When the disciple Nathaniel was informed that Jesus came from Nazareth he said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” When we read through the Bible and we reach the third book of the Torah, we are tempted to say, “Can anything good come out of Leviticus?” And now there’s the Coronavirus, can anything good come from that?
At the end of the book of Leviticus, God gives Israel some clear instructions about the cultivation of the land that He was giving them. Those instructions included includes regular periods of rest for the land itself. (Lev 25:1-7). Every seven years it was to be allowed to lo lie fallow and not undergo cultivation. The principle of “sabbath” was to be applied to the earth as well as the people. These ideas have of course long past into disuse. Maybe we assumed that they were just more of the strange things that God asked the Israelites to do, but are of no importance to the present day.
It is interesting that Covid 19, while its effects are devastating for so many, has had some fascinating side effects. As a consequence of God permitting the unthinkable and the pause button being pressed for the whole of the planet, we hear that China has seen blue skies for the first time in many many years. Air quality measurements have changed dramatically. Just two examples of wider observations set out in this article in the New York Times;
In China and Italy, the air is now strikingly clean. Venice’s Grand Canal, normally fouled by boat traffic, is running clear. In Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta, the fog of pollution has lifted. Even global carbon emissions have fallen.
Perhaps, just as we are being given the opportunity to look carefully at the importance of rest, quiet and sabbath in our individual lives, God is also giving us a chance to recognize that the principles He gave to the Israelites for the care of the land are not so ancient and irrelevant after all.
I saw a striking post on face book posing the question if our professional sports stars are not essential why are they our heroes and why do they get paid so much? Interesting thought, but surely a more interesting one is about those largely unknown people who have suddenly become our heroes. The grocery clerks, healthcare aids, teacher/Moms and so many others. These people and many others like them have been plummeted into the front line where there is real danger and the need to work harder than ever.
One of our church family posted this wonderful prayer for these unsung heroes and in case you missed it I wanted to share it with you. The question is how can we make sure that these people each of whom has a name, who were serving us faithfully before this crisis are not taken for granted in the future?
Bless the merciful
A Sunday Blessing
By: Sarah Bessey
March 29, 2020
Oh, God. Bless the merciful. Bless them.
Bless the hospital chaplains who are crying and praying in trauma rooms with the scared and the hurting. Bless the doctors and the nurses, the janitors and the lunch ladies, the front-line workers and behind the scenes faithful ones during this terrible time. Bless the ones in the nursing homes with lonely seniors, putting themselves at risk to keep caring for the vulnerable. Bless the families on the other side of the window glass with phones, smiling and waving and holding up signs of love to their elders. Bless the vulnerable and at-risk and those who open their doors to them even in the midst of a pandemic. Bless the scared kids and the adults who notice them.
Bless the ones who cry too much and feel too much. Bless the wounded healers.
Bless the kind ones, who speak words of life and gentleness. Bless the benefit-of-the-doubt givers, the one-more-chance lavishers. Bless the comforters and the kleenex-passers. Bless the walkers-in-another’s-shoes. Bless the wheelchair pushers. Bless the ones there waiting after the chips fall, and the edifice crumbles, and the truth comes out. Bless them for their grace for both the flyers and the thud-ers, for the fury and the glory. Bless the ones baking bread and leaving it on doorsteps for the parents they can’t risk seeing. Bless the ones who serve without fanfare or book deals or media attention. Bless the ones who love vulnerable children, day after day after day. Bless the ones who are lonely and alone, who are isolated and vulnerable, who are struggling to breathe.
Bless the ones who lavish grace and bandage wounds and figure out how to make ventilators in factories. Bless the ones who intubate and the ones who are crying in the stairwell, overwhelmed by caring. Bless them for they give dignity to the rest of us. Bless them because they see us and they love us anyway.
Bless them for standing in our thin places between too-much and not-enough, the places where our hearts are breaking and our fears are manifesting and we are so scared and so alone. Bless them for being the ones that show up in the fault lines to hold our hands and pray and weep with those who weep.
