Poetry Where You Live

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All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 35,240+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

"Take Me to Your Leader" - sermon by Ruth L. Foss, May 7, 2006, for Basic Lay Speaker class

Sermon on John 10:11-18
May 7, 2006

Take Me to Your Leader

When we think about a Shepherd, we think about some one who leads sheep. Some one who takes care of their needs. They make sure that they have what they need on a daily basis for life. They make sure that they are safe from harm. One who guides them into good pasture with plenty to eat and drink. When think about shepherds I think of someone like David. He was a Shepherd before he became a king. He tended the sheep and when they were in danger from an outside predator, he fought and risked his life for the sheep of the flock he was tending. He had no regard for his own life, only about the lives of these helpless animals that trusted that he would always be there for them and keep them safe from harm. He knew these charges he had and they knew him. I also think of Moses. He was like a shepherd in how he led the Israelites out of Egypt. Through his prayers to God he made sure that they had food and water. He also provided for them spiritually when he brought the 10 Commandments down off the mountain. Not that they listened…All they did was complain. But even through their complaining, Moses still sought for what was best for his flock.
I know how Moses felt when all he got was complaining. Being a parent I considered myself as a shepherd in its’ own right. I have three little sheep at home that count on me to lead them. They look to me for direction. They look to me to provide for them and when they don’t get what they want….they act like Israel in their 50th year…never mind 40. My husband Ray and I are considered one of their Spiritual leaders as well as daily provider. We take our position seriously. We want to make sure that they are provided for in all aspects of life. We are doing OK in our shepherding as far as we can see. I remember when Ray and our 4 year old Shanequa went to the store to get snacks and they were going down the bread isle. When Ray decided to buy some rice cakes Shanequa piped up with “that’s the body of Christ.” He could not have been more proud as tears welled up in his proud daddy eyes. She had remembered that we use rice cakes at our church for some of the people at communion. There was another time when she was helping prepare the Lords Table before our Rejuvenation service and she had to help with “the Body and Blood of Christ.” When our Pastor told her that is was just bread and juice then asked her when it became the Body and Blood she responded “After the Pastor Joel blesses it”. Now you have to picture this 4 year old little girl…standing there with her hands on her hips…looking as if we had two heads for asking. But where can we as sheep herders get direction? How can we know how to lead our own flocks as well as the flock of our community and of the world? Who can we turn to be our role model?
In today’s passage, it talks about Jesus being the “Good Shepherd”. About how He knows His own and they know Him. They know His voice and follow that voice. He goes and finds the lost sheep and brings them into the fold so there will be one unified flock and one shepherd. He laid down His life for His sheep so that they may enter into the “Good Pasture.” A pasture of peace and redemption. Into a land where they can have a restored relationship with their Creator. A place where they will dwell forever. Now this is my kind of role model. By being a disciple of Christ we are called to become more Christ-like as we continue our never ending journey with our Lord. By following His lead we are concerned about the world around us and the “lost sheep” within it. We know His voice by studying scripture and learning to discern His will for our lives. We can go to Him in prayer for guidance and direction. By imitating the “Good Shepherd” we will be able to reach out to our neighbor, to the lost sheep, and help them to an understanding of the Good News.
We all want a leader or shepherd in our lives. We need some one to give us direction so that we are not feeling lost and alone. Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad leaders out there. They care not for the sheep that they lead but only their own skin much like the hired hand in the scripture today. When trouble strikes, they head for the hills leaving their sheep unattended and bleating with fear and confusion…exposing them to the world around them with no protection or guidance. How can we know who to follow? Well…ask yourself…are they following the ways of the world or the ways of God? God has given us a set of rules on how we are to live our lives. Do they follow them, do they need a refresher course or do they even know about God’s ways? What is the Spirit telling you? God has given us a sort of personality gauge in giving us His Spirit. Some people like to call it their gut feeling. Are you listening to that still small voice within you? It’s there if you are listening. Are you studying scripture? God uses His word to speak to us. Are you spending time in prayer? God does answer prayer and speaks to us in our prayer time if we only but quiet ourselves.
What will you do? We are called to become more Christ-like as we journey with our Lord. Will you be like the hired hand caring for the sheep…and with the first sign of trouble…when you are ridiculed or your life, as it is, is threatened… will you run and head for the hills to save yourself? Or will you be like the “Good Shepherd”, the Risen Christ, and reach out to the least, the lost and forgotten with no regard for your own life? Will you lay down your life for the sheep of the fold?
Who is your Shepherd today? Are you following the world as your leader or are you following the one true leader, the “Good Shepherd” found in our Lord Jesus Christ?

AMEN

by Pastor Ruth Foss

sermon blog

meditation blog

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Suncook United Methodist Church
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"Desert Places 101" - sermon by Ruth L. Foss, June 25, 2007, Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH

Desert Places: 101

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 19:1-15a
Prayer:
Sovereign Lord God Jehovah
Be with us we pray as we look into our Desert Places
Send your Holy Spirit down upon us
Our Teacher of your knowledge
Give us eyes to see,
Ears to hear
And a willingness to obey
And we pray this in the Strong Name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
Amen

Sermon:

Good morning class and welcome to Desert Places: 101. I will be your facilitator for this class and the Teacher, the Holy Spirit, will also be here among us…circulating around the room making sure that we hear what we need to hear. There will be no test at the end of the class but…our Teacher may give us “pop quizzes” through out our lives…which I like to call Desert Places 102, 103, 104 and so on.

OK…I said there wouldn’t be a quiz but I do have a few questions to ask…how many of you have been in one of these Desert Places? OK…how many of you wish that you never had to visit these places on your journey of life? Now the last question…how many of you have learned something during your journey and come back stronger?

