Virtual Chapel – Page 8 – Life in the Deep End

Wee Hours Prayer

July 27, 2021February 6, 2023Vona Wilson

Nudges of your Spirit come in the wee hours.
Perhaps, Lord, someone you love is reaching
for your hand of grace.
We are seen. Even in the wee hours.
Reaching into the dark spaces of grief
and uncertainty
of pain.
Come now, Holy Spirit, come.
Come now with your mercy
into the wee hours of our lives.

Where suffering has interrupted the days of a focused life; Lord have mercy.
When grief grips our souls and tugs against the pursuit of healing; Lord have mercy.
For the past that returns unwanted, for the futures we dare to dream; Lord have mercy.
Bring your arms of grace around our trembling bodies.
Offer your blanket of peace to cover the places
of our lives left out in the cold unattended.

Lead us to our simple prayers:
Help! Mercy! Come quickly Lord Jesus to help us!
Remind us again that your love persists
In the wee hours
In the waking hours
In all hours.

For you, Holy God, created us and placed us in time on earth
Where your grace is never offered too early,
and never arrives too late.
We find our peace in the arms
of the resurrected Christ
holding us all again.
One miracle moment at a time.
Bring rest. Restore our breathing. Bring peace.
Let your love lead us back to sleep.
Amen.

Fires

Moments of Faithful Risk

June 29, 2021June 29, 2021Vona Wilson

“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. “ – Matthew 26:6-7

Bethany is the town where Lazarus and his sisters lived, but in this situation, the meal is at Simon’s house. It is the most unexpected house to host a meal. Simon was known as a “leper” until he was healed by Christ. Now he is hosting a meal for Jesus.

The woman that comes with the expensive perfume is named as “Mary” when John writes his account of this story (John 12:3). She must have been saving this perfume for just the right situation and time. It is valuable. Somehow she knew (by God’s grace and a nudge of the Spirit?) that this is the time, this is the moment, for her to give it. She chooses to give it all to Jesus. She doesn’t know why, she just knows she is supposed to offer it.

The disciples – the followers of Jesus – are appalled. It is too extravagant; a waste. Jesus is pleased; she obeyed the nudge of the Spirit and did something that involved her in his story of redemption. God’s plans are fulfilled. This woman’s offer of love and devotion prepares Jesus to offer his greatest gift of love: to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)

We know Christ’s sacrifice is near; and we know resurrection is coming. His preparation and her involvement in his journey of obedience…these are moments of faithful risk. In the kingdom of God we take risks to love across societal norms, boundaries that limit access to Christ, and even fears whether they are real or imagined.

We return to the neighborhood today and knock on doors to invite the children to come out for “Bible Club”. Some will say yes. Some will wait for another day. We will teach the Bible stories, play games and sing. Love, friendship and joy will be shared, if even for a few short hours of the day.

I do wonder… Is it possible that we, who are so deeply distracted with our busy lives, are bringing “perfume” to the neighborhood? Or is it much more likely that Jesus finds us in Simon, the Leper, and asks us to come into the neighborhood and be healed so we can serve others with him?

Jesus is grateful for the woman’s lavish love. He says this moment is so important that every time this story is told, her act of faith and love will be shared. He wanted us to know this. She took the risk of walking into a setting where women were not typically welcomed. She gave her greatest gift and it prepared him for his. How are you giving your best for Christ?

Prayer
God help us to walk humbly as we go through your neighborhoods today. Heal in us whatever keeps us from loving and serving you freely. We have no good apart from you so please come near. We love you. We trust you completely. Thank you for trusting and loving us enough to bring us here with you.

Serving with our youth group in Memphis. The joy of witnessing what God is doing in our teenagers is a gift. Being with children in the neighborhood is just finding where Jesus is already and joining the miracle. Grateful.

Our Dads

June 20, 2021June 20, 2021Vona Wilson

I was blessed with two of them. My “Dad”, is the one who raised me and taught me to love animals, take risks and that you don’t have to answer every question. I learned unconditional love from him because God showed me how to love when it made no sense. I would not be the person I am today if Dad had not been who he was.

Over time I realized that my dad’s suffering was what helped teach me unconditional love. And boundaries. And some stuff I’d rather not have learned. But there is so much more that I am so grateful to have learned! Things like: It is OK to bite if you get backed into a corner. You can always drive in snow; go slow and watch out for the other guy. If you want to eat you better damn well make sure you have a job. And sometimes your dreams get fulfilled in ways you didn’t expect, but that is OK, just go with it.

