A letter to our visitors

Hello Blessed Beings of God,

We first want to say thank you for all your love and support. We are so thankful for the ability to connect and reach people that we have never been able to otherwise. We hope this letter finds you in good hands and that you feel Gods loving presence all around you. We first would like to apoligize for our random posting instead of the schedule that is set on our homepage.

Our resident writer has been dealing with some mental health issues and is currently seeking treatment for it. Because our staff is small and this isn’t our full time jobs we are struggling to keep on schedule currently .

We are so thankful that you are still here and supporting us during this challenging time. We hope that you give ya’ll the glimmer of hope that you have given us with your loving kindness.

If you are struggling mentally and need immediate help please call 800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Or visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/professional-initiatives/ for more information.

John 13:13-17 All are Equal

Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.   If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.   For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.   Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.   If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

This incredible and humbling moment was done before His last passover. After being cheered into town because people believed that He was the political Messiah they had hoped to take them from under the oppression of the Romans. After Jesus cleansed the temple by flipping tables and allowing the gentiles back into their area of worship, he wanted to save the all Encompassing point for last. Thought Jesus ministry he desired to make one point known above all the others to love your neighbor as yourself. Putting their needs before yours and making sure others in your community are taken care of. Jesus was meeting their basic need in that moment. When you entered a house it was customary for the servant to wash your feet. The lowest servant who did not handle your food or take your outer robe but the one who touched your unclean feet covered in dirt from a journeys walk. They seen Jesus as their king not their servant. Jesus came also for this reason to destroy the hierarchy. To prove no one was greater than the other and so that night he showed no one was better than the one who washes the feet. My mother always taught me to treat the janitor as I would the C.E.O. Both make the operation work in different ways and both are very much needed. So in Jesus last hour he turned a mundane task into a teachable moment. There was three major points to Jesus message in these four verses.

The first being that no one is greater than the other. The Sense of superiority was deeply rooted in the Israelites. This is prevalent in the old testament. The need to conquer other people for challenging their status. The lack of social interaction and communication between the Jewish nation and Samaritans, Babylonians, and all other gentiles. They did not speak to each other or even worship in the same courts as the Jewish people because they were not “God’s chosen people” God loves us all equally and wants us to love one another as Jesus loved. He loved the outcast, the sinner, the sick, those who chose lucrative lines of work. Jesus did not call us to hate or despise others, He called us to show the redemptive love that He shares because of the love that the Father bestows upon us. 

The second point is this verse 17 tells us to do these things gladly. That seems surprising as nothing we do in our society is gone gladly anymore. We as a nation always have something to argue about or be gloomy about. We are never satisfied with what we have because things are constantly changing or updating. If you are like the older members in my family, you complain because nothing is as it used to be. Products are not made with the same quality and people aren’t as nice as they used to be. But Jesus was filled with joy. It’s not just because He was filled with the spirit. It is always because He choose to see the best in people. In his disciples he did not just see fisherman, tax collectors or zelots, or see his female disciples that followed him as just women. He seen their kindness, the mental strength, their loyalty. He choose to look into the best of others and see the potential that could be unlocked by helping them inhance it. We should be glad that we have the message of God in our hearts and we should be filled with joy because we live in a country that allows us to share. Is it easy? Not always but we don’t have to hide in basements and in little forgotten buildings to share the word of God.

The third thing that Jesus shares with us in this story is that ministry is messy. The point of washing their feet is because they were dirty and it needed to be done. Ministry is dirty. It is very rare that you get to minister to the clean cut, the iron pressed neighbor next door. Its those who haven’t got to shower for days. Those who refuse help for their mental and physical limitations. Those who believe that you are evil for your beliefs and to the drunk girl crying in the bathroom stall. Jesus mentions those who are left out in the cold by the world. And if we are going to be like Jesus we have to reach out to them as well. Not just our wallets, or with our time, but with our hearts. This passover don’t pass over someone because you believe you are better than them.

The poor in Spirit Matthew 5:3

We begin today on a multi-week series on the beatitudes of Christ. There is much to be learned from the sermon on the mount and the various lenses we can look at it with. But first we must look into the background of the text. Chapter four of Matthew we see Jesus tested in the wilderness. The chapter is a battle between Jesus and satan to prove he is ready for the challenges he will face ahead. Then we have the beginning of his ministry and the calling of his disciples. I feel this chapter was almost Jesus training for the disciples. Giving them the base concepts of the ministry. Our verse today is prefaced by verses one and two saying:

1Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. (Matthew 5:1-2 NIV)

Jesus had turned on teaching mood as was ready to share with those who will listen what God has called him to say. We are to do that ourselves. As Christians or ‘little-christ’ we are called to share what God desires us to say. Not what we want to say or what others want to say or even what we thing we should say but what God desires of us. 

Our first be attitude is 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 

Now there are several layers to this simple statement. But first we must ask ourselves some questions in order to understand such a simple but profound statement. What is being poor in the spirit and who is poor in the spirit? Well being poor in the spirit is vastly different than being poor financially. Poor in spirit is kind of difficult to explain so follow with me here. To be poor in spirit means we are always striving to have our metaphorical cup filled by Christ. It is a desire to grow deeper and closer to God in your relationship. It is a thirst that is never satisfied or a hunger that is never silenced. 

