It’s almost Thanksgiving – that one time of the year that we take time to be thankful – we plan a whole day for it, actually, but let’s be honest! Most of us spend more time in front of the television or the stove! But since we have a few more days to consider how fortunate we are, I’d like to throw my “Top Things to Be Thankful For” into the mix! Here is what I’m thankful for this year!
l. Water. It was Mark Twain who once said “Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting over.” We Americans take our access to water and its plentitude for granted – but all that may change – and perhaps in our very own lifetimes. I recently learned that if the cure for AIDS was one 8 oz glass of clean water every day for every person infected with the disease – we couldn’t cure AIDS – we don’t have enough clean, fresh water in the world to meet that need. Shocking! It is predicted that the next world war will not be over oil – it will be
about water. So be thankful for water -- think and pray about water – try to conserve it as much as possible.
2. Food: We live in a country of unbelievable abundance. A trip to a market in Europe will reduce your choices of breakfast cereals about 85%. If you don’t like Wheatabix – well you’re pretty much out of luck. Seventeen children die of hunger every MINUTE in the worl. On Thanksgiving Thursday we will waste
more food than most of the people of the world will see in a month. Pray about food –its use and abuse and for those who may die because of the lack of it. Think about giving a donation of time or money to a local food bank!
3. Healthcare: – On this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful even with various aches and pains that I can walk; I can see; I can think and if for some reason I become incapacitated, I have within my grasp some of the best medical minds in the world – I have access to health care. It means that if my knees give out, I can replace them – if my eyes go bad I can have surgery to correct them. Within our own country there are men, women and children who do not have that luxury. Ten dollars per child is all it takes to immunize a child from all the diseases that American children routinely are immunized against – but the world cannot seem to raise that kind of money – guess we’re too busy buying Big Macs!
4. Employment- In Haiti the unemployment rate is 85%. In the U. S. it’s about 10% depending on where you live – and it’s the worst it’s been in about 23 years -- and we’re very upset about that. Have you thought about how lucky you are to have a job? Not the job you want? – well, in this country you have opportunity. In many places of the world your job is dependent on your family – if your father was a plumber – you can expect to be a plumber -- to do something else would be unthinkable. That may be OK if you WANT to be a plumber – but consider how many opportunities we have and don’t have to consider our parent’s occupations. So this Thanksgiving, pray for your work, your retirement and all your sources of income. So this Thanksgiving, pray for your work, your retirement and all your sources of income.
5. I’m thankful that I’m an American Woman: In many places in the world women are not allowed to drive a car – or shop in a store without a male escort. They can hold jobs – but only certain jobs… like teachers, nurses and childcare workers. They are forbidden to supervise men and their wages are a sharp contrast to their male counterparts. In many places in the world a woman can be fired from her job if a man applies for it – that’s all it takes – one male applicant and you lose your source of income. I’m thankful to be a woman in the time and place in which I live. Could it be better? Of course! But I’m grateful for what I have.
6. I’m grateful that I live where I am free to make my own decisions. I met a woman this week at a formal dinner who was wearing a beautiful white caftan – when she was asked where she bought it she said that she had recently been in Kuwait meeting with women about their rights– where the women must wear black caftans, veils and headscarves whenever they are in public. The men wear white caftans that are much cooler. My friend suggested to the women she was meeting that she would like one of those lovely WHITE caftans – and the Kuwaiti women were aghast!! A woman cannot buy men’s clothes in Kuwait! – they cannot go into a men’s store. As she was preparing to leave Kuwait the women presented her with a gift of a white caftan – one of the women had sent her brother, who is about the same size as my acquaintance – because you see, in Kuwait a man who was buying clothes for a man other than himself would also come under suspicion. Be grateful for your liberty!
7. Friends and Family- Sometimes we take the people that we love for granted the most. I talked recently to a man whose wife died and he said, “I wish now that I had told her more how much I loved her”. So often we say, “if only I had done this or that”. The saddest words in all the world are “if only”. Tell someone today how much you care for and love them. Thank God for these important people in your life.
8. I’m thankful that I can stand up for what is right – and that I can make a difference if I choose to act on my values and beliefs. I can volunteer, I can write to my representatives in Congress or the Senate. I can vote and I can spend my time and my money to make the world a better place to live. I have a voice, if I choose to use it. I can stand up – or sit in – or petition or write a letter. I have power if I choose to use it – and use it, I should!
9- I would be terribly remiss if I wasn’t thankful for the children in my life – the littlest ones and the ones who are nearing adulthood– because they give me great joy and help me to see the world through their eyes.
9. I am incredibly grateful that time moves forward – that just when we begin to believe that humanity has all the right answers, we find out how truly off base we were. I’m grateful that most of the time, we’re wrong! There were those who claimed that women would never have the vote in the United States – that women could never serve in ministry, that African-Americans were not equal to Caucasians in intelligence or logic. It was once believed that children were just “miniature adults” and should be taught to work and be responsible at a very early age – so that they would make “better” adults. At one time alcoholism was a “sin” and so was homosexuality, divorce and working in the entertainment field! I’m SO glad times are a changin’ and that we learn and grow (evolve!) from generation to generation.
10. I believe that the problems of this world belong to us – but that we belong to God. The “present time,” you see, isn’t a prepackaged stew that we have little choice but to serve and to endure. The present time is God’s time. Events and decisions are still ours to shape – we can’t get off that hook – but God has chosen to give us guidance and assurances to help us along the way. That’s Good News!
So, this Thanksgiving make up your own list of what you’re thankful for! It’s a wonderful world – appreciate it!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thoughts on Halloween, etc.
It's "that time of year" again! Makes me just crazy when I hear those folks of the religious right proclaim that Halloween is "the devil's birthday" and hand out tracts to children who come to the door looking for "treats". What kind of nonsense is that!! A little reading of church history would inform our ultra-religious cisterns and brethren that what we celebrate today is a remnant of religious practice by some very committed Christians and others. What we now do for fun, was once done by both children and adults in deadly earnest!
The history goes like this: Named “All Hallows Eve,” the festival was first celebrated by the ancient Celts in Ireland in the 5th century, BC. October 31 was the official end of summer and Celtic households extinguished the fires on their hearths to deliberately make their homes cold and undesirable to disembodied spirits. They then gathered outside the village, where a huge bonfire was built to honor the sun god for the past summer’s harvest and to frighten away spirits.
The Celts believed that on Oct. 31, all persons who had died in the previous year assembled to choose the body of the person or animal they would inhabit for the next 12 months, before they could pass peacefully into the afterlife. To frighten roving souls, Celtic family members dressed themselves as demons, witches and goblins to make themselves undesirable for the spirits to inhabit. At this point a poor (living) soul, who was deemed to be possessed by appearance or mannerism, would be sacrificed on the bonfire as a lesson to any spirits contemplating human possession. Not very "nice" of them -- that's for sure -- but remember, these were very primitive people and superstitions gave them a sense of hope and control over a world that was very mysterious! Sound like anyone you know today?
The Romans adopted Celtic Halloween practices in 61 AD, but forbade the sacrifice of humans, substituting instead, effigies. In time, the belief in spirit possession waned, and Halloween became an amusement.
Christians celebrated All Soul’s Day (November 1) beginning in the 9th century. They would walk from village to village begging for square biscuits made with raisins called “soul cakes”. The “beggars” promised to offer up prayers for the dead relatives of the donors, the number of prayers to be proportional to the donors’ generosity with the raisins in the cakes. It was believed at that time, of course, that limbo and purgatory were the initial stopping place for all soul’s bound for heaven, and it was believed that a prayer, any prayer from any person, could shorten that stay.
All Saints’ or All Souls’ Day: November 1 is the actual day, but is recognized on the first Sunday of November within the present Christian calendar. It commemorates all Christian people of all time and place who have gone on to "Glory" and the “communion of the Saints” both living and dead...to recognize the common bond between the church on earth, which, unfortunately is termed "the Church Militant" and the "Church Expectant" (those who have "gone on to their reward") and the "Church Triumphant" (the gathering of the church upon Christ’s return). These are all "terms of the church" -- and if you are from a Catholic background, you probably learned them, and their definitions, in your confirmation class. The "Church Militant" referring to the living church today (YIKES!) means that we Christians are supposed to be "fighting the powers of evil" in the world. Gosh, I wish we really were!
