Devotions Week Six:

(Chapter 14: Generosity as a Way of Living:

Care for the Earth - Personal Well-Being - Forgiving Ourselves and Others)

Monday - Stewarding God's Grace

Scripture Reading: Mark 12:28-31

Meditation:

As our study text points out, generosity can become a way of living and a habitual action that seeks others' welfare. This generosity arises out of gratitude to God, the Extravagant Giver. Seen in all its facets, generosity is the fullest expression of a Christian disciple's life, a way to give glory to God.

In this week of devotions, we'll ponder how generosity can become the essential pattern for our way of living, particularly in three areas: in care for the earth and God's creatures, in honoring both ourselves and others, and in moving toward forgiveness of others as well as ourselves.

What is the greatest of all God's commandments? No one knows whether the student of Jewish Law asked Jesus this question to trick him, or out of a genuine desire to learn. But Jesus' response was direct and explicit. Each of us is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as much as we love our self. It's as clear and as powerful as that.

Loving other people means caring about them and caring for them.  It begins as an emotion but finds full expression as an action. All ten dimensions of whole-life generosity, cited in Growing Generous Souls (pp. 321f.) can point to how we treat other people: with compassion, for instance, with humor and respect. These same traits and practices suggest how we can treat ourselves, such as with courage, creativity, and forgiveness. We cannot be kind or generous to others if we are angry or abusive toward ourselves. We need to honor ourselves, but also watch out for a selfish bias.

There are some hints of combining these two commandments in the Jewish wisdom tradition, but only Jesus connects them in such a radical (meaning "going to the root") way. Love of God is nothing if it doesn't result in care for one's neighbor. And caring for one's neighbor becomes just a version of self-love if it doesn't arise out of authentic, whole-bodied love for God. The two dimensions of love are inextricably combined.

Prayer:

God Who is Love Incarnate, I thank You for both aspects of love, for oneself and for others. Please guide me to dwell in both as part of my whole-life love for You. I pray this in the name and the way of Jesus. Amen.

Questions to Ponder:

1. In life there's no perfect balance of self-care and care for others. How am I doing this week on one side or the other?
2. In what aspect of self-care am I doing well? What might I do better, to nurture or honor myself?
3. Are there ways built into my habits that show care for others or groups of people? In what ways have I been intentional about showing concern for others?
4. Looking at the ten dimensions of whole-life generosity, which dimension is strongest in my life? How can I help it shine even brighter?

 

Tuesday - God the Creator

Scripture Reading: Ps. 104:1-24

Meditation:

The Bible is full of affirmations about God as the Creator of the world and of every kind of plant, animal and substance that lives on it or in it. But Psalm 104 stands out to me like a multifaceted jewel! It reflects how God specially cares for the Earth and a delightful multitude of creatures: from all birds of the air to majestic mountains, from coneys (alpine rock rabbits) to cattle to clouds, from lordly lions to lowly human beings.

The psalm starts by declaring what God has done. God has set the Earth on its foundations. God made the sun, the moon, and the darkness that surround it. Apart from God's particular delight in these specific creations (implying all the rest), we are left with the mystery of Who is God. Direct attempts at a description of God fail us and fail even the writer of this psalm. The closest this prayer comes to describing God is "clothed with honor and majesty" and "wrapped in light."

Yet the psalmist still tries to put worship into words. "O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the Earth is full of Your creatures," it declares. "I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being."

So how can I - a single, mortal creature - celebrate this vast and loving Reality Who is the Creator? How can I match God's delight in God's creation? How can I worship God and love God back? I can help sustain God's creation and nurture my fellow creatures.

These days that's a gigantic challenge. As the study book shows and global studies confirm, in order to "do good," we need to first quit "doing harm" in systematic ways, such as stopping the extinction of our fellow creatures and the pollution of this planet.

For most of us, our efforts begin by making local, human connections. The Links page of www.generousstewards.com offers a short list of where we can begin. Wherever you or I start, it will be an essential beginning.

Prayer:

Thank You, God, for Your incredible creation, and for how You lovingly provide for all Your creatures! Please guide me to become a more caring and faithful steward of some part of this Earth. This I pray in the way of Jesus. Amen.

