Category Archives: Daily Bread Devotional

Loving Stewards of God’s World
Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary

(Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary edited by Anthony J. Chvala-Smith, pp. 61-62. A Kindle version is available at www.HeraldHouse.org.)

These are portentous times. The lives of many are being sacrificed unnecessarily to the gods of war, greed, and avarice. The land is being desecrated by the thoughtless waste of vital resources. You must obey my commandments and be in the forefront of those who would mediate this needless destruction while there is yet day. -Doctrine and Covenants 150:7

The work and ministry of justice and peacemaking for all creation is not new to Community of Christ. We have received divine counsel that reminds us to become peacemakers and loving stewards of God’s world. The church’s early experiences and teachings reflect an inseparability of the spirit and body that is consistent with the Hebrew Scriptures and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. The fullness of God’s love, healing, peace, and joy are known through the inseparable connection of spirit and element (Doctrine and Covenants 90:5e, Genesis 2:7, Psalms 104:29, Job 34:14\xe2\x88\x9215).

In 1972, the following direction came to the church: “These are portentous times. The lives of many are being sacrificed unnecessarily to the gods of war, greed, and avarice. The land is being desecrated by the thoughtless waste of vital resources. You must obey my commandments and be in the forefront of those who would mediate this needless destruction while there is yet day” (Doctrine and Covenants 150:7). Ten years later new counsel reminded us that “the time for hesitation is past. The earth, my creation, groans for the liberating truths of my gospel which have been given for the salvation of the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 155:7). The Spirit that is ever at work in creation is also the prophetic Spirit, calling God’s people to seek justice and wholeness for all things.

As a response, the church created the Community of Christ Peace and Justice Team. Its commission was to study the root causes of war, violence, poverty, environmental degradation, inequality, and destructive choices and lifestyles. In 1992, the church commissioned a new committee, the Community of Christ Earth Stewardship Team. This team explored how to advance the church’s work of protection of the environment through education and to encourage congregations and International Headquarters to model responsible environmental choices.

Two years later, the Independence Temple was dedicated to the pursuit of peace, reconciliation, and healing of the spirit. In 1999 the Community of Christ Peace Colloquy, using the theme “As the Sky Meets the Earth,” focused on how individuals, communities, and institutions could become more justice-oriented and proactive in the care of creation. In the current time, following Jesus, the peaceful One, has direct implications for how individuals, congregations, and the entire church must include care of creation in various ministries.

It is now urgent for the church individually and collectively to commit to practicing radical hospitality to our endangered ecosystem. Community of Christ’s traditions offer rich resources in our scriptures and practices for a deep ecological theology. However, the church has yet to embody the call to live out an uncompromising ethic of stewardship based on God’s love for all creation. Divine counsel to the church at the turn of the millennium again reminded us of the exigency for disciples to be in the forefront of justice and peacemaking for all life and ecological processes:

Generously share the invitation, ministries, and sacraments through which people can encounter the Living Christ who heals and reconciles through redemptive relationships in sacred community. The restoring of persons to healthy or righteous relationships with God, others, themselves, and the earth is at the heart of the purpose of your journey as a people of faith…. The earth, lovingly created as an environment for life to flourish, shudders in distress because creation’s natural and living systems are becoming exhausted from carrying the burden of human greed and conflict. Humankind must awaken from its illusion of independence and unrestrained consumption without lasting consequences.

Let the educational and community development endeavors of the church equip people of all ages to carry the ethics of Christ’s peace into all arenas of life. Prepare new generations of disciples to bring fresh vision to bear on the perplexing problems of poverty, disease, war, and environmental deterioration. Their contributions will be multiplied if their hearts are focused on God’s will for creation. -Doctrine and Covenants 163:2b, 4b-c

The Spirit that midwifed creation calls Community of Christ to rise to the challenge of Earth’s travail.

Prayer Phrase

“Practice Resurrection” (Wendell Berry).

