The End of the Line - A Poem by Erynne DeVore

Can you think of a time

You were the quickest at that mountain climb

If you started at the bottom of the mountain

Right after breakfast

Does the view from the top change

For someone who wasn’t the fastest?

What about when the person at the back of the line

Gets the same as you

Do you whine?

What do you think as the line leader?

Should they have been more like you, the speeder?

It is tough to work more or harder

And get the same reward

As someone who worked less or shorter

But have you ever stopped to wonder

Why that classmate of yours might be late

Or if they too, had someone for who they had to wait?

Maybe they had more to do 

or more worries to care for

Maybe it wasn’t that they didn’t work hard 

or they were just a bore

The point is

We don’t know their story

We only know ours

And we shouldn’t be so accusatory 

I wonder if you can guess

Who might know the truth of it all

Of course you’re right

It’s God who has the insight

God knows you and me

From first to last and large to small 

And God tells us that the first will be last

And the last will be first

Which can be hard for us to grasp

If you’re holding onto first place with a clasp

Sometimes worrying about who is in first place may not seem fair

It is not our burden to bear

God wants to care for all of us

But some of us need different things than others

And there is no need to make such a fuss

If you receive less than your sisters or brothers

It doesn’t mean those at the end of the line

Are any better than those who started at nine

It just means God will care for us all

Especially when you lose your place and fall 

~ Erynne Devore, director of Children’s Ministry

Family Devotional Matthew 18:21-35

For families with little ones (preschool age), this could be a 3-5 minute talk! It doesn’t have to be much. For older children, you can opt in for more of these options to extend your study time together. I recommend doing this with (especially little) children over a meal – whichever meal is the least chaotic in your home (for my family right now, that’s lunch), or saving the questions for while you’re on a walk or playing outside together. Have fun!

1. Read the scripture together: Matthew 18:21-35. The important thing is that you’re reading scripture together! If you’re looking for different ways to engage your children while reading, here are some fun ways to read scripture as a family

• Every Reader takes a verse

• Ask each child to pick two words they don’t understand to talk about after you read it. (For longer scriptures and younger children, you may need to split up the reading in order to do this.)

• Draw a picture of what you read

• Act it out as a family (And please send documentation of this to children.sjumc@gmail.com because we could all use a laugh right now!)

• Sing it!

• Use Legos or dolls to tell the story

2. Tell your kids that this scripture is about forgiveness. Jesus says we should forgive others seventy times seven times. Calculate how much this is with your kids, and tell them that God doesn’t mean we should forgive people exactly this number of times. He is using a large number to say we should always work on forgiveness, lots and lots of times.

3. Discussion Questions (as always, pick and choose which questions you’d like to discuss!):

• What do you think it means to forgive?

• Does someone have to say sorry and change their behavior to be forgiven?

• When is a time you have forgiven someone? When is a time you have been forgiven?

• How did you feel after you forgave someone else? How did you feel after someone forgave you?

• Are trust and forgiveness the same thing? (Hint: No. It is the person who hurts you who needs to work on earning trust back, and if they don’t, it is not your job to try to trust them again. Forgiveness is different – it means letting go of the anger, with God’s help, when you’re ready, and not wishing for bad things for the other person. It means peace for you. Forgiving over and over or seventy times seven does not mean staying friends with someone who hurts you over and over. This would be a good time to talk about age appropriate boundaries with your children.)

4. Close in Prayer: Dear God, thank you for forgiving us, when we do something wrong. Thank you for helping us learn from our mistakes. Please help us forgive others when they’ve hurt us. Please help us learn more about forgiveness and what it means, and how to honor You and ourselves in our forgiveness practice. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

~ Erynne DeVore, director of Children’s Ministry

Devotional 9.10.20 Rick Meidel

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” - Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

Those who know me aren’t surprised to hear me say that I’m “detailed oriented.” I pay attention to things. I pay attention to situations. I pay attention to people. I’m that way at work; and I’m that way at home. We like to walk our neighborhood every evening. With that, we probably visit every street of our neighborhood at least once every week. I wave at every car. I acknowledge everyone I pass by. I haven’t socialized with many of my neighbors but I know who they are. I know what they look like.

We were driving out of the neighborhood the other evening. A younger man was walking down the hill on one of the gated side streets. Nothing unusual. Except for the bag. The man was carrying an oversized and colorful shopping bag. We live on the Hillside. Walking the hills is difficult enough without your hands full! You certainly don’t carry loaded shopping bags up and down the hills if you can help it! I nodded to the individual, noted it, and continued our journey to town.

The next day, I was working outside on my gutters. I was in an area where I could not be seen, except for my dangling feet on a somewhat rickety ladder. I heard a male voice ask me whether I was the homeowner. I said yes. And I descended down the ladder. The polite young man, holding that same colorful shopping bag I had noticed the night before, told me he wanted to talk to me about Ballot Measure 1. He handed me a flyer. I took it and glanced at it. I told him I was already aligned with the position he was promoting. He had my vote! We exchanged pleasantries. I wished him well.

The man was Black.

For the past few days, I’ve been thinking about that encounter. I thought back to my first sight of him. I hadn’t seen him before and I had made a mental note of that detail, the same as I do for others I do not recognize. I don’t believe my mind questioned whether he “belonged” in our neighborhood. I wonder whether that was because I am more aware now of any bias I might possess. And then I thought about our encounter at home. I wondered, had I been inside, whether I would have opened the door at the sound of his knock. Maybe I would have just waved him off, through the window, as being uninterested in whatever it was he might be peddling, the same as I do for others I do not recognize. I’m glad to have been outside. It was a brief, but pleasant exchange. It was a pleasure to meet the young man.

