The story of Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem when he was twelve years old, is a signal story. It’s more than a children’s story, for here we show a glimpse of a developmental moment in the life of the son of God. At this three day long moment we can witness the beginnings of Jesus’ passion for worship: Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be in my Father’s house? (Luke 2:49)

In the Old Testament, perfect worship occurred at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem when the priests installed the ark of the Covenant in the holy of holies, and then had to withdraw, for the cloud of God’s presence filled the temple. (1 Kings 8:11)

As a grown man with twelve disciples, Jesus talked to a woman by a well in Samaria. Worship was the subject: “Believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. The time is coming and has now come when true worshipers will worship God the Father in the Spirit and in the truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit and His worshipers must warship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:21-23)

When Jesus visited the temple in Jerusalem with his disciples, he was dismayed at the buying and selling that was filling the building. His angry response was a rare occasion that revealed his personal attachment to the place he once called his Father’s house: When Jesus visited the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. “It is written, he said to them, ‘My house will be a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.” ( Luke 19:45) Jesus’ passion for the house of the worship of his Father, the house that was a tangible link to God, was apparent when he watched a widow drop two small coins into the treasury, knowing it was all the money that she had: “Truly I tell you this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” (Mark 12:43)

Jesus knew that worship was his link to his Father, and that real worship was the only hope for his people to have a relationship with God. By the time he spoke with the Samaritan woman, Jesus knew that real worship was not confined to the temple or to any other place. Instead, he talked about a Spirit that is in us that is recognized by God, for it is His Spirit as well. When God looks at us and recognizes the Spirit of His son in us, we have achieved worship, for this was the passion of Jesus.

Love in Him,

Prue

“From now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.(Luke 22:68) These are the words of Jesus when he stood In front of the chief priests and teachers of the law, accused of claiming to be the Messiah. From there he was sent to Pilate, then to Herod, then back to Pilate before he was crucified.

A short time after Jesus’ death and resurrection a follower of his, Stephen, was stoned to death for proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah. At the scene of Steven’s stoning he looked up and received a mission of Jesus : “Look! He said, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God! (Acts7:56) The author of Hebrews wrote this: When this priest (Jesus) had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10:12)

It may seem insignificant whether Jesus stands or sits at God’s right hand, but I think that to Steven it meant something important. It meant that Jesus was intensely interested in Steven’s ordeal, and that he even honored Steven in Steven’s martyrdom . Jesus stood up to honor Steven in his death. That Jesus should sit at God’s right hand was intended as the ultimate honor for him, but for Jesus to stand up at Steven’s death is also a very great honor for Steven. Jesus’ standing displayed to a band of believers the unique bond between Jesus and his followers.

No longer are God’s commandments and His ways messages to a whole nation, but intensely personal communications between Jesus, son of God, and those he calls his “ friends”, and “brothers”. At the Last Supper, Jesus expressed his love for the disciples : I no longer call you servants. . . Instead I have called you friends. (John 15:15) On the day of his resurrection he told Mary Magdalene, “ Go to my brothers and tell them that I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17)

I believe that Jesus stands up whenever he sees a sacrifice from one of his own brothers or sisters. I believe that he rejoices when his believers display their love for him in spite of hardships and dangers. I believe we have a Savior who is our brother.

Love in Him,

Prue

The reason that the church marks the days of the birth and the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ with services of equal devotion is that each of them is a salutary medicine for us, because he was born so that we might be born again, and he died that we might live forever. ( St. Augustine , sermon 314)

Three weeks ago the Christmas catalogs began to arrive in my mailbox as a “salutary “announcement” that the holiday season has arrived. None of the catalogs made mention of the Author of Christmas, but the signal was sent to start now to embellish the celebration by spending as much as possible.

Nevertheless, in spite of the secularization of the holidays, Christmas and Easter remain essentially religious for Christians. Sometimes a speaker can be heard to say that Christmas would be meaningless without Easter; but then I remember the “salutary medicine” of St. Augustine, and I know that God doesn’t do meaningless things at any time in His relationships with His people, or at any other time. His medicine is always healing, always renewing.

