Healing Rays of Righteousness

Probably no one has ever loved Jesus more than Mary Magdalene. She had sinned so much, and His gracious, full forgiveness completely changed her life. She could never forget His love and kindness toward her.

That’s why, being overwhelmed with grief, she stands outside the tomb weeping. She knew Jesus was dead. The spear that pierced Jesus side had also killed her joy and left her hopeless. Now gone was all purpose and meaning in her life. And she weeps in awful, miserable aloneness and silence.

Bending down to look again into the tomb she sees “two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been,” who ask her, “Woman, why are you crying?” Blinded by her tears, she didn’t recognize the angels. Turning around to look away from the tomb, she sees another person standing near her who also asks, “Woman, why are you crying?” Thinking he was the gardener; she asks for Jesus’ dead body. That’s the most she could hope for.

Then Jesus speaks her name, “Mary” and suddenly the morning became more glorious than she could have ever imagined. She sees Jesus alive and speaking her name. Her joy and hope are restored and the emptiness in her soul is filled with His living presence. Her Lord is no longer dead, but alive and standing by her side. I think her feet must have felt like wings as she ran to tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”

Each Easter Sunday we again hear the story of Jesus’ resurrection from death to life and are invited to make His story our story of believing faith. Can we say with Mary, “I have seen the Lord.”?  Are we convinced that Jesus has risen, that He is alive? Are we experiencing the presence and power of this gloriously triumphant living Christ in our daily lives?

In writing to Timothy, the apostle Paul declares that Christ Jesus “has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” (2 Timothy 1:10). Jesus did not do away with death. We still experience it, but He did deactivate death’s power, and now death is powerless and cannot destroy us. By his glorious resurrection, Jesus destroyed death’s power over us with all its mystery and finality.

In the Gospel writer’s later life, being banish on the Isle of Patmos and facing death, John is given a vision of Christ, who encourages him, and us, with these words, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Rev. 1:17b-18).

Tommy Dorsey, jazzman and gospel songwriter, was singing in a revival meeting in St. Louis when he got the awful new. This young performer was handed a telegram that read, “Your wife is dead.”

He had left her at home in the last month of pregnancy. The last look into her face was of Nettie sound asleep. All seemed well. Now, she was dead. She had given birth to a son, but within a day he also died. Both were buried in the same casket. Tommy fell apart in his soul, his inner peace was shattered, his faith severely damaged.

The following Saturday he meandered close to a piano, sat down, and started to fiddle with the keys. A new melody surfaced as his fingers softly struck the keys. Heartfelt lyrics formed in his mind, and out of the sorrow of death, came these words of faith that we still sing today:
          “Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand,
           I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.
          Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light,
          take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.”

That’s our faith. Because Jesus “destroyed death’s power” with his resurrection, we can face the apparent mystery and finality of death, with this song of prayer and faith in our heart and on our lips. “Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.”

As the morning sun rises in the east, announcing a new day, let us always remember that most amazing and wonderful morning when Mary and the disciples discovered the tomb was empty. And, just like Mary, Jesus sends us to go and excitedly tell others, “I have seen the Lord.”  Yes, He is risen! He is alive! Hallelujah!

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – April 15, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

During my life and pastoral ministry experiences I have learned and come to greatly appreciate the truths learned from the dark events of Holy Week. One of these awesome truths is that God is present in the dark places of our journey just as much as He is in the places of light. Granted, that is most often very difficult to believe and even more difficult to experience.

However, when we give serious thought to God’s presence in the deep darkness which overwhelmed Jesus hanging in painful agony on the cross, we are left speechless, and hopefully also encouraged.

This coming Sunday, Easter morning, many Christians will joyfully sing of Christ’s glorious resurrection as though the cross and crucifixion was nothing more than a temporary inconvenience for Jesus; something like a trip to the dentist, painful but endurable, if over quickly and the consequence makes the painful suffering worthwhile.