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer

During this Easter season, we invite you daily into a breath prayer focused on resurrection. With each exhale, respond in a word or phrase to the question, “What is dying?” (fear, anger, assumptions, etc.) With each inhale, notice a response in a word or phrase to the question “What is rising?” (love, courage, trust, etc.) You may choose to use the same word or phrase throughout this season, or let each day bring its own unique response to this sacred pattern of dying and rising that is central to our faith.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Creation
John Glaser, president of seventy

(Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary edited by Anthony J. Chvala-Smith, pp. 65-66. A Kindle version is available at www.HeraldHouse.org.)

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. -Colossians 3:14-16

Even as a child, I remember feeling angst at seeing pictures of burning rain forests and the wanton environmental destruction by humans. I have to credit my elementary teachers who taught us of the wealth of forests, nature, and the need to protect our environment. My adolescent character was fostered by social marketing campaigns and slogans by a cartoonish owl stating, “Give a hoot, don’t pollute.” It seems that the onset of adulthood gives us the ability to question the effectiveness of social marketing techniques by the authorities as demonstrated by the rise of debates regarding global warming. Some argue whether or not global warming is a real phenomenon. Meanwhile, environmental destruction continues unabated.

The voice of Community of Christ comforts me greatly. To know that we worship a God that values all of creation and values our participation in that creation gives me hope and grounds my faith. My discipleship requires me to consider the prophetic voices of others such as Rachel Carson. In her book Silent Spring, she challenged the pesticide economy that existed in her world by drawing ethical direction from the writings of Albert Schweitzer. We appreciate their voices for they resonate with the inspiration we draw from a God that demonstrates a reverence for all creation.

We in turn lift up the prophetic voice in our time and the places in which we live. It is not a voice that divides but instead seeks to heal others and our environment. To see the interconnectedness of life and spirit allows us not just to understand poverty and suffering, but to feel it. Beyond quantifying poverty, we are given the opportunity to experience it qualitatively and through all our rich human senses as Christ would have. In feeling pain and poverty we are allowed the opportunity to be participants in creating change and in alleviating suffering.

Although we are drawn to the desire to create significant change in the world, we recognize that change as Christians is interpersonal and is realized in our daily interactions. For example, I was persuaded by a church colleague’s life choices to engage in a plant-based diet. Although I began my diet last year for health reasons, my new eating habits and behaviors have begun to affect and alter my beliefs. I now see my relationship to food with new spiritual senses beyond the mere gustatory. This simple change in eating habits has allowed me to relate to the world around me with a renewed ethic and care for the environment, plants, animals, and humans. These meaningful changes have occurred due to my collegial relationship. Authentic human change is interpersonal. God’s creation in all its beauty and wonder is to be shared one with another in interpersonal dialogue that goes beyond social marketing, mass media, and the sponsored content of the Internet. To borrow a phrase from my childhood, God indeed, gives a hoot.

Prayer Phrase

“Practice Resurrection” (Wendell Berry).

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer

During this Easter season, we invite you daily into a breath prayer focused on resurrection. With each exhale, respond in a word or phrase to the question, “What is dying?” (fear, anger, assumptions, etc.) With each inhale, notice a response in a word or phrase to the question “What is rising?” (love, courage, trust, etc.) You may choose to use the same word or phrase throughout this season, or let each day bring its own unique response to this sacred pattern of dying and rising that is central to our faith.\xe2\x80\x83

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Creation as Neighbor
Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary

(Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary edited by Anthony J. Chvala-Smith, p. 62. A Kindle version is available at www.HeraldHouse.org.)

