Jonah 3:1–10
Luke 11:29–32
Psalm 51:11–18

In today’s Old Testament reading, the psalmist prays for God to renew and sustain the Holy Spirit’s presence within him. He then promises God to share God’s ways with the wicked and praise God’s name. These pleas are just as relevant today as they were in the psalmist’s time. We all have times when we feel down and less close to God than we have experienced in the past. Perhaps it is a family crisis, job loss, health problem, financial challenge, or just plain feeling down. God hasn’t changed or moved – He is still waiting for us to turn back to Him as the source of our renewal. He wants us to realize that He loves us and has good plans for our lives. Sometimes God’s plans involve things that we haven’t imagined. Whatever His plans, they are good plans and God will supply all that we need to carry them out.

Several times during my nursing career, I found myself in a “down” mood related to my profession. Soon God revealed His plans – it was time for a job change or a return to school. Although I sometimes complained to Him (“God, why?”), He soon revealed His reasons. One time I was commuting from Everett to Seattle when He showed me that it was time to make a change – and He showed me the job posting for a Public Health Nurse position that was to be my new focus in nursing, which not only eliminated the commute but also opened a new world focusing on nursing of children with disabilities.

Lord, remind us that “down” times are the opportunity for You to reveal Your good plans for us. We praise You for Your love and good plans for us. Amen.
-Barbara Cheyney

Isaiah 55:6–11
Matthew 6:7–15
Psalm 34:15–22

In today’s readings of the Old Testament, The Psalm, and the Gospel from the New Testament, I see a common message: He’s got this!

I am reminded that though we are living in very troubled times and under a divided and prejudiced doctrine of political leadership, God’s justice will prevail. When I am feeling overwhelmed by the cruelty, selfishness, and disrespect I see around me, I sometimes forget to just put it all in God’s hands- where it belongs. He is definitely on a much higher level of the playing field than I am!

The Lord knows what we need even before we ask; He hears our cries and knows the troubles we face. He will keep us safe and lead us down the chosen path. God simply asks us to love one another, to forgive and to pray for others. When I struggle with the ability to forgive such injustice, I can rest assured knowing that He is a just God and has the power to forgive.

Two years ago, I received the devastating news that my recently-divorced husband’s third attempt at suicide was successful. I fell to my knees and cried out to God, “Forgive him, Father! He was so lost in his pain!” I heard God’s answer, “Child, I have taken him home, he is safe and at peace now.” Such a forgiveness was too hard for me, but not for our Father.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come,Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In your name, I pray. Amen.
-Sherri Greenleaf

Leviticus 19:1–2,11–18
Matthew 25:31–46
Psalm 19:7–14

Do we have a love/hate relationship with “The Law?” At times we are like the Psalmist who waxes rhapsodically about the statutes and judgments of the Lord. We might even desire them more than fine gold and find them sweeter than honey. Periodically, we do not know how often we have broken the laws or committed secret faults. Sometimes we are like those sheep on the right hand of the Son of Man taking care of others and other times we more closely resemble the goats on the left hand. Paradoxically, speed limits and their enforcement cause us consternation when we are in a hurry to get somewhere and happiness when someone is stopped for speeding down our neighborhood street where children are playing.

Many of God’s laws are focused on how we should treat one another. In Leviticus, we are told that we should not hate any of our kin and should love our neighbors as ourselves. This message of loving our neighbors is found in one form or another in most world religions, and indeed, in a common-sense approach to life. The fabric of society is woven through with laws and agreements that help us to get along with one another and to exist in peace and harmony with one another. Today, however, it feels as if the cloth that is our country is unraveling and that agreed upon laws and norms are being pulled out on all sides. Today’s lessons remind us to stand with Moses and say as God commanded, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” And, to be like those sheep feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, and visiting those who are sick or in prison.

Dear God, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Amen.
-Cathey Frederick

Genesis 9:8-17
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15
Psalm 25:1-9

“And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.’”