In their story of Good Friday, both Mark and Luke record that “At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.” (Mk. 15:33). Jesus had hung on the cross for three hours before noon, then darkness came over the whole land. For three more hours, Jesus suffered in the dense darkness that blocked out the mid-day sun.

We can rightly know that this darkness was more than just a fact of the day’s appearance. It was also an accurate description of what Jesus was experiencing. This darkness encompassed and overwhelmed His whole being – body, soul, and spirit.

The physical torture of crucifixion, with its excruciating pain, was designed by the governing authorities to send waves of darkness and fear coursing through the victim’s body. But for Jesus there was also the darkness of being ridiculed, abandoned, and rejected by His own people, including His dear friends and disciples.

There was also the deep darkness of taking on and carrying the fullness of the world’s sin. This darkness of sin separated Him from His heavenly Father, who “is light: and in (whom) is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5).

Think of it. The heavens went dark and silent, covering the whole world in darkness, and He could not see nor hear His Father. Most certainly, Jesus felt utterly alone. Who could fully understand and empathize with Him and His suffering? Nobody. We hear Christ verbalize His agony when He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But even when Jesus felt most forsaken by God, He affirmed His relationship by crying out “My God, my God.”

We say Jesus was alone, betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, and deserted by His friends and disciples. But was Jesus abandoned by God and alone? I think not. It is true, God could not stand between Jesus and sin’s darkness, holding off the pain and protecting him from death, the judgement of sin.

So where was God on that terrible dark Friday? He was there, watching and suffering with His Son as he made the ultimate sacrifice of his life for the sins of the world. He was there waiting and when Jesus loudly cried “Finished” and died, burst forth with earth-shaking light that completely tore the Temple curtain that separated man from Himself, and caused a centurion to testify, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mk. 15:38-39).

Truly, the good news of Good Friday is that the God of light is also God in the darkness. God is in the darkness of His people’s pain and suffering. No, God does not stand between us and pain, holding it off, bringing us only good news, but God does stand, sit, even hangs with us on our cross of painful, frightening darkness. Yes, this comforting, encouraging truth is most often seen in the rear-view mirror of living.

For those of us who choose not to make a quick leap from the wondrous revealing light of Palm Sunday to the glorious resurrection light of Easter, the discovery that God is very much present in the awful suffering darkness of Holy Week is most encouraging.

Yes, when we feel most alone, God is with us in the darkness. As the psalmist declares in Psalm 139 – “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? …if I make my bed in depths, you are there. …even the darkness will not be dark to you;” Amen!

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – April 8, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

The story is told that when Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer in Springfield, Illinois, he took a trip down the Mississippi River to visit New Orleans. While there, he went to see a slave market and watched as people of color were brought out on the slave block and auctioned off to the highest bidder. They brought a young woman out, with clothing awry, hair disheveled, and eyes flashing anger as men examined her to decide on their level of bidding.

Lincoln suddenly found himself so incensed that he began to bid and kept bidding until he bought her. He walked down the aisle to the platform, took the rope that bound her wrists, and led her to the edge of the crowd. There he stopped and untied the rope. The young woman rubbed her wrists to relieve the pain and promote the circulation.
Lincoln looked at her and said, “You are free to go.” She looked up at him in amazement: “What’s that, Massa?” Lincoln again said, “You are free to go.” With tears running down her cheeks, she fell to her knees and declared, “Then, Massa, I want to go with you.”

This is the Wednesday before “Holy Week” – during which we remember and retell the story of Jesus’ entering Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with his disciples. But anger and confusion soon lifted its sword and he is arrested, scorned, beaten, mocked, and crucified as a criminal. And from the cross he looked down in love upon us humans and prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34).

Forgiveness is always costly. For God to forgive our sin debt and set us free from slavery to sin it cost the life of his only Son, Jesus. To be forgiven is to be set free from Satan’s grip on us. To be forgiven invites us to gratefully journey with the One who dearly paid our debt of sin. How grateful are we to Jesus and his bloody sacrifice in our behalf?