Desert Places/Wilderness experiences…how we wish we did not have to endure them. It is in this place where we feel lost and alone…we feel sad and hopeless. It is times like these when we wonder if there is any hope. We ask why do I have to go through this time…what good are they any way? We ask what have I done to deserve this? I haven’t done any thing wrong. I have tried to live a good life. So…why is this happening to me? How am I supposed to act when in the Desert Places anyway? Well…the prayer I have this morning is that we are able to get a glimpse of an answer to some of these questions.

First let us look at today’s scripture from 1 Kings. In our reading…Elijah runs away because King Ahab’s wife Jezebel has threatened his life. He runs to the wilderness…a desert place and when he gets there he falls asleep. Now…I think that if I were running for my life I would get exhausted and fall asleep too. I am sure that after all that had happened to him prior to this time, he wasn’t getting that much sleep. As Elijah was sleeping, an angel of God awakened him, not once but twice. He is fed cake and water.

Here is God’s providence. Elijah had been zealous in what he was doing for God. He had been faithful to what God had called him to do. God provided food and drink for Elijah so that he would have the strength he needed to continue on with what God had called him to do. Isn’t this how God feeds us through the Word today? God is providing nourishment for our souls so that we can continue on with the work that we are called to do. After Elijah is strengthened…he goes another 40 days & nights travel to Horeb the Mount of God (which by the way is the same place that Moses first met God. It sounds to me like this is definitely the meeting place of God in the Old Testament). Once he gets there…he goes into a cave and the Word of the Lord comes to him there.

At this point…things get real exciting for me. God tells Elijah to stand on the mount before the Lord…and a wonderful thing happens there. The Lord passed before him. WOW…to be Elijah! Just think of it…you are standing right where God tells you to stand and Our Creator passes by you…right in front of you. Can you imagine it…the Lord passes by you…so close that you can almost reach out and touch the hem of God’s robe? What a wonderful thing that must have been!

The next presentation of Elijah’s divine appointment is very helpful to me when I am in that quiet desert. There was a wind so strong it broke rocks in pieces, then an earthquake, then fire…but God was not found in these “phenomena”…I want to stop here for a moment and reflect a little about Yahweh…it is not unusual for God to make himself known in dramatic ways. As a matter of fact…in 1 Kings: 18:38 God revealed himself with a great fire that “fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench.” Here…God is…choosing a different way to reveal himself. God sends wind, an earthquake, and fire…which not coincidentally were phenomena associated with Baal, the storm-god…yet…Yahweh was not present in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire.

The Scripture goes on to say “and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.” Then silence…but…it was not until there was this…silence…this quiet, before the Lord’s still small voice was heard, and it was heard by Elijah. The sound of silence…a gentle whisper…is dramatically different than the sound of rock-splitting wind, the earth-splitting earthquake and the roaring sound of fire. This piece of Scripture tells us that the Lord’s word doesn’t need extravagance to reveal the Lord…or even to manifest the Lord’s power. The Lord so often reveals himself to us in the quiet moments of our lives. This gives me hope in those desert experiences in my life. I know that I will hear God’s voice, God’s comfort, God’s guidance and direction calling out to me in the wilderness. If we would just be still and listen…there is hope!

This reminds me of a poem written by one of my favorite poets…my husband. Its called Speaking from Silence. It is about Elijah’s and our voice in the wilderness. It reads: “After mighty wind, the trembling of the earth, a roaring fire. Then audibly silence, to fill the Prophet with awe. Within the sheer silence was God, heard by the Prophet. A message of guidance…of instruction…to overcome his fears and follow God’s will.” As Elijah…we will hear the guidance of our Creator as we travel through the desert if we are attuned to God’s voice.

We have choices in the wilderness…God’s chosen people, Israel, spent generations captive…oppressed…by Pharaoh in Egypt. God sent Moses to free them from their oppressors. Being held captive for so many years is a wilderness experience in itself but…we see God’s mercy and grace as God sends Moses to free them from their “desert place.” This was God’s providence to them…to give them a way to be free.

After a fashion…after the plagues that God sent down on the Egyptians…God, through Moses, sets the captives free. From there…they are lead into the desert, a 40-day trip, to a better land. While they are out in the wilderness…God again provides for them…and yet what happens? How do they react to their experience…to God’s provision? Well…Psalm 106 vs. 13-14 tells us what happens. It reads “but they forgot His works, they did not wait for His counsel. But they had wanton craving in the wilderness, and put God to the test in the desert.”

How many times have we acted like Israel in the desert? How many times have we forgotten what God has done in our lives…how God has sustained us in and brought us through our desert places? How many times have we thought that God has forgotten us? How many times have we relied on our own strength to survive trials instead of relying on God and letting God work out His plan for our lives? We try to be the author instead of the actor. Like Israel we just wander around in the unfamiliar places…we wander in the desert…trying to find our way out without our Guide. Like Israel…until we follow our God…until we are still and listen for that still small voice…we will wander until we get it right. Just think about it for a moment…Israel’s 40-day trip turned into a 40-year lesson because they wanted it their way. They wanted to travel the highway instead of the footpath that God had planned for them. What a lesson we can glean from Israel’s “Desert Places” expedition.

Now lets look at another example…lets look at Jesus in Luke 4. Jesus was filled with the Spirit and led…by the Spirit…in the wilderness, a desert place. While he was there…He was tempted by the devil…now we all know what it’s like to be tempted. But…listen to what Jesus did when He was tempted during His desert experience. He relied on the Word of God to get Him through. Each time He was tempted…His answer began with “It is written.” The Living Water was His strength…His peace…through His desert experience. By relying on God and His Word…He made it through desert experience. God provided a way out…His Word…and Jesus took God’s footpath in stead of the wide highway of society. As a matter of fact…Matthew 4: 11b tells us that after He was tempted…and made it through…”Angels came and waited on Him”…God’s providence in the wilderness was seen again. Like Elijah and Israel…God provided strength and sustenance in the desert place. How this providence was received is what made the difference in these stories.

