From the Heart of Pastor Jacqueline A. Thompson
put on a pious long face and parade around solemnly in black? Do you call that fasting, a fast day that I, God, would like? “This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.” [Isaiah 58:5-7] - Deuteronomy 22:1-4
- 1 Samuel 16:7
- Isaiah 58:10-11
- Joel 2:12-13
- Matthew 6:16-18
- Philippians 3:10; 4:4-9
March 25, 2019
Dear Allen Temple Family and Friends,
Our Lenten Series continues this week with the theme of Prayer with Reverend Nannette "Robin" Walker.
Blessings to you!
Reverend Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson
Assistant Pastor
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“Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God.” [Isaiah 58:1-2]
It is in prayer that we can cry aloud to God. It is in prayer that we delight in approaching God. The Bible goes on to say many things about prayer. Prayer is the way that we communicate our thoughts, needs, and desires to God. There are many reasons we pray, and there are even formulaic ways in which we pray – head bowed, eyes closed, hands raised, prostrate at an altar, etc. In whichever way prayer happens, know that our omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God hears every word, silent prayer, and pities every groan.
Having the privilege of prayer, I thought that perhaps my observance this year would be an affirmative act to change my behavior or my being as a follower of Christ. So, I purposed to pray differently during this Lenten season than I normally pray. I will pray with intention. I will pray more from my heart than from my head. I will pray more from my heart and less from my ego. I will not pray seeking praise but seeking to be more like Jesus. And, while praying each day I will act with more mercy and I will act with more justice. For what does the LORD require of you? “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly] with your God” [Micah 6:8 NIV]. Each day during this Lenten season I will strive to be more patient and just a little gentler in my interactions with others. In praying each day, I will seek to imitate Christ. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! [Philippians 2:5-8 NIV]. If Jesus was willing to empty himself of divinity, shouldn’t we be able to empty ourselves of vainglory, of self-importance, of self-interest, of pride, of ego? Remember Paul’s words to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances…”
March 18, 2019
Dear Allen Temple Family and Friends,
Our Lenten Series continues this week with the theme of Suffering with Reverend Adumasa Adeyemi.
Blessings to you!
Reverend Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson
Assistant Pastor
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It isn't what happens to us that causes us to suffer; it's what we say to ourselves about what happens. Pema Chodron
We Are Not Left Alone
“Eli-Eli-Lama-Sabachthani”, that is “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”(Matt. 27:45). These are the immortal words shouted by Jesus as he dies on the cross. Jesus’ suffering reminds us of what it means to feel forsaken, without help in a desperate situation. Jesus’ death was not only physical but heightened by his feelings of being rejected and discarded; as a human, he cried out in his suffering.
We too cry out in our suffering, it is a part of our lived experience; none of us will escape it. We will all experience some form of pain; it may be personal relationships, physical or financial; it may be societal as in racism, sexism or injustice. My point is not to be pessimistic but to speak of our human existence as did Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. I am mindful of a woman grieving the loss of her brother, “His life was not easy and he suffered so long. Chaplain, why does it always have to end like this?” There are no easy answers for these great existential questions.
In the midst of suffering, platitudes, pseudo-empathizing, lesson learners and advice-givers, though well intentioned rings hollow. In the throes of suffering we are often confused, angry, emotional distraught, psychologically exhausted, physically drained and spiritually spent. It is imperative to remember “It isn't what happens to us that cause us to suffer; it's what we say to ourselves about what happens.” It is what we say where our strength comes from, what we say where hope can be found, it is what we say that God is as close as our very breath.
March 11, 2019
Dear Allen Temple Family and Friends,
Our Lenten Series continues this week with the theme of Sacrifice with Reverend
Warren Long.
Blessings to you!
Reverend Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson
Assistant Pastor
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“
What Shall I Render
What shall I render unto the Lord for all of His goodness? What shall I render unto the Lord for all of His mercy and grace?” As I write, in my head I am singing “What Shall I Render” which seems germane as I contemplate Lent and Isaiah 58. Our focal scripture (Isaiah 58:5-7) tells us to fast which we recognize as a form of religious sacrifice. Sacrifice is defined as “a loss or something you give up, usually for the sake of a better cause”. For many Lent is a time of contemplation, fasting, and prayer.
Last Wednesday, some made vows to abstain from something for 40 days as a symbolic sacrifice commemorating Jesus’s restorative sacrifice for us. That thing may be desserts, shopping, or meat on Fridays, but God wants our fasting to be more than a mere gesture. It should come from the heart in gratitude to God and as an expression of worship. “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” Yesterday a friend said, “I’m trying to be more patient during Lent” and a bell went off and the goal of sacrifice suddenly resonated with me: Sacrifice must cost us something and benefit someone else. So... what shall I render?
I am reminded of a classmate who would joke each Lent that he was giving up alligator wrestling or skydiving for Lent. While his humor was the folly of youth, it reinforces for me that sacrifice during this time should be meaningful and beneficial. So, I am having to rethink my No Dessert thing which was okay on its face and as a start, but I now desire to do something more meaningful and to render a true sacrifice. Like being patient, kind, loving, and aforgiving which calls us to be better versions of ourselves and will benefit others. Particularly those who would otherwise be caught in the wake of our ire and discord. Just better! “You will know a tree by its fruit.”
March 6, 2019
Dear Allen Temple Family and Friends,
I was asked a few weeks ago if I intended to do a Lenten Devotional as I have in previous years. My initial reaction was non-committal at best. After all, there is so much going on personally and professionally. The time, energy, and focus required to write critically and to reflect spiritually along with the vulnerability of sharing did not appear inviting to me at all. Then again yesterday, a staff member inquired, “Pastor Jackie, are you giving up Starbucks this year?” She shared she was going to try and give up profanity but made me no promises. We all laughed and continued our work. But her inquiry stayed with me. I have learned throughout my faith journey that God often speaks in unconventional ways, and my task is to stay attuned and responsive to God's voice. So, I write.