aged servants of God

Good evening brothers and sisters,

As we continue looking at aging and end of life questions we meet a great but little known character named Simeon. Simeon was an old man with a strong faith who was coming to the end of his life when Jesus was born. Notice that for Simeon, as for many older people, death is something he welcomes rather than something he fears. Often thinking about the end of life is scarier for friends and family than it is for the older person. In every season, God has new blessings for us.

God bless you today,

Sam

Luke 2:25-35

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.

²⁷Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, ²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, ²⁹“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; ³⁰for my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, ³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 

³³And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed ³⁵so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

gleaning to survive

Good afternoon sisters and brothers,
Today is Rev. Judy Lee Hay's last day at Calvary St. Andrews Presbyterian Church before her retirement. Judy has been at Calvary 40 year, in which time she's been an important part of the revitalization of the Southwedge and of constant work for justice in behalf of the gospel. Judy's been a mentor for many of us and I'll miss her presence at UPT. Please take a moment to give to God for Judy's ministry and to pray for her and for Calvary in this time of transition. May her well-earned retirement be blessed and the congregation find new strength in a new season.

Our reading for today continues the story of Ruth and Naomi. In those days one of the way people in need were supported was by reaping in the fields of those who had land. That meant they would follow the harvesting workers and pick up what they dropped or left behind. God's law also called landowners to leave the corners of their field unharvested to provide further for people in poverty. So Ruth sets out to glean in a nearby field so she and Naomi can survive.

God bless, 

Sam

Ruth 2:1-12

Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. ²And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

⁴Just then Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you.” They answered, “The Lord bless you.” ⁵Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “To whom does this young woman belong?” ⁶The servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷She said, ‘Please, let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.’ So she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now, without resting even for a moment.”

⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. ⁹Keep your eyes on the field that is being reaped, and follow behind them. I have ordered the young men not to bother you. If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” ¹⁰Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?”

¹¹But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. ¹²May the Lord reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!”

Teach us to count our days

Good afternoon brothers and sisters,
Appropriately, today's reading is an invitation to consider our own mortality and our limits. The end of one year and the beginning of another are a great opportunity to reflect on our life and on where God might be leading us. As you take some time to reflect, let God teach you to number your days so that you gain a wise heart.

Blessings for a spiritually blessed new year,
Sam


Psalm 90:1-14
¹Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
²Before the mountains were brought forth, 
or ever you had formed the earth and the world, 
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
³You turn us back to dust, and say,
“Turn back, you mortals.”
⁴For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday
when it is past, or like a watch in the night.
⁵You sweep them away; they are like a dream, 
like grass that is renewed in the morning;
⁶in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
⁷For we are consumed by your anger;
by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
⁸You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
⁹For all our days pass away under your wrath;
our years come to an end like a sigh.
¹⁰The days of our life are seventy years,
or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
¹¹Who considers the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
¹²So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.
¹³Turn, O Lord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants!
¹⁴Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Thanksgiving

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Today's reading is a Thanksgiving reading from Deuteronomy. As we start the day with this reading I'd like to remind you of our ecumenical Thanksgiving service at Laurelton tonight at 7pm with our neighbor churches. The point of Deuteronomy is to remind Israel of their past and prepare them for their future in the land God is giving them.

One of our leaders put it well last night in a discussion about prayer. She said it's sometimes hard to pray when things are going well. That's one of Moses' main concerns for the people of Israel after he dies and they settle into the land. He worries Israel will forget that all the good things they have come from God. They'll give themselves too much of the credit for what they have and become arrogant and complacent in their faith. Keeping this book with them would help Israel remember that God gave them everything they have.Thanksgiving does the same for us. Thanksgiving reminds us of all our blessings and reminds us that those blessings are a gift from God.

Blessings on your Thanksgiving week and on living a grateful life each day,
Sam

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

⁷For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, ⁸a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, ⁹a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. ¹⁰You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you.

¹¹Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. ¹²When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, ¹³and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, ¹⁴then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, ¹⁵who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions.

He made water flow for you from flint rock, ¹⁶and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. ¹⁷Do not say to yourself, “My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.” ¹⁸But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.