When I was growing up I do not remember my father saying that he loved me or that he was proud of me. My two brothers seemed to have taken up my father’s time and attention with Boy Scouts, camping, and sports. I felt empty and missing something, so I looked for a kind and loving father figure among my girlfriends’ dads. I found two dads that changed my lonely life and made me feel important, listened to me and shared their loving families with me. Later, when I met my future husband Dennis, I found a loving, warm and supportive partner and even, later, I found a loving God and church congregation.

The King James Version (1936) tells us that when Jesus was bursting from his baptismal water, a voice came from heaven saying, “Thou art my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

When we were baptized, God wrapped His loving arms around us and whispered in our ears that He loves us forever and that we will always be His child no matter what we do or how we feel. As Jonathan Davis said, “These are words that enter into your body and wrap themselves around your heart. To be Baptized is to hear the promise that God has claimed you. You belong. You are loved. You matter”.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for our Baptism which reminds us that we are loved by our Lord and Savior forever and ever. Amen

-Mary Ann Taylor

Isaiah 58:9b–14
Luke 5:27–32
Psalm 86:1–11

“Bow down your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and in misery.” – Psalm 86

Blame it on having listened to a lot of Bob Marley and the Wailers, but I can seldom read a psalm without imagining how it would work as a reggae lyric. After all, having lived in Kingston’s notorious Trenchtown neighborhood, Marley and his fellow reggae artists certainly knew what it meant to be poor and in misery — and they certainly weren’t above cribbing from the Old Testament to describe what that felt like.

Taken together, our devotional passages from the Old Testament could easily make up a musical “call and response”. In our psalm reading, we call upon the Lord “all the day long” to “gladden the soul of your servant” — and we do so, secure in the faith that, “among the gods, there is none like you, O Lord, nor anything like your works.” And so, we beseech the Lord to, “Teach me your way…and I will walk in your truth.”

And just what is God’s truth, our song might consider? The answer to that musical question comes from the prophet Isaiah, who would probably have been a Rastafarian had he grown up in Jamaica. As it turns out, walking in God’s truth requires more than God’s mercy. It means that we first “remove the yoke from among you…the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil” (I can so hear Bob Marley singing that). The psalm further instructs us to “knit our hearts to God,” while Isaiah tells us that to do so will require us to, “offer food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted.” With God there’s always a catch, isn’t there?

As our Gospel reading reminds us, however, we have the perfect model for how to achieve this state of grace — one who “came to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.” All we must do is follow Him, and, as Bob Marley might well have sung, “you shall be like a watered garden.”

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth your right hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
-Michael Boss

Isaiah 58:1–9a
Matthew 9:10–17
Psalm 51:1–10

“Hey Jesus, why do you do things differently?”

Jesus gets the question from both the Pharisees and John’s disciples in today’s reading. Jesus ignores the expectations of society when it comes to how he acts, and with whom he hangs out. He seems to defy convention when that convention leads away from God. He irritated people.

Recently, I went out for lunch with a friend, enjoying the meal and saving some to eat later. Heading home, I ran some errands. As I walked out of a grocery store, I saw a woman with a sign that said simply “HOMELESS.” People were ignoring her. Though I’d never done something like it before, I stopped to talk with her; “What do you need?”

“I need a place to live. And some food.”

I didn’t have a place for her to live. But after more conversation, I gave her the food I had. I went on my way. Somehow, that conversation was a gift to me, an experience of doing something differently, of communicating with someone I wouldn’t normally hang out with. I hope that the food and the conversation were gifts to her too.

Too often, I either don’t see or am afraid to encounter, those folks different from me. Jesus calls us to see with new eyes, to defy societal expectations, and to meet each other as we are. I think we are called to follow in his footsteps, to defy convention when that convention leads away from God. Some days, that irritates people and they ask “Hey, why do you do things differently?”

Lord, thank you for the reminder to engage those who are different from us. Enrich our faith through those encounters and form us into the people you want us to be. Amen.
-Rob McPeak