November Week 5

Virtue: Community
Resolution: I choose to journey with other believers to participate in the mission of God.

Human Story: Motilon Tribe, Columbia

The Motilon, or Barí as they call themselves, are an aboriginal tribe in the oil rich region of Columbia, South America. The Motilones are known for their indigenously run schools, literacy programs, medical clinics, and missionary outreach to surrounding tribes. This is astounding since, prior to 1960, this tribe was known for killing oil company employees. “The Motilones did not care for each other in any deep way. Each man was responsible for himself, and his family, and no one else.” (Bruchko, p.134) What brought about this change to make the Motilones into a cooperative and supportive community? In short, Jesus brought about the transformation.

In 1962, a 19-year-old from Minneapolis set out to find the Motilones and bring the gospel to them. Bruce Olson, or Bruchko as they called him, spent four years gaining the trust and learning the language of this tribe, and he learned about their history and legends. The Motilones believed that at one time they had a close relationship with God. But after they were deceived by the false prophet, God was “beyond the horizon,” out of man’s reach. They tried to call on God in a variety of ways to no avail. Bruchko became very close friends with the son of one of the tribal chiefs. One day as they discussed this legend about God being over the horizon, Bruchko told “Bobby” that Jesus is the way to restore fellowship with God. After a personal encounter with Jesus, Bobby “tied his hammock strings to Jesus” and learned how to “walk Jesus’ trail.”

After a while Bobby had an opportunity at a tribal ceremony to share Jesus with the others in his village. After hearing Bobby, “no one rejected the news about Jesus. Everyone wanted Him to take them over the horizon.” (Bruchko, p. 153) Their hearts and attitudes transformed as they began to show love and concern for others in their tribe, not only in their own village but in other villages too. A written language was developed and schools began to teach children and adults how to read and write. Books of the new testament were written down in the Barí language to be read and studied. Bruchko worked with outside agencies to provide medicine and equipment for newly established medical clinics. All of this was not without its difficulties. There were times of extreme disease, death, danger, and attack by those wanting to develop the land for oil companies. Through all the ups and downs, Bruchko lived with the Motilon people for around 30 years.

Different tribes in the area had been the focus of other missionaries who expected the tribal converts to wear western clothes and use proper table settings when eating. This caused division within the tribe and made Christianity unappealing to those who hadn’t been saved. The beauty of the “Motilone Miracle” as Bruce Olson calls it is that Bruce never asked them to conform to his or anyone else’s idea of Christianity. He simply presented them with Jesus and helped them follow the trail Jesus laid out before them. 

References: Bruchko by Bruce Olson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motilon
https://www.brandeis.edu/ethics/events/past/tellingthestory/panel1.html

Lesson: Romans 12:3-13 (ESV)

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them… Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 

Within the body of Christ everyone has gifts that contribute to the needs of others. As a church body we shouldn’t expect everyone to have the same function, but rather we should urge others to use the gifts they have. As we appreciate and encourage the giftings of others and love one another by serving them according to our gifting, the body of Christ grows in joy, patience, and genuineness.

When we try to live on our own, in only our own abilities, we are incomplete. But when we live in community with one another, what is lacking in each of us is filled to overflowing by others. Let’s be a community of faith that celebrates the contributions of each individual. 

Remembrance

Let him who cannot be alone beware of community…
Let him who is not in community beware of being alone…
Each by itself has profound pitfalls and perils. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and feelings, and one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair.
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People

Challenge

Pay attention to the giftings of others in your church community. Encourage someone this week by letting them know you have noticed their contribution to the body.

Reflection

If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life's exciting variety, not something to fear. ― Gene Roddenberry

Further Growth

2021: No 5th Sunday in 2021.

2020: First Sunday in Advent

Old Testament: Isaiah 64:1-9a
Psalm: Psalm 80
New Testament: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Gospel: Mark 13:24-37

November Week 4

Virtue: Community
Resolution: I choose to journey with other believers to participate in the mission of God.

Human Story: St. Clare of Assisi (1194 – 1253)

Born Chiara Offreduccio to a wealthy family in the Italian town of Assisi, St. Clare is known for forsaking all the worldly pleasures that could have rightfully been hers. Instead, she chose to live a life of poverty and service. Clare was very pious from a young age, but at 18, after hearing Francis of Assisi speak during a church service, Clare decided that she should enter the religious life. Her father wished her to marry instead, so Clare secretly left her home at night, and went to meet with Francis and some of his followers. In a small chapel, Francis exchanged her fine clothes for the plain clothes of a nun’s habit as well as cutting her hair for her entry into a Benedictine convent. Her father attempted to forcefully remove her, but she refused to leave, and so he relented.