When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent…put your trust in the Lord. There are many who say, ‘Oh that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, Lord!’ You have put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and wine abound. I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety. -Psalm 4:4-8

The world exists in and by divine love. The Spirit is itself the spirit of livingness. God loves and sustains life in all its abundance and dazzling diversity. The triune divine community created all life as an interconnected whole. These affirmations of our faith may help us imagine creation as one neighborhood or community. Jesus’ command to love our neighbor, then, extends in our time to the whole cosmos, with its countless intricate living systems. Nature, as our “neighbor,” can as well be seen as the “poor among us,” for in the biblical tradition, the poor were the most vulnerable. In our own time we also know that human poverty actually arises from the impoverishment of the land (Exodus 20:8\xe2\x88\x9211; Deuteronomy 5:12\xe2\x88\x9215; Psalms 19:1\xe2\x88\x924; 104; Isaiah 24:4\xe2\x88\x9213) as desertification demonstrates.

Loving our neighbors must no longer be confined to the person next door, the person sitting next to us in church, or even those who live at the other side of the street. Loving our neighbors has become a pressing global call. It will require us to live ethically and compassionately in relationship with all creation. Exciting possibilities open up when we apply Jesus’ command to love our neighbor to creatures like frogs and polar bears, to places like oceans and glaciers, and to the natural processes related to air, water, and soil. By loving all creation, we live and share God’s sacred purposes for the world, which arose from the mystery of God’s boundless love.

Prayer Phrase

“Practice Resurrection” (Wendell Berry).

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer

During this Easter season, we invite you daily into a breath prayer focused on resurrection. With each exhale, respond in a word or phrase to the question, “What is dying?” (fear, anger, assumptions, etc.) With each inhale, notice a response in a word or phrase to the question “What is rising?” (love, courage, trust, etc.) You may choose to use the same word or phrase throughout this season, or let each day bring its own unique response to this sacred pattern of dying and rising that is central to our faith.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

God’s World: A Gift of Love and Grace
Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary

(Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary edited by Anthony J. Chvala-Smith, pp. 56-57. A Kindle version is available at www.HeraldHouse.org.)

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. -Isaiah 32:16-18

As an expression of divine love, God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, and called them “good.” Everything belongs to God and should be cherished and used justly according to divine purposes. God sees creation as a whole without separation of spirit and element. God calls people of every generation to join with God as stewards in the loving care of creation.

This paragraph affirms that God’s world is a gift of love and grace. Earth’s living organisms, both human and nonhuman, breathe in this gift of life from God the loving Creator. To refer to all things as “creation” immediately implies a divine point of reference: a Creator. Christian faith holds that creation in all its beauty, wonder, power, diversity, vulnerability, and mystery is an icon of the living God. Divine Spirit works unceasingly to create, sustain, and redeem all living things and guide them toward the wholeness of peace. God invites human beings to care for each other and all of nature. This call for us to be stewards of creation is fundamentally a call to love what God has generously created.

Creation is the good gift of God, whose eternal triune being is communal. Therefore, creation as a whole reflects in its vast web of relationships the relational, communal nature of God. Human beings, like all other animals, plants, and organisms are part of this larger, interrelated whole. We are all creatures, which, among other things, means we depend on each other for existence. Alike and different from other creatures we share the same needs for air to breathe, water to drink, food to nourish, and resources for shelter. Each organism is unique and lives out its own special role within the whole of creation. At the same time, because all living things depend on each other, mutuality is at the heart of the good creation. We should not be surprised by this truth, since according to the doctrine of the Trinity, reciprocity is the essence of God’s own life.

Regrettably, we human beings regularly fail to recognize, respect, or love the uniqueness of other species, natural habitats, and ecological processes. Many of our daily choices lead to wasteful consumption of the world’s resources, energy, and lands. Our failure to accept that we are part of an interconnected whole contributes to the dangerous ecological crisis we face today. Climate change, species extinction, deforestation, desertification, cultural extinction, nuclear waste, and pollution of air, soil, and water are assaults upon the wholeness of the global community. How will we as Community of Christ contribute to the healing of Earth? How will we address the difficult ecological challenges before us?

Prayer Phrase

“Practice Resurrection” (Wendell Berry).

