bjinside

Dragons or Dreams?

2010-12-30T10:40:00.000-05:00

I have heard that the old map makers would draw maps as far out as they had explored, and then when they reached the endpoint of their exploration, they would write on the edge of the map, "Beyond this, there may be dragons." Although they'd never seen a dragon, they were afraid of the uncharted, the unknown.
At the turning of the year, we can choose to imagine the possibilities for doing good, loving well, seeing the potential in others, and viewing life as a glass half full. Or,we can look ahead with uncertainty of the unknown, the uncharted days ahead. We can circle our wagons, clutch our possessions, tighten our control on whatever; we can live each day in relative fear. God knows there is evidence to lead in this direction.

We can plan well, but we know how that goes; we can make decisions but not control the outcomes. Our times have taught us the meaning of "web" - and it may be the main metaphor of our current human condition. Like it or not, we are connected to strangers who with a snap of their fingers can change our life. Our thoughtful strategies, our carefully mapped out plans are pawns on the global chessboard. So the question is, shall we see dragons or dreams?

You may have your future mapped out. Good for you. I have some plans too, and I hope they work out. But beyond the plans and the hope, I remember the promise Jesus gave to his friends as he left them standing near Jerusalem: "I am with you always, to the end of the age."
It's that promise that tips the scale for me.
Here's to the New Year. May God bring blessing to you, peace in your home, and the vision to see dreams, not dragons in 2011.
Grace and peace,
Bill

Kissing the Joy

2010-07-07T12:40:00.000-04:00

Can you tell me why some days overflow with joy while others are humdrum at best, and the pits at worst? July 5th - an extra day in a magnificent weekend; should have been one of those joyful days, with nothing big planned...rest, relaxation, a small household project, topped off by a White Caps game with good friends...pretty much the good life. No complaints; all good. but in the grand scheme of things, it came and went as expected. Some days, like July 5, you are just glad that nothing went wrong to spoil the plans. So be it.

Then there was yesterday, July 6. The extra day off on Monday set Tuesday's agenda - picking up loose ends from Sunday. I figured a day in the office was in order; mail from the long weekend, the last few Annual Conference details to wrap up, phone calls to return, a worship service to build...pretty much the normal routine of life. Same old, same old...

Then, bit by bit, unplanned and unannounced, joy arrived: (1) A phone call made to the insurance company produced the good news -- more reimbursement than expected for items stolen on Palm Sunday evening; (2) An email from a young couple whose wedding I officiated in 2003, asking about baptism of their first child; (3) A trip to Novi to see our two grandsons, Brendan who played baseball and Karson who just played...oh - our son Nick was there too. All an incredible gift; (4) Finally, at the end of the day, an 11th-inning walk-off home run by Johnny Damon to keep the Tigers alone in first place. Even the one planned event - the trip to Novi - provided it's own unpredictable moments of joy - a fist-bump after Brendan's come-from-behind victory and an exuberant hello-hug from Karson, complete with dusty hand-prints all over my shirt. The kind of hand prints you want to frame and hang on your wall.

Taken together, these two days are proof positive of the Yiddish proverb: Mann traoch, Gott Lauch (Man plans, God laughs).

William Blake has a little poem, "Eternity" where he talks about how a too-tight grip on life destroys it. His advice is to release our grip and "kiss the joy as it flies."

"He who binds to himself a joy, does the winged life destroy.
He who kisses the joy as it flies, lives in eternity's sunrise."

We hold tightly to life and we find disappointment; we destroy the winged life. But if we kiss the joy as it flies through our experiences, our thoughts, our coming and going...every such moment is a sunrise.

I'm a planner, an organizer, a designer of much in my life, which is to say that I must leave God laughing a lot. One thing I know: When the God-given joy flies unexpectedly in, I can cling desperately to it, freezing the moment for future reference like a fist-bump, or dusty hand-prints on my shirt. Or, I can kiss it and let it go, knowing there will be another sunrise simply because that's how grace works. I think I'll give grace a chance.

2010-07-05T11:04:00.001-04:00

This is My Song
With gratitude to Georgia Harkness, ca. 1939.
United Methodist Hymnal, © 1989, The United Methodist Publishing House

“O God of all the nations…”
On this Independence Day I pray for the safety of those who serve in our armed forces, and for the safety of those who serve in other countries, including those who oppose us. As always, the front lines are those who either feel they have no other choice for a future than military service, or they are answering a call which they believe to be more compelling than anything else. They are doing their duty, and scripture commands that we support our governments. They cannot be asked to take scripture less seriously than those who choose another way to express it.

“But other hearts in other lands are beating…”
I continue to pray for an end to war, which is idolatry in its most violent expression. My heart aches for families separated and devastated by wars that have no justification, if war ever does. I pray for an end to the greed of leaders at home and abroad causing or allowing injustice, whether in our land or others, and an end to the hatred that is founded in fear of those who believe differently than I do. I pray that Christians, Muslims or Jews whose founders all share a common holy city, though they may not understand their Creator in the same way, will all work and pray for peace, guided by the God who is known through the rituals and symbols that were forged among the peoples of the middle east.

“But other lands have sunlight too, and clover…”
I pray for the homeless in our country, and for those forced to leave their homeland and families to become homeless in our nation. Whether they be legal or illegal by current political definition, people of faith are called to live under another Authority as well, and to welcome the sojourners, offering hospitality as if they are ‘angels’. One who walked with Jesus said, “Once we ourselves were not a people, but now we are God's people, by the mercy of God.” (1 Peter 2:10). God is merciful, and we are made in the image of God. So should we be merciful.

“Thy kingdom come, on earth thy will be done…”
I pray not that we return to some imagined “Christian nation’ of the past; that state is a revised memory of the true history of our beginnings. I do pray that we step boldly into the future as Godly people, for God is already there and awaits our faithful response to his leading. America at its best does not replicate the past, but imagines a better future, and strives forward to improve the conditions of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all of our people. We are called to be better than our past.

“Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him…”
I am a Christian, and I understand the power that comes from beyond me, without which I am nothing. I pray I will never be speechless about that power. But others whose religion is different than mine also know this power that comes from a source beyond, and I rejoice that we have this in common: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble”. (Psalm 46:1)

“and hearts united, learn to live as one…”
I am a Christian and a Citizen of the U.S., but that doesn't prevent me from recognizing and respecting the faith of those whose God is revealed in the culture and customs of Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, India, China, Japan, Thailand, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Latin America, or the Arctic Circle. I know in whom I have believed, yet I seek common ideals that bind me with other humans who seek the same peace.

“O hear my prayer, God of all the nations…”
I believe in Jesus Christ, who said he is the way, the truth and the life. I believe his way is among the greatest gifts humankind has received by grace, and that his way and his words have the power to lead all people into the presence of God. This Jewish carpenter did not establish a new religion (nor did his followers think it necessary), but instead he asked all of us to be transformed by God as our own religion guides us. He showed us the prophets of his faith as an example, and urged that we treat one another with justice, mercy, and humility; in fact he asked us only to love God and love our neighbor. (Matthew 22:37-39). Every religion at its best does that too. Imagine if we would all devote ourselves to it, and nothing else? Those without faith would be more convinced of the power of our prayer, and the vitality of our faith.

“myself I give thee; let thy will be done.”
On this Independence Day, I pray that I’ll always remember how dependent I am upon the grace of God, and upon those who join in the human endeavor to rise to the highest level of living possible – life in concert with the will of God. I pray that I will not forget to look for the places where God is making his will known, and that I, without fear or hesitation, freely and joyfully make that will my own. This is my song.

Bill Johnson
July 4, 2010

Good News in a Jar

2010-06-17T07:43:00.004-04:00

“Saying Grace”
Luke 7:39-50
June 13, 2010

Do you know this man?
He’s Armando Galarraga, a 28-yr. old pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. On Wednesday, June 2nd, he silenced the bats of 26 Cleveland Indians in a row. No one reached first base, 26 batters up, 26 batters down. He didn’t walk anybody; he didn’t hit anybody with a wild pitch…he threw about 80 pitches and with errorless defense by his teammates, including a phenomenal catch in center field by Austin Jackson…. He managed to send every batter back to the dugout with nothing but goose eggs in the score book.
Then the 27th batter – a rookie name Jason Donald who became a major leaguer on May 18th, hit a ground ball between first and second base. If you do the math, you can figure out that the 27th batter is the ninth batter in the line-up. You have to know that everyone in Comerica Park was thinking – this guy is batting ninth – he’s the least likely guy in the lineup today, to get on base..ground ball to the infield. This is a sure thing! History in the making – the first Perfect Game for the Detroit Tigers – ever! Tiger first baseman Miguel Cabrerra moved to his right and fielded it cleanly, turned and threw the ball perfectly to Galarraga who was covering first base. Galarraga caught the ball, stepped on first with his right foot, just before Donald’s left foot touched the base. The umpire, veteran Jim Joyce was in perfect position to make the call. “He’s out!” (picture of play at first base)
No, Joyce called him safe. Watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fStZ2sDPDeg
As is typical when there is a bad call in sports, most fans reacted with emotion. And all of that emotion this time was aggression; and it was directed toward Jim Joyce; I mean thousands of Twitter comments and blog posts flooding cyberspace, often expressing frustration with all manner of vulgarities. The next few hours were a powder keg of reaction, so much so that some raised questions about safety for umpire Jim Joyce.
But then, almost as quickly as it started, the pandemonium began to subside. What we later learned is that the umpire had gone quickly to his quarters beneath the stands at Comerica Park, watched the replay of his call, and realized how very wrong he was. He called for Galarraga to come to the umpire’s dressing room. Think about this…if you were Armando Galarraga, how would you have responded to the guy who had just ripped your name out of the history books? Well, he went. Galarraga went to see Jim Joyce, and there something happened.
Act of Grace #1: The one who blew it, asked for forgiveness from his victim. He said he was sorry.
Act of Grace #2: Galarraga accepted his apology. Despite the disappointment, he simply said he was very proud of his work at Comerica Park on that Wednesday evening, and that everyone, umpires included, make mistakes, and nobody’s perfect. Tiger Manager Jim Leyland also needs to be credited with stemming the tide against the umpire, because the next day, with Jim Joyce now behind the plate, when it was time to present the starting lineup cards to the home plate umpire, when Leyland could have taken the card himself, instead he sent – guess who – that’s right – Armando Galarraga to hand the lineup card to Joyce. [picture of Galarraga and Jim Joyce at home plate]
Act of Grace #3: Leyland wanted everyone in the stands, and everyone watching on TV, that Major League Baseball, in spite of all the bad press from steroids, gambling, astronomical salaries and other forms of hedonism…Leyland wanted us to know that some who make their living in professional sports have character. Some of them know about grace.
As I looked at the bible story for this week, I thought about this incident, because there are some places where the New Testament story and this current event do intersect.
Listen to this story told by Luke and paraphrased by Eugene Peterson in The Message, and then we’ll draw some contrasts:

[Luke 36-50, The Message]

Now let’s look at the places where these two stories intersect – a mistaken call by an umpire, and the story of a Pharisee’s dinner party.