These statements contrite how Christ calls his love a ‘living water’ and how he gave his body for us because he is ‘the bread of life’. We are satisfied because we have these things but we should always strive for more with God.

We should not simply be satisfied with just having a relationship with God we should desire to know God more closely and more intimately each day. Once we are satisfied with our relationship with God we hould be scared because then we are no longer searching for him in our lives. Now to answer the question of who is the poor in spirit? The poor in spirit who want to know god deeper themselves, not for their parents sake, spouses sake, children’s sake, or even their pastors sake but their own. They search the word of God they communion with God. They know that until we reach eternity we are never close enough to be truly satisfied with knowing God as we do. Because We have not joined God and Jesus in eternity we are not ever close enough. 

The third question we need to ask is where is the kingdom of heaven. There are nineteen different metaphors for the kingdom of heaven in Matthew’s gospel. But what they all boil down to is this. We are the kingdom of heaven. We as Christians and our relationship with our one true holy God. The kingdom of heaven is all the believers united and in worship of almighty God. 

I believe this was the first beatitude spoken to us for a reason. It is the base of how the rest of our faith should work. A deep and striving faith for God should be at the very core of who we are as followers of Christ,

Matthew 14:22-33 Answering the Call

Today’s message is very personal to me. It was a glimpse of Christ’s comfort into my daily life and I wanted to share it with you. I was laying in bed the other night tossing and turning. It was roughly one in the morning and my brain would not shut off. I tried everything I could think of in order to force my body to sleep. I knew the next day would be very busy and I needed to have a decent night’s sleep. I attempted to spend this time in prayer but my mind struggled to find focus. 

In my personal life I was also becoming more frustrated at the fact I didnt have alot of people to look at for inspiration in my calling as a female preacher. Though their are many female preachers and pastors across the world, finding them locally is another story. Living in the rural south and fighting those who wish to suppress my voice along with others places me in a certain stride. Not only do I have to prove myself as a women in the south who is seen as a secondary character but I have to prove myself worthy enough to lead by my intellect, charm, and grace. They care and want to pick apart everything including how delusional they believe my calling to be.

As I metaphorically and that night physically wrestled with God on this issue, this hurt he brought a story to my mind that I would have never thought equated to my calling before this night. It’s the story of peter walking on the water. When I asked God how this related to me in my calling God answered and said 

“I called all of the disciples, but Peter came out on the water. Because of his boldness in calling him into the unknown, the never had been done before. He is etched into history forever. He was alone in the fact no one else got to experience me like he has.”

So that is todays message. Embracing your call because its like no one elses.

Our verses for today we will be looking at the account in Matthew 14:22-33. First let us look into the background of the story to see where we are coming from so we can know where we are going. There are two main events that occur before this miracle makes place out on the water. The first being the beheading of John the Baptist. For those of you who might not known John was the second cousin to Jesus and was the last prophet before Jesus began his ministry. John was also the one who baptised Jesus in the river of Jordan. Many thought he was the messiah before Jesus came onto the scene. 

The second major event that happens before Peter walks on the water is the feeding of the five thousand men. (though the women and children were not accounted for). This is the mass miracle accomplished by Jesus where five loaves and two fishes feed thousands upon thousands of people. It says in verse 14 “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” After healing their people and witnessing to them Jesus and the disciples fed them. The people where so excited to see this miracle and all that he could do they began to mob him. They wanted him to heal all the sick and to do more for him. Not because they wanted to grow in their understanding and knowledge of God but because of what he could do for them.  In an effort to flee the disciples got on a boat and rowed out into the ocean, while Jesus went out onto the mountain to pray. 

It had become well into the night when the disciples settled into their boat in the middle of the small ocean. The storm was ongoing and with no real desire to step onto land again with no land on either side they were safe for now. The night had passed and dawn was quickly approaching when they saw something off into the distance. They saw Jesus walking on the water.

They first believed it was Jesus’ ghost that had met them on the water. They were afraid that the mods from earlier had killed the messiah and there they were with no savior to follow. Maybe they wondered what if this was all for nothing? If he was truly dead what happens now? 

In verse 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” There are three deep fundamental truths within that statement that can applied to our lives. First is “take courage!” Life is hard, scary, messy and there are days when you dont want to get out of bed. But courage is not the absence of fear but trying something in the face of fear. When I first began this website I was very afraid of what others would say and how well it would do. But God reminded me that no matter what happens that it was God’s call that made me do this not desire for mans validation. 

The second statement is “it is I.” What a powerful statement that is only three little one syllable words. It is a reminder that God will never leave us or forsake us. God is always with us and we never have to face anything alone. Its also a declaration of who God is. God does not need a name to be known God is simply God. 

