| August 17-24 Holiness: August 17. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire (JAMES 3:5-6). With it we bless God, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God� (James 3:5-6, 9). We curse the image of God not only by our profanity, but by our put-downs, innuendos, and gossip. "Holy Word, may my tongue bless rather than curse, spread the gospel rather than gossip." August 18. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Help us to find our voice, Christ Jesus, so we may join your chorus praising God. August 19. Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-51). The curtain that separated the Holy of Holies- where God was said to dwell- from the rest of the temple is no longer necessary. The curtain that only the high priest could pass through no longer separates us from God. In Christ, God now dwells within us. All that really matters, God, is that we protect a sanctuary for you in ourselves and I others. August 20. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, �Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.� Elisha said, �Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.� (2 Kings 2:9). The prophets in the Bible most often lived on the margins of society, better able to critique it. Elijah and Elisha both were forced to hide from the authorities from time to time. People did not like the truths they were called to proclaim. For Elisha to ask for a double share of the spirit that rested on Elijah was an awesome request. God, give me a double share of your spirit, that I may proclaim your truth! August 21. Now the boy Samuel was ministering to God under Eli. The word of God was rare in those days; visions were not widespread� Samuel was lying down in the temple� Then God called, �Samuel! Samuel!� and he said, �Here I am!� (1 Samuel 3:1, 3-4). Many gay and lesbian people were called when we were very young. Many of us were active in youth programs and in church school. Just as God�s call to serve is no respecter of sexual orientation, it is no respecter of age. Now that there are congregations open to us, some of us are hearing God�s call when we�re as old as Eli. Speak, Sovereign, for your children of all ages are listening! August 22. All people thirst for love. All people go through dating to find their partner! Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, �You are right in saying, �I have no husband�; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband (John 4:17-18).� Jesus didn�t seem to care that the Samaritan woman had had five husbands and was now living unmarried with another. He did not tell her to �Go, and sin no more.� He offered her living water that might quench her apparent thirst for love. Jesus, you know us inside and out, past and present. Give us living water to quench our thirst for love. August 23. Have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies (II TIMOTHY 2:23). The initial spirit of expectancy that permeated the early church began to wane. The fulfillment of time signified by Jesus� anticipated return no longer seemed imminent. Churches turned to practical community concerns in later epistles � in this case, the problem of pointless controversies. A contemporary version of this advice from an experienced missionary � possibly Paul � to young Timothy is: choose your battles. In any struggle, strategy counts as much as passion. The members of a national task force on homosexuality had strong disagreements in hammering out a study and position paper. They indicated minor disagreements by saying, �I wouldn�t die for it.� We need that kind of flexibility because not everything is worth dying for or even raising a fuss over. Many of us have an extra need for control because we feel so much of what happens to us is out of our control. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves to �chill out� and trust God�s cosmic process. "So many things are important to me, God. Help me to discern which things are vital." August 24. But Rahab the prostitute, with all her family and all who belonged to her, Joshua spared, � For she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho (Joshua 6:25). One of the earliest debates in the Metropolitan Community Church was whether a congregation should accept the offering of a hustler or prostitute. Was the money somehow �defiled� by the way it was earned, a defilement that lingered with the money when it was offered to God? Rahab, a prostitute, offered sanctuary and hospitality to spies that Joshua had sent to Jericho. She played a central role in the Israelites� defeat of the city, which they gave as an offering to Yahweh. Forgive us for unfairly judging the offering of another. Bless all of our gifts to your service, O God. |
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