There is another story about gratitude that Jesus said will never be forgotten. It’s the story of Mary pouring costly perfume over the feet of Jesus and wiping them with her hair. (John 12:1-8). The perfume was very expensive, 300 denarii, the yearly income for a laborer in Palestine. Why did Mary take the most precious thing she possessed and pour it all on Jesus?

Mary’s act of pouring out expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet was a tremendous outpouring of her wholehearted love, gratitude, and devotion to the one person who meant so much to her. The sacrifice of costly perfume was her most adequate expression of her love for Jesus.

Mary had experienced a great salvation, and I can imagine hearing her singing as the fragrant perfume drifts through the house, past the voices of criticism and condemnation, and out to the crowded streets of onlookers, “Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

William Barclay writes that “Love is not love if it nicely calculates the cost. It gives its all and its only regret is that it has not more to give.”

We claim that gratitude is the hallmark of Christianity. If that is true, then why is the sin of ingratitude so prevalent today. Far too many who call themselves Christian are like the little boy who was given an orange by a generous man. The boy’s mother said to the boy, “What do you say to the nice man?” The boy thought for a moment and handed the orange back to the man and said, “Peel it.”

The person who thinks life has cheated them and owes them something, who is always complaining about life and criticizing others, will never enjoy the abundant life Jesus promises or be a blessing to others. Only those who, like Mary, feel they can never repay God for his amazing grace and loving-kindness, will overflow with love, gratitude and generosity toward God and others.

Jesus says of Mary, “I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:47). How much forgiveness have you and I needed? How much have we shown God that we love him? God eagerly invites our lavish response of gratitude as we remember Jesus’ suffering and death in freeing us from slavery.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – April 1, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

The Lord’s Prayer is realistic and reminds us that we are human and prone to sin. And so, even after we have pleaded for God to “forgive us our debts,” and are assured of his forgiveness, we still need to pray for God’s daily help to think and act as righteous persons.

To pray “And lead us not into temptation” is to admit our spiritual weaknesses and selfish desires. The Greek word that is usually translated “temptation” can also be translated as “testing.” I think this is a more helpful word in praying as “And keep us from being tested.”

Just as Jesus was tested in his wilderness experience immediately after his glorious baptismal experience (Matthew 4:1-11), so likewise, will “temptation” test the character and commitment of all who claim to be Jesus’ disciples.

Both “temptation” and “testing” refer to everything that could endanger our relationship with God. This includes those very difficult and painful wilderness situations that test our faithfulness to God, and in which we will be tempted to give in to sinful unbelief or behaviors.

In this petition, we are asking God to protect this relationship. We are pleading for God to spare us situations and testing so deep and compelling that they may overwhelm and tempt us to be unfaithful in our commitment to his love and lordship.

After admonishing his disciples for sleeping during his agonizing prayer time in Gethsemane, Jesus urges them to pray for God’s enabling strength to stand the test. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41).

However, we are encouraged by Apostle Paul’s reassurance to the Christians in Corinth that “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The second half of this petition, “But deliver us from the evil one” is about the ever-present reality of spiritual warfare. Satan continually tests us to destroy us, and Jesus teaches us to pray for God to spare us from Satan. This petition can also be read as “Allow us to be spared circumstances that would tempt us into sin” or “Deliver us from every peril that awaits us.”

“Temptation” is the opportunity to do evil. But the “evil” referenced here is something done to us. Of course, we may choose certain evils and suffer its consequences, but this petition is for protection against becoming a victim of the “evil one” who is Satan. He is truthfully named the deceiver, slanderer, accuser, destroyer, tempter, and father of lies.

Given the reality of evil assaulting us, we hear the cry to “deliver us” as a cry of panic. It is something we would only ask of someone whom we know has power over the desperate circumstances of our situation. And so, to pray “deliver us from the evil one” is a confession of our ultimate trust in God.

