Pathways Press.com

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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MEDITATION:

Written by Michael Wittmer, a contemporary professor of systemic theology and author. This is an excerpt from his book “Heaven is a Place on Earth.”

How do we serve Christ in a world where globally everyone is our neighbor and locally few are? One response is to think globally and act locally. We should always keep the large, global picture in mind, monitoring trends and evaluating how are actions inadvertently help or hurt others on the other side of the world. But though we follow and seek to influence the global picture, most of our concrete, specific steps for shalom will occur within our local communities. There, in our personal touch with our fellow image-bearers, lies our greatest opportunity to advance shalom. These local networks include the neighborhood in which we reside, the colleagues we work alongside, and the family within our home. While these are all important, our greatest opportunity to promote shalom lies not in our neighborhoods, offices, or even our homes, but in our local churches. Jesus Christ established his church as a beacon, a beachhead for shalom within this dark world of war and division. His supreme passion is for his people to enjoy the fruitful unity that comes from the shalom of God. On the evening before his death, Jesus’ final prayer in the Upper Room was for his followers to “be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Paul applies this passion for peace to ethnic and religious strife, explaining that Christ has overcome centuries of animosity between Jews and Gentiles, reconciling them to each other as he reconciles each to the Father. So now “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. This unity among individual believers—church community—is a recurring emphasis throughout Paul’s writings…Paul urges the believers to use their distinctive gifts to serve the body, humbly honor and care for one another, live peaceably among all people, support and submit to government authorities, love others, allow diversity of opinion about matters of Christian freedom, protecting the weak while not condemning the strong and patiently bear one another’s burdens, seeking to benefit their neighbor rather than themselves…Each person will only flourish and find delight in God to the extent that the entire body experiences shalom. Our spiritual health depends both on receiving help from our brothers and sisters and giving our gifts to serve them…Although we may never fully succeed in restoring shalom to our selfish world, there is at least one place where we should expect to find the flourishing, wholeness, and delight that comes from genuine community. Christ intends his church to be a herald of shalom. When this collection of diverse individuals chooses to sacrificially serve one another in the name of the Prince of Peace, we silently announce to a troubled world that the kingdom of shalom is present in our midst. In this way we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, proving by our conduct that sin does not have the last word, but just as shalom once permeated the original creation, it has come to Christ’s church and will come again to his world.

PRAYER:

Written by Cheryce Rampersad, a contemporary Christian author.

Dear God, allow me to be a replica of Your love. Let Your light shine through. Allow me to have mercy on myself as well as others. Let me follow in Your footsteps. May I forgive just as You forgave the world. Soften my heart so that I can touch the lives of others. Lead me, guide me and walk beside me, as I portray You in all that I do.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

This Little Light of Mine:   Performed by Bruce Springsteen (Live in Dublin).

This popular gospel song is of unknown origin. It is often reported to be written for children in the 1920s by Harry Dixon Loes, but he never claimed credit for the song and the Moody Bible Institute where he worked said he did not write it.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Alan Goodman.

I became a member of the Village Church in 2015. Being a member means different things to different people. I did not want to just occupy a pew seat on Sundays. I did not want to give token financial support to the church, etc. I also wanted to really participate in other things.

I started tithing several years ago while at SBPC. The blessings from God have been “off the charts” and growing since doing this. I never thought that a God-first approach to stewardship worked so extremely well. I have seen the fruits of doing this personally. In addition to volunteering in a variety of church activities, I have come to feel closer and closer to living life as Jesus would want me to live. I am definitely a “work-in-progress” however.

More recently, Pastor Jack invited me to participate in group 2 of his “Kingdom Academy” initiative. Our whole team is looking into the very essence of improving our relationship with God in every aspect of our lives.  As a group, we are looking into ways to get from here to there to actually achieve this goal in a very tangible way. Having been a Business Operations consultant in my past life has given me a very direct foundation to even participate in this for the church. This group effort is going to make my own life more Jesus-based as an absolute gift.

I think more deeply about my personal (and improving) journey with Jesus, and I give thanks to God daily. Hallelujah!

PRAYER:

Written by David Mathis, a contemporary author and editor at desiringGod.org.

Lord, thank you for your abundant, abounding grace. Thank you that we don’t have to earn a drop of the mighty river of grace that flows freely for us today. Thank you for the unexpected, unmerited favor you’ve showered on my life. Help me put myself in the path of your love and grace. Help me not neglect the disciplines I need to meet with you regularly and to drink from the water of life. Thank you for your rich love. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley   Performed by The St. Francis de Sales Choir.

The origin of this folk hymn are unclear, but it first appeared in U.S. hymnals in the second half of the 20^th century. It is a conflation of the Appalachian folk song tradition and the African American spiritual.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Max Lucado, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker. This is an excerpt from his book “Learning to Live Together.”