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer

During this Easter season, we invite you daily into a breath prayer focused on resurrection. With each exhale, respond in a word or phrase to the question, “What is dying?” (fear, anger, assumptions, etc.) With each inhale, notice a response in a word or phrase to the question “What is rising?” (love, courage, trust, etc.) You may choose to use the same word or phrase throughout this season, or let each day bring its own unique response to this sacred pattern of dying and rising that is central to our faith.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Proclaim Repentance and Forgiveness
Barbara Carter, Council of Twelve Apostles

Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”  -Luke 24:45-48

Growing up in Community of Christ (RLDS), my experience was one of being in a cocoon. I was loved, accepted, engaged, and knew that I belonged. My congregation was mainly my family: aunts, cousins, and uncles. I remember being very young and asking my mother if an unknown person who just had walked into the church was my uncle.

Such was my frame of reference. Because of experiencing church in this way, I saw my congregation as a group of like-minded people. We agreed on most things, and if there was a disagreement, it disappeared quickly. I assumed that was part of our faith. We all believed the same things and acted accordingly. This understanding wasn’t challenged until I was in my teens.

I was sitting at the kitchen table with some church friends that I had just been with at senior high camp.
We were experiencing the afterglow of a week of being together and didn\’t want that bond to break. The conversation turned to the news that several church families who lived in our jurisdiction had decided to move to Independence. They believed it was time to begin gathering to Zion. Those of us around the table had different thoughts and opinions. Some were very strong. The conversation didn’t get heated. Spoken words did not wound. But this was the first time I recognized that we all didn’t respond to scripture with the same belief.

This was my first experience of faithful disagreement. We did not come to the same understanding of scripture, but that did not disturb our peace. Our love for each other, built on the foundation of Christ’s love for us all, created space for all to belong.

We were young and, in many ways, na\xc3\xafve. But this experience of acceptance, unconditional love, and Unity in Diversity was-and continues to be-foundational if I am to practice peace and proclaim repentance and forgiveness.

Prayer Phrase

“Practice Resurrection” (Wendell Berry).

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer

During this Easter season, we invite you daily into a breath prayer focused on resurrection. With each exhale, respond in a word or phrase to the question, “What is dying?” (fear, anger, assumptions, etc.) With each inhale, notice a response in a word or phrase to the question “What is rising?” (love, courage, trust, etc.) You may choose to use the same word or phrase throughout this season, or let each day bring its own unique response to this sacred pattern of dying and rising that is central to our faith.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

The Church
Carlos Enrique Mejia, Council of Twelve Apostles

(Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary edited by Anthony J. Chvala-Smith, p. 124. A Kindle version is available at www.HeraldHouse.org.)

Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us. -Ephesians 4:29, 31-32-5:1-2

The church is where we find sanctuary, where we receive guidance to convert us into disciples. That is where we can grow in our relationship with God, grow in our faith, and where we create and strengthen our interpersonal relationships, where ministry is received and given. I met Christ and the church in 1984 in a small town in Honduras. This has been the greatest blessing that could have come to my life. In the church I met my wife, we had a family, and it was there that we were born and grew spiritually through our relationships with God, Christ, and our brothers and sisters.

My family has been a part of all the changes the church has had in the last 33 years. We, along with many other members, have gone through many difficult situations that the church has suffered. Many times, as human beings, we have thought that it was the end, but quite the contrary. I have always seen that, because of those crises, the church has become more united and strengthened through the power of the Holy Spirit, and the unity of its members.

I call the church indestructible because it belongs to God. How has the church been able to grow, be transformed, and help so many other people and communities in the world? It has only been possible through the Holy Spirit that supports it, sustains it, and guides it.

My eldest daughter asked me one day, “Papi, what would our life be like if we didn’t know Christ, and we weren’t in the church? I feel the church is our second home where my family is so much bigger and more diverse.” I felt a great satisfaction at hearing what the church means to her and everyone in our home, and to see the fruits of those examples and teachings that my wife and I have been able to ingrain in our daughters. Today I can see how this eldest daughter and her husband are transmitting the same example to their son. I’m happy to see my entire house serving the Lord and the church.