All Souls’ Day was vigorously objected to by the Reformers (Calvin, Luther and Zwingli, among others) because it continued the “veneration of the saints.” Ironically, many denominations today use All Saints’ Day to remember and “venerate” the Reformers! They would be appalled!
So -- go tricking and treating!! Dress up and have fun! Hand out safe snacks to the children and ignore the "hype" from the right! It's just a fun day with an unfortunate past.... which makes it just like so many of us!
Pastor Nan
The history goes like this: Named “All Hallows Eve,” the festival was first celebrated by the ancient Celts in Ireland in the 5th century, BC. October 31 was the official end of summer and Celtic households extinguished the fires on their hearths to deliberately make their homes cold and undesirable to disembodied spirits. They then gathered outside the village, where a huge bonfire was built to honor the sun god for the past summer’s harvest and to frighten away spirits.
The Celts believed that on Oct. 31, all persons who had died in the previous year assembled to choose the body of the person or animal they would inhabit for the next 12 months, before they could pass peacefully into the afterlife. To frighten roving souls, Celtic family members dressed themselves as demons, witches and goblins to make themselves undesirable for the spirits to inhabit. At this point a poor (living) soul, who was deemed to be possessed by appearance or mannerism, would be sacrificed on the bonfire as a lesson to any spirits contemplating human possession. Not very "nice" of them -- that's for sure -- but remember, these were very primitive people and superstitions gave them a sense of hope and control over a world that was very mysterious! Sound like anyone you know today?
The Romans adopted Celtic Halloween practices in 61 AD, but forbade the sacrifice of humans, substituting instead, effigies. In time, the belief in spirit possession waned, and Halloween became an amusement.
Christians celebrated All Soul’s Day (November 1) beginning in the 9th century. They would walk from village to village begging for square biscuits made with raisins called “soul cakes”. The “beggars” promised to offer up prayers for the dead relatives of the donors, the number of prayers to be proportional to the donors’ generosity with the raisins in the cakes. It was believed at that time, of course, that limbo and purgatory were the initial stopping place for all soul’s bound for heaven, and it was believed that a prayer, any prayer from any person, could shorten that stay.
All Saints’ or All Souls’ Day: November 1 is the actual day, but is recognized on the first Sunday of November within the present Christian calendar. It commemorates all Christian people of all time and place who have gone on to "Glory" and the “communion of the Saints” both living and dead...to recognize the common bond between the church on earth, which, unfortunately is termed "the Church Militant" and the "Church Expectant" (those who have "gone on to their reward") and the "Church Triumphant" (the gathering of the church upon Christ’s return). These are all "terms of the church" -- and if you are from a Catholic background, you probably learned them, and their definitions, in your confirmation class. The "Church Militant" referring to the living church today (YIKES!) means that we Christians are supposed to be "fighting the powers of evil" in the world. Gosh, I wish we really were!
All Souls’ Day was vigorously objected to by the Reformers (Calvin, Luther and Zwingli, among others) because it continued the “veneration of the saints.” Ironically, many denominations today use All Saints’ Day to remember and “venerate” the Reformers! They would be appalled!
So -- go tricking and treating!! Dress up and have fun! Hand out safe snacks to the children and ignore the "hype" from the right! It's just a fun day with an unfortunate past.... which makes it just like so many of us!
Pastor Nan
Monday, September 21, 2009
ROB HUDSON AND ME - ANSWERING THE UNANSWERABLE QUESTIONS!
Dear Readers: It seems I don’t know how to do a SHORT blog! But, never mind. Here is this month’s offering:
I recently had a wonderful email exchange with Rob Hudson – one of our newer members at Trinity. If you were at our church picnic over Labor Day weekend you remember Rob answering the question “What does being a part of Trinity mean to you?” with the answer that he spent his life trying to stump all of his Jesuit priest teachers in school with what he thought were the “unanswerable questions”. The only answer he ever received to these difficult queries was “you must have faith!” In Rob’s words “all I ever got back from those priests or nuns was “the F word”.
When Rob joined Trinity he thought he’d take the opportunity to try out some of his unanswerable questions on me – and thus began this email exchange that I’ve referred to. When it was all said and done, it was Rob who suggested that I turn it into a blog – and since I have such a dickens of a time coming up with anything for blogs (but I’m trying!!) I thought I use Rob’s questions and my answers this time. (Remember Rob – this was YOUR idea!) So here goes (with only slight editorial modifications to protect the writers -- and with Rob's approval -- it was actually his idea!)
Hi Pastor Nan,
I'm going through my old email, and found your question (based on mine as to whether or not Jesus was divine). You asked: "If you found out today, that unequivocally, Jesus was neither divine nor the Son of God, what difference would it make in your life?"
Of all of the mysteries of faith, I struggle most with the divinity of Christ. It seems awfully convenient for God to send his (or her?) son to Earth to connect with people, and the stories seem more like a contrivance of man than a true story. Is it possible to accept God as an all-powerful creator, but not to accept Christ as my savior? I'm having trouble believing. The more I learn about how human interpretations of God have shaped what I was taught to believe, the more skeptical I am of the belief system, and the more inclined I am to view church as a community of people than a pathway to the Divine. Also, the little doubting spark of energy inside me gets a bit more fuel; what other beliefs, with study of history over time, are just waiting to be dismissed as human constructs? How do you reconcile the magical and the spiritual with study of human misinterpretation or misuse of the Divine acts of God? ROB (or J.O.E. – Jesus Or Else!)
FROM REV NAN: Good questions all!! But you didn't answer the original question – which was "what difference would it make in your life if you found out that Jesus was NOT divine??" Answer that one -- and we'll go from there. Pastor Nan
FROM ROB: Eh. For me, it wouldn't make much of a difference; because I'm not sure I believe it in the first place (I who still shudder at the Exorcist and get creeped out by Lovecraftian movies about demons). Very funny! :(
FROM REV NAN: SO -- if it already doesn't make a difference -- what's the catch? Are you feeling creeped out because you were taught something that may be a lie? Are you angry that the whole world is caught up in some kind of religious conspiracy? Join the club!
The first thing we learn in seminary is that everything we thought we believed -- we don't. Everything we thought was true, probably isn't, (or maybe we heard what we wanted to hear!) That God isn't nearly as mean and bad-tempered as we chose to believe -- and that Jesus' death on the cross was tragic and cruel -- but may have nothing to do with my hereafter... that all of that "stuff" was constructed by the powerful elite of the early church who wanted to control the people, governments, money and all the rest -- and they did! They stifled science, mathmatics and philosophy. They ignored the gifts of women and minorities and punished anyone who said anything differently. (Burning witches at the stake was a favorite pasttime -- most of those "witches" were strong, independent women who spoke up to authority.)
So what are we left with? I think something better, actually. Just what you suggested. A gathering of people who want to make life better -- for themselves, for others and especially for those who may be marginalized or forgotten for some reason. Who else in society will do it? Who else HAS done it??
Good, faithful (read religious) people have done some extaordinary things over time -- like built the first hospitals -- the first colleges that excepted women, blacks or other minorities. There wasn't an Ivy League school in the country that would accept a Jew until Harvard did in the 1960's (it's historically Congregational -- remember them?? The Puritans!). The Women's Temperance Society started by the Methodists makes you shudder until you realize that it was an early attempt to protect women and minor children from abusive husbands/fathers and boyfriends who got drunk and beat up their families! Churches led the fight for abolition
and were the first groups vocal about the Viet Nam war. And I could go on.... and on, and on...
"The Church" has done a lot of damage -- but "the church" -- by which I mean a small group of Presbyterians hell bent on bringing justice to the world or some UCCer's who want to make our streets safe for gays and lesbians -- is still doing great stuff!
Who else is? - on such a regular and well organized level? American Red Cross? (Started by a religious woman!) Amnesty International (started by religious folks!) NAACP (started by strong willed Baptists!) Would they have been so motivated without a "religious" bent? Don't know!
