Some time ago, I was reading back through the story of Joshua. When the Israelites were finally settled in the land that God had promised them, Joshua gathered the community together and he retold the story of God’s providence, God’s deliverance up to that point. Joshua ends his speech by encouraging them to make a decision, to choose to serve the Lord.

This made me wonder, what does it mean to choose to serve the Lord? 

Maybe it really is the small everyday decisions that add up. Maybe it’s the small decisions that speak to who or what we are actually worshiping. Every day we do get to decide: 

Today: Am I going to make a choice to care – even when every fiber of my being says, “Why bother… You won’t make a difference”?

Am I going to make a choice to look for God’s presence even in people who make me really angry?

Am I going to make a choice to give generously; even when I’m afraid to do so?

Am I going to make a choice to give priority to the activities I believe make a difference to the world around me and within me?

Am I going to make a choice to notice that even the toughest, most draining moments of life are actually at the same time alive with the same Power that created the universe, the stars, and love and fellowship?

I hope so… And I hope you will too. 

Let us pray: We remember, O God, that Jesus said that he came that we might have life – and have it in abundance. Help us to keep you at the heart and center of our lives so that abundant life would be ours; through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Over the past two days, we reflected on God’s unconditional love and grace. I continue that theme today.

Not long ago, I heard Father Gregory Boyle talk about his friend and spiritual director, Bill Cain. A number of years ago, his friend took time off of his own ministry to care for his father as he died of cancer. 

His father had become quite frail but his mind remained sharp. At night, Bill would put his father to bed and then read to him from some novel, to try and put him to sleep. He said his father would often just lie there, staring at his son, smiling. 

Exhausted from the day’s care and work, he would plead, “Look, here’s the idea. I read to you, you fall asleep.” His father would apologize and close his eyes again. But this wouldn’t last long. After just a few moments, he would squint through one eye and smile at his son. Bill would catch him, “Now, come on, Dad. Time for sleep.” This routine went on and on.

After his father’s death, he said looking back on that – that time with his dad meant a great deal to him. And he came to see that this evening ritual was really just a story of a father who just couldn’t take his eyes off his kid. 

Maybe you’ve known what that is like – looking at your own child sleeping at night…

Father Greg said, “How much more so God? As Anthony De Mello writes, ‘Behold the One beholding you…’

This is the basis for our faith… This is the ground from which we build our relationships with each other. This is the ground from which our love and acceptance and care for others springs. This is the ground from which our ministry takes root. Without that foundation, none of it makes sense.

Let us pray: God of grace, we thank you for your unconditional love. Help us to accept this love and share it with a world desperately in need. Amen.

One of our greatest needs as human beings is to be accepted; to be loved, to be valued. In the world, it’s true, that we often have to earn that acceptance. We have to earn that value. Sometimes we even feel we have to earn that love. It’s not often just handed to us. 

But what our scriptures teach is that love, acceptance, and grace are at the foundation of our faith. 

In fact, Luke makes this clear in one of the earliest stories in the gospel. He tells us that in Jesus’ baptism, the heavens are opened, the Spirit descends on him like a dove and God says, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Now think about this: How much ministry has Jesus accomplished up to that point? None. In the very next line, Luke says, he was about thirty years old when he began his work. Up to that point, what had Jesus done to earn that blessing? Nothing.  

Before any ministry, before he sets out on that beautiful three-year journey of healing, and teaching, before there is any sacrifice, before even the cross, God says, “With you, I am well pleased.”

It’s true not only of Jesus. He’s pleased with you. He’s pleased with you. 

There is nothing you can do to earn that. There is nothing you can do to lose that. It’s called grace. And it is the very beginning and foundation of our faith.

Let us pray: God of grace, we thank you for your unconditional love. Help us to accept this love and share it with a world desperately in need. Amen.

I remember an old Family Circus comic that I saw years ago. The young boy was talking to his little sister, and he shared these simple words of wisdom, “Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, but today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.”

Today is a present. Today we have 24 un-used, brand-new hours to love deeply, to serve others, to show gratitude, to notice God, and to live life to its fullest. 

Maybe you have made mistakes in the past. Or, maybe you are worried sick about the future. But in this moment, there is good and beauty all around you. There are all sorts of possibilities. Breathe deeply and seize the moment. God is with you.

Let us pray: O God, you are the hope of ages past, and our hope for years to come, from generation to generation you are faithful, and we praise you. Today, open our eyes to the beauty of the present moment. Free us from anxiety and regret, and enable us to live here and now. Fill us with your joy and your peace; through Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Some time back, my friend Rev. Peyton Hopkins shared with me that one of the families in his church had been audited by the IRS three times over the course of several years due to their generous giving. Apparently, extraordinarily high charitable giving is a potential red flag. This reminded Peyton of an age-old question, “If you were on trial for your faith, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

In your case and mine, I hope there would be an abundance of evidence – evidence of our generosity, compassion, love, and forgiveness. I hope that each of us is leaving a clear trail of deep faith – not because we can earn God’s favor in any way. We can’t. I want that for us because I’ve seen how that way of life goes hand in hand with a deep sense of peace and an underlying joy that the circumstances of this world cannot shake.

I pray today that the evidence for our faith would grow. May it shine brightly simply by the way that we live.

Let us pray: Loving God, we all face moments of doubt and darkness and despair. There are times when our faith seems small in the face of the injustice and heartache of the world. I pray today, especially for the people who are going through difficult times, those who face anxiety or fears, and for those weighted down with burdens. I pray that today you would refresh us with your Spirit. Prompt us again and again to acts of kindness and mercy. Move us beyond ourselves, so that we could once again catch a glimpse of your peace, your joy, and your love. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.