Jesus is approached by a man of wealth and power – a Pharisee named Simon – with an invitation to dinner at his home. On the surface it sounds like an opportunity for Jesus to share the Good News with some powerful, influential people; a rare opportunity to rub elbows with movers and shakers. Think of the good that might come of this?
But as Luke unfolds this story, you begin to get the feeling that hospitality toward a young preacher is just not what Simon has in mind; Luke’s audience would see this: the invitation is not really a genuine offer of hospitality. What Simon is doing, in fact, is setting up Jesus for ridicule by his snobby house guests. He wants to display this interesting, quaint rural rabbi Jesus in front of his affluent friends. This could be good entertainment! Who knows what Jesus’ presence might add to this dinner party?
So the banquet begins…
it would have been served in the manner fashionable in the wealthiest homes of the city. There would be couches, with each guest supported on an elbow. His sandals would be removed for him, and the street dust and grime would be washed off.
Behind the couches, hidden in the shadows, would be outsiders permitted to approach the guests for – shall we say – “various “reasons”.
One of the outsiders is a woman who Luke describes as a “sinner.”
Everyone present, including the woman, knows that she is a sinner. In her self-awareness she is drawn to Jesus as one who offers forgiveness and hope. Jesus sees her as a child of God, and their encounter is an occasion for restoration in her life and a new beginning for her. Furthermore, he shames Simon for not doing for him what was the custom – removing his sandals, washing his feet, greeting him with a kiss of hospitality.
All of this is hard on Simon. He sees in the woman not a child of God but a threat to his good standing in the community. She is someone to avoid. Simon is not a bad man. He is anxious to do right, to be right, to be good. Mark Twain once said about someone, “he’s a good man in the worst sense of the word” and that phrase applies to Simon the Pharisee. His righteousness gets in the way. He is oblivious to the fact that he too is a sinner forgiven and healed by grace. He is unaware how he and this woman are connected –they are really a lot more alike than he can imagine. But he does not offer hospitality to Jesus and he judges the woman for who she appears to be. In his moral purity he shuts himself off from the grace Jesus offers, and from ever offering God’s grace to an outsider like this woman. Simon is the loser here, not the woman.
Simon's story is too often the church's story. And people who are like the woman in the story feel it. Do you know that there is a world of people like this woman, drawn to Jesus but who avoid the Church? Phillip Yancey tells the story of a friend of his in Chicago who worked with the poor in the city. His friend was visited once by a prostitute who was in dire straits. In order to support her drug habit she had been renting out her two-year old daughter for sex; she was homeless, sick, and unable to buy food for herself or her daughter. Yancey's friend asked if she had thought about going to a church for help, and the woman seemed horrified. “Church?! Why would I ever go there? I am already feeling terrible about myself. They'd just make me feel worse." She had experienced church as a place of judgment; anything but a place of radical hospitality.
In his commentary on this story Fred Craddock wonders, “Where does one go when told to go in peace as Jesus instructs this woman to do at the end of our story?” “What she needs," Craddock says, "is a community of forgiven and forgiving sinners. The story," he says, "screams the need for a church, one that says you are welcome here." She had such a welcome from Jesus.
What about our church? I wonder if in our lesser moments we have been slow to be generous, like Simon the Pharisee, who needed grace just as much as the woman but didn’t know it. By our silence or our failure to offer Good News to those who most need it, are we letting people outside our walls come to the conclusion that our message is like the thousands of name-calling, umpire bashing “Tweeters” who in their judgmental condemnation of this very human mistake, fail to see their own need for grace?
Or is our message like the one Jesus preached to the woman?
Here is the test: Where and when have we seen examples of extravagant, generous giving in our community? Because wherever we have seen it, we have seen the evidence of God’s grace coming before. There is no other evidence of God’s grace than acts of generosity. And where generosity is missing, folks are just plain failing to see that God is at work in their midst. They are missing the mark.
It is nearly impossible for most of us to comprehend a God who forgives without merit, who loves us anyway, who keeps calling us home to the fullness of life that only God can give. But we have to try, because that’s what people do who want to follow the way of Jesus, and name God’s grace at work. Christ-followers grant forgiveness, provide opportunities to turn that forgiveness into extravagant generosity on our part – or to use the image from a really good motion picture - to Pay it Forward – in order to risk offering great love. This is so much better than standing in judgment.
We can yield the fruits of forgiveness and be messengers of great mercy and grace.
We can be vessels of great mercy and grace.
We can be at least as gracious as a 28-yr-old pitcher named Galarraga.

The Park's Got Talent

2010-02-09T07:27:00.002-05:00

Do you know that churches have stories? They do. Congregations carry in their collective memory, the major events of their history. Those events help give a congregation its identity – it tells them and others who they are. Often they are referred to as “watershed” events, because they act as a turning point, a crucial dividing line for the church….

wa·ter·shed

Pronunciation: \wȯ-tər-shed

Function: noun

Date: 1803

1 a : divide 2a b : a region or area bounded peripherally by a divide and draining ultimately to a particular watercourse or body of water
2 : a crucial dividing point, line, or factor : turning point

— watershed adjective

Dear Friends,

We had guests visiting in worship on February 7 who were there because our family was here from Virginia. My sister’s friend since junior high drove Sunday morning from Hickory Corners, Michigan with her husband and daughter, for a brief reunion with Karey and her family. To find Wyoming Park and the details about worship, Kim visited our web site. Afterwards Kim spoke about her first impression of Wyoming Park –our web site. Her words were striking, “You sure do have a lot of things going. You have lots of groups, and service projects.”

In that remark, Kim was telling our story.

I believe that Saturday, February 6 will stand as a watershed event. Something crucial happened in the ramping up, the preparation and the production of “The Park’s Got Talent – a Spaghetti Dinner and Variety Show for Missions”.

It wasn’t the meal, delicious and plentiful though it was.

It wasn’t the emphasis on missions. We have been mission-minded throughout our 98-year history, and in fact Wyoming Park United Brethren Church was founded as a “mission outpost” by another congregation in 1912. Since then every major building project (1914, 1952, 1958 and 2002) was in response of a desire to serve the neighborhood better. You can read about this in the minutes of meetings at “The Park” as early as 1912.

It wasn’t even the celebration of the extraordinary gifts that God has given this congregation through our people. This too, we have always known.

No…it was something more than these, and it all came together in Kim’s remark. “You have lots of groups and service projects.”

Kim – an outsider to our church until worship on February 7 – was able to see our story from afar, that small group life and service to God and others are the hallmarks of our life together.

Worship is critical of course. It pulls us together weekly to celebrate God’s goodness and look for inspiration to lead us into the next week, or new direction, or a new life.

But more than worship, our congregation exists to connect our people to God, to one another and to the world.

This watershed event – “The Park’s Got Talent” was one example of who we are. It mirrors for us and those who see us, a glimpse of God’s hope and dream for this church. It is both an example of our vision, and an example of how we carry it out.

In years ahead, members can tell their friends how our congregation emphasizes mission in service to our neighbors: Kids Hope USA, Habitat for Humanity, South End Community Outreach Ministries, the Wyoming Park Home Renewal Team, and Cass Community United Methodist Church and Social Services.

They will tell their children they are the Church right now, like Andrew and Sarah Pyper who charmed us with a magic show.

They will tell how Nick Stanford sang and played above the challenges that most of us will never face, and who lives life to the fullest in spite of visual impairment.

They will smile about groups that crooned oldies but goodies and David’s Harp masked as jungle animals, and Tricia, Nicole and Jessie crying over the “Leader of the Pack”. They will remember Trevor and Christina who “Don’t Stop Believing”; they will roar when they think of Dave, Dan and Steve – those hilarious “Men in Tights”! They will giggle over the antics of our fun-loving MC, Robert Eckert, whose brain is so big it can bend an arrow!

And of course, they will talk about the delicious spaghetti dinner prepared by Cindy Lavengood and friends and the Silent Auction engineered by Judy Johnson that capped off the fund raiser to raise the proceeds over $1000!

And the best is this: While they tell this story, they will be remembering that it wasn’t about us. It was about pulling our people together to show God’s care for neighbors.

There is our story, right there. This watershed moment crystallized our life together, our vision and our hope for the future.

Once we dwelt upon rough days in our past, and we may see more ahead. But when those days come, this congregation will be different than we were. Once, we weren’t sure who we were. We played the victim when difficulties led to fractures; we licked our wounds and blamed events and people for our plight. We moaned, “If only there were enough people and enough money to be what we know deep down we can be.”

But February 7 we changed our tune and said, “Enough.” On February 7, 2010 the turning point came, a crucial dividing point, a line.

From now on, when someone asks about Wyoming Park, a witness will say, “that’s the church that has enough resources, enough enthusiasm, enough vision, enough gifts, to accomplish enough of whatever they believe God is leading us to accomplish. They do it through lots of groups and service projects.”

The vision needs “legs” now. It needs to be spelled out in detail. We need a mission statement that says how we intend to keep the vision alive – how we will be what we say we are.

Think about this story. This spring, I would like a small group to assume the responsibility for drafting a vision statement that says clearly who we are. The next step is then to outline the things we will do faithfully to make sure the vision stays alive. That will be our mission.

From then on, everything we do, every ministry we try, every outreach that we choose for service will be aligned with our vision and our mission. Let’s get started. It's watershed time.

Bill

The Woman at the Well

2010-02-02T09:18:00.001-05:00

John 4:1-26 (The Message)

January 31, 2010

Our worship series, characterized by the stories of selected women in the Bible is nearly over.

We have retold the stories of these women with the hope of answering the question, what do their stories teach us about God, and about God’s relationship to us?

Each of these women in her own way has contributed to our understanding.

From Lot’s wife we learned that God is calling us forward and sometimes looking back endangers our future.

From Ruth we learned that faith can be far more tolerant and open than we often understand it to be.

From Esther, we saw that God calls us to holiness, and doing good through whatever circumstances present themselves to us, is a way to be holy.

From Martha and Mary, we saw two sides of the same coin, and that whether we identify with Martha’s service or Mary’s desire to know more – it doesn’t matter; it’s the peace of Christ in heart, and mind and soul that is the better part.

Today our story is about an encounter that Jesus has with a Samaritan woman, and she too has something to teach us.

If I could change one thing about myself that would, I think, make a huge difference in my life and in the lives of others, it would be to see people as Jesus sees them. I would like to be able to accept people the way Jesus does in this story.

The reality is that I don’t work that hard at it with those around me - people I know casually as neighbors, as colleagues and even you – the people that I ought to know a lot about…

Living next door to us is a young family, Darrin, Theresa and their daughter Sienna, who Judy tells me is almost 5 years old. Notice, I said “Judy tells me”…See?

They have lived next door to us for I imagine about six years or more, the entire life of the little girl at any rate; and yet I can’t remember the most significant event in their family life beyond their union as a couple: the birth date of Sienna.

We have watched them come and go; we have seen grandma and grandpa drive up for visits, staying for days at a time; seen Sienna and her daddy in the yard working on landscaping, going for walks; Judy has baked Christmas goodies for them, and Darrin has been a good neighbor and taken his snow blower down the sidewalk in front of our house.

But I don’t know where Darrin or Theresa works, or the kind of work they do. I couldn’t remember Sienna’s name as I was preparing this sermon.

It is a little disappointing to me that I can’t tell you more about them.

And when it all comes down, I haven’t tried very hard to know them. And if this is true for neighbors who live next door to each other, how much more is it true for people who live a continent or more away?

What about you? Are there people that you see, but don’t really see?

I imagine there are several reasons that we don’t see each other as Jesus saw the Samaritan woman:

· We lead very busy lives

· We have our most important relationships to care for: our family and closest friends, and that takes energy and time in the healthiest of families

· We have met some people and have decided that they are people we can do without; either we don’t have that much in common with them, or perhaps in moments of brutal honesty, we just don’t like them very much and aren’t willing to spend the effort to change that.

But that is not the way of Christ.

Jesus' walk into Samaria and his talk with the woman at the well call attention to his way of seeking to know people; and this particular story shows us Jesus reaching out to someone who was really outside his normal circle.

Just look: He was in territory that was considered off-limits, and he was talking to someone he wasn’t supposed to. He could hardly have picked anyone with a lousier reputation for conversation – a Samaritan, a woman, and someone with a history that is right out of Hollywood.

But given the opportunity, Jesus built a bridge where there was a wall.

Jesus has always done that.

You would think this would be nothing but a tremendous victory for Jesus.

The truth is the whole thing drove the religious establishment crazy – the fact that Jesus spoke to her, drew her out, and revealed the truth of his identity to her.

What’s more, in John’s Gospel, this woman then becomes the first evangelist – one who proclaims the good news of the Messiah’s coming. Did you get that? The first missionary of Jesus in John’s gospel, is not one of his disciples; it is a woman who was branded untouchable by her own community.

Let’s look at what’s going on here.

When Jesus left the Judean countryside and headed for Galilee, John tells us he “had to go through Samaria.”

Geographically speaking, that just wasn’t so. The more common travel route north and south for Jews in Jesus’ day would have been to follow the Jordan River valley, where there would have been ample supply water and food along the way. It made no sense to head for the desert, with rocky and hilly terrain, when there was a perfectly smooth route through more travel-friendly ground to the Galilee.

John is telling us, the need for Jesus to go through Samaria was a missional one. God’s mission in the world sent Jesus on this path. He needed to go through Samaria in order to build a bridge with some of God’s children who were to be included in the realm of God’s love no less than the so-called chosen people.

Break it down like this: Jesus knew something that we are only beginning to see in our age. He knew that the planet is really quite a small place.

In his book, The Hungering Dark, Frederick Buechner compares humanity to a giant spider web:

If you touch it anywhere, you set the whole thing trembling .... As we move around this world and as we act with kindness, perhaps, or with indifference, or with hostility, toward the people we meet, we too are setting the great spider web a-tremble. The life that I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place and time my touch will be felt. Our lives are linked. No man [no woman] is an island .... (Frederick Buechner, The Hungering Dark [New York: Seabury Press, 1969], 45-46)

I would like to be able to see people as Jesus does, and see that every person I meet is someone whom God loves, and wants to be part of the wondrous human family.

I would like to see people as Jesus does and accept people wherever they are, and see the potential for common life instead of seeing the barriers that need to be overcome.

I would like to see worship as Jesus does; I would like to see the day when $50,000 of our annual income does not go to a mortgage.

Can you imagine what even half of that money could do, spread throughout our budget for ministry and mission?

Dream for just a moment, about those funds being devoted to serving the people of greater Grand Rapids and beyond, who are hungry, thirsty, homeless, friendless; who are without proper health care, and who need more educational services than our legislators are willing to devote to them.

Can you dream about that?

It’s hard to dream that, because I just don’t see people as Jesus saw that Samaritan woman.