It's ok to strain your religion through your own perceptions and abilities to believe. You can leave the magic behind and still have a faith that works!
So what do you do with prayer -- and rituals -- and all that? Well, you remember that God isn't Santa Claus!
I like one of the Buddhist explanations of life. It goes something like this:
We are all part of a great ocean of water that flows along -- until one day, we fall over a great cliff into a waterfall -- and as we are falling, we separate from the great ocean as a tiny bit of spray -- a single iota of water -- a droplet of infinitesimal proportions... and in that moment we say to ourselves "Look at me!! I am completely unique! I am unlike anyone else and I am powerful beyond measure! I'm SO special!! There is something else out there that knows me -- that loves me -- that seeks me -- that is watching me. I'm going to try to control it! I'm going to try to ...... "
And just when we think we have it all figured out -- we join the rest of the great watery mass at the bottom of the cliff and swirl on as one gigantic sea! Pastor Nan
FROM ROB:
I guess I also feel like if that was a lie, maybe God is a lie, and maybe we just punch out of life into the ether or disappear completely. That philosophy starts tending towards "nothing we do matters," and on a daily basis, that there is not someone watching over us to help. That would be a chilling revelation -- if we were
alone. -- Rob
FROM REV NAN: Here are my thoughts on your comments. First: I'm sorry to do this, but I think you're blowing smoke up my nose (or some other part of my anatomy that pastors shouldn't refer to!) Your responses sound just like what you were taught in all those good Catholic schools. Let's see if you really believe what you say, ok??
Here's the challenge: You say you would be saddened/disheartened/devastated
to learn that "God was a lie" BECAUSE then it would feel like "nothing we do matters" (your words, not mine). So I gather from that comment that you are VERY concerned that "your life matter" -- and by inference, that it matter to God! Right? Is that what you mean? Because if THAT is what you
mean I need to ask you: "How many times a day do you stop to ask yourself: 'Is this important in the wider scope of things?' Or 'Is God pleased with this thing that I am doing?' or 'what can I be doing that would make my life matter more?' HMMMM?
Being a person who is so concerned that your life "matters to God" I am sure you must frequently be questioning your motives/actions/thoughts/... and oh, yes -- that of course since you want God to know that YOU are HERE -- not just that GOD is THERE -- you are frequently thanking God, praising God, and invoking God into your life, work, relationships, etc, etc. etc..... I've got to be on target here -- right??
Given your grave concern for pleasing God and having a life that matters???
So, maybe you don't praise/thank/invoke God every day?? How about every week? HMMM? OK --So have you asked yourself any of those questions this decade??? IF you really WERE concerned that your life "mattered" what difference would THAT make?? I preach this stuff every Sunday to a bunch of empty chairs --people just like you want God to "be there" when they want God -- but have very little time to invest in a God who won't answer their every prayer and be "present" in a tangible way TO THEM PERSONALLY! How hubristic can we get! It’s all about MY God – not OUR God (you know, the one we pray to in the Lord’s Prayer?)
And about that whole "watching us" stuff and "being alone" – Good Grief!! Have you stopped to consider that you are one of about 7 billion people on this planet and that being "alone" is almost impossible?? That the one thing that we know about God is that God wants us to be "in community" --
that we should love and depend and care for one another??! That we are, in fact, "God" to each other -- but do we really care?? We want a "personal” God to "watch ME" and make sure that I get all the good stuff and that I'm taken care of! That's the God we want!! We seem to have forgotten that the God that has been revealed to us is the God who says (among other things)
"As you do it even unto the least of these, you have done it to me"
"If your brother is without a shirt, give him yours!"
"Clothe the naked; feed the hungry, visit those who are in prison."
"Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God."
And I could go on!! Alone, Rob???? Start feeding the hungry and reaching out to those in need and then tell me how alone you feel. Volunteer at the local AIDS walk-in center or the Arch Street Center for the mentally ill and then we'll talk about whether or not your life has meaning – but, frankly, if you do
those things, I know it won't be much of a conversation anymore.
What you really mean by your questions is what we have all somehow learned over time -- and
it's so sad and so irrelevant! It's this: "If God doesn't take care of me, then what good is God? If God doesn't reward me and see me and praise ME, then I have no time for God, and if God can't seem to make it on my schedule, then I'm not interested in God.”
Given all these "realities" it sure feels like God is dead -- and THAT must be why we feel so lonely and unfulfilled!! It's all GOD'S fault! Do ya get my drift, Rob? Amen and Amen!
FROM ROB: Wow! You are 100% right! Thank you for being honest. I have a lot to
think about.
Dear Readers: Rob, not a very frequent church-goer, was with us for worship the following Sunday! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
I recently had a wonderful email exchange with Rob Hudson – one of our newer members at Trinity. If you were at our church picnic over Labor Day weekend you remember Rob answering the question “What does being a part of Trinity mean to you?” with the answer that he spent his life trying to stump all of his Jesuit priest teachers in school with what he thought were the “unanswerable questions”. The only answer he ever received to these difficult queries was “you must have faith!” In Rob’s words “all I ever got back from those priests or nuns was “the F word”.
When Rob joined Trinity he thought he’d take the opportunity to try out some of his unanswerable questions on me – and thus began this email exchange that I’ve referred to. When it was all said and done, it was Rob who suggested that I turn it into a blog – and since I have such a dickens of a time coming up with anything for blogs (but I’m trying!!) I thought I use Rob’s questions and my answers this time. (Remember Rob – this was YOUR idea!) So here goes (with only slight editorial modifications to protect the writers -- and with Rob's approval -- it was actually his idea!)
Hi Pastor Nan,
I'm going through my old email, and found your question (based on mine as to whether or not Jesus was divine). You asked: "If you found out today, that unequivocally, Jesus was neither divine nor the Son of God, what difference would it make in your life?"
Of all of the mysteries of faith, I struggle most with the divinity of Christ. It seems awfully convenient for God to send his (or her?) son to Earth to connect with people, and the stories seem more like a contrivance of man than a true story. Is it possible to accept God as an all-powerful creator, but not to accept Christ as my savior? I'm having trouble believing. The more I learn about how human interpretations of God have shaped what I was taught to believe, the more skeptical I am of the belief system, and the more inclined I am to view church as a community of people than a pathway to the Divine. Also, the little doubting spark of energy inside me gets a bit more fuel; what other beliefs, with study of history over time, are just waiting to be dismissed as human constructs? How do you reconcile the magical and the spiritual with study of human misinterpretation or misuse of the Divine acts of God? ROB (or J.O.E. – Jesus Or Else!)
FROM REV NAN: Good questions all!! But you didn't answer the original question – which was "what difference would it make in your life if you found out that Jesus was NOT divine??" Answer that one -- and we'll go from there. Pastor Nan
FROM ROB: Eh. For me, it wouldn't make much of a difference; because I'm not sure I believe it in the first place (I who still shudder at the Exorcist and get creeped out by Lovecraftian movies about demons). Very funny! :(
FROM REV NAN: SO -- if it already doesn't make a difference -- what's the catch? Are you feeling creeped out because you were taught something that may be a lie? Are you angry that the whole world is caught up in some kind of religious conspiracy? Join the club!
The first thing we learn in seminary is that everything we thought we believed -- we don't. Everything we thought was true, probably isn't, (or maybe we heard what we wanted to hear!) That God isn't nearly as mean and bad-tempered as we chose to believe -- and that Jesus' death on the cross was tragic and cruel -- but may have nothing to do with my hereafter... that all of that "stuff" was constructed by the powerful elite of the early church who wanted to control the people, governments, money and all the rest -- and they did! They stifled science, mathmatics and philosophy. They ignored the gifts of women and minorities and punished anyone who said anything differently. (Burning witches at the stake was a favorite pasttime -- most of those "witches" were strong, independent women who spoke up to authority.)
So what are we left with? I think something better, actually. Just what you suggested. A gathering of people who want to make life better -- for themselves, for others and especially for those who may be marginalized or forgotten for some reason. Who else in society will do it? Who else HAS done it??