Desert Places…we don’t like them but they are necessary. In them we are stretched to grow. In them…we learn to rely on God and His Word and less on our own devices. In them…we are able to look at our lives to see our growing areas. In them…we learn to hear God’s still, small voice. But have no fear…God is always with us. He will not leave or forsake us. God tells us…during these times…to “be still and know I am God.”

The feeling that I get when in my desert place is beautifully written about in Joyce Rupp’s book “May I have this Dance?”. The Poem is called Dry Bones. It reads, “tiredness grounds me into a quiet stupor of the Spirit. I yearn to be inspired, to be lifted up, set free beyond the place of deadness. The struggle goes on, however, and you and I God, we exist together with seemingly little communion. Yet, in the deepest part of me, I believe in you, perhaps more strongly than ever. I am learning you as a God of silence, of darkness, deep and strong. I do not wrestle anymore, only wait, only wait, for you to bring my dry bones into dancing once more.”

I am sure that many of you have felt the same way in your own desert place. Yearning to be done with the journey only to realize that the only way through is to wait on God…and God’s time is not the same as ours.

We have a choice to make during these times…these seasons of life. We have two ways to respond in these desert places. We can either behave as Israel and try to do it on our own and complain the whole time…or…we can follow the example of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, and rely on God and His Word to sustain us. The choice is ours to make. There is no short cut or easy way out of our desert places but…how we react while we are in them is what makes a difference…how we respond to them determines how long we stay in that area of our journey.

In closing…I would like to share with you a writing by Henri Nouwen found in his book “The Dance of Life.” It is called The Garden of Our Hearts. I feel that it sums up our Desert Experience beautifully. It reads, “Solitude is the garden of our hearts which we yearn for love. It is a place where our aloneness can bear fruit. It is the home for our restless bodies and anxious minds. Solitude, whether it is connected with physical space or not, is essential for our spiritual lives. It is not an easy place to be, since we are so insecure and fearful that we are easily distracted by whatever promises immediate satisfaction. Solitude is not immediately satisfying, because in solitude we meet our demons, our addictions, our feelings of lust and anger, and our immense need for recognition and approval. But if we do not run away, we will meet there also the One who says: “do not be afraid. I am with you, and will guide you through the valley of darkness.”…Lets keep returning to our solitude.” May we embrace our Desert Places full knowing that we have a guide…there is “light at the end of the tunnel”…there is a lesson to be learned here and will hear our Creator’s voice say “Be still and know I’m God.”

Please pray with me…O God, our help in ages past…our hope for years to come…bring the freshness of your presence in such a way that we can celebrate you even when we do not see you…praise you when we do not feel you, and thank you even when we do not hear you.

AMEN

by Pastor Ruth Foss

sermon blog

meditation blog

“God’s Whisper” blog

Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH

"Won't You Be My Neighbor" - sermon by Ruth L. Foss, Marlow United Methodist Church, Marlow, NH

Won’t You Be My Neighbor
(Marlow UMC 7/15/07)

Scripture Reading: Luke 10: 25-37
Prayer:
Sovereign Lord God Jehovah
Be with us we pray as we, together,
Begin to discern who our neighbor really is
Send your Holy Spirit down upon us
The giver of your knowledge and wisdom
May we have eyes to see,
Ears to hear
And a willingness to obey
And we pray this in the Strong Name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
Amen
Sermon:

How many of you remember the TV. “Show Mr. Rogers Neighborhood”? I remember it very well. I remember the neighborhood song he would sing at the start of each show. The verse I remember the most is “I always wanted to have a neighbor just like you…I always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you. So, let’s make the most of this beautiful day…since were together we might as well say. Would you be mine, could you be mine, won’t you be my neighbor. Won’t you please, won’t you please…Please won’t you be my neighbor.” (Sing) I always wanted to live in his neighborhood. He was so nice and had lots of fun and adventures each day. How I longed to be his neighbor. Now that I am older…I still want to live in a neighborhood like his…but now that I have a personal relationship with Christ…I have been given a broader view of my neighbor. It is a view that is given to us by the Word of God. A view that makes us ponder on and think…who is my neighbor.

In the Gospel Lesson from Luke 10 today…we find the parable of the “Good Samaritan.” This parable was intended to teach the lawyer…and us…that no human being was and is beyond the reach…the range…of our charity. The law of love called the lawyer…as well as us…to be ready…at any given time…to give our life for the need of another. The lawyer asks an important question. It is a question that I am sure that we have all asked ourselves, at one time or another…”Who is my neighbor?”
This Parable also tells us that what really matters is to act as the Samaritan did…in the same simplicity…governed completely by the need of the man, woman or child that confronts us.

Let’s take a look at the Parable of the Good Samaritan and see what it tells us about who our neighbor is. This is a parable that is an indictment of social, racial and religious superiority. This is a parable that shows us what happens when we are more concerned about our status and what others will think. It also tells us what happens when we set aside our differences…put others needs before our own… see others through the eyes of God…and do what God has called us to do.

First…there are four main characters in this story. There is the man who was robbed and left to die, then there is a Priest, a Levite and a Samaritan. Now lets stop for a moment and look at the characters of our story. (Pause) You have a man that comes down from Jerusalem…now the parable doesn’t tell us if this man is Jewish but more than likely he is. He has come down from Jerusalem so you can suppose that he is of Jewish descent. Next you have a priest…a Holy man of God. Now there were two types of priest, a High Priest…who I like to refer to a s a Lead Pastor…and a regular, ordinary, Priest… who I like to think of as an Associate Pastor. These were the Religious Leaders of that time. They were responsible for the Temple and there were things that they were allowed to do and things they were not. They were set apart from the rest of the people and were consecrated as holy. They were “the best of the best.” Next you have the Levite…whom I like to call the Lay Leader or Laity. The Levite was responsible for the lesser ceremonial things to be done at the temple but…they were still considered a holy man. Then you have the Samaritan…a man hated and despised by the society around him…an outcast of society. One of the “low life’s” that no one should even give the time of day. These were people who were once Jews and inter-married with pagan tribes. They were People of the Promise…God’s people and they had “turned their backs on God…They had soiled their heritage.” They were despised more than pagans…They were worse than pagans!