My second blessing was my stepfather, who married my mom many years after I was an adult. He fell in love. She fell in love. They decided to make a life together. For all the years of their marriage (20+) he loved her so well. She loved him so well. I suppose without the stresses of raising children or paying mortgages, their marriage was truly a refuge and delight for later years. He was the most gracious man I’ve ever known. Never in a hurry. Always interested in what was going on in our lives. And he loved our mom.

Their marriage blessed me with extra siblings, and most of all it blessed me to experience what joy and delight can come when you least expect it. In the last year of his life there were a few health challenges. I was in their home for an overnight visit once when I woke up to someone singing. It was my mom. She was serving him breakfast on a tray, and she was singing to him as she entered the room, “Good morning! Good morning!” I could hear the love in her voice. I could see the appreciation and love on his face. They did their last season together so very well.

I think dads have a tough job. When I finally “grew up” and experienced some big falls myself, I realized that my dad did the very best he could with his life. He was a very tough man. And broken, like all of us. His heartaches and life griefs were overwhelming. But he continued. It wasn’t always smooth or what he imagined, but he persisted until he took his very last breath. And then he was free.

I know Dad could have given up and stopped living at many different points in his life. But he didn’t. He kept going. And because he kept going, we did too. We kept learning about love and mercy and grace. We kept asking God to show us how to navigate the days, and God was faithful to help us. We all just kept living and doing the very best we could with what we had to live with – including our broken selves!

Both of my fathers are in heaven tonight. They have no pain or sorrow. And anything that was not resolved on earth for either of them, has been completely resolved in heaven. I’m so grateful they were both chosen to be my dad and stepfather. I’m so glad we lived all the way until their very last breath, and we lived fully. It is a gift I always cherish, and a gift that never stops bearing fruit.

A Night Prayer on Father’s Day
Holy God, thank you for our dads. We never need them to be perfect, we just need them to be our dads. So please give all fathers an extra measure of your love, wisdom and care. Please remind them of your mercy and grace that is always available and give them courage to ask you for it. Most of all, as this day comes to an end, please cover all dads with your great compassion, and please cover all of their children with your steadfast love. Thank you, gracious God, for being our perfect father, and for giving us our imperfect and amazing dads. Amen.

It’s Always Been You – Phil Wickham

Morning Fog: Happy Friday!

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021Vona Wilson

The weather icon cautions me that fog awaits the day and I know instinctively it is good. Low visibility reminds me that God still sees the long view. I learned it several years ago from my neighbor in the country. “We know the sun is rising even though we can’t see it.” She loved to say it; it was a mantra for her and it became one for me. We are people that need to be reminded!

I ran to see the fog and was shocked to see the sun piercing through the shroud as if to say:

I’ve changed my mind.
The fog will not linger.
The lift is now.
Caution is replaced with courage.
Clouds are being swept away.

It happens like that sometimes. Life does. A solution emerges with the same immediate announcement of a light bulb in a pitch black room. Or that subtle inching, nudging….even squeezing into our lives like a little whisper that persists until it is shaping us into a way of being we didn’t see coming.

The fog is a friend when it comes. Reminding us in ways we can experience. Slow down and pay attention. Take a breath. Remember that the sun has not been taken away. We are being shielded while new light, new voices, and new revelation are being formed. Welcome the day; it is the careful provision of our Creator.

God, thank you for being in the fog with us and never losing sight of the long view. We welcome your new day! We love you and trust you. Amen.

Here Comes The Sun – Beatles Remix
https://youtu.be/KQetemT1sWc

The Monday Grace

May 24, 2021Vona Wilson

The joy of the birds must be exuberant. A morning song of certainty that every rising of the sun holds new life. I was walking to the river as the birds made their melodies, and my neighbors were ahead of me. You know – the people we call “neighbors” but I really do not know them yet at all. I’m exercising; they are appreciating the gift of the day, a centering perhaps. My gym shorts feel a bit informal in contrast to their flowing garments in all colors of the rainbow. We are all as we are; it’s Monday.

My neighbors pause at the river, as I will. We pass one another there and I utter the only greeting I can say without thinking, “Namaskar”. I only know it because of the grace of my other neighbor who taught me how to say something in addition to “Namaste”. The greeting is a little awkward; unexpected, I think. We don’t know each other.

