Tag Archives: family

Untimely Born

conversion of Paul

Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. —1 Corinthians 15:8-9

The phrase “untimely born“ in this Bible reading is translated “abnormally born” or “unusually born” in other Bible versions, so I did a little study of Bible commentaries and discovered what St. Paul intended here. He was not simply saying that he was one of the last apostles, “born late,” if you will. He was saying, because of his background as an enemy of Jesus, he really should have never been born, that is, “born again,” as a follower of Christ. Paul was pointing out how unusual it was that he was even writing to the Corinthians in this way as an apostle of Christ at all.

In many ways, we can relate to what Paul is saying here. We were not eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Christ as the first apostles were. We cannot relate exactly to what the twelve disciples went through. We were born sinful and, therefore, enemies of God and Jesus. Yet we have been reborn through faith in Jesus, as St. Paul was. The risen Jesus has appeared to us through the eyes of faith. We have been knocked off our high horse, as St. Paul was on the road to Damascus, and made to pay attention to the Messiah who saw us dead in our sins and who desired to make us alive with him. We are born anew into a living hope that we never should have even been offered because of our sins.

Celebrate today your untimely birth into the forever family of God in Jesus.

Knit Together

knit together

I recently saw a segment on the news about a group called Loose Ends that includes over 500 volunteers who work on finishing knitting projects that were left undone by people who passed away. It was a beautiful story of completing what others couldn’t so that the loved ones of the deceased could enjoy their handiwork. Most of the knitting projects were meant to be gifts to family members or friends, so when the projects were done by the finishers, the items could be worn or used.

To me, this is a wonderful picture of what we do as the body of Christ. We step in when a brother or sister in Christ cannot in order to finish what they started. As the body of Christ, too, we are called to honor those who went before us in the faith by carrying on their work so that others may see it and God may be glorified.

What is something you can finish for someone who is sick or in need of help? What is something you can do in memory of someone who died recently? What is something you can do to bind people together in the faith? Be a finisher. Be a reminder. Be a binder. Jesus is the weaver.

A Familiar Seat

chair

This wooden chair with a counted cross-stitch cushion was passed down to me from my grandmother, who did the stitching. The chair fits well into the wooden features of my 1930s home. Each time I sit in this chair, I am reminded of sitting at the table with Grandpa and Grandma at meals around Thanksgiving, Christmas and other times of the year. There is a familiar feeling to siting in that chair. It feels like home, and the fact that Grandma stitched the place for me to sit makes it even more special.

As Christmas approaches and many family and friends will be sitting in all sorts of chairs old and new gathered around many a table, we need to keep in mind that Jesus is in the midst of us. His name Emmanuel means “God with us,” and he said in Scripture, “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Jesus has a seat at the table, and his presence should be familiar and comfortable to us. Jesus feels like home, and he has a seat prepared for us at the banquet table in heaven. He knows we are coming there.

God knit each one of us in our mother’s womb and he stitches us into his family through the birth of his Son into the world to save us. Jesus sat at table with sinners in his lifetime, and he served a special meal to his disciples on Maundy Thursday of his body and blood in bread and wine for the forgiveness of our sins.

“That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown” as Linus would say. Unto us is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Make room for him at your holiday dinner tables through prayer and reflection and love toward one another.

Mountains to Climb

dunes

I recently embarked on what is called the Three-Dune Challenge at the Indiana Dunes State Park with some close college friends of mine. I am embarrassed to say that it ended up being only a One-Dune Challenge for me. Halfway up the sandy incline, my legs could go no further, my heart was racing, my breathing increased and I was feeling nauseous. That’s how out of shape I am! My friends kindly came down to where I was and took me by the hand to lead me to the top, where there was a beautiful view. A friend then walked with me slowly back down Dune 1 and to the car.

I have had some metaphorical mountains to climb recently and my experience on this hike symbolically reminds me of all those who carried and led me through the difficulties I encountered and took me safely back to a place of peace when the challenge was over.

Sometimes the only way to make it through a challenge is through the help of others. So I remind myself even now that I do not need to always “power through” and get things done on my own. It is not a sign of weakness or defeat to ask for help. That is what Christian relationships are all about: being there to help when the hard times come and receiving that help when in the midst of hardship.

Jesus helped Peter when he was drowning. He fed people when they were hungry. He healed lepers at the side of the road begging for mercy. We can be the outstretched hand, the provider of sustenance and the ride to the hospital for medical treatment. And we can be the receivers of such mercy with gracious and grateful responses.

I hope to be in better shape someday to complete the Three-Dune Challenge on my own, but until that time, I am happy to rely on the kindness of friends and family to get me through the next hurdle of life on the horizon.

Grafted In

grafted

And even those of Israel, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree. —Romans 11:23-24

This concept of being grafted into the family tree of God is fascinating to me. These verses talk about Gentiles being like branches broken off or cut off from a “wild olive tree,” which represents a life free from the one true God, and then grafted into a cultivated olive tree, which represents the family tree of God grounded in God’s promise to Abraham. Any “grafted branches” still have a place amid the other branches and still have the potential for new growth, nourished by the Word of God, the power of the Spirit and the love of Christ, all of which serve like the root and trunk system of the tree that carries nutrients to every little branch and leaf connected to it.

In addition, “original” branches of the family of God that break off because of sin or unbelief can also be grafted back into God’s tree. Those who are children of Abraham who have fallen away are always able to be re-grafted to the tree of God through confession and forgiveness in Christ.

In the end, I envision a solid tree with a network of crisscrossing branches and limbs with clusters of fully formed leaves fluttering back and forth in the breeze.

Grafting is still done in horticulture today and is defined this way: The act of placing a portion of one plant (bud or scion) into or on a stem, root, or branch of another (stock) in such a way that a union will be formed and the partners will continue to grow.

