Reflective Messages Shared at Good Shepherd
Second Sunday of Lent: March 15, 2016
Dear friends:
Yesterday was a very unusual, quiet Sunday. Yet the reading (Gospel of John 4:5-42)addresses our apocalyptic times when "social distancing" and the reasonable advice to stay home can be a practice of compassion and love. As I was reflecting, out loud in our sanctuary, on the spiritual impacts of the virus I got a texted poem/prayer that can be a via for our collective journey:
Lockdown
Yes there is fear. Yes there is isolation. Yes there is panic buying. Yes there is sickness. Yes there is even death. But, they say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise, you can hear the birds again. They say that after just a few weeks of quiet, the sky is no longer thick with fumes
but blue and grey and clear. They say that in the streets of Assisi people are singing to each other across the empty squares, keeping their windows open so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them. They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound. Today a young woman I know is busy
spreading fliers with her number through the neighborhood so that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagougues, Mosques and Temples are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary. All over the world people are looking at their neighbors in a new way. All over the world people are waking up to a new reality. To how big we really are. To how little control we really have. To what really matters. To love.
So we pray and we remember that yes there is fear. But there does not have to be hate. Yes there is isolatation. But there does not have to be loneliness. Yes there is panic bying. But there does not have to be meanness. Yes there is sickness. But there does not have to be disease of the soul.
Yes there is even death. But there can always be a rebirth of love. Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breath.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic, the birds are singing again, the sky is clearing,
spring is coming, and we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul. And though you may not be able to touch across the empty square, sing.
Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM
Precisely, the woman at the well that encounters Jesus, in the middle of the day, is deemed infected and demonized by a social virus that has judged, persecuted, and most likely marginalized her as a Samaritan, an unwanted and an untouchable. Yet Jesus initiates the dialogue in a very strange, unconventional manner. First, Jesus is breaking with convention by speaking to an unacompannied woman, and more so a Samaritan. We can say this is nice and radical but a deeper reading will allow us to see that the lines we often draw (us and them, Latinex, white, liberal, socialist, etc.) are crossed by Jesus (and hopefully we as disciple follow our Lord)to lead us to a more holistic understanding of who we are as persons, endowed with dignity that does not depend on accidentals such as to where we are from or what we have in our bank accounts. Second, it is in this dialogue that the Samaritan woman is moved deeply to see herself as known, and is affirmed and accepted as she is. We, as grown ups, continue to play the hide and seek game though our games are more sophisticated. We escape by filling ourselves up with stuff as we seek to feel secure. We fill our lives with noise so that we don't hear our petty selves.
May this crisis, at all levels, grant us the opportunity to see our communion with one another.
May this opportunity grant us the courage, despite our fears, to join the new song that is birthed in knowing ourselves beloved. May we sing with bravado and new gusto.
Rev. Juan Carlos Ruiz
P.S. If you have an emergency or need to speak with me do call me 347.369.1959
During July, 2019, a number of members of Good Shepherd were invited to share reflective messages in lieu of a formal sermon. All of the reflections ere deeply personal and spoke to the passions and the calling each member responded to.
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The Story Of Jimmy
This reflective message,was delivered by Gregory F. Tague, Ph.D. to the congregations of both the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd and Bay Ridge Methodist Church, on 21 July 2019. The basic story came from Gary L. Shapiro. Thanks to Pastor Juan Carlos Ruiz and Pastor Robert Emerick for the privilege. You can view The Story of Jimmy by clicking the video player below. Or, you can use this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MVxWKtqLZw |
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Reflective message delivered by Donald Eng, July 28, 2019
Ask and it will be given you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. And everyone who searches finds. And for everyone who knocks the door will be opened.
Jesus’ words are very comforting. But yet sometimes we find them a little perplexing. How many times have we prayed for something – for someone to be healed or for something bad not to happen, only to have something really tragic occur?
When bad things happen we may wonder: Is God listening? Does God answer our prayers? Does prayer make a difference?
I need to give credit where credit is due so that last question that I asked – does prayer make a difference – is actually the title of a book written by Philip Yancey.
I have read books and articles about prayer and I have heard people talk about prayer. Some say that if you didn’t get what you wanted it’s because you didn’t pray hard enough. Some say if you want your prayer answered a certain way you have to believe really hard that it will be answered that way. Some say you need to pray with sincerity in order for your prayers to be effective. I’m not sure what that means. Does it mean that if I compose my own prayer it’s more sincere than if I recite a prayer written by someone else?
So let me add this to my list of questions. Is there a correct way of praying that will assure God’s answer is “Yes!”
It is in the Bible that we find Jesus’ words: “Ask and it will be given you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you”. So let us go back to the Bible and look for examples of prayers and the outcome of those prayers.
I want to start with the account in the Bible of the Israelites in Egypt. In Genesis and Exodus, we are told about how the extended family of Jacob ended up in Egypt. I think you all heard the story. Jacob had 12 sons, the youngest was Joseph. His brothers hated him and got him hustled off to Egypt. There Joseph became a very powerful man. Years later when a famine hit the region, Joseph welcomed his brothers to Egypt where as a result of Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams, Egypt was well stocked with food to survive the famine.
