Resources for Prayer and Devotions
Meditations from Carol Dean Henn
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Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. John 16:22
Jesus understood. He knew that he was facing death, and he knew that his family and disciples would mourn his death. They would grieve, indeed. It was important to him that they should hear his promises now, while he was still with them. They would see him again. He promised. They would rejoice. He promised. No one would take away their joy. He promised. Grief is one of the most painful things we experience. But God knows what it is to grieve, and that’s why he gives us the promise of new life, reunion, and rejoicing. His promises are as real today as they were on that night of the Last Supper, when Jesus told his followers so many things that they had to know. He tells these thing to us, now. © Carol Dean Henn 2018 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. Psalm 23:5 Along with the Lord’s Prayer, the 23rd psalm is one of the best-known portions of the Bible. That’s natural. It gives us what we need: the assurance of God’s presence, even in our darkest moments, even in the presence of our enemies. It tells us that he provides for us in every way—food, water, rest, and protection. For example, when shepherds place oil on the heads of their sheep, that oil protects the sheep against the bites of insects and pests. If we’re running on empty spiritually, if God seems distant or worry has wormed its way into our hearts and minds, it would be good to re-read psalm 23. It … and God … will comfort us. ©Carol Dean Henn, 2018 How can a man be in the right before God? If one wished to dispute with him, he could not answer him once in a thousand times. Job 9:2-3
The Book of Job is fascinating reading. For one thing, Job seems to be in the right. He was a righteous, good man; blameless before God and people. What happens to him is not only unfair (a word that we humans use often), it’s downright horrendous. Then Job goes a step further in faithfulness and refuses to condemn God. His wife and friends berate him for his continuing loyalty to God, but Job stands firm. Eventually, in his despair, Job questions God and demands answers. What he gets in response is what he has always known: that God’s ways are not humanity’s ways; that there are some answers we can’t understand. And he also, in the end, receives God’s mercy and the return of his blessings a hundred-fold. We all have ‘Job times’ in our lives; times of loss or suffering. However dark those times, God is still there. He doesn’t mind if we scream our despair to him. He understands. But it is useless to debate with him. We do better to be like Job, and to remain as faithful as we can, knowing that God’s purposes evolve toward blessings. ©Carol Dean Henn, 2018 The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant. Psalm 103:17-18
Last Fall, our church theatrical group presented a play about the life of Martin Luther. Several lines in the play were references to the ideas and beliefs of that time, the late 1400s and early 1500s. In the 21st century, many of those ideas are sickening. Religious and secular leaders, for their own power and greed, taught people that God is a vengeful, angry, and punishing God. Common people, before they had access to the Bible in their own language, were told that God could only be placated through self-punishments, such as flagellation, or the purchase of indulgences. To ‘fear’ God meant to be afraid of him, not to revere and respect him, as that word should mean. For centuries, the true God of love – and the historical Jesus – were lost in the twisted, warped misrepresentations of priests, popes, nobles, and emperors. How many lives were harmed by those lies? How much human misery was caused by the inability to believe in a God of love? Undoing centuries of lies takes time. Perhaps we’re still trying to rid ourselves of the image of a scowling old-man God who cannot be appeased. “Father, abolish all the misleading ideas of you that have come down over the years. Help us to see you as the loving, creative, forgiving, and redeeming radiance that you are.” ©Carol Dean Henn, 2018 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live. Deuteronomy 30:19 We’re not always comfortable with the idea of choice. Choice equates to responsibility—the responsibility for creating our own lives, for better or worse. Most of us pretty much get the lives we choose, the lives we fashion. Abraham Lincoln said, “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” That’s a hard thing to face if we’re not happy with ourselves. It’s so much easier to blame circumstances or other people for whatever is wrong in our lives. If we think of ourselves as victims, we have someone or something to blame; we don’t have to be responsible for our lives. But the truth is inescapable. We have choices to make at every stage and every age in life, and those choices will guide the direction and outcome of our lives. Yes, some people have childhoods that are nightmares, and the effects of that trauma must be faced. Others have spouses who are unloving or abusive; bosses who are managerial monsters. Many people have truly difficult … even heart-breaking … situations in life. But wise counselors have always told us that it isn’t what happens to us that matters most; it’s what we do with what happens to us; how we react and how we make our choices. The responsibility of making good, healthy, positive choices is ours, no one else’s. It is a truth to which God holds us at any age. ©Carol Dean Henn If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea. Isaiah 48:18 “If only …” Life can be filled with ‘if only’ moments. Usually, once we’ve learned from our mistakes or follies, regrets are pointless. They only sap our strength and deepen our remorse. But today’s verse is an instruction, from God to the Israelites-- and to us. He reminds us that obedience to his commandments is not a meaningless exercise; it isn’t a superficial bow to his authority. By giving us the commandments as guidelines for living, he pointed the way to a life of peace, abundance, and well-being. If we have some regrets … if we have had our share of ‘if only’ moments … let’s leave those behind and move on to a new life, lived fully and joyfully in God’s will. If we need to do that, today is a good day to begin. ©Carol Dean Henn, 2018 All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:6-8 The inevitability of death is a very difficult thing for most people to face, especially when we’re young. And it is difficult to face the fact that those we love also have a limited time in this earthly life. Our aversion to the reality of death is natural. Isaiah uses examples from nature – grasses and flowers in a field – to remind us that all living things have their seasons and lifespans. But God’s love and presence, his word and his promises, are eternal, and they do not only apply to us in this life, but also in the life to come. Life itself, in God’s grace and goodness, does not end. It may change form and setting and substance, but we have his word that it does not end. It is a promise for all the seasons of our lives. ©Carol Dean Henn, 2018 Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 Many years ago, on a business trip to Nevada, I was happily tooling along a highway south of Reno and Carson City, in a red convertible rental car. I was heading to a place called Gardnerville, and there was nothing around me except blue sky, boulders, dust, and sagebrush … until I saw flashing red lights in my rearview mirror. I knew I was within the speed limit – I prided myself on being a good driver – so I assumed the police car was heading somewhere else. After a few more miles, I decided to pull over and just let himpass me. When the police car pulled over behind me, my heart flew into my throat. I felt sick. The trooper who came over to my car said, in amused disbelief, “Well … did we finally decide to stop?!?” “But I didn’t think you were following me,” I gasped. “I’ve been obeying all the rules and driving within the speed limit.” “Not back in Minden you weren’t,” he replied. Turns out that a small town – all five blocks of it – that I’d driven through, has a lower speed limit than the roads leading into and out of it. I didn’t know that. Blessedly, the trooper understood that I was a visitor to the area and had never driven through Minden before. He also saw how surprised and upset I was. He gave me a warning, and told me to watch out for speed limit changes in the small towns dotting the desert. I was so relieved that I wanted to hug him. So-- I had done something wrong after all. I wasn’t as blameless as I thought. It’s a lesson I still remember. “Pride goeth … before a fall.” ©Carol Dean Henn, 2018 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Matthew 6:10 We humans like the feeling of being in control. Some even proudly describe themselves as ‘control freaks.’ But many Bible passages tell us to let go, to relinquish that desire to control. Wait—isn’t control a good thing? Aren’t we supposed to control our tongues and our tempers, our finances and our behavior? Well, perhaps ‘manage’ would be a better word. ‘Control’ too often means controlling others—other people and other nations. Again and again, world powers have carved up weaker countries and territories in order to control their natural resources and their people. Legislators try to control how much health care we can get, whom we can love and marry, and what we can do to our bodies. Individuals try to control others through guilt (“If you move away from home, I just know my heart will give out”), threats (“You’ll do what I tell you to do or you’re fired”) or money (“If you marry that woman, you’re out of my will!”) Managing our lives is fine. Control is best left to God. “Thy will be done, Lord. Keep me from the temptation to control others, and from the illusion thatmy will is wiser than yours.” ©Carol Dean Henn, 2018 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread
to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11 Sports – participating or watching – can teach us many things. Some of those things actually parallel Biblical lessons. The need for discipline and commitment is one such lesson, as is the need for teamwork and the desire for success. Other lessons are much more subtle, such as the lesson to ‘savor the moment.’ Almost every athlete who has made it to the Super Bowl, the Olympics, or the final round of the Master’s Tournament realizes ‘I may never get to this point again.’ Seize the day. Savor the moment. Be grateful for what is. Another lesson is the importance of grace under pressure, especially the pressure of defeat. Players who throw their helmets to the ground, or who refuse to shake hands with the victors, brand themselves as losers in ways that have nothing to do with the final score. And when we see an exhausted runner shuffling toward the finish line, in the darkening dusk, after all the faster runners have gone home, we realize that victory takes many forms, and ultimately, only we can say whether we’ve won or not. ©Carol Dean Henn, 2018 |
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AuthorCarol Dean Henn of St. John’s Windish Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, PA |