STEPHEN’S MEALS ON WHEELS

The Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God…to wait on tables… (Therefore) choose seven men…known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom… (and) turn this responsibility over to them….” Acts 6:2-4

 

According to Wikipedia.com, Meals On Wheels originated in the United Kingdom during the World War II bombing raids, when many people lost their homes and were unable to cook. The program has been replicated worldwide, including in the United States. Meals on Wheels America is the oldest and largest national organization, serving more than five thousand community-based senior nutrition centers. Many sources support the program, including the Older Americans Act. Meals are delivered to shut-ins and seniors, often by other able-bodied seniors, offering nutrition as well as social contact. The program saves money by allowing many to stay at home rather than residing in expensive care centers.

 

The early Christians had their own “meals on wheels” program in Jerusalem. After Pentecost, the Disciples helped the new believers organize a communal living program. Acts 6 says a conflict arose between the Jews who still followed older Jewish culture and Greeks who emulated their own language and culture. The Greeks felt their widows were not receiving their proper allotment of food. So the Twelve proposed a solution: Stephen, “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (v. 5) was chosen along with six other men, blessed by the Twelve, and assumed responsibility for feeding all the widows. This probably did not mean that Stephen and the Six Sous Chefs whipped up tuna salad sandwiches and fruit cups and delivered them to these dear women. In fact, according to Jack Levison in his book, 40 Days With The Holy Spirit, the men were not chosen for their culinary talents, but rather because they were “full of the Spirit and wisdom” (v. 3). The task of ensuring healthy food for everyone was deemed so important that only good men with great integrity ought to administer the program. (Plus the men had probably never cooked a meal in their lives.)

 

Wouldn’t it be nice if we still treated our elderly and marginalized citizens with that much honor and integrity? I believe the Holy Spirit would want us to!

 

Caring Lord, kindle in our hearts a desire to serve the underserved. Amen

THE PEOPLE CAME LAST

So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing…(and) every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:21

 

Sometimes, I can read the same passage in the Bible over dozens of times and miss an entire point until one day it smacks me in the face. That happened yesterday at church, when our pastor preached a special sermon for Earth Day. In speaking about the creation of this world, the pastor pointed out, rather casually, that the people came last. What?!? I had never thought about that before. But it’s true. In the first chapter of Genesis, God begins His little project by creating light and dark and separating the two into morning and evening (vs.3-5). From there, He moves on to separate the waters and the sky; then comes land. Then vegetation was fashioned, along with two great lights, the sun and the moon (vs. 9-12, 14-18). Next came all the “creatures” of the earth, every kind of living thing on land and in the water and in the sky (vs. 20-25). After each of these steps, what did God say? He said that everything He had crafted so far was “good.” And so far, He hadn’t even talked about creating “mankind in (His) image.” Surprise! It suddenly dawned on me that it didn’t take human beings to declare what was “good.” God had “honored” all of His creation and deemed it worthy before He put humans into the mix (vs. 26-27). No wonder we celebrate Earth Day!

 

Fast forward to our current political climate in the United States, where there is a battle being waged in the once hallowed halls of the Environmental Protection Agency. On the offensive is an EPA Director who, under the direction of the President’s office, has dismantled literally hundreds of regulations put in place by previous administrations in an effort to protect the environment. The battle is literally being waged between two factions: science and truth, and lies and big business. In Genesis 1:28-30, God gives human beings dominion over all of His creation, but He intended for us to care for the Earth and not destroy it. That’s a point none of us should miss.

 

Creating God, You gave us a beautiful planet to live on and we are commanded to care for it. Amen

ACQUIRED PRAYER SYNDROME

Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8

 

“Acquired savant syndrome” is a condition that seems to result from head trauma. In approximately ninety known cases, ordinary people who get klunked on the head are suddenly endowed with a special talent they never displayed before. One person began to play the piano like a virtuoso. Another, a mediocre math student in school suddenly solved complex equations. Still others could recall every detail of their lives almost from the day they were born, or they created stunning works of art—even though these talents were never expressed or even of interest before they sustained the head trauma.

 

This sudden acquisition of unknown skills has also been documented in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. One theory is that the new talents emerge when parts of the brain which used to inhibit latent talents are ravaged by disease or injury, thus allowing the individual to access aptitudes that were hidden all along. I pitched off my cousin’s back porch last summer and split my head open. I’m still waiting for my special talents to emerge, but so far all I have is a nasty scar.

 

Reading about this phenomenon made we wonder about the power of prayer. Why do some people seem able to enter into deep, contemplative, productive prayer and truly feel they communicate individually with God, while others (like me) skirt around the practice of prayer with all the grace of a rhinoceros on an ice rink? What is it about mystics and those living a cloistered life of faith that allow them to have visions and hear succinct messages from the Holy of Holies? (Besides the fact that these folks shut up and listen more than the average believer!)

 

Jesus said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move” (Matthew 17:20). What if Christians adopted the premise that we could call forth this “acquired prayer syndrome” (without the head trauma, please), and we really believed God would deliver? How would our lives change? What would be the result of these “super prayers?” If that happened, in the words of author Annie Dillard, “The (church) ushers should issue life preservers…signal flares…lash us to our pews.” Look out, world!

 

Mighty God, grant us “super prayer powers!” Amen

TRIGGERED

When I think about this, I am terrified; trembling seizes my body. Job 21:6

 

As a sexual violence survivor, I choose to learn something new about of sexual violence each year. Last year, I learned about sex trafficking by inviting a friend to a viewing of the 2011 documentary “Nefarious: Merchant of Souls,” written, directed and produced by Benjamin Nolot. The film chronicles human trafficking in the United States, Eastern and Western Europe, and Southeast Asia. Several survivors spoke of their conversion to Christianity, clearly leading to their personal healing. To punctuate the narrative and interviews in the documentary, re-enactments were dispersed throughout.

