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MEDITATION:

Written by C.S. Lewis (1898-1960), a British writer and lay theologian.  This meditation is an excerpt from the book “Readings from C.S. Lewis.”

People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, “If you keep a lot of rules, I’ll reward you, and if you don’t I’ll do the other thing.” I do not think that is the best way of looking at it. I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a Heaven creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is Heaven: that is, it is joy, and peace, and knowledge, and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.

PRAYER:

This prayer is from the Book of Common Prayer used by the Anglican church

Merciful God,

we confess that we have sinned against you

in thought, word, and deed,

by what we have done,

and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you

with our whole heart and mind and strength.

We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

In your mercy forgive what we have been,

help us amend what we are,

and direct what we shall be,

so that we may delight in your will

and walk in your ways,

to the glory of your holy name.

Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Love God and Love People:  Performed by Danny Gokey

This song was written by the performer in 2019.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Becky Jessen.

The first person I think of when I hear “loving and just” is my dear grandmother. She was one of ten children (9 girls and 1 boy) born on a small farm in south-central Pennsylvania. Since they were poor, she was “hired out” at age 8 to a wealthy family in the city. She was let go at age 9 because she ate half of a strawberry while fixing a lunch for others. She then was moved to another family. All her life she “made do” and never ever complained. She was always the first to take something from the garden or bake something for someone in need. She was never resentful, but always uplifting in her quiet respectful way. She taught by her example all five of her grandchildren her deep faith in her loving, righteous God. Even at the end of her life, she was singing her favorite hymns with my sister. In my opinion, she was the epitome of kind, loving, and just. I strive to be like her.

PRAYER:

This prayer is a traditional Celtic blessing.

May you have

Walls for the wind

And a roof for the rain,

And drinks bedside the fire

Laughter to cheer you

And those you love near you,

And all that your heart may desire

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Wonderful Words of Life:   Performed by Fountainview Academy

The hymn was written by the American revivalist song leader Philip Bliss (1838-1876).

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MEDITATION:

Written by Timothy Keller, a contemporary pastor and author. This is an excerpt from his book “Generous Justice.”

In the 1980s Nora Ellen Groce was researching hereditary deafness on Martha’s Vineyard. In the seventeenth century, the original European settlers were all from a region in Kent, England, called “the Weald” where there was a high incidence of hereditary deafness. Because of their geographical isolation and intermarriage, the percentage of deaf people increased across the whole island. By the nineteenth century, one out of twenty-five people in the town of Chilmark was deaf and in another small settlement, almost a quarter of the people could not hear. (Today, because of the mobility of the population and marriage with off-islanders, hereditary deafness has vanished. The last deaf person born on the Vineyard died in 1952). In most societies, physically handicapped people are forced to adapt to the life patterns of the nonhandicapped, but that is not what happened on the Vineyard. One day Groce was interviewing an older island resident and she asked him what the hearing people thought of the deaf people. “We didn’t think anything about them, they were just like everyone else,” he replied. Groce responded that it must have been necessary for everyone to write things down on paper in order to communicate with them. The man responded in surprise, “No, you see everyone here spoke sign language.” The interviewer asked if he meant the deaf people’s families. No, he answered, “Everybody in town—I used to speak it, my mother did, everybody.” Another interviewee said, “Those people weren’t handicapped. They were just deaf.” One other remembered “They [the deaf] were like anybody else. I wouldn’t be overly kind because they, they’d be sensitive to that. I’d just treat them the way I treated anybody.”  Indeed, what happened was that an entire community had disadvantaged itself en masse for the sake of a minority. Instead of making the non-hearing minority learn to read lips, the whole hearing majority learned signing. All the hearing became bilingual, so deaf people were able to enter into full social participation. As a result of “doing justice” (disadvantaging themselves) the majority “experienced shalom”—it included people in the social fabric who in other places would have fallen through it…Deafness as a “handicap” largely disappeared.

PRAYER:

Written by Winfield Bevins, a contemporary seminary professor.

O God, the King of righteousness, lead us in the ways of justice and peace, inspire us to break down all tyranny and oppression, to gain for every person what is due to them. May each live for all and all care for each. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

I Won’t Let Go:   Performed by Rascal Flats.

Written in 2009 by Steve Robson and Jason Sellers.

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MEDITATION:

Written by David Nowell, a contemporary author, speaker, and President of Hope Unlimited for Children. This is an excerpt from his book “Dirty Faith.”