The river is quiet, and someone is already fishing. I offer gratitude for the grace of a morning walk, for the songs of birds and the dance of the river. My heart could stay a while, but my head moves me along. It’s Monday.

The route home brings our paths together again. “Namaskar” my mouth speaks and my spirit, by now, has been seen. “Namaskar!” they greet me. The smiles and joyful words I do not understand tell me: all is well. We have a small conversation where it is clear I do not know the language. Their English helps us along, but is limited.

We learn one another’s names. Well, we learn them for a moment. I suspect we will have to learn them again and again! The humility of grace is that today we could see one another, and it was enough. Actually, it was more than enough. Peace and gratitude are flowing, and the day has barely begun.

Prayer
God thank you for the community you are creating wherever we are this week. Whether we meet in person or in prayer; on the street or in our homes – help us to see each other and your presence among us. We humbly and boldly ask for the presence of your Holy Spirit to guide us through this day. Like the birds, help us to sing with joy. And give us courage, Lord, to dance when we are invited.

Night Before Pentecost

May 22, 2021May 23, 2021Vona Wilson

The night before Pentecost holds its own special anticipation. We will do strange things tomorrow, like wearing red and watching for any new glimpse that the Spirit is active. I was hanging banners in our Historic Sanctuary late this afternoon and as I was finishing up a wind came through and one of the banners shifted. I’m sure it was the cord that slipped, not quite secure. But it didn’t appear or feel like that.

It felt like a wind blew through the sanctuary; a wind that no one created. There was a sound. The banner shifted. The movement of its shift caused it to keep moving back and forth, until it finally held still. I may have been holding my breath as these moments unfolded. I may have left a little faster with a nervous smile and a curiosity in my spirit. This “wind” reminds me on the night before Pentecost, that this is God’s story. And God never stops revealing new things to us.

I went home. I watched the sunset and prepared supper. I tried to be “normal”, but there is nothing “normal” about this life. On the night before Pentecost we remember that anything can happen when God is fulfilling promises. It can happen in our lives. It can happen in our communities. It can happen in our world. That’s just how the Spirit of God shows up, and we are called to be ready to follow. I’ll never be ready enough – but “Come Holy Spirit come” anyway.

Sunset on the night before Pentecost, 2021

Holy God, help us to never stop anticipating the surprising presence of your Holy Spirit being poured out on your people. Even when we are doing ordinary things we have no idea that you are doing something extraordinary. We welcome you to blow through our gathering places on this Pentecost Sunday. Open our eyes and our spirits to see. We trust you completely and we love you. Amen.

Where is Our Faith?

May 19, 2021May 19, 2021Vona Wilson

“Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water and they obey him.”
Luke 8:25

The disciples are in a storm on the lake. The waves and wind came upon them very quickly and began to overwhelm the boat. If you’ve ever been caught in a storm on the lake you know the fear. You do everything you know to do and if the waves still come and the wind stays up there is a point at which you realize, “I’m not sure we’re going to make it out of this.” I’ve had a couple of those experiences and they are unforgettable. Any trip to the lake or sea can end in disaster; you have to know that if you are going to be on the water. That’s where the disciples are in this moment. The way Luke tells it, “they are in great danger”. Jesus, meanwhile is asleep, probably exhausted from teaching and ministry.

When they wake Jesus up and tell him their situation, he gets up, tells the wind and waves to stop, and they do. Just like that.

When the power of God reveals itself in our ordinary lives it does often bring “amazement and fear”. How can we be so close to a God that will get so intimately involved in our daily human situations? God invites us and even encourages us to be that close.

The disciples are still grounded in the temporal. No doubt they were navigating this storm that blew up in the best way possible. They had experience on the water. They were skilled; they know this lake. This is not their first storm, but it is their first storm with Jesus involved in their lives.

When they had exhausted their own efforts, they asked Jesus to get involved. Jesus doesn’t tell them to adjust a sail. He doesn’t give them any nautical wisdom that will suddenly put the boat in a different position against the raging waves. Jesus has a spiritual strategy and draws from the eternal. After all, he created the wind and the water.

