Seeing the Face of Christ in our World--Saturday, March 31

1 John 3:16-18

¹⁶We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. ¹⁷How 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? ¹⁸Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

It seems to me that the Commissions at CTK are, each in their own way, an example of the kind of love defined in this passage. Collectively they offer their material possessions to others and respectfully help those in need with a truly loving spirit.

I have been a member of the Congregational Care Commission (Care Team) for a number of years.  Of all the different ways the Care Team serves and helps those in our congregation, I find that visiting with the homebound and serving them Holy Communion to be my niche. I see the face of Christ in their calm and assured expressions as they Commune.   Those to whom I serve Communion are always so thankful for my visit.  I know my visit is incidental to the fact that God is working through me for them.

Celia Huertas

For reflection:

How can sharing a moment of grace, such as administering communion, change our world?

What is the “niche” through which God can work in you?
The founder of World Vision once said, “May our hearts be broken by the things that break the heart of God.”  How does this sentiment tie into the reading for the day?

Seeing the Face of Christ in our World--Friday, March 30

 Luke 10:29-37

²⁹But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" ³⁰Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³²So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. ³⁴He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.' ³⁶Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" ³⁷He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

I had to do this twice.  I’ll try to explain as share my thoughts on this famous passage from the New Testament.

Who is my neighbor?  Do I see neighbors outside of the circle of my family and friends?

When I moved to Miami over 30 years ago, I like many other people, was turned off by the coldness and aggressiveness of the people who lived here.  I had never before lived in a place like this.  A place where drivers regularly ran red traffic signals, would give you the finger just for looking at them, where drivers often even refused to yield to ambulances.  The people on the street seemed cold and hard to talk to.  No one said hello as we walked down the streets of our neighborhood.  I did not want my family living in this environment and contemplated leaving.

But there were some times when people in Miami surprised me.  My car broke down in front of someone’s house at 9 or 10 at night and the homeowner came out of his house into the darkness and helped me, a total stranger, get the car started.

A coworker took it upon himself to invite me to his home several times and to play racquetball with him, while I was waiting for our house to be sold up north, so that I would not always be alone.

These acts of kindness went a long way toward changing my feelings toward Miami.

Who is my neighbor?  That’s a really good question.  But after reading the passage again, I realized that it is not the right question! 

According to Luke, a certain lawyer asked this same question.  He had correctly told Jesus that the greatest commandment was to Love God and to love your neighbor as yourself.  Now he asked Jesus this question.  It’s a reasonable question; a good question; one any of us might ask.

But Jesus turns everything UPSIDE DOWN like he does with so many things that seem like common wisdom to us. 

The question is not “Who is my neighbor?”

The question is: “To whom am I a Neighbor?”

We are to be like the Samaritan.  We are called to be a neighbor to others.  We are called to show compassion to those in need, even if they are not like us.  We are called to “Go and do likewise.”  This means a commitment to God and to God’s children (i.e. everyone).  We have to prepare to be like the Samaritan, we have to know before something happens that our calling is to stop and lend aid or compassion.  We are not called to pass by.

And what about those people who showed me compassion when I moved here?  Their kindness will not be forgotten.  They helped me when I needed to see kindness in this community but, perhaps more importantly, they also provided an example to me of how I should treat others.

Hank Fandrei

For Reflection:

What are some of the “acts of kindness” you offer, and you see being offered, in your day-to-day life? Be specific.

Many say that in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells us how to be a neighbor, more than who the neighbor is.  How would you paraphrase the message he gives us regarding the “how?”

Hank asked us the same question that Jesus leaves us to ponder: “To whom am I a neighbor?”  How do you respond?

Seeing the Face of Christ in Our World--Thursday, March 29

Romans 12:9-18

⁹Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. ¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ¹⁸If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

When I was the age of six and a half, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and my father, being an active duty Coast Guard officer was one of the very first to take the counter attack into the Pacific at a small island called Guadalcanal.  Soon we were also at war with Germany.  Evil was personified in the face of Hideki Tojo and Adolph Hitler, the leaders of the nations of Japan and Germany.  Every form of communication to the people of the United States characterized the Japanese soldiers as bucktoothed slant eyed little monkeys and the German soldiers as cruel brutes goose stepping their way across the bodies of helpless civilians.  We were taught to hate both nations.

Ultimately, the Allies were able to defeat both nations but not before great desolation had been wrought on their cities and civilian populations.  However, in an unprecedented decision, the United States launched a program of immediate aid for the wretched defeated people of both nations, helping to rebuild their societies.  Retribution was directed only to the leaders of this great evil, but kindness and pity was directed to the suffering civilian populations.  Defeated Japanese and German soldiers were released to return to what remained of their homes.  Indeed, many American soldiers, that served as an occupying army involved with the rebuilding of the defeated nations, returned with wives from the former enemy counties.

Truly, this was a remarkable and noble instance of where pity and love replaced hate.  This has resulted in enduring friendship and peace between our nation and Japan and Germany even though we are competitors for markets and resources.

Ted Holtzman

For reflection:

Where do you see expressions of compassion and aid on the world stage today?

How does your faith inform your appreciation for diverse nations and ways of life?

Paul says, “(So) far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all.”  What can you do to promote peaceful living?

Seeing the Face of Christ in Our World--Wednesday, March 28

Deuteronomy 16:9-12

⁹You shall count seven weeks; begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. ¹⁰Then you shall keep the festival of weeks to the LORD your God, contributing a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing that you have received from the LORD your God. ¹¹Rejoice before the LORD your God — you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female slaves, the Levites resident in your towns, as well as the strangers, the orphans, and the widows who are among you — at the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 

¹²Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and diligently observe these statutes.