In Brazil an estimated fourteen thousand children are incarcerated in unspeakably subhuman conditions. In the Congo, three thousand children live behind bars, food supplies are sporadically provided by family from the outside—otherwise the kids just go hungry. In Yemen, a U.N. report found that even when children held in Sana’a Central Prison finish their sentences, they remain in prison due to their inability to pay court-imposed fines. In Russia’s sixty-plus children’s prison camps, an estimated fourteen thousand kids live under inhumane conditions behind concrete walls and barbed wire. Often, they do not have proper shoes or clothes to endure the harsh Russian winters. Worldwide, UNICEF tags the number at 1.1 million children behind bars. Are these bad kids? Yep. Murderers? Yes. Rapists, drug dealers, kidnappers? Without question. And we are called to be the hands of the Christ who loves them.

PRAYER:

Written Janet Perez Eckles, a contemporary author and inspirational speaker.

Lord, how wrong I have been to act as if Christ had never been born. As if He didn’t perform miracles. As if He didn’t take my every tear, my daily worries, my sin and insecurities on that cross. As if the tomb wasn’t empty and the throne wasn’t full of His presence and grace. It’s that grace that gives meaning and power to your promises. I know that your Word prevails even when our world turns black. I trust that your healing comes in different forms, stages, and ways. I believe that you promised to provide all we need. Seeking you doesn’t require physical vision, complete health, or a life free of troubles. But instead, a heart full of devotion and obedience, which I offer you. No matter how many seasons sweep by, Lord, your reminders remain the same. Each tear we cry has a purpose. Each trying stage has a divine reason. And in your capable hands, each icy rain of adversity is transformed into the warmth and sparkle of your grace. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Ain’t No Grave:   Performed by Johnny Cash.

The music was recorded shortly before his death in 2003 and released posthumously in 2010. The song was originally written by Claude Ely, a songwriter and preacher from Virginia. He composed the song while sick with tuberculosis in 1934 when he was 12 years old.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Kathy Loftman.

Russ and I have been incredibly touched by God’s love over the past few months. In October, Russ fell outside our home, which led to cycles of pain, the inability to walk, and eventually to hospitalization for two weeks around Thanksgiving. Although it was a tough time for us, our church friends became clear signs of God’s hope for us. We received calls, emails, texts, and words of encouragement which strengthened our resolve and resilience. In particular, we felt God’s healing presence through the kindness of others. One of our church members took Russ to an important doctor’s appointment, lent us a wheelchair, and gave us great advice and suggestions. One of our Bible Study couples emailed us weekly checking in on us and offering to help. Other church friends called and emailed us offering assistance. Our pastors visited Russ in the hospital. We felt the strength and encouragement through all the prayers from our church’s prayer chain and the congregational prayers. And when asked by one of our parishioners how we were doing, I made an off-hand comment that we were in need of a walker. In less than 24 hours, a walker was at our front door with a warm greeting. Russ has greatly improved now and we are forever grateful for the kindness and love of our church family. God’s love shows His presence and promise through others. Thank you!

PRAYER:

Written by Debbie McDaniel, a contemporary Christian writer.

Dear God, thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you for your great love and care. Thank you for your sacrifice so that we might have freedom and life. Forgive us for when we don’t thank you enough, for who you are, for all that you do, for all that you’ve given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on you afresh. Renew our spirits, fill us with your peace and joy. We love you and we need you, this day and every day. We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

When I Survey the Wonderous Cross:   Performed by Rosemary Siemens.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross was written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748) in 1707. It was innovative because it departed from the early English hymn style of only using paraphrased biblical texts.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Marianne Williamson, a contemporary spiritual leader, political activist, and author. This is an excerpt from her book “Everyday Grace.”

Once, when I was in my early twenties, I lived in a house in San Francisco with several other people. In the dining room overlooking the city, there was a very long table at which there were always people drinking coffee and engaging in lively conversation at almost any time of the night or day. That was a period in my life in which I thought of my future as more important than my present—surely in my future I would find the secret to happiness. But now that I’m living what my younger self thought of as the future, I look back to that table and think, “That was it!” There at that table, I remember having my first and still one of my most potent experiences of community. My house today is nicer, to be sure. Like others of my generation, I “graduated” into my own this, my own that. But also, like others of my generation, I sort of miss the old days when there was more connection and less competition, more community and less isolation, more conversation and less TV. Today, when we think about people joining together, it’s not always for such wonderful purposes. We know about “terror cells,” made up of terrorists joined for the purpose of wreaking havoc on our world. We get chills as we realize the power of two or more terrorists joined together, exerting greater power than the sum of the individuals. Yet the power of joining together applies as much—in fact, much more—to those who love than to those who hate. For there is a cosmic propulsion behind love that is not behind hate. Our problem is not that hate is more powerful than love, because indeed it is not; our problem is that hatred today is more energetic and active than love. It’s time for our generation to allow ourselves not only the satisfaction of deep love and community, but also the power of deep love and community. It is the greatest antidote to the darkness of our times….God did not create us individually, but as one; that is the esoteric meaning of “only one begotten Son.” The awareness of our oneness, while foreign to the ego, is clear to the heart. And that’s why unity is the key to our happiness. Spiritually we do not exist in isolation. It is unnatural for us to perceive ourselves as separate. We’re like sunbeams of the same son and waves of the same ocean. Imagining ourselves as separate waves, we feel that we are tiny and powerless, when in fact we are integral to the immense power of the sea.