Good, faithful (read religious) people have done some extaordinary things over time -- like built the first hospitals -- the first colleges that excepted women, blacks or other minorities. There wasn't an Ivy League school in the country that would accept a Jew until Harvard did in the 1960's (it's historically Congregational -- remember them?? The Puritans!). The Women's Temperance Society started by the Methodists makes you shudder until you realize that it was an early attempt to protect women and minor children from abusive husbands/fathers and boyfriends who got drunk and beat up their families! Churches led the fight for abolition
and were the first groups vocal about the Viet Nam war. And I could go on.... and on, and on...
"The Church" has done a lot of damage -- but "the church" -- by which I mean a small group of Presbyterians hell bent on bringing justice to the world or some UCCer's who want to make our streets safe for gays and lesbians -- is still doing great stuff!
Who else is? - on such a regular and well organized level? American Red Cross? (Started by a religious woman!) Amnesty International (started by religious folks!) NAACP (started by strong willed Baptists!) Would they have been so motivated without a "religious" bent? Don't know!
It's ok to strain your religion through your own perceptions and abilities to believe. You can leave the magic behind and still have a faith that works!
So what do you do with prayer -- and rituals -- and all that? Well, you remember that God isn't Santa Claus!
I like one of the Buddhist explanations of life. It goes something like this:
We are all part of a great ocean of water that flows along -- until one day, we fall over a great cliff into a waterfall -- and as we are falling, we separate from the great ocean as a tiny bit of spray -- a single iota of water -- a droplet of infinitesimal proportions... and in that moment we say to ourselves "Look at me!! I am completely unique! I am unlike anyone else and I am powerful beyond measure! I'm SO special!! There is something else out there that knows me -- that loves me -- that seeks me -- that is watching me. I'm going to try to control it! I'm going to try to ...... "
And just when we think we have it all figured out -- we join the rest of the great watery mass at the bottom of the cliff and swirl on as one gigantic sea! Pastor Nan
FROM ROB:
I guess I also feel like if that was a lie, maybe God is a lie, and maybe we just punch out of life into the ether or disappear completely. That philosophy starts tending towards "nothing we do matters," and on a daily basis, that there is not someone watching over us to help. That would be a chilling revelation -- if we were
alone. -- Rob
FROM REV NAN: Here are my thoughts on your comments. First: I'm sorry to do this, but I think you're blowing smoke up my nose (or some other part of my anatomy that pastors shouldn't refer to!) Your responses sound just like what you were taught in all those good Catholic schools. Let's see if you really believe what you say, ok??
Here's the challenge: You say you would be saddened/disheartened/devastated
to learn that "God was a lie" BECAUSE then it would feel like "nothing we do matters" (your words, not mine). So I gather from that comment that you are VERY concerned that "your life matter" -- and by inference, that it matter to God! Right? Is that what you mean? Because if THAT is what you
mean I need to ask you: "How many times a day do you stop to ask yourself: 'Is this important in the wider scope of things?' Or 'Is God pleased with this thing that I am doing?' or 'what can I be doing that would make my life matter more?' HMMMM?
Being a person who is so concerned that your life "matters to God" I am sure you must frequently be questioning your motives/actions/thoughts/... and oh, yes -- that of course since you want God to know that YOU are HERE -- not just that GOD is THERE -- you are frequently thanking God, praising God, and invoking God into your life, work, relationships, etc, etc. etc..... I've got to be on target here -- right??
Given your grave concern for pleasing God and having a life that matters???
So, maybe you don't praise/thank/invoke God every day?? How about every week? HMMM? OK --So have you asked yourself any of those questions this decade??? IF you really WERE concerned that your life "mattered" what difference would THAT make?? I preach this stuff every Sunday to a bunch of empty chairs --people just like you want God to "be there" when they want God -- but have very little time to invest in a God who won't answer their every prayer and be "present" in a tangible way TO THEM PERSONALLY! How hubristic can we get! It’s all about MY God – not OUR God (you know, the one we pray to in the Lord’s Prayer?)
And about that whole "watching us" stuff and "being alone" – Good Grief!! Have you stopped to consider that you are one of about 7 billion people on this planet and that being "alone" is almost impossible?? That the one thing that we know about God is that God wants us to be "in community" --
that we should love and depend and care for one another??! That we are, in fact, "God" to each other -- but do we really care?? We want a "personal” God to "watch ME" and make sure that I get all the good stuff and that I'm taken care of! That's the God we want!! We seem to have forgotten that the God that has been revealed to us is the God who says (among other things)
"As you do it even unto the least of these, you have done it to me"
"If your brother is without a shirt, give him yours!"
"Clothe the naked; feed the hungry, visit those who are in prison."
"Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God."
And I could go on!! Alone, Rob???? Start feeding the hungry and reaching out to those in need and then tell me how alone you feel. Volunteer at the local AIDS walk-in center or the Arch Street Center for the mentally ill and then we'll talk about whether or not your life has meaning – but, frankly, if you do
those things, I know it won't be much of a conversation anymore.
What you really mean by your questions is what we have all somehow learned over time -- and
it's so sad and so irrelevant! It's this: "If God doesn't take care of me, then what good is God? If God doesn't reward me and see me and praise ME, then I have no time for God, and if God can't seem to make it on my schedule, then I'm not interested in God.”
Given all these "realities" it sure feels like God is dead -- and THAT must be why we feel so lonely and unfulfilled!! It's all GOD'S fault! Do ya get my drift, Rob? Amen and Amen!
FROM ROB: Wow! You are 100% right! Thank you for being honest. I have a lot to
think about.
Dear Readers: Rob, not a very frequent church-goer, was with us for worship the following Sunday! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Monday, August 31, 2009
GOT SILK?
GOT SILK??
I’ve been thinking about parachutes! (Don’t ask me why – who knows with a mind like mine!!) Did you know that when parachutes were first invented they were made from silk? Think about those beautiful silk parachutes – as soft as lingerie…all billowed out above the glider like some gigantic silken mushroom. During WWII silk was one of the “rationed” items in American life so women had to go without stockings. I remember my mother telling me that women used to paint brown lines up the back of their legs to mimic the seams in stockings so that it looked like they had stockings on! Funny!
Today the term “parachute” is a metaphor for more than that skydiving apparatus. To have a “golden parachute” mean that you are leaving your job with some pretty amazing benefits. We also think about the parachute image when we talk about taking enormous risks in life – or being in a life situation that feels, frankly, like a “free fall”.
I’ve been dreaming about parachuting lately. Not that I would ever actually jump out of a plane! Not unless it was safely on the ground would I ever consider such a thing! I’m a chicken, through and through (with my apologies to all my barnyard friends.) I like my adventures well planned and my risk-taking completely thought-out. I like surprises to be gently hinted at so that I’m not “surprised”!! For those of you who were around at Christmas when my two adult children and their off-spring decided to descend on me without warning for a week, you know how I was both delighted – and appalled!! I LOVED being with them, having the children near me, hearing them, seeing them, even smelling them!! But I was nearly deranged about not having enough groceries in the house – or sheets and towels! At one time I had an extra 11 people in my house and not having enough places to sit to eat meant bringing lawn chairs and patio furniture into the dining room. As much as it all “worked” I felt like I needed a parachute from time to time to break my fall into utter chaos!!
Do you know that if you check out the internet for “parachute” references you will find instructions on how to survive a “free-fall”! YIKES! That’s enough to scare me out of skydiving altogether – but I’ve been thinking about all of this and wondering what message my mind/spirit is trying to give me.
Perhaps it’s “Loosen up Nancy”. Let the good times roll (and the bad times too). Trust the silk above you and begin to enjoy the view! You CAN survive a free-fall – but it appears that, at least today and in this moment, you have a wonderful, full-blown protective covering over your head – so quiet your stuttering heart and take a deep breath and glide down to wherever you land.”
That’s my message for all of my “readers” this month.
Got silk?
I’ve been thinking about parachutes! (Don’t ask me why – who knows with a mind like mine!!) Did you know that when parachutes were first invented they were made from silk? Think about those beautiful silk parachutes – as soft as lingerie…all billowed out above the glider like some gigantic silken mushroom. During WWII silk was one of the “rationed” items in American life so women had to go without stockings. I remember my mother telling me that women used to paint brown lines up the back of their legs to mimic the seams in stockings so that it looked like they had stockings on! Funny!