I filter every person through human terms --- race, culture, economics, religion, gender orientation – and I can’t seem to get past those surface differences, and get to the spirit and truth, get to the sacredness of human beings who seem different than me.

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, that “…the time is coming - it has, in fact, come - when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter”.

What if I really acted as if I believe that?

Then wouldn’t I see others without that filter, with an open mind and heart? Wouldn’t I look for what new experience God can bring to me?

When it comes to worship, wouldn’t I try to see the wonderful variety in the ways that people adore and give praise to God; the many ways they approach God in prayer; the myriad names they have for God?

Instead, I am afraid that I take the Jordan River valley route, bypassing some of God’s children that are just too different, too strange, to far outside my comfort zone.

If I could see people as Jesus does, and accept people wherever they are, then I might ask myself who is the Samaritan woman that Jesus would have me offer the living water?

What do I think this Samaritan woman teaches us? I think she teaches us that the planet is really quite small.

Those who have ears; let them hear.

Scripture Sisters: Martha and Mary

2010-01-28T11:17:00.001-05:00

Luke 10:38-42

January 24, 2010

We’ve been visiting some Bible stories about women this month to spice up the post-Christmas season. In case you’ve missed any of it and want to see what we’ve said about Lot’s Wife, Ruth, and Esther, they are all here on my blog.

Today our subject moves from the figurative “sisterhood” we’ve had as our subject matter, and goes to a pair of literal sisters. At least they are called that. Judging from the story in Luke, and also in John, to call them sisters may be stretching the point. I like what Maya Angelou says:

‘I don't believe an accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers. It makes them siblings, gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at.’

So whether Martha and Mary are sisters according to this definition, I’ll leave for someone else to decide. The fact is they did apparently share parentage, and lived in the same house. We don’t really know if they worked at sisterhood or not.

So on to our story…

Modern readers often regard Martha as a "homemaker" type of woman, concerned with household details. Some also view her as hospitable, a highly esteemed practice in Jesus' day. Mary often is seen as a more scholarly or spiritual woman, with a feminist personality. She sat at Jesus' feet, a scene that has portrayed by painters such as Tintoretto, and as was the custom of the day that means that she was his student or disciple.

Let’s start with Martha. I think you know this woman.

Johannes Vermeer has painted Martha as the perfect hostess, serving Jesus.

She’s the first century equivalent of another “Martha” of whom you have heard.

When Martha and Mary were growing up, Martha was her parents’ shining star.

They loved how she helped out around the house, and she was praised often for it. She took to cooking like a fish to water.

She didn’t mind the housework, because, frankly, the attention she got was far more than Mary ever got.

Not only that, but in this first century Palestinian culture, the primary goal for young girls – like it or not – was to snag a man who would take her as his wife, promising her a future of security. All she had to do was be a good wife and she wouldn’t have to worry about having a roof over her head.

So when Jesus arrived, she had swept the house, baked bread for the table, lit a fire under the kettle, and had something cooking that filled the house with a pleasing aroma.

Notice how Luke tells us she greets Jesus at the door of her home (note – “her” home). In a culture that put a premium on hospitality, Martha was simply the “hostess with the most-ess”. She was surely on her way to a secure life in this world and the next.

Mary is a different story. Probably younger than Martha, while Mary was growing up her head was filled with ideas; she listened to the conversations of the men no doubt, often to the dismay of her older sister who wondered why she wouldn’t help out, and worse, wondered if she was going to get them both in trouble for her behavior.

At the same time I’m guessing that Martha may have envied her younger sibling, wondering how come she – Martha – never got to just relax at the feet of Jesus. Put that alongside the normal sibling rivalry that exists in every household with more than one child, and you get an older sister who was following the script, causing no trouble for anyone, and a younger sister who was at the beach with her friends, carefree and may have been labeled just a tad lazy. In terms of eternal life, her culture would have put their money on her sister Martha, not Mary. There were young men with egos strong enough to go one-on-one with a female scholar. Jesus certainly was that – but why would any young woman want to risk competition, if there was no real need to compete as a scholar in that culture?

Before we go off the deep end with this stereotyping, it’s worth mentioning that in The Women’s Bible Commentary Jane Schaberg tells us that Mary’s academic tendencies were not really all that radical, and Jesus’ behavior toward her wasn’t all that risky –because in fact there is research that indicates women could be students and disciples in that day learning the Torah alongside their brothers and fathers at least while they were young. And remember, in this story, it’s safe to picture Martha and Mary as either adolescents, or young adults in their twenties. Martha is old enough in Luke’s telling of the story that she is the head of the house, and we don’t know anything of their parents.

¹Jane Schaberg, "Luke" The Women's Bible Commentary, ed. Carol A. Newsom and Sharon H. Ringe, (Louisville: John Knox/Westminster Press, 1992), p. 289.

That said, it is still obvious that these sisters were near opposites and opens the door to speculating about Mary; in any event she was apparently more at home with the Torah than the teapot. Can you say “feminist”?

The bottom line of Luke is this: Jesus gently rebukes Martha for being "worried and distracted" by her many tasks and her resentment of Mary's behavior. Jesus tells her that she has lost her focus; she needs only one thing. And what is that one thing?

Let’s hold off on the answer for a few moments.

There is something else to consider as well, and that is that this story from Luke is only one version of the lives of Martha and Mary.

While Luke has the more popular version, there is a story in the gospel of John about these two sisters, and to muddy the water a little, let’s look at John’s story for just a moment.

The first difference you notice is that John starts his story as if it is about Lazarus – “a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany” and then adds “the village of Mary, and her sister Martha.” John has already signaled his bias about the sisters, putting the finishing touches on his thought by giving Mary a tagline: “Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair.”

Don’t you just love the way the gospels have these subtle nuances?

John then tells us the sisters send for Jesus, but he doesn’t come right away, and Lazarus dies. By the time Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus has been dead four days.

Martha comes running to meet Jesus, but notice that she is an assertive, well-spoken woman with deep faith. After complaining about his tardiness, Martha affirms her belief that even now God will do anything Jesus asks. Jesus says to Martha, “Do you believe I am the resurrection and the life?” Martha says “Yes, I do.” Meanwhile, as they are talking, Mary stays at home.

Now it gets interesting. Martha then runs back to the house and fetches Mary, telling her privately that Jesus is asking for her.

Where did that come from? I read John chapter 11 back and forth, and Jesus didn’t say that in the story, but John puts the words in Martha’s mouth. Was this John’s way of adding something that favors the relationship between Jesus and Mary? Or was it Martha’s way of including Mary? Did Martha want Mary to become the student and disciple here? In other words, was Martha saying to Mary, “I can’t figure him out; maybe you can. So go, greet him and see what he plans to do.”

So now what?

As we’ve been asking all along with regard to the women in our series, ‘what do we learn from their stories about God, and about God’s relationship to us?’

Lets first say this: there is nothing in either version of the gospels to suggest that Mary had the better path to faith. When it came to their faithfulness, Martha’s personality appears to be more suited to “doing”, and Mary’s personality more toward “being.” So be it. In faith, those are two sides of the same coin. So, (and if you Mary’s have been wondering what to do with the insert inside the bulletin, here’s where you can write in: In faith, Martha and Mary were equals.

Some of you have been resonating with Martha’s personality. She is your patron saint. You are first in line when an appeal is made. When help is needed, you sign up – it doesn’t matter what the occasion is. You don’t care so much for meetings; in fact your secret thought is that they are a waste of time. You may pray formally and read the Bible on occasion because, well, those practices are pretty important pieces of anybody’s faith journey. But study and prayer are not your favorite forms of spiritual growth. You are more likely to pursue acts of compassion and mercy that require hands-on ministry. Your gifts are employed in service, projects often requiring physical effort. You are completely happy at letting others plan worship, write policies, discuss how the budget lines up with priorities, and so forth. You are essential in the life of the congregation that believes in good works as an expression of faith. What’s more, and here is where you Mary’s can fill in the blank on your bulletin insert, Number 2: you share a gift for faith in service

Some of you have been resonating with Mary. You love the cognitive form of learning. When you see the words “Bible study” or prayer group, you start salivating. You love to bisect the bible, or hear it done; the characters of the Old and New Testaments are more like companions to you than historical figures. You want to know their personalities as much as their deeds. When it comes to prayer, you are dead serious in practice, moving through your daily routines with a constant awareness of being connected to God. You sometimes count your breaths per minute as prayers, and you secretly wonder how some people get through the day without pausing, reflecting, perhaps closing their eyes and breathing deeply. When it’s your turn to serve in the church or outside, you faithfully fulfill your obligation as a devoted disciple, all the while quietly retreating to whatever place in your mind that you call your sanctuary. Your gifts are employed in leading prayer, teaching others about faith, attendance in worship and holding up others in prayer. Meetings to you are an opportunity for spiritual growth as you connect with God and others through discernment, conferencing and dialogue. I know you’ve been waiting with baited breath for this, so in the blanks for sentence number 3 on your insert please write that Mary is the model of faith “through knowing.”

As some of you are already thinking, the truth of the matter is that none of us are totally like Martha, or totally like Mary. We are probably one of them some of the time, but never one of them all of the time.

But each of us who wants to grow our spirituality is probably prone to one or the other personalities. Unless we are a tiny fraction of the population, we are not balanced perfectly in the middle; we favor one or the other.

And yet, Jesus told Martha that her sister Mary had chosen the better part. So, back to that question – what did he mean?

The answer is more clear in Luke than in John, and it’s because of the setting that Luke has painted in the verses that come before this story.

Perhaps you recognize the story of the Good Samaritan, which precedes this one in Luke’s Gospel. It begins with a question from a lawyer who wanted to know, in legalistic terms, the way to inherit eternal life. When Jesus replied to just keep the commandments – you know what they are – love God and love your neighbor – then you’ve done what is necessary.

The lawyer had Martha’s genes, and wanted to be certain he had done everything, so he pushed – “but, in legal terms,” he asks, “how do you define “neighbor?”

Jesus answers the way he often did, with a story, the point of which was that somebody who nobody thought deserved a place in heaven was an example of a neighbor. The disciple in the story was not the lawyer, but the Samaritan.

Mary’s ‘better part’ was that she had no limits on discipleship.

Martha needs to focus on loving God and her neighbor as herself – in other words – to be a disciple of Jesus. To do this one thing is to choose the better part, to be at peace with her unique version of discipleship. Peace in Christ isn’t found in one or the other, but in loving God and neighbor with whatever tools we have been given.

Like the Good Samaritan, Mary saw no barriers to discipleship.

Martha and Mary are both models of faith; they illustrate how people can live as servants of God; but Mary shows how to live without being confined by culture or gender, to embrace the promise and the possibility of life that is available through Jesus Christ.

Peace of heart and mind and soul; that’s the better part.

Esther: Not Your Trophy Kind of Queen

2010-01-20T03:13:00.002-05:00

Read Esther 7:1-10; and 9:20-22

If you have just joined us, we are spending these weeks after Christmas delving into the lives of some women characters of the Bible. We got to this place by having the Worship Design Team ask you for your favorite Bible stories, and then seeing a pattern emerge, choosing to focus them all on women. We started with an unnamed woman – Lot’s wife – and learned that there is a time for not looking back because it can be dangerous. Then last week, we retold the story of Ruth, the Moabite woman who stayed with her Hebrew mother-in-law Naomi when they were both widowed; returned to Bethlehem where she found favor with a noble leader named Boaz, married him, gave birth to Obed, who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, shepherd/king from Bethlehem.

Today our story is about Esther.

A story…

Back when I was about 30, I had a pastor friend who along with me was involved in youth ministry. But he messed up. I guess he thought he could get away with it, because things went along fine for him until a youth council weekend retreat where he was supposed to stay overnight with the youth, but he left with someone he wasn’t supposed to leave with. He let the kids down. What was worse, some of the kids were starting to figure out that he was messing up. Encouraging him to stop didn’t work, so to make a long story short, I blew the whistle. It was an agonizing decision to report him; but there were higher principles at stake – there were young, trusting teenagers whose feelings would be crushed. I couldn’t let it continue.

Homiletics magazine reminds us that in the December 2002 issue of Time Magazine, three women were celebrated as Persons of the Year. They were deemed "whistleblowers" by Time. You may remember their names: Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom, Colleen Rowley of the FBI, and Sherron Watkins of Enron. Their pictures appeared on the cover of the December 22, 2002 cover of Time Magazine, which chose these three as Persons of the Year for 2002. Each of these courageous women had circumstances not unlike Esther. They were in positions of authority, though not at the top. Each of them saw wrongdoing and reported it to a superior. Each of them risked safety, humiliation and career in speaking truth to power. They were heroes; each, a modern-day Esther; whistleblowers in our time.

Have you ever been there? Ever been in a position when you saw a wrong being done, and had the opportunity to stop it? Maybe not the same level as these women, but I’ll bet some of you know this experience first-hand. It’s not fun to bet there, is it? If you didn’t step up and put a stop to it, I’m guessing that you wanted to; you know what I’m talking about.