Questions to Ponder:

1. What one aspect of earth care most intrigues or urges me personally to research and action?
2. What responsibility can I take to create less trash and pollution?
3. What do I want to learn more about, in order to become a more knowledgeable steward?
4. What might it look like in my congregation if faithful stewardship of the earth became an essential part of our church culture?
5. What earth-care issue relates most directly to the community in which I live? Who are other people who might join me in that venture? What network(s) might be a helpful partner in working on it together?

 

Wednesday - Keeping the Garden

 Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:29-31; 2:15

Meditation:

Today's verses from Genesis chapters 1 and 2 go beyond affirming that God is the Creator of everything that lives. Here the focus is on how God provides specifically for all of us on planet Earth. God gives every seed-bearing plant and every seed-bearing fruit to human beings, and every green plant to all other animals. So God's earthly creation provides food for all its creatures.

In the Book of Genesis, humanity is known by two names. One is adam. It is related to adamah (feminine form), which means "earth" or "soil." So a better translation would be "earthling," coming from the earth. The second name for humanity is haweh. It is a word that refers to all that is living. So the second name for people is better translated as "related to all living things." Haweh is the only name in Hebrew that comes from God's personal name, given to Moses in Exodus 3:14f.

"Eden," the name for the garden where Adam and Eve were created, means "luxury" or "delight." Yet even a place of natural delight benefits from someone taking care of it. God commands adam to do two things: to "till it" (encourage its fruitfulness) and to "keep it" (keep it sustainable over the long term). From the beginning, God treats human beings not as another creature of the field, but as mindful agents who are expected to aid in God's work. We have been given authority not like a despot, but responsibility like that of a shepherd or a gardener. God considers all of this not only "good," but "very good."

 Prayer:

Great Shepherd of our souls, thank You for all that You provide for us and for the other creatures of this Earth. Direct me to be a careful gardener and a watchful shepherd of everything You have entrusted to my care. This I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Questions to Ponder:

1. In Love in a Time of Climate Change (p. 61) author Sharon Delgado says, "The natural world is the larger sacred community to which we belong. To be alienated from this community is to become destitute in all that makes us human. To damage this community is to diminish our own existence." How has my own existence been enriched by this natural world? In what ways has it been, or not been, my larger sacred community?
2. What are the primary relationships God has given me in the world right around me? I may think it's the land on which I live, or nearby parks, or places to which I usually go. How could I care for these more intentionally? How might I get more personally involved in sustaining them?
3. In what ways might I move beyond making incremental, individual changes, to helping our larger community address needed systemic changes? (For thirteen systemic, policy changes, see Love in a Time of Climate Change pp. 154f.).
4. Creation Justice Ministries and www.350.org are two networks that connect care for the earth with justice action for the world's poor, most of whom live on the more ecologically vulnerable land. How could I join either online community to address "the fierce urgency of now"?

 

Thursday - Respecting My Body

Scripture Reading: Psalm 139:13-16

Meditation:

Psalm 139 is sometimes called "the crown of the Psalter." Because of its magnificent imagery of the scope and depth of God's creation, God is everywhere and ever near, to bless us and lead us with love. There is nowhere we can go and be abandoned by God's love, the Holy Spirit.

"It was You Who formed my inward parts," the writer says in verses 13 through 16, "when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth." God has actively created me and every other creature from before our birth. "Wonderful are Your works," whispers the psalmist in awe and trust. Each of us is wonderfully, mysteriously made by God.

My health is a gift from God. Staying healthy is a way of giving thanks for that gift.  I can stay healthy by taking good care of myself, nourishing my body, and balancing work and rest.¹ Our study book sets out four personal goals we could use toward respecting our bodies. It also recommends three things a Health and Wholeness Team could do in a congregation.² I am meant to steward, to take good care of, my body, not just for my own well-being, but as a thanks to God, Who formed me.

In Your Whole Life, the authors recommend we set goals for movement and exercise,  body weight, food portions, and specific lifestyle habits. As with musicians and athletes, positive change requires constant practice and mindful training. "Will power starts with a goal and a plan to get there," they say. "It is fired with motivation and action and courage. Learning to eat right and live well takes motivation, courage, and overcoming inertia by taking action."³ It is all part of how I steward my health, as a gift I give back to God.