We know we are weak and cannot stand against Satan’s testing, so we pray that God would deliver us from the possibility of failing the test and bringing dishonor to God’s name. We pray, believing that God in his wisdom and love may block Satan’s effort, or help us through the testing toward making us stronger in character and commitment (Romans 8:28).

This petition realistically recognizes that we will be exposed to evil and victimized by it. But it also reminds us that evil will not have the last word. It claims the promise of the resurrection which gives affirming evidence that even during evil and trouble God can bring about goodness, life, and peace.

The great hymn “Amazing Grace” sings of being brought “through many dangers, toils, and snares” and reminds us that God has ultimately conquered the evil one and that he faithfully walks with us toward complete and eternal deliverance in his Kingdom.

Whenever my faith in Jesus is being tested, I am encouraged by a song I love, “What God Hath Promised.” I hope its message encourages you as well.

God hath not promised skies always blue, Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.                                     But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way,                  Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
God hath not promised we shall not know / Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear / Many a burden, many a care.
          But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way,
          Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep, Never a river turbid and deep.
          But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way,
          Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 25, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

I think it is significant that the word “And” links our first petition “Give us today our daily bread” to this petition for God to “forgive us our debts.” It seems to me that Jesus intended for us to understand that just as our physical person cannot live without the bread that God gives, neither can our spiritual person survive without the forgiveness that God alone can give. No less important than bread for our bodies is forgiveness for our sins. Like daily bread, we need God’s daily grace and forgiveness in our lives.

To pray “Forgive us our debts.” is to affirm that God is our Savior and will forgive our sins. You and I both know that we cannot live a single day without sinning either by not doing what we know we should be doing, or by doing what we know we should not be doing. To pray “Forgive us our debts” is to confess and repent of our wrongdoing, being confident that God greatly loves us and will completely forgive us through Jesus’ death in our behalf. What amazing love and grace this is given us!

In this prayer sin is spoken of as a “debt” we owe God. Because God created us and so loves us, we owe God everything. Specifically, we owe God love and honor as his adopted children and willing obedience as his servants. We sin when we do not give what is owed to God. We become indebted to God and need to ask God to forgive this debt, whether little or huge.

Rather than the word “debt” Luke uses the word “sin” in his version of this prayer (Luke 11:4). Matthew also uses the word “sin” in 6:14-15. It was not uncommon in Jesus’ day to use a financial metaphor for sin and forgiveness, as seen in his parable about the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:23-35.

This parable also underscores the importance of the second part of the prayer which teaches us the need to examine our relationship with others. In the first part of this petition we ask God to do something for us – “forgive us our debts/sins” and we promise to always be forgiving toward those who harm us in some way. Jesus clearly states that this response of forgiving others is required of us if our plea for God’s forgiveness is to be heard and granted.

Forgive “as we also have forgiven” doesn’t mean God is to forgive like we forgive or that he must do so. It’s the other way around. God’s forgiveness precedes and underlies our forgiveness of one another, as is seen in Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant.

“Forgiveness” as used in Scripture means “to release” someone from an obligation or debt, whether legal, financial or moral. Have you ever had a financial debt you couldn’t pay? One with disastrous consequences? Can you imagine having it forgiven? Well that’s what sin and forgiveness is like. That’s the picture this request uses.

Jesus insists that our receiving forgiveness from God is connected to our forgiving relationship with those who wronged us. Our unwillingness to forgive those who deeply hurt or abused us, cancels out God’s forgiveness and blessing in our own life. This is the ultimate sin and Jesus made this a matter of great importance and consequence. Forgiveness opens the door to relationships, both with God and with other people. Loving and forgiving is not always easy, but it is always essential.