When we do manage to muster the courage, we take a deep breath and blow the whistle, not so much so we’ll feel better, but because it’s right.

Our Bible has a story about a whistle-blower. Her name was Esther.

When you look in the Bible for the book of Esther, you find it right after the Book of Nehemiah, and that’s important. Nehemiah’s book is about the rebuilding of Jerusalem when the Jews returned after the exile in Babylon. But not all the Jews returned. They had made lives for themselves in Babylon-now-Persia, and felt they had nothing pulling them back to Jerusalem. Esther’s story concerns Jews who remained in the Persian Empire after the exile was over. She was orphaned at an early age so her older cousin Mordecai adopted her and raised her as his daughter.

In 486 B.C., a king named Ahasuerus came to the Persian throne. He had a volatile temperament, not given to forethought. Some years into his reign, he banished his Queen Vashti because she wouldn’t parade her beauty in front of his friends. She embarrassed him. Vashti gets my vote for Woman of the Century, 500-400 B.C. Anyway, the king couldn’t stand to be without a trophy to show off, so he held his own private beauty contest involving all the young women of the kingdom. Esther won the contest and he made her the new queen. She was Jewish, but neither Ahasuerus nor anyone in the royal court was aware of it.
Some time after Esther was made queen, her cousin Mordecai overheard a plot to kill the king. He sent a warning to Esther, who, in the name of Mordecai, warned the king. The plotters were executed and the king was saved.
Meanwhile, there was a man, high up in the king’s court, a devious man, named Haman. He liked to win the favor of wealthy and powerful people by flattering them. Haman hated Mordecai, mainly because Mordecai could see through his pompousness. So Haman calculated a plot against Mordecai. He persuaded the king to issue a death edict against “a certain people” living in the empire. Haman did not tell the king the targets were Jews, and the king didn’t bother to ask. So the king said, “Okay Haman. Do your thing.”

When Mordecai learned about Haman’s plan, he asked Esther to intervene with the king. What followed was an intricate and careful plan to approach to the king, which was quite risky for Esther, because she was in effect functioning as a whistleblower and having to do so in the face of the king’s own edict.
But she did it. She hosted a banquet for the king, with Haman as a special guest, and then proceeded to point out that he was scheming behind the king’s back to kill all the Jews in the empire.
She was successful, however, and in the end, Haman was hanged on the very gallows on which he had planned to execute Mordecai. And though the original edict couldn’t be withdrawn, the king issued a second edict that permitted the Jews to defend themselves.
As a result, the Jews were saved. This whole story and the good outcome are celebrated to this day in Judaism in an annual festival called Purim.

This is a tale of long ago, but we can gain something for ourselves out of it by considering Esther’s role in this drama.
Being married to the king, she’s an insider in the empire’s government, but she has no obvious power and influence. Although she is the queen, in Ahasuerus’ world, that didn’t mean very much. And their marriage is nothing like the union of equals that marriage should be today.

Being the queen simply means that she’s the first among the women in the king’s harem. She’s the one with the most clothes and shoes in her closet. She’s the one who’s trotted out when the king wants to impress visiting dignitaries with the beauty of the women at his disposal. The biblical account says that Ahasuerus actually loved her (2:17), but his love did not grant her any special rights. Women had no role in governmental affairs in the Persian Empire. They were trophies, expected simply to keep the men happy.

Esther herself is a person of great goodness, but that doesn’t become obvious until the king’s edict puts all of her people under threat, and she takes the extraordinary step of blowing the whistle on a plot in which her powerful husband was complicit. By considering her actions, however, we can learn some things about the nature of goodness, and see how the goodness of God shows up in Esther. If we do that, we may be able to see the goodness of God at work in our own time and place.

First, Esther shows us that goodness is courageous, but not in the superhero mode.
Once Mordecai informed Esther of Haman’s plot against the Jews, the immediate problem was how to get an audience with the king. The empire operated on protocols, and by those protocols, the queen was not supposed to ever approach the king unless he summoned her, and he had not done so for a month. He held her life in his hands. If she violated the protocols, and the king was so inclined, he could have her executed. Esther pointed all this out to Mordecai, but he urged her to proceed anyway; there was just too much at stake for Esther not to make the attempt. And so she finally agreed, saying, “I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish” (4:16). That, I think, is the whistleblower’s declaration. It is not a chest-thumping, “I’ll save the day!” exclamation, but a quiet, perhaps even fear-filled resolve to do the right thing despite the probable cost.

Second, Esther shows us that goodness is rooted in prayer. Though she has resolved to act, she first asks her fellow Jews to join her in a three-day fast, a means of seeking God’s help and blessing.

Third, goodness does not seek martyrdom — it does not needlessly provoke violence. It does not throw life away when there is any other possibility. Wisely, when Esther told the king her request, she first mentioned the sparing of her own life, and then added the sparing of her people. She named herself first, not out of self-interest, but because she knew that saving her would be more important to the king, and the rest of her people could ride to safety on the tails of her royal gown.

Fourth, goodness is oriented toward others. Esther herself was in no immediate danger. If her goal had merely been to save herself, all she had to do was keep her mouth shut, as nobody in the court knew she was Jewish. Mordecai had told her that once the purge began, even she would not be safe (4:13), but when she chose to act, it wasn’t her own hide she was thinking of saving. Mordecai had painted the larger picture: “Who knows?” he had said, “Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this” (4:14). Mordecai was suggesting that God had strategically enabled Esther to become queen for the good of the others, and that was her main goal.

Goodness is a powerful force, but it often operates through those who seem to have little power, through ordinary people who seemingly are not in positions of great influence, people who see something they know will harm others, and they act or blow the whistle for the good of all. It can be a way of loving our neighbor.
On this Sunday every year, the day before the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, the United Methodist Church observes Human Relations Day. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” Human Relations Day calls upon all United Methodists to do something for others, by furthering the development of race relations. Most people don’t run for this position. It is hard work; risky. It may involve challenging injustice where we find it. It may involve using our position in a way we never dreamed we would need to. It’s the same question that Mordecai implied when he said to his cousin Esther, “Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” In a world increasingly dominated by unapologetic selfishness, the idea of doing things for others may seem quaint and outdated. Yet, for those who have a grand vision of their purpose and value, striving to be of service is not only a noble thing to do; it’s the best way to lead a truly fulfilling and significant life.

Perhaps in our time we have seen a modern day Esther named Rosa Parks.

Rosa Parks never intended to start a civil rights revolution. That’s not why the black seamstress refused to give up her seat to a white man. She always insisted that her feet were tired and she just didn’t want to walk another step.
Like Esther, Rosa didn’t set out to be a hero. She was just weary at the end of the day, her feet tired from standing. She just wanted to sit in the nearest seat. She never thought she was doing anything special. But, she must have known that her refusal to move to the back of the bus would have consequences. Her simple, but courageous, act of civil disobedience sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and captured the attention of the nation. She blew the whistle on the humiliation and cruelty of the segregation laws of the time.
God calls us to holiness, and doing good through whatever circumstances present themselves to us is a way to be holy.

What is God calling you to do with your life?

Here’s the prescription for an answer:

· Does it require courage?

· Has you prayed about it?

· Are you seeking to be a martyr?

· Is it oriented toward others?

Perhaps you have come…for just such a time as this. Is it your time?

Ruth: More Than Seven Sons

2010-01-10T16:57:00.002-05:00

Ruth 1:16-17 and 4:13-22

Our worship series in this season is called, “Scripture Sisters: Saints and Sinners”. It came as a result of asking you last fall to tell us your favorite Bible stories. We couldn’t use them all, but we saw a pattern. And based on what you turned in to our Worship Design Team, we selected five Bible stories that all revolved around women characters in the Old and New Testaments. Then we added a sixth topic that looks at Jesus and the women of his day. Above all in this season of Epiphany, our goal in this series is to find how God is revealed in the stories.

The story of Ruth is remarkable among the books of the Hebrew Bible for several reasons:

· Only a handful of main characters, and apart from Boaz, none of the other characters are mentioned anywhere else in the Bible

· The story’s focus from beginning to end is the plight of a single family, held together by a woman, Naomi. She’s the only character who is present from beginning to end. A good question to ask is why isn’t this book named after Naomi who master-minds the plot to keep the family together?

· Maybe the most noteworthy aspect of Ruth is the way the book uses a Hebrew concept, chesed, or in English simply hesed. In the Bible, chesed is used to mean kindness, mercy, or loving-kindness. The word is used in three places to mean “kindness” (2:20), “loyalty” (3:10), and “deal kindly with” (1:8). The word means more than kindly deeds toward another person. It has to do with the relationship that exists or ought to exist between two parties who are in covenant with each other. When referring to God, chesed means steadfast love. The love that never quits. It is compassion and faithfulness in a committed relationship. In that sense, the Ruth’s story is not just about Ruth, or even Ruth and Naomi; it is also about God.

Now for the story:

· The setting begins in Bethlehem, which means “house of bread”; it’s ironic because we quickly learn the family is in trouble due to a famine in the region surrounding the “house of bread”.

· The whole story takes place in Judah and Moab, located on either side of the Dead Sea.

· It turns out that famine is only the first crisis to hit this family, because while living in Moab, first Naomi’s husband Elimelech dies leaving her alone in a foreign land to raise two Hebrew sons; the two sons marry women from Moab, Orpah and Ruth. After living in Moab about 10 years, the sons die as well.

· Naomi, Ruth and Orpah are now widows; Naomi, an Israelite, decides to go home where she has property through her husband, and also kinfolk.

· The daughters-in-law start back with her and then Naomi stops; she urges Ruth and Orpah to stay in their own country, find new husbands, and have babies

· Orpah goes home, Ruth stays with Naomi (1:16-17)

· Two women travel back to Bethlehem where they are greeted by women of the town, who recognize Naomi. Their timing is perfect, because it is the time of the harvest…chapter one ends with the plot thickening.

· It turns out that a prominent citizen of Bethlehem was related to Elimelech’s family; his name was Boaz.

· Ruth has it in her mind that she didn’t come back to Bethlehem to remain a widow, so she decides to make a connection with Naomi’s extended family. She goes to a field owned by Boaz, and begins to glean the grain from the edges of the field. If you like to read between the lines of a story – and in Hebrew stories you really should – then you might say that Ruth had a plan.

· Soon Boaz shows up at the field to see how the work is going, and notices someone new among the reapers;

· Servants tell Boaz who it is, and because she is family, he tells her to stay in his field, for her own safety. You never know what might happen to a foreign woman working in another man’s field.

· Mealtime arrives and Boaz invites Ruth to lunch, and after lunch she returns to the field, and they must have hit it off because Boaz gives special instructions to his servants to keep an eye out for this new one.

· Night arrives, Ruth goes home, Naomi asks her about the day, and Ruth tells Naomi she thinks maybe Boaz is ready for harvest along with the grain. And the wheels in Naomi’s head begin to turn…

· The end of the harvest comes, and with concern for Ruth’s future in mind, Naomi tells Ruth she’s heard there is a party at the old threshing floor; it could be time to make their move on Boaz.

· Ruth dresses up, and to be perfectly honest about this, she heads over to the party armed with Naomi’s advice to try not to make a scene; stay under the radar until Boaz gets hammered. Here comes the R-rated part of this story…

· When Boaz falls asleep Ruth steals her way over to him and crawls under the covers. It helps to know more about Hebrew euphemisms here, but their are children present, so we’ll just move on. Later Boaz wakes up and realizes what’s going on. He knows he may have a problem because technically speaking, there is a kinsman who is closer in relation to Naomi’s family than he is, and that man would legally have the rights to anything that belonged to Elimelech. In that day, since women were considered property, that meant that Ruth came along with the land. Boaz, prominent upstanding citizen that he was, couldn’t afford to be caught with Ruth if someone else has first dibs.

· Boaz devises a plan; he’ll call the guys together so there are plenty of witnesses; he addresses the one relative who is closer to Elimelech than Boaz. The speech goes something like this: If you want the property, you have a right to it. If you don’t, then tell me, because I’m interested.

And oh, and by the way, there is some small print in the deal; when you buy the property, you get Ruth too.

· The other relative gets nervous; he doesn’t apparently grasp the idea of kindness. He is more concerned about his own reputation and relinquishes his right to the property. He leaves the picture allowing Boaz to step in. Boaz is happy, Ruth is happy, the village is happy; Naomi’s happy.

· Everybody wins!

I said last week that in our series we intend to ask a question about each woman’s story: What does each one teach us about God and God’s relationship with us. So with Ruth, we want to ask, why does the story appear in the Bible?

What is the unique contribution of Ruth’s story to our faith?

Notice that Ruth brings an element to our faith family tree. This branch that Ruth adds begins not with pure Israelite blood and not with traditional practices in the little town of Bethlehem. Instead, it starts with the bold and daring faith of a foreigner, a Moabite woman named Ruth, and with her unique combination of kindness, courage and determination to embrace the God of Israel and make a bold journey to a new land.