The last statement being “Do not be afraid.” I talked about fear a moment ago but this is the driving force for the Christian faith. Even though life and the world are scary we were created to be a light, a comfort, an extension of Christ to all around us. May your life, kindness, and treatment of others be a testament to your faith. Because if it’s just your words that say you are a Christian and not your life, you are speaking vain words.

But Peter asked the important questions. Peter was questioned about the situation and everything he say. Which is an important part of growing our faith. If we don’t have questions, if we don’t have doubts, curiosity, wonder how will our faith ever become our own? We will only be a reflection of those in our lives who we think give us the correct answers. Whether that be parents, guardians, pastors, teachers, etc. How do you know what they are saying is the truth if you do not explore and learn it for yourself with a fresh perspective. We must not always go into something to affirm what we believe but we must go into something to affirm and learn the truth.

Verse 28 Peter calls to Jesus “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”  “Come,” he said. We often are told if we pray to do something for God, that we will receive something to do. But we are very reluctant to do so when the time arrives. We question it because its not exactly how we wanted to serve God. Ministry and Pastoral care is very rarely all nice, clean, sunshine and smiling faces. Its often holding someone as they grieve, helping a hoarder clean their house, helping an addict get clean needles. Ministry is messy, dirty, real. We struggle to embrace that idea, but once we do we realize everything we do feeds into our ministry. 

The second part of verse 29 and verse 30 tells us Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” This goes to show you in the midst of a miracle we still doubt, we are still cautious, we want to look down and direct our own steps instead of walking by faith. When we do that we lose our footing,

Verse 31 is where we get a very common phrase not just used within religious communities but also in secular communities, 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”. Our faith is the focal point of our relationship with God. Our Belief in God and what we believe about God is at the central core of our being regardless if we believe or not. It is a guiding post in our decisions. 

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Its easier to see how God worked in our lives as we look back. Its in the midst of the struggle of the fear that seeing God is like looking through a frosted glass. If we do not make an effort to see through we will be forever unsure of what was truly behind the glass.

But back to peter, we need to notice a few things about peter in order to see how this story applies to our calling. First we see that peter is the only disciple named. In other stories throughout the gospels we see instances were only one or two disciples were named. But this was peters time to shine. This is the moment that peter binds himself to Jesus in a special way. This was peters calling to have a different experience than the other disciples. We are all bound by the call of Christ just as the disciples were. Its up to us to connect with God and create those one-on-one experiences with God. 

Peter was also the only one to see if it was truly Jesus out on the water. He wanted to make sure it was of God before he got involved in it. And though Peter faultured on the water, Jesus was right there to pick him up. 

It should also be noted that even though Peter denied Jesus at the court before his death, peter was the only disciple there. Following in the background in the shadows. Judas is already dead at this point and the other disciples have fled. Peter was by no means perfect but he answered the call and strived to change even when he failed.

The Story of The Soil

Rev. Lauren Efird
Myers Park Baptist Church
March 24, 2019 | Third Sunday of Lent
Year C | Luke 8:4-15 | The Story of the Soil