Well, the Israelites came into Egypt as guests and in the beginning lived peaceably with the Egyptians. But several generations later, the Egyptians forgot about what a great thing Joseph had done for them, and the Egyptians now regarded the Israelites as a danger to their society. So they enslaved the Israelites.
Along came Moses to set them free. But do you know many years the Israelites were enslaved before Moses brought them out of Egypt? (430 years) That’s a lot of years. Imagine praying for something and not having your prayer answered until 430 years later.
Another example of a prayer that I want to share with you is the Apostle Paul praying to God to relieve him of an infliction. This is Paul writing about it in 2 Corinthians 12:7.
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”
“My grace is sufficient for you”, was God’s answer.
My final example is Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Matthew 26:39
“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.”
Jesus was of course talking about his impending arrest and crucifixion. But Jesus ends his prayer with the words:
“My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
If you ask me to prove that prayer works, I can’t do that. I can’t prove to you that God is listening when you pray. I can’t prove to you that God answers your prayers or that prayer makes a difference.
Perhaps some may find it easier to prove prayer doesn’t work than prayer does work. If a believer says to a nonbeliever, I just prayed for something and it came true. The nonbeliever would probably say to him. That proves nothing. That would’ve happened even if you didn’t pray for it. If the same believer said to the nonbeliever, I just prayed for something but it didn’t happened. The nonbeliever would say: Ha! That proves it! Prayer doesn’t work!
Let me tell a story that I heard a year ago which gave me a chuckle.
With the advancement of science some people are finding it harder and harder to believe in God.
In this story a man is talking to God. This conversation takes place in the future. Maybe a few years from now.
The man says to God: People used to think that you are powerful and great. But people don’t think so anymore.
Do you see this grain of sand I have in the palm of my hand? I can make life!
God looks at the man and says: “That’s pretty impressive. Now let me see you do that with your own grain of sand.”
When we talk about prayer we have to start with talking about our faith in God.
I believe in God.
I believe in a loving God who cares for all of his creation who cares for me.
Therefore I believe that God is listening when I pray. I believe that God answers my prayers. But my faith goes further than that.
God loves me and takes care of me even when I don’t pray for it. The Lord is my Shepherd. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. God’s hand is at work even when I forget to pray for it.
Well, if God loves me and protects me even when I do not pray, then why pray at all? God knows our concerns and our fears even before we voice them. If so why pray at all?
Prayer is a direct point of contact between ourselves and God. Prayer is our conversation with God. Prayer is renewing our bond with God. Prayer is telling God of our cares and burdens. Let’s look at this from God’s point of view. Top down.
I think of my relationship with my children. I know what my kids need even if they don’t ask me for it. But still, it’s nice to hear from my kids every now and then.
So let me go back to my four questions: Is God listening? I believe in a loving God and so, yes, I believe God listens to my prayers.
Does God intervene in our lives? God is present in our lives, in more ways than we know.
Does prayer make a difference? In other words, does prayer change outcomes?
This question is harder to answer. If God blesses us even when we don’t pray, then does prayer make a difference? Many times in life, we don’t know how things will turn out. Prayer is our connection to God. When we pray for ourselves, our families, our community and our world, we are comforted knowing that God is listening. We are comforted knowing that his grace is sufficient and that his will will be done.
And the final question: Is there a correct way of praying?
I believe the answer is no. I disagree with people who say you have to pray hard or you have to really believe that your prayer will be answered – almost like willing something to happen, or you have to pray with sincerity, whatever that means. There is no one way to pray. God listens whether our prayers are eloquently spoken in church or whether they are as simple as saying to someone “God bless you” or “Have a nice day”.
Ask and it will be given you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you. These are words for us to live by. Knowing and trusting that in our life’s journey we are not alone. God loves us and listens to our prayers. God’s grace will always be sufficient for us and God’s will will be done.
Jesus’ words are very comforting. But yet sometimes we find them a little perplexing. How many times have we prayed for something – for someone to be healed or for something bad not to happen, only to have something really tragic occur?
When bad things happen we may wonder: Is God listening? Does God answer our prayers? Does prayer make a difference?
I need to give credit where credit is due so that last question that I asked – does prayer make a difference – is actually the title of a book written by Philip Yancey.
I have read books and articles about prayer and I have heard people talk about prayer. Some say that if you didn’t get what you wanted it’s because you didn’t pray hard enough. Some say if you want your prayer answered a certain way you have to believe really hard that it will be answered that way. Some say you need to pray with sincerity in order for your prayers to be effective. I’m not sure what that means. Does it mean that if I compose my own prayer it’s more sincere than if I recite a prayer written by someone else?
So let me add this to my list of questions. Is there a correct way of praying that will assure God’s answer is “Yes!”
It is in the Bible that we find Jesus’ words: “Ask and it will be given you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you”. So let us go back to the Bible and look for examples of prayers and the outcome of those prayers.