Francis provided a small section of his home church, San Damiano, as a place for her, her sister, and others who wished to live apart from the world in simplicity and service to the Lord. There she formed the Order of the Poor Ladies and, at only 21 years old, became their first abbess. The Ladies, or Clares as they later became known, lived in a community of extreme austerity, devoting themselves only to prayer, work in the convent, and service to each other and those in need in the community. This type of ascetic life seems overly extreme by modern standards, but to Clare it was necessary to create a community wholly apart from the world and completely devoted to living as examples of Christ, in humility serving “the least of these.” 

Clare herself was first to serve where needed, whether it was caring for the sick and needy that came to the convent or washing her fellow sisters’ feet as they went barefoot performing their various duties. Although Clare was in a position which would have provided her with some measure of comfort, she worked tirelessly for the good of her order and the surrounding community, and even to St. Francis himself, who often turned to her for advice and encouragement due to her steadfast devotion.

Clare’s love for her community was so great and her faith so strong, that twice when Assisi was under siege from an invading army, Clare’s actions led to those armies fleeing. One account says she stood before the invaders bearing an element of the Eucharist and caused retreat. Another says she gathered the Ladies together telling them, “Don’t be afraid. Trust in Jesus.” She prayed “I beseech you, dear Lord, protect these whom I am now unable to protect.” Miraculously, the army left without attacking the city or convent. Clare even had to stand against the pope who, thinking he knew best how the Ladies should live, tried to change the rules of Clares order. Clare was adamant that her sisters live in the life of self-sacrifice they chose. Faced with such determination, Pope Gregory IX (and Pope Innocent IV after him) gave the Clares official permission to continue as they had. Long after her death, the town of Assisi, and the Order of Poor Clares still hold St. Clare as one of the highest examples of love and devotion to Jesus Christ and to community.

Resources:
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-clare-of-assisi/
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04004a.htm
https://cloisteredlife.com/poor-clares

Lesson: Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Our participation in the mission of God requires that we be in communion with other believers; we cannot do it alone. Our lesson this week reminds us of the importance of gathering together. It is in that gathering and journeying together, where we find encouragement and accountability to live as those who mirror Christ. For this reason, it is hard to overstate the importance the New Testament gives to gathering and being a part of the body of Christ. As the writer of Hebrews indicates, our meeting together is where two great elements of Christian life are brought together: love and good works.

The central vocation or calling of the Christian life is to love God with all that we are and love our neighbors as ourselves. As we are anchored in a thriving community of faith, we are equipped to live out this two-sided vocation. In our fellowship with others, we find friends who will “bear our burdens” (Gal 6.2), encourage us, and “build us up” (1 Thess 5.11).  Through an authentic sharing of life, we too love others by bearing with them and we can truly “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rom 12.15). And as we gather together, we are able to emulate the first disciples by attending to the teachings of Christ and the apostles, through table fellowship, and by earnestly praying for one another (Acts 2.42). It is in that gathering together that God has called and enabled a diversity of fellow believers “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph 4.11-12). Indeed, we need each other if we are going to attain mature faith, which faith is secure, grounded in love for God and others, and oriented to participate in Christ’s work of “making all things new” (Eph 4.13-16; Rev 21.5).

The witness of the New Testament is clear: we are enabled to live out our calling to love and do good works only through sincere connection to the Spirit-empowered community of faith. This is why our fellowship with other believers is essential to our work as ambassadors of Christ carrying out the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5.18-20). And, so, we resolve to “choose to journey with other believers to participate in the mission of God.”

Remembrance

We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God's compassionate love for others. ― St. Clare of Assisi

Challenge

Saint Clare lived a life of simplicity which allowed her to serve the needs of others. The spiritual discipline of simplicity encourages us to remove those things that hinder us. Once these hinderances are eliminated, we are able to better recognize and respond to the needs of those around us. Think about the clutter in your life and make steps this week toward reducing or eliminating one of these hinderances. Here are some possibilities:

• Physical clutter in your home (too much stuff – clothes, books, mail, paper, photos, etc.)

• Too many commitments/activities

• Attitudes of pride, selfishness, control, etc.