My four-year-old son, Isaac, declared on the way home from school last week that he wanted
to be a kindergarten teacher when he grew up. He then asked me, “Mom, what do you want
to be when you grow up?” I said, “Isaac, I think I’m already grown up, and I’m already doing
what I always wanted to do!” He said, “Oh yea, what’s that?” I said, “You tell me. You know
what I do.” He said, “Oh I know! You’re a mommy! You take care of me!” Yes, that was sweet,
but of course, I was just sitting there feeling judged by my inner feminist. How could I have
failed at showing him that not only can women be known for their careers, but that women
can be ministers?! I replied, “That’s right, sweetie. And I love being your mommy, but what
else do I do? Where do I work?” He said, “Oh yea, you’re a pastor!!” Breathing a sigh of relief,
I said, “That’s right. I’m a pastor. I always wanted to be a minister when I grew up, and now
I am!” Yes, it’s true. When I was in elementary school, I would come home from church and
put my baby dolls on the floor in front of me and preach to them! It was an exciting day when
I was called to be a Senior Pastor, finally living into a calling I had wrestled with for a very
long time. We pastors, though, never really know what we are getting ourselves into. It is an
odd and wondrous calling indeed. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve lost our minds! In a time
where many claim to be Christian but few people go to church, it can feel a little ominous to
think that anyone is going to show up, much less follow your leadership!
A great crowd of people had gathered around Jesus in our text for today. People from town
after town had come to him, but Jesus does not seem impressed by the amount of people who
were flocking to him. In fact, he is suspicious of it. Jesus is about to begin his journey towards
the cross, and he knows all of these people will not follow him there. So, in typical Jesus
fashion, he tells a parable. The practice Jesus describes in the parable of the sower was
common knowledge about farming. Galilean farmers threw out seed first and plowed it
afterwards; they knew the precarious nature of farming on their rocky, arid, and shallow soil.
But what Jesus says next would have made no sense at all in their context. Some of the seed
fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold!
2
A harvest of four or five times the seed planted would have been exceptional, but a harvest
of a hundredfold would have been a miracle. No one would believe it could happen. Justo
González says it would be like telling us that pigs could fly!i But as the parable makes clear,
God can do the impossible! “God’s harvest will come to fruition, and…neither rocks, nor the
birds of the air, nor even the devil himself can prevent it!”ii
This parable is an ominous warning in a time when Jesus is heading towards the cross. It
might be tempting to get caught up in the excitement of the great crowd that is following
Jesus around right now, but Jesus is warning them all that following him might not be what
they imagine. Jesus knows that even some of his most trusted disciples will be fickle. Judas
will soon betray him. Peter will soon deny him. All the rest will abandon him during his time
of need. Jesus is conveying that following him will not be an easy journey; he’s sorting out
admirers from followers. As Kierkegaard says, Jesus “never asks for admirers, worshippers,
or adherents. No, he calls disciples. It is not adherents of a teaching but followers of a life
Christ is looking for.”iii Those seeds that fall on the path, the rock, and the thorns are people
who simply become admirers of Jesus. Those seeds that fall on the good soil are the followers.
There are moments in the life of a congregation that test whether people are followers or
admirers, times when the followers start agitating the admirers. I had only been the Senior
Pastor at Greenwood Forest for a year when Gilles Bikindou, a member of my church since
March of 2006, came to us distraught because he had been informed that the temporary
status that he had been living under since 2010, would not be renewed. He did not know how
he would live and work and obtain medical care for his complicated health needs. Gilles sat
in the Fellowship Hall one morning and shared his story. We began to explain to our
congregation what it might mean to declare our church a sanctuary for Gilles, and we were
just trying to fertilize the soil, to lay the groundwork for important decisions that might need
to be made.
When the time for Q and A began, a man named Alex said, “Lauren, I don’t understand why
we don’t just vote right now to let you as our Senior Pastor declare sanctuary for Gilles. You
are not going to have the luxury of calling the whole church together when this need arises.
Let’s vote right now!” I start stuttering, “I mean…. I didn’t ask you all to come down here
today to make that decision. This is against our bylaws. We must give one week’s notice for
a business meeting. Our chair of deacons is out of town, and he might kill me when he gets
back! I mean…how many deacons are even here right now?” Then, someone said, “Let’s vote
to break the bylaws.” “Oh dear!” I thought. Person after person said, “This is the right thing
to do. We need to do it now. You have our blessing. It’s how God would have us treat our
brother. It’s what the gospel is about!” The soil was far more ready than I imagined. So,
deacons came to the front of the room and wrote a motion to offer our church as a sanctuary
for Gilles should he need it. The motion passed unanimously, and we ended the morning
gathered in front of the altar laying hands and praying over our brother, Gilles. The soil was
fertile, and yet we would learn that receiving seeds is one thing, but growing a plant is
another. We would need a whole lot of patience and endurance. This gospel story had only
just begun.
3
Gilles had fled his home in the Republic of Congo in 2004 because he witnessed a state
sponsored act of violence and murder. There was a civil war in Congo in the late 1990’s, and
Gilles fled with his family only to see what is now known as “the Beach Massacre,” where 350
people were murdered in cold blood. Gilles managed to survive by miraculously talking the
soldiers out of killing him. But later they asked him to lie during a nationally televised trial
about what he had witnessed. The government officials promised they would pay for his
education at an American university if he would do what they asked. So, Gilles immigrated
to the US on an educational visa in 2004, but his country eventually pulled his funding
because he refused to lie about the murder of his people.
It was clearly not safe for Gilles to return home, so he filed for political asylum, but he was
denied. Afterward, he was placed on an order of supervision, a legal status under which he
lived, worked, drove, and paid taxes, and that order was renewed without incident until