Here it is: Faith can be far more tolerant and open than we often understand it to be, and we can give our ancestor Ruth a great deal of credit for this tradition.

There are those who believe in a rigid view of religion. Their fear is that too much elasticity is dangerous; identity is lost. Religion is meant to bring formality to faith; structure, boundaries and limitations so that one’s faith doesn’t get corrupted by outside influence.

To those who say that about Christianity, I offer a Moabite woman named Ruth, whose courage in crossing over to a God not her own, freed her to show kindness, loyalty and devotion beyond geographic, national, and cultural barriers. In her act of faithfulness to Naomi, she became an ancestor of ours, grandmother of King David of Bethlehem, the one whose lineage eventually produced Jesus, the savior of all people.

I want to end by returning the idea of Epiphany. This is the Christian season following Christmas when the focus is on revealing God to the world.

So every week in Epiphany we want to look for God in our story.

Where is God revealed in the story of Ruth?

God is present in the kindness and loyalty of the characters; acting through them all throughout the whole story.

Naomi, Ruth and Boaz each act as God would act toward us, by taking extraordinary responsibility for one another and by performing extraordinary acts of kindness.

In the book of Ruth, we see how God and human lives work together to accomplish God’s will.

Those who, like Naomi, Ruth and Boaz fear… those who respect … those who honor … those who are in awe of God … those who follow God in complete and total trust…it is these lives that show us what God’s kindness is like.

The story of Ruth gives us a glimpse of the One Lord God, who loved the world so much that in order to redeem the world God visited earth in human form; God is the One who crosses over geography, culture, nationality, race, language, and time to offer us life abundant.

Ruth did that for Naomi; Naomi did that for Ruth; Boaz did that for both of them.

Don't Look Back

2010-01-04T21:07:00.002-05:00

Genesis 19:15-26

January 3, 2010

Some time ago our worship design team heard an idea used in another church that we liked and wanted to try. It was a series on favorite Bible stories. So in October we asked you to submit your favorite Bible stories to us. The team looked at them in November and discovered that many of them were stories that involved women. We had found a common denominator, and as a result we chose six stories to use at the beginning of this New Year. Five of them were your ideas, and the sixth one – Jesus and women – we decided to tack on the end just because it seemed like a good way to round out the series. That works out to take us up to the beginning of the Lenten season, a perfect time to start a new series. So there you are – the background of “Scripture Sisters”. Thank you for submitting these ideas to us. It worked so well, we’ll have to try it again.

The first woman to make the cut is chosen for this first Sunday of the year on purpose. She looked back; that in itself is not such a horrible sin, is it? There must be something about this story that the story teller wants us to know from this incident. Let’s unpack it.

Lot settled in this region because after he and his uncle Abraham moved into the area their flocks and herds were so large the land would not support both of them. Abraham invited Lot to choose where he would like to settle – either where they were already, or take the rich, fertile land to the south. Lot looked over the inviting landscape, and decided that he’d head south because it was so beautiful it reminded him of the “garden of the Lord.” (Genesis 13:10).

Things did not go as well for Lot as they did for Abraham. In fact when enemy armies overthrew the King of Sodom, Lot and his family were kidnapped and carried away. Abraham heard this and gathered 318 men of his family (they had big families), pursued the enemy, routed them and brought Lot and all his goods back to Sodom.

I want to pause for a parentheses here, and say that it would be interesting to take a side trip down the road that leads to the nasty reputation of the cities in this region. What was it that caused such outrage that the outcry against them reached God?

“the outcry against the people has become great before the Lord…” (Genesis 19:13)

But that is the subject of a rather lengthy Bible study itself. I’m going to leave that for another time because it’s a path that will distract us from Lot’s wife and her plight. Her story itself is our focus today.

So let’s get on with Lot’s wife. At some point, the story doesn’t say when, Lot got married. Was his wife a local woman, and was that why she looked back, perhaps longingly at the city she was leaving – her home – the place where her daughters were born? Or was she someone who had already been among the women and children who moved to this area when Lot and Abraham separated? We don’t know for sure.

I know this much: It doesn’t take much to identify with her. I’ve looked back as she did. Every time our family moved away from a community to a new church, as we pulled out of the driveway, moving van leading us, I could never resist a glance in the rear-view mirror, one last look at the home where our family lived for whatever number of years.

It didn’t matter that we were looking forward, anticipating a new church community, a fresh start, the excitement of meeting new people and settling into a faith community with yet unknown potential…

There was this irresistible pull for one last look.

Have you had that experience?

I’ll bet if you had a few minutes you could think of a time when you had that experience…

Was that such a big deal that when Lot’s wife couldn’t resist a glance back, she was frozen in her tracks?

I suppose we could speculate forever about this…

As you heard Sarah read the story, you learned that Lot and his family were warned of the coming storm in the region where they had settled at the southern tip of the Dead Sea. And included in the warning was, “Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills or else you will be consumed.” (Genesis 19:17)

Do not look back.

So I ask again, what was it that was so wrong – so sinful about her glance backward? And in a larger sense, what is so wrong about looking back for us?

Let’s first narrow it down by eliminating what we are not talking about. These are obvious and hardly need to be mentioned…

· It is not wrong to study the past. In fact the philosopher, George Santayana is famous for saying, among other things, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

The study of history is an examination of what has happened…and we endanger our future when we fail to look at the past.

· Or perhaps you’re familiar with the words of another great philosopher, Satchel Paige: “Don’t look back; something might be gaining on you.”

· If you are scuba diving and a shark swims up behind you, you probably don’t want to look back because you will be startled and any quick movement might frighten the shark; and it’s dangerous to be swimming near a frightened shark.

· But there are good reasons for looking back as well. We memorialize with gratitude those who have made their mark on us. We would not be the persons we are without their influence. In a sense, our memory of them is a way of looking back, and keeping their spirit alive after they are gone. That’s a good thing.

· Sometimes we look back in order to gather research to help us make a decision. How was this done successfully before? What do we not need to do because someone else has already tried that and it doesn’t work?

So I’m not suggesting there is never a time for looking back.

And yet there are times when a rear-view perspective causes fear, and fear freezes us in the past or present; that can be a greater risk than looking forward. It isn’t likely that any of us will be literally turned into a pillar of salt, although with Michigan winters I suppose with the right set of circumstances…. But figuratively, here at the beginning of a new year, I wonder if a backward perspective caused by fear of the future, could have some negative consequences.

I think there might be three kinds of fear that will freeze us and hinder a new start.

1. Fear of failure can freeze us in the past. This reminds me of a scene in in Episode I of the Epic film series Star Wars. 9-yr. old Anakin Skywalker is recruited to receive training to become a Jedi Knight.

If you have been asleep for the past couple decades, Anakin Skywalker is Luke Skywalker’s father, but more importantly, when Anakin grows up he is seduced by the Dark Side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader. This scene happens long before that, where he is still a young boy. As he is leaving his home he is momentarily gripped by the possibility that he might fail; he freezes and turns back. His mother gives him advice that would be difficult for any mother to give. “Be brave. Don’t look back. Don’t look back.” She knew how it could be dangerous for him to linger in the past and hold too close to his relationship with her; as much as she wanted him to stay with her, she let him go.

It’s science fiction of course; and yet there is truth in it. Fear of failure can freeze us.

2. Fear of the unknown. Do you like the circus? I think my favorite act in a circus is the trapeze. It is frightening and thrilling at the same time. I cannot imagine what it takes to let go of a secure grip, fly through the air with the confidence that someone is going to be reaching out to grab you at just the right moment. And yet that is exactly what it takes. What if the trapeze artist doesn’t let go of his trapeze? Pretty boring circus act, huh? No one here is likely to plan on joining the circus any time soon, but one thing we can do is remember the lesson: we can’t walk through a new doorway into a new room without leaving another. Even a destructive relationship can seem better than no relationship and we will put ourselves through misery rather than step into the unknown. Fear is the culprit.

3. Fear of losing control: John Wesley saw the need to renew our covenant with God on a regular basis. He formed small groups called Societies where people met in homes weekly to hold one another accountable in faith; he also practiced an annual service of Covenant Renewal every year on New Year’s Eve. He knew that Covenant making is at the heart of Christian devotion; it’s the sense that we are not our own, but through God's claim upon us we are God's servants. The covenant prayer begins, “I am no longer my own, but thine”

From time to time, Christians need to make a solemn renewal of the covenant, lest we hold back from God what we once confessed we would give, but over time began to hoard for ourselves. The early Methodists adopted a form of covenant renewal and found that New Year's Eve or Day was a very suitable time for this.

Covenant-making is the solution to this fear of losing control.

What do we really control?

Can you control when you will die?

Can you control the economy?

Can you control what other people will think of you and what you do with your life?

Can you control the choices your friends and relatives will make that affect your life?

The TV remote – there – that’s one thing I can control --- because we have two TVs!

As this new year begins, we can’t predict the coming year, whether we’ll be healthy or not, whether our job will be there or not, whether our kids will be happy or not.

What we can control is how we will respond to whatever does happen to us.

We can decide that we will speak up rather than lock up our voice when a word of justice is needed;

We can decide we will act when a kindness will bring life where there is death;

We can decide we will release our vice trip on whatever crutch is fooling us into thinking we are secure, and take a risk that might improve our life or someone else’s.

…Last summer the bathtub faucet in our spare bathroom stopped producing hot water. The sink on the vanity was fine; it was just the bathtub. We don’t use that bathtub or shower very often now that there are just two of us at home. So we had no way of knowing that only cold water could come through that faucet until a guest stayed overnight with us last July, and he informed us he had no hot water for his shower.

Some of you will already know what was wrong, but I didn’t. I didn’t know there is a doo-dad called an anti-scald valve that does pretty much what the name suggests. Nice idea. Only when there is no water moving through the line for a while and your copper pipes are 15 years old, the doo-dad can freeze shut. Lack of use can cause a corroded valve to freeze shut.

Is there a better time than worship – when we are connecting with God and others – to decide that fear will not be the corrosion that renders us immobile?

Is there a better time than right now, for renewing our faith in the God who has promised “I am with you always, to the end of the age”? (Matthew 28:20)

And is there a better time than when we come to the Lord’s Table to receive the Sacrament that he authored for all who will receive it? Is there a better place than this table of grace, to find the courage to overcome fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of losing control?

Come and see – receive the gift from God – the life of Christ who goes with us into every time and place, present with us; even ahead of us in the future where we are heading.

Come to the table where there is no need of fear; don’t look back, for this Sacrament is all we need.

"It came to pass"

2010-01-01T08:51:00.004-05:00

Brother Jack Scott has reminded me of a long-time favorite phrase that the King James Version of the Bible used 470 times, but in more recent translations has been completely dropped. "It came to pass".
Many years ago as a student I heard an African American preacher spin those words through a sermon, but he added a new twist to them that has stuck with me ever since. The addition: ..."it didn't come to stay."
As a new year begins it's a good way to frame our perspective. "It came to pass...it didn't come to stay. Whatever our experience in the past year, whether good or bad, it's over.
Did your business collapse in 2009? It came to pass;it didn't come to stay. Did a relationship go south? It came to pass; it didn't come to stay. Or do you look back from a more positive angle...Did you hit the jackpot in the lottery? It came to pass; it didn't come to stay.
In the course of human life, is anything really here to stay?
I suspect we all would name some important events or relationships that survive. A couple that you know has been married over 60 years; I know someone who has stayed with the same employer for over 40 years. In my work, in fact, I see it daily...there are church members who have lived faithfully for decades; they are reliable beyond comparison and every faith community has them. Luke mentions one such person when he talks about the prophetess Anna who was present in the Temple when the infant Jesus was blessed by Simeon. She may have been the first to preach about Jesus (Luke 2:36-38). Luke tells us "She never left the Temple..." and these folks come to mind when I read those words.
And yet...there is truth in the scriptures. It is the nature of things to pass on. Death is woven into the fabric of human life so that none of us will escape it. Death, both physical and relational, happens eventually.
So what is there that is eternal? What is it that we can count on that will last longer than we will?
It is the covenant of God with creation. For while it is the nature of things to die, it is also the nature of things to begin again. Nothing comes to stay, including death.
In every death there is life. In every end, a beginning.
Now 2009 rolls into 2010, and depending on how you count it is either the last year of one decade or the beginning of another. Find someone else to argue with -- I don't really care. The truth is January offers an end and a beginning. You know the name of Janus, from whom the name of our calendar's first month comes -- you know that the image faces both forward and back. So be it. It came to pass; it didn't come to stay.
Wherever we find ourselves on this first day that has arrived and will soon be gone, may we seize the day and the year as opportunities to trust in God's promise to go ahead of us. Whatever our lot in life, there will be good and bad. Only a fool thinks otherwise. But what we can count on is the God who never leaves us, who stays. Always.

Where Did the Baby Go?

2009-12-28T07:25:00.001-05:00

Where Did the Baby Go?