• Spending beyond your means

Reflection

I do believe in simplicity. It is astonishing as well as sad, how many trivial affairs even the wisest thinks he must attend to in a day; how singular an affair he thinks he must omit. When the mathematician would solve a difficult problem, he first frees the equation of all encumbrances, and reduces it to its simplest terms. So simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. — Henry David Thoreau

Further Growth:

2021: First Sunday of Advent

Old Testament: Zephaniah 14:1-9
Psalm: Psalm 50
New Testament: 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Gospel: Luke 21:25-33

2020: Book of Common Prayer Proper 29

Old Testament: Ezekiel 34:11-20
Psalm: Psalm 95
New Testament: 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46

November Week 3

Virtue: Community
Resolution: I choose to journey with other believers to participate in the mission of God.

Human Story: Julie Martinez

Julie Martinez has been a missionary for 24 years in Honduras, Chile, Zambia, and Cambodia. She has now returned to the states – where she serves with an international organization working with orphans.  Julie has experienced both great joy and deep tragedy while serving others. This is Julie’s story:

The following is a poem that tells my faith journey in a very succinct form.

I’m Julie.  I used to do drugs.
How I got there, why I left there is the story of my life.
But it is not the whole story. 

I’m Julie.  I was married, but now I am no longer married.
How I got there, why I left there, is also the story of my life.
But it is not the whole story. 

I’m Julie. I am a missionary and a mom of two wonderful children.
How I got to those places is the story of my life too.
But it is not the whole story. 

I’m Julie.  I’m a sinner, saved by glorious grace.
That is the larger and more important story.
Only God, in His amazing love, knows the whole of it.

Life can be extremely challenging. Mine has been. I am not a stranger to hardship or difficult places, but neither am I a stranger to God’s great and marvelous grace nor His boundless love, which He has lavished upon me. I have been profoundly influenced by a number of verses. Romans 12:20 is one of them. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” This verse spoke to my heart and mind in a profound and powerful way when I was 17. As a result, I was completely delivered from drug use as a teen.

Isaiah 61:1 is another pivotal verse in my life. After learning some very hard truths about my husband and his destructive choices, watching him walk away from his family, I experienced firsthand the healing power of God and His ability to bind up the brokenhearted.  I came to understand how He can and does fill the empty places of my life.

Eugene Peterson in The Message translates John 1:14 as “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.” It became a standard for me as I lived out a call to missions. The greatest impact I have ever had upon anyone is when I lived my life for and with others.  I have lived in some very remote areas of the globe and in those places, I am known as Mom Julie. My point is I am known and known well. My flaws are known but so is my love for Jesus.

Our redemption is never for ourselves alone; it is always for the sake of others. God has led me literally all over the world. He has helped me navigate my life—including the unavoidable places of deep pain and hardship. His provision has been boundless, His love endless. He extended great grace in my life and allowed me to extend grace into the lives of others.

Lesson: John 1:14a (The Message)

The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.

Jesus chose to give up His perfect community in heaven to move into our messy neighborhood on this earth. The NIV says that He “made his dwelling among us.” Why would Jesus come to earth and live as a human being? The most obvious reason is in order to become our Savior by dying for our sins and reconciling our relationship with the Father. But another reason He lived as a man was to show us how to live in community. John 17:32 records a prayer that Jesus prayed for all who would choose to believe in Him. He prays that all believers will be brought into complete unity. You can’t have unity unless you first have community. Do you have a place like Julie, where you “are known and known well?” It’s reminiscent of the theme song to Cheers:

Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name.

Community doesn’t mean everyone has to be the same. Community is actually richer when there is a diversity of experiences, thoughts, ideas, gifts, and talents. A community is where each one uses his strengths to help others and seeks to encourage everyone else to do the same.

Acts 2:46 says “everyday [the believers] continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” So, not only did they worship together, they also ate meals together. In essence, they shared life together just like Jesus did when he was on this earth.

Remembrance

Love Song, Haskell Miller

The love we give each other
Is that which builds us up.
We live in one another;
We share a common cup.
Our loves are each a whisper
Of one sweet voice divine,
And when we sing together
The chorus is sublime.
Glory be to the Father,
To the Son,
And to the Holy Spirit.
As in the beginning,
So it is now
And so it evermore shall be.

Challenge

Julie’s human story says that she is known and known well. Are you in a community where folks know you well? What can you do to foster or even create such a community?