PRAYER:

Written by Janel Breitenstein, a contemporary author.

Lord, thank You for the diverse personalities, abilities, passions, and ways of seeing the world that you’ve placed around me. I beg you today for unity in this town/city/country. We are highly divided. You alone are the Prince of Peace; you alone are the One whose name is Love. Cover our community with Your peace. Teach us—teach me—to love. Show us the ways of forgiveness, of loving our neighbor—even those most outcast—as ourselves. Open our eyes to those who are rejected, powerless, oppressed, or overlooked. You have such great promises for us when we shoulder their burdens with them (Isaiah 48)! Let us be a voice for the voiceless.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Blest Be the Tie That Binds:   Performed by Fountainview Academy.

This favorite hymn by John Fawcett (1740-1817) was written in 1772 for his congregation. He was going to leave for another position but decided to turn down the call at a larger church and remain with his flock.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Ken Shigematsu, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from his book, “God in My Everything.”

My friend Elizabeth was a nationally ranked javelin thrower in college. As an undergraduate she would sometimes walk around the Stanford campus with her javelin perched on her shoulder—even when she wasn’t headed to track practice. Elizabeth also carries a “javelin” with her in her personal relationships: the ability to speak well-aimed, incisive truths that her friends need to hear. Not only does Elizabeth see and name good things in me that I don’t see clearly or have forgotten, she just as regularly points out rough edges such as my tendency toward workaholism. After the birth of my son, she urged me to spend more time at home with my wife and him. I remember her saying to me, “Others can travel and speak, but no one else can be a husband to Sakiko and a father to Joey.” When she sensed that I was slipping into a place of unhealthy emotional vulnerability with someone, she charged me to make sure I had appropriate boundaries in place. The book of Proverbs tells us the wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of any enemy. I am blessed to be wounded by a friend as candid as Elizabeth.

No one has a 360-degree perspective on their life. Just as there is a blind spot in the retina of the eye, there is also a blind spot in the soul where we cannot see the truth about ourselves. A spiritual friend will identify our blind spot with love, but they will identify it. If they see us walking down a path of over- (or under-) committing to work, making poor financials choices, or placing ourselves in a compromising relationship, they will care for us by naming these things. A true friend will name the attitudes and actions that are causing us to drift from God even as they actively point us to God.

PRAYER:

This prayer is from the Gregorian Sacramentary, a 10th century illuminated Latin manuscript ascribed to Gregory 1.

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your  holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

What a Friend We Have In Jesus:   Performed by Alan Jackson.

This hymn was written by Joseph Scriven (1819-1886) in 1855. An Irish immigrant to Canada, his life was filled with grief and trials and he often needed the solace of the Lord described in this famous hymn.

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MEDITATION:

The author wished to remain anonymous.

I have many wonderful memories of my mother.  She was a woman of many talents, very creative, industrious, energetic, generous, devoting herself to caring for many others.  She had the world’s greenest thumb, and our home was often full of the orchids she grew, and the outside garden was her master canvas.   She was also the most complicated person I ever knew.  Besides her many talents, she harbored a deep, abiding anger and sadness within her that colored her most inner self.  Somehow, as her youngest child, I was privy to that darker side that others could not see.  Emotional eruptions punctuated my childhood which I did not fully understand, but I learned to cope.

As a young mother myself, I had a learning experience that clarified my understanding of my mom, and I began to see the roots of her inner sadness which allowed me to have a forgiving spirit toward her.  As God revealed her truths to me, I loved my mother more compassionately, and I forgave.  Simultaneously, God taught me that his unconditional love brings me and all of us potential forgiveness. God forgives us in spite of our imperfections, in spite of ourselves.  Unconditional love brought Christ to an excruciating cross to save us before we even knew we needed salvation.  God knows us so well; his love offers compassion and forgiveness even though unearned.  That eternal love continues to this day and is all around us.  It is the emblem we bear as creatures of his kingdom.  Happy Easter.

PRAYER:

Written by Mary Leonora Wilson, a contemporary author and nun.

Lord Jesus, in your suffering, as in all of your life, you are my Teacher. Let me never take my eyes off you but learn from you how I should live. Teach me the way of forgiveness and compassion. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Lord, I Want To Be a Christian:   Performed by The Antrim Mennonite Choir.

The hymn was written by the Scottish Rev. Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847) in 1847, when he was dying of tuberculosis.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Desmond Tutu (1931-2021), a South African Anglican bishop and theologian who worked as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist) and his daughter Mpho Tutu. This is an excerpt from their book “The Book of Forgiving.”

