ASLC Devotions - Friday

Psalm 2:7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, ‘You are my son;
   today I have begotten you.'

I will tell of the decree of the Lord. On June 6, 1976 God said to me "You are my son; today I have begotten you." Of course, I didn't understand the words at the time. It sounded like a family laughing, a congregation praying, and a pastor splashing in the water. And it sounded like I was crying or making a nuisance of myself (I assume). But now I can translate all those sounds: on the day I was baptized... and on the day you were baptized... God said "You are my daughter/son; today I have begotten you."

Never forget this. This is what it's all about.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and details about our ministries. Join us this Sunday in worship at 8:30 and 11 as we say "Farewell to Alleluia" for the Lenten season.

ASLC Devotions - Thursday

Hebrews 8:5 They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one; for Moses, when he was about to erect the tent, was warned, ‘See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.’

The writer of Hebrews is explaining that Jesus is the great high priest and distinguishing him and his ministry from that of earthly priests. Jesus is better than earthly priests and the heavenly temple in which Jesus resides is more perfect than any earthly sanctuary or temple or church building. No doubt. But I see something different: our earthly sanctuaries are shadows of the heavenly one. When in an earthly sanctuary we get a glimpse of what the heavenly temple will be like. No matter whether it's the Notre Dame, St. Peter's in Rome, or All Saints in Palatine, places where people gather to worship provide a glimpse of the heavenly temple.

What is it? What is the glimpse we get? I don't think it's about architecture. No church architect has ever seen the heavenly temple, so what do we know? Sometimes the art and the music provide a glimpse, but even the greatest church music is just that: a glimpse of heaven. I think the clearest glimpse comes in the people. The helping arm up to the Communion rail, the joy-filled greeting of peace, the sitting next to and singing and praying with people who are different from you. That's the glimpse I cherish each and every week.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and details about our ministries. Join us this Sunday in worship at 8:30 and 11 as we say "Farewell to Alleluia" for the Lenten season.

ASLC Devotions - Friday

Matthew 15:8-9 “This people honours me with their lips,
   but their hearts are far from me; 
⁹ in vain do they worship me,
   teaching human precepts as doctrines.” ’

Happy Valentine's Day!

I should say that we choose these readings based on a liturgical calendar and not a Hallmark calendar. So this really has nothing to do with Valentine's Day. Anyway...

Jesus is talking here to and about people who have forgotten that basic human principle: walk the walk as well as you talk the talk.  Honoring God with your lips is one thing - how about the rest of your life? In what way(s) do you honor God with your whole life? In what way(s) do you give your whole life to God?

Is there a portion you keep back? Is there a part of yourself you're not willing to turn over to God? If not, you're the first person I've met - including myself. But the calling we share as baptized children of God is to honor God with our whole lives. 

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Remember to visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and newsletter. Join us for worship on Sunday at 8:30 and 11. If you would like to be removed from this distribution list, please reply to this email and ask to be removed.

ASLC Devotions - Thursday

Genesis 26:4-5 I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and will give to your offspring all these lands; and all the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves through your offspring, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.’

This is God speaking, and it sounds a lot like God speaking to Abraham. These are words we expect to hear God speaking to Abraham. But that's not who God is speaking to at the moment. Instead, God is speaking to Isaac - a future generation. But God renews the promise originally given to Abraham. A promise that God gives, once given, does not expire with the generations. People expire. Abraham expired. But God's promise does not expire.

And the promise to Isaac is a fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. It's not because of the faithfulness of Isaac that Isaac will have offspring. It's because of his father's faithfulness. God's promise endures through generations, and is not dependent on the individual faithfulness of each generation. Now are you ready for the really good news? You are a descendant of Abraham. So God's promise, originally made to Abraham and renewed in Isaac's day, is real for you as well. All the nations of earth will gain blessing through you and through your offspring. It's a promise.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Remember to visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and newsletter. Join us for worship on Sunday at 8:30 and 11. If you would like to be removed from this distribution list, please reply to this email and ask to be removed.

ASLC Devotions - Wednesday

Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
   and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

I don't know about you, but I often think of commandments and rules negatively. I think of them as things i HAVE to do or things that restrict me. Wouldn't life be better without any rules, when I could just do what I want?

Um..... nope. If I could just do whatever I want, if we could all just do what we want, this world would not be a better place. Imagine it for a moment. It almost makes you shudder. The commandments of God are lamps and light that guide our way. They aren't things that keep us from doing things that are valuable, they show us the valuable way to live. Teaching and commandments are good things. Thanks be to God for commandments and discipline.

Remember to visit http://www.allsaintspalatine.org for a full calendar and newsletter. Join us for worship on Sunday at 8:30 and 11. If you would like to be removed from this distribution list, please reply to this email and ask to be removed.

ASLC Devotions -- Friday, February 7

James 3:16-17

¹⁶For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. ¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.

Hmmm. Ever have one of those days when you read something from scripture (or elsewhere?) and it just sort of hits you square between the eyes? Yea, me neither.

That being said, this seems like a good passage to keep in mind, and come back to on those days when the world around us (or within us) doesn’t feel too peaceable or gentle. We’re not perfect, certainly, but what we can strive for should look a lot more like “mercy and good fruits” than “disorder and wickedness.” At least that seems like a good start for a Friday.

Peace,

Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions - Tuesday, February 4

Ruth 2:15-16
¹⁵When [Ruth] got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, ‘Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. ¹⁶You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.’

When Ruth (the widowed daughter-in-law of Naomi) and Naomi return to Naomi’s homeland, they are in need of some assistance. While extended families would have had an obligation to help Naomi as a widow, Ruth also says, “Let me go into the field of your relative and glean” which is to say – pick up the grain that has fallen to the ground behind the reapers. It was common practice in those days not to pick the field spic-and-span, but to leave a bit behind for those in need who would come behind and pick it up. Maybe those pieces would simply not make it into the bundles, but they also might not have been the best grain that would fetch a better price at market.

 

Boaz, the owner of the field and Naomi’s relative, goes a step further for Ruth and Naomi. He says to his men that she should be allowed to glean where there might be even more grain, and that they should pull handfuls of the best grain from the bundles and leave it behind so that she can pick it up. They are not to reproach her nor rebuke her. The book of Ruth has many examples of kindness. This story is just one of them. Where do you see this sort of kindness happening in our world or your life today?

 

Peace,

Pastor Jenn

ASLC Devotions -- Monday, February 3

Malachi 3:2b-4
For [the Lord] is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; ³he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. ⁴Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

We can sort of figure out and imagine the refiner’s fire portion of this passage. We know what refineries are, and even if we don’t understand exactly how they work, we know that to refine something means to change it or make it more pure. The fullers’ soap reference might be a bit more obscure. We understand soap, though, even if the term ‘fuller’ might befuddle us.

Before the wool could be made woven, it needed to be stretched, pulled, beaten and shaped before it could be used as cloth. It also, after all of that, needed to be cleaned. This process of making the wool into a usable piece of cloth was the job of the fullers. I’ve always thought of the soap as a less drastic metaphor than the refiners’ fire, but after learning more about it – I’m not so sure! O, Lord – let our offerings be pleasing to you. Refine us and scrub us clean. Amen.

Peace,

Pastor Jenn