Reflection

There was a farmer who grew excellent quality wheat and every season he won the award for the best grown wheat in his county. One year a reporter from the local newspaper interviewed the farmer and learned that each spring the man shared his seed with his neighbors so that they too could plant it in their fields.
“How can you afford to share your best wheat seed with your neighbors when they are entering their crops in the competition with yours?" the reporter asked.
“Why that's very simple,” the farmer explained. "The wind picks up pollen from the developing wheat and carries it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior wheat, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of all the wheat, including mine. If I am to grow good wheat, I must help my neighbors grow good wheat."
The reporter realized how the farmer's explanation also applied to peoples' lives in the most fundamental way... Those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

Further Growth

2021: Book of Common Prayer Proper 29

Old Testament: Daniel 7:9-14
Psalm: Psalm 93
New Testament: Revelation 1:1-8
Gospel: John 18:33-37

2020: Book of Common Prayer Proper 28

Old Testament: Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18
Psalm: Psalm 90
New Testament: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10
Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30

November Week 2

Virtue: Community
Resolution: I choose to journey with other believers to participate in the mission of God.

Human Story: St. Basil (330 – 379)

St. Basil the Great was born to a prominent Christian family in Caesarea Mazaca of Cappadocia.  His grandmother, father, mother, and four of his nine siblings would all become saints of the church. He was raised around deeply spiritual and very wealthy individuals. His father was a lawyer and member of the Roman aristocracy. After following in his father’s footsteps by studying law, he returned home to pursue a career as a teacher of rhetoric.

This trajectory, however, would not last long because soon after returning to Cappadocia, he was baptized. He described his experience:

Much time had I spent in vanity, and had wasted nearly all my youth in the vain labor which I underwent in acquiring the wisdom made foolish by God. Then once upon a time, like a man roused from deep sleep, I turned my eyes to the marvelous light of the truth of the Gospel, and I perceived the uselessness of “the wisdom of the princes of this world, who come to naught.” … Then I read the Gospel, and I saw there that a great means of reaching perfection was the selling of one’s goods, sharing them with the poor, giving up all care for this life, and the refusal to allow the soul to be turned by any sympathy to things of earth.

He traveled to visit some of the monastic movements that were developing in different parts of the world— Palestine, Syria, and Egypt. He then returned to family property in Annesi where his mother and sister had set up a convent as a place of solitude and prayer. Basil joined them in these endeavors. When he would go out into the cities, he could not help but notice the difference between the peace of Annesi and the chaos of the cities. His biographer says,

Although Annesi was an isolated and peaceful place, the world outside was in a period of profound social and theological upheaval. Economic factors such as heavy taxation of the lower classes… and the increasing concentration of land in the hands of wealthy absentee landlords were sharpening the distinctions between rich and poor.

This disparity caused another significant turning point in Basil’s life. He decided to bring his monastic principles back into community to attempt to bring inner peace. Soon after he was ordained a priest and began serving a local parish, a famine struck Caesarea. This tragedy finally caused Basil to find his voice, and he became an advocate for social justice in the church. Basil formed the “Basiliad,” a place for those experiencing hunger or sickness to receive care. He was a master fundraiser, convincing his wealthy Christian friends to invest in the project for the poor and sick. Many historians regard this endeavor as the first true “clinic” or health care center.

Basil believed that the church should live together in community with one another, not allowing any to suffer as long as there were means to provide a solution. May the church today learn from the passion of Basil and be bold in vision and dedication to live in true community with our neighbors, especially those who are suffering.

Lesson: Luke 10:25-28

"Christ and the Rich Young Ruler" (1889)
by Heinrich Hofmann

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" And he answered, "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 yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live."

This passage was one Basil often quoted. He particularly felt drawn to the part “love your neighbor as yourself.” Basil called this part of the verse, “the mother of the commandments.”1 He firmly believed that if your neighbor had less than you, then it was your responsibility to sacrifice your own abundance for that person. If you were hungry, you would want someone to provide food for you. If you were thirsty because of drought, you would want someone to provide water. For Basil, this commandment became his vision of the kingdom on earth. This led him to give away his fortune and build his Basiliad so that people could survive the famine. He believed deeply in community, resulting in his radical care for others.

Sometimes, it seems that the modern-day church can take the sting out of challenging Biblical passages. This watering down of Christ’s teachings hinders our participation in full community with others. We, at times, re-interpret scriptures like loving your neighbor as yourself in order to temper the impact it could have on our lives. Basil was able to remove the tendency to lessen the weight of scripture, and he allowed it to be felt full force in his life. This ability to take seriously the challenges presented in scripture led him to a life of care for others, especially those who had been left out of community or those who were suffering.  