Ultimately, forgiveness is a choice we make, and the ability to forgive others comes from the recognition that we are all flawed and human. We all have made mistakes and harmed others. We will again. We find it easier to practice forgiveness when we can recognize that the roles could have been reversed. Each of us could have been the perpetrator rather than the victim. Each of us has the capacity to commit the wrongs against others that were committed against us. Although I might say, “I would never…” genuine humility will answer, “Never, say never.” Rather say, “I hope that, given the same set of circumstances, I would not…” But can we ever really know?  No person will always stand in the camp of the perpetrator. No person will always be the one who is the victim. In some situations, we have been harmed, and in others we have harmed. And sometimes we straddle both camps, as when, in the heat of a marital spat, we trade hurts with our partners. Not all harms are equivalent, but this is really not the issue. Those who wish to compare how much they have wronged to how much they have been wronged will find themselves drowning in a whirlpool of victimization and denial. Those who think they are beyond reproach have not taken an honest look in the mirror. People are not born hating each other and wishing to cause harm. It is a learned condition. Children do not dream of growing up to be rapists or murderers, and yet every rapist and every murderer was once a child. And there are times when I look at some of those who are described as “monsters” and I honestly believe that there, but for the grace of God, go I. I do not say this because I am some singular saint. I say this because I have sat with condemned men on death row. I have spoken with former police officers who have admitted inflicting the cruelest torture, I have visited child soldiers who have committed acts of nauseating depravity, and I have recognized in each of them a depth of humanity that was a mirror of my own. Forgiveness is truly the grace by which we enable another person to get up, and get up with dignity, to begin anew. To not forgive leads to bitterness and hatred. Like self-hatred and self-contempt, hatred of others gnaws away at our vitals. Whether hatred is projected out or stuffed in, it is always corrosive to the human spirit.

PRAYER:

Written by Cheryce Rampersad, a contemporary Christian author.

Father, bless me with the wonderful power of forgiveness. Give me the grace to unconditionally forgive those who have done me wrong. Give me the strength to let go of all ill-will, to forgive myself of my own failings and sins, knowing that you have already forgiven me.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Lord, I Want To Be a Christian   Performed by The Moses Hogan Chorale.

This spiritual may have originated in Virginia in the 1750s, based on this story from Hanover Virginia:  “A black slave asked Presbyterian preacher William Davies, ‘I come to you, sir, that you may tell me some good things concerning Jesus Christ and my duty to God, for I am resolved not to live anymore as I have done…I want to be a Christian.”

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MEDITATION:

Written by David Kool and Andrew Ryskamp, contemporary leaders of the “Faithward” mission. This is an excerpt from their article “How to Apply Micah 6:8 to Your Life.”

God tells us to “do justice.” Perhaps you struggle to know what it means to do justice. How did I do justice this past week? What does it look like? We have often defined justice by placing it primarily in a political, economic, or judicial realm. These definitions make it difficult to identify that we are doing justice on a regular basis. Where are our courts and police malfunctioning? What laws or practices allow for racial discrimination? What businesses take advantage of low-income people and charge them exorbitant interest rates? While these are indeed a part of social injustice, and we must fully engage in them, they can be distant from our daily lives. Our definition of justice is “to create a world where all people have equal opportunity to fully develop the gifts that God has placed within them.” While this does include the bigger political, judicial, and economic challenges we face, it can also include more basic activities, like a program that provides tutors so that kids in urban school settings have equal opportunities to learn to read as suburban kids. Justice is supporting an overwhelmed single parent who is struggling to find the time and resources to give adequate time to his or her children. Justice is taking in a foster child. Justice is employing a young person coming out of prison. Justice is a host of other activities that level the playing field and provide equal opportunity for all. Doing justice is also developmental, meaning that we don’t simply give things away to meet a need, but we help people help themselves. Using the well-known fishing metaphor, we don’t just give people a fish, but we teach them how to fish. In our daily lives, we all have the opportunity to do justice with actions that help people help themselves. In this, we are creating an environment where people can thrive and achieve their full potential. 

PRAYER:

Written by Carrie Marrs, a contemporary writer and editor with a background in biblical theology and Christian ministry.

God, You’ve shown us what is good: to act justly and to do what is fair to others. You’ve sent Your Son to provide peace and the bond of true fellowship.

Open our eyes to the needs of others —of all the different types of people in this world. Lead us out of our comfort zones so we can bless and build bonds with people who are different from us. Lead us in respectful service toward one another, treating each other as brothers and sisters.

May we be instruments in Your hands as You bring Your kingdom of justice and peace. May we spread Your goodness and bring many to join us in living close to You in Your glory and love.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

In These Days of Lenten Journey:   Performed by Chris Brunelle.

This song was written by Ricky Manalo in 1997.

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