For Such A Time as This September 1, 2020 – Dennis Lohr

 

To the Good Folk of the Palmyra Church of the Brethren,

Joys and Concerns

If you have a joy or concern you would like us to share and pray about, please call, text or email it to me.  If you would like it included in our Sunday Worship sharing and prayer time, please share it with me that week by Friday morning.

Pray for:

·    Michele Gottshall asks for prayers for all school employees and students as they begin this unusual school year.

Thank You: 

To all who call others to check in on them and share our emails and devotions.

Today’s Devotion:

I have written today’s devotion.  I hope it reminds you of some people who nurtured your faith, and perhaps, even the people that nurtured their faith.

Shalom, Dennis

Scripture - 2 Timothy 1:5

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.

Thoughts

In his letter to the young Timothy, Paul compliments Timothy on his “sincere faith,” but reminds him that it is a faith that first lived in his mother and his grandmother.  In similar fashion Isaac Newton, in 1675, is often credited with the phrase, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”  In this way the great Isaac Newton gave proper credit to the pioneers of science whose ideas he had built upon.  Interestingly though, the idea of standing on the shoulders of giants did not originate with Isaac Newton.  In some form, it has been attributed to Bernard of Chartres in the 12^th century, and prior to that it came from Greek mythology.

Last week, when my maternal Aunt Judy passed away, her siblings (my mom, aunts and uncle) asked if I would officiate the graveside service.  Sally and I traveled to Virginia yesterday to honor my Aunt Judy and to honor the request of her sisters and brother.  It was a chance for me to return something to those who have nurtured my faith, but not only them, also the faith of my grandparents and great grandparents.  These good souls, and others that the writer of Hebrews refers to as our “cloud of witnesses,” by their simple and faith-filled living, nurture our spirits in ways that we seldom think about. 

In my comments about my Aunt Judy I shared this Beatitude of Jesus that came to mind when I thought about her personality, life and faith – “Blessed are pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  Or rephrased from the perspective on one standing on the shoulders of others, “Blessed are we when we can see God through someone whose heart is pure.”

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for the generations of shoulders that our human family stands upon – not shoulders trampled upon, but shoulders loving offered to lift others a little bit higher.  May we live accordingly.  Please be with all students, teachers, school employees and parents who seek to nurture and be nurtured every day.  Amen.