Reference: 1 In Times of Famine and Drought, 7

Remembrance

The bread which you hold back belongs to the hungry; the coat, which you guard in your locked storage-chests belongs to the naked; the footwear mouldering in your closet belongs to those without shoes. The silver that you keep hidden in a safe place belongs to the one in need. Thus, however many are those whom you could have provided for, so many are those whom you wrong. -   Saint Basil

Challenge

• Read again Basil’s quote in the remembrance section. What do you have that could be someone else’s provision?

• St. Basil was very good at asking his friends to engage with those who were suffering in their community. He rallied massive support for his clinic called the Basiliad. This week find a non-profit in your community that is doing work for those who are suffering and make a financial donation. If you can’t make a donation, ask if there is a way to volunteer.

• Ask a friend to participate in the above challenge with you.

• Do some research on St. Basil and the Basiliad to see if you are inspired in any further ways by his story.

Reflection

Are there certain areas of your life where you are too comfortable? Where could you care more for others? Do you truly love your neighbor as self? These are all very challenging questions to consider this week.

Further Growth

2021: Book of Common Prayer Proper 28

Old Testament: Daniel 12:1-13
Psalm: Psalm 16
New Testament: Hebrews 10:31-39
Gospel: Mark 13:14-23

2020: Book of Common Prayer Proper 27

Old Testament: Amos 5:18-24
Psalm: Psalm 70
New Testament: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Gospel: Matthew 25:1-13

November Week 1

Virtue: Community
Resolution: I choose to journey with other believers to participate in the mission of God.

Human Story: Dorothy Day (1897-1980)

Dorothy Day was a leading Christian social activist of the 20th century. More than most, she saw the human dignity in others - especially the less fortunate - and was a bastion for peace, equality, and authentic community. In her early twenties, prior to professing any type of creedal faith, Day was a leader in the suffragist movement's National Women's Party (aka: The Silent Sentinels). In 1917, the Silent Sentinels became the first group in in history to picket the White House, demanding that President Woodrow Wilson sign a constitutional amendment that would extend voting rights to women. They were met with fierce opposition despite being nonviolent in their protest. Many women (including Day) were beaten and jailed. The nineteenth amendment ultimately gave women the right to vote in 1920. 

In 1927, at the age of 30, she converted to Christianity; and in 1932, she co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement (CWM) with Peter Maurin. The CWM promotes Catholic teachings and confronts societal injustices. It is now world-renowned for its commitment to feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, rejecting violence, working for peace, and providing dignity and justice to the marginalized. Out of this inspiring movement have since been borne hundreds of "hospitality houses" across the globe that are still providing help for the needy.

A byproduct of the CWM was the corresponding newspaper The Catholic Worker, of which Day was chief editor until her death in 1980. Day was a journalist and wrote for virtually her entire adult life. It was perhaps her autobiography The Long Loneliness that has reached more people than any of her other writings. In it Day writes,

The final word is love... To love we must know each other... and we know each other in the breaking of bread, and we are not alone any more... We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.

Day wasn't being ethereal, academic, or sentimental in her conclusion here. She was an integrated person whose entire life oozed with direct service to the poor and in authentic community with people that society had rejected.

For these reasons and many more, when Pope Francis became the first Pope to address the United States Congress in 2015, he chose to mention Day as one of four exemplary Americans who helped build a better future in America.

Lesson: 1 John 4:20, 3:14-17 New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

4:20 Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.

3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

LOVE and HATE... both words are loaded with such great meaning but are so often overused that we don't really even feel the weight of them sometimes. Then we are reminded by this passage: IF we "hate" others (specifically, our "brothers and sisters" who are fellow believers in Christ), then we cannot truly love God, we cannot abide in God's love, and we do not possess eternal life.

Perhaps some forms of hate have tried to creep into your life, so let's examine what that might look like. Obviously, violence, destruction, and harm toward others is implied by this word hate, but it is far more than that. Apathy, self-centeredness, deceit, and gossip all fit the description too. Hate can be (and often is) an action, but it can also be a thought or an intention. Let us not miss the opportunity to see these forms of hate as inhibitors to our relationship with God.

