Daily Lesson for November 13, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 119 verses 105 to 112:

105 Your word is a lantern to my feet *
and a light upon my path.

106 I have sworn and am determined *
to keep your righteous judgments.

107 I am deeply troubled; *
preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word.

108 Accept, O Lord, the willing tribute of my lips, *
and teach me your judgments.

109 My life is always in my hand, *
yet I do not forget your law.

110 The wicked have set a trap for me, *
but I have not strayed from your commandments.

111 Your decrees are my inheritance for ever; *
truly, they are the joy of my heart.

112 I have applied my heart to fulfill your statutes *
for ever and to the end.

Reflecting on the first verse of today’s Lesson, Saint Augustine said, God’s word is both a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path because we need a lamp at our side to see our next near step and we also need a bright shining light down distance to give some direction as to where we are going.

The word of God comes to us to give guide our feet and assure our paths. We don’t know where to go next, God’s word comes with a gentle whisper saying, “I will show you my ways and teach you my paths. Go on, just take the next step.”  We don’t know where we or this world are headed, but God’s word shines its beacon from way down distance, “Behold, I will be with you always, even unto the very end of the age. Alpha and Omega. So keep walking towards the light you can see.”

Soundtrack: Below I am posting a Spiritual for today, “Guide My Feet LORD” sung by the good choir at First Presbyterian Brooklyn, NY.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z-WVIppNBls

Daily Lesson for November 12, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 78 verses 9 through 20:

9 The people of Ephraim, armed with the bow, *

turned back in the day of battle;

10 They did not keep the covenant of God, *

and refused to walk in his law;

11 They forgot what he had done, *

and the wonders he had shown them.

12 He worked marvels in the sight of their forefathers, *

in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

13 He split open the sea and let them pass through; *

he made the waters stand up like walls.

14 He led them with a cloud by day, *

and all the night through with a glow of fire.

15 He split the hard rocks in the wilderness *

and gave them drink as from the great deep.

16 He brought streams out of the cliff, *

and the waters gushed out like rivers.

17 But they went on sinning against him, *

rebelling in the desert against the Most High.

18 They tested God in their hearts, *

demanding food for their craving.

19 They railed against God and said, *

"Can God set a table in the wilderness?

20 True, he struck the rock, the waters gushed out, and the

gullies overflowed; *

but is he able to give bread

or to provide meat for his people?"

This morning’s Lesson gives us the day of battle — a moment at hand which calls on a people to rise up in defense of their nation or people, or values, or freedoms.

But the tribe of Ephraim did not come for the battle. Even armed with bows in their hands, they refused the fight. 

The Pslamist said it was a kind of fear, a timidity based upon amnesia. They had forgotten what all God had done before. So they lacked faith and had not courage. 

We all have some battle before us today. The Psalm is given us to remind us to be of good courage, to look down and see that we are armed, and to remember how God has fought our battles for us in times past. 

Now is not the time to loose heart. Now is the time to stand up. It is time to stand up for the cause of truth, and righteousness, and equality, and justice for all. Now is the time to see what is in our hands and bring it. 

A hymn text for today, written in 1845 by New England poet James Russell Lowell in protest against the Union’s annexation of yet another slave state, Texas:

Once to ev'ry man and nation 

Comes the moment to decide, 

In the strife of truth and falsehood, 

For the good or evil side; 

Some great cause, some great decision, 

Off'ring each the bloom or blight, 

And the choice goes by forever 

'Twixt that darkness and that light. 

2 Then to side with truth is noble, 

When we share her wretched crust, 

Ere her cause bring fame and profit, 

And 'tis prosperous to be just; 

Then it is the brave man chooses 

While the coward stands aside. 

Till the multitude make virtue 

Of the faith they had denied. 

3 By the light of burning martyrs, 

Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track, 

Toiling up new Calv'ries ever 

With the cross that turns not back; 

New occasions teach new duties, 

Ancient values test our youth; 

They must upward still and onward, 

Who would keep abreast of truth. 

4 Tho' the cause of evil prosper, 

Yet the truth alone is strong; 

Tho' her portion be the scaffold, 

And upon the throne be wrong; 

Yet that scaffold sways the future, 

And, behind the dim unknown, 

Standeth God within the shadow, 

Keeping watch above His own.

Lesson for Veterans Day, November 11, 2019

Today’s Lesson comes from Psalm 80:

1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; 

shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.

2 In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, 

stir up your strength and come to help us.

3 Restore us, O God of hosts; 

show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

4 O Lord God of hosts, 

how long will you be angered

despite the prayers of your people?

5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; 

you have given them bowls of tears to drink.

6 You have made us the derision of our neighbors, 

and our enemies laugh us to scorn.

7 Restore us, O God of hosts; 

show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt; 

you cast out the nations and planted it.

.

9 You prepared the ground for it; 

it took root and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered by its shadow 

and the towering cedar trees by its boughs.

11 You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea 

and its branches to the River.

12 Why have you broken down its wall, 

so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?

13 The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, 

and the beasts of the field have grazed upon it.

14 Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven;

behold and tend this vine; 

preserve what your right hand has planted.

15 They burn it with fire like rubbish; 

at the rebuke of your countenance let them perish.

16 Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, 

the son of man you have made so strong for yourself.

17 And so will we never turn away from you; 

give us life, that we may call upon your Name.

18 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; 

show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

Today is Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor all those — living and dead — who have served our country in times of both war and peace. We give thanks and honor for their service and remember their sacrifices. America is greater for all its Veterans who have served their country and helped protect and defend its Constitution. 