 

Over four decades ago, I was brutally raped at gunpoint in the mountains of Colorado. The perpetrator then revealed a chain hidden in a bag. He said he was going to chain me to a tree. I did not believe in God then, but these words came out of my mouth” “In the name of God, don’t do this to me!” To my great surprise, the man nearly collapsed in front of me. I had clearly hit a nerve. The attacker ran away, releasing me from possibly dying alone in the forest. Later, I laid my life down at the foot of the cross of Christ and never looked back.

 

I was shocked, after all those years, to be “triggered” when a ten-second re-enactment during “Nefarious” flashed the image of a woman being chained to a tree by a perpetrator. I nearly landing in my friend’s lap. I recovered quickly, but the message was clear: after all these years, the fear still resided deep inside my mind. Fortunately, I was able to continue watching the film. But the incident was a stark reminder of the trauma survivors carry with us for the rest of our lives. Too many sexual violence perpetrators are never caught, never face trial, and never suffer any consequences for their horrific actions. But their victims are “sentenced” to lives of pain, fear, shame, guilt, and yes, often “flashbacks,” for a crime they did not commit. For this reason, we must continue to support programs that provide real help for survivors, including crisis intervention, counseling, legal help and ongoing prevention efforts to stem the tide and—yes—one day eliminate sexual violence in our society.

 

Gentle Lord, watch over those who have experienced trauma and keep them safe from further harm. Amen

 

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Join Meg in supporting programs designed to provide realistic services for survivors of sexual violence. Visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center website at https://www.nsvrc.org/ to learn ways you can help.

TRIGGERED!

When I think about this, I am terrified; trembling seizes my body. Job 21:6

 

As a sexual violence survivor, I choose to learn something new about of sexual violence each year. Last year, I learned about sex trafficking by inviting a friend to a viewing of the 2011 documentary “Nefarious: Merchant of Souls,” written, directed and produced by Benjamin Nolot. The film chronicles human trafficking in the United States, Eastern and Western Europe, and Southeast Asia. Several survivors spoke of their conversion to Christianity, clearly leading to their personal healing. To punctuate the narrative and interviews in the documentary, re-enactments were dispersed throughout.

 

Over four decades ago, I was brutally raped at gunpoint in the mountains of Colorado. The perpetrator then revealed a chain hidden in a bag. He said he was going to chain me to a tree. I did not believe in God then, but these words came out of my mouth” “In the name of God, don’t do this to me!” To my great surprise, the man nearly collapsed in front of me. I had clearly hit a nerve. The attacker ran away, releasing me from possibly dying alone in the forest. Later, I laid my life down at the foot of the cross of Christ and never looked back.

 

I was shocked, after all those years, to be “triggered” when a ten-second re-enactment during “Nefarious” flashed the image of a woman being chained to a tree by a perpetrator. I nearly landing in my friend’s lap. I recovered quickly, but the message was clear: after all these years, the fear still resided deep inside my mind. Fortunately, I was able to continue watching the film. But the incident was a stark reminder of the trauma survivors carry with us for the rest of our lives. Too many sexual violence perpetrators are never caught, never face trial, and never suffer any consequences for their horrific actions. But their victims are “sentenced” to lives of pain, fear, shame, guilt, and yes, often “flashbacks,” for a crime they did not commit. For this reason, we must continue to support programs that provide real help for survivors, including crisis intervention, counseling, legal help and ongoing prevention efforts to stem the tide and—yes—one day eliminate sexual violence in our society.

 

Gentle Lord, watch over those who have experienced trauma and keep them safe from further harm. Amen

 

 

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Join Meg in supporting programs designed to provide realistic services for survivors of sexual violence. Visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center website at https://www.nsvrc.org/ to learn ways you can help.

GET OUT OF JAIL FREE

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. Mark 16:4

 

The popular board game Monopoly has a rich and varied history. Originally conceived in 1903 by American Elizabeth Magie as a teaching tool to explain the negative aspects of private monopolies, the game changed forms and rules many times over the years. In the 1930’s, Charles Darrow learned of the game and began marketing it as his own. When Monopoly enjoyed record sales, the Parker Brothers bought the copyrights. But after learning Darrow was not the sole inventor, Parker also bought the rights to Magie’s patent.

 

Besides moving game pieces around the Monopoly board and “purchasing” properties arranged in increasingly expensive “neighborhoods,” players draw instruction cards from one of two decks. The “Get Out Of Jail Free” card may be used by a player who has landed on the “Go To Jail” space or draws another instruction card saying “Go To Jail.” The “Get Out Of Jail” card can be held until the player needs it, or it may be sold to another player. Without the card, the player must wait three turns, or roll doubles with the dice plus pay a $50 fine.  It’s not a good monopoly move to draw the card that says, “Go To Jail, Go Directly To Jail. Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200.”

 

It was no “game” when the religious leaders of Jesus’ day wanted him put to death. Even Jesus’ own disciples betrayed and denied Him in His last hours. But they didn’t know that Jesus had something better than a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card: He had a divine “Conquer Death” card, which was the power He used to stand up and roll that mighty stone away and walk right out of that tomb. This was all part of the beautiful plan. In God’s Monopoly game, the ones who really have the “Get Out Of Jail Free” card are us believers. Thanks to Jesus’ act of dying so each of us could have righteousness with God through His blood, we can be free of whatever “jails” we find ourselves in. We are no longer imprisoned by sin and death because Jesus freed us with His act of love.

 

Jesus, thank You for coming so that we might be winners of Your grace, redemption and forgiveness! Amen