¹ - Betsy Schwarzentraub, Growing Generous Souls, p. 332.

² - Ibid., pp. 334f.

³ - Maggie Davis in Your Whole Life, p. 86.

Prayer:

Loving God, thank You for the wonders You have created, from the galaxies and stars to the intricacies of my body. Please guide me to take good care of my health as a gift given back to You. Amen.

Questions to Ponder:

1. Are there ways I could be more respectful toward my physical health? How can I nurture and strengthen my physical being?
2. What kinds of movement refresh and encourage me? How often do I usually exercise? What is the best time of day to do it? Are there any changes in exercise habits I want to make?
3. In what ways do I honor myself as belonging to God? How can I devote time regularly for self-care, even as I care for others?
4. What kind of community and support might help me be more generous toward my own well-being?

 

Friday - No Trash on the Altar

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:16

Meditation:

When the Bible says we are "made in God's image," it means we are meant to reflect the nature of God with every part of our being. That includes how we treat our bodies, for physical health.

The Jerusalem Temple was where Jews in the early Old Testament days brought the best of their crops and flocks to God as an offering. It was the central place of worship for all of the people called Israel. Offering the best was a sign of respect or veneration. People were saying "We know You, God, deserve the best." That is the background for 1 Corinthians 3:16. Paul asks, "Do you not know that you are God's Temple, and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" is acknowledging that God dwells (lives for a long time) within us.

So if our bodies are meant to be God's Temple, how can we fill them up with junk food, putting trash on the altar?

I was shocked when a teacher asked that of a class I was in a long time ago. But he was right. Healthy eating is part of our worship of God. Nutrition professionals tell us that healthy food and knowledgeable use of nutrition are the foundation of good health. Nonetheless, many people burden their bodies for years , indulging in unhealthy eating habits and harmful obsessions. Then they try to rectify the damage by enduring a merry-go-round of diets. I've spent time on that carousel myself.

But we can make peace with food and with our bodies. In Your Whole Life, the authors offer ten strategies for gradual, wholesome change. These include planning for meals; focusing on real, whole foods; avoiding automatic eating habits; listening to the body's signals for hunger and satisfaction; being mindful of portions; eating seasonally and locally whenever possible; and including exercise as part of a plan.

I trust that it is Christ Who lives in me (Galatians 2:20), so I don't have to rebalance my eating on my own limited will power. I can keep leaning on the Spirit to guide me, and start each day anew.

Prayer:

Thank You, God, for the abundance of food and the gift of free will for me to be able to choose what is good for me. Please lead me to make responsible, nutritious decisions. Amen.

Questions to Ponder:

1. What can I affirm about my physical health? What do I want to change?
2. Thinking about the foods I usually eat, what does the "altar of my Temple" look like? How can I better respect God in my daily eating choices?
3. What can I celebrate that I've been doing right in my eating? Are there any gradual changes that I want to make?
4. How can I keep from letting old habit patterns dominate me? What are or can be the benefits of healthful eating in my life?

 

Saturday - The Problem with Forgiveness

Scripture Reading: Matthew 18:21-22

Meditation:

Real forgiveness can be elusive. It is easy to confuse forgiveness with absolving someone when they infringe on your well-being, excusing a perpetrator's behavior, or allowing an injustice to continue to harm people. Yet as our study book says, "True forgiveness is an intentional attitude, and often a work-in-progress."¹ It is a deliberate decision where we may choose to respond with compassion toward how we perceive we have been wronged.

That's the problem with forgiveness: it is not a one-time thing, easily tucked away and employed as needed. Sometimes it requires as much as a lifetime to become a part of one's being.

Peter must have been struggling with forgiveness when he asked Jesus how often he should forgive - "as many as seven times?" Peter may have been thinking of early Jewish history (Genesis 4:24), when Cain's sevenfold vengeance intensified in his descendant Lamech to seventy-sevenfold.

Jesus responded to Peter's question with intensified mercy instead of vengeance or violence. He replied, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy times seven!"