What, then, does love look like? What is clearly NOT being referred to here is love that is romanticized. Instead, this passage implies kindness, empathy, generosity, self-sacrifice, and putting others who are in need above your own self-interest. These are the kinds of love that connect us to God and bear witness that we have a relationship with the Divine. How have you practiced these things lately? Or not? May we be on guard daily to make sure our thoughts and intentions are filled with love - especially toward our brothers and sisters. 

Remembrance

A prayer from the Church of the Province of the West Indies

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, the privilege is ours to share in the loving, healing, reconciling mission of your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, in this age and wherever we are. Since without you we can do no good thing:
May your Spirit make us wise;
May your Spirit guide us;
May your Spirit renew us;
May your Spirit strengthen us;
So that we will be:
Strong in faith,
Discerning in proclamation,
Courageous in witness,
Persistent in good deeds.
This we ask through the name of the Father.

Challenge

Hatred is a common attitude of human experience. Even back in biblical times it was said, “love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” (Matthew 5:43) But Jesus said to “Love your enemies.” (Matthew 5:44) Do you feel hatred, irritation, or impatience toward someone else? If so, the first step away from hatred is to pray for that person. Write down that person’s name and pray for them each day this week. At the end of the week, compare your attitude about that person with how you felt about them at the beginning of the week.

Reflection

Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than they love the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest and sacrificial. God hates this wishful dreaming because it makes the dreamer proud and pretentious. Those who dream of this idolized community demand that it be fulfilled by God, by others and by themselves. They enter the community of Christians with their demands set up by their own law, and judge one another and God accordingly. It is not we who build. Christ builds the church. Whoever is mindful to build the church is surely well on the way to destroying it, for he will build a temple to idols without wishing or knowing it. We must confess he builds. We must proclaim, he builds. We must pray to him, and he will build. We do not know his plan. We cannot see whether he is building or pulling down. It may be that the times which by human standards are the times of collapse are for him the great times of construction. It may be that the times which from a human point are great times for the church are times when it's pulled down. It is a great comfort which Jesus gives to his church. You confess, preach, bear witness to me, and I alone will build where it pleases me. Do not meddle in what is not your providence. Do what is given to you, and do it well, and you will have done enough.... Live together in the forgiveness of your sins. Forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts. -  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Further Growth

The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist by Dorothy Day
Loaves and Fishes: The Inspiring Story of the Catholic Worker Movement by Dorothy Day
The Reckless Way of Love: Notes on Following Jesus by Dorothy Day
Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People a compilation from 21 various authors

2021: Book of Common Prayer Proper 26

Old Testament: Isaiah 1:10-20
Psalm: Psalm 32
New Testament: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
Gospel: Luke 19:1-10

2020: Book of Common Prayer Proper 26

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Psalm: Psalm 119:1-16
New Testament: Hebrews 7:23-28
Gospel: Mark 12:28-34

*apocryphal text

November Introduction

November: Community

Resolution: I choose to journey with other believers to participate in the mission of God.

The letter to the Hebrews encourages us to always be mindful of how we can encourage one another in love and good works and to be committed to meeting together for this purpose (Hebrews 10:24). The Christian life is one lived out in common fellowship with other Christ followers. Indeed, to have been called by God into fellowship with Christ and the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 13:14) is to have also been called by God into communal citizenship and family membership in God’s kingdom (Ephesians 2:19). As we live out this calling, we mirror the early church’s way of life, who devoted themselves to community and fellowship (Acts 2:42)—to journeying with other believers. When reading the New Testament, it is hard to miss the importance and centrality of community in the Christian life.

As we seek to be more closely conformed to the image of God’s Son, we will naturally desire to build and participate in community. Our resolution, liturgy, and reflections this month help give us purposeful attention to developing a commitment to community. This commitment isn’t just about our edification but also our call to carry out with fellow believers, as a unified body, the work of God in the world. As you read the human stories and lessons, take time to purposefully engage the remembrance, challenge, and reflection with friends and/or family. Perhaps, if you don’t already, let this month be a start for growing in faith with others. Look for ways to participate in the mission of God as a fellow sojourner in the Way.

November: Liturgy

Leader: Heavenly Father, You have called us into fellowship with Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit as the bedrock of our communion within the church.

People: Father, empower us to live in union with Jesus and the Spirit.

Leader: Jesus, You call us into fellowship with other believers that we might be partners with You in the mission of God. 

People: Jesus, empower us to stir up one another to love and good works.

Leader:  Holy Spirit, You empower us to live in love and unity that we might be a light to the darkness.

People: Holy Spirit, empower us to be ministers of reconciliation.