Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Devotional 11-24-11

As I pondered on what to write for a Thanksgiving devotional, I came across this beautiful prayer by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This prayer of Thanks is so welcoming because of all the negative press we have been hearing about regarding unemployment, stock market crashes, Wall Street protestors throughout the world, bankruptcy for both the United States and Europe, selfishness and greed by us, as we well as our Government officials, or violence if one does not get his/her way.

Some of us have forgotten about GOD and the beauty around us, which He gave to everyone through HIS goodness and grace. For this reason, this prayer spoke to me and hopefully will speak to you as well. Let us give thanks to God and concentrate on the goodness of one’s faith.

WE THANK THEE

For flowers that bloom about our feet Father,
we thank Thee.
For tender grass so fresh, so sweet Father,
we thank Thee.
For the song of bird and hum of bee
For all things fair we hear or see
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

For blue of stream and blue of sky
Father, we thank Thee.
For pleasant shade of branches high,
Father, we thank Thee.
For fragrant air and cooling breeze
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For this new morning with its light.
Father, we thank Thee
For rest and shoulder of the night
Father, we Thank Thee
For health and food, for love and friends
For everything Thy goodness sends,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gisela E. Kemper

Friday, November 18, 2011

Devotionl 11-18-11

Risk, Fear and What’s Buried in the Backyard

It’s funny how we go into a class or hear a sermon and say to ourselves (or perhaps a pew mate) “I don’t like that scripture.”  Why don’t we like it?  Is it confusing?  Is it too harsh?  Does it hit too close to home?  My New Testament scripture for this devotional is the third in a parable trifecta.  First the bridesmaids and the oil, then the Master with the three servants and their talents and now the sheep and the goats.

Some of the bridesmaids should have planned better.  Not sure why the goats are singled out.  It’s the second of the three that I’m stuck on.  As lessons and sermons unwrapped this passage, I don’t think I heard anyone say, “Yep, that’s my favorite.  I have that one framed and mounted in the living room.” A lot of what I heard and read (blogs and comments) about this parable centered around risk.  Did the Master expect his servants to take a risk?  Some say yes, others have said absolutely not – it was only the end result that was important. Why are we reluctant to risk?  Fear?  Fear of what?  Failure?  Embarrassment?  As a young elementary schooler, I was a spirited pre-teen (not a chatty little kid – hey, I’m writing this).  One day in class, without knowing it, I had become, in this particular teacher’s view, too disruptive with my socializing.  She called me up to her desk.  In those days a teacher’s authority was absolute and not be questioned.  When I arrived desk-side, she proceeded to place what I thought was a hugely wide piece of sticky tape across my mouth.  It spanned from my nose to my chin and with no seep to chance, blocked the pie hole from which the disturbance emanated.   If that wasn’t enough, she made me sit in a chair beside her desk and FACE my classmates.  Embarrassed?  I’m not sure we have a word…  My tiny soul was embarrassed to the very core of its being.  That little episode would follow (haunt) me for years to come.  I would spend the rest of my school years not exactly running away but certainly not volunteering for any role that would place me in position to suffer a similar fate - embarrassment.  I’m not sure I could really even focus on the task and say that failure bothered me.  It was that failure may lead to more ‘sticky tape.’

Years later, after joining JM, I was asked to be moderator of our Sunday School class.  I still don’t know to this day what led me say yes – but I did.  I called Kim and said, “You’ll never believe what I said I would do.”  And I told her.  She said, “Oh, you will be fine.”  I protested, “But you know how much I hate to talk in front of people.”  Her reply, as clear today as it was then, “They aren’t people; they are our Sunday School class.”

The church is our support group to risk.  Together we are greater than the sum of our parts.  I firmly believe that God expects us to risk.  I believe that the Master in the parable expected risk. After all, he scolded the one for not investing with the bankers.  If it were that easy, he could have dropped the money by the bank on his way out of town.  Do we really think God couldn’t feed, cloth, visit anyone He wanted to - WITHOUT us?  He calls us to serve.  And yes, that involves risk.  I heard a sermon recently that dealt with leaving our comfort zone.  Staying sequestered in a nice comfy place where everything is known isn’t what gets God out there. Maybe you risk by taking a sandwich to a person who looks hungry.  They take one bite, say, “Yuck, I don’t like peanut butter” and throw it away.  You risked and got put down for it.  What if no one had ever offered food or help to that person?  You were the first.  They see something in you that they’ve never seen before: love, God. You may be the only Jesus someone sees today.