Bless them for their patience, for their uncanny ability to just keep going, for their ability to be present instead of checking out for something less demanding. Bless them for long days on their feet in uncomfortable PPE gear, sweaty and exhausted and filled with mercy for us anyway. Bless them for their determination in the face of suffering, for the patience in the teeth of our it’s-going-to-get-worse predictions, and their faith in our story.
Bless them for their heart to ease the suffering, to smooth the edges, widen the roads. Bless them for their cups of cold water, and their plates of food, for their prison visiting, for their preemie-baby hat knitting, for the signs in the windows saying “thank you, essential workers!” decorated with stickers and glitter. Bless them for the healing work of their gifts. Bless them when they smell of salt tears and someone else’s sh** and our unwashed bodies. Bless the funeral workers and the priests who have run out of words. Bless the journalists and politicians who are wise and merciful, the public health officials and the sign language interpreters. Bless the site preppers and the cleaners. Bless the merciful because they are so often the only glimpse of goodness.
Bless the merciful as they carry our own burdens with us; we cannot know how low they are bowed with the grief of the whole world groaning for healing and hope even as they keep moving forward. Bless them in their anger. Bless them in their frustrations. Bless them in their fears. Bless them in their exhaustion. Bless them when they are overwhelmed and want to quit. Bless their sleep and their rising.
Bless the ones who care for the ageing and the dying, for those making the way a bit smoother for the families left behind. Bless the ones who hold the hands of the poor and broken and you and me. Bless the ones running right towards the hurting with their hands outstretched.
At the end of all this may we bless them with rest and gratitude, with compassionate and generous policies and pay, with just systems and actions. At the end of all this, may they know they were our heroes not in spite of their weakness and humanity and moments of breaking but because of them. At the end of this, may we value love and mercy.
Bless them because it takes more courage and strength to be merciful, compassionate, and kind than we could have ever imagined. May they find love and strength, courage and compassion at their rock bottom.
In our Zoom hang out after church on Sunday we were sharing how hard it is for some of us to stay at home and feel like we are doing nothing while some are having to work harder than ever. They’re having to encounter real danger as part of their daily routine. This would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago let alone when they filled out their application. In the course of the conversation it was pointed out that the reality is, staying at home is, in itself, making a real contribution to stemming the tide of this virus.
As I thought about this later in the day it reminded me of the command God, through Moses, gave to the Israelites as they left Egypt. Confronted with the Red Sea in front of them and an advancing Egyptian army behind them God says “Don’t be afraid, just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today” Exodus 14:13. In the Psalms, we are urged to “Be still and know that I am God.” The truth is, it’s the “being still” and “standing still” that is so difficult and make us feel that we are not contributing.
Could it be that being and staying still is one of the lessons that we are able to learn by experience as we stay at home? The interesting thing is that I often overlook the rest of Psalm 46:10. It goes on to say “ I will be honored in every nation.” Surely the implication is that if we are not still, we run the risk of getting in the way of His being “honored among the nations.” If the Israelites had decided to take action they would certainly have obstructed the plans that God had for their deliverance. And it was the news of that deliverance that spread among the nations and brought Him honor and glory.
Those of us who play our part by staying at home have the opportunity to understand the “being still” is a crucial part of “knowing He is God” It is just an opportunity to observe. It is by being still when we are told to do so, that we are actively allowing Him to run the universe. Sometimes He asks us to participate, on other occasions he simply asks us to stay out of the way. So to those who are currently staying out of the way, thank you for doing your essential job so well!
At New Life we have just finished a sermon series where we thought together about what it meant to be the church rather than go to church; How to be part of the fulfillment of Habakkuk 2:14 , filling the earth with “the knowledge of the glory of God.” How can we do that by intentionally infusing the activities of our daily lives (our rhythms) with the gospel? We have looked at incidents in the life of Jesus along with “Saturate” by Jeff Vanderstelt as we have learned together. One of our church members, Shaloni Jeet, shared with me a beautiful poem she wrote inspired by what we have been learning. So I asked her if I could share it with you.
