Judy Pask- Israel Reflections

Sunrise over Jerusalem------ photo by Judy Pask

New Insights:  Actually experiencing the geography, light/weather, people, smells, colors and archeological discoveries of Israel brings new insights to reading and hearing Scripture.  A recent discovery of a 1^st century Jewish ritual bath in the village of Ein Karem verified that Jews lived there and is probably the birthplace of John the Baptist….so Mary’s visit to Elizabeth means she traveled about 80 miles and back to Nazareth and then again made almost the same trip when very pregnant to nearby Bethlehem!  Jesus told his disciplines to wait and watch in the Garden of Gethsemane while he prayed….Jesus knew what was going to happen and that the soldiers  crossing the valley below the garden with torches would be very visible in the darkness. Riding a boat in the sea of Galilee you can feel and see the changes in the wind which can create big waves. I love hearing the lessons read in church and having a photographic picture in my mind of the landscape where the event happened! It becomes very real.

Bible Study Helps: My husband and I read Walking the Road to Bethlehem Your Journey to Christmas by Adam Hamilton during Advent and then traveled the same roads as the Holy Family.  I’ve read Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus (Wayne Stiles) twice, before and after our trip, and have found my experiences in the Holy Land are adding to my understanding/enjoyment of the current Lenten devotions, Love’s Greatest Sacrifice from the Lutheran Hour Ministries.

Joy:  It was a joy to share this pilgrimage with not only my husband, but five other members of our extended family!

Judy is a retired academic librarian, 

member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Mechanicsville,VA. , 

married to a retired LCMS pastor.

Waters of Grace

Rainbow over Jericho-

God's sign tied to water

 that brings the hope of His promise.

Waters of Grace

Tune: Dunstan

Look to the sun, thru’ waters of grace,

See The Lord’s pledge to the whole race

In vivid hues for me, for you,

His Word, His peace is true.

Look to the Son, thru’ waters of grace.

Salvation’s paid for the whole race.

Life is renew’d, for me for you.

His Word, His peace is true.

God looks at you, thru’ waters of grace,

And then prepares a heav’nly place.

For Christ’s own blood has ransomed you.

His Word, His peace is true.

Look to the world, thru’ waters of grace,

Your neighbor see in ev’ry face.

Let God’s love shine to all thru’ you,

His Word, His peace is true.

This hymn teaches with words and memories of Bible stories.

 It first compares the cleansing flood and the waters of baptism. 

The next comparison is between the promise never again 

to destroy the earth and the promise

 not to condemn the forgiven soul. 

Our look to our Sun of Righteousness (the very Son of God)

 is compared to the saving look

 to the bronze serpent lifted up in the wilderness.

 Finally, we are to compare the loving look that God bends to us

 with our own views of our neighbors.

 All of this plays against the visual picture 

of the beauty displayed when sunlight, 

filtered through rain clouds, 

is bent into a rain bow and the spiritual beauty

 in which we are clothed by the Son

 as He shines through the waters of grace.

© Natalie Grace, August, 1999

Thank you to Natalie Grace Hartwig

for sharing her words of hope blessing.

Eden Keefe-Visual Prayer in the Psalter

Eden Keefe

This past week I was able to visit 

with Eden in Aiken, South Carolina.

 She shared with me some of her 

visual prayer journaling.

Using what she had- 
right where she was.

She decided to try visual prayer

 in her Concordia Psalter.

Concordia-Psalter

Simple Typography.

Colored Pencils

Lines and a few doodles.

Visual Praying of the Psalms-

right into our hearts.

Mini- Billboards
for the Holy Spirit
to bring soul comfort-
 all day long.
Eden's Psalter is full of
writing in the margins.
Tying head and heart
to the Word of God.
Marking the journey
 along the way.

Eden is a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church,
 Aiken, South Carolina, hailing from Kansas. 
She is active in LWML and serving in her church.
We give thanks for her sharing
 this personal journey in order
 to bring encouragement to others.

PRAYER WORKSHOP- Risen Christ, Myrtle Beach, SC

All generations.  64 people.   Round tables.

How do we deal with Spiritual ADD 

and Spiritual Amnesia?

Introduction to Lectio Divina.

Visual Prayer.

Bible Journaling.

 Hands-on. Experiential.

Dealing with:

 slowing down

paying attention

dealing with distractions.

Becoming child-like.

Coloring.

Praying the Scriptures.

 Prayer is realtionship-

with our Heavenly Father, 

who wants to BE CONNECTED.