On no other occasion in the Bible did God empty His heaven of angels to celebrate anything in the history of His people, except at the birth of His son. It was a huge salutary medicine applied to an obscure group of shepherds that changed their lives, and over two thousand years later continues to change ours. At Christmas God put on human flesh and entered our fallen world, making a permanent change in the lives of believers. The enormity of this event is cloaked in simplicity, humility, and obedience. It is shaped by God in the measure of His attachment to His people, and the readiness in the souls of Joseph and Mary to identify themselves with the God of the Old Testament.

One day in early spring my eight year old grandson asked me, “Mimi, have you ever had a Christmas feeling when it wasn’t even Christmas?” “Yes,”I answered, I have had such a feeling.” “Because I’m having one right now,” said Isaac. We were sitting on our patio watching some birds.

The salutary medicine of Christmas really does extend throughout the year. It can’t be compared to Easter, because they are both participants in the wholeness of God, the medicine we all need.

Love in Him,

Prue

Believe. Faith is a great hold-all, a great jar in which you can receive a great gift. Get a jar ready for yourself, because you have to approach a great spring. What does it mean, get it ready? Let your faith grow, let it be enlarged, let it become strong, don’t let your faith be slimy and muddy; let your faith be fired, not shattered, by the tribulations of this world. (St. Augustine, sermon 339)

In this short paragraph St. Augustine wrote of things with which we all struggle, even as our faith grows, we struggle with what seems a growing gap between today’s world and the world of the Scripture, of Moses, Elijah, Jesus, and Paul. Augustine lived through the first great sack of Rome ( 410 AD), when Christians questioned their faith and the will of God in the face of apparent chaos and catastrophic destruction. Augustine was a bishop at the time, living and ministering at Hippo, in northern Africa. Many Christians from Rome escaped to Africa and many asked Augustine , “Where was our God in the midst of such devastation and catastrophic loss?” Augustine sometimes preached to address these questions from his people. His advice to “let your faith be fired, not shattered” resonated then and it resonates in every generation in times of confusion beyond our control.

His message reaffirms that Christians have a connection with the only One who does have control, and through faith we can approach the “great spring” to have that faith grow in us such that awesome adversities become growers of our faith, and not defeaters of our spirits: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us…neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of Good that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-36)

Today more than ever we need the “great Jar” to be filled with faith for confronting the many uncertainties in our world. The “great jar” is an open heart that desires to be filled by God for the peace that passes understanding. (Philippians 4:7), a peace that only He can give and that enables our faith to be “fired” instead of becoming “slimy or muddy.” Augustine wanted his devastated people not to turn inward and despair, but to fill up on the Spirit of Christ and know that faith can grow, and even be enlarged and even become strong. I need this message every day.

Love in Him,

Prue

This summer’s fauns have outgrown their spots and are leaping and playing in the cooler weather around Possum Kingdom Lake. A family that lives year-round near the lake feeds the deer, and so they have multiplied and and stayed in the area. The fauns are especially fun to watch as they play together. Their thin legs look almost too fragile to support their little bodies. Though they are quite bold, they can and do run very fast for cover if we get too close. Most of their activity seems to be for sheer fun, curiosity, and fellowship. Sometimes their gracefulness and beauty take my breath away.

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds; and God saw that it was good. ( Genesis 1:25)

Many centuries after God created the animals and called them “good,” a man after God’s heart also saw goodness in nature. David wrote, As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul pants for God, for the living God. ( Psalm 42:1-2) David saw the deer as an inspiration in his psalm, of his own yearning for the “living water” that God alone supplies. I believe that at the Creation God knew and intended that we would, like David, find a reminder of our invisible God in His creatures.

The deer find their way into other scriptures as well: Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.”( Song of Solomon 2:9)

In the Old Testament, deer were some of the “clean” animals that the Hebrews were allowed to hunt and eat. They have been food for human beings since the fall, but their appeal is in the reminder they display of the work of creation, and the Father who loves them even more than we do.

The deer at the lake stare at me as I stare at them, and then with a flick of their tail they wheel and dash away. They’re not really tame deer, but they are accustomed to the presence of people as long as we keep a certain distance. They have no idea of what an inspiration they are to me, but their Maker knows.