It is very apparent that our society is more focused on retaliation and “getting even” than it is about forgiveness. And neither does it care much about the destructiveness of unforgiveness. This in turn has caused unforgiveness to be one of the major contributors to the destruction of relationships in our families, churches, and communities.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we know that the call to forgiveness is not necessarily practical or realistic. Nevertheless, we forgive because God forgave us through Jesus Christ and to be obedient to him is to be forgiving like him. We forgive because this faithful imitation is the most appropriate way to show our gratitude to God and indeed to worship God.

To pray the Lord’s Prayer is to admit that we are sinners. We pray, not as righteous people, but as forgiven sinners. And in the Lord’s prayer we find the consolation of God’s forgiveness. Forgiving others is the inevitable result of knowing and deeply appreciating God’s forgiveness.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 18, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

“This, then, is how you should pray: … Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11).

I think the Scriptures indicate that our “daily bread” is about more than just our food, which, along with water, is the most basic of our physical needs. Even in our time the word “bread” is often used to talk about all kinds of food, and it is also used to talk about the money or job needed for all our daily provisions.

In the biblical setting of this prayer, Jesus would want us to know that in asking for “bread” we are asking for our basic needs to be satisfied. In Exodus 16:4 God tells Moses to instruct the people about gathering the manna that he would be sending them during their wilderness journey. He says, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day.”

The emphasis on God’s instruction is in the people gathering only what is needed for that day, and to also trust God to faithfully supply enough for each and every day.

So, when we put these two words together – “daily” and “bread” – we are asking “our Father” to sustain us by providing our physical and material needs in sufficient amount for each day. This would suggest that we should be very grateful when our daily physical and material needs are supplied.

By giving us this guide to our manner of praying, Jesus is teaching us to trust God for our daily needs. He is teaching us to believe “our Father” hears and knows our needs. He is also teaching us to learn contentment and a trusting relationship with God’s daily provision. These attributes seem so foreign to modern thinking.

Jesus teaches us to pray for “daily bread” – not for gathering or storing up for tomorrow. We are taught to pray each day for the bread we need for that day. This is a difficult lesson to learn when our culture continually tries to convince us that having more is better and having the best is gratifying. As Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:32-33, we are not to be like the pagans who devote their whole lives to the pursuit of material things and trust in their own powers to provide them. Instead, we are to “seek first his (God’s) kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”

A few verses earlier, Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do no sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”  (Matthew 6:25-26).

However, another question also needs our consideration. What does it mean to pray for daily bread in our cultural context of affluence where most of us have more than we need for the day? And yet all around us in the world there are those who don’t have their basic needs met.

Please note that this is a corporate prayer, “Give us.”  It is not just about us. We don’t just pray for our material provision, but also that “our Father” would supply the needs of all his people, throughout the world. Jesus would have us understand the prayer to be both a petition for our own needs as well as an intercession on behalf of the others who have need of bread.

I do believe that God provides more than enough food for all the world. And that he gives some more and some less with the expectation that we will share the supply with each other. When we get more than the daily bread we need, it is not to hold on to it for our own security and tomorrow’s comfort. We are given the more so we can share it with those who need it. In doing so we bless others and are blessed with God’s goodness to all the world.

Our prayer for “daily bread” challenges us to be part of the healing of the world in our sharing and ensuring that those who are hungry will also graciously receive their “daily bread.”

However, the question keeps coming back to us daily: Will we who have more from God than we need, share with those who have less than they need? Will we choose to learn contentment so that our excess can become their provision of daily bread from God.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 11, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10).

The word “hallow” means to regard as sacred or holy, to set apart or make different, that is, make different in the sense of being better or special.

And so, to pray “Hallowed be your name” is not offering praise to “Our Father in heaven,” but rather it is asking him to act in revealing himself as holy, supreme, sovereign and high above all other powers and authorities.

We are saying, “Exalt yourself. Magnify and glorify yourself in my life and in our world, so that your name will be revered, glorified, and praised, ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’”

Jesus taught that God’s kingdom is where God rules as the only and supreme King, and his will is done. Jesus also taught that our greatest desire and priority should always be for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. It is where his righteousness, peace and joy prevail.