Now…let’s break the parable down into parts in order to see more clearly what God’s Word has to say…what insight we can glean…from this parable. They way that I see it there are 4 parts to this story…I break it down as follows:

1. The Question and answer concerning Eternal life found in vs. 25-28
2. The Question concerning ones neighbor found in vs. 29
3. The Parable of the Good Samaritan found in vs. 30-35
4. The Conclusion with question in vs. 36, the answer in 37a and a final admonition in 37b.
OK…now that we have that down…lets see where it takes us.

1. The Question and answer concerning Eternal life found in vs. 25-28

Now…here we have a Lawyer…a Scribe… who knew the law. He may have thought…I know the Law like the back of my hand. I live it, breathe it, and eat it. I can recite it in my sleep. Let’s see how much this person called Jesus really knows. Let’s see how much I can impress him. So in vs. 25…he asks, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” It is almost as if he is asking what can I do to impress God enough to assure my inheritance of eternal life?

Well…Jesus…knowing what everyone was thinking before they even spoke it…knew what this man was up to and decided to play along. So in verse 28 He asks, “what is written in the Law what do YOU read there?” Well…now the lawyer can show off his stuff. He quotes from both Deuteronomy 6:5 and Lev. 19:18 and replies, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as your self.” Now this lawyer must have thought, see how perfect I am. I know what I know what I know. Take that! But…isn’t how this lawyer may be thinking how we may think at times. We think that if we can know all the answers to all the questions we can use our “Scriptural Prowess” and win over all those unchurched lost souls around us. Well…most times this doesn’t work. We wind up scaring away people rather than bringing them into the sheepfold. Our witness to others is less dependent on the right answers and more on the love of others. ‘If we truly love God, our neighbor and ourselves, our neighbor would be drawn to our love not our knowledge.

And then Jesus answered, You have given the right answer; do this and you will live.” Now I can just imagine the scene…the lawyer standing around with all his buddies…they high five each other…the lawyer going around saying, “who’s the man…who’s the man!”…His buddies saying “you are…you are.” (Act out) Now the lawyer stops for a moment and thinks, “Hey…I don’t mind hanging out with and having barbecues with my neighbors next door. I love them. They are awesome. We are always there to help each other but this is too easy…there must be some kind of fine print here…I need to make sure.” So he asks the probing question. So now we come to part 2 of the story…

2. The Question concerning ones neighbor found in vs. 29

The Lawyer then asks, “and who is my neighbor?” He may have been trying to find a loophole (being a lawyer). A way that he could love his neighbor only if they were getting along. He may have been thinking well…my neighbor is OK most of the time but I remember the time when my Ox got stuck in the hole and my neighbor was too busy to help. Boy did I hated him then. I always stop every thing I am doing to help him and this one time he was too busy.” He may have wanted Jesus to define who his neighbor was so that he could justify not liking some one just because they were different.

Don’t we all think that way some times? We love our neighbor and accept them because they are not irritating us at the moment. Don’t we tend to shy away from people who are different thinking they are strange and we don’t want to associate with them? Don’t we put conditions of love on people in our lives and say things like “I would like you better if…” “He/she would be a more likeable person if…” and the like at times? Don’t we shy away from and avoid people from different countries and cultures at times with out even getting to know them? Don’t we stereotype people with out even giving them a chance to prove themselves to us? Don’t we tend to judge a whole race or culture by a few that have done things that are evil? Don’t we act more exclusive within our churches at times instead of the inclusive way we are called to act by God’s Word?

The Bible states we are all made in the image of God. We All come from the same roots that began in the Garden of Eden. We are all made for God’s pleasure. Jesus came to save All people not just a chosen few. We need to start looking at each other through the Eyes of God not through the eyes of man. We need to take the log out of our own eye to help remove the speck in our fellow mans…. The next part of the parable/story, part 3, is the Parable of the Good Samaritan

3. The Parable of the Good Samaritan found in vs. 30-35

Now comes the teaching moment for Jesus. He spoke in parables because they were easier for the people to relate with. They would understand more of what was being said to them. But isn’t that still true today? I know that I find it easier to relate to a situation if some one shares their story with me verses researching the issue on the Internet.

Jesus tells of a man coming down from Jerusalem and is stripped of his clothing, beaten, and left half dead. This man has nothing to identify him. You can’t tell who he is by his clothing or speech. The robbers have taken of that by taking his cloths and leaving him half dead…unconscious. Some one who was going by might stop if they could identify him with their own ”group” of people but no chance of that happening. (Boy they could have really used a CSI team for this case).

Now after this man is left on the side of the road…a Priest comes down the road…he sees the man on the side of the road and passes by on the other side as does the Levite who comes down the road. Now…we expect compassion from clergy…we assume that they would stop and help…but…they pass by on the other side. Why would they do that? They are “people of the cloth”…they are supposed to help people in need. Maybe they were on their way to perform some religious duty…maybe they didn’t want to get their hands or cloths dirty from the mess that was there. Maybe they thought the victim was dead and because they were dead they were not allowed to touch him. Or maybe they thought that this person was faking, he was a decoy for the robbers so that they would stop to help and be robbed themselves. Whatever the reason they went by on the other side.