Today the term “parachute” is a metaphor for more than that skydiving apparatus. To have a “golden parachute” mean that you are leaving your job with some pretty amazing benefits. We also think about the parachute image when we talk about taking enormous risks in life – or being in a life situation that feels, frankly, like a “free fall”.
I’ve been dreaming about parachuting lately. Not that I would ever actually jump out of a plane! Not unless it was safely on the ground would I ever consider such a thing! I’m a chicken, through and through (with my apologies to all my barnyard friends.) I like my adventures well planned and my risk-taking completely thought-out. I like surprises to be gently hinted at so that I’m not “surprised”!! For those of you who were around at Christmas when my two adult children and their off-spring decided to descend on me without warning for a week, you know how I was both delighted – and appalled!! I LOVED being with them, having the children near me, hearing them, seeing them, even smelling them!! But I was nearly deranged about not having enough groceries in the house – or sheets and towels! At one time I had an extra 11 people in my house and not having enough places to sit to eat meant bringing lawn chairs and patio furniture into the dining room. As much as it all “worked” I felt like I needed a parachute from time to time to break my fall into utter chaos!!
Do you know that if you check out the internet for “parachute” references you will find instructions on how to survive a “free-fall”! YIKES! That’s enough to scare me out of skydiving altogether – but I’ve been thinking about all of this and wondering what message my mind/spirit is trying to give me.
Perhaps it’s “Loosen up Nancy”. Let the good times roll (and the bad times too). Trust the silk above you and begin to enjoy the view! You CAN survive a free-fall – but it appears that, at least today and in this moment, you have a wonderful, full-blown protective covering over your head – so quiet your stuttering heart and take a deep breath and glide down to wherever you land.”
That’s my message for all of my “readers” this month.
Got silk?
Monday, July 20, 2009
Taking the "Trinity Challenge"
If you’ve been around me for very long you know that I am an Oprah fan. I watch her show whenever I have the chance. Recently her program was on a relevant topic – how to scale back in these tough economic times. Two families took an “Oprah challenge” that involved reductions in spending, time spent on the computer or in front of the television and driving. As I watched, I couldn’t help but think how a challenge like this would be good for everyone – and wondered if as a church we might engage ourselves in a similar challenge.
Here is what Oprah proposed:
One day without spending.
One week without using your credit card
One month without going out to eat or ordering take out.
Additionally, her families had other restrictions involving prohibitions on electronics (TV and computer) and for some, giving away “excesses” to charities.
What would it be like to take the Oprah challenge? Could we come up with out own “Trinity Challenge” or could we offer each other the choice of taking the Oprah challenge or accepting our own challenge tailored to our congregation? I’d like to propose the following:
One day when I give an equal amount to my church or a charity what I spend on myself.
(Choose the day ahead of time – if it’s a Thursday, for instance, then you will need to keep track of all your expenditures on that day so you know what to donate.)
An “E-Sabbath” when you turn off all electronic devices for at least 24 hours – no Blackberry, no personal computer, no email, no cell phone, no television, no DVD or VCR, no Gameboys or other handheld electronics. (Exceptions can be made for those who use a computer at work… this is about your PERSONAL use of these items)
One week without going out to eat or ordering take out – and in addition, making an effort to “eat local” by avoiding all foods that have been grown in far-away places and shipped, trucked or railed to us. Eating local means shopping at a local farmers market and reading the labels about where you food comes from when you buy it at the grocery store.
Donate what you don’t need and what you can live without: Go through your closet and remove “duplicate” items. Do you have 4 cans of baked beans? 6 bottles of detergent? Are there clothes in your closet with the tags still on them that you haven’t worn? Do you have 8 pair of the same kind of shoes? Make some tough decisions! Donate those items to the rummage sale or to some other charity – or give them to a friend or family member who has less than you do.
Lastly, think of what else might belong on this list. Contact me and we can make decisions about the “Trinity Challenge”. Perhaps we can make some changes in our lives and the lives of others by doing some rather simple things.
I’ll wait to hear from you!
Here is what Oprah proposed:
One day without spending.
One week without using your credit card
One month without going out to eat or ordering take out.
Additionally, her families had other restrictions involving prohibitions on electronics (TV and computer) and for some, giving away “excesses” to charities.
What would it be like to take the Oprah challenge? Could we come up with out own “Trinity Challenge” or could we offer each other the choice of taking the Oprah challenge or accepting our own challenge tailored to our congregation? I’d like to propose the following:
One day when I give an equal amount to my church or a charity what I spend on myself.
(Choose the day ahead of time – if it’s a Thursday, for instance, then you will need to keep track of all your expenditures on that day so you know what to donate.)
An “E-Sabbath” when you turn off all electronic devices for at least 24 hours – no Blackberry, no personal computer, no email, no cell phone, no television, no DVD or VCR, no Gameboys or other handheld electronics. (Exceptions can be made for those who use a computer at work… this is about your PERSONAL use of these items)
One week without going out to eat or ordering take out – and in addition, making an effort to “eat local” by avoiding all foods that have been grown in far-away places and shipped, trucked or railed to us. Eating local means shopping at a local farmers market and reading the labels about where you food comes from when you buy it at the grocery store.
Donate what you don’t need and what you can live without: Go through your closet and remove “duplicate” items. Do you have 4 cans of baked beans? 6 bottles of detergent? Are there clothes in your closet with the tags still on them that you haven’t worn? Do you have 8 pair of the same kind of shoes? Make some tough decisions! Donate those items to the rummage sale or to some other charity – or give them to a friend or family member who has less than you do.
Lastly, think of what else might belong on this list. Contact me and we can make decisions about the “Trinity Challenge”. Perhaps we can make some changes in our lives and the lives of others by doing some rather simple things.
I’ll wait to hear from you!
Friday, June 12, 2009
ON FAITH
Faith. What is your faith? Not your religion. Not your beliefs. What is your faith?
James Fowler, the guru of faith development wrote Stages of Faith, a book that is part of every religious scholars reading list and found in most clergy persons personal library. In the first chapter of that book he describes the following story:
He was driving to a workshop on faith, which he was leading. He was rehearsing a set of questions he had planned for the opening session, questions designed to open up some honest talk about faith in our lives. They were the questions, which you have in your bulletin tonight. He felt satisfied with these questions; they were not easy questions. He congratulated himself for his cleverness in coming up with such a useful, probing workshop opener and then, it hit him. How would he answer his own questions?
He then says: "I had to pull my car over to the shoulder and stop. For the next forty minutes, almost making myself late for the workshop, I examined the structure of values, the patterns of love and action, the shape of fear and dread and the directions of hope and friendship in my own life."
How easy it is to talk about faith – to preach about faith – to even teach about faith – how many of us can articulate our own faith? Fowler says that faith is not the same as religion or belief and that faith is not always religious in content or context. He says that faith is universal for all human beings, even for those with or without religious beliefs, traditions, or communities. Fowler’s definition of faith is this: "Faith is a person’s or group’s way of moving into the force field of life. It is our way of finding coherence in and giving meaning to the multiple forces and relations that make up our lives."
What are the values that are your ultimate concern? Fowler writes, "Our real worship, our true devotion directs itself toward the objects of our ultimate concern. Ultimate concern may be invested in family, university, nation, or church. Love, sex and a loved partner might be the passionate center of one’s ultimate concern. Ultimate concern is a much more powerful matter than claimed belief in a creed or a set of doctrinal propositions or a set of principles. Faith may or may not find its expression in institutional or...religious forms. If we understand faith in this manner then it involves how we make our most important decisions and it shapes the ways we invest our deepest loves and our most costly loyalties.” Where is your faith?
The key question of faith is not "What do you believe?" but "On what or on whom do you set your heart?" The Hindu, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin words for faith all involve an alignment of the heart or will -- a commitment of loyalty and trust. “ I set my heart on, I give my heart to, I hereby commit myself to, and I pledge allegiance to” are all meanings of the word "believe".
We tend to ask of one another, "What do you believe?" but I think we should try to reach another level of depth -- the question has to become one of faith: "On what or whom do you set your heart? What hope and what ground of hope animate you and give shape to the force field of your life and to how you move into it?"