This is the reality we desire and express in praying “your kingdom come, … on earth as it is in heaven.” It is to pray for God’s rule and transforming power to come, a power that sets people free to do his will, that overcomes the kingdoms of this world, and that completely defeats sin, Satan and death.

It is also to pray for the time to come when Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of the universe, is obeyed fully by all, including me and you, “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Max Lucado has written – “When you say, “Thy kingdom come” you are inviting the Messiah himself to walk into your world. “Come, my King! Take your throne in our land. Be present in my heart. Be present in my office. Come into my marriage. Be Lord of my family, my fears, my doubts.” This is no feeble request; it’s a bold appeal for God to occupy every corner of your life.”

I agree and further believe that God’s primary will for all of us is that we would daily experience a life filled with his abundant joy, peace and healing goodness. I believe this is his promise to all who live in obedience to him as their Father and King. And to pray “Your will be done” is to commit myself to live in love and obedience to him as my Father and King.

The question we must ponder is whether I am willing to let God have his way in my life, or do I really want God to do things my way? How serious am I when I pray “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” or when I sing the lyrics of the old hymn; “Have thine own way, Lord, Have thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay.”

I believe we all would agree that heaven is the place where God’s intentions are perfectly fulfilled, where his name is hallowed, his rule obeyed, his will is done. And I would hope you also believe with me that God has those perfect intentions for earth as well. In teaching us this prayer, I believe Jesus wanted us to know and understand that “as in heaven, so be it on earth” is the essence of his promise and our purpose on earth.

And so, when we pray:
– that God’s name be hallowed (made holy) “on earth as it is in heaven”
– that God’s kingdom come “on earth as it is in heaven”
– that God’s will be done “on earth as it is in heaven,”
we are anticipating that life on earth as we know and experience it, is going to be changed, transformed in the light of God’s will and purposes for mankind.

I believe that to be a disciple of Jesus, is to commit myself to fully participate in God’s grand transforming, redemptive work on earth, giving witness to a “new creation” made possible by Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection.

I believe God put us here to enjoy him and his good creation, and to do his work of caring for his good creation, and to establish and enlarge his holy, awesome and glorious kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.”

We live on the earth as citizens of heaven, seeking to live in obedience to God’s rule, and giving witness by what we say and do, to the priorities of God’s kingdom, awaiting the day when we see “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:2).

And someday, someday, our prayer will be answered. God’s name will be “hallowed” on earth, and we will be able to sing with the angels and all of creation, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3).

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 4, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10).

Many of us have memorized the words of this prayer. But do we seriously contemplate and understand what we are saying? In my study and use of this prayer, I have gained a deep appreciation for the spiritual insights and relational understandings expressed in it. And praying this prayer has greatly enhanced my relationship with God.

Over the next several weeks, I invite you to consider with me the truths I think Jesus intended for us to learn about our relationship with God through praying this short but majestic and potentially life-changing prayer.

In teaching us this prayer, Jesus says we are to address God as our Father, not “my Father” but “our Father” – thus making it a community prayer. When we pray this prayer, we are acknowledging and affirming that we are children of God’s family, worshiping and praying together, as Christian brothers and sisters around the world. A biblical truth we sometimes too easily forget or ignore.

The Scriptures tell us that in confessing Jesus as Lord, we are accepted into a holy family. The apostle Peter says that we “…are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, …Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;”  (1 Peter 2:9-10).

To address God as “Father” implies a relationship in which we are not God’s equal peers but are as homeless children that he has loved and adopted into his family. And as his adopted children, God has committed himself to act toward us as a loving Father acts toward his family.

Addressing God as “Our Father” also reminds me of Jesus teaching that we must be childlike in our attitude and relationship with God. He said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 18:3).

Now think with me for a moment about this relationship that we are invited into. I think you will agree with me that the Scriptures reveal God to us as the “Almighty, All-knowing God” the unapproachable “Most Holy One” and the “Creator” of all things.