My daughter and I boarded a 1:00 a.m. flight in Tel Aviv which would carry us back to the States. Traveling is always hectic, but that night it was especially bad. The plane was packed, and we were delayed because of extra-tight airport security. As we boarded, I realized that our seats weren’t together. We were separated by an aisle. With no time to seek help from the front desk, I determined to persuade the fellow sitting next to Jenna to swap seats with me. Surely, he’ll understand, I thought. He didn’t. He was already nestled down for the ten-hour flight and wasn’t about to move. “Please, I begged, “let me sit by my daughter.” He leaned up and looked and my seat and leaned back. “No thanks,” he declined. Growl. I took my seat and Jenna took hers next to the thoughtless, heartless scoundrel. As the plane prepared for take-off, I dedicated my mind to drawing a mental sketch of the jerk. Wasn’t hard…By the time the plane was backing up, I was plotting how I’d trip him if he dared walk to the restroom during the flight…I turned to intimidate him with a snarl and saw, much to my surprise, Jenna offering him a pretzel. What? My daughter fraternizing with the enemy! An even worse, he took it! As if the pretzel were an olive branch, he accepted her gift and they both leaned their seats back and dozed off. I eventually dozed off myself, but not before I’d learned the lesson God had used my daughter to teach me. In God’s house we occasionally find ourselves next to people we don’t like. If we could ask them to leave, we would, but we aren’t given the option. All of us are here by grace and, at some point, all of us have to share some grace. So, the next time you find yourself next to a questionable character, don’t give him a hard time…give him a pretzel.

PRAYER:

Written by Callie Logan, a contemporary teacher and writer.

Father, we ask today for Your hand in our lives. We pray for the restoration of our lives by Your process. That process may not look like what we would think or plan, but we know that because You see all that is, was, and is to come…that ultimately, You will do what is most compassionate and best. Father, today we come before Your Holy throne to ask for Your restoration in our lives. We submit ourselves to Your ever-loving Will and kindness throughout.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Make Me a Blessing:  Performed by The Haven of Rest Quartet.

George Shuler and Ira Wilson were roommates at Moody Bible Institute in 1924. They combined their talents to write this hymn. Wilson wrote the lyrics and Shuler the music.  

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MEDITATION:

Written by Vickie Stone.

One of the ways I see God at work in the world today is when I hear of situations of amazing forgiveness. One such example I recall was from a horrible car accident 5 years ago here in San Diego….The driver was a 33-year-old woman. Driving home to Encinitas late one foggy night she glimpsed a vehicle, with no lights on, coming straight toward her. Everything went black. She woke up in her car with the dashboard and windshield sitting in her lap, a stranger trying to put flames out with a fire extinguisher, rescuers using the jaws of life to free her from her crushed vehicle. The wrong-way driver was a 20-year-old college student who had been out drinking with his friends. His car was a fireball, and he did not survive. She had no insurance; her family was back in Australia, and she was recently divorced. I remember thinking how would I manage such a situation?

She was in a coma for a week and woke up not able to feel or move her legs; with staples down her torso holding her together. The doctors told her the right side of her body had been crushed with broken bones from her feet to her neck.  Two weeks in the hospital, five surgeries, and a month in rehabilitation provided her plenty of time to think. She was determined to get better. Instead of self-pity, she envisioned the accident as the path to use her misfortune to help others.  She opened a healing-from-within center to mentor others that experience traumatic events. The family of the wrong-way driver reached out to the woman after the crash. She assured them that she forgave him; that he was a boy being young who did something foolish which cost him his life. Every year she takes flowers to the side of the freeway on the anniversary of his death. She prays for him regularly. Much can be learned from such forgiveness from someone that suffered so much and yet reaches out to help others.

PRAYER:

Written by Kirstyn Mayden, a contemporary Christian author.

Dear God, when we feel hopeless, restore our hope in who You are. Reaffirm our strength and hope that are found in You, and not what we see. Remind us of the purposes that you have for us and the resources to accomplish what You have called us to do. Remind us of your faithfulness and to not lose hope in Your goodness, provision, and sovereignty. Revive our hope in You to inspire, encourage, comfort, and restore all that has been lost and broken.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

In Christ Alone:  Performed by Josh Groban.

This song was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein for the musical Carousel.

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MEDITATION:

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

What does it take to help entire neighborhoods to self-sufficiency? Most of the best answers to that question begin with a look at the life and work of John M. Perkins. Perkins, born in 1930, founded ministries in both rural and urban areas of Mississippi, as well as urban Los Angeles. His work has included a dizzying variety of programs, including daycare, farm co-ops, health centers, adult education centers, low-income housing development, tutoring, job training, youth internships, and college scholarship programs, as well as vigorous evangelism and new church planting. Perkin’s approach at the time was revolutionary because he combined very traditional, evangelical Christian theology and ministry with a holistic vision for both ministry to the whole person and rebuilding entire poor communities.