  1. Besides the fear of political persecution, Gilles also had another reason he needed to
    stay in the United States. Gilles is HIV positive and has kidney disease and diabetes, and the
    specific drugs he needs are only available in the US and Canada. Gilles was understandably
    terrified to be sent back to Congo where he could not get these medicines, much less get
    adequate health care. At the direction of his lawyer, he applied for a stay of removal, that if
    granted, would have allowed him to remain in the country for one year, to prepare for what
    would come.
    Gilles was told many times his case was not a priority and he would not be detained without
    warning. But we were about to witness the consequences of the current administrations’
    targeting of people living with temporary legal statuses. When Gilles did what he was
    supposed to do and went to check in at the Charlotte ICE office on January 9, 2018, to submit
    his stay of removal application, he was immediately taken. Within two hours, his stay of
    removal was denied. They didn’t even take the time to read it. He was quickly moved to the
    York County Detention Center and then to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA, an
    arduous journey some of you traveled on during your immigration pilgrimage. Gilles was
    hospitalized three times during his detention; Stewart was not capable of managing his
    diabetes, let alone his HIV. On February 7, 2018, Gilles was moved to the Atlanta City
    Detention Center, and even after filing for humanitarian parole because of his dire health
    needs, Gilles was deported on February 23, 2018. Two days before he was sent back to
    Congo, my associate pastors, Stephen and Wes, and I got to visit with Gilles. We stood in a
    cold, dark, musty cinderblock room looking at Gilles through a glass window, talking to him
    through a telephone. We could not touch him or hug him goodbye, so Gilles stood there and
    held his hand to the glass, and we held our hands up to his as we cried together and prayed
    a parting blessing on him.
    Gilles’ story is a gospel story. It is a parable. It is the seed of the good news that Jesus favors
    the last and the least among us, which means that in our world today, Jesus loves the
    foreigner and welcomes the stranger and the immigrants. Jesus is on the side of those our
    country is casting out! The seed of this gospel was thrown at us, and I must tell you, I wasn’t
    sure I was ready. I was in my first year as a pastor, and I was about to find out exactly where
    my congregation stood and how much they were willing to fight against injustice. I wasn’t
    sure my congregation was ready, but it turns out their soil was fertile.
    4
    And thankfully it was because none of us were prepared for the journey ahead. We had been
    preparing to offer sanctuary, but we had not prepared to engage in a public battle with ICE.
    My congregation held fast to this good news. Sure, we lost a few people along the way. When
    some people are faced with having to change long held views or their faith having real
    consequences for how they show up in the world, they wither away and are choked by the
    cares and riches and pleasures of this life. They turn out to be admirers of Jesus.
    It was not easy for me personally, as the first female senior pastor in the church’s history,
    and oh, I forgot to tell you, I was also pregnant with my second child while all this was going
    on. But because of the faithful members of my congregation, I was able to do the work I
    needed to do in our five-month battle with ICE. Some of my members held a weekly support
    group, keeping us organized, doing tasks they could do on the sidelines. The whole
    congregation graciously understood that some things were going to fall by the wayside as
    we pursued justice for Gilles. They held me up as my days were filled with talking to
    reporters, organizing press conferences in Cary and Charlotte and Atlanta, meeting with our
    political leaders, working with Gilles’ lawyers, consulting with Gilles’ doctor, and keeping
    communication open with Gilles so he could be an agent in the process.
    We fought. And we fought hard. Your ministers and your church fought alongside of us. We
    made mistakes along the way. Every day felt perilous, like we were holding someone’s life in
    our hands. But even with all our power and wealth and privilege, we lost. Gilles was deported.
    I must tell you: I don’t like to lose. More than that, I believe in righting wrongs, but this wrong
    would not be made right. It’s still not right, and not just for Gilles. There are people having
    their lives torn apart every day in this awful immigration system, and we live in a country
    where for-profit prisons are making billions of dollars for private corporations because of it!
    Kierkegaard says that sometimes admirers of Jesus and followers of Jesus can be incredibly
    hard to tell apart. He says, “When there is no danger, when there is dead calm, when
    everything is favorable to our Christianity, then it is all too easy to confuse an admirer with
    a follower. [But] the admirer never makes any true sacrifices. They always play it safe.
    Though in word they are inexhaustible about how highly they prize Christ, they renounce
    nothing, will not reconstruct their life, and will not let their life express what it is that they
    supposedly admire. Not so for the follower. The follower aspires with all their strength to be
    what they admire. And then, remarkably enough, even though they are living amongst a
    ‘Christian people,’ they incur the same peril as they did when it was dangerous to openly
    confess Christ. And because of the follower’s life, it will become evident who the admirers
    are, for the admirers will become agitated with them.”iv
    We live in a country that claims to be a Christian nation, but most are not followers of Jesus.
    Most are admirers. We have domesticated the good news of God’s kingdom; the gospel we
    live by in America looks nothing like the good news of Jesus. The gospel of God’s kingdom
    has not taken root in the life of our country; the lie of nationalism has. The lie of white
    supremacy has choked out our ability to follow Jesus and to turn this unjust world upside
    down! During this Lenten season, we are following Jesus to the cross, and Lord knows, we
    too, have the capability of being fickle.
    5
    But, unlike many in our country, we know the gospel. We know the good news of the
    kingdom. Myers Park Baptist knows that the gospel is good news for the poor, the
    outcast, the immigrant, for those who have been treated unjustly. You are sitting in
    good, fertile soil, that is ripe for bearing fruit. And I think you might be a lot like me. I think
    you like to win. More than that, I think you like to right wrongs, and I think the hardest part
    of this parable to hear is that we must bear fruit with patient endurance. Even if it looks like
    the situation is hopeless and we are fighting for a lost cause, we still have to fight, knowing
    that we might not win. The truth is, in life and in faith, we don’t always win. In the gospel,
    Jesus’ cross looked like loss too. It looked like failure. It looked like hatred, inhospitality,
    inhumanity, and evil had won; but God took a loss and made it a win. God can take a tiny seed
    that falls and dies in the soil and make it grow up into a movement that transforms the world.
    At the end of the day, what we can do is be faithful with what is before us, hold fast, and have
    the patient endurance to see God come through! We work toward a future that we do not
    have control over. There’s a prayer that was written by another archbishop on the
    anniversary of Oscar Romero’s martyrdom, called “Prophets of a Future Not our Own,” which
    says,
    It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only
    beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a
    tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is
    complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us. …We plant
    the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they
    hold future promise. …We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
    …We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master
    builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not
    messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. v

Unique Perspective

What is the point of being unique or having differences? What if you have gone through something that no one else you know has gone through before? Are we different just due to happenstance or is there a divine purpose?