And yet, what is most amazing and stunning to me, is that, according to Jesus, this awesome, most glorious God wants me to call him “Father.” In fact, the Aramaic word for “Father” as translated here, is “Abba” and carries a more intimate and loving nature than simply a formal title and is similar and akin to our word “Daddy.”

However, this near and intimate God asked Jeremiah, “Am I only a God nearby, …and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? …Do not I fill heaven and earth? (Jeremiah 23:23-24). And the psalmist worshipfully declares, “From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth.” (Psalm 33:13-14).

Yes, it is true that God is as close as a loving parent who holds us in his lap. But that image is incomplete without the image of God being distant, high and lifted-up. A common synagogue prayer invokes “Our Father, Our King.” Both truths are held together. Heaven is about God’s kingship, God’s reign. We acknowledge these truths when we pray “Our Father in heaven.”

The gracious truth is that while the transcendent God “in heaven” is always near us and sees us, we can only be in relationship with him by his initiative in first reaching out to us adopted children as “Our Father in heaven.”

There is absolutely no possibility of our entering into the presence of God or having a relationship with God by our own ability and effort. There are no gifts of “good works” or “money offerings” big enough for us to gain entrance into God’s family.

And so, each time we address God as “Our Father” we should be reminded that we have been graciously loved, redeemed, made holy, and adopted as sons and daughters into God’s family, and that he desires for us to address him with all the love and appreciation we can muster from within ourselves.

I believe that the invitation to call God “Our Father” is a tremendous, sacred privilege that we far too often take for granted. And I believe this “father/child” relationship with God is more important than all our other relationships, demands, priorities, or loyalties. Think about it.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – February 26, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

In her book, Bring Us Together, Marjorie Holmes writes this yearning prayer for community. “Oh, God, we go through life so lonely, needing what other people can give us, yet ashamed to show that need. And other people go through life so lonely, hungering for what it would be such a joy for us to give. Dear God, please bring us together, the people who need each other, who can help each other, and would so enjoy each other.”

If you are old enough to remember the TV series, THE WALTONS, you may remember one of the programs in which a small black boy, named Josh, is in conversation with Jim-Bob and says, “You were born belonging. That must be a great feeling – to belong.”

I fully believe that God created every human heart with the need to belong, to be accepted, included, and cared for in a community with other human beings. Indeed, he created us to live together in communities of love for one another.

One of the problems in our Western society is our emphasis on individualism, which has greatly diminished our sense of community, and even a felt need for it. I believe individualism is a characteristic of the human heart that leads away from God and his intention for every human being to be in community with others.

When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment, he answered by saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” And then he added this, “And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39).

To follow Jesus command, we must use the biblical language of community rather than the cultural language of individualism. To experience the abundant life he promised us, we must use the language of mutuality, of caring for one another, providing for one another, and being accountable to one another.

The early Christian community caught this vision and became a fellowship of sacrificial love, sharing life at all levels of spiritual, social, and economic relationships, such shelter, clothing, food, and wealth.

God’s design and purpose of community is what biblical scholars have named “the ministry of shared pilgrimage.” This is a priestly role for all people of God, and fits well into Anabaptist theology regarding the belief in the priesthood of all believers.

Anabaptist Christians regarded the need to live in community as an essential core value.
Myron Augsburger, a highly regarded theologian and pastor who is deeply rooted in the Anabaptist tradition, defines this biblical understanding of “love in community” in his book, “The Robe of God.”
“First, love personalizes relationships rather than institutionalizing them. We are to look at people as ends in themselves and never as a means to some other end.
Second, love energizes relationships rather than legalizing them. Jesus moves us beyond codes to compassion. As we care for people, we regard the law only as a means for treating others with justice and mercy.
Third, love immortalizes relationships rather than temporalizing them. We have been called to always look beyond the need of the immediate, to share the quality and the extension of the eternal. We are not to make our decisions solely on the basis of the needs of the moment. With eternity in view, we share to invest in a life.”