I want to start with the account in the Bible of the Israelites in Egypt. In Genesis and Exodus, we are told about how the extended family of Jacob ended up in Egypt. I think you all heard the story. Jacob had 12 sons, the youngest was Joseph. His brothers hated him and got him hustled off to Egypt. There Joseph became a very powerful man. Years later when a famine hit the region, Joseph welcomed his brothers to Egypt where as a result of Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams, Egypt was well stocked with food to survive the famine.
Well, the Israelites came into Egypt as guests and in the beginning lived peaceably with the Egyptians. But several generations later, the Egyptians forgot about what a great thing Joseph had done for them, and the Egyptians now regarded the Israelites as a danger to their society. So they enslaved the Israelites.
Along came Moses to set them free. But do you know many years the Israelites were enslaved before Moses brought them out of Egypt? (430 years) That’s a lot of years. Imagine praying for something and not having your prayer answered until 430 years later.
Another example of a prayer that I want to share with you is the Apostle Paul praying to God to relieve him of an infliction. This is Paul writing about it in 2 Corinthians 12:7.
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”
“My grace is sufficient for you”, was God’s answer.
My final example is Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Matthew 26:39
“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.”
Jesus was of course talking about his impending arrest and crucifixion. But Jesus ends his prayer with the words:
“My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
If you ask me to prove that prayer works, I can’t do that. I can’t prove to you that God is listening when you pray. I can’t prove to you that God answers your prayers or that prayer makes a difference.
Perhaps some may find it easier to prove prayer doesn’t work than prayer does work. If a believer says to a nonbeliever, I just prayed for something and it came true. The nonbeliever would probably say to him. That proves nothing. That would’ve happened even if you didn’t pray for it. If the same believer said to the nonbeliever, I just prayed for something but it didn’t happened. The nonbeliever would say: Ha! That proves it! Prayer doesn’t work!
Let me tell a story that I heard a year ago which gave me a chuckle.
With the advancement of science some people are finding it harder and harder to believe in God.
In this story a man is talking to God. This conversation takes place in the future. Maybe a few years from now.
The man says to God: People used to think that you are powerful and great. But people don’t think so anymore.
Do you see this grain of sand I have in the palm of my hand? I can make life!
God looks at the man and says: “That’s pretty impressive. Now let me see you do that with your own grain of sand.”
When we talk about prayer we have to start with talking about our faith in God.
I believe in God.
I believe in a loving God who cares for all of his creation who cares for me.
Therefore I believe that God is listening when I pray. I believe that God answers my prayers. But my faith goes further than that.
God loves me and takes care of me even when I don’t pray for it. The Lord is my Shepherd. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. God’s hand is at work even when I forget to pray for it.
Well, if God loves me and protects me even when I do not pray, then why pray at all? God knows our concerns and our fears even before we voice them. If so why pray at all?
Prayer is a direct point of contact between ourselves and God. Prayer is our conversation with God. Prayer is renewing our bond with God. Prayer is telling God of our cares and burdens. Let’s look at this from God’s point of view. Top down.
I think of my relationship with my children. I know what my kids need even if they don’t ask me for it. But still, it’s nice to hear from my kids every now and then.
So let me go back to my four questions: Is God listening? I believe in a loving God and so, yes, I believe God listens to my prayers.
Does God intervene in our lives? God is present in our lives, in more ways than we know.
Does prayer make a difference? In other words, does prayer change outcomes?
This question is harder to answer. If God blesses us even when we don’t pray, then does prayer make a difference? Many times in life, we don’t know how things will turn out. Prayer is our connection to God. When we pray for ourselves, our families, our community and our world, we are comforted knowing that God is listening. We are comforted knowing that his grace is sufficient and that his will will be done.
And the final question: Is there a correct way of praying?
I believe the answer is no. I disagree with people who say you have to pray hard or you have to really believe that your prayer will be answered – almost like willing something to happen, or you have to pray with sincerity, whatever that means. There is no one way to pray. God listens whether our prayers are eloquently spoken in church or whether they are as simple as saying to someone “God bless you” or “Have a nice day”.
Ask and it will be given you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened for you. These are words for us to live by. Knowing and trusting that in our life’s journey we are not alone. God loves us and listens to our prayers. God’s grace will always be sufficient for us and God’s will will be done.
Summer 2015 - Joint Interfaith Worship Series Guest Speakers
Learn about a variety of spiritual traditions from noted local faith leaders (below).
Hear first hand experiences of Liberation Theology, Faith in Public Life, Judaism, Islam and more...
(Sound files posted by permission of respective speakers)
Rev. Juan Carlos Ruiz - The Jesus Ministry through the lens of Liberation Theology in the Context of Mexico
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Onleilove Alston, Ex. Dir. Faith in NY - The Spirituality of Faith Inspired Public Action
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Rev. Rommereim & Rev. Emerick - Dialogue on Getting Outside the Box
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Rabbi Dina Rosenberg (Bay Ridge Jewish Center) - The Jewish Faith Tradition
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Dr. Ahmad Jaber (Arab American Association of New York) - The Muslim Tradition
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