I don’t claim to have any particular talent. Only a willing heart.  If I leave my willing heart sitting in chair beside the teacher’s desk with tape over its mouth, then that makes me the servant who buried the talent in the backyard.

Psalm 100 says: 
Make a Joyful Noise >>> nothing about being in tune
Worship the Lord with gladness >>>nothing about things always going your way
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise >>> nothing about ‘only after you have formally learned how to pray.’
For the Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. >>>

Friday, November 11, 2011

Devotional 11-11-11


The Parable of the “Good” Steward?

Please read Matthew 25:14-30.

We typically call this parable “the Parable of the Talents.”  We like labels, but whatever label we may put on it, it is a parable of Jesus that cannot be confined by a label.  It is a parable about money.  It falls conveniently in the Lectionary during November, also known as Stewardship Season, and so we have all heard sermons about the “good” stewards who doubled their master’s money and were rewarded, and the “bad” steward who buried his talent.  Since the parable in English translations uses the word, “talent,” we get another meaning from the parable not to hide our God-given gifts and talents.  And we hope that everyone will know we are really talking about money. 

This is a parable about money—a lot of money.  Let’s try to get some perspective on just how much was at stake for these three slaves.  Never mind that a talent was a silver coin that weighed 60 or 70 pounds.  Each talent was worth about 6000 denarii; a denarius was the average worker’s daily wage.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average daily wage for All Occupations in West Virginia in 2010 was $136.00.  By today’s standards in West Virginia, then, a talent would have been worth over $800,000.  The master had a portfolio that was worth roughly $6.4 million.  When he left, he diversified it among three of his slaves.  The first got $4 million, the second $1.6 million, and the third $800 thousand.  The first two each actively traded the investment and ultimately doubled his money; the third took a more conservative approach and preserved the principal amount.  So when the master returned, his $6.4 million was worth $12 million.

In my work at the United Methodist Foundation, I have used this parable as an illustration.  There is an easy interpretation that this parable promotes investing and discourages preservation at the expense of lost opportunity.  We generally think of the master as representing the figure of God, right?  It is certainly different from the typical portrait of God as gracious, merciful, and abounding in steadfast love.  The parable presents a downright harsh description of the master, when you think about it.  The master is shown as absent, harsh, and concerned only about maximizing wealth.  Did Jesus mean that character to represent God?  Is the common interpretation the only way to look at Jesus’ parable?

This parable is open-ended and invites different interpretations.  As with any parable, we bring our own context and understanding to the reading.  Our Western minds, trained by our worldview, automatically think of the first two slaves as the heroes.  They are the ones who took risks and produced a good return.  And to us, that is a good thing.  However, it has been suggested by some that the original audience would have heard it quite differently. For example:

“The social-economic situation in which Jesus told this parable benefited only the small ruling elite. It was a system that concentrated wealth in a few hands, a society where the poor became poorer, and the rich became richer.  Even though poor Jews hated exploiters, since financial profit was attached to being a rich man’s steward, many accepted to serve the rich, and some even aligned with these exploiters. I look at the parable of the talents as a critique of this situation.”[1]

When viewed from within that context, the audience would question how the first two slaves could have earned a profit of 100% absent usury or some other form of exploitation or dishonesty.  The central character of the parable, the third servant, is seen as the hero of the story because he does not collaborate with the other two to further exploit the poor.  Like a modern-day whistle-blower, he stands up to his master and refuses to cooperate with him, knowing that the master is harsh and cruel.  By refusing to be a part of the system, he becomes the “good” steward and suffers the consequences by being thrown into the outer darkness. 