The Lesson this morning is a prayer for a nation.  It is a psalm asking for God’s help and preservation in a time of trouble. 

The nation is in an uproar. And the Psalmist prays fervently:

“Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; 

show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.”

We, too, are in a time of uproar as a nation. We, too, pray to the Lord God of hosts for our salvation. The sacrifices made on behalf of our country and Constitution have been great. We pray now that they be not in vain, but in the psalmist’s words also ask God to:

“look down from heaven;

behold and tend this vine; 

preserve what you right hand has planted.”

Lord, hear our prayer. Amen. 

Revelation 15

5 After this I looked, and the temple of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6and out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, robed in pure bright linen, with golden sashes across their chests. 7Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever; 8and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended.

On Sunday we sang the magisterial hymn “For All the Saints” with the lines:

O blest communion, fellowship divine,

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine . . .

It was our reminder that that those saints who have departed are now free and at rest, but we on the other hand still have struggle ahead. 

It’s tempting to want to live in the age to come, and to be already at rest. Perfect rest sounds delightful right about now. So, too, does the end of all our disappointment — with our friends, families, cities, churches, and nation.

But there is still struggle ahead; and it’s both heresy and foolishness to believe that we can can, as the text from Revelation makes clear, enter the Temple without enduring our part of the plagues. 

So hold tight friends. Do not dismay and do not be front of heart. Don’t give up the struggle. Keep fighting the good fight. Endure. 

For the doors of the Temple are open; and in God’s own good time the righteous shall surely enter. 

A word for All Saints Day from Alice Walker:

The spirit of our helpers incarnates in us, making us more ourselves by extending us far beyond. And to that spirit there is no “beginning” as we know it (although we might finally know a historical figure who expressed it) and no end.  Always a hello, from the concerned spiritual ancestor you may not even know you had — but this could strike at any time. Never a good-bye. 

In preparation for participation in a community prayer meeting and public forum at Baker Chapel AME Church I have been revisiting Dr. King’s book “Where Do We Go from Here, Chaos or Community?” These words of Dr. King’s are as true today as they were when he wrote them in 1967:

“A true revolution of value will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. We are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside; but that will only be an initial act. One day the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be beaten and robbed as they make their journey through life. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it understands that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”

I remain in prayer for the family of Atatiana Jefferson and the entire City of Fort Worth. Yet I know thoughts and prayers are not enough. We must not only pray for, but also actively seek a deep change within ourselves, our community, and our society at-large. A major shift in both personal consciousness and also public policy is necessary.

The Baker Chapel meeting has been organized to this constructive end. The meeting will take place at 6pm Thursday. Several elected officials and local community leaders have agreed to take part. Dialogue will be encouraged. Courageous conversation will take place. This is how we go forward together from here.

In advance of the meeting, I encourage all to read the report from the Fort Worth Task Force on Race and Culture found at the link below. It is a blueprint for transforming the Jericho Road and truly making Fort Worth a safe and just city for all.


The Race and Culture Task Force report:
https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/5c58fc05-915b-4f0c-80c7-b5e764e5eac7/downloads/1ct8qi85p_463130.pdf

After the Amber Guyger Trial

Footage of Botham Jean’s younger brother, Brandt, forgiving Botham’s killer, Amber Guyger, in the sentencing phase of her trial has already been shared innumerous times; and the symbol of the two embracing in the center of the courtroom is powerful and moving for many us. It is a symbol of hope and healing. 

Yet at the same time, I know there are many who struggle to see this video shared so many times and with such ease. The simple sharing of the video thrusts many to a place of forgiveness, for which they are not ready. The journey of forgiveness is long and difficult. I am sure it is a journey Brandt Jean had to take and will continue to have to take for many years to come. The simple sharing of a video or telling of an anecdote in a sermon does not and cannot tell all the deeply complicated feelings forgiveness entails. This is why a woman whom I once pastored told me she had to forgive her childhood abuser 77 times 7 — 7 times a day for all her expected 77 years of life. Forgiveness is a long road, and truly lifetime work. 

Additionally, we have to think how in the sharing of this video we come to a point of resolution so quickly and then move on. It can be as if we then expect the whole world’s problems to be resolved in this one profound gesture of forgiveness. But not all is resolved. There is still profound pain in communities of color.  This pain comes from long centuries of violence and oppression. And there is still racism both consciously and unconsciously motivating and distorting the reason of so many white people — police included, me included.

These things do not change in one single act of forgiveness, however beautiful and loving. What we saw in Brandt Jean was a profound act of Christian mercy. But one singular trial and act of forgiveness cannot bring about reconciliation by itself. The Amber Guyger case breaks the dam of injustice and enmity. But the country will only change on whole when the whole justice system rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. That is a day we must keep working towards. 

White friends, rather than sharing the courtroom footage might I commend to you instead a poem written by Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho Tutu, which I think captures well the struggle so many people of color are living with today in wanting to forgive, but also wanting to no more be vulnerable or afraid.  It is titled “Prayer Before the Prayer”:

“I want to be willing to forgive.

But I dare not ask for the will to forgive,

In case you give it to me and I am not yet ready.

I am not yet ready for my heart to soften.

I am not yet ready to be vulnerable again.

Not yet ready to see that there is humanity in my tormentor’s eyes.

Or that the one who hurt me may also have cried.

I am not yet ready for the journey.

I am not yet interested in the path.

I am at the prayer before the prayer of forgiveness.

Grant me the will to”