Now I ask…don’t we do and think the same things? We don’t want to get involved. If we get involved maybe some thing bad would happen to us. We would rather stay in our safe zone than to step out of our comfort zone and help. Are we not told to be in the world not of the world? To me…this means we need to get involved. In order to make a difference we have to “show up” and be accounted for. (Shea Farm)

The next person to show up on the ”crime scene” is a Samaritan. Scripture reads that the Samaritan “is moved with pity…compassion…he bandaged the man up, poured oil and wine on the wounds, out the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he took care of him. The next day he paid 2 denarii (which a that time was t days pay) to the in keeper and told him to take care of the man and when he came back he would pay for what ever the extra expense was.” Wow…now that is a friend! If I am ever down and out like that I hope that some one would treat me with that much love and compassion. Not even the traditional hostility between Jews and Samaritans stopped this man from helping this man in need. Again…this man was despised and hated by the people of this injured mans race but he was full…of …compassion for this man. What a testimony of loving others and seeing others through God’s Eyes! The last part…part 4… is radical…

4. The Conclusion with question in vs. 36, the answer in 37a and a final admonition in 37b.

At the end of the story…the parable...Jesus asks the Lawyer which one was a neighbor to the injured man. The Lawyer answers the one who showed mercy…compassion. And Jesus tells him to go and do likewise. Go…and do…likewise…what a difficult thing to do. We live in a fallen world full of prejudice, fear and suspicion. We live in a world of division and strife. We are taught the only one you can truly trust in is yourself. So…how can we go and do likewise? We hear on the news and read in the paper about people who step out of their comfort zone and to help others…even to the point that they too are in danger. They are considered heroes in our society. Go…and do…likewise. Now I don’t know about you…but I am not sure if I were in the same situation that I would be able to do the same…I hope that I would. We help the elderly person in the market get their groceries into their car. Some one has lost their wallet and we take it to the police department so that they can contact the person and let them know it has been found. We participate in a Cancer walk that supports Cancer research. Go…and do…likewise. These…random acts of kindness…these are ways we ARE doing likewise. We CAN make a difference.

Now we’ve broken it down into 4 parts…we have gone through and talked about the 4 main characters of this parable…But…I can’t help but think of a fifth character in our story…the robbers. We don’t know if them were men, women or children but what we do know is how they considered others. They had no regard for another’s life. They stripped the man, beat him and left him on the side of the road half-dead.

When you think of it…isn’t this the way that society would have us be. In our society today we are lead to believe that we are nothing unless we have it all. It doesn’t matter how you get there or who you have to hurt in the process. Just get there. Not only does society tell us that it is a “dog eat dog” world, “survival of the fittest”…but it also robs us of our peace and joy. If we want to be accepted…we want to have the “good life” we must act how society will have us act. How much joy and peace is there in that for a disciple of Christ?

In Psalm 82: 3-4… we are told to “give justice to the weak and orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” But instead…we have a tendency compromise our beliefs to just fit in, to belong. We go with the flow in order to not make waves and stand out like a sore thumb. We have made ourselves like gods…judging our neighbors by our standards not God’s. If we continue on this track…we will “be laid low” and brought down…for how we judge others…we also will be judged.

You may be thinking to yourself…well that was good for that day and age but things are different now. Society is not the same way today as it was when this was written. This was meant for the people in the Olden Days. It doesn’t apply to us now. They have Social Services that can help these people…why should I do their job? Well…Colossians 1:6 tells us that “The message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn’t diminish or weaken over time. It is the same all over the world.” No matter what…God’s truths do not change. God’s instruction to us is the same as it was yesterday…as it is today…as it will be tomorrow. God is Sovereign…it is us who change and compromise.

We have two choices in how we react to others. We can be like the Priest and Levite and make a wide birth around those who are different. We can concentrate on our differences rather than similarities. We can ignore the fact that we are ALL God’s creation therefor are bond together in the family of God. Or we can, like the Samaritan in this Parable, reach out in love and compassion to those in need around us. This reminds me of a verse in a song by the Young Bloods called “Get Together”. The verse goes…”If you hear the song I sing…you will understand…you hold the key to love and fear…all in your trembling hand…just one key unlocks them both…it’s there at your command.” Which will you chose to unlock…the fear that comes from society full of suspicion and hate or the love that is found in the Risen Lord Jesus Christ? The choice is yours.

Amen

by Pastor Ruth Foss

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Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH

"Free at Last" - sermon by Ruth L. Foss, July 29, 2007, Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH

Free At Last

Scripture Reading: Colossians 2:6-19
Prayer:
Sovereign Lord
Be with us we pray as we look at our Baptism
Send your Holy Spirit down upon us
Our Teacher of your knowledge
Give us eyes to see,
Ears to hear
And an understanding of your ways and the Freedom you offer us
And we pray this in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
Amen
Sermon:

When I first began to decide what piece of the lectionary to preach on…it was very difficult to chose. There was so much to preach about in the words of this week’s lectionary. You have Psalm 85…that talks about the restoration of Israel…it talks about the blessings that God imparts upon the faithful and God’s faithfulness to His people.

Then you have Luke 11:1-13 when Jesus teaches how to pray…that in itself would be about 4 or 5 different sermons. Then you have Colossian 2:6-19 that talks about Spiritual circumcision and baptism…it talks about how we are alive in Christ and God’s erasure of our sins. Now that’s what I call the Grace of God…being forgiven of all my sins even though I deserve death. This is FREEDOM. This is the scripture that spoke to me the most. As a matter of fact…both the Psalm and the Luke passages…to me…have to do with our baptism and what happens around that blessed event in our lives and the freedom that we all want in our lives.