Charles Marsh, professor at the University of Virginia, makes a strong case that Perkins and his movement have taken up and carried on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision for “the beloved community.” After King’s death, Marsh argues, the Civil Rights Movement lost its “unifying spiritual vision”—its belief that social reform could come through grassroots, local communities of faith. The movement came to rely completely on politics and government. But without denying the importance of public policies such as integration, equal employment opportunity, and welfare, “Perkins…concluded that government programs alone failed to address the deeper sources of hopelessness in black communities.” When Perkins tied social reform, economic development, and vigorous evangelism all together into a seamless whole, he confounded both the secularized liberal civil rights establishment and the conservative churches. Leaders of both sides did not know how to regard him, but many younger Christian leaders were inspired, and in 1989 they formed the Christian Community Development Association, which now includes hundreds of churches and local development corporations.

PRAYER:

This prayer was published by the Great Plains United Methodists Conference, a jurisdiction of the Methodist Church in the Kansas and Nebraska region.

Almighty God, you have created all people and all of creation. We give you thanks for this gift we’re invited to engage with hope, joy, and love as your disciples. Open our hearts and our eyes to see our communities as you would have us to see them. Help us to find the courage to sit and hear others when so often we want to be heard first. You are good and you are gracious, O God. Let us see all people as children of you, who created us all. It is in the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

In Christ Alone:  Performed by BYU Vocal Point.

This song was a collaborative effort between British songwriters Stuart Townend and Keith Getty. It was written in 2002 with a theme of the implications of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Valerie Weaver.

I have never liked heights and my 7-year-old granddaughter shares my discomfort. One day she was with me as we were driving on a road that had a steep drop off to one side. I immediately saw her discomfort and told her that she need not worry as the cliffside of the road had continuous guardrails to keep us from falling off. That seemed to calm her until we came to a place where there had obviously been an accident and the guardrails had been knocked down. In anticipation of her discomfort and fear, as she looked at the stretch where the rails were gone, I assured her that they would be replaced soon. Had I not been driving her response would have brought me to my knees. “Of course, they will be fixed grandma”, she said. “God does not ever want us to fall off a cliff”. Her simple faith and wisdom said it all to me. These past two years and the uncertainties of the future have been so stressful and strange for so many of us. We have been masked, separated, isolated, and fearful. I worried that life had changed forever, and I was saddened and aggrieved. Her simple faith that God would always provide our guardrails humbled me. I was reminded that His love, grace, and protection were all the guardrails in life that I could ever need.

PRAYER:

Written by Clement of Rome (?-99 A.D.), Bishop of Rome and considered to be the first Apostolic Father of the Church.

We beseech You, Master, to be our helper and protector. Save the afflicted among us; have mercy on the lowly; Raise up the fallen; appear to the needy; heal the ungodly; Restore the wanderers of Your people; Feed the hungry; ransom our prisoners; Raise up the sick; comfort the faint-hearted.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

What Wonderous Love:  Performed by The St. Olaf Choir.

The hymn dates to the 11^th century and is often ascribed to Gregory the Great. others believe it to be of English origin.

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MEDITATION:

Written by Michael Hoy, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from his book “The Healing Marks of Jesus.”

We do not generally lock doors to keep ourselves in but to keep others out. There are many in our world whom we have locked out because we find them unimportant, uninteresting, or offensive to us. We have preconceived notions that they are not to be trusted and convince ourselves so. All of this in the name of “being safe” – and who doesn’t want to be safe? But it is also a clever disguise and denial of our true feelings toward others. What we are unaware of in all of this is how much we have also become locked into just ourselves. Our hearts become hardened not only to others but also to God—whose creatures we and all others are. Brothers and sisters are crying for our help, but that thought never enters our mind as we turn the bolt. It would be damning were it not that all barriers—even the barriers of our isolated hearts—are not the final obstacle to our risen Lord. Watch for the Stranger!

PRAYER:

Written by Michael Hoy, author of today’s meditation.

Lord, we have denied all those who bear the scars of suffering and neglected humanity. Lead us to welcome the stranger in our midst. Amen.

MUSIC MEDITATION:

Poor Wayfaring Stranger:  Performed by Narrow Way.

This American folk song, about a plaintive soul on the journey through life, likely originated in the early 19^th century. Lyrics were published in 1858 in Joseph Bever’s Christian Songster, a collection of popular hymns and spiritual songs of the time. For several years after the Civil War, the lyrics were known as the “Libby Prison Hymn” because the words had been inscribed by a dying Union soldier incarcerated in the prison.

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