Tag: dying

Posted on

In the Blink of An Eye

Save me, O God, *
for the waters have risen up to my neck.
I am sinking in deep mire, *
and there is no firm ground for my feet.

Psalm 69:1-2

Read psalm 69 

Lent.jpgIt was a hot afternoon and I had just finished playing Tennis with my Pastor. There was a family in the church who had a swimming pool and they had told him that he could use it any time. I told him I couldn’t swim, but he said I could just cool off in the shallow end. So, we went to the pool to relax and cool off. My Pastor got out of the pool and decided to lay in the sun for a while. I thought this would be a great time to practice my float on my back as I had in the swim lessons I’d taken about a year before. The next thing I knew, my life was literally flashing before my eyes.

In Psalm 69, we read words that are prophetic of Jesus as he endured the agony of torture and loneliness awaiting His crucifixion. His words cry out to the Father for salvation. He knows he will soon die, but the feeling of being surrounded by death was too much. The strength that led him on His journey to the cross now seemed gone – it seemed all that was left was death.

Our lives can feel overwhelmed before we know it, especially if we’re always acting strong for others and feel we have no one to reach out to with our own pain. Today is our third Friday since beginning Lent. Friday’s are a day for remembering the great sacrifice of the Cross that Jesus made for us. Today scripture speaks to us of the overwhelming circumstances of which may sometimes surround. As you read and pray, be real with Jesus. If you feel you have no one to turn to who understands what you’re going through, I guarantee you He does. You can cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

As I was practicing floating on my back in the pool that day, I somehow drifted out over the deep end. As an 18-year-old, I was afraid of the water. I never learned to swim, and had no confidence to put into practice the things I learned in my lessons. When I went to stand up there was no bottom for my feet. In a panic, I began flailing around for dear life, as they say.

man-struggling-in-waterIn that moment, in the blink of an eye, I went from calm and serene, to shear panic. My life literally flashed before my eyes. I thought this was the end. I was going to drown in that pool. But, my pastor was there. Surely, he would jump in and save me. I cried out to the Lord, “Save me O God! Don’t let me die like this!” Just then, my toes hit concrete and I could drag myself to the edge of the pool. There at the edge of the pool, standing down and looking in was my Pastor. He said, “Are you alright?”. The only thing I could manage to say between coughing up water was, “No, thanks to you! What happened to all that talk of laying down your life for a friend? You didn’t jump in to save me!” To which he said, “The way you were flailing around, you would have dragged us both down!”

Later I came to believe he wouldn’t have let me die – but it sure felt like it at the time. But, I know a God who never lets us down. He has promised to never leave us. I know He was in the pool with me that day, just like He was with Jesus in those long hours of agony. Yes, Jesus died, and one day we will too. But, on the third day, Jesus was raised to life never to die again. We too can live with the assurance of the Resurrection in the last day. Till then, we need not fear death…it is the doorway to everlasting life. 

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

My daily Lenten prayer – “Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and sustain in me a willing spirit. ” NRSV

Image Credit: 

Posted on

The Valley of the Shadow of Life

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.

Psalm 23:4,5

The was an ambulance at the bank as My mom dropped me off a little early for work that day. The store was still closed. She always dropped me off in the alley behind Main Street where all the stores had entrances in back as well as the front. Beside the alley there was a large parking lot and the Midland National Bank drive up window. It was the summer before my last year of High School, and I worked for a clothing store. The manager must have been late that day, as the employee entrance was usually open by then.

I noticed an ambulance in the lane at the bank drive-up where a crowd was beginning to gather. I had time so I walked over to see who was hurt; it was a small town and it seemed our family knew everyone. I noticed Lee, my mom’s cousin, a tall man who was VP at the bank standing in front of me. I could see an old man laying on the ground as the EMT Techs were trying to revive him from an apparent heart attack.

I said to Lee, “Hey, who is that guy, I don’t recognize him?” When turned and saw it was me who was asking him, his face went pale. “That’s your Grandpa”, he said. My heart sank! I didn’t recognize him with his glasses off, false teeth removed, and his face so purple. I’d never seen anyone so close to death, except on TV; it was so different in person.

Psalm 23 is without a doubt the most well known, beloved of the Psalms. It was the first scripture I memorized as a child at Weekday Bible School. Interestingly, it seems the only time we hear or read it is at funerals. For most of my life I thought it was written expressly for times of death. However, in my ministry studies, when I studied the depth and meaning of the Psalms I came to realize that among all the Psalms, the 23rd is perhaps the most relevant to all of life, not just death.

The image of Jesus as our Good Shepherd is found in the writings of Saints John and Peter, as well as the writer of Hebrews. More than a Savior, Jesus is our Great Shepherd, and all who have faith in Him, are His sheep. He not only cares for the entire flock, He knows each one by name (Ps 95:7; Jn. 10:3).