Welcome to your table
To break a bread with someone
Share joy, pain, and all the ordeal
Over a simple meal
It may seem ordinary
But a huge weight it will carry
For once if you could free
someone of their solitary
Lend your ear always
To the broken and the healing
What peace they will get
When they reveal to you their feelings
If someone shared their deepest thoughts
It is you who is blessed
For you had an ear for listening
And not a judging heart you possessed
The story of the greatest hero
Who is brave and bold
With his blood he saved the world
Share the greatest story ever told
Share your testimony without hesitation
With all those around
It may bring someone to their salvation
So that they may be also found
Bless others with what you are endowed with
Your time, skills or riches, as you please
Share with all while you can
It's here today, tomorrow it may cease
Celebrate with others each day
For you have Gods permit
It is the day the Lord has made
Be glad and rejoice in it
Rest in the Lord as you work
He will make everything perfect
He will renew your strength
And through you, his wonderful work will reflect
Through everyday stuff you be the church
And let the message pass through
That you don’t have to go to him
Just call out and Jesus will come running to you!
Aravs Mum. 03/24/2020
Inspired by "Saturate" by Jeff Vanderstelt
How long will this strange situation last? We don’t know, but we do know that it will not last forever. The question that troubles me repeatedly is, “What is going to be different when we do return to normal? Are we going to rapidly return to the old way of doing things and before we know it the challenges of Sheltering in Place will be little more than a memory?
At New Life we begin each year with 21days of prayer and fasting. Many of us stop some of our regular, even habitual, activities to pay more focussed attention to the plans God has for the year to come. The question however is. how many of those changes would God have us make permanent.
Some of us are currently facing the pain of being without work because our employment is not deemed “essential”. That is painful enough by itself, let alone when you are wondering how to pay the bills. On the other hand, some feel they are working harder and longer than before Shelter in Place. Most of us, however, are working differently.
All of us (hopefully!), rather than leaving our workplace for a litany of frenetic activity, are returning home to spend time with our families. We have been forcibly reintroduced to “unstructured down time.” Families have discovered one another again and remembered that they quite like each other! Books with layers of dust have been opened and found to be really engaging.
How often have we bemoaned our packed schedule, busyness and unrelenting tiredness wondering if there would ever be any relief? Somehow it seems God has pressed a world wide “pause button” which a short time ago would have been inconceivable. I am not suggesting God designed or created the virus but it seems He has permitted a fundamental challenge to the entire world’s way of life. Could it be that He is offering us the chance to change.
I have been really struggling with this. I can embrace the idea that change needs to happen, but when I try to tie myself down to actual practical details, I find myself floundering in the dark. However this morning in the shower I had a thought that gives me just a pin prick of light at the end of the tunnel. I remembered the advice Dallas Willard gave John Ortberg when he inquired as to the priorities he should have during a sabbatical. Willard famously said “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from you life”. Isn’t there a sense in which this is what has been forced upon us, at least partially, in the last couple of weeks?
It occurred to me that I can reduce the prevalence of “now” in my way of life; I must do that “now,” respond “now”, decide “now” and so on. How many of these really require to be done ”now”? Can I structure my calendar in such a way that there is more space and so reduce the recurrent sense of urgency and immediacy? I am not really sure how that might work but it may be a start. What about you? Do you have some ideas to share?
I am so proud and appreciative of our church family for the ways in which you are all working so hard to shelter in place, social distance and live within the orders we have been given. For many of you this causes immense frustration and hardship, so thank you on behalf of us all
I was wondering how many of you have read the most recent circular for our County Health Officer Dr Scott Morrow. As I read it I think I began to appreciate the conflicted emotions that he expresses
“As I write this, I am both immensely grateful and exceedingly disappointed. We are in a grave crisis”
I am grateful that many people are taking this seriously and are doing everything they can to slow the spread of this virus. You are heroes for doing this.
I am deeply grateful for and everyone should thank God for our first responders and our front line medical and public health personnel. They are taking on personal risk to take care of you. They are heroes for doing this.