The Feast of Weeks, also called “Pentecost,” was a harvest festival celebrated with the “first fruits” of the crops. God’s people were commanded to give gifts “in proportion” to the agricultural blessings that they had received from God’s hand. These gifts or first fruits were given in reliance on God’s providence and in recognition of the fact that God owns the whole harvest. Similarly, Christians are called to give “in proportion” or “according to what one has, not according to what [one] does not have,” for God makes us “rich in every way so that we can be generous on every occasion.”


I recall as a young child every Friday night my Dad stopped by the bank on the way home from work.  After greeting the family and pouring himself a cold glass of water, ice tea, or whatever, he always opened his wallet and counted out a percentage of his income and then immediately carried it to his bedroom.  Mom and Dad had a plastic box with a cross on it on their dresser where Dad always put their “proportional” offering.  All of their charitable donations came from that box…for church, March of Dimes, American Cancer Fund, etc.  Life was financially tight growing up, there were 5 children and Mom did not work.  Mom always baked, canned, and sewed all our clothes to make ends meet.  Mom used her gifts in cooking and crafts to give back to the Lord by volunteering in preparing meals for church events, sewing clothes for needy children, and making quilts for Lutheran World Relief as well.  Mom and Dad always said, “God first!”  This memory has stayed with me and my siblings.  All of us have kept the practice of giving to God first by using our individual gifts in our own ways.
God does not discriminate against the gifts that he gives us.  No matter what gifts God gave us, we should give back a proportion of the gifts.  When giving God’s gifts back, God’s love returns to us in personal experiences through church services, our church activities, and our church family.
Donna Hennessy

For reflection:

What are some early memories that taught you lessons about giving and generosity?

How are faith and giving connected?

If you were to describe the impact of giving in one’s life to a child, what would you say?

Seeing the Face of Christ in Our Workplace--Tuesday, March 27

James 3:5-12

⁵So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! ⁶And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. ⁷For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, ⁸but no one can tame the tongue — a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. ¹¹Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? ¹²Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

The message is simple.  The implementation is difficult at best.  We must take care with the words we speak and how we say them.  We must be sure the message we send is the message we want received.  What one person perceives as a joke may be received in a hurtful way.  Tone of voice can convey a powerful message.  Words – once spoken – cannot be pulled back.  Words we never get tired of hearing are words of kindness and consideration – Please, Thank you, How kind of you.  No one wants to hear in words or tone-of-voice a “you dummy” attitude. 

I am reminded of a story – Nail in the Fence.  It came to me several years ago over the internet.  There once was a little boy (or girl) who had a bad temper.  His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.  The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.  Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down.  He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.  Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all.  He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.  The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.  The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.  The father said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence.  The fence will never be the same.  When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.  You can cut a man with a knife.  It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.  A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.  Friends are very rare jewels, indeed.  They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.  They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.” 

Kathy Hibbs

For reflection:

Why are words so powerful?

What are some of the techniques you use to keep from uttering words that you might later regret…and how does your faith factor into this equation?

How have you been hurt by the words of others…and how have you hurt others through your words?

Seeing the Face of Christ in Our Workplace--Monday, March 26

John 15:12-17

¹²This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. ¹⁷I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Jesus's command to love one another seems quite easy in some areas of our lives.  When we married, we committed to loving one another for as long as we lived.  We had fallen so in love that we couldn't imagine living without one another's love.  As for loving our families, we learned long ago to love them through the example they showed as parents.  Regarding our church family and friends, it has been easy to love them as it is the purpose of church community and friends.  Love seems quite easy when we get to choose whom we love and and to whom we dedicate our energies.  

As Jesus shares in this passage, He chose us.  Just as He chose us, so He also chooses those whom He wants us to love, asking us to share our skills and knowledge to bear better fruit for God.  It seems a great deal of the people Jesus chooses for us to love are in our place of work.  There are days when we both come home exhausted by our responsibilities  wondering whether we are doing enough to live out God's will in our lives.  This passage says that Jesus has shared with us everything that he heard from the Father.  So Jesus has given us all the tools we need to do His will, it is just up to us to learn from the Word and to put the Word to work in our everyday lives.    

Fer and Emily Guerra

For reflection:
When have you found it difficult to “love” someone in your workplace…and why?

What does it mean to you to be a “friend” of Jesus?

What tools has God given you to follow God’s will…and how effectively do you use those tools?        

Seeing the Face of Christ in Our Workplace--Sunday, March 25

Matthew 5:43-48

⁴³"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

How unimaginable it is to be perfect. and extremely difficult to try to be anywhere near perfect in anything.  To love your neighbor and brothers and sisters (family) is effortless, but to love your enemies is difficult.

Leviticus 19:18 gives the command, "Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."  However, this gets very difficult when your character is being assaulted.  This is when Jesus keeps us from taking the law into our own hands by overcoming evil with good.

If you love your enemies and treat them well, you will truly show that Jesus is Lord of life.  This is possible only for those who give themselves to God because He can deliver people from natural selfishness.  We must trust the Holy Spirit to help us show love to those for whom we may not feel love.  If we strive to become perfect, we will someday be perfect.  To be perfect we live in the power of God.

Let mistreatment by others remind you to overcome their evil by love.  Love is not a sentiment, alone but a practical concern, blessings, prayer, and positive wishes for well being to friend and enemy alike.  Love is by choice, not circumstance.

Become Christ-like and forgive your enemies just as the ultimate forgiveness spoken by Christ as he was nailed on the cross, "Father, forgive them...."

Donna Wimmler

For reflection:

How have you seen grudges or a desire for revenge wreck havoc in your workplace?

What blessings flow from loving one’s enemies?

Donna writes: “Love is not a sentiment along, but a practical concern…”  What does this mean to you?