I have a friend who is a rare commodity. She is younger even than my own children – but wise well beyond her years. She is the most “faithful” person I know. Sometimes she amazes her friends – sometimes she amuses us… but none of us doubts her true faith.
She cuts coupons from the paper and magazines and when she goes to the store she leaves them on the shelves next to the products they represent so that some other person might use them.
She regularly grocery shops for the food bank – she diligently tithes all that she earns, but also all that she receives in the way of gifts or windfalls.
She doesn’t hesitate to tell you she is praying for you – and she is the kind of person that when she says it, you know it will happen.
She has said that every night she prays for all the children of the world who are hungry or hurt or alone – and she truly believes her prayers will make a difference.
She is scrupulously honest. I have never heard her curse – and when she really became steamed at a man she knew she called him a “jack-behind” and her friends thought she was hilarious – but we also knew her choice of language came from integrity – not ignorance or self-righteousness. She thought it would be wrong to say “ass”.
When she is asked to be the lay reader at her place of worship, she routinely memorizes the texts – why? “Because people will understand it better if it isn’t read” she says.
She has often said: "I want to live the kind of life that God will want to answer my prayers."
Her focus was not really on God answering prayer but rather on living the kind of life that reflected her understanding of ultimate value. This woman could be Lutheran, or Jewish, Catholic or Buddhist. Her faith does not depend on the expression of her religion. She has found her faith – and I believe that all the underpinnings of her religion could be taken away, and she would still be a person of faith.
I think one of the reasons we don’t understand our identity, as a people of faith is that we have forgotten which questions to ask. Instead of prophetic questions, like Micah’s ‘What does the Lord require?’ (to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God), we are such products of consumer society that our questions about religion are upside down: ‘What do I require? – How is this church, this order of worship, this denominational identity, this way of looking at God helping/serving/informing/me? What am I getting out of this experience?”
Like Micah, my friend’s focus is on what is required of her. She understands how easy it is for us to fall into selfishness and behaving in ways to serve our own needs. She has the unconscious humility of the truly righteous. Certainly in my friend’s living -- in how she spends her time and energy, her faith and practice are intertwined. She, like Fowler, considers faith serious business and she has an infectious joy of life.
On whom or what do you set your heart? I can’t answer for you… but the goal would be to answer that question with honesty, with courage, with trust that the question itself can teach you something and can lead you to transformative growth. There are no right answers here – no wrong ones either.
I have two wishes for you. The first is that you may be caught by the question about faith in the same way that Fowler was that day in his car. To have one’s attention, mind, heart, and spirit caught in such a way is both gift and grace. The second wish I have for you is that, if you do not wish to enter into discerning your own faith – if this is something you abhor -- that you will listen and respond to others as they reflect upon theirs. Either way, I believe we can find transformation.
James Fowler, the guru of faith development wrote Stages of Faith, a book that is part of every religious scholars reading list and found in most clergy persons personal library. In the first chapter of that book he describes the following story:
He was driving to a workshop on faith, which he was leading. He was rehearsing a set of questions he had planned for the opening session, questions designed to open up some honest talk about faith in our lives. They were the questions, which you have in your bulletin tonight. He felt satisfied with these questions; they were not easy questions. He congratulated himself for his cleverness in coming up with such a useful, probing workshop opener and then, it hit him. How would he answer his own questions?
He then says: "I had to pull my car over to the shoulder and stop. For the next forty minutes, almost making myself late for the workshop, I examined the structure of values, the patterns of love and action, the shape of fear and dread and the directions of hope and friendship in my own life."
How easy it is to talk about faith – to preach about faith – to even teach about faith – how many of us can articulate our own faith? Fowler says that faith is not the same as religion or belief and that faith is not always religious in content or context. He says that faith is universal for all human beings, even for those with or without religious beliefs, traditions, or communities. Fowler’s definition of faith is this: "Faith is a person’s or group’s way of moving into the force field of life. It is our way of finding coherence in and giving meaning to the multiple forces and relations that make up our lives."
What are the values that are your ultimate concern? Fowler writes, "Our real worship, our true devotion directs itself toward the objects of our ultimate concern. Ultimate concern may be invested in family, university, nation, or church. Love, sex and a loved partner might be the passionate center of one’s ultimate concern. Ultimate concern is a much more powerful matter than claimed belief in a creed or a set of doctrinal propositions or a set of principles. Faith may or may not find its expression in institutional or...religious forms. If we understand faith in this manner then it involves how we make our most important decisions and it shapes the ways we invest our deepest loves and our most costly loyalties.” Where is your faith?
The key question of faith is not "What do you believe?" but "On what or on whom do you set your heart?" The Hindu, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin words for faith all involve an alignment of the heart or will -- a commitment of loyalty and trust. “ I set my heart on, I give my heart to, I hereby commit myself to, and I pledge allegiance to” are all meanings of the word "believe".
We tend to ask of one another, "What do you believe?" but I think we should try to reach another level of depth -- the question has to become one of faith: "On what or whom do you set your heart? What hope and what ground of hope animate you and give shape to the force field of your life and to how you move into it?"
I have a friend who is a rare commodity. She is younger even than my own children – but wise well beyond her years. She is the most “faithful” person I know. Sometimes she amazes her friends – sometimes she amuses us… but none of us doubts her true faith.
She cuts coupons from the paper and magazines and when she goes to the store she leaves them on the shelves next to the products they represent so that some other person might use them.
She regularly grocery shops for the food bank – she diligently tithes all that she earns, but also all that she receives in the way of gifts or windfalls.
She doesn’t hesitate to tell you she is praying for you – and she is the kind of person that when she says it, you know it will happen.
She has said that every night she prays for all the children of the world who are hungry or hurt or alone – and she truly believes her prayers will make a difference.
She is scrupulously honest. I have never heard her curse – and when she really became steamed at a man she knew she called him a “jack-behind” and her friends thought she was hilarious – but we also knew her choice of language came from integrity – not ignorance or self-righteousness. She thought it would be wrong to say “ass”.
When she is asked to be the lay reader at her place of worship, she routinely memorizes the texts – why? “Because people will understand it better if it isn’t read” she says.
She has often said: "I want to live the kind of life that God will want to answer my prayers."
Her focus was not really on God answering prayer but rather on living the kind of life that reflected her understanding of ultimate value. This woman could be Lutheran, or Jewish, Catholic or Buddhist. Her faith does not depend on the expression of her religion. She has found her faith – and I believe that all the underpinnings of her religion could be taken away, and she would still be a person of faith.
I think one of the reasons we don’t understand our identity, as a people of faith is that we have forgotten which questions to ask. Instead of prophetic questions, like Micah’s ‘What does the Lord require?’ (to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God), we are such products of consumer society that our questions about religion are upside down: ‘What do I require? – How is this church, this order of worship, this denominational identity, this way of looking at God helping/serving/informing/me? What am I getting out of this experience?”
Like Micah, my friend’s focus is on what is required of her. She understands how easy it is for us to fall into selfishness and behaving in ways to serve our own needs. She has the unconscious humility of the truly righteous. Certainly in my friend’s living -- in how she spends her time and energy, her faith and practice are intertwined. She, like Fowler, considers faith serious business and she has an infectious joy of life.
On whom or what do you set your heart? I can’t answer for you… but the goal would be to answer that question with honesty, with courage, with trust that the question itself can teach you something and can lead you to transformative growth. There are no right answers here – no wrong ones either.
I have two wishes for you. The first is that you may be caught by the question about faith in the same way that Fowler was that day in his car. To have one’s attention, mind, heart, and spirit caught in such a way is both gift and grace. The second wish I have for you is that, if you do not wish to enter into discerning your own faith – if this is something you abhor -- that you will listen and respond to others as they reflect upon theirs. Either way, I believe we can find transformation.
Monday, June 8, 2009
TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG … THAT IS THE QUESTION!
