach an entire community about her way of life:

“What people need is encouragement. Their natural resisting powers should be strengthened, not weakened…. Instead of always harping on a person’s faults, tell them of their virtues. Try to pull them out of their rut of bad habits. Hold up to them their better self, the real self that can dare and do and win out! … The influence of a beautiful, helpful, hopeful character is contagious, and may revolutionize a whole town…. People radiate what is in their minds and in their hearts. If a person feels kindly and obliging, their neighbors will feel that way, too. But if a person scolds and scowls and criticizes—their neighbors will return scowl for scowl and add interest! … When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it. When you know you will find the good—you will get that…”

Pollyanna, by Eleanor H. Porter, 1913

I wonder what our world would look like if we all took such an approach of finding joy in our lives. We are meant to guard ourselves from those who boast and brag, who belligerently bully others with their bellicose blustering and bellyaching.

We are designed by our Creator for better things. Joy is more than the spice of life; it is life itself. Moving mindfully and without rush through our days, setting aside times for contemplation and rest, offering gratitude to God and encouragement to others, and exploring our own heart’s desire are all ways we can tap into the large hidden reservoir of joy within each of us.

Complaining is cheap and easy. Joy is rich, full, satisfying, and takes practice to master. Rejoice in the Lord, take joy in the presence of the Spirit, and exult in Christ our Savior. In doing so, we shoo the devil away and create a better society.

God is good all the time. And all the time God is good.

O Lord, you have searched me out and known me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You mark out my journeys and my resting place and are acquainted with all my ways. Lord of creation, whose glory is around and within us: Open our eyes to your wonders so that we may serve you with reverence and know your peace and joy in our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Formed with Virtue (Romans 1:8-15)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. (New International Version)

Gratitude, service, prayer, encouragement, and duty. These are the qualities which defined the Apostle Paul; he sought to embody them every day of his life.

These virtues can define us, as well. If we seek to develop and exhibit each one, then we will find true community and satisfying relationships. And these very qualities were what Paul longed for in the Roman Church – because the believers were too often characterized by ingratitude, serving only those who were like them, a lack of prayer, discouraging others, and a warped sense of duty.

Jews and Gentiles were together in one church. It wasn’t going to be easy to get along and work side-by-side, but Paul was absolutely committed to it. Since the Apostle was both a Jew and a missionary to Gentiles, his heart deeply desired a mutual ministry in which the Christians thoroughly loved one another and had each other’s backs.

Gratitude

For that to happen, the practice of thanksgiving is needed.

We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 4:14-15, NIV)

In truth, gratitude is a spiritual practice which requires cultivation and attention. One of the best ways, in my opinion, of doing this is to keep a gratitude journal – actually hand writing what we are thankful for each day. And, when it comes to others, developing the habit of saying the words, “Thank you,” “I am so grateful,” and “You are so kind, I appreciate it.”

It’s hard to be a spiritual curmudgeon and grump through life whenever gratitude shapes our relationships. Gratitude has the practical effect of curbing our critical tendencies; it helps us as value people by thanking them often and clearly for who they are.

Service

To serve God and others is a way of offering resources, time, influence, and spiritual gifts for the betterment of humanity. This is how we love our neighbor as ourselves.

“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

Jesus (John 12:26, NIV)

By orienting our lives around service, we begin to see other people’s needs and meet them – since we are taking the time and energy in getting to know them. As servants, we learn to “walk the talk” and embody what we profess. And, if we couple service with gratitude, we are able to whistle while we work and avoid bitterness.

Prayer

We all pray and pray for others. The real trick is to remember one another in prayer and persevere in it. For that to happen, we must allow God to heal our distracted selves and bring integrity to our fragmented lives.

“We should make a gift of our hearts, emptying them of ourselves, that they may be filled with God. Our almighty Father becomes one with us and transforms us, uniting Creator and creature.”

Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582)

By centering our identity firmly in Christ, we open ourselves to remember and intercede for others.

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:18, NIV)

Along with gratitude and service, our prayers take a focused shape of supporting others in need of healing, care, courage, patience, etc. And we replace any tendency to control or manipulate with a prayerful trust in God.

Encouragement

The Apostle Paul had a deep longing to help others grow into their God-given potential. He sought to empower others by sharing his life with them. Paul desired everyone to give themselves for the common good of all.

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (Hebrews 3:12-13, NIV)

None of us can make it in life without the help and encouragement of others. So, we need authentic relationships for mutual help and support, to learn from each other, and garner wisdom from those who have walked with God many years.

Encouragement is greatly moved along when gratitude, service, and prayer accompany it, so that an encouraging community of people are a loving group of folks for whom others want to be around.

Duty

A sense of obligation is a good thing. It turns our privilege and power into a force for good in the church and the world. In reality, we are stewards of God’s gifts and resources given to us. This enables us to have a healthy practice of duty to our fellow humanity.

Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20, NIV)

Through infusing our duty with gratitude, service, prayer, and encouragement, it becomes a delight to freely give of ourselves and our stuff, without a begrudging attitude. Generosity becomes a way of life, and we avoid becoming unhappy misers.

“If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small.”

C.S. Lewis

Conclusion

In the Roman Church of Paul’s day, the relational dynamic had not yet broken down to the point of Schadenfreude, that is, actively delighting in another’s misfortune – but they were on their way. To mitigate and stop this from happening, Paul modeled a genuine spirit of thanksgiving, loving service, remembering prayer, healthy encouragement, and generous duty.

We would do well to follow his example of virtue, and be shaped by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Generous God, I give thanks to you for the gifts you have given me – life, family, friends, time, talents, and possessions. All that I have comes from you. Help me to remember this and rejoice in your goodness.