Many times, in the field where I serve as apostle, I have heard nonmember friends say Community of Christ is different. They say there is something special reflected in its members. Our Enduring Principles define the essence, the heart, and soul of our identity, mission, and message. They describe the personality of the church that is expressed through its members and its congregations. Brothers and sisters, we are called to love our spiritual home, to transmit to other generations God’s love through Jesus Christ and the church.

Prayer Phrase

“Practice Resurrection” (Wendell Berry).

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer

During this Easter season, we invite you daily into a breath prayer focused on resurrection. With each exhale, respond in a word or phrase to the question, “What is dying?” (fear, anger, assumptions, etc.) With each inhale, notice a response in a word or phrase to the question “What is rising?” (love, courage, trust, etc.) You may choose to use the same word or phrase throughout this season, or let each day bring its own unique response to this sacred pattern of dying and rising that is central to our faith.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Humanity
Barbara Carter, Council of Twelve Apostles

(Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary edited by Anthony J. Chvala-Smith, pp. 77-78. A Kindle version is available at www.HeraldHouse.org.)

Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God’s shalom, invites all people to come and receive divine peace in the midst of the difficult questions and struggles of life. Follow Christ in the way that leads to God’s peace and discover the blessings of all of the dimensions of salvation. -Doctrine and Covenants 163:2a

Growing up in a small town on the Oregon coast was for me idyllic. I had extended family around. I felt safe, love, supported. My circle of friends didn’t change very much from the time I entered first grade to when I graduated from high school. I had exposure to another circle of friends and acquaintances through the faith community when we attended gatherings such as reunions (family camps), youth camps, and conferences. For me, though, there wasn’t a large distinction between family and the faith community.

There weren’t characteristics that set them apart from each other. Each was a homogeneous group that mirrored the other. I went to a small Midwestern college when I was 18. The people there shared many of the characteristics that I had experienced at this point in my life through my family, friends, and faith community. While there was some diversity, it wasn’t enough to challenge the status quo of whom I considered part of my world.

It is easy to read Galatians 3:27-28 and believe you are living it when the humanity you have experienced is consistent with what you have always known. This Bible passage reads: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” And yet the beauty and challenge of being transformed in Christ invites us into relationships and places that expose the unknown, the different, and the uncomfortable. It is in this place I found a new journey that has led me to seek understanding about what it truly means to seek and desire a new humanity in Christ.

When I open myself up to individuals whose experiences, beliefs, and approach to life are different from mine, I am exposed, leaving me vulnerable. It is in this place that I have found space and freedom to try to see others as Christ sees them and to allow myself to be seen as well. I have been blessed to spend time with ecumenical, and to some extent inter-faith, groups. Here I have experienced the sharing of thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and positions that would normally create a negative and threatening environment. But because the need for us to understand each other and work together is greater than any single individual’s perspective, we have been able to reach moments when our humanity is not ultimately individual but is most fully visible and most fully shared in community. It is in moments like this that I catch a glimpse of the kingdom of God coming closer.

Prayer Phrase

“Practice Resurrection” (Wendell Berry).

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer

During this Easter season, we invite you daily into a breath prayer focused on resurrection. With each exhale, respond in a word or phrase to the question, “What is dying?” (fear, anger, assumptions, etc.) With each inhale, notice a response in a word or phrase to the question “What is rising?” (love, courage, trust, etc.) You may choose to use the same word or phrase throughout this season, or let each day bring its own unique response to this sacred pattern of dying and rising that is central to our faith.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Sin: Separation from God and Others
Stassi Cramm, First Presidency

(Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary edited by Anthony J. Chvala-Smith, pp. 93-94. A Kindle version is available at www.HeraldHouse.org.)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. -John 14:27

I have taught the Basic Beliefs of Community of Christ in various settings. In almost every situation, the conversation in the class comes to a screeching halt when we get to the topic of sin. No one wants to talk about sin. I suppose in many ways, I don’t want to talk about sin and perhaps the class is simply reflecting my own discomfort.

