Joy Lutheran Church Ocala, Florida

My calendar tells me that today, September 23, is the International Day of Sign Languages.  This wouldn’t have caught my eye, except that I have been taken classes in American Sign Language.  My new neighbor is deaf. If I want to communicate with her, I need to speak her language.

I’m reminded that misunderstandings between people often occur when we don’t speak each other’s language.  I’m referring here to two English speaking individuals; we might assume that because we speak the same “language” there’s no problem.  But is there?

Do I communicate clearly with my teenage grandkids?  Well, not always.  They toss in words that are foreign to me, that send me to Google.   And I’m sure my choice of words is sometimes just as foreign to them.

How about serious conversations with members of our own generation.  Oh, the words are familiar, but do we all attach the same meaning to that word?   One word may have a very positive connotation to one of us, while the other sees it in a negative light. 

There are two sides to language:  speaking and listening.  If we truly want to communicate, we need to improve our listening.  We can’t assume we understand, just because we’ve used the same word.  As the saying goes, we have two ears and one mouth, so we can spend more time listening than speaking.

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”  James 1:19

Our God of unconditional love listens patiently to us, will we listen as patiently to each other?

Judy

Yes, I am old enough to remember our family getting its first tv and the “rabbit ear” antennas that helped to fine tune the few channels we received. Apparently, car engines can be fine-tuned also, though that is out of my realm of expertise for certain, lol. Crystal radio receivers needed fine-tuning to more easily hear the radio show or news. Musicians who play stringed instruments, fine tune those strings for the perfect pitched sound they will produce.

Do we as God’s children, sinners though we are, ever need to be fine-tuned? Oh my, the answer is most certainly YES. John tells us in the 15^th chapter what Jesus said, ^“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.”

As we open our hearts and minds to the unconditional love of God and receive His message, we learn that He will fine tune us and prune us through our growth in him.  Does it hurt to be pruned and fine-tuned, perhaps it will. Adjusting to His way for our lives means giving up control and leaning into His will.  Allow yourself to adjust to any fine-tuning that may be happening in your life’s journey. God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, love and promise of eternal life with Him are worth every branch that needs trimming, every string that needs tightening, every antenna that needs adjusting. Be fine-tuned to walk with Jesus. Thank Him for being your “gardener.”

Jill

While going through some papers and deciding what I would keep and what would be discarded, I ran across this piece written by Charles Swindoll, evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator and radio preacher who founded Insight for Living in Fresco, Texas. This radio program airs on more than 2000 stations around the world in 15 languages and shares God’s love and gift of salvation. I had laminated this text many years ago and kept it to remind me of Swindoll’s message.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on my life. Attitude to me is more than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a school, a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we embrace for that day.  We can’t change the past…we can’t change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We can’t change the inevitable, The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it. And so it is with us…we are in charge of our attitude.

We don’t have to worry and be stressed by the small things. The alarm can be fixed, the tire replaced, the coffee refilled, the parking ticket paid, the keys found and the to-dos can be done. 

This vignette is so true. We do have a CHOICE each and every day not only to CHOOSE our attitudes. We have the choice to CHOOSE God and feel blessed, grateful, excited and happy that God loves us unconditionally and provides us with the choice for eternal life if we believe and accept the gift of salvation He so freely offers us. We need to get after it! Thanks be to God.

Patty

I learned a new fact during the Sunday sermon, as I often do. This fact involved the origin of the Sign of the Cross. Here I thought that after 20+ years of Christian formal education and almost 77 years of dutiful attendance at church services, I knew quite a lot of information.  

However, I did not know that the Sign of the Cross is considered the oldest form of Christian prayer. It began with no words, just the hands making a small, large or tiny cross on the head or upper body. In the early church, it may have been used as a communication tool between the new converts to indicate that they believed in Jesus Christ.  You could find it used in many forms: a small cross on the forehead, a right or left-handed body cross (large or small); from the left to right or right to left. Each sign designating the maker as belonging to God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost/Spirit. 

The evolution of the Sign of the Cross is a varied as the history of the Christian Church. By the time of the Reformation, it appears that the practice may have lost its true meaning and fallen into disfavor as a “superstition”.  Although Martin Luther encouraged the use of this prayer in his Small Catechism in his suggestion for Family Prayers. He made a practice of starting everyday with the Sign of the Cross. We see people of many faith traditions using the Sign of the Cross as a brief yet meaningful prayer for the glory of God. 