What is baptism? What happens when we are baptized? Do I have to do it every time I sin or is it a “one shot deal”? How can I be truly free? These are questions that many people ask…my prayer is that we will be able to have a better understanding of our baptism, the freedom that is offered us and all the joy that surrounds that time in our lives by taking a look at baptism and what takes place during our baptism.

In Colossians 2 vs. 11-12…it speaks of baptism as spiritual circumcision. It introduces us to sharing in Christ’s suffering and death because we are “buried with Him.” “We are raised with Him through faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.” We believe that…through God’s power…we too are raised from our death but our death is the sin that we cause and live in. We believe we are forgiven of our sins by this same power of God. Now before baptism…these Colossian Christians were dead…alienated from God…they mired in sin…but now they are “alive” because God forgave their sins. God canceled the “legal note of debt” and Christ took the note on Himself. WE are set FREE!

I want you to think for a moment…is there anyone that we would do that for…would we take on someone else’s sin in order to free them from the chains that bind them? More over…would we send our only child to die for someone else’s mistakes especially if our child was with out sin? I think that most of us would have trouble with that. But…that’s just what God did for us. God wanted to build a bridge across the canyon that was created by our sin and the only way to do it was to send His son to the cross for us. Christ was that final atonement for our sin. Thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ who willing followed God’s path for His life.

Now…please bear with me as I segway for one moment since we are talking about our risen Lord Jesus Christ. Another part of the lectionary was from Hosea 2:1-10. This passage of scripture is mostly “doom and gloom.” God has had it with mankind. But…when I read the scripture…saw some hope…I could see God’s Providence for His people…a way to be a forgiven people…a way for atonement of sin. In vs. 7 it reads “I will have pity on the house of Judah and will save them by the Lord their God; (God wanting to have a relationship with His children) I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses or horsemen.” Now if I have my genealogy straight…Our Risen Lord is from the line of Judah…God has saved us through this very line…this blood line…of the people God had pity on. God was working out His plan.

The other part of this scripture from Hosea that stood out was in vs. 10 where we read “yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered”…sound familiar? It is the same promise that God gave to Abraham. God keeps His promises unconditionally…God never changes. The vs. goes on to say “and in the place where it was said to them “you are not my people” it shall be said to them “children of the living God””. WE are adopted by God…not only are we God’s people…we are Children of God. We are adopted into the Royal Family of Christ Jesus when we are baptized. We are part of a Royal Priesthood with the head being our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that is an adoption that I think even our legal system today would have a hard time denying.

Baptism…this is a five-part process (other sermons to come).
1. Dying to sin…Baptism represents…is an outward sign…of what has taken place inside. We are born sinful because of Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden (I am going to have to have a talk wit Eve when I am called home…what was she thinking?). Even an infant that is baptized dies to sin, as I have stated we are all born sinful because of the first sin. We are all descendants of Adam and Eve and are under the same curse. I don’t really understand why some people think that an infant baptism doesn’t count. That you have to be older and understand what is going on for it to count. But again…that’s another sermon.

2. Newness of life…we put away our old life and start living a new life found in Christ Jesus. All things are new. There is no record of our past transgressions. We get a “do over.” But then again…our God is a God of second, third, fourth chance and so on. Look at God’s history with Israel in the Old Testament if you ever doubted that. 2 Cor. 5:17-18a tells us that ”if any one is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ (THANK YOU JESUS!)” At baptism we are liberated…freed…from sin! This is God’s action to fulfil the divine promise of salvation. We rise to begin a new life in Christ.

3. Union with Christ…We become Co-heirs with Jesus. As I have sated…we are adopted into the “Royal Family”. We are completely forgiven and we are like the Prodigal Son returning home with our Father seeing us from far off and running to us with his arms wide open welcoming us home!

4. Receiving the Holy Spirit…In 2 Cor. 1-21-22…Paul writes “But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting His seal on us and giving us his spirit in our hearts as a first installment.” God gives us the first installment of the many blessings God wants to bestow upon us at our baptism. We are given the teacher of all knowledge…our guide through life. We are given a spirit of Freedom not of fear.

5. Incorporation into Christ’s Church…we are not just talking about Wesley…or any other church we may belong to. Incorporation into Christ’s Church is being to incorporated into the church of all believers with Christ being the head. We are part of a “WorldWide” church with all of us being brothers and sisters in Christ.

These alone are wonderful gifts…blessings…that are bestowed upon us but there is so much more that God gives us. WE are restored again to God. God puts away His indignation and anger…God shows us steadfast love in “while we still were sinners…Christ died for us.” WE are given God’s salvation and are reconciled to Him. We are Free to receive God’s stead fast love, righteousness and peace…God will give us what is good and our land will yield increase.

Luke 11: 9-10 tells us “ask and it will be given you; search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds and for everyone who knocks the door will be opened.” We are free to come to the throne of grace and bow before our God and King. God hears our voice…our prayers…our praise…our pain.

I went to the Women of Faith conference in Boston this past Friday and Saturday. The theme of the conference was Amazing Freedom”. (Like that was just a coincidence) Now I want you to imagine this…4,000 like-minded women, coming together in praise and worship. It was awe-inspiring! By the theme…the title…of the conference you can tell that the theme for the weekend was God’s Amazing Freedom that is bestowed upon us. The stories and music that was presented there brought tears to my eyes. The one of the things that I took home from the conference is a new view of what Freedom is. To hear 4,00 women…all saying together I AM FREE…was almost deafening!

WE are free from the Chains of sin…we are free from the condemnation of sin…we are free from the death that sin causes us (not just physical but Spiritual death). WE are free to serve one another. We are free to love one another as Christ loved…and still loves…us. We are free to share our stories to help others find freedom for themselves. We are free to reach out to those around us…with Christ’s love. The love that nailed His outstretched arms to the cross which are the same outstretched arms that are wide open to accept us …where we are…into the family of God. We are free to believe in the Dream that God has for our lives. We are healed of our brokeness inside by our Lord Jesus Christ and are freed and not held down by it any longer. We are free to be ourselves. We are free to follow our call in life…the call that God will equip us for. True freedom does not mean without bars…true freedom is the indwelling of Christ! If the Son sets you free…you are free through and through.