 Prayer time is Learning to LISTEN.

Prayer time changes- US.

 Stencils. Rulers. Drafting tools. 

All sorts of things can add

 to a blank sheet of paper.

Lifting up people and situations 

to the Lord that are on our hearts.

Sometimes we don't have a lot of words.

The Spirit prays for US.

 Prayer becomes story.

Prayer become journey.

We are witness to God's faithfulness.

We SEE when we forget.

We CONNECT the dots of our prayer lives.

We SHARE the story of what we have seen. 

We BLESS others with prayer.

The Lord BLESSES our small efforts,

Because He is Good. 

A Prayer Workshop

 to begin the celebration year of the 

40th Anniversary of

 Risen Christ Lutheran Church, 

Myrtle Beach, SC.

And praying for the Lord's hand

 on the ministry and people into the next 40 years.

Worskhop presenters:

Rev. Dr. John R. Denninger-

 Southeastern District President and his wife-Connie.

Susan Herbert- Israel Reflections

Susan Herbert- Dec 2015-Jan 2016 

Israel and Jordan Traveler

Photo above at the Jordan River- Jordan side

Light on the Sea of Galilee--Susan Herbert

New Insights and Bible Study Helps:

Since I 've returned, I have experienced "Wow! I was there!" moments during Scripture readings at every service. A recent Sunday had the reading from Deuteronomy when the Promised Land was shown to Moses from Mt. Nebo. And I thought....I know that view!

It makes Bible reading become real because I have been to the places. I loved the project of cataloging my pictures.

                                            JOY:

Experiencing the cooking of the Middle East was a delight. At home I struggle with food allergies but in Israel and Jordan I had no allergic reactions, even to foods I must avoid at home. My allergy had made me hesitant to travel, but I found no problem. I have sought out Middle Eastern cookbooks from the library and am enjoying cooking from them.

A favorite photo from Jerusalem--Susan Herbert

Susan Herbert is a member

 of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church,

Springfield, Va.

She engages in many ministries of service 

and teaches 

Centering Prayer.

Shirley Simon- Israel Reflections

New Insights

Having grown up on a farm in Indiana, I had some mental pictures of farming in Israel. Seeing the terraced fields of Bethlehem where shepherds are still watching their flocks was a new picture for the story of David and the Christmas story. Actually seeing Israel is helpful for understanding 
many Bible stories. 

Shepherd's Field- Bethlehem

Bible Study

The phrase "going up to Jerusalem", coming across the Kidron Valley and climbing (in a bus!) up to the city, has new meaning for me. "Praying for Jerusalem" is also real having experienced the political situation in present-day Jerusalem. 

Joy

One of the joys of this trip was experiencing the food of the Middle East. I am enjoying learning new ways of preparing dishes. I even bought a hummas cookbook. The food is healthy and delicious! 

Shirley is a retired LCMS teacher 

from Concordia Lutheran School- Hyattsville, MD

 and is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Mt. Rainier, MD.

Bonnie Priebe- Israel Reflections

Bonnie recently traveled to Israel

 with a group from the Southeastern District

 and shares some thoughts from her trip.

1. New insights-- I think I understand the
 troubled situation in the Middle East 
better since my trip.  

There are many different ethnic groups 

huddled so closely together, 

with difficulties dating back many generations.

2.  Bible studies--I was struck by last
 Sunday's Bible reading about Jesus
 in the Synagogue 

and realizing I'd been there!  

Our travels have given me the mind pictures 

(as well as those on my camera and tablet)

 of Bible places that I was looking for when we left.

3.  Joy!  I was delighted with the trip and have 

marvelous memories. 

 I've shared many of them with my family

 and my church buddies. 

 I especially enjoyed Yossi's

(our Israeli guide) flute playing.  

He was an truly excellent guide!

Bonnie is a retired LCMS teacher 

who spent 38 years teaching 

at Concordia Lutheran School

 in Hyattsville, MD.

She joined the tour hosted by

 SED President John Denninger 

and his wife, Connie.

Bless Those Who Curse You- Devotion

If the Luke 6:27-28 verses were a part of your Scripture readings

 in worship this past week,

 this devotion helps move WORSHIP into your WEEK.

And a blessing to read if this wasn't your lectionary reading.

BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE YOU

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, 

do good to those who hate you, 

Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

 Luke 6:27 & 28

These are two of the hardest verses to hear and put into practice.