Walk with me, my God. Help me on my spiritual journey, so that I may constantly renew my relationship with you and all the good people in our parish and beyond.

Renew in me your Spirit. Give me the strength and courage to become a better follower of Jesus, in whose name I am bold to pray. Amen.

Evicting Complaints (Exodus 16:1-8)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

On the fifteenth day of the second month after the Israelites had escaped from Egypt, they left Elim and started through the western edge of the Sinai Desert in the direction of Mount Sinai. There in the desert they started complaining to Moses and Aaron, “We wish the Lord had killed us in Egypt. When we lived there, we could at least sit down and eat all the bread and meat we wanted. But you have brought us out here into this desert, where we are going to starve.”

The Lord said to Moses, “I will send bread down from heaven like rain. Tell the people to go out each day and gather only enough for that day. That’s how I will see if they obey me. But on the sixth day of each week they must gather and cook twice as much.”

Moses and Aaron told the people, “This evening you will know that the Lord was the one who rescued you from Egypt. And in the morning you will see his glorious power, because he has heard your complaints against him. Why should you grumble to us? Who are we?”

Then Moses continued, “You will know it is the Lord when he gives you meat each evening and more than enough bread each morning. He is really the one you are complaining about, not us—we are nobodies—but the Lord has heard your complaints.” (Contemporary English Version)

Every person on planet earth knows what a complaint is. That’s because we’ve all complained about something and we’ve all been the brunt of someone else’s complaining. To handle grumblers, we need to first deal with our own complaining spirit. 

Early in the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve disobeyed God. That caused their attitudes to change. Whereas their original reflex responses in the Garden of Eden were to enjoy God and be open, their automatic emotional reflexes after the fall were to hide, blame, and guard themselves. 

Adam’s first response to God after his disobedience was to point the finger at Eve: “The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”  And Eve’s initial reflex attitude was to shift the blame, as well: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3).

Ever since, people have had an automatic attitude of blaming, quarreling, and complaining. The heart drifts toward complaint as if by some gravitational pull because grumbling seems a reasonable response to disappointing events.

Generally, complaints show up as an uninvited guest. You return home from a frustrating day to discover that complaint has moved into your guest room, unpacked its luggage, started a load of laundry, and is rooting through your fridge.

Even as you work to evict complaint—as you move its bags to the curb and change the locks on your doors—it somehow crawls back into the guest room window. Complaint is highly resistant to eviction. 

Before you know it, over time, complaint becomes familiar, even right. With every struggle, we become like the Israelites murmuring in the desert (Exodus 16-17). Although God wants to prepare our faith for works of service in the world, we are hunkered down with complaint, watching TV together, and grumbling through every show and each conversation.

We can discourage complaint’s residency in our lives by inviting another guest to move in with us. That new guest is a prayerful attitude of trust and gratitude. When we choose to trust God and give thanks in the face of deep disappointment, complaint has less space to maneuver.

While attempting to unpack for an extended stay, complaint discovers that trust and gratitude have taken all the drawers in the guest room and already occupy the empty seat at the supper table. Faith and gratitude evict complaint because faith and a grumbling spirit are not able to live in the same house together. One inevitably pushes the other one out.

The ancient Israelites experienced a miraculous deliverance from harsh slavery in Egypt. The Lord parted the Red Sea so that they could walk across on dry ground and escape the Egyptian army’s pursuit. It’s easy to praise God when great things happen, and the Israelites had a whopper of a praise and worship service after that deliverance. Yet it’s quite another thing to praise and trust God when trouble happens – and when it keeps happening over and over again. 

Immediately after the praise and worship, Moses led the people into the desert. There was no water. God deliberately led the people into a difficult situation to test their faith. The Israelites quickly forgot the blessings and began grumbling about their situation. 

Their reflex response was to complain and ignore God’s direct commands. Maybe they did so because they spent four-hundred years of slavery in Egypt, and complaint had made such a home with them that it was second nature to murmur about their situation.

I keep a small c-clamp in my office to remind me that I am not in control, but God is. It isn’t my job to hold the universe together. The c-clamp also reminds me that I need to keep a clamp on my tongue when it comes to grumbling and complaining. Sins of the tongue are some of the most dominant forms of disobedience to God throughout Holy Scripture. 

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures can be tamed and have been tamed. But our tongues get out of control. They are restless and evil, and always spreading deadly poison. (James 3:7-8, CEV)

I wonder, can any of us go 24 hours without complaining about something or someone? 

Those who cannot answer “yes” must recognize that’s a real problem. If you cannot go 24 hours without drinking liquor, you are addicted to alcohol. And if you cannot go 24 hours without grumbling about something or someone, then you have lost control over your tongue and you are addicted to murmuring and have an adulterous relationship with complaint.

We must invite everlasting life to take up permanent residence. We need to evict the squatter of complaint. 

God is with us. Difficult circumstances, trouble, hard situations, problem people, and the seeming impossibility that things will not change doesn’t mean God moved out of your house. Instead, it’s evidence that the Lord wants us to exercise our faith.

Let God do it.

O God:
Give us all strength to live another day without grumbling, arguing, or complaining;
Let us not lose faith in other people and withdraw from them, or you, out of spite;
Keep our hearts tender in spite of the ingratitude, treachery, or meanness around us;
Help us to maintain purity of heart, and to live in faith and confidence, so that failure cannot dishearten us;
Open wide our spiritual eyes so that we may see the good in all things;
Inspire us with the spirit of joy and gladness;
and make us worthy and competent servants to suffering souls;