To admit that I am sinful is to be willing to accept that I sometimes unintentionally, and yes, sometimes intentionally, hurt others or work against God’s purposes in the world. It also means admitting that I am part of larger systems that bring harm to others and the Earth. I know this to be true, but it is not something I want to linger on. And I don’t want to throw back the curtains and allow the light of day to shine on all my sinfulness with others watching. After all, maybe they haven’t figured out all my failings.

In some classes, people want to keep the discussion more abstract. They want to make a list of what is sinful. Some feel that we should have a Community of Christ vice list which we could all use to evaluate ourselves (and others) about our sinfulness. I know there are some absolutes that we can agree on that are sinful, but I suspect the more prevalent sins (or at least the ones more prevalent in my life) would not be universal.

What I’ve come to learn about sin is that talking about it is important. I need to be honest with myself and others about where I fall short of being the person God calls me to be. I also need to seek out others’ perspectives. I’ve learned that sometimes I can’t see my own sinfulness and I need trusted friends or family to be my mirror. Identifying my sinfulness is a necessary step in creating pathways for confession, repentance, and forgiveness. The same is true for communal sin. Only through honest conversations can we collectively identify and change systems that bring harm to others and the earth, thus drawing closer to God as a community.

I’ve also learned that sometimes I’m not ready to change nor am I ready for the world to change. I am prone to self-deception that I’m doing my best and the world is doing its best; but sin is present in my life and in the world. Honest conversations and growing understanding of “the other’s” experience motivate me to accept change.

I confess there is a gap between who I am and who God created me to be just as there is a gap in society. I am grateful for faithful disciples who are willing to honestly identify individual and collective sin and find ways to do better. I am also thankful for a God who generously extends grace while patiently guiding our transformation.

Prayer Phrase

“Practice Resurrection” (Wendell Berry).

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer

During this Easter season, we invite you daily into a breath prayer focused on resurrection. With each exhale, respond in a word or phrase to the question, “What is dying?” (fear, anger, assumptions, etc.) With each inhale, notice a response in a word or phrase to the question “What is rising?” (love, courage, trust, etc.) You may choose to use the same word or phrase throughout this season, or let each day bring its own unique response to this sacred pattern of dying and rising that is central to our faith.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

Holy Spirit
Ron Harmon, president of Council of Twelve Apostles

(Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary edited by Anthony J. Chvala-Smith, pp. 52-54. A Kindle version is available at www.HeraldHouse.org.)

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! -Psalm 133:1

I vividly remember my first encounter with the Spirit. I was 12 years old and it came during a time of deep searching. I attended a small, loving congregation on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio. It was not uncommon to hear a closing prayer giving thanks for the presence of the Holy Spirit. I listened intently and tried to be open to this Holy Spirit, but it eluded me.

I did not realize the Spirit had already interceded in my life and was affirming my deepest yearnings to connect with that which is beyond words and human understanding. This Spirit seed had been planted and was beginning to grow as it became the focus of my prayer life each night. I wanted to sense or experience this Spirit and so that became my prayer.

One evening during a youth camp in western Pennsylvania I went out into an open field. I lay down in the grass and looked up into the immensity and depth of space. By now this prayer no longer needed utterance but was expressed with each breath I took. Something not fully explainable but deeply moving occurred that evening as I explored a dimension of creation not often visible to me. I found myself fully immersed in an awareness that I was not alone. I became aware of my connection to an ultimate reality that was beyond my comprehension and yet felt a deeply personal affirmation of divine love and complete wellbeing. Of course, these are the words I use now to describe the experience, but its profound impact is felt even as I write these words years later.

Since this time, I have experienced the Holy Spirit in many ways and at times have struggled for any awareness of its presence. During a time of feeling very distant from the Spirit I wrote a prayer that became a plea for spiritual awakening to God’s movement all around me: God, where will your Spirit lead today? Help me be fully awake and ready to respond. Grant me courage to risk something new and become a blessing of your love and peace. Amen.

