The S.O.S Call - Issue 22

9/2/2020

Corona Virus Times

Are you ever pleased and delighted to have your grown children encourage you with a gift of spiritual insight? After all those years of being the adult, it is such a delight to have one of them suddenly turn to you and give you deeply spiritual encouragement. Every time it happens to me, I feel such an upwelling of joy. Wow, my children are returning some of their spiritual learning - tempered and filtered through their own lives, coming fresh from their experience with God. It is so humbling. My son has done that on a regular basis, as an outgrowth of his own journey.

But this week it came from my oldest child, right in the midst of some of the most difficult times in her life. Things are not hunky-dory. Although beautiful and merry on the outside, she has weathered some very difficult situations, which continue to demand her attention. There is no perfect resolution in her life. But still, in spite of all the difficulties and pain that she has come to accept, she spoke the sweetest, most insightful words right over the telephone. She did it because she thought I needed to be encouraged. And I was. Both by her love and her words, but also by the God who loves us both.

Will My Children Ever
Return To The Lord

Many of us, especially the older members of St. James, have children or family members who have walked away from our faith. As parents, our anguish and guilt is sometimes very painful. What is our role as parents of adults in encouraging our children to reconsider the gospel of Jesus Christ? As an adult in that situation, I have no clear guidance from my own experience. But over the years, God has continued to give me personal assurance of a path that might be helpful to you also. First of all, God deals in miracles all the time, especially in our daily lives, if our eyes are open to his Spirit. Always trust God that he can move hearts and change situations. Secondly, my words are no longer particularly helpful to my children, so I must be quiet and pray. Our children know, by the time they are adults, all our positions, practices and foibles. They have watched us for so long and heard our words. By now, prayer and gentle loving actions are mostly our best policies. Encouragement to our children when we are disappointed in them is sometimes very hard, but is often the only water we have to offer. Our kids know our disappointment and are often disappointed in themselves on a variety of levels. So genuine encouragement - words spoken to them that they are loved; that God is with them even when they don’t believe given with genuine love is our only on-going gift to them. Living a life that demonstrates our faith in Christ is the only action that we can take. Perseverance over time that demonstrates our faith is our only path. That includes expressed repentance for ways we have failed as it becomes apparent to us. On-going forgiveness from the past and present toward our children can only come from close communion with God.

FOR THOSE WE LOVE
Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us (especially ______) to your never failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that you are doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen BCP2019, p 662

Devote yourselves to Prayer

Colossians 4:2

for wisdom as we continue the building purchase inquiry
for clear knowledge and courage for our vestry
for our clergy - Bp. Eric, Fr. Carlos, Fr. Dale, Dn. Anthony, Dn. Anna
Dn. Anna for strength as she is treated for cancer
for California’s firefighters and those who have evacuated and/or lost their homes to the fires
for Fresno - its leaders, health care workers, those who are ill with corona virus
for young people, teachers, school leaders
for Claire and Tallulah, Charles Leopardo’s daughter and newborn granddaughter, who was born prematurely at 2 pounds - pray for her safety
thanksgiving - that God is ultimately in charge in this world and always present in our lives ready for us to turn our hearts to him

Ordinary Time Proper 17

O Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow after us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Grace

American Heritage Dictionary: Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people. The state of being protected by God. A temporary immunity or exemption, i.e., a reprieve.

COMPLAINING WE GO, ALONG THE WAY…

Boy, we aren’t supposed to be doing that, are we? Well, actually, being honest with God about our innermost thoughts is exactly what we are supposed to be doing. Our original prayerbook in the Bible, the Psalms, demonstrates for us how to be really truthful with God. Maybe our problem is that we complain to one another all the time and are never honest with God. We have got to reverse that position.
We have the example and format of how to individually and corporately complain about our situation to God. We can beg; we can accuse. Every Sunday, we pray the Collect for Purity that affirms that God knows our innermost hearts and yet He still loves us. Our relationship with God does not get real though until we openly admit our thoughts, pain and grief to Him.
These Psalms, called Lamentation Psalms, can be guides to developing this open clear communication with God and then receiving from Him assurance of his presence and grace. Psalms 10 and 12 are both examples of such lamentation to God both individually and corporately.
Now is a time we could really develop that true communion with God about the things that are affecting and grieving us.
In fact, we could read the book of Lamentations in the OT, which is full of the pain and suffering of God’s people at the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 587 BC. If you have some time, watch the Bible Project video about Lamentations and then read the scripture itself to see how the genuine suffering of God’s people is addressed here. This short video helps us understand the meaning and purpose of this difficult book and men’s suffering. (https://bibleproject.com/explore/lamentations/)