“We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge.” – John Naisbitt
I come from the “old school”. You know, the days when one person’s opinion was shared with those who wanted to hear it – and generally, needed to ask – not with the entire world wide web! I come from a generation that was taught to believe that if you wanted to really impress people with your wisdom and knowledge, that “less is more”? So I am in a bit of a quandary. There are people in my life who have encouraged me to “blog” – to share my “wisdom”, to break forth with snippets of life experience or to share “what are you doing now” so that all the world can see (or at least those who happen to log on to my blog!)
But I feel daunted by that task! Who wants to know what I think? Don’t I do enough of that on any given Sunday morning?? And shouldn’t I be listening more and ranting less? Seems to me that’s the way it should work… but I continue to be encouraged to say more, write more, opine to my heart’s content. Jeez!
“The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.” Hubert Humphrey
And so, perhaps I have come upon a plan! I will write occasionally – when, in fact I think I have something to say. But in the meantime, I would be happy to “listen” and answer any questions that anyone might have for me that they think I might be able to answer. (I’ll give it my best shot!) Questions about religion, faith, the bible, current events, etc. I can wax eloquent for hours (I think) if someone else gives me the topic!
“If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.” Isaac Asimov.
So, let’s give it a try! If you have a question, let me know and I will try to give a fair answer – my opinion or maybe my understanding given the knowledge I have – but none the less, an answer.
Are you up for it?
“We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge.” – John Naisbitt
I come from the “old school”. You know, the days when one person’s opinion was shared with those who wanted to hear it – and generally, needed to ask – not with the entire world wide web! I come from a generation that was taught to believe that if you wanted to really impress people with your wisdom and knowledge, that “less is more”? So I am in a bit of a quandary. There are people in my life who have encouraged me to “blog” – to share my “wisdom”, to break forth with snippets of life experience or to share “what are you doing now” so that all the world can see (or at least those who happen to log on to my blog!)
But I feel daunted by that task! Who wants to know what I think? Don’t I do enough of that on any given Sunday morning?? And shouldn’t I be listening more and ranting less? Seems to me that’s the way it should work… but I continue to be encouraged to say more, write more, opine to my heart’s content. Jeez!
“The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.” Hubert Humphrey
And so, perhaps I have come upon a plan! I will write occasionally – when, in fact I think I have something to say. But in the meantime, I would be happy to “listen” and answer any questions that anyone might have for me that they think I might be able to answer. (I’ll give it my best shot!) Questions about religion, faith, the bible, current events, etc. I can wax eloquent for hours (I think) if someone else gives me the topic!
“If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.” Isaac Asimov.
So, let’s give it a try! If you have a question, let me know and I will try to give a fair answer – my opinion or maybe my understanding given the knowledge I have – but none the less, an answer.
Are you up for it?
Thursday, June 4, 2009
GRACE AND COMMUNITY
We are in the season of Pentecost – the season of the Spirit. And that seems to fit nicely with the popular culture these days. Have you noticed? For some time now we seem to be seeing a resurgence of spirituality in all its forms. I’m sure you have heard someone say, “I’m not very religious, I’ll admit --- but I’m very spiritual!” We see it all around us with television programs about angels and miracles -- and even Oprah’s “Remembering Your Spirit“.
In church we talk about the work of the Holy Spirit of God – moving, stirring, inspiring, and leading people of all tongues and races. But do you think that is the same activity that is being referred to by people who are “discovering their spirit”? Is there a difference between us getting in touch with our spirit … and God sending the spirit of eternity and wisdom; the spirit of comfort and fire among us?
Is this just a case where the church is out of touch with the real needs of people today, (lagging behind the popular revelation of Spirit being poured out among the many)? Or is it, maybe, a case where we are trying to blend too many metaphors (mixing spirituality and the tranquil life with worship of God and reverence for the holy)?
I think the Apostle Paul offers some helpful hints for understanding both the Biblical view of the Holy Spirit, and the popular view of human spirituality. In Romans 5:1-5
1. By faith, we have peace with God.
2. In Jesus, our Christ, we find God and receive the grace of God’s acceptance.
3. Our faith and experience of God is something we share joyfully with others.
4. We also take joy from the lessons of life – namely, that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.
5. And finally, hope is our bedrock, because it is a gift of the Spirit of God – which we receive through the love of God.
Interesting! Paul summarized quite nicely, I think, the two realities of Spirit: Our spirit – which strengthens us, gives us character and guides us toward community with others … and God’s Holy Spirit – which is the source of our spiritual journeying; a unique gift; a grant from the loving nature of Godself. God’s grace is the motivation … our sense of community and our care for ourselves and for one another is the reward.
The message of Pentecost is the story of God’s holy spirit … the message of popular spirituality is the story of how the divine penetrates and permeates the very core of our being. It is the blending of grace and community; of source and discovery; of inspiring love and hopeful character-building.
On Pentecost Sunday (May 31, 2009) I invited the congregation to join with me in celebrating both Grace and Community and in new way. We were invited to celebrate the God who loves us and who gives us opportunities to love one another and to celebrate God’s holy spirit, and the spiritual journey we each are on.
In a basket, I placed the names of each of member or friend of the church who is currently “active”… these names also include some of our newer frequent visitors and all of the homebound members of the church.
We passed the basket around, inviting everyone in attendance to choose a name at random and the person they chose would be the person for whom they will give special care for the next year:
Pray for that person – call them when they miss worship on a Sunday – talk to them, when you get a moment, about their faith, their character, their hope, their “spirit” – remember their birthday, significant anniversaries, milestones and life markers. BUILD COMMUNITY. BE INTENTIONAL.
The Hebrew word for this is: Ets-ra . It means, “helper” or “partner”. It is a wonderful word that is used both in reference to God being our helper, and to us being each other’s helper. It sums up the relationship created by God’s spirit, and our spirit. It is the perfect way to live out the blending of traditional Pentecost observance of Spirit with current understandings of spirituality.
Ets-ra is who God is to us … and who we are to each other.
Ets-ra is who you will be for one other person in this congregation until Trinity Sunday, 2010..
Ets-ra is the challenge of this community … and it is the expression of God’s grace.
You will be an Ets-ra for someone … and someone will be Ets-ra for you.
Everyone who was not in attendance on May 31 will be given an opportunity to choose a name from the basket. Everyone will be included. Everyone counts.
Ets-ra is the way we will build and enrich our community: We will be each other’s helper. We will care for one another. We will be intentional about our ministry to one another. We will live as helpers, as partners, in a common spiritual journey … guided by the great and gracious Spirit of our loving God.
Let me know what you think about being an Ets Ra!
We are in the season of Pentecost – the season of the Spirit. And that seems to fit nicely with the popular culture these days. Have you noticed? For some time now we seem to be seeing a resurgence of spirituality in all its forms. I’m sure you have heard someone say, “I’m not very religious, I’ll admit --- but I’m very spiritual!” We see it all around us with television programs about angels and miracles -- and even Oprah’s “Remembering Your Spirit“.
In church we talk about the work of the Holy Spirit of God – moving, stirring, inspiring, and leading people of all tongues and races. But do you think that is the same activity that is being referred to by people who are “discovering their spirit”? Is there a difference between us getting in touch with our spirit … and God sending the spirit of eternity and wisdom; the spirit of comfort and fire among us?
Is this just a case where the church is out of touch with the real needs of people today, (lagging behind the popular revelation of Spirit being poured out among the many)? Or is it, maybe, a case where we are trying to blend too many metaphors (mixing spirituality and the tranquil life with worship of God and reverence for the holy)?
I think the Apostle Paul offers some helpful hints for understanding both the Biblical view of the Holy Spirit, and the popular view of human spirituality. In Romans 5:1-5
1. By faith, we have peace with God.
2. In Jesus, our Christ, we find God and receive the grace of God’s acceptance.
3. Our faith and experience of God is something we share joyfully with others.
4. We also take joy from the lessons of life – namely, that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.
5. And finally, hope is our bedrock, because it is a gift of the Spirit of God – which we receive through the love of God.
Interesting! Paul summarized quite nicely, I think, the two realities of Spirit: Our spirit – which strengthens us, gives us character and guides us toward community with others … and God’s Holy Spirit – which is the source of our spiritual journeying; a unique gift; a grant from the loving nature of Godself. God’s grace is the motivation … our sense of community and our care for ourselves and for one another is the reward.