Over the past few weeks, related to our Back-To-School Mission, I’ve been to a few homes where I would otherwise be unknown. I have a routine. I ring the doorbell and take a few steps back. I don’t want to make someone uncomfortable by standing too close to the door. I want the owners to have full view of me from their eyepiece in the door. The door usually opens, I introduce myself and I communicate my business.

Here’s the thought I can’t get out of my head these past few days. What must it be like for a Black person to come to the door to conduct business in my, or any other, neighborhood? I wonder if they are nervous. What might he/she encounter as they approach a doorway? What might they expect when they knock on the door? Will they be waved away? Will the door be opened, only partially and with skepticism, to understand the reason for the visit? Will there be conversation? Will there be debate? How might you respond to such a knock on the door today? How have you responded in the past? And, peeling the onion further, would our response to the knock on the door be different if it was, say, a police officer at the door? Or if the knock on the door was from a person of a different, but non-Black, race?

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20 (NIV). It is said that this verse in Revelation is the most misused verse in the Bible! At first read, and with a picture in our head like that in this devotional, we might think it’s a call to sinners: open the door when you hear the knock and let Jesus into your heart. But in the proper context, Jesus is knocking at the door of Christians and the Church. In the context of this section of Revelation, these specific Christians had become lazy and nonchalant. Jesus was trying to get their attention.

Knocking at the door is one way to get someone’s attention. Jesus is trying to get my attention. I can feel it. I can tell by the reminders, some of which I spoke about in a prior devotional. I also can’t keep thoughts from popping into my head right now. More devotionals! I’m being pulled to spend more time with Jesus by reading the Bible and by listening to/studying the words of others who help me interpret the message that’s being conveyed. And that’s probably the point Jesus is making to me with these reminders! For others, maybe Jesus is trying to get your attention through feelings of conviction. Or perhaps he’s giving you challenging situations to work through. Or maybe something else. Do you feel it?

There’s a wakeup call in Revelation 3:20. I might feel like I’m doing everything just right. By the book in fact! But, maybe it’s just a book that I wrote myself, or maybe with help from others, to which I’ve grown comfortable. It’s not God’s book. I have read that we may be letting ourselves become so self-absorbed and self-sufficient that Jesus is, essentially, no longer needed. Complacent Christians. That’s why Jesus was knocking at the door in Revelation! He wanted to be back in their lives! 

As Christians, Jesus was, and is, knocking at the door of our eyes and ears as well as our heart. I ask you: Are we seeing and are we listening? Let’s reflect on how we might answer the knock on the door. It’s Jesus. And he wants our attention. Let him come in and be with us!

Heavenly Father, help us to hear the knock on the door. Help us to be unassuming as we interpret why there’s a knock on the door. Open our minds as we reflect on reminders, convictions and challenges. We are not lazy; but we may be comfortable! Be persistent with us! In Your Son’s name, Amen.

Rick Meidel, his wife Natalie and daughter Sarah have attended St. John UMC since 2018. Rick can be reached at meidy@me.com or 832-418-9200.

Devotional 9.9.20 Betty Hertz

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” - Psalm 118:24

Usually this verse has a calming and hopeful effect on me.  I often share it with others and talk about having hope even in challenging times because God has given this day. But as I reflected on this recently, my mind wandered to these questions: How can I rejoice when the world is turned upside down daily? How can I rejoice as I examine my own racism?

To seek a better understanding, I read some Bible commentary about verse 24. One reading talked about the day being referred to is Resurrection Day - Easter - when anxiety and sorrow turned to rejoicing as God’s promise was fulfilled.

Well … that changed my thinking - I believe God wants me to start the day by taking a deep breath and listen for His  plan for me today.

God gives me each day to follow His path and gives me the skills to face challenges with His help - if I seek it.

On reflection I found some answers:  When I am feeling this is another day of upside-down living, I am reminded that God wraps His loving arms around me when I am anxious and gives me peace.

As I exam my racism, I know God has put people and books in my life to help me examine my actions and to learn new ways of Christian living.

I know there are no guarantees of constant happiness and carefree living; but God guarantees each day is given to me to make a positive difference and God guarantees I am never alone. That is a lot to rejoice about!

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your patience with us. Help us turn to you first in the morning and to rejoice in the gifts you have given us.  Continue to show us Your way so that we can be more Christian in our daily living. In Jesus name. Amen

Betty Hertz is a longtime member of St John UMC, a Stephen Minister and a member of SPRC. When not doing volunteer work, she is playing with her three goofy dogs.

A Prayer for Labor Day

God, today we give you thanks for millions of laborers who have worked to build this nation. From ditch diggers to road pavers, from machinists to mechanics, from builders to demolitionists, we give you thanks for the contribution of all who have contributed to this great land.

Likewise Lord, we recognize that this nation was built on some labor that we'd like to conveniently forget. The institution of slavery, coerced and uncompensated labor, was a reality in our nation only two to three generations ago; one hundred and fifty-five years ago abolition finally outlawed the evil practice of owning other human beings and forcing them into servitude and labor.

And while we've come some distance from that time Lord, it is clear that divisions still exist in our nation. Open our eyes Lord to see one another as your beloved creation, human beings, created in your image, of sacred value and worth. Help us to not be divided by color of skin. Help us to not be divided by political persuasion. Help us not be divided by ideas, but unite us in love, by the power of your grace.

Work in our hearts to foment a commitment of laboring towards a future where the goal is not an absence of racism, but that the goal would be a world that is marked by anti-racism, such that we can live into our baptismal vows fully of resisting evil, injustice, and oppression, in whatever forms they present themselves.

~ Pastor Andy Bartel