My disappointment stems from the fact that many people just aren’t taking this seriously and going about their business as if nothing has changed.
In my reading through the Bible this year this morning I began the book of Deuteronomy. Of course, this awakened so many memories of our journey through the book together at New Life last year. But what struck me this morning was the similarity between what Dr Morrow says and the message Moses decays to the Israelites. “If you want to be safe”, Dr Morrow says, “you must ALL follow the guidelines otherwise you show great disrespect for the community”. “If you want to experience a land flowing with milk and honey”, says Moses, “you must follow the laws God has set out for you.”
What a challenge this is to our cultural obsession with “independence” and what we call “freedom.” Could it be that through this difficult time God is giving us an opportunity to rethink the degree to which we both value and recognize how much we need to prioritize our communities’ needs before our own? What do you think?
Probably no coincidence that as I read “ The Daily Office” during my devotions each day this week I have come to the chapter entitled “ Growing through Grief and Loss” It has impressed on me that this is exactly what many of us are feeling right now. Here are just a couple of quotes :
“ Experiencing loss makes us confront our humanity and our limits. We quickly realize we are not in control of our lives; God is. We are creatures not the Creator”
“ We don’t become mature human beings by getting lucky or cleverly circumventing loss, and certainly not by avoidance or distraction. Learn to lament.” Eugene Peterson
Many have lost jobs, at least for the time being, with no knowledge of when work will restart. Many are feeling lonely and disconnected wondering how they can maintain relationships in any meaningful way. How will bills get paid? Will people forget me completely. All these fears and so many more are real and legitimate and need to be confronted. It’s not that the fact that God is in control and will work all things for good is not real, it’s just that it takes time for that message to travel from our heads to our hearts. And that is ok.
In the meantime we must first confront the pain and fear and feel all the emotions these unsettling circumstances bring to the surface. Express that emotion in all its raw reality to God, He can take it. Then and only then, when we have fully engaged with all that emotional reality, can we open the door to embrace the new reality with all its possibilities.
When Jesus tells repeatedly to “fear not” He does so because He knows how relentlessly fear and insecurity rises within us. He does not say we are bad or wrong to feel that way. He does not say stuff it away in a place where hopefully you can forget it. He does not say forget it and get on with life. He simply says face it and recognizing it, hand it to me. I will take it and walk with you through it. I will take you to a place where you have no need to pretend but rather have confidence and trust we can face it together.
So, as we seek to maintain contact and connection with each other, let’s encourage one another to face the challenges with honesty. Then, I believe we will experience the joy and peace that passes understanding in fresh and amazing ways. In time, our Heavenly Father will enable us to deepen our faith and trust in Him. Also, He will teach us new ways to face the future that we will, in turn, be able to share with others.
A few Sundays ago I was talking with Andy Lie about the wonderful project to build affordable housing for teachers in the Jefferson Union School District. He was observing that bond measures being offered in a number of other districts were not doing well and we were musing as to why this was.
Whereas it is not helpful to speculate as to all the reasons for the lack of progress in other places there is one distinctive the JUHSD project has that we at least suspect is unique. The site on which the housing will be built was prayer walked by a number of Christians on multiple occasions. Trash was collect form the site symbolizing the removal of opposition to the project. Whether or not this was THE reason for the success of the project we don’t know of course but I believe even the most cautious of us can be confident it was a major factor.
This reality got me thinking about the effectiveness of covering locations within our city ( or whatever location you are reading this in!) with consistent, committed, confident prayer. I am excited that members of our church family are already regularly praying together ( observing social distancing of course!!) In a number of locations. Recently the management of Casa Pacifica has said that they do not want our growth group to continue visiting once a month (This was before the virus restrictions). We have decided to make a practice of walking past Casa Pacifica regularly and praying for its residents and asking the Father to open it up to us again.