Jesus is the source of all refreshing in life. The Fathers of the early church saw in Psalm 23 a threefold image of sacramental life in the Kingdom of God, the Church. They saw the cool waters as Christ restoring the soul of the believer in Baptism. And, in the early church, Baptism was followed by an anointing with oil called, Chrismation. And finally, they say Christ preparing a table before his sheep in the Eucharist of Holy Communion in this life, as well as in the Heavenly Wedding Supper of the Lamb in the life to come.

Psalm 23, was to the early church the Psalm of great comfort that described the very life of the believer, as He walked with the Shepherd. All of life is a valley we walk in the shadow of death, for all living things die. But thanks be to God we don’t walk alone; He is with us and we have nothing to fear.

As my Grandpa lay there on the ground that day, I began to fear death. He didn’t die that day. In fact, he lived for another year. During most of that last year of his life, I lived with him in hopes of being some kind of help to him. As I look back on it all, I can see as I lived in fear of Grandpa’s death, Jesus was with me, holding my hand through the valley.

I don’t know what your valley looks like, but I know one of the many things it includes is death. Yet, for those who believe in Christ death has lost its power. When you look at your life, don’t live in fear. You’re not walking through a canyon that ends in death. You’re walking through a valley that ends in life, life everlasting, life with Christ, and indeed with all those who in faith have gone on before you. I can’t wait to see my Grandpa again at the other end of my valley. What about you?

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

image credit: http://yahwehishisname.blogspot.com/2013/06/psalm-23-in-depth-study-on-king-davids.html

Posted on

Raised from the Ashes: Lent – Good Friday

“14 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me.”

Psalm 40:14

Read Psalm 40

Holy Week By Pastor Brad msc-1

The Goodness of Death

Is there anything more certain than death? It feels so certain because it comes to all people with no respect of person; young and old, rich and poor…no one escapes. Yet, such certainty is unfounded. 1983 years ago today (as best calendars can determine), death met its match. On that Good Friday, the hope of the world hung dying on a Roman Cross, and after six hours it appeared death had won. After hours of agony and untold torture, Jesus gave up his life, and surrendered to death.

However, we know the rest of the story. Death for Jesus was not final – but it was real. We have now come to the last two days of our 40-day journey through Lent. And while we know the rest of the story of Jesus, we must not rush to the cross too soon. Today is a day to consider death; a subject we admittedly try to avoid, but we must not.

Can Death Be Meant for Good?

Good Friday is a time for each of us to consider our own death, for it will come, and quite often far too soon. Today is a day we especially hear the line of the Lord’s Prayer, “…and deliver us from evil.” When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and death entered our world, Satan meant it for evil, but God has turned it for our good. If you’ve recently lost a loved one to death (I recently lost my father to death), you may not hear my words about it today as meant for good; yet, that is what God has done.

It is good that God allows death, for it is in death that we are born to real life. To live in this world, as we know it now, would be reality and eternal death. His mercy comes to us by putting an end to our sufferings in this world, as those who through faith in Jesus Christ enter an eternal life, never to die again, never to be sick again, never to experience pain and suffering again. But, none of this would be true were it not for the death of Jesus on that Good Friday so long ago.

On that good day, for those who will believe, death changed from an eternal state, to a process of transformation. We see that process now, from only one side of the window. St. Paul says, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

Knowing that death is God’s plan to deliver us from evil, we can pray with the Psalmist, “Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me.” In order to be raised, we must first fall…but do not fear, God is faithful to raise us from the ashes.

 

Grace & Peace for a Holy Week,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

Posted on

Raised from the Ashes: Lent-Day 10, In Memory of My Father

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

John 5:24

Read John 5:24-30

Lent-Day 9 had no post as I was officiating at my father’s funeral.

Day -10 is In Memory of my Father. Today’s devotion is the text of the funeral message I delivered yesterday, February 19, 2016 at the Church of the Brethren Newton, KS

Dad, me Christas 2015 cropped

Charles Wilson Riley 1928~2016

Death has been called the great equalizer. It comes to all; rich, poor, young, old – no one can escape death, or so it seems. But is that what Christ would have us to think on today? This idea that no one can escape death. I think not. I think Jesus Christ, the Lord of Life, would rather have us to dwell on life…life everlasting as the gospel calls it.

We have the very words of Jesus as a promise in the 11th chapter of John, that if we believe, we will actually never die. “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,  and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) In fact, St. Paul has said, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55). What incredible words! These are the thoughts we must consider today. We must consider them everyday, until they become our reality. Death is not the victor here, though it may seem as such for a while.

When death comes to our loved ones, as it did for my family this week, our perception of reality is challenged. Regardless of what we know or believe, the strong emotions of grief come over us, even overwhelm us… that is they come over us if we are honest with ourselves. I have known a few people in my life who seemed not to be phased by the death of a loved one; something I fear is not a healthy state of being. But as we reflect on death and life together this morning, let us consider our creation and what kind of being we are.

God has made us emotional beings who feel joy and sorrow, health and pain, hope and despair. But it remains for us, in the midst of such high and low feelings, to make sure we understand what God intends for us in such a time as this.