In the story of Moses, we see that Moses used his unique differences in order to liberate the Hebrew people. We see the story of Moses begins with his parents Amram and his mother Jochebed. When Moses enters into the scene we learn that the Pharaoh wanted all male babies to be killed. Thus the compassion that Jochebed had on her son by sending him down the river in a basket. This leads to the daughter of the pharaoh, Mariam finding him and having him raised by an Iserilate woman. Moses a child of one nationality brought into a completely different culture loved by an adoptive mother of Egyptian women and the moral foundations and upbringing of Iserilate women, handmade to the princess.

Because of this unique situation Moses had become multicultural and relational to various groups. This gave him the education and ability to advocate and discuss issues that he felt needed to be addressed. This also gave him an outside perspective on the oppression of his own group of people. 

Moses using the education he received from the highest teachers in Egypt and the passion of the oppressed from the Hebrew nation he took his unique skill set and sought to liberate his people because of the desires of God. 

His unique connection to the different groups along with divine intervention allowed him to do one of the greatest things in human history, the departure of the Hebrew nation from Egypt. This leads to the iconic tale of the parting of the red sale, the wandering of the wilderness, all because God allowed Moses to use his unique skillset and education for the will of God.

What is the point of being unique or having differences? We are all called to use our uniqueness for Christ  What if you have gone through something that no one else you know has gone through before? That qualifies you for a job that no one else can do like you. Are we different just due to happenstance or is there a divine purpose? There is a divine purpose for all, are you going to use it to glorify God. 

Written in the Sand

Are we worthy of judging others in their faults? Because we check off certain religious boxes does that make us better than them? Are we allowed to be the accuser, judge, and hurry all on our own? 

There are many examples of our ability to judge but Jesus sets the clearest example in John 8 when the women accused of adultery is thrown in front of Jesus exposed and compromised. 

The crowd is eager to hear Jesus’ response to her because of two reasons to trap him in contradiction or to have the moral authority of Jesus to kill her via stoning. But we see that Jesus’ answer is much different than the crowd expected. 

The question is presented to Jesus that under the law because she is caught in adultery that they can stone her, what is his response? Jesus throughout his ministry has spoken that God is the ultimate judge. But Jesus thought it not equal with God but drained his power. Jesus is the example for man did this.

He bent down quietly and began to write in the sand, not with anger, aggression, or frustration but with understanding. His only words to the crowd “he who is without sin cast the first stone”. He continued to write and one by one the crowd left, leaving the women and Jesus alone. This woman, bare, vulnerable, traumatized and scarred from the earlier events, afraid of the damnation she believed Jesus would proclaim to her received the gentlest compassion. Jesus simply asked her ‘women where are they that accuse you has no one condemned you’? She replied ‘no one’ and the most powerful statement in this moment ‘neither will I, go and sin no more’. 

Are we worthy of judging others in their faults? No we are not because we have our own faults. Because we check off certain religious boxes does that make us better than them? No those who accused her are in the wrong just as much as she was. Are we allowed to be the accuser, judge, and hurry all on our own? No we are not that is for God alone to decide.

1 Samuel Chapter 1 emphasis on v 26-28

  • The Family Dynamic v 1-3

We open up this chapter giving the context of those within the story. So far, within the introduction, we have three main characters. We have a man named Elkanah. It also gives his lineage. This is important for several reasons. The first being that during this time, the Hebrew nation was bound together by heritage, and this at times could determine your role within the community. The lineage of Elkanah was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. Heritage could give you status which determined your trade, wealth, respect in the community, and who you can choose for your wive(s). But other than the first two verses that is not much said about the man. He is a supporting character within this particular story. 

Then we see the other characters, the wives of Elkanah, one was named Hannah and the other Peninnah. The only description when the scene opens up is that Peninnah had children and Hannah had none. That was the only thing that defined them in this period. Where they did what society saw as their job and provided heirs for their husbands. Imagine having to walk around, and the community around you only saw what you couldn’t do verses the amazing person you are. Hannah had to share a husband with someone who was everything she wanted to be, a mother. Because of her culture and setting, that was everything to her, to be a mother. 

  •  Elkanah Relationship to his wives v4-5

Verses 4-5 tell us about the relationship that Elkanah had with his two wives. In a family dynamic that is much different than most of ours, we see a difference in how Elkanah treats his two wives. This is shown through the giving of sacrificial offerings to the wives. The offerings served as a cleansing ritual within the Hebrew Nation. For Peninnah, he gave the portion needed for her and her children. It says in verse four that he gave for all her children, her sons, and daughters. He made sure that they were taken care of spiritually. During this period, the father of the house would sacrifice for the sins of his whole family. But he also provided for them in terms of needs such as food, water, shelter. He was there for them and was a part of that family unit. 