The literary context of the parable is also important. Because of its placement, it can be seen as a contrast between the kingdom of earth and the kingdom of heaven.  “The parable of the talents thus shows that in this world, rich people exploit and praise fellow exploiters. The rich become richer and the poor poorer. But it is not so in the kingdom of God.”[2]

Interestingly, the story that immediately follows this parable is the judgment parable where the sheep are separated from the goats, (Matt. 25:25-40).  There, we learn that we visit Jesus by feeding the hungry, by giving drink to the thirsty, by welcoming the stranger, by clothing the naked, by caring for the sick, and by visiting those in prisons. In other words, we meet Jesus beyond the margins, in places of pain and suffering—perhaps in the very outer darkness into which the “good” steward was thrown!

Jeff Taylor 




[1] Folarin, G. O. (2008). The parable of the talents in the African context: an inculturation hermeneutics approach. Asia Journal Of Theology, 22(1), 94-106, at 99.

[2] Id., at 104.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Devotional 11-4-11

“Get Ready—Stay Ready”
Lectionary Readings: Joshua 24:1-3 & 14-25; Psalms 78; 1 Thessalonians 2: 13-18; Matthew 25:1-13
“1At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise.” “13Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Matthew 25

Have you ever missed an important event in your life? I once missed my friend’s birthday party because I had not paid attention to the date and completely forgot about the event. I missed out on the fun and celebration of the event, plus I felt that I had greatly disappointed my friend. I had not properly prepared for a significant event in my friend’s life and created a situation that led to the need to ask for her forgiveness. I let trivial worldly activities interfere with a relationship between friends.

In the parable found in Matthew, Jesus was telling his disciples about preparations for a wedding. What a joyous occasion a wedding was in Jesus’ time. The whole community helped with planning and carrying out the traditions and rituals. One of the key events in the celebration was when the bridegroom came to move the bride to their new home. The move was usually accompanied by a “parade” of community well-wishers. In the parable, Jesus relates that the bridegroom was delayed, but when he finally is on the way all were alerted and moved out to meet him. Those who were prepared had enough oil on hand to handle the delay; those who did not buy extra oil have run out and must go and purchase more oil. The message is that one must always be prepared for Jesus’ return. We should strive to avoid the world’s distractions—we must daily “get ready” by confessing our sins and asking God to lead and guide us through our journey. We must persevere with our daily walk and endure life’s trials. The blessing of a grace-filled relationship with Christ will be our reward.

Our adult choir will be singing “Keep Your Lamps” by Andre Thomas this Sunday morning. As with many of the slave songs, this song's impetus came from hearing a sermon based upon the parable found in the book of Matthew, chapter 25, verses 1-13. As a response to the message of this parable, one can only imagine the song stirring from the soul of one slave listener. Jesus was indeed deliverer and a hope for the slave. One can only speculate that this song was sung often, when there was a possibility of deliverance. (You can select from several choirs singing it on You Tube by searching for the title of the song.) Here are the lyrics: 

"Keep Your Lamps”
by Andre Thomas
Keep your lamps trimmed and burning
Keep your lamps trimmed and burning
Keep your lamps trimmed and burning
The time is drawing nigh.

Children, don’t get weary
Children, don’t get weary
Children, don’t get weary
‘til your work is done.

Christian, journey soon be over
Christian, journey soon be over
Christian, journey soon be over
The time is drawing nigh
What are you doing in your daily walk to prepare for your future? Perhaps you are being called to increase your study time. Perhaps it’s your prayer life that needs attention and improvement. Perhaps you are being called to a ministry that is outside your comfort zone or to continue and improve a current ministry. Are you being asked to give up a habit that is a burden to your relationship with God? Whatever the call, you are encouraged by the words of the anthem to not grow weary until your work is done.

Oh God, our strong deliverer: We confess that we do not always follow where you lead. We are not always ready to follow your guidance or work to improve our relationship with you and with others. We have been lax in our preparations and have failed to honor promises that we have made to you. Please forgive us and help us to improve. We thank you for the many messages sent to inspire and encourage us. Help us to heed those messages and to turn from our foolish ways. AMEN

Chyrl Budd