BESOTTED

1.                         Besotted

As a sailor I knew the word “Besotted” to mean drunk past the point of self control. This besotted was the drunken sailor that had to be carried back aboard the ship and dumped in his rack. Sometimes the same word can mean two very different things and yet be connected.

Some years ago I began reading a series of science fiction books and in more than one of them the author referred to man who was totally besotted with love for a young woman. In looking up the word besotted I discovered that an alternate meaning was indeed “Strongly Infatuated.” A word like this having a second meaning was very interesting and I began to ponder its use. The author was clearly intending the word to mean much more than strongly infatuated and more like love beyond self control.

The idea of being drunk with love was appealing to me for I am besotted in that manner with my darling wife. I become more besotted with each passing year and it is a kind of intoxication for me. When she get home from work each day the whole house become alive with the light of her love and presence and I fall deeper in love with her. Yes I am totally besotted.

A True Beginning

How did we start our Lenten journey? By renewing the by-now-flagging New Year’s resolution, or adopting a self-improvement regimen? Maybe we chose to add some practice that we can endure for this 40 day period.  If so, we already may be dragging ourselves down the road, stumbling along, looking for markers to guide the way. Have we lost our way just as we got started?

Have you ever studied the blueprint a piece of property? You might have noticed a mark labeled ‘true point of beginning’. It is a surveying term that indicates the spot to which all other markings on that blueprint refer.  To read any dimension of the survey, you return to the ‘true point of beginning’ to get your bearings.

Psalm 143 is a prayer of King David that describes a true point of beginning for his life—and it might be one for ours, too.  As the prayers opens, David is in trouble. He had lost his bearings and feels overwhelmed by the pressures and demands—the ‘enemies’. He feels trapped and knows he is sinking fast.

So David stops and surveys his predicament. He is honest in his analysis of where he is and how he got there. And then David looks for the true point of beginning for his life:  his relationship with God. If he can find that point and re-orient himself—body, mind, and soul—he can find the right path, the right way to go.

David knows he needs more than a compass to point the way north so he can head out again.  Instead, he is looking for his place in the universe, and confesses that it is his dependence on and connection with God that will define his path.  Verse 10 is the marker that can keep him on the right way:  “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.”

A contemporary translation uses a phrasing that can be an orienting prayer: “Teach me how to live to please You”. It is a prayer to say through out the day—in a meeting, faced with a decision, in traffic, at home, when tired or angry, considering choices, in a difficult discussion, confronting a tough problem.

This prayer can re-connect us to two truths:  

1. Our true point of beginning is God. 

2. Only God’s opinion of us matters.  

By Any Other Name

Depending on which brand of Christian community you belong to you might use one of three words to describe one of the things we do in worship. Those words are; Eucharist, Communion, and Lord’s Supper. They are all describing the same thing but lifting up different aspects of our common meal.

“Eucharist” – This is a Greek word that simply means “thanksgiving” and refers to Jesus giving thanks during the institution of the meal as a sacred remembrance. In using this word we also share in our giving thanks to God for the greatest gift of Grace in the person of Jesus the Christ.

“Communion” – This word is a description of the Christian Community sharing a common meal of bread and wine as the body and blood of Jesus. It also is a description of sacred conversation between worshipers with God and each other. In Communion we focus on the divine presence in the meal.

“The Lord’s Supper” – In these words we recognize that Jesus is the owner of the table and the meal. While the physical table, bread and wine are provided by the congregation they belong to Christ and so do we.

These three theological expressions of the same event that is suppose to bring us together have often divided the church and even started wars and that to me is a great sadness. My prayer is that in this sacred meal all Christians may come together some day and give thanks in communion at the table of the Lord.

What Matters Today

There are things in life we cannot alter. We can try but it only leads to frustration. Mother Nature brings storms and violent actions that damage our living space and we can not stop that from happening. War happens and people we love die and we can not change that. Other people do things that cause us grief and we must deal with the fall out in our lives.

 

Things have happened in the past that affect us but they are beyond our repair. Until we recognize the reality of the past as it was and everyone in it as they were, the past will control us. If we let it all stand as history and simply let it be we can find peace with in us. Then we can create a peaceful now and a peaceful future. If we learn from the past we can keep from repeating the mistakes of the past and grow as a person and as a society.

 It is how we live out this day that affects our lives and the lives of those around us. Each choice in the now matters in our future so each point of change is under our control for that moment. So let us live each day to the fullest, loving God and loving others in each action we take. This is what matters today.

LENT 2013

It seems like it is way too soon but Wednesday February 13th marks the beginning of  the Church Season called "Lent" a time for preparing our selves for the events of Holy Week and the celebration of Resurrection Sunday. You will not find the word "lent" in the Bible nor is it a required observance in the Protestant tradition. It is however an opportunity for spiritual reflection and renewal.

This year my Lenten reflection is taking on a more personal and I hope a deeper spiritual journey. At all times it is my desire to faithfully fulfill God's call as my first priority. Every day I am spending additional time in listening prayers, times of silence and spiritual openness to the Holy Spirit. I ask that you also spend some time this Lent, listening for God's direction. Let Lent 2013 be a season of spiritual growth for you and the Christian Church you attend. 

The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel

The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel

I have always been amused by the various speculations about what happened to the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The bible tells us all about it but still people come up with weird theories about what “really” happened to them.

I first heard about them when driving in Texas in the 1960’s and a radio preacher preached about how they went to England and took the stone that the throne of King David sat on. It is now under the throne of England according to him. He also said the Jesus spent his twelve lost years in England with those tribes.

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church, needed a reason for Jesus to come to the Americas so he wrote about the Ten Lost Tribes sailing to central America and that Jesus went there to preach the gospel to them.

The January issue of the Smithsonian published an article about the Ten Lost Tribes settling in Japan and that Jesus ducked out on the crucifixion and traveled to Japan to Join that at the village of Shingo where he lived a long life, married and had children and died. In 1964 they suddenly discovered his grave and now the place is a tourist site.

What the Bible tells us clearly is that after the death of Solomon about 930 BC the ten northern tribes broke for Jerusalem and formed the Kingdom of Israel and the tribes of Judah and Benjamin formed the Kingdom of Judah. According to the Book of Kings Assyrians conquered Israel in 721 BC and dispersed those tribes assimilating them into their empire. Resistance was futile.  Some lower class members of those tribes evaded capture and became the Samaritans and there are still a few of them left in the Holy Land.  

What Does "Lord" Mean?

The term “Lord” literally means owner, ruler, master or one who is obeyed.

It has many uses both secular and religious. We often use it when referring to God or Christ. It is sometimes used in a less than a spiritual sense in casual conversation such as “O my lord!”

I wonder what difference it would make if when we called God or Christ “Lord” we actually meant it. If instead of being a title with little meaning for us, we actually mean it and obeyed God in all aspects of our lives. We would obey the Ten Commandments at all times. We would follow the teachings of Jesus at all times. What if we really loved our neighbors as much as we love ourselves? What if we returned good for evil instead of getting even? What if we shared the love of Christ with everyone we met?

I think the world would be a different place if every Christian all over the world obeyed the Lord of all the universe.

Is God really your LORD?