As a minister of the gospel, I am often called upon to do funerals…many times for people I didn’t know, who when death came to their family had no church home or pastor to lean on. And so it has become my honor to be the one who walks through the valley with them.

I have learned that it is precisely at that point in their life, that their greatest need is to be introduced to the love of Jesus, the one who loves them unconditionally, who desires to show them comfort and hope, not doom and despair, the one who is at work in ways we cannot see to accomplish their salvation, even as He is at work in the lives of all peoples. And God is at work in our lives today as well.

He desires to show us something today, something He has been teaching me the last several years. It’s really a quite profound theological truth. But, it’s so simple, too often we miss it, especially through our tears and grief.

And here it is…

In the gospel we heard, Jesus speaks of death as if it is but a door way we all must pass through. But for those who believe in Him it is a doorway to life everlasting, and NOT a doorway to judgment (Vs 24). You see we are already judged. We are all guilty of sin. None of us is perfect. But with faith in God our Father, through Jesus Christ, His son, we can have life, and not just life after death, but life here and now!

Verse 24 shows us the present reality of things for those who believe. Verse 25 tells us this is the hour in which we can be made alive forever. We don’t have to wait until we die to inherit eternal life. It is our present reality, even though the face of death tells us differently.

In chapter 11, we even hear the incredible words that those who believe in Jesus, never really die!

A wise man once said, “If you die before you die, then you will never die when you die”.

What an incredible thought!

I know, Hebrews 9 tells us it is appointed unto all once to die and then the judgment. But, Jesus is telling us not to fear that judgment. Those who believe already know what their verdict will be on that judgment day.

So just what does God intend for us here today, as we mourn the passing of a husband, a father, a friend?

I believe He intends for us to be honest with ourselves. Death hurts. It hurts like nothing else in this world! But, He intends to remind us that it is NOT our reality… if we believe. Scripture speaks of an eternal death, to be sure. But that is not for those who believe.

For God intends for those who believe to see life! He intends for us to believe!

My dad believed. My Mom believes. I pray all my family believes! I pray all of you believe!

And so I thank you for your presence here today to help my family grieve and mourn our loss.

But I leave you with the question Jesus asked of his friends as they stood beside the tomb of Lazarus. With tears Jesus wept at their sorrow, even as He does for us today, and He asks us… “Do you believe this?”

Posted on

Raised From the Ashes: Lent – Day 7

Lent – Wednesday, Day 7

“And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed”

Mark 1:35

Read Mark 1:29-45

 

Lonely Places

Lent 2016 Daily Devotions-4

Generally speaking, loneliness is not good for us humans. However, we can acknowledge that there are times when we need “lonely places”. Lent is certainly one of those times. Today we are seven days into our Lenten journey. The gospel today from St. Mark speaks to us of the ministry of Jesus to heal and restore, as well as of His need for lonely places.

During Lent, we often make the mistake of thinking the journey is about us; how we can grow stronger through more prayer, fasting and reflection. Indeed, we hope to grow stronger in our faith through observing a holy Lent, but may I submit to you today that that is a blessed consequence and not the goal of our journey

Our Lenten Goal

The goal of observing the Lenten season by dedicating more time to the spiritual disciplines is quite simply – union with Christ. It can be said that if we are followers of Jesus, the goal of all our earthly life is union with Christ, a union which consummates fully in Heaven. And, along the way we find great moments of “commUNION” with our Lord when we concentrate on practicing the disciplines of our faith as we do in Lent.

Jesus is our model for such practice of faith. While on earth, He found great strength and peace from times of concentrated prayer and communion with the Father, such as we read about in today’s gospel. But, we must also notice that those times were often found in lonely places like the wilderness and gardens where scripture tells us it what his habit to be alone in prayer (Luke 5:16).

The longer I live, the more I value times of quiet and aloneness, not to be alone with myself, but rather to be alone with God. Yes, I actually seek out lonely places. Today, I rose to write this devotional the morning after my father’s passing from this earth. Beginning with my father’s passing yesterday around noon, I have found myself in a particularly lonely place, even though surrounded by family. Yet in that aloneness, I realize my heavenly Father is with me. I am not alone.

Are You in a Lonely Place?

The psalmist says, “ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me” We are truly never alone, whether we realize it or not. God is always with his children. What a comfort it is to know in my loneliness without my father, I know my dad is with his heavenly Father, and will never feel alone again.

What are you going through on your journey? Are you in the valley of the shadow of death? Are you feeling alone in a crowded world? This Lent, my prayer for you is that you may realize that even in lonely places…you are never alone.

There’s a line from an old gospel song that I need to hear today. Perhaps you do too?

In the very thought of Jesus His presence can be found
He’s as close as the mention of His name
There is never any distance between my Lord and me
He’s as close as the mention of His name

You can listen to the song here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6i-Ry1wSgA

As you read and listen today, let the Father raise you from the ashes.

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6