Grafting creates union, union with God, and union with the branches around it. We who have been grafted into God’s family are united together with “fellow believer” branches in such a way that we grow in faith surrounded by each other, just as if we were always part of the family tree.

Look at trees today and at their branches and thank God that he has made you a firm branch of his tree of faith.

Family Dinner

family dinner 2

It has almost become a joke, but for those of a certain age (me included, I guess) Friday night is “Blue Bloods” night on TV. It is a show about a multigenerational family most of whom are or have been in law enforcement or the legal field. At the end of each episode, all the members of the clan gather together for a Sunday night family dinner to discuss, debate, commiserate and joke with each other about the events in their lives in the past week. Each show ends with everyone joining in the common mealtime prayer: Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

It warms my heart to see collective prayer portrayed on TV, but I also find the idea of family dinner a good one. Close friends of mine have been having family dinner every Sunday night with their extended family for decades, but overall I would say that we do not gather in this manner much anymore, which is sad to me.

In many ways, the concept of family dinner is very Christian. In Acts we read that in the early Church: they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42). Sounds like all the elements of a family dinner to me. Dining together is a very personal experience and indicates a connection with the people you are sitting next to. It also allows us a time to decompress, learn and grow. Such experiences are encouraged in Scripture:

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:9-10).

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives (Colossians 1:9).

I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another (Romans 15:14).

Even if you are not able to have a family dinner like this, consider incorporating “family dinner” aspects into your weekly routine: Do you have a time to touch base with a member of your extended family regularly? Is there a moment when you can express to a loved one how you are doing really? And is there an opportunity to share with those close to you a realization that has come to you? In the end pray as one, since we are all members of God’s family.

Christmas Moments

Christmas moment

There are always those special Christmas moments: children running down the stairs to find presents under the tree; families gathered around the dining table for a delicious dinner; phone calls (and maybe Zoom calls) from distant relatives. I hope and pray your Christmas has included one or more of these moments.

But the most important moment for me on Christmas Day has been when my father reads the Christmas story from Luke 2 from the King James Bible. That moment centers me on what the day is all about: the birth of Jesus and the story of his humble coming among us amid animals and angels, shepherds and straw to save us. The story is not that flashy, but it frames everything we do. Just as God gave us the gift of his Son, we give gifts to one another. Just as shepherds ran to be with Jesus, we travel to be with one another. Just as angels sang in the sky, we speak messages of peace and goodwill through satellite connections in space.

Jesus came at just the right moment that all our moments might be special because of him. Merry Christmas to you all!

The Inner Circle

inner circle

The Gospels made it clear that Jesus had an inner circle of friends. Peter, James and John would gather with him when times were good (at the Mount of Transfiguration) and when times were bad (at the Garden of Gethsemane). This group of friends in no way takes away from the relationships that Jesus had with the other disciples and followers, but simply points to the fact that we as human beings need certain loved ones we can turn to when we are in desperate need of someone to lean on, vent to and share particular life moments with.

It is said that we are the average of our five best friends. So if that is so, what are the characteristics of your “inner circle” of friends that you have made a part of your own personality? Maybe it is a good listening ear, a heart for God’s Word, a welcoming nature, or a bringer of joy to any situation.

Christ should be at the heart of any Christian circle of friends. Think about ways in which Christ is made evident in your core group. Perhaps it is through prayer texts or times together at church or meals when grace is spoken. Ponder things that can make these friendships even more tied to Christ.

I think of the time on the cross when Jesus told John and his mother to care for one another. He built an inner circle there, and in that moment, the two of them became more than friends; they became family. The friends in my core group have taken to calling each other “frienily”—a melding of friends and family. That is what we are in Christ, after all, brothers and sisters in him and brothers and sisters to one another. And frienily does what a family does. They are there for one another, through thick and thin. Take a moment to thank God today for the family your friends have become for you through him.

First Day of School

first day of school

A few weeks ago social media was filled with photos of children standing in front of their front doors on their first day of school. There seemed to be a lot more of these photos this year because it had been so long since children had been in school with COVID-19 shutdowns and school for many students is still looking a lot different than it did before with some kids still at home and some in hybrid schedules of being at home and at school on various days.

One of the popular props, especially in the early grades, is the first day of school “board.” On it, children write their names, their interests, their family members, their favorite color, favorite foods and favorite things, and what they would like to be when they grow up. The boards are a quick snapshot of the personality of the child and an easy way to see where they are in their lives and where they hope to go.

Though our first day of school is long gone for most of us reading this blog, it is still good for us to remember that “his mercies are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23). Each day with the Lord is like the first day of school: new and fresh and full of possibilities. And each day we have a metaphorical “board” that we can complete in our minds with our name, our family members, our favorites, our hopes and dreams. Our review of who we are can remind us that we are baptized children of God, that we are blessed with family and friends and the wonders of this creation. We can recall for ourselves each day that we are unique and have a purpose and a plan, a hope and a future in Christ. We serve him with the special gifts he has given to us. Just as Jesus carried out God’s plan for his life from day one, we can start each day with God’s plan in mind for us, which we can carry on with all our days, learning new lessons from our Teacher every step of the way.

Family

mother son

Today is the sixth in a series on the 7 Last Words of Christ.

Son, behold your mother. Mother, behold your son.

Jesus made sure that those closest to him were taken care of after he died. He asked his disciple John to treat his mother Mary like his own mother. And he asked Mary to take care of his disciple John as if he were her own son. These statements remind us that we are to treat one another as if they are our own family even if they are not. We are to open our homes to each other and freely give one another food, clothing and whatever else is needed. When we treat each other like family, we pray for one another and keep them in our thoughts.