Sometimes it feels like our world is in a raging storm. The waves are crashing over our boats! The wind is shifting us in directions we didn’t plan or intend to go. The sky will clear for a day or two and then here it comes – another storm. This story with Jesus and his disciples on the lake seems to encourage us to take on a different strategy when the storm descends. Rather than first going to our temporal methods, what if, in the storm, we reach first for the eternal. What if we run right on down and wake Jesus up and ask for divine intervention? What if we put all of our skill, knowledge and wisdom at the faithful service of Christ? Even if it means, we don’t use anything we have known or used before.

Jesus is showing the disciples what is possible with God. Christ gives us access and encourages us to ask for help. It means letting go of how we think “help” needs to come or what it needs to look like. It means trusting that the God who created the wind and the waves (and us!) will guide us to a safe harbor that we will never reach on our own. Where is our faith?

Creator God, you who set the skies and seas in place, we love you. We welcome your help and wisdom as we walk into this day. We humbly and boldly ask for your intervention in the situations we are navigating. In our families; our minds and hearts; our businesses; our health...whatever it may be. We name it before you now and ask, "Jesus, we are in danger, please come and calm the wind and waves. Lead us to safe harbor. We trust you completely.  Let it be. Amen.

Growing Pains

April 27, 2021Vona Wilson

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual houseto be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. – I Peter 2:1-5

I can still remember my mom explaining a mystery ache in my body with these words, “you’re having growing pains; it will pass.” I’ve recently heard colleagues explaining some of our COVID prevention strategies as “growing pains” while we continue learning new ways to do life and live with the virus. “Growing pains” seems to be a persistent theme.

Growing in up in our salvation has growing pains too. There are seasons of doubt and suffering. There are moments are sharp joy and revelation. We stumble when we forget to let light shine in where darkness has entered. And sometimes we just crawl our way through one day at a time, a few inches at a time.

Still, we are being built into a spiritual house; we are growing and maturing through all of these seasons and moments. Talk to someone in their 90’s who has been walking with Christ for many years and they will quickly tell you: the growing never stops. The pains of a season will cease and the challenges we face in our journey today will fade. We mature and grow. New stretching and learning will be required, but something miraculous keeps unfolding. The Scriptures are full of stories about ordinary human beings slowly growing into living stones, that are part of a spiritual house…a holy priesthood that the Lord is maturing. That means you too.

There is a quote by Teresa of Avila that I kept on my dashboard during a long season of growing pains. It helped me every day.

Let nothing disturb you
Let nothing frighten you
All things pass
God does not change
Patience achieves everything.
– Teresa of Avila (1518-1582)

God, thank you for your grace in not giving up on us. Thank you for continuing to teach us and grow us up so we reflect more and more the person you created us to be.  We trust you, our Creator and Savior, to keep building us into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. Amen.

Caleb + Kelsey Mashup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oHN1-ifsT8

Come Quickly to Help Us

April 20, 2021April 20, 2021Vona Wilson

Our nation, and perhaps others in the world, watch and wait today for the verdict coming out of Minneapolis. It is a heavy day. Trials and verdicts are our meager means of order and justice. They serve us well and they serve us imperfectly, but they are the best we have established so far to help us as a nation. The hope is that over time and history our practice of justice, law and order is likely to improve as long as we keep learning and working on it. I pray that will never end for our nation. I am grateful to live in a country where a democracy and order for justice is in place. It is far from perfect; it is, however, what we created and in many places of the world, this does not exist.

On these days, however, – when it feels like the whole nation is holding tension – every part of me turns to prayer. Words fail me, though this morning I am writing. Something in me requires me to write today. My spirit hears a voice above the news and tension. It is, by my discernment, the voice of God. I believe healthy discernment comes in the community of believers, so I say that with the caveat that I can only share what I see; my sight and hearing is always incomplete. As I came to my Scripture reading today, I let it roll over my mind and help instruct me. The reading is from Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica:

And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. – I Thessalonians 5:14-22

Give thanks in all circumstances? Even the circumstances we face today? A trial that has the whole nation holding their breath? A pandemic that has changed so much of our ordinary lives and continues to edge us out of our comfort zones and into territory we’ve never before traveled? Grief that runs through communities and families while new life is begging to be acknowledged and allowed to flourish? Give thanks for those circumstances?

The message is actually not about circumstances. It is a message about how our lives are ordered and grounded in a way that Christ leads us to show up in all circumstances. With joy, with prayer and with gratitude.