Today, one often observes athletes make a Sign of the Cross before or after an event. I like to believe that these players are asking for God’s blessing on their play or thanking God for the blessing of a safe and productive performance. They do keep God busy on weekends during football season.  

For myself, I remember being taught how to do the Sign of the Cross. I’m left-hand dominant so I was always getting my hands mixed up and in the wrong position. I finally did learn to make the correct movements to accompany the simple words of the prayer.  

This recent sermon has renewed my devotion to this prayer and its traditional signing. It reminds me of the blessings of the Trinity; of Jesus’ sacrifice as a man for me; and the continual guidance of the Holy Spirit. Most of all, I remember that God loves you and me unconditionally no matter what way we do or if we do the Sign of the Cross.  

(Sermon by The Rev. Jill Rierdan, St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Colchester Vermont, September 15, 2024) 

Terri 

I am writing this on the last day I am receiving a newspaper delivered to my home. The Ocala Star Banner has decided no longer to deliver papers to customers. They still print newspapers, but I wonder how long that will go on since they fired most of the staff several years ago.

Newspapers have been around for about 500 years. Before that you had to depend on heralds to announce the news, or messengers to bring hand written communications. That’s pretty much how most of the New Testament came about. For example, Paul wrote letters to a number of Christians communities where they were read aloud so people could get the information. Copies were made and sent to other places.

The Bible often talks about messengers. One book is even entitled My Messenger–that’s what the word Malachi means. One of my favorite passages is Malachi 3:1: “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me which Jesus interprets as referring to John the Baptist.

I am a little concerned about what will happen as newspapers disappear. I’m really concerned about what will happen as messengers of the Lord disappear. Who? People who tell the Good News of Jesus Christ. I hang around churches quite a bit. I hear preachers telling the Gospel. I rarely hear members talk about the Good News Jesus. How are people going to know about Jesus without messengers to bring the news?

Hey all you messengers!  Let’s make sure the Good News of the Lord gets delivered.

Read Romans 10:14-15 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

According to mythology, when St. Patrick was a missionary in Ireland in the 5th century, King Logaire of Tara decreed that no one was allowed to light any fires until a pagan festival was begun by the lighting of a fire on Slane Hill. In a move of defiance against this pagan ritual, St. Patrick did light a fire, and, rather than execute him, the king was so impressed by his devotion that he let Patrick continue his missionary work. Three centuries later, a monk named Dallan Forgaill wrote the Irish poem, “Rop tú mo Baile” (“Be Thou my Vision”), to remember and honor the faith of St. Patrick. Forgaill was martyred by pirates, but his poetry lived on as a part of the Irish monastic tradition for centuries until, in the early 20th century, Mary Elizabeth Byrne translated the poem into English, and in 1912, Eleanor Hull versified the text into what is now a well-loved hymn and prayer that at every moment of our lives, God would be our vision above all else.

This past Sunday I played a setting of this well-know hymn for the offertory at the 8:15 service.  Unlike the typical setting, this arrangement actually sets the tune in a minor key which creates a darker and pensive atmosphere.  Much like our lives, when do we need God to be our vision the most, but in the darker times of our lives?

It transitions later to a more bold, major key section, which mirrors our brighter days.  Human nature tends to cause one to put God in a more “off-center” position when things are going well.  

The brighter section of the setting gives way to a surprise resolution following the climax of the tune, (much like life sometimes!) and finishes quietly. 

It is important to remember, regardless of whether we are in a dark or light chapter in our life journey, that God is always ready and willing to be our vision.  If that’s not enough, don’t forget his unconditional love for us persists through any change in our circumstances!

For those who missed it (sorry 11:00ers) a link to a recording of the setting is available on YouTube.  Please take a moment to listen to it and enjoy a very unique presentation of Be Thou My Vision. 

Silas

(Historical background on the hymn provided by Hymnary.org)

What follows is my wife Debbie’s story. I share it with her permission.

When Debbie was two, she suffered a penetrating brain injury. It was so horrific that the doctor told her parents she had maybe forty-eight hours to live. She beat those odds, obviously, but a few months later incurred her first seizure. She had epilepsy. The welding rod had left scar tissue in her left temporal lobe. Speech, learning, and some socialization were forever compromised. Through the years she has been on many different medications (the “latest and greatest”). She had brain surgery (craniotomy) in 1990 that was experimental and did not succeed. The seizures remained.