In verse 5, it says that he gave a double portion to Hannah because he loved her and because her womb was closed. That has so much to unpack in this one verse. First, we see that he has given her more than she needed. Much like God outpours His Blessings upon us. As the church is the Bride of Christ, we are loved, cherished, and taken care of through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. 

But then we see the second part of the verse ‘, and the Lord has closed her womb.’ This carries such much from Elkanahs perspective. He may have hurt with her knowing how important that was desire was for her to have children. But he may also have asked God to forgive her for not having any children. Due to little to no medical understanding of how reproduction worked, it was believed to be the women’s fault. If she couldn’t be blessed with children, she must have sinned greatly against God. Maybe her husband was afraid he could not atone for her sin. That is also why the community would have had reservations about her. 

  • The Wives relationship to each other v6-7

Because there are three people involved in this relationship, we also need to look at how the wives interact to get a complete background understanding of the story. Verse 6 addresses Peninnah as Hannah’s rival. That’s a harsh word to use about someone you are tied to and have to do life with. But I could see why that word would be used. The other has what they want. Hannah being Elkanah’s love and being cherished by him even though she cannot give him kids. 

But Peninnah has what Hannah desperately wants, children. Being a mother during this time is not just for the joy of being a parent of carrying on the family name by having sons, but because having children is having security. Under the law, as you get older, your children were required to take care of you. They were your retirement, your 401K, and they were the separator between you and poverty. This is especially true if your husband dies. They not only gave you a support system, but marrying daughters off gave you a dowry and having sons meant you could live with them. Hannah was not just afraid of society’s thoughts about her but also her fear of becoming a beggar to survive.

  • The love from Elkanah to Hannah v8

In verse 8, we see how deeply Hannah struggles with the desire to have children and the *current lack of ability to have children. V8: ‘Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?’ Hannah is deep in depression and feels consumed by her desires not being met and the anxiety that comes with the future. She is so afraid of the future that she is losing the present. I have been there myself; depression, anxiety, and mental health struggles are authentic and valid. We must reach out in times of need to our support systems and, if needed, see a professional. Please call 1-800-273-8255 if you are experiencing a mental health emergency. 

On the other side of that coin, we should actively ensure that we check in on those in our community, especially those who struggle with mental health, just as Elkanah did for Hannah. He asked what emotions she felt, if she had met her basic needs and why she hasn’t. He wants to sit with her in this time of hurt and help support her through it. Though his last question was not helpful to the situation due to his desire for validation during her time of need. He still made an effort to be there for her, as we all should. 

  •  Eli’s placement v 9

Another member of the cast is added in verse 9 Eli, the high priest of the temple. Eli does not provide much to the story other than helping us understand the desperation of Hannah’s situation. He also takes Hannah’s request to God in verse 17. She cannot carry this issue alone. It is important to share our deepest prayer request with others and possibly leaders in your church or community. But this is only after Hannah decides to go to God for her issue. She decided that staying sediment in her depression would no longer work. So she got up after meeting her basic needs of food, and she went to church. She no longer turned to her own understanding but to God for wisdom, comfort, and help. We see that in v10-11

  •  Hannah’s promise to God v10-11

Hannah’s prayer in these two verses are considered a lament to God. A crying out from a place of pain and hurt. One where she is truly honest to God about her desires. She showed God her desires and promised that if he would give her the desire of her heart, she would give it back to God. By saying a razor would never touch his head, she was saying she would give her soon to the priesthood. Once he was old enough, she will place him in a school where he will live there and be trained in Hebrew scripture. We can also proclaim that we will give it back to God but, this also doesn’t mean that God will grant it to us. No matter how badly we want it or how good we think it would be for us.

  • Hannah’s prayer is answered v19-20

But thankfully, for the purpose of this story, we see that God answered Hannah’s prayer and was blessed with a son. Someone with who she can connect and grow. Someone to pass on her wisdom to, someone to take care of her in her old age. She no longer had to worry as much about the future because she has fulfilled a considerable uncertainty in her future, her security. Now we see the next step. 

  • Hannah prepares Samuel (her gift) v21-23

We transition into seeing Hannah as a mother and her desire to do all that she can for her child. She wants to make sure he will be as healthy as possible she desires to wait until he is weaned. In this period, along with the geographic location, most children weren’t weaned until 3 or 4 years old due to the lack of clean drinking water. 

But another reason I believe Hannah was not ready to take Samuel out for their yearly sacrifice is that it is a reminder that one day she will take him to the temple to leave him there. It would be hard to give your child to someone else for the rest of their life, even if it was for the glory of God. She wanted to savor every precious moment she had with her baby boy. Thankfully her husband supported her in this as well. The family structure during this period was often the father made the majority of the decisions with the mother having little to no say so in the matters of the children. We all need to make an effort to support and hear out those in our lives so that we may understand where they are coming from.