One of the things we CAN do during the current restrictions is to get outside and walk in the fresh Pacifica air. What if we saw this as an opportunity to regularly take time to pray all over our city? What if we asked God where He would have us pray, maybe for a local business or at some other local landmark and we walk in that location as part of our routine. Is it to much to think that our Father might fulfill for us the promise He made to Israel “ “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”.2 Chronicles 7:14 ?
Well, we are now into the second day of our shelter in place order. How are you doing? It struck me this morning that the focus of so much of our thinking and reading is what we can’t or should not do. Wouldn’t it be better to change that focus on what we can and should do?
At New Life we had our first fully live-streamed service last Sunday and it was great. We still have a lot to learn of course but we were able to act fast and say “We Can” because God has given us the technology to make it possible and we have some amazing staff who have worked on that technology for a long time and we have been streaming our sermons for a while now.
We have had a Zoom account for some time now and experimented with meetings in the past so I was so excited to do discipleship with three other guys over zoom last night and see that one of our growth groups used the platform to meet last night as well. By the end of this week we will have held at least four gatherings on zoom and I am sure there will be many more to come. We discovered “We Can”
This morning I read in (Mark 8:1-8) about the time when Jesus fed the five thousand. If ever an occasion when it was obvious to say “we can’t” it was then and of course the disciples said just that. However they discover that with Jesus there is no “can’t” and He uses the little they had to feed everyone and have an abundance of leftovers.
I am convinced that in these strange and confusing times if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus He will show us that “ He can” and through Him “We can”. The outcomes will be “ greater than we could ask or imagine.(Ephesians 3:20) Let’s remember to support and encourage each other, keep in contact especially with those who may be lonely and vulnerable. Let’s prepare to be amazed at what our God will do!
Recently I went to see the movie “Just Mercy.” The story is based on the book with the same name in which Brian Stevenson recounts how, after law school at Harvard, he follows his heart and sets up a law center serving death row prisoners in Alabama. The community he plans to serve is similar to the one in which he grew up. As he packs up his rather dilapidated car to drive to his new home, his mother expresses dismay that he is putting so much, including his life, at risk by embarking on this project. But he is resolute even when the office they have rented breaks their agreement when they learn of the work they are doing. Undeterred they begin work in a front room in the house of his administrator.
I don’t want to spoil the excellent movie by revealing too much of the plot, but the movie focuses on one particular death row inmate, Johnny-D, who is on death row simply because he, ” looks like someone who could kill someone.” As the story unfolds we learn that the evidence on which he was convicted is a tissue of falsehood, intentionally created. Little attempt is made to hide the blatant manipulation perpetrated and coordinated by the police department and the state’s attorney. I will stop there to ensure that I do not spoil the movie, but I want to share with you some of the thoughts about the movie I have had subsequent to seeing it.
I was interested to note that the events portrayed in the movie occurred in or around 1993 which was the year I came to the United States with my family. I was shaken to see how recently unapologetic racism was rampant in that community; how fear and hatred of “those people” justified behavior so far from justice in a part of this nation that has become my home, and we proudly claim to be the leader of the free world.
One of the most significant moments in the movie for me came as the credits were giving updates on the characters in the story. A caption reported that the sheriff, who was personally responsible for much of the egregious conduct had been subsequently re-elected to head the police department multiple times and had only retired relatively recently. Does that mean that similar racial injustices were still, and maybe continue to be perpetrated by law enforcement in that community?
But there was one more devastating thought that came to mind as I contemplated the treatment given to “these people” motivated by fear and consequent hatred. Time and time again they (African Americans) are characterized as being “criminals and drug addicts and a danger to our children”! But wait, have I not heard those words recently here in Pacifica? Of course, in politically correct California, it is unthinkable that this could be said about anyone ethnically different than ourselves (forgive my sarcasm!). No, but this is exactly the judgment that is being passed on the homeless by many right here in our city. Could it be that, although we have made a great deal of progress in our attitude to those of different races, we have turned our blanket, uninformed rejection on another segment of our community? What do you think? How can we, as followers of Jesus, be seen to be different?
From the Zebra Bag 