Luke 2:41-52

If only babies would stay babies…don’t you want to ask that question sometimes?

If only puppies and kittens would never grow up.

Yeah, right.

Do you suppose Christmas is prone to this kind of thinking too?

If is possible that we want to keep Jesus in the Bethlehem manger rather than face the reality of him as a grown up?

I sure do. We say at our house that Christmas is visible in the magic that unfolds when the young ones unwrap their gifts, and we get see the expressions of joy on their faces and the glee in their voices.

In fact we have a young one who is 32 and still brings that kind of moment to our Christmas mornings. We hope she never grows out of that.

And yet…

While celebrating Christmas day will always hold that special flavor, when it comes to honoring the One whose birthday it is, let’s face it…it’s not his birthday that has kept the Christian faith alive; it’s his life, death and resurrection that lay the foundation of our faith tradition.

The history of Christianity isn’t based on a story about his birth; rather it exists in the stories that surround his teaching, preaching and healing, and probably most notably his death and resurrection – the event that got his first followers in no small amount of trouble.

His impact on the world has not had much to do with being born in a barn, really. His impact is about the justice, mercy and grace he brought to life in his life, the way he lived as he interpreted the law and prophets in his time; and, like it or not, his impact is due somewhat to the controversy, the conflict that followed closely behind him. That began if you remember, even as a baby when Herod decided that all Hebrew male children under the age of two should die so that none could threaten to take the throne from his own family line. That’s what is called a stormy beginning.

So I think Luke wastes no time in telling us that to keep him in the manger too long is to miss the whole point of his life.

However holy is the night on which Christ was born, if that’s where our faith begins and ends, we have made that night an idol.

So what does this mean for us?

I think it has something to do with the church being the body of Christ – the incarnation of his life in our time and place.

· Even as God entered into the human condition in Jesus Christ, so can the church put human skin on justice and mercy and grace in society, everywhere we can go, from across the parking lot to across the world.

· Even as the teachers in the Temple taught and listened, interacting with Jesus to shape his wisdom tradition, so can the church be a place that recognizes the importance of learning for all who come to the faith communities for study, for support, for spiritual nurture; the church ought to be the best there is at teaching character and morality – bringing the ethical dimension into every facet of our culture – business, politics, education.

· Even as Joseph and Mary raised their son under the influence of the Temple, so can the church share the responsibility for parenting - not only those who live under our roof at home, but the children of all who happen to worship under this roof. Every time we baptize a child we promise to do that. The churches in our land ought to be the most supportive environments available in our communities for helping parents cope with raising children.

· And even as Jesus taught us to love all people, not merely our friends, so can the church deliver God’s love in the world so that all can know the meaning of grace where it is needed most – in the lives of those who - like us – don’t appear to deserve it.

Where did the baby go? The baby became the embodiment of God’s unconditional love for sinners. And that’s some of us all the time, and all of us some of the time.

Jesus would not have made it in the Cell phone business. He became the savior not because he was savior for friends and family; he became savior because his life was the light of all people.

Where did the baby go? He grew up to be us – the body of Christ in the world today.

After Christmas...It's All About Women!

2009-12-13T15:30:00.000-05:00

September 11, 2001

2009-09-11T09:51:00.006-04:00

"[Men] never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religous conviction."
-Blaise Pascal

"Every year, lack of adequate health care causes more American deaths than the 9/11 attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined."
-Jim Wallis, Sojourners

Worth Considering

2009-08-17T11:26:00.006-04:00

One of the blogs I check frequently is written by Dr. Dan Dick, Director of Connectional Ministries for the Wisconsin Conference, United Methodist Church. Any church leaders who would like to grow their church by adding people unlike the people they already have could gain from following the link to his recent posting on Methodeviations. Note - he says that not many of us really want to do this, so beware...Read and learn--

http://doroteos2.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/how-badly-do-we-really-want-it/

God's Great Dream - "S.W.A.B."

2009-08-11T16:17:00.001-04:00

S.W.A.B. "Sealed With A Baptism"Ephesians 4:25-5:2
August 9, 2009
On Christian Belonging

Author Ann Weems is reminded of the time she was in Wisconsin leading a worship service at a Conference. Before supper that first night, a man with a southern accent came up to her and asked, Where are you from? When she said, Nashville, he smiled and said, “I knew that.” Who are your people? he asked.Ann recalls that a surge of memories swept over her. She saw faces and names and even smelled some of the sweet aromas associated with home. She had answered the question before: when she went to college in Memphis and when she had married and her name changed. She writes, “I knew what it meant: To whom do you belong? Ann writes. It is an ancient question. It's a means of identification, a claiming of ties. It can instantly open doors or shut them in your face.‘My father is Tom Barr’, Ann replied.His face lit up with a look of recognition. He told the people with him, She's one of us! She's Tom Barr's daughter. They gathered around and led her to their table, talking about people they knew twenty-five years ago in Nashville. ‘We dashed back in time and it felt right, Ann recalled. I belonged. I was accepted. I know who my people are.’” --Ann Weems, Family Faith Stories, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1985), 18-19.
To whom do you belong? Do you know who your people are?
Today with the baptism of Oliver Kramer, we have a chance to talk about this in a personal way. But it’s a question that every one of us can answer. It’s the question that Paul was addressing when he wrote the letter that we now have in Christian scriptures called the letter to the Ephesians. He was addressing people who if they had formerly had any religion at all it was likely to have been pagan – to use a term that doesn’t sound very nice but in reality was just the religious environment of the day…a less offensive word might be “gentiles”. Whatever…they were people who were persuaded to became Christians because of interaction with Paul, and after seeing the behavior of their friends and neighbors who were followers of what Christians in that day called “the Way”…these people came to the faith from the outside, unlike the first Christians who were no doubt Jewish people living in Jerusalem. The world in which the Ephesians lived was full of religion – lots of gods everywhere to choose from. But when they met Christians they saw something that had been missing – a way of life that was different than any religion the Greek culture around them had to offer. It was rooted in the life and teaching of a Jewish carpenter who was believed by some to be the Son of God, the savior who had been promised for centuries. These Ephesians didn’t have the background of the Jewish faith out of which Jesus came; they were grafted into the family by their own choice to follow him. They were rough around the edges, but they were serious seekers. If you want a contemporary image of these people, think of baptized Hell’s angels. A little rough around the edges, but nevertheless a community of believers who found acceptance in Christ and who were trying to live a different life as a result of it.
So Paul wrote with the purpose in mind to tell them who they were now – who their people were. He wrote to tell them that because of who they were now, they were called to live with new rules.
You might say these people had some “issues” to address, with regard to behavior. When Paul writes to them he comes at them directly: “Go ahead, be angry, but don’t sin; thieves among you – stop stealing; do an honest day’s work and share your surplus with the needy; clean up your language, say things to each other that build people up; be gracious…for heaven’s sake, don’t give the Holy Spirit any grief…you were sealed for the final judgment – marked for it – so protect that seal.” Paul doesn’t mince words.
Today's reading is a sketch of what it looks like to say yes to God. If we claim our identity in Christ, if we know ourselves as members of a body, how can we be at war with one another, outwardly or underneath the surface and behind one another's back? If we belong to one another and to the Body of Christ, how can we, for example, hurt one another with angry words and actions? If God has been generous and forgiving to us, how can we who belong to God be anything but generous and forgiving, anything but kind to one another?
It seems like kindness ought to be the foundation of our behavior toward one another; even Plato, long before the time of early Christianity, said that we should "be kinder than necessary--everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."
Last week I said the central thought of the letter to the Ephesians is that we live in a world filled with discord, disharmony, and disunity. Nation is divided against nation, humankind against humankind, class against class, and within us there is an inner battle between the higher and the lower part of us. In other words, this great letter could have been written yesterday.
Paul believed God’s plan is that all fractures between God and us, and between us and us – all disunity and disharmony – can be resolved in Christ; all people and all nations can become one if we live our lives after the example of Jesus. God’s great dream is that we will all be one, and the way to that end is to be like Christ.
He says “be imitators” of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us…” (5:2)
He was talking about character, a way of living expected if the Christians are to be people who reconcile people to people, and people to God.
John Wesley wrote a sermon called “On Grieving the Holy Spirit” in which he said, "There can be no point of greater importance to [one] who knows that it is the Holy Spirit which leads us into all truth and into all holiness, than to consider with what temper of soul we are to entertain his divine presence; so as not either to drive him from us, or to disappoint him of the gracious ends for which his abode with us is designed; which is not the amusement of our understanding, but the conversion and entire sanctification of our hearts and lives."
That’s the 18th century version. If he were around today I suspect he’d say something like, “For those who are believers and who don’t want to disappoint God, there is nothing more important than character”.
So in this letter Paul writes about rules to live by…tell the truth, don’t steal, speak with grace to one another…
It’s as if bad behavior isn’t just bad manners; bad behavior grieves God because it isn’t becoming of us; we were made for something better – to love as Christ loved us.
It is in Christian baptism that followers of Jesus are marked, and we become "members one of another" (4:25). This means that we live in relationship with others in the family of God, and that means behaving in certain ways.
It’s God’s great dream that we belong to one another in a community of faith....belong to a fellowship that behaves in such a way that God’s great dream for God’s people takes on life in us. It’s about good manners, but more than that; it’s about living as a community of faith.
I want to end with a story from Fred Craddock, the preacher/teacher/writer whose gift of storytelling is legendary. The story has to do with adult baptisms, because that was the tradition of the church where he served at the time. but it’s still a good story and it doesn’t lose any strength because of that detail.
(Craddock Stories, p. 151, “They Call That Church”)
"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for" (1:7b)." Here is what it means to remember who we are, and to remember whose we are. Here is what it looks like if we say yes to God. Here is what it looks like if we claim our identity in Christ, if we know ourselves as members of a body.

August 3, 2009 | The General Board of Church and Society

2009-08-08T06:52:00.003-04:00

Jim Winkler is the General Secretary of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, housed in the United Methodist Building across the street from Capital Hill in Wasthington, D.C. He writes a weekly column called "Word from Winkler" I found this one to be both troubling and hopeful. Those who have ears, let them hear.
August 3, 2009 The General Board of Church and Society

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God's Great Dream: the One Thing

2009-08-07T05:41:00.003-04:00

“The One Thing”
Ephesians 4:1-16
August 2, 2009

William Barclay says that the central thought of the letter to the Ephesians is that we live in a world filled with discord, disharmony, and disunity. Nation is divided against nation, humankind against humankind, class against class, and within us there is an inner battle between the higher and the lower part of us. (If that doesn’t sound like it was written for us, we’ve been missing something of the human condition in our time)!
Paul believed God’s plan is that all fractures between God and us, and between us and us – all disunity and disharmony – can be resolved in Christ; all people and all nations can become one if we live our lives after the example of Jesus. He is the center around whom all people can be gathered in one. If this is going to happen, it’s the purpose of the church to take this message to all people; to be the instrument in God’s hands to bring unity into the world.
Paul believed that the church’s job was to continue the work of Christ – to be the incarnation of God (we talked about that word a couple weeks ago. It means the Word took human form – became flesh). That’s what God wants us to be: just like Jesus – to show people how much God loves us. To do this, Paul wrote and preached about the character of the Christian that is necessary if the Church is to fulfill this great mission – to be Christ’s instrument reconciling people to people to people, and people to God. Ephesians is an instruction book on how to live Christ-like lives, so that the world may be one. Like Jesus, we the Church are here to open our arms and hearts and reach out to all people. Do you know the tag line used by the United Methodist Church in our evangelistic effort for the past five years? “Open hearts, open minds, open doors…the people of the Methodist Church.”

It’s God’s great dream – that all creation might be reconciled with God in Christ, “that we would be one”.
Think of a circle, whose center is Christ. The closer we get to the center the less room there is for disunity and fragmentation.
Paul actually introduces this idea in the first chapter of his letter, in verse 10 – God’s great dream is to “gather up all things in him (Christ), things in heaven and things on earth.”

The Message puts it like this:

“He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.” (v. 10).

God’s great dream of all being one in Christ is a vision of what could be – it doesn’t exist yet; it’s still out there in front of us, but because it is God’s plan, Paul believed nothing could stop it.
In Christ, one day there will be one community – one faith community that would put aside all labels.
One community means that we’ll see past these human definitions to an identity that makes us all members of one inclusive family.
If it is up to us to become one, forget it. We are not good enough, smart enough, creative enough, kind or gentle enough, generous enough, faithful enough…you name it. We don’t have what it takes to do this on our own. But here it is: God can use us anyway. That’s the miracle.
The good news is about God. It’s God who works graciously this miracle of unity through Christ, to gather us all together.
This is a remarkable message: the idea that God would do something for us before we even ask; before we would even think of asking; before we might even realize our need for it.
God does what we cannot do – what we would never dream of doing – God brings unity where there is none.
If we humanoids wish to resemble the perfect love of God in the world, then we will accept this identity: One body brought together by the unity of Christ.