Surely such unlimited forgiveness is humanly impossible. But Jesus' point is that forgiveness comes from God, not from us. God invites us to participate in the process of forgiveness, but I cannot claim it as my forgiveness, as if I were the source. In fact, if I manage just to try to forgive someone who has done grievous harm, then I am reflecting more fully the God Who created us all in love.

Prayer:

Thank You, God, for Your limitless mercy and grace, and for the stunning example of Jesus. Please guide me to grow in my capacity to forgive. This I pray in Jesus' name and way. Amen.

Questions to Ponder:

1. Have I ever forgiven someone for what they have done to me or to someone I cared about? Or am I still working on forgiving? What has that process been like so far?
2. Is there anyone I have decided I will never forgive? What effect has that had on me? How does that make me feel? Is there any possible way I could come to forgive this person?
3. When have I asked for or received forgiveness from someone? How did that feel? Did it make any difference to me or to the other person?
4. Does my faith community support me in forgiving others and/or being forgiven? If so, how?

 

Sunday - Trusting Jesus

Scripture Reading: Acts 10:43; Ephesians 1:7f.

Meditation:

Forgiveness is a deliberate decision to cast out feelings of resentment or vengeance toward someone who has done harm. But what if that someone is myself? What if I just cannot forgive something hurtful I have done?

In some ways, forgiving ourselves is harder than forgiving other people, because we know more about our own ambivalent intentions, hidden misgivings, or subtle betrayals than we know about other people. But the fact is that both the person wishing to forgive and the person needing to be forgiven is dependent on God's cleansing power, God's forgiveness! We do not create the forgiveness - God does. By forgiving someone, I come a little closer to God's forgiveness. I can ask God to do the forgiving.

As one theologian put it, "Do you see that you have been forgiven, regardless of what you are, Pharisee or publican, pious or ungodly, good or bad - do you see that you have been forgiven? That is the beginning, the essential thing in life."¹

If I am going to ask God for forgiveness, first I need to know that I messed up somehow. "Repentance" is the fancy church word for the total turn-around that I need to turn my face toward God's love. I cannot choose which layer of myself to keep and what to peel off, as if I were an onion. "The only redemption from the prison of the self," says another theologian, "is by submitting to every form of grace, saving and common, by which the self is drawn out of itself in the worship of God. . ., in the love of others, and in service to the community."²

The key to forgiving oneself is realizing that we are truly loved by God. It may take a lifetime to recognize, but that's a fact. "In Him [Jesus Christ] we have . . . the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished upon us," says Ephesians 1:7. This is the essence of God's love.

Peter spells it out even further, in Acts 10:43, the very first Christian sermon. "All the prophets testify about Him [Jesus Christ], that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name." This is Peter's consummate summary of the Good News. "Believes in" does not mean agreeing to a set of principles or statements. It means trusts - "Everyone who trusts in Him" receives forgiveness. (New English Bible)

Is forgiveness for real? Can we trust God has already forgiven us, because of Jesus? Can we trust Jesus on this?

¹ - Karl Barth, "Fire Upon the Earth" 20 Centuries of Great Preaching, Vol. 10, p. 127.

² - Reinhold Niebuhr, "Love and Law," ibid. p. 367.

Prayer:

Loving God, thank You for Your offer to forgive me, no matter what I have done or not done. I trust You and am willing to try to forgive myself because of Your all-surpassing love. This I pray in the name and way of Jesus. Amen.

Questions to Ponder:

1. Are there any things for which I would like to forgive myself? What has been standing in my way? What could I do to overcome it? What would encouragement to do that?
2. In Growing Generous Souls (p. 343), writer Ellen Michaud names six things we can do to move toward self-forgiveness: refocusing on more positive emotions, the bigger picture, lessons learned, or a person who loves me; recognizing my unrealistic expectations for myself; realizing I may or may not have done the best I could at the time; starting to tell myself a new story; consciously replacing shame and guilt with gratitude; and trusting God knows me and offers me forgiveness. Which of these actions could I try, to help me forgive something I have done?
3. How could I come to forgive myself from my heart, trusting tat God already offers me forgiveness? How would that change the way that I live?