I think this is a compelling, directive word for all of us, countering the noisy, tempting, siren calls of individualism. But most importantly, it is a much needed directive word for church congregations and their related ministries.

It saddens me to witness how our culture’s focus on individualism is so rapidly diminishing God’s call for all mankind to be primarily focused on mutuality, a shared pilgrimage of caring for one another, providing for one another, and being accountable to one another.

Myron Augsburger’s definitions of love in community, help us to “walk our talk,” that is, to act out our Christian beliefs regarding community in the way we care and provide for others. It is about transforming our work and worship into Christian ministry.

The question for each of us to ask ourselves is, how am I today and every day nurturing a community spirit of concern for others in my home, work, and church relationships.

“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:8-9).

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – February 19, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

The story is told of a little boy being overheard talking to himself as he strode through his backyard, baseball cap in place and toting a ball and bat.  “I’m the greatest baseball player in the world” he said proudly.  Then he tossed the ball in the air, swung and missed.  Undaunted, he picked up the ball, threw it into the air and said”I’m the greatest player ever!”  He swung at the ball again, and again he missed.  He paused a moment to examine bat and ball carefully.  Then once again he threw the ball into the air and said “I’m the greatest baseball player who ever lived.”  He swung the bat hard and again missed the ball.  “Wow!” he exclaimed.  “What a pitcher!”

That boy felt good about who he was, and with unwavering self-confidence believed in himself.

Dr. James Dobson has said that the greatest gift parents can give their children is a healthy self-esteem.  He states that if children don’t think positively about themselves, they will be unmotivated, lacking energy and enthusiasm for life.  He believes that it is critical for children, with their emerging personality, to gain a strong sense of self-worth and self-confidence.

I believe this to be true, but I also believe that this same sense of self-worth is critical for our emotional health and happiness throughout life, and especially during the latter years of life.  As children, our sense of self-worth comes first from parents who constantly affirm who we are and what we accomplish.  Then throughout every stage of life that follows, our sense of self-worth is sustained by frequent affirmation from those around us.

However, it is equally important if not more so, to regularly find ways to affirm our self-worth.  When we acknowledge our worth as children of God, we acknowledge and honor God.  Self-worth means self-respect, and both are rooted in who we are as God’s special and unique children.

The apostle Paul writes “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.  The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”  (Romans 8:14-17).

And John writes in his first letter “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”  (1 John 3:1).

God condemns foolish pride, but self-worth that flows from a knowledge of our precious value as a child of the all-knowing and all-loving Father God glorifies the God who created us.

On the other hand, the loss of self-worth is tragic.  Losing one’s sense of self-worth can shake our faith in God.  Godly self-worth is the gift God implanted in us when he created us in our mother’s womb, and losing it is like losing God.  And so, rediscovering this gracious gift of self-worth is like finding God again, for it is the heart-beat of human dignity.

Self-worth and self-confidence generally grows stronger as we age and mature, because as adults we find purpose and a sense of self-worth through what we “do” – that is, our work and achievements.

Furthermore, our society generally measures our worth by what we “do” rather than on “who” we are.  That is, we are valuable if we are doing something important and the greater the importance the greater our value.  And so we tend to base our self-worth on our “doing” rather than on our “being.”  This is contrary to the way God measures our value.

For that reason I think it is important for us to frequently rediscover and reaffirm our worth based on “who we are” as unique human beings, children of God whom he most dearly loves.  And it is equally important that we be more diligent in verbally affirming those with whom we together live, work and worship.

We must not, we dare not give up the struggle to maintain our own sense of self-worth, nor should we ever diminish our efforts to encourage and enhance the self-worth of others, both the young and the aging, for as long as God gives them a heart-beat.

“How precious to me are your thoughts, God!  How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand – when I awake, I am still with you.”  (Psalm 139:17-18).

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – February 12, 2020

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley