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"Learning To Be the Light"

6/24/2021

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LISTEN: Newworldson, "Learning to be the Light," 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9g4ahTJGM4



 I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star" (Rev. 22:6) 
"
It is said that there are between 100 billion to 1 trillion galaxies in our universe. There are between 10 sextillion and 1 septillion stars.  Carl Sagan, the renowned scientist, reminds us that our bodies have basically the same composition as the stars (hydrogen and helium). The atoms of our bodies were once part of the stars. Sagan says:  "The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies. We're made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff."   We are children of the cosmos.
 
Without the stars, we would die.  Stars not only give us light and warmth, they provide a point of reference in the dark.  Explorers use the stars -- the underground railroad relied on the stars to find their way to freedom. 

The creation of light, and  the stars are in the first chapter of the bible.  
The last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22:1-5, tells us the only light necessary for us is God.  Jesus is the "Light of the World," the "Bright morning star." We are not only the by-product of stars, we are spiritual light. Our story is bookmarked by light.


It is easy for us to forget our true nature -- especially living in a City where it is impossible to see, every night, the magnitude of the star-lit sky. We need to be reminded. When we are truly ourselves, we shine, we model the path of spiritual freedom, and spiritual growth. Can a star help but shine?  The same is true for us.  As embodied star stuff, we are people of hope, a people of vision pointing the way to the true light, Christ. Don't let anyone, anything persuade  you otherwise. Remember who you are -- and let your light shine.


PRAY: "Bright Morning Light, you made us after yourself, you made for us to shine. Help me shine today, in word and deed, let me bring your light to others."

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Father's Day

6/24/2021

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Listen to:   Eric Clapton, "My Father's Eyes" 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bocDpFVhyDw
                           
Same title, different song:  Amy Grant, "My Father's Eyes"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGBLgJnORx8

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48)

Happy Father's Day. We express our appreciation for our fathers, or father figures in our life. It all began with  Sonora Smart Dodd, and her father, William Jackson Smart,  a single parent, Civil War veteran who reared his six children alone.  Sonora heard a sermon about Anna Jarvis (the inspiration for Mother's Day) and she felt dad's deserved their day too. However it wasn't until 1972 that Father's Day became an official holiday in the U.S.

    As Christians, Jesus  calls us to emulate the traits of our Heavenly Father (his "Abba" -- daddy). "Father" appears over 300 times in the New Testament, and was one of the key ways Jesus described his and our relationship with God. God the Father is merciful, compassionate, attentive to the needs of the least among us. We are to love our neighbor as much as the Father loves the Son: "I give you a new commandment—love one another just as 1 love you" (Jn. 13:34). "As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you" (Jn. 15:9). Through the practice of this love we are called to be perfect: not perfectionistic, but perfect - whole, complete, finished -- fully ourselves, as God means us to be. The more we walk the path of mercy, compassion, and forgiveness -- act with tolerance, patience and love as did the father in the parable of the prodigal son --the more whole we are, the more complete we are, the closer we are to be who we were created to be.

    To accomplish this, we are called to see ourselves, and see our world, (see our earthly dads) , through our Heavenly Father's eyes. The musician Eric Clapton, whose dad was pretty much absent from his life, began to see his father while gazing at his son (before his son's tragic death at the age of 4). It changed his life. It can change ours.

   Let us take the time to gaze into someone's eyes, and see in there our Heavenly Father.  Let us also see in there the invitation to walk the path  of spiritual wholeness, completeness and perfection.

    Happy (Heavenly) Father's Day!


PRAY:  "Heavenly Father, help me see the world through your eyes of unconditional love. Help me walk the path of perfection."


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"I Can Do All Things..."

6/24/2021

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For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength (Phil. 4:13) 

Listen:  Matthew West, Strong Enough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knuHDPbE5es



 "What we have to remember is that we can still do anything," Marina Keegan wrote to fellow Yale University graduates. "... We can't, we must not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it's all we have."

Not too long after writing those lines for her school newspaper, Marina died in a car accident. Before her death, she was planning to move to Brooklyn, to continue her life as a writer and play-write. 
​

Thanks to the internet, Marina's last words have been read, as far away as Asia.  
Marina's words to her fellow students can apply to us as well: "We're in this together. Let's make something happen to this world."

We all have heavy crosses to bear, from time to time.  Some of us, the unspeakable burden of loosing a child. Or heavy responsibilities at work -- church -- deadlines that are looming and we don't know how we're going to get there.  Conflicts we don't know how to resolve.  Another mass shooting that haunts us, wondering when it will ever end.
Scripture teaches us over and over again, that we can't do things on our own.  It is God's strength that carries us through the changes, hardships and transitions of life.  God is present to us in spirit. God is also present to us through the love and support of our friends and family.

Recently I had to attend a difficult meeting.  My stomach was in knots over it.  A friend of mine dropped everything, and insisted on going with me.  She waited in the lobby, hungry and thirsty as the meeting wore on.  It was a painful meeting, but I got through it, because of the love of God that worked through her actions. I knew I wasn't alone. It made all the difference in the world.

That's the kind of faith we are called to. That's the possibility we are called to reach for. That's what we can make happen in the world.

We have many heavy burdens to face as a church, as we transition out of COVID into a post-COVID world.  Let us be Christ for each other and carry the burdens together.  We can do this.  We are in this together! It is Christ who gives us strength.
 

PRAY:  "God, help me to lean on your strength in whatever I face.  Help me to give strength to others who need extra help."

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    Moirajo is a minister, social worker, wife, mother, writer and animal lover. That's just for starters. Join the story, there's so much we can share together! 

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