Freedom…in baptism we are freed from the life we had before. We are given the precious gift of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are free to follow our God and know that God will make a way for us no matter what. Nothing is impossible for God and we are free from worry…anxiety…fears. We are given a Spirit of freedom not one of bondage. We are free to dance before our God and King with all our might knowing that victory belongs to the Lord.

I would like to read you a poem from my favorite poet…It is titled “Cast off your Shackles”

We are free from the restraints,
The bonds which have
Held us captive,
Free from the snares
The limits, the temptations
Of our own mortal lives.
Jesus has set us free.
By His death we die
By His resurrection
We live, we are raised like Him
We are baptized,
Spiritually circumcised
Into the family of God,
Free from the ledger of our sins
Erased and made clean.

We have a choice to make. We can either not to accept this gift and go about in life afraid of making mistakes…afraid that our past might come back to “bite us”…afraid that we are not good enough…or we can FREELY accept this wonderful gift from God and go through life trusting that God is with us…and if God is with us, who can be against us. We can chose to repeat the words of MLK Jr. and shout from the rooftops “Free at last…Free at last…thank God almighty…Free at last.”

AMEN

by Pastor Ruth Foss

sermon blog

meditation blog

“God’s Whisper” blog

Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH

It's Kairos Time - Sermon August 19, 2007 by Ruth L. Foss at Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH

It’s Kairos Time!

Scripture Reading: Luke 12: 49-56
Prayer:
Sovereign Lord
Be with us we pray
Send your Holy Spirit down upon us
Our Teacher of your knowledge
Give us eyes to see,
Ears to hear
And an understanding of the signs of the time we are in
And we pray this in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
Amen

Sermon:

In this morning’s reading from Luke… Jesus is talking to the disciples in verse 49-53…telling them that He is going to usher in a new age…that this will be an age…a season…where there will be division of people. He came to transform a sinful world…this kind of transformation does not come easily. Jesus came to establish the Kingdom of God.

In verse 54…Jesus turns His attention to the multitudes. Jesus puts them on the spot…they can tell the weather by the signs that they see but they don’t realize…they can’t or refuse to see…to read…the “signs” of the present times…Kairos…they are living in. They can read weather signs that are key to physical survival (they get the weather right even without having the Weather Channel) but…they have not learned to read signs of the present time that are key to their spiritual survival.

So my question is…why did Jesus call them “hypocrites?” Well…while they were wasting their time on “cloud watching”…the kingdom of God was awakening…unfolding…right before their eyes and they don’t see it. Jesus is standing among them with signs that He is the Messiah and the beginning of a new age and they refuse to believe! Jesus gave signs in the fulfillment of scripture and in the miracles He performed. How could they not come the conclusion that Jesus was the Messiah…mountains of evidence had piled up and all the evidence conformed perfectly to the predictions of the prophets? I think they could have really used a CSI team. Now they really know how to follow the evidence and come to the right conclusion!

Today…we are not as much an agricultural people and no longer know how to read weather signs. We get our weather from the Weather Channel. We are more concerned with political and economic signs. We are more concerned with what Congress will do and how will it effect us. We are more concerned with the new road and how it will effect us. We are more concerned with Stock Market signs and if they will go up or down and how it will affect our investments. We are much like the people whom Jesus is speaking to. They too were interested in the signs that would influence their economic future.

Verses 54-56 of this morning’s scripture reminds me of a verse from an old Chicago song. It states, “Does anyone really know what time it is? Does anyone really care?” How do we see the signs of our time? What are we doing as Christians…as a church…to help God’s “kingdom come” here in our Kairos? Are we more in-tune to the “weather” signs than we are to the “spiritual” signs of our times?

This way of thinking also makes us much like the people to whom Jesus was speaking in that, we are focused on the political and economic signs and care little about the spiritual issues of today.

My second semester at Springfield College…I took part in a class called Liberation Theology. We went on a trip to Mexico to work with the indigenous people there. This is where I learned about Kairos Time. It is the present time. It is the time to act. The people that we worked with know about Kairos time. They take action against injustice. They deem this their Kairos time. Their lives are in danger because of what they stand up for but they realize that this is the time…God’s time…to right the wrongs in their lives. They step out in faith knowing the victory belongs to the Lord. Kairos time is not always popular or convenient.

I read a story about a man named William Wilburforce. He was a man who stood in the gap. In the time of slavery he believed that slavery was a great evil…and he stood up against British Parliament to say so. He felt God-called to oppose slavery. Now you have to remember…at that time…slavery flourished. Many people…including many Christians…embraced slavery. They couldn’t imagine life without slaves and felt they would not survive without it. They even devised justifications for slavery…some that were even derived from the bible. They even went as far as denying the humanity of dark-skinned people.

Wilberforce’s efforts divided “divided father against son and son against father”. But Wilburforce was victorious in the end. Three-day’s before his death…Parliament passed a law abolishing slavery for British citizens. This encouraged people who were against slavery in the United States. The United States went through the Civil War over this before they could put aside the “unnecessary evil” but it was abolished in the United States as well. This was Wilberforce’s Kairos time…his time to act…the time was now for him.

Luke’s scripture is calling us to do something. It’s a sign. So how do we know if it is our Kairos time? Well…we can start by looking at the world around us. We see earthquakes and tsunamis…there is pollution and global warming…there is extinction of animals and cultures…there are wars and famine…there is disease and corruption all around us. All you have to do is tune into the news and see it.