Love in Him,

Prue

My great Aunt Fish owned and operated a tea house in the small upstate New York farming village of Otego for several years. At some time or other nearly all of her female family members, including my mother, were employed at the tea house. It was a popular place for people to come for Sunday dinner. The specialties were fried chicken and steaks. Customers came up from New York City for Sunday dinner and the famous chocolate cake with a four inch high meringue icing. Auntie Fish’s pies were legendary.

The tea House was an oasis of good food set in the midst of a community of family dairy farms and rolling hills. I never saw the house while my great aunt owned it, but I was raised on stories of the place, and recipes that I still enjoy.

The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert; His righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. (Isaiah 32:18)

That small town seemed to me to be an “undisturbed place of rest” whenever we visited it. We had grandparents and cousins and friends who were their neighbors, and it was always a welcoming place to visit. My family was treated like natives; it was always a joy to hear my parents say, “We’re going to Otego.”

When I finally read the book of Isaiah for myself I was surprised that the writer must have had a place like Otego in his mind when he wrote of quietness and confidence, of fertile fields and peace , and I thought that God surely loves the things that we love, and looks with joy on many of the things that bring us joy.
In the tumult of today’s world it’s hard to find confidence and peace, not to mention quietness and rest; but knowing that these things are in the heart of God, and that He desires them for His people, draws me more and more to Him. It’s still possible to take a drive and see the fertile fields, to witness a breathtaking sunset and a peaceful sunrise; and to know that these things are His gift to us.

Auntie Fish finally sold the tea house, and gained fame when she went to work for a department store in a near by city. She made pies for their lunch counter. It is said in our family that in one day around Christmas Auntie Fish baked one hundred pies, mostly apple.

Love in Him,
Prue

When a man believes with all his understanding that he will not die before he is raptured into heaven, he has one expectation of life, very different from one who does believe that he will die, and in fact that it will be a very uncomfortable death. St. Paul was both of those men. We who are still alive will be caught up together with those in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

(1 T Thessalonians 4;17) Later in his ministry Paul knew that in fact he would not be spared the death of a martyr: I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:20-22)

Paul was a man of contrasts. Before his conversion he was a merciless pursuer of Christians, and held the garments of those who were stoning Steven to death. Steven was a disciple who was preaching the Gospel of Christ. Only a few years later Paul wrote one of the most enduring definitions of love ever written. He wrote 1 Corinthians 13, that ends with , And now abide faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love. The man who could hardly have acknowledged such a thing as love became the great definer of love. This would be a total mystery except for the presence of the Spirit of Christ living in Paul.

To me an even greater mystery is Paul’s saying that for him, “death is gain”, when he has earlier believed that his very real relationship with the risen Christ would preempt death for himself altogether. When he knew the truth, he never withdrew, but actually grew in faith: Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready, not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 21:13)

If there were no other evidence in the whole New Testament of the existence of the risen Christ, the life of Paul could suffice to reveal the Living God present in the soul of a human being, simply by the changes wrought in Paul and the fruit of those changes. Finally, Paul wrote: For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:6-7) Amen and Amen.

Love in Him,

Prue

The story of Hannah from the first book of Samuel in the Bible is the story of a woman whose life held little to envy. She was the second wife of her husband, whose first wife was the mother of both sons and daughters. Though Hannah’s husband loved her, she had no hope of a future when Peninnah, the first wife ridiculed her for being childless.

It was out of this need that Hannah, after fulfilling the annual obligations of worship and sacrifice at Shiloh, was prompted in her misery and need to take a direct and personal appeal to the God of Israel and pray for a son to be born to her. The God of the Hebrews was worshiped ritually, and faithfully, but apparently very seldom personally and passionately. So seldom was private, personal prayer displayed in Israel that Eli,the high priest, seeing Hannah in earnest prayer, mistook it for drunkenness in her. Hannah prayed, “ Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery, and remember me and not forget your servant, but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” Her lips moved, but she made no sound. (1Samuel1:11) Such a heartfelt prayer had not been witnessed by Eli, a window into the spiritual condition of the Hebrew people at that time. The priceless covenant relationship of the Hebrew people from the patriarchs and the Exodus had begun to sink into ritual: In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. (1 Samuel 3:1)