In 2001, while living in Jacksonville, her neurologist suggested another surgery, this time at Shands in Gainesville, nationally renowned for this. Of course my brave wife volunteered yet again. After surgery, we were all gathered around her bed. She asked, “who is that sitting on the end of my bed?” Our response was, “wow – those drugs are really kicking in”. “No”, she insisted. “He just told me that everything’s going to be okay. And he’s very good-looking”. We went with it.

Months later, we were now in Columbia, SC at seminary. I had gotten her a book on angels. She was reading it and suddenly exclaimed, “That’s him!” She showed me a picture of archangel Michael. “That’s who I saw after my surgery.”

A miracle of male beauty, sent from God, showing how He saves our life, both daily and ultimately. Talk about unconditional love!

Pastor Art

Dorothy Norwood, a well-known gospel singer and songwriter, is best known for her song, “Somebody Prayed For Me.”  We read that throughout her life she faced repeated obstacles and challenges.   In the midst of these trials and tribulations she was reassured in knowing that someone prayed for her.  She acknowledges the prayers of those close to her, as well as those of people she never knew.  It was comforting to her  to know that someone out there cared enough to pray for her. 

Prayer is a powerful tool that connects us to God.  It’s an act of supplication, a request for divine intervention.  We pray for ourselves, but we also take the time to intercede on behalf of someone when they need God’s help most.  Prayer is an act of faith, our conviction that our God does hear and answer prayers. 

Are you experiencing trials and tribulations today?  Does it seem almost impossible to overcome these difficulties?  Take comfort in knowing that someone is bringing your name to the throne of Jesus this very day.  You are never alone.  In times of distress, there is always someone who cares enough to pray for you. 

I hope you enjoy this rendition of Dorothy Norwood’s song, “Somebody Prayed for Me,” sung by the Portsmouth Citadel Songsters, Salvation Army.  And if you find a moment to lift a prayer on my behalf today, I would be most grateful.

Judy

War. Turmoil. Politics. Trials. Excessive government expenditures. Debt. Plagues. Terror.  W-e-l-l….my head sometimes goes into the sand when these topics become the main choices of conversation. Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” I am certainly able to participate and have opinions about the above-mentioned possible conversations; however, leaning on Proverbs, I’d rather not be embroiled in over-heated contentious discussions regarding them.

I have planted milkweed plants and love watching them grow and bloom beautifully awaiting the monarch butterfly and then the egg to become a caterpillar to then come eat each and every leaf.  Next a cocoon, soon to be a chrysalis and voila, another beautiful monarch butterfly.  The milkweed is the only source of food for this butterfly. My friend is a beekeeper and shares with me delicious honey from the honeycombs he harvests. My butterflies are thriving and his bees are thriving. The turmoil and negativity from every day living definitely falls into the shadows when I ponder the bees and the monarchs. 

Paul, while imprisoned, wrote to his followers in Philippi.  From Philippians 4:8, “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise think about these things.” If Paul, while imprisoned and certainly suffering, can remind us to ponder the good, we certainly should thank our God for His unconditional love and our many good gifts, some that buzz and flit right around us!

Jill

On the third day of the unfolding of God’s creation plan, vegetation, nature and big pieces of the puzzle were beginning to meld together. His plan, His map, His brochure for The Best Places to visit…He created it all!

Elaborate vacations, bargain getaways, escapes are usually idyllic and wonderful, but not entirely necessary. If you allow yourself to look in your own front or back yard, you can see flora and or fauna that will, if you allow it, transport you to a peaceful state. Just looking at a small patch of grass can bring surprises. You might notice the gentle wind playing with the blades, a ladybug out for an adventure of climbing up then down, an ant carrying his load. In those few tranquil moments, you have allowed peace and a quiet moment to enter.

Some relish the idea of porch sitting and watching cars, bike riders, walkers meander by them. If that is restful to you, you have escaped. Great! For others it is a sunrise or sunset that evoke that “Ah feeling” of contentment. Still others find it is mountain peaks, or ocean waves rolling to shore that give them that escaping feeling.

How terrific that our omnipotent God knew His beings would need a getaway. He provided His world of nature, His landscape of beauty, His majestic universe to calm our busy lives, ease pressures on our mind and hoped it would evoke awe for His creation!

God’s unconditional love wraps around all your needs, comfort, health, finances, even vacations. The Master Provider is there for you. Why not thank Him today for the wonder of the world? It is truly a beautiful gift of His unconditional love.

Originally posted by Jill in September 2018