This prayer captures much of my evolving understanding of the Holy Spirit’s function and purpose. I have increasingly experienced the Spirit as disruptive presence helping me to see and understand what was once hidden from view. I have returned to ancient practices that create open and fertile space within for the Spirit to do its transformative work.

This intentional work has created capacity for suffering with those who suffer and courage to speak and act words that lead to God’s alternative future. When I cultivate space and receptivity for the Holy Spirit, I find myself more willing to risk new conversations, relationships, and ways to embody Christ’s love and peace.

Prayer Phrase

“Practice Resurrection” (Wendell Berry).

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer

During this Easter season, we invite you daily into a breath prayer focused on resurrection. With each exhale, respond in a word or phrase to the question, “What is dying?” (fear, anger, assumptions, etc.) With each inhale, notice a response in a word or phrase to the question “What is rising?” (love, courage, trust, etc.) You may choose to use the same word or phrase throughout this season, or let each day bring its own unique response to this sacred pattern of dying and rising that is central to our faith.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

Click here to comment or read online.

The Love of God
Larry McGuire, president of seventy

(Adapted from Exploring Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: A Commentary edited by Anthony J. Chvala-Smith, pp. 27-28. A Kindle version is available at www.HeraldHouse.org.)

We do not live to ourselves and we do not die to ourselves. -Romans 14:7

She often came into the activities and services late, wrestling with her two small children. People offered to help her with the children, but the kids were not very willing to be far from their mother. She looked exhausted most of the time but did her best to be engaged with the classes and worship.

During one of the worship services, we were invited to share in groups about a hymn text that we felt reflected our journey with God. She was part of my group and listened to what was being shared about the hymn I selected, “The Love of God” Community of Christ Sings 210. The hymn reflects what I want to believe about God; however, my experience was often different. My experience has been more of a disruptive and unsettling God, a God that I want to keep contained in a box that I can control. But God continues to push beyond the confines of my box. I noticed tears began to roll down her face and she simply nodded her head in agreement. As she shared her hymn, she asked the question: “How do I know I can trust what God is nudging me to do?”

After the worship, I sat and listened to her story of her journey of faith and how she was wrestling with decisions to leave her community of faith and join Community of Christ. Her question kept coming to my mind as she shared her journey: “How do I know I can trust what God is nudging me to do?” As I listened, I remembered the compass mounted on the dash of my grandfather’s car. He always trusted the compass was pointing him in the correct direction even as he made turns and changes in direction.

I offered my prayerful support for her journey and bore my testimony that there were times I didn’t trust my compass but it wasn’t because God wasn’t present. I shared that I needed to keep asking, “Am I pointing myself in what I sense through the Spirit to be the right direction? Am I continually orienting myself toward God?” Those are compass questions grounded in my belief that God is always present even when I wasn’t trusting the compass.

As we closed our conversation, she shared her appreciation for the opportunity to ask questions and explore what it means to follow God even when you aren’t sure where you are being led. She closed by saying, “I know what I’m being asked to do so I will trust where I’m being led.” Two days later sent me a text saying she had decided to join Community of Christ.

“We long for freedom where our truest being is given hope and courage to unfold. We seek in freedom space and scope for dreaming and look for ground where trees and plants can grow” (Fred Kaan, “The Love of God,” \xc2\xa9 1974 Hope Publishing Company, CCS 210). God’s presence was made real in the simple phrases of a hymn and the affirmation that you can trust the compass of God’s love even when you do not know where it will lead.

Prayer Phrase

“Practice Resurrection” (Wendell Berry).

Spiritual Practice

Breath Prayer

During this Easter season, we invite you daily into a breath prayer focused on resurrection. With each exhale, respond in a word or phrase to the question, “What is dying?” (fear, anger, assumptions, etc.) With each inhale, notice a response in a word or phrase to the question “What is rising?” (love, courage, trust, etc.) You may choose to use the same word or phrase throughout this season, or let each day bring its own unique response to this sacred pattern of dying and rising that is central to our faith.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.

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