The message of Pentecost is the story of God’s holy spirit … the message of popular spirituality is the story of how the divine penetrates and permeates the very core of our being. It is the blending of grace and community; of source and discovery; of inspiring love and hopeful character-building.
On Pentecost Sunday (May 31, 2009) I invited the congregation to join with me in celebrating both Grace and Community and in new way. We were invited to celebrate the God who loves us and who gives us opportunities to love one another and to celebrate God’s holy spirit, and the spiritual journey we each are on.
In a basket, I placed the names of each of member or friend of the church who is currently “active”… these names also include some of our newer frequent visitors and all of the homebound members of the church.
We passed the basket around, inviting everyone in attendance to choose a name at random and the person they chose would be the person for whom they will give special care for the next year:
Pray for that person – call them when they miss worship on a Sunday – talk to them, when you get a moment, about their faith, their character, their hope, their “spirit” – remember their birthday, significant anniversaries, milestones and life markers. BUILD COMMUNITY. BE INTENTIONAL.
The Hebrew word for this is: Ets-ra . It means, “helper” or “partner”. It is a wonderful word that is used both in reference to God being our helper, and to us being each other’s helper. It sums up the relationship created by God’s spirit, and our spirit. It is the perfect way to live out the blending of traditional Pentecost observance of Spirit with current understandings of spirituality.
Ets-ra is who God is to us … and who we are to each other.
Ets-ra is who you will be for one other person in this congregation until Trinity Sunday, 2010..
Ets-ra is the challenge of this community … and it is the expression of God’s grace.
You will be an Ets-ra for someone … and someone will be Ets-ra for you.
Everyone who was not in attendance on May 31 will be given an opportunity to choose a name from the basket. Everyone will be included. Everyone counts.
Ets-ra is the way we will build and enrich our community: We will be each other’s helper. We will care for one another. We will be intentional about our ministry to one another. We will live as helpers, as partners, in a common spiritual journey … guided by the great and gracious Spirit of our loving God.
Let me know what you think about being an Ets Ra!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
"You Were Formed for Change"
You Were Formed for Change
Two weeks ago I preached a sermon from Isaiah 43. It was a particularly impassioned sermon – even if I do say so myself! We had just come from a Sunday school class where members and friends of the church had turned in their theological (and not so theological!) questions – and Luke and I had endeavored to answer them. One of those questions was: “Do you believe God gives everyone everything they need to do what God wants them to do? If so, how do you know what role you play in this?”
This is a good question to ask regardless of the time of year – but a particularly good question as we enter Holy Week. A time for us to reconsider the stewardship God has placed in our hands as we seek to make life better for in our world. This brings me back to Isaiah 43: “This is what God says, the God who builds a road right through the ocean, who carves a path through pounding waves, The God who summons horses and chariots and armies— they lie down and then can't get up; they're snuffed out like so many candles: "Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is! I'm making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. Wild animals will say 'Thank you!' —the coyotes and the buzzards— Because I provided water in the desert, rivers through the sun-baked earth,Drinking water for the people I chose, the people I made especially for myself, a people custom-made to praise me.” The Message Isaiah 43:16-21
After Isaiah encourages the people of Israel to“Forget the former things…Do not dwell on the past, he invites them to be alert and be present to experience and participate in something brand new that God was about to do.
Do you believe that God can do a “ brand new thing” through you? Can you believe that you were “chosen for a task”, made for an assignment, called forth for intentional purposes? I can hear your arguments now!
We are in the midst of a lousy economy – can God give me something meaningful to do in this? (…the God who builds a road right through the ocean, who carves a path through pounding waves.)
Our country is in the midst of two wars… not to mention the terrorist threat that hangs over our heads. Can God give us an assignment when the risk of annihilation is ever-present and even the most trusted of our financial institutions turn out to be corrupt and our politicians seem helpless! (The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—they lie down and then can’t get up; they’re snuffed out like so many candles.)
But we’ve all been through SO much!! Illnesses that have debilitated us and left us weak – even bald! Relationships that we counted on and thought would last forever turned out to be false and fleeting. Friends and family that we counted on, a future we banked on, an identity we believed, a circumstance we trusted – all of these can turn to nothing but fluff and bubbles!! (Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand new!)
The challenge we all have is matching ourselves to the assignment! What is it that best positions you to declare praise to God through your vocation or your avocation – your relationships, values or interests? Our goal is to match the passion, mission, vision, and strengths within us to a particular assignment. Imagine doing something that connects with your passion; one that is in line with your personal mission; one that helps you realize your vision for serving others. My experience is that when these things line up in our lives - great things happen!
So, now is the time to be conversant with your passions. What angers you the most and what brings you great joy? Answer this and you have a hint about your calling. What do you think about when you envision a preferable future? Think on this and you will have a hint about your vision. What results are worth your life? Think on this and you will arrive at your mission. Now add your gifts, abilities, competencies, and experiences and you will begin to clearly see what God formed you to do.
You were formed for change! Trust that God will provide “water in the desert, rivers through the sun-baked earth, drinking water for the people I chose, the people I made especially for myself, a people custom-made to praise me.”
Two weeks ago I preached a sermon from Isaiah 43. It was a particularly impassioned sermon – even if I do say so myself! We had just come from a Sunday school class where members and friends of the church had turned in their theological (and not so theological!) questions – and Luke and I had endeavored to answer them. One of those questions was: “Do you believe God gives everyone everything they need to do what God wants them to do? If so, how do you know what role you play in this?”
This is a good question to ask regardless of the time of year – but a particularly good question as we enter Holy Week. A time for us to reconsider the stewardship God has placed in our hands as we seek to make life better for in our world. This brings me back to Isaiah 43: “This is what God says, the God who builds a road right through the ocean, who carves a path through pounding waves, The God who summons horses and chariots and armies— they lie down and then can't get up; they're snuffed out like so many candles: "Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is! I'm making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. Wild animals will say 'Thank you!' —the coyotes and the buzzards— Because I provided water in the desert, rivers through the sun-baked earth,Drinking water for the people I chose, the people I made especially for myself, a people custom-made to praise me.” The Message Isaiah 43:16-21
After Isaiah encourages the people of Israel to“Forget the former things…Do not dwell on the past, he invites them to be alert and be present to experience and participate in something brand new that God was about to do.
Do you believe that God can do a “ brand new thing” through you? Can you believe that you were “chosen for a task”, made for an assignment, called forth for intentional purposes? I can hear your arguments now!
We are in the midst of a lousy economy – can God give me something meaningful to do in this? (…the God who builds a road right through the ocean, who carves a path through pounding waves.)
Our country is in the midst of two wars… not to mention the terrorist threat that hangs over our heads. Can God give us an assignment when the risk of annihilation is ever-present and even the most trusted of our financial institutions turn out to be corrupt and our politicians seem helpless! (The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—they lie down and then can’t get up; they’re snuffed out like so many candles.)
But we’ve all been through SO much!! Illnesses that have debilitated us and left us weak – even bald! Relationships that we counted on and thought would last forever turned out to be false and fleeting. Friends and family that we counted on, a future we banked on, an identity we believed, a circumstance we trusted – all of these can turn to nothing but fluff and bubbles!! (Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand new!)
The challenge we all have is matching ourselves to the assignment! What is it that best positions you to declare praise to God through your vocation or your avocation – your relationships, values or interests? Our goal is to match the passion, mission, vision, and strengths within us to a particular assignment. Imagine doing something that connects with your passion; one that is in line with your personal mission; one that helps you realize your vision for serving others. My experience is that when these things line up in our lives - great things happen!
So, now is the time to be conversant with your passions. What angers you the most and what brings you great joy? Answer this and you have a hint about your calling. What do you think about when you envision a preferable future? Think on this and you will have a hint about your vision. What results are worth your life? Think on this and you will arrive at your mission. Now add your gifts, abilities, competencies, and experiences and you will begin to clearly see what God formed you to do.
You were formed for change! Trust that God will provide “water in the desert, rivers through the sun-baked earth, drinking water for the people I chose, the people I made especially for myself, a people custom-made to praise me.”
Thursday, March 26, 2009