This is pretty heavy theological stuff; maybe an illustration will help bring it down to earth.
Robert Fulghum – you remember that name? He is a writer and a teller of tales. You may know his book: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. I’ve told you this one before – good chance for those who have heard it to catch a few winks…
One of the essays in his book is about an experience that casts this vision – pictures this dream we’ve been talking about.
Every year Fulghum spends a week in Weiser, Idaho; a little tiny place. And when I say tiny…I mean hard to find on a map. 4000 people live there. Little happens in that town except once a year when it swells to 5000 and becomes the home of the Grand National Old-Time Fiddlers’ Contest.
On the last week in June, people descend on that little village. Fiddlers come from Pottsboro, Texas; Sapulpa, Oklahoma; Caldwell, Kansas; and some people come from as far away as Japan. They come to play, and sing, and have a good time.

Years ago, fiddlers were pretty straight, traditional country folk. The men had short hair, the women stayed home and cooked, and everybody went to church on Sunday. But through the years the Fiddlers’ Convention has changed. Longer hair began to show up -- on men. People with tattoos and leather jackets arrived on motorcycles.
He says all this to say: some of these people were wonderful fiddlers.
Fulghum asked one of the old-timers what he thought about the new crowd joining them.
The old man said, “I don’t care who they are or how they look. They can have a bone in their nose as far as I’m concerned. It don’t matter. If you can fiddle, you’re all right with me.
It’s the music that counts.” Good answer.
Fulgum said that out there under the stars, with a thousand people picking, singing, and fiddling together, he looked out on young and old, hippies and straights, people of all races. He said it was such a moving sight he came back year after year. One day he played his banjo next to a Weiser policeman. As they picked, the old policeman winked at him and said, “You know, sometimes the world seems like a mighty fine place.”

Boom! That’s what Paul wanted the Ephesians and us to know! He wanted them – and he wants us to see that in the middle of a fractured and divided world, there could be a unity where all could live with very real differences; where all people can find a place of safety and wholeness. “If you are in Christ, then you’re alright with me”, Paul might have said.

Like the fiddler policeman in Weiser, Idaho, to Paul the world would be a mighty fine place if all people could learn to make music together. He believed the church is the place for this to start. It made no difference to Paul who they were or how they looked. Everything comes together in Christ.

They must have liked what they heard in Paul’s letter too, because the young churches were so taken by this vision that it became part of the liturgy of the early church…the words of Ephesians made their way into the prayers, the songs, and the sermons.
I think there is a vision for any Christian in this hymn…the vision where we are all gathered into one in Christ. It takes some maturity, for sure…for people to resemble the nature of Christ.
What does this all mean for you and me?
The call to Christian living is a call to unity of the fellowship of believers in God’s love. What this means is that the togetherness is not about us and our ability to feel cozy with each other. The unity is possible because God is one; it is God’s love for all that unites us, not our ability to overcome differences. We aren’t used to thinking like this, I know. So much of life depends on what we do to make it happen, or so we think. Paul is suggesting that we don’t create unity; God does. What a relief!
Something happened this week that I’ve been dying to tell you about.
Out of the blue one day this week I received an email. It came from someone who went to our web site and used the “contact us” form that is there. (Did you know we have a “contact us” feature on our web site? Did you know we have a web site?)
The email said, “Hello. My name is Nick Mathis. I’m the song leader at Wyoming Park Bible Fellowship. I’ve been here 18 months and haven’t taken the time to introduce myself. I was wondering if we might get together so I could meet you and offer you encouragement in the faith.”
That was it.
You know it’s nice to get an email once in a while from somebody who wants to support you instead of sell you something or worse, take a piece of you.
I looked at my schedule and wrote him back. I said “Sure, I’d be glad to meet you. And by the way, I haven’t taken the time to meet you either, so we are about even. That’s a good place to start.”
To make a long story short, we set it up, and Friday afternoon Nick came over and after a quick tour of our building we sat in my office for about an hour, getting to know each other; sharing information about our families and our churches. And before we ended our conversation, we were ssaying --- what if we try to do something together? I wonder if we could pull it off?
I don’t know if anything will come of it or not. There are those doggone barriers we set up for ourselves like differences in doctrine. But when you get down to it, those are human inventions and have nothing to do with God’s dream that we would be one. He loves Jesus; I love Jesus. Our churches are both pulling for the children and young people in this community. There isn’t much more to it than that.
The time we spent chatting was the most fruitful conversation I’ve had with another church leader in a long time – including those conversations I routinely have with other United Methodists.
When we found out that we both worship at 9:30 am, he said, “I know this is a crazy idea, but some Sunday one of us should put a sign on our door and say worship is across the street today.”
No warning. Just put up a sign on the door. You see what God does when people decide to get to know each other?
Would you risk crossing the street if it meant you might build a bridge with other Christians?
Scary, huh?
But why not?
This is really nothing compared to Paul’s time. What is more crazy than Paul writing to Christians, Jews, Gentiles, slaves, free, men, women, Greeks, Romans --- whoever –- and telling them they are all one in Christ?
You think we have barriers to cross? What about the faithful of the first century?
It’s a stretch; but if Christians don’t start building bridges with each other, to use Martin Luther King’s phrase, “we are going either hang together, or hang separately.”
Making disciples isn’t about converting people into copies of us. It’s about God’s great dream – more people who name Jesus as Lord, gathered into one.
After all, if they love Jesus, they’re all right with me. It’s the music we make that counts.”

2009-07-30T11:23:00.008-04:00

"God's Great Dream"

The unity that exists in Jesus Christ is the subject of the letter to the Ephesians. In August at Wyoming Park we'll be looking at this unity from two perspectives - individuals and the faith community. It is God's great dream that all creation will be one. Come and see just how...

Our August Series...

August 2
Ephesians 4:1-16 “The One Thing”

August 9
Ephesians 4:25-52 “S.W.A.B.” (aren't you curious?)

August 16
Ephesians 5:15-20 “A Word to The Wise”

August 23
Mark 1:16-22 “A Fishing Story” (Rev. David Bell, preaching)

August 30
Ephesians 6:10-20 “Suit Up”

Rethink Church quote

2009-07-29T08:50:00.001-04:00

"We must realize that slight tweaks, new music, creative lighting, wearing hula shirts, shorts, and flip-flops won't make doing church more attractive. Church must not be the goal of the gospel anymore. Church should not be the focus of our efforts or the banner we hold up to explain what we are about. Church should be what ends up happening as a natural response to people wanting to follow us, be with us, and be like us as we are following the way of Christ."

"The Tangible Kingdom" by Hugh Halter and Matt Snay

2009-07-27T08:50:00.002-04:00

A Home for God
Message Preached at Wyoming Park UMC
2 Samuel 7:1-14a
July 19, 2009
In July we are talking about the theme of traveling; it’s a kind of summer-time theme, assuming that vacations happen in summer, and some day the economy will turn around and normal people will once again enjoy some of the wonderful opportunities for travel in our own state and elsewhere.
What we’ve been trying to say is this series of messages, is that even when things are tough all around, we have a God who provides everything we need. We dare not forget that God provides.
So we come to this story in 2 Samuel.
King David had moved the Ark of the Covenant to his city, Jerusalem, and he has now settled into his residence, which even by ancient standards was no doubt a luxurious palace. It was made of cedar, and that wasn’t easy to get around there. You had to go to Lebanon for it, and employ craftsmen from Tyre to build a house like that.
So he is resting after his victories, getting settled into his nice house. And being a very pious King, David begins to think pious thoughts. You might even say he is feeling a bit of pious anxiety, living in a stately house while the Ark lies neglected in a tent: “Here I am living in this fine house of cedar, and there is the Ark of the Covenant, our symbol of God with us, resting in a tent. It’s just not right.
On the one hand this is a good thought. It has the mark of a genuine gift from a thankful king for the good fortune he believes God brought him. David is feeling secure in his power, feeling thankful and pious about the good things that he is experiencing; he has been blessed, and so he wants to give something to God.
So David tells his prophet friend Nathan what he wants to do for God: he wants to build God a house to live in. Nathan answers spontaneously in agreement: “Yea, good idea; go for it king.”
But…you gotta love the scriptures. One simple phrase turns a whole story upside down. “But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan…”
God speaks to Nathan, and says “Tell David ‘thanks, tell but no thanks’. I have been with you ever since you left Egypt, moving about in a tent; I never asked for anything more than that. Didn’t need it then, don’t need it now.”
Moreover, I’m going to build you a house. Your name and your sons’ name will be on the throne of Israel forever.
Two things and then I go to camp: (I know, it’s usually three things, but I’m anxious to get to camp).
1. We can’t improve on God’s provisions. If this sounds slightly familiar, it should. It is exactly the problem that God had with Adam and Eve in creation. Do you remember? God explained they had everything they needed, but they didn’t trust that, and tried the forbidden fruit from the one tree God had told them to avoid. They couldn’t leave well enough alone.
Human beings have been trying to improve on God’s provisions since the very beginning, and it doesn’t ever work out.
2. We can’t locate God according to our needs. Building a house for God was David’s agenda, not God’s.
Once we fix a location for worshipping God, we can get lulled into believing that the space within the walls is God’s real, maybe God’s sole stomping grounds.
God will not be limited to a fixed location. When we impose restrictions on God’s freedom of movement, we leave ourselves vulnerable to a form of idolatry: We worship something we created, instead of worshipping the creator.
And it’s not just in buildings where we are tempted to confine God.
Sometimes we confine God to heaven. Most of us have had at one time or another, an image of God sitting on a throne in heaven, ruling from on high.
God is somewhere “out there” beyond the clouds, as if on some lofty perch, away from us, watching our comings and goings in a detached sort of way with a telescope. That idea doesn’t feel very comforting to me.
Or maybe we coop God up in our churches, “sacred barracks” as someone has said. Once inside our doors, you really find God, Buildings mean furniture, and furniture means symbols, and symbols – if we are not careful – become the essence of God. While the furniture and the decorations and the physical appointments we add to church buildings are important reminders of God, they are still only reminders. They are to be valued, but not worshipped.
Reminds me of the story a friend of mine tells – he’s a Lutheran pastor in a fairly “high church” setting – very formal liturgy…and once he was conducting a tour of the sanctuary with a pre-school Sunday school class. One of the tykes had made himself this pastor’s assistant, and clung to his side all the while they walked from place to place, noting the pews, the windows, the baptismal, the pulpit.
The altar in this church was a large, formidable solid piece of wood, massive in weight and size. When they got to the altar my friend was about to explain the purpose of it, and this self-appointed assistant piped up, “I know what that is. That’s the box where you keep Jesus.”
No doubt the pastor’s turning to and from the altar as he prayed had planted this idea into the mind of this young-un.
Or maybe we are prone to localize God to our own land, slipping into a habit of thinking that God is our way of life, our national destiny. Without even meaning to, we can come to believe that it is only here, on this plot of earth, that the Almighty pitches tent, within the boundaries of “this nation under God.” It’s not a huge leap from that, to concluding that we are God’s favored children.
God is found in moments of worship in our churches, and in our other sacred private places, and in searching the Holy Scriptures, in choir songs, and hymns ancient and new, in gatherings like this, or in a small and simple gathering with old friends.
But here’s the thing – God keeps surprising us over and over again, by stepping into your life and mine, even when we least expect it.
This brings us back to David, who wanted to build a house for God. He had good intentions; he was grateful for what God had done for him.
But God said to Nathan, “tell David thanks but no thanks.”
Instead God preferred, and I believe still prefers another kind of house – mysteriously – still the house of David. But a spiritual one – a dynasty kind of house.
This is the house of David that you and I belong to as we trace our spiritual roots back through someone who introduced us to God in Jesus Christ; back through the one who introduced that one, who introduced that one, and so on…all the way back to a young woman who lived in Nazareth, engaged to her beloved, and who like Nathan the prophet, received a message from God; a message regarding the place where God wanted to make his home – Mary’s heart.
And so it is – no box, no place however well-intentioned and beautiful, is able to limit God’s freedom of movement.
And that means that we had better be ready to have God appear right under our noses, lest we miss the chance of a lifetime to see God face to face.
One of the reasons I go to camp every year is because I have learned that God shows up there in a big way. Others have learned that a week living in Christian community is an opportunity for God in Christ to go to work in people. True – it takes place in a particular spot: Lake Michigan Camp near Pentwater, Wesley Woods near Battle Creek, Crystal Springs near Dowagiac, Lakeview Camp near – Lakeview; Albright Camp near Reed City, Lake Louise near Boyne Falls, and even Duncan Lake Middle School in Caledonia. (Who says God isn’t alive in public schools?)
But when all is said and done, the camp location isn’t the main thing. The campground or school building is the tent where the people of God live for a week or so; and it’s the community of faith that reveals the living God; it’s the people where the resurrected Christ finds a home.
It’s the family of God, even the family gathered here at Wyoming Park Sunday after Sunday – this is the house that God has built for us.