  • Hannah thanks Eli for helping her pray v24-25

We see the most heartbreaking moment in Hannah’s life. The moment that she gave her baby, her gift back to God. When she sees Eli again with her baby in hand, I’m sure that was a blessing for Eli as well. He got to be a part of the fruits of his prayer. So often in life, we will never see the fruit of our prayers or the fruit of our labors. But we must remember that our efforts are not in vain, even when we don’t see it. 

  •  Hannah gave her gift back to God v 26-28

I’m sure with pride in her heart and tears streaming down her face, and she gave the baby to Eli so that we may be raised under God in the temple. She brought a sacrifice, An ephah of flour (Probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms), and a skin of wine along with him. She wanted to make sure that he was cleansed under the law and supplies for them to feed him. She wanted to make sure his basic needs were meet until he was settled in. She would still be taking care of her baby even after she had left. 

But we don’t have to have a child that we desperately prayed for to give it back to God. We can give all that we have. Sure we must raise the young one in our life in the way of God. Even if it just by being an example of how we should reflect Christ in our lives. But you can give your education, job, hobbies, passions, time, money, everything you have you can give it back to God even if it is in some small way. 

Because the truth is, God made it all anyway and is letting us borrow it for a short time. If we live life with the concept that nothing is ours so we must enjoy every moment with it; we will live a life of gratitude and have a better ability to live in the moment.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who have had a hand in helping raise us. May we adore them, be like them, and raise more of them.

Change in Life

Blessings come in many forms. Then can come instantly they can come slowly over time with joy or with pain. Sometimes we have to gain perspective to see that things were not blessings at the time. When I was a child seeing my great-grandmother die was such pain and I wanted her to be with me all my life. But now I know she experiences no pain, she is sound of mind and is with Jesus.

  Things I have asked for throughout my life that weren’t granted I thankful for God just not letting me have these things. A boyfriend, an award, or a title is not what I needed what I needed was God. I treated him like a cosmic Santa-clause as a child and young adult. I just ask for what I wanted and never asked what he wanted.

By denying my request he moved into my life. He did not treat me like a spoiled child handing me what I wanted but as a good father, he knew what was best for me. A good father punishes and grants. He gives us the freedom to make choices and holds us when we hurt ourselves.

God has granted me things in my life that I actually needed. God has given me the ability to get up in the morning when I am depressed. He has given me comfort when I carried the hurt of others with them. He has given me joy beyond compare. God granted me the ability to go to college and to allow me to be able to have opportunities that those who came before me never had. 

Though my life is shorter than some here I have seen God move I have seen friends come to salvation and broken lives heal. I am thankful for the things he gives and the things He withheld.

Women of the Bible

Well behaved women rarely make history. A quote by Marlyn Monroe, I am sure when she said this she was in no way implying women in the church. But strangely it applies to women in the church far more than it does to the rest of women in history. Marlyn Monroe was a beautiful actress, singer, and fashion model, her legacy has lived far beyond her life. But what will happen if the world goes on for another two thousand years? I am sure she will be forgotten. 

When Marilyn said this she was implying not to follow societies rules to be who you want to be. To be yourself in the face of critics and those who oppose you. Well even though Marlyn was the one to originally say this, she was not the original one to do so.

Ruth a Moabite woman was obidente to God but not to the rest of the world. She was a foreigner. Her ethnic group was despised by the Hebrew people and yet she went with her mother in law. After she disobeyed her mother in law and told her no and that she was going to go with her. Women didnt approach men directly that they were not related/ married to but Ruth did. She worked as hard as any man and she broke harvest rules to show her serious commitment to her feelings for Boaz. She was not well behaved in the eyes of the world but she was beloved in Gods eyes.

Esther was a Hebrew woman who defied a royal court member to save her people. Her commitment was serious and her heart was in pain for her people. She wrestled with God hoping and praying to help her people. She sacrificed herself and laid her life on the line so that her people/ Gods people could continue to grow and prosper. She took her power and saved her people by becoming a political advocate for them. By doing that she defied the normal hiarchery. She made history by offering herself, a queen was to make babies and be pretty.

Mary went against social norms and had a child out of wedlock. She was highly favored and obident unto God and He saw that she could handle the backlash the bullying, the taunting. She was storng and said “Even if it is not right in the eyes of my people I am going to carry the son of God.” She didn’t care if Joseph left her and he also could have had her killed but he didnt. She was more concerned about carrying the savior of the world than she was about what people thought. 

Then last but not least the women at the well. She has never been given a name but we all know her in our hearts. The shame that she carried and the guilt that weighed down her heart. She has been married to several men and was living with a guy currently when she met Jesus. But when Jesus interacted with her, she couldn’t contain herself. She didn’t care how awkward it was when she went into town, she had to tell them about  Jesus. She didn’t care to be seen or heard, she was sharing the gospel. She converted the town and she was forever changed. 

So Marlyn was right, well-behaved women rarely make history. If these women would have not allowed God to intervene in their lives we would never know they even existed. But because they defied society and decided to behave according to Gods desires and fill their hearts with his love we hear about them and we are reminded well-behaved women rarely make history, but Godly women’s stories last for generations to come.