How Great Is Your Love

Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, 

     your faithfulness to the skies. 

Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, 

     your justice like the great deep. 

     You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.

(Psalm 36:5-6)

We do tend to be a worrying lot, don’t we, Lord?

We are anxious about many things:

  disease,

    economics,

      disaster,

        politics,

          relationships,

  did I mention disease?

And yet, as high as our anxiety is,

as great is our fear and worry,

we rejoice in this incredible truth:

YOUR LOVE IS GREATER!

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,     your faithfulness to the skies.

Your love is so far greater 

than we can possibly imagine.

In fact, good and loving God,

I have imagined your love to be infinite;

and against the laws of mathematics,

(or is it physics?),

your love even exceeds infinity.

It's. Just. That. Great.

Wow! Thank you, O Lord,

for loving us so much.

Thank you for caring about every detail

of our lives.

Thank you that, 

even before our anxieties and worries

invade our hearts and minds,

you are already present to us

to comfort us and help us.

Thank you that every time we are afraid,

your first words to us are,

"Do not fear. I am with you.”

Thank you, good and loving God,

that you have plans for us,

plans for our welfare.

We embrace this truth:

no worry, no fear, no circumstance,

nothing in this whole wide world,

can overcome 

your love,

  your justice,

    your righteousness.

You, O Lord, are 

our protector,

  our preserver,

    our sustainer,

      OUR SAVIOR.

Blessed be your name!

We will rejoice at the knowledge of

your goodness and your mercy

and your steadfast love.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

During the season of Lent, I am "Praying with David," using prayers from the psalms as inspiration for personal prayers.

Keep the "Memorial" in Memorial Day

Grave marker in the Clinton City Cemetery (North Carolina),
honoring one of the more than a million soldiers who have
given the life in the service of this nation.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones..."- Psalm 116:15

May 26, 2019.

Today in church I asked some people to stand for recognition and honor.

I don’t do this very often, but for occasions that call for us to honor the men and women who put their lives on the line for the security and freedom of this nation, I feel compelled to extend gratitude for the tremendous sacrifices they have made. And so on occasions like the Sunday closest to Veterans Day, I will ask that all people who have served in the armed services to stand, so that we can thank them. I do the same on the Sunday nearest July 4, because our independence as a nation has come only at the cost of countless human lives.

But today was different, because on Memorial Day the honorees aren’t present. They have died – in battle, in training exercises, in accidents while in uniform. The people we honor on Memorial Day are those who have died while still in uniform.

They paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

And so I asked for people to stand who have known soldiers who have died while in active service. Someone needs to stand, so that we can remember. And so we can give thanks for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Jesus said, “No greater love is there than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) Then Jesus demonstrated his love by dying for us.

By choosing to wear the uniform, the men and women of the armed services implicitly make their commitment to that teaching of Jesus – they are willing to lay down their lives for you and me, and for our freedom. And some – many, in fact – have fulfilled the greatest love completely.

Memorial Day is a holiday. It’s a day of rest, of relaxation by the beach, or in the mountains, or at the park. It’s a day of family gatherings, cookouts, and parties.

But please, also remember that this day is possible because of those who can’t join us.

And remember that for every woman or man who has died in the service of our nation, there is a family for whom this particular day is both a source of pain as well as pride. If you know a Gold Star family, reach out to them and let them know you are thinking of them. If you know a soldier, thank him or her.

The Psalmist says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) Often the most tangible way that the Lord draws near to the brokenhearted is through people like you and me. If you have the opportunity, let yourself be used in this way.

Enjoy Memorial Day. Those who have paid the ultimate price in order for you to have this holiday would want nothing more.

But also make sure you pause in humility and gratitude, and remember.

Praying the Passion, Part 4 - "My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?"

At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ..."My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"- Mark 15:33-34

Scenes from the total solar eclipse, August, 2017

My Lenten discipline has been to write a prayer for each of the 40 days of Lent. The last seven prayers center on the seven last sayings of Jesus uttered from the cross. Today's prayer is based on the fourth saying of Jesus from the cross.

"My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?"

From the foot of the cross I behold you, O Lord,
  high and lifted up.
And I can hear you. Every word you say.

There is a moment -- a long, three-hour moment --
  when the sun is hidden.
Darkness is the prevailing reality.

You cry out: 
"Eloi, eloi, lema sabachthani?"
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

When I hear those words,
  darkness fills my heart,
  just as the darkness has covered the sun.

Since the day of your birth,
  you have walked with God.
     Completely.
     Perfectly.
     Unceasingly.

But now, God's back has been turned on you,
  God's face turned away from you,
    God's ears closed to your cries.

Why? Why has God forsaken you?

And then it strikes me. It pierces my heart:
On the cross, you are the Lamb of God,
  who takes away the sins of the world.
The only way you can take our sins away
  is to take them upon yourself.

God has forsaken you, because of me.
Because of my sins.
Because of the sins of the world.
Upon you, the sinless One, 
  the sins of the world have been placed.

You are God-forsaken, and it's our fault.

The truth of the realization breaks my heart.
Forgive me, Lord.

But, lo, another realization:
You are God-forsaken, so we don't have to be.
The penalty of our sin -- 
  separation from the Living God --
you are paying it at this very moment.
For us. For me.

Dear Lord, you suffered the ultimate agony
  so that I wouldn't have to suffer it myself.
I am the one who deserves to drink
  from the cup of abandonment;
I am the one who deserves
  to descend into hell.

But you have taken my place, out of love.
  Now I know what you meant when you said,

Greater love has no one than this,

to lay down one's life for one's friends.

Your cry of ultimate agony from the cross --
  it was because of me. And my heart aches.
Lord, have mercy. Forgive me.

Your cry of ultimate agony from the cross --
  it was for me. And I am full of gratitude. And love.
Lord, I thank you.

Memorial Day -- No Greater Love

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.”John 15:13

Memorial Day. A day to remember, to reflect, and to give thanks.

In the sanctuary of our church, there are two flags. One is the Christian flag, and the other, the flag of the United States of America.

Both flags represent freedom. The Christian flag reminds us of the freedom from sin that Jesus Christ won for us. The American flag reminds us of the freedom we have celebrated as a nation for 241 years, and for the freedom that the citizens of this nation enjoy.

And in both instances, freedom came at a cost. The ultimate cost.

The freedom that Jesus won for us came at the cost of his life. He laid down his life, for us.

The freedom that we enjoy in this great nation also came at the ultimate cost. Over the centuries, countless men and women in the military have given their lives, so that you and I can live in freedom. They laid down their lives, for us. Because they loved this nation, they went to war. For us.

In our town of Georgetown, the local VFW Post recently dedicated a War Memorial that spans all the wars our men and women have fought. It is a beautiful tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice – and to those who were and are currently willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, our veterans and current military personnel.

Jesus said, “No greater love is there than this: that a person is willing to lay down their life for their friends.” Jesus proved his love for you and me, by dying on the cross. 

The men and women for whom we observe this holiday proved their love for this nation, and they paid the ultimate cost. Again, for you and me.

In Katharine Lee Bates's hymn, “America, the Beautiful,” the third stanza begins with these words:

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, 

Who more than self their country loved, 

And mercy more than life!

Bates captures the spirit that you and I need to remember today. For were there not those “who more than self their country loved,” I'm not sure what our nation (or our world) would be like today. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be as free and prosperous and secure as it is right now.

So today as we enjoy a day at the beach, or an evening barbecue, or a leisurely hike in the mountains, or just a day off – let us do it with a grateful heart.

Because someone who probably didn't even know you, gave their life so that you could enjoy the day.

Remember, and give thanks.