The Elders

2009-07-24T10:30:00.002-04:00

I subscribe to a weekly email called "Sightings" written by Dr. Martin Marty, church historian, Lutheran clergyman, seminary professor, (retired from all) and prolific commentator on not only history but all things contemporary. This mailing connected me with a relatively new (2007) organization I wanted to share.
In my opinion one U.S. President in my lifetime stands out as an example of the kind of character our country should look for in every presidential election. Jimmy Carter. (Too soon for a Barack Obama rating).
The organization called "The Elders" is one more example of his passion for justice and why he has had more influence on world events since his days as President than he was able to accomplish in a fickle episode of American history.
Anyway - this is not an op-ed piece, but just a note to tell you about The Elders. Anyone interested in peace and justice will appreciate it.
Hope you find this helpful.
Peace,
Bill

http://wallwritings.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/carter-and-the-elders-challenge-injustice-wherever-we-see-it/

References:

Read Jim Wall on the Elders: http://wallwritings.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/carter-and-the-elders-challenge-injustice-wherever-we-see-it/

Read Jimmy Carter in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/12/jimmy-carter-womens-rights-equality.

Visit the Elders website: http://www.theelders.org/elders

United Methodist Beliefs

2009-06-25T15:51:00.003-04:00

I know, the subject sounds as dry as dust, but being a United Methodist is anything but that! We started a class last Sunday at 11:00am that I hope will interest you. Faith may be simple, but beliefs are not an easy matter. United Methodists share many foundation stones with other Christians, but we also have some uniqueness. I want to discover both sides of this coin with a group of people over several weeks beginning this summer and who knows what after that? Last week we listed topics that members of the class would like to address, and that's where we're beginning.

The class is in the sanctuary so we can take advantage of the internet and large screen to explore online at times. (I was challenged last Sunday, but will have that fixed this week). We'll also have handouts for those who want to take information home.

Last Sunday we discussed "What we know" and "What we want to know" and I've attached the notes taken (thanks to Lisa Gallagher and June Harrington) so you can see the whole landscape of ideas that emerged. We decided to begin with "Core UM beliefs" and branch out from there. I'm sure we will visit both sides of the center line on this page (sometimes what we think we know isn't really what we know, and sometimes we know more than we know we know)!

Also - for those who may want to know - I am looking for two teachers for young children during this hour as well - not a nursery but a real Sunday School class for children in the first three years of life. There is an old proverb that says "when the student is ready, the teacher appears." After watching Simon Kramer last Sunday during our class, I am convinced at least one student is ready! I have curriculum ready to go, and as soon as God calls teachers and they answer, we'll offer the class, which I would like to title "I.T.T." (infants, toddlers, and two's - or "itsy-bitsies, teethers and talkers"). Until we have teachers they will be invited to play in the sanctuary, hopefully with all of us taking a turn with caring for them. Simon already knows this church is for him, and I want every child to know what he knows.

Those with children in this range will also want to know that we have freed up some memorial funds to purchase a portable air conditioner for the nursery so children and the adults who care for them can be as comfortable as the rest of us. It's only right. This has been a long time coming and although it will only be a portable unit, we expect that it will do wonders on hot sticky days ahead.

Back to adults -- Our spiritual health is as crucial as our emotional and physical health. And we deserve more than dusty old faith that someone else told us about. We need to forge our own way in the wilderness that contemporary life is most of the time these days. United Methodism, I am proud to say, can be a guidepost. I make no apology. I take issue with the common wisdom that says "it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you believe...or...we all have the same God." Not really; you and I know people who worship gods that in the end don't do much for us. I think it matters a great deal what we believe. In fact, our lives and the lives of our children depend on it.

That's it for now. If you will give this a try - once or all summer long - you will find there are others on the journey with you, and instead of dust you may find a cool refreshing stream to help you along the way. It may be just an oasis for a while or it may be the place where your faith rests from now on. You can decide.

One more thing. Some of you have been looking for a church home. Wyoming Park isn't everything to everybody, but we offer the best we have - a relationship with a God who is visible in others, encourages and loves children as an extended family, and provides a place for everyone to find his or her gifts that God needs. You wouldn't have the gifts if that wasn't so.

Come, just stop in or settle inside the park. We're all going somewhere.
Grace and peace,
Bill J.
P.S. Been to our web page recently?

Memories, like the corners of our mind...

2009-04-24T09:41:00.007-04:00

Thursday, April 23 I visited the building where I attended high school. The Grand Rapids Public Schools had sold the property to the Grand Rapids Christian Schools, and the new owners determined they would dismantle the historic structure in favor of a more cost-effective approach - to build a new building on the present site.

I hadn't been to the former Ottawa Hills since 1985 when I helped prepare a slide show for our ____ class reunion (guess which number fits in here). So April 23 as I drove to the school, still several blocks away, I was moved to see how many cars and people had come out to say good bye and pay tribute to the place we once called "The Big House" (check the corner towers this freshman referred to as "guard towers" back in the day). I'm not big on that analogy, so I won't take that illustration any further...what did I know at age 14?

I parked three blocks away, and as I walked toward the school I was aware of a kind of heaviness washing over me. I wasn't ready for my reaction to the tour on Thursday. How does it happen that we feel an attachment to buildings that, when we were using them day-to-day, were merely the space where we went for what we did at that stage in life? Men in old varsity sweaters and young families with children swarmed around the two city blocks at Alexander and Iroquois. All of them sensed there was something here more than bricks. What was the meaning of that baseball-sized lump in my throat, while standing in the old corridors, gazing at a dusty gym floor, looking out through the third floor classroom windows where the Legend Year Book staff gathered once a week. I wanted desperately to open locker #119, but figured people would think I was nuts. Oh man, did I remove those pictures...?

What is it about "place" that is at the very core of us? The biblical story-tellers know. Our ancestors understood that an experience was worth marking with some symbol, most often a pile of rocks. God had been there, and you are supposed to remember where you find God.
You never know when you may want or more likely - need - to go back for a visit, or tell your children a story and want to show them for their own eyes to see. Even the Bible is a symbol, a collection of memories whether poetic or chronicled, telling the story of God's relationship with humankind. It's a spiritual book. It's where God can be found.

In January 1979 the First United Methodist Church of Holland burned to the ground. On the sidewalk in front of the rubble that used to be the building, an old saint and former pastor of the church , John Hagans, stood with then Senior Pastor John Francis and I. In his 90s, the good Reverend Hagans had been driven from his home in Allegan, to pay tribute to his former church. I'll never forget his words: "You know, that wasn't the church...the church is still here. That was a building; the church is the people." Yes, the church is people; and the old school was the people who taught us, who sat in class, crafted the year book, broke their bones and bore bruises, cheered and cried with us. But...

A Holland church member stopped by later that same day, and looking at a door frame left standing in the corner of the sanctuary, he said, "That's the last door I walked through as a single man." The words spoke volumes.

So where is the truth? No doubt it is somewhere among the great mysteries. People are more than places. And places are more than rocks, brick, mortar, steel and glass. Places are spiritual symbols that are part of who we are. Without them we are less than animals. With them we connect with the highest reaches of humanity, something just short of God-like-ness.

A part of me crumbles when the wrecking ball swings. And a part of me lives in the memories of relationships honed in that place once called "The Big House". Life is like that. We are body, mind and spirit. I didn't know at the time exactly how big that house was.

Pulpit Preview

2009-04-23T07:23:00.004-04:00

Rethinking Church

A new media campaign of the United Methodist Church is designed to promote the idea that there is a rich mission field at our doorstep, if we will only rethink the way we "do" church. To get a glimpse of this campaign, you can check out http://www.10thousanddoors.com/.

Have you ever wondered why God would create the Church? On Sunday mornings in May I'll be looking at what the Christian tradition calls the Body of Christ. Using passages from John's gospel, I'll begin with what Jesus says about himself, and try to unpack the purpose of the church using his wonderful images in John 15, "the good shepherd", "the true vine", "friend", and then round it out with Jesus' prayer for his followers in John 17.

Join me in thinking through this idea, or, as I've called the series, "Rethinking Church" . I'd love to see you!

Great Ride

2009-03-22T07:08:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to coach Donnie Tyndall and the Morehead State Eagles for a noteworthy season, making it to the NCAA tournament as Ohio Valley Conference champs. Seated 16, they were paired with the no. 1 Louisville Cardinals in the first round of the Mid-west bracket. Tough break! Nevertheless, Donnie and his team finished a fine season, his third as head coach at MSU. The future is bright, and if you ask me (which nobody has) this won't be Don's last trip to the big dance.

Way to go Don!

2009-03-13T08:13:00.004-04:00

One of the joys of reaching "maturity" is you get to see younger generations grow into adulthood. Don Tyndall was one of the "youth" whose path crossed mine while pastor at Aldersgate UMC in Grand Rapids. He was a standout at Northview HS and at Morehead State. He is now head coach at Morehead and the link with this posting shows his latest accomplishment - winning the Ohio Valley Conference championship. They are "Going Dancing" ! What a thrill for his family and this geezer.
Check it out! http://www.flickr.com/photos/msu1887/sets/72157615022534606/show/

Lent, Temptation and Turtles

2009-02-28T10:41:00.004-05:00

I saw this on CBS News: An Alligator Snapping Turtle that lives to be over one hundred years old, and can weigh up to 150 pounds. Compared to other sea creatures, it isn't the fastest thing in the water. You might wonder how anything this bulky could get enough food to keep it alive. After all, seaweed is only a snack for a 150 lb. turtle. The secret is its deceptively small tongue. Yup. I said tongue. I said deceptively small. Apparently to get food, Sammy or Sally Snapper opens its mouth and sticks out its tongue, which is small compared to the turtle's size, but long and very narrow like a worm. Unsuspecting fish looking for dinner head for the bait, and wham! Turtle food.
The thing about temptation is its deception. You think you're headed for a good nutritious meal and what you get is junk food. Feeling smart and quick, we can turn into sushi faster than you can say snapping turtle.
Nobody gets fooled by evil in a red suit with horns, a tail and a pitchfork. We can see it a mile away and run for cover. As Adam and Eve tried to teach us, evil is more likely to tempt us with flattery and cool talk. The fact that God said "Don't" wasn't enough for our first parents nor is it for us.
So, the lesson in every season (as Lent reminds us) is watch out for the scrumptous-looking worm. Things are not always as they appear.

2009-02-26T14:49:00.002-05:00

Do you know the name Jim Wallis, of Sojourner's? He rings my bell with regularity through his Sojomail articles (sojomail.com). His recent article comments on the president's address before a joint sesssion of Congress on Tuesday night. For the record, Wallis (God's Politics) goes head-on with republicans and democrats with equal fervor. But when there is praise to give, he is right to give it. I recommend this piece.
http://blog.sojo.net/2009/02/25/obamas-call-to-rebuild/

Of Geezers and Geeks

2009-02-23T13:39:00.006-05:00

I just learned that there is a book for people like me - born a generation too early for geekhood, and too young (I contend) to be a geezer. Anyway, it's got a title that has something about Geezers and Geeks. I don't really think of myself as either one, though some of my young friends are certain the former fits. Whatever.

At any rate, until the day I die I vow to believe that old dogs do in fact learn new tricks when the arthritis and unchanging ways don't hinder us. Didn't Grandma Moses paint Whistler's Mother at 80-something? I rest my case.

I'm going to need a lot of help with this, so share the blog if you think it's worth it. I'm counting on my friends to lead me into this century, and those who are not my friends, well, what are you doing in my address book anyway?

Here are some pictures of God's grace in my life. One stands for an early passion that won't let go of me, and the other two pics are the people I won't let go of. I think I'll also post sermons (or maybe summaries) for those interested in seeing what I say from the pulpit to the good people at Wyoming Park United Methodist Church. I hope the messages help, but if not, you will at least gain appreciation for the long-suffering and tolerance of this humble faith community who keep showing up for reasons that have more to do with their faith than the preaching. What can I say? Hope springs eternal at 2244 Porter St. SW, Wyoming. And that's no lie.

I have always enjoyed writing, and ever since Konrad Zuse built the first computer it's gotten so easy that one would be a fool not to give it a whirl. Besides, I wake up in the morning wanting to write and they say that's what matters. Until now I've let schedules and to-do lists order me around, but no more. I am, therefore I blog.

I expect this will take a while to get in the groove. All good things do. But one has to begin somewhere. There's a great line in the film Finding Forrester, when the recluse author William is coaching his young prodigy. Jamal is having trouble getting started, so the impatient mentor shouts at him, "Just pound the keys!" If this is just so much drivel, just remember I'm only pounding keys. Anyway, nobody is forcing you to keep reading, so for heaven's sake move on. You've got a list of blogs and facebook friends to check in on. So I hate to put it this way, but even mild-mannered pseudo-geezers at some point learn to be blunt: It's not about you anyway. I'm writing selfishly for me.

For those who may happen to drop in...your posts will spur me on. And who knows, you may even find that you inspire something for the blog. In the words of a geezer, that would be, well, neat.
bj