It is impossible to listen to world-wide news and deny that I have enemies, that I am hated, or that I am cursed. Public declarations and beheadings put the lie to the comforting thought that the hatred, curses, and enmity do not apply to me personally. They do. They apply because of the way I look, because of my social status, national allegiance, faith, gender, age, wealth or lack of wealth, my politics, where I live, how I dress, the language I speak, who my parents were, where my grandparents lived, what I eat, what music I listen to, and even what my health status may be. They apply because Satan is at work in the world as a roaring lion, seeking those whom he may destroy. (1 Peter 5:8) This is not paranoia, it is reality. Still, Christ tells me to love, to do good, to bless, and to pray for these people.

Christ is not asking for lip service to ‘love your enemies.’

Because I have heard Christ say that the one who ‘hates his brother is a murderer’ (1 John 3:15) I will insist that I love the sinner but hate the sin. I grit my teeth and say, ‘But I don’t have to LIKE them.’ I follow the code of the south and tack, ‘Bless his soul’ onto disparaging remarks and expect a social pass. Trust me, that disparaging remark still falls under Luther’s cogent explanation of the 8^th commandment. (We should fear and love God so that we do not belie, betray, or defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.)

Perhaps the first one I need to pray for is myself. I need to pray for forgiveness. I need to pray that my heart of stone will be removed so that I may be made the dwelling place of God’s Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26 & 27). If I listen to the words of the liturgy that prayer is already there: ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.’ (Psalm 51:10). 

Forgive me, Father. I cannot, on my own, keep from fearing and hating those who hate and despise me, my faith, and or my country. I find their actions abhorrent and in anger would strike out seeking revenge. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew Your Living Spirit of love and peace within me. Teach me to forgive as Your Son, from the cross, asked you to forgive me. This I ask in the name of Jesus who gave Himself for me as well as for those who hate me. Amen

Now, now comes the second part, the hardest part. Now I must pray for (and really mean it) those who hate me. It is important to realize that the instruction is to pray for my enemies, not for the success of my enemies. Finding examples of this type of prayer is more difficult. The psalms are full of petitions for protection from and destruction of enemies. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes these psalms as the prayers of Christ for His body, the church.) The prayers of the church mirror the psalms and include prayers for peace and protection. There are canticles asking God to keep His promises to ‘save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us.’ (Luke 1:71) But prayers for our enemies are rare. Abraham prayed for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:16 – 32); the slave girl spoke of the power of God to Naaman the leper (2 Kings 5:1 – 3); and Christ prayed for sinners from the cross (Luke 23:34). 

My first attempts sound rather much like the thank-you notes written by a child who really did not like the gift but was forced to write the note. The prayer was the reluctant obedience to a command, not the natural response of love for my neighbor. That was what was missing. The realization that my enemies are also my neighbors. I am quick to recognize that I should show God’s love and mercy to the unfortunate but slow to acknowledge that neighbor obligations include my enemies. (Luke 10:30 – 37) Paul’s dissertation on love (Romans 12:9 – 21) concludes by quoting Proverbs 25:21 & 22. My pride keeps me from responding to the gospel instead of the law alone. It is hard to reflect the agony of Christ on the cross pleading for His Father to forgive his enemies or to acknowledge my own tortured struggles to pray for my enemies. I am reluctant to see that often the anger, hatred, fear, or enmity that others feel towards me is rooted in my own actions or status. Only by grace can I pray:

Hear me, Father, as I pray for my enemies. For my enemies who also love You, so fill them with Your love and Spirit that there is no more room for hate. If their enmity towards me is based in my own sin, show me that sin and lead me towards a life that more perfectly reflects your love. Do not let pride or blindness keep me from repentance and change that will glorify You. For my enemies whose lives and words proclaim their rejection of You, empty their hearts of hatred and anger and instead fill their hearts and minds with Your love and peace. If my life and or words continue to fuel their hatred and anger, show me the more perfect life and words that will show Your love especially to those who reject You. I ask this boldly in the name of Your Son who died for both me and for my enemies. Amen

With Luther I admit that I ‘daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment.’ I pray that I too ‘will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against’ me. (Luther’s explanation to the 5^th petition ofThe Lord’s Prayer.) My prayers for my enemies must be as regular as morning, evening, and meal time prayers. They must be as fervent as the prayers for healing and protection, and must be offered with thanksgiving. (Philippians 4:4 – 7)

Lord, teach me to pray.

© Natalie Grace, November, 2014