In such a time as this, one young woman took her need directly to the God she had heard of , the God who had brought Israel out of Egypt and had spoken to her people through Moses. Out of her desperation came a faith that dared to claim God’s covenant relationship as her own, and she was heard. After her prayer, Her face was no longer downcast. (1Samuel 1:18) Hannah did not get up from her prayer pregnant, but the most important transaction had taken place. In faith she had placer her anguish and grief in the only hands that could relieve her. Even Eli could see the truth in Hannah: Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him. ( 1Samuel 1:17) Hannah had no model for her prayer. The wonderful psalms of David had not yet been written. She relied entirely on her faith that God could and would hear her.

In this faith, Hannah is a prefigure of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Different as were the times in which they lived, yet both women trusted God and God found in each of them a faithful partner in His plan for salvation itself.

Love in Him,

Prue

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions..” ( Luke 12:13-14)

Here Jesus emphatically disconnects from the person who made the appeal to have his share of an inheritance. Jesus barely addresses the man, but turns instead to the crowd with a warning. Jesus has no sympathy or concern for this appeal.

This is a big contrast to another appeal from a sibling: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, “you are worried about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.” ( Luke 10:40-41)

This time Jesus repeats Martha’s name and identifies with both women. He engages entirely, and even decides in favor of Mary, as he identifies with Martha as well, calling her twice by name.

These cases of siblings seem similar, but they are very different in the response they receive from Jesus. One he rejects, while the other he embraces. Maybe the difference is simply that Mary and Martha were close friends of Jesus, and the other request came from a stranger; but Jesus’ vehemence in rejecting the latter shows his disgust to the one who wants part of his inheritance. Jesus sends a warning to the crowd against greed.

Mary, on the other hand, receives high praise from the son of God. Mary simply sits quietly at Jesus’ feet and listens as he talks with his disciples. She risks her sister’s anger, but stays there anyway.

How many times have I prayed for material things instead of for an opportunity to sit at Jesus’ feet? Jesus has no trouble dealing with siblings. He knows the hearts of each of us,and goes directly to the core, which is not the sibling, but himself, and our relationship to him. “When he hears bitterness and greed in the young man, Jesus withdraws with a warning. When he hears concern for “many things” Jesus uses words we all long to hear: the “better part won’t be taken away from her.” That our love for Jesus will not be taken away is a very great promise indeed.

Love in Him,

Prue

We Don’t Travel Alone

Fall has arrived, and it’s already cooler. There are still two female hummingbirds who come to our feeder, but the males have already gone on their lonesome flight south to Central America. These tiny birds fly solo for hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles twice a year, stopping at feeders and nectar bearing flowers to refuel. There’s no refueling, though, on the lonely flight across the Gulf of Mexico.

All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus, (Romans 3:23-25)

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, listening to “another voice”, than His, humanity took a long slide away from its Maker. But our Maker also experienced a loss, the loss of the intimate companionship of His own well loved creation.

Before the forbidden fruit was even digested in His first couple, God had a plan for bringing humanity back to Himself. It was a plan that would require much from God Himself, and would bring reconciliation to human beings in God’s son, Jesus.

Hummingbirds seem a long way from God’s redemption of His people, but they are fascinating creatures of God’s deign in our lives today, and for me their appearance yields hours of contemplation on the Creation. Migrating huge distances each year, every fragile hummer lifts itself off the branch and heads out alone, and many perish on the journey. Nevertheless, the species has survived in the Western Hemisphere for thousands, if not millions of years. Unlike other birds, the humming bird travels alone. It is not a social creature, but a loner. The mother tends to the nest alone, As soon as the little ones are fledged, the mother looks for a new nesting site and a new mate. The easy and the difficult are faced alone by each bird, yet the species survives. Its Creator provides: Are not two sparrows (humming birds?) sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside our Father’s care. (Matthew 10:29)

I believe that appreciating one of God’s smallest creatures can help us recognize that we ourselves never travel alone, and to find in Him hearts that can willingly migrate closer and closer to God’s own heart.

Love in Him,

Prue