Our joy does not come from circumstances. It comes, rather, from the experience of love we share with Christ and one another. That joy cannot be removed from our spirits. It is the presence of love and communion with the God who made us all the time, no matter what is going on in our circumstances. That supernatural joy is especially helpful when it is embodied by the people around us. But even in the absence of those people, the Lord is faithful to be present. There is a verse in one of Paul’s letters that expresses this so beautifully:

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – (Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. He was talking about persecution the Christians were facing at the time. Romans 8:38-39)

Prayer that taps into the power of our Creator to intervene, to shine light, to bring forth wisdom that we do not have – and to bring it into all circumstances, is a way to navigate these tensions and ask for help. We need God’s help in these situations. We have not done well left on our own. And yet, we see hope and something new rising out of the chaos. Humility helps us ask for divine help.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. – (Jesus’ words to his disciples as recorded in the Gospel of John 15:5-8)

We have gratitude for the unending mercy and steadfast love of our Creator that redeems these impossible situations with justice in ways that may use a court of law but are never limited to a court of law. Remember that Christ was condemned to die by crucifixion and he was raised from death! We bring gratitude for the way Jesus met the Centurion of the Roman army and the leper who had been isolated from all relationships. Gratitude for a God that reaches out for the hand of every human being and says, “here, let me pull you out of this pit; there is another way”.

I’ve been pulled out of that pit many times. Including the pit of my own mindset and the pit of my own choices. I’ve watched families rescued from their sinking into that pit of destruction. I’ve witnessed organizations and communities restored by the power of God’s grace and mercy embodied in the people. We worship a God that brings justice; a God that redeems; a God that restores life and peace. Trusting in God’s presence brings gratitude for the kingdom of God that IS being fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven. The Lord has made that clear; our part is following where God leads us into that unfolding and unveiling.

Be courageous. Be humble. Be disturbed and be at attention. The way we respond in all circumstances is a reflection of Christ’s presence in our lives. Remember who and whose you are today. In all things, honor God; there is no better way to walk through these days. If we claim to be children of God, we don’t get a pass for acting without grounding and thought today. This is how the Scripture says it; may God indeed intervene for us all.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. – Thessalonians 5:23-24

God of heaven, come quickly to help us. You are the God of all people. 
You know our circumstances far better than we do. 
You know what it feels like to be condemned and what it feels like to offer forgiveness. 
You know the power of calming the waves in the ocean and the humility of loving enemies.  
You set the captives free, 
including all of us 
when we are captive to sin and destruction.  
We struggle when our understanding of justice is different than yours. 
We struggle when our perspective of mercy is discounted, dismissed or ignored.  
We depend on earthly bound entities to redeem our world, 
but we know …we know …
you are the only one who can redeem us 
and bring the fullness of justice and mercy 
into our lives and our nation. 
We acknowledge you and our own limited capacities. 
You invite us to call upon you in our time of need; 
you promise to be with us.  So we come and ask. 
You made us, Lord, you know what is in us.  
Please help us today and in the days to come. 
Help us to respond in all circumstances with ways that reflect you 
and lead us to new life.  
We come with joy, prayer and gratitude for your presence among us.
We need you and we trust you completely.  
Come quickly, Lord, to help us. 
Amen.

The Night Prayer: April 2021

April 15, 2021April 15, 2021Vona Wilson

Holy God,
We empty our souls like we empty our pockets,
pouring all we regret from this day into your hands;
that holy space where anything and everything can be shared
Lord, hear our prayers.

We release from our minds
every insecurity, doubt, and shame
that attempts to rob us of your presence.
They have no place to stay tonight.
Lord, have mercy.

We receive your forgiveness
And extend forgiveness to others,
trusting fully that your
wisdom will enter into our experiences and
sort out what we confuse.
Lord, have mercy.

Where grief has come so close we cannot ignore it; we ask for comfort.
Where sorrow has lodged too deeply; Lord, roll away the stone.
Where love is knocking out the walls of our hearts; set us free to fly with you.
And in any moment
where we have missed your grace today,
Lord come quickly
reveal your presence to us once again.

May the night bring your peace that surpasses all understanding.
And may all we love be held safely and securely in your
heart of grace. There is no greater gift; there is no better place.

In the name of the One who neither slumbers nor sleeps,
The resurrected Christ, Amen.