We see the entertainment industry promoting sex and violence and then we protest efforts to curb its freedom even though it corrupts our children. We see people dying from starvation on the TV and go to our dinner tables of abundance and don’t even think about how we can help. We hear stories about Christians being persecuted around the world and forget they are our brothers and sisters. We walk by the person on the street or even our neighbor looking for help and don’t even bother to share the Good News with them or a kind gesture. God calls us to step out in faith and help those around us. We are to be in the world trying to make a change…not of the world and conforming to it.

So…what are we to do in our Kairos time? How should we act? How can we make a difference? Well…one way is to “pray on out feet.” We need to pray for those who are in need in the world. Prayer is always a good place to start but we need to also get out and put feet to our Outreach Ministries outside the walls of our churches. We need to go out and make disciples of all nations. We need to give hope to the last, the least and the lost. We need to be the bearers of “Light” to a world filled with darkness. With out having laborers in the vineyard, who will be there for the harvest? A deeply rooted commitment to people is far more important than the concept of what they are going through. We need to be aware of what is going on in faraway places as well as here at home. We need to realize that people are being violated and destroyed. We must take a stand and act.

We as Christians need to stand up for what is morally and ethically right. Yes…there will be division…even within our own church…but that fact doesn’t let us off the hook and allow us to be complacent. We are to stand in the gap and fight for what is right.

Our one true God is a God of the poor, deprived, and the forgotten. When He sent His son to be with us, He didn’t send Him to be with the Pharisees and the Sadducees. When Jesus came He spent His time with the outcasts, the tax collectors, and the sinners. He gave them hope and a purpose in life. He told them of the Good News of the Gospel. If we are to be His disciples, we too must go to the lost, broken, oppressed and marginalized. Jesus empowered people by giving them the Good News; we in turn must do the same.

To know God is to do justice. Faith without action is dead. You cannot have true faith and just sit there and watch while His children are being crushed and destroyed. You cannot just sit idly by while your brothers and sisters are being tyrannized by not only their society but also by our own. We need to think about how Christ would have us act. How Christ would want us to react to the injustice not only in our own community but also in the larger community of the world.

We, as a church, need to “step out of the boat” and start being concerned with the community outside of our church walls. What better way to bring the Good News to the lost than to be a witness to them within their own “comfort zone”? We are taught in Isaiah 1:17 that we need to “learn to do good, seek justice, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow.” By empowering those around us to make a change they can in turn change and redirect their future. We must remember that it is not power that is evil; it is what we do with power that defines it evil or good.

Society teaches us to accept the situation we are in. We are not to make waves. Some churches teach us that it is God’s design for your life. Keep enduring your situation and you will be rewarded in heaven. Praise God that this way of thinking are gradually beginning to be fought against. We can all strive to live life abundantly as God has promised.

Do you feel disrupted and confronted within your Spirit? Our Spirit knows it’s Kairos time! It’s time to act and not look away! It’s time to step out of our comfort zone and reach out to those around us! It is time we realize the God’s time is not our own and it is now God’s time and time to act for God’s purpose.

It’s Kairos time. It is time we take a stand for Gods creation. It's time to right the wrongs that our sinful nature has created. It’s time to step out of the boat and be the disciples that God has commissioned us to be. It’s time to be our brothers, and sisters, keeper. We need to proclaim…like Isaiah…the Spirit of the Lord God is upon us, because the Lord has anointed us; He has sent us to bring Good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners.

How do we interpret our present time? What are we focusing our attention on? Among the many bushes growing on the mountainside of life…do you see the one that burns without being consumed…or do we miss it among the many?

I would like to leave you with a quote from Walter Rauschenbusch’s book Christianity and the Social Crisis…

The Church must either condemn the world and seek to change it
Or tolerate if and conform to it
In the Latter case it surrenders its holiness and it’s mission

May we ever be in the world and not of it.

AMEN

by Pastor Ruth Foss

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meditation blog

“God’s Whisper” blog

Tart Fruit

A clutch of blackberries
tempting to the eye
calling for the picking,
before the birds get their fill
so bright, so urgent, so tart
Might have been a good idea
to wait a day or too.

August 19, 2007 19:52

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,560+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

A Number of Heart Beats

He numbers our days
before we are born
A question of how,
of how the Creator
could number our days
know our lives
before we lived them.
Hidden deeper still,
a story of the heart
of a billion and a half heartbeats
deep down within
the stuff of life,
of living things,
the bounds of life.
How much easier to comprehend,
to believe, that my days are known
when the world has an order
even to the number of beats
to a heart, when life begins
and when life ends.

August 19, 2007 16:02
Psalm 139:16
National Public Radio – Krulwich on Science –
“Size Matters: The Hidden Mathematics of Life,
by Robert Krulwich:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12877984&ft=1&f=1007
August 18, 2007

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 19,560+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Signs of the Times

Kairos time, not Chronos time;
how hard a concept, so easily missing.
We live in times with signs, like the times
they shared with You.
How could they not see the signs,
those people who claimed to be
set apart, a chosen people
the people of the word, the law,
the prophets. But they failed to see,
to act on the wisdom, the fulfillment,
the signs plain before their unseeing eyes.
We too are so comfortable, so lazy,
so timid. We fail to see the signs
of the end times, signs before us.
We are stuck in the tick tock of the clock,
the slow march of time. We fail to see,
to act in our time. We see only the day to day
not the imperative outside our doors.
Kairos time is here. We need to choose.
We must act, even if it splits father from son,
mother from daughter.
He knew that. So must we.

August 19, 2007 14:58
Luke 12:49-56, and inspired by
the sermon “It’s Kairos Time”,
given by Ruth Foss at the 8:00am service,
Wesley United Methodist Church,
Concord, NH August 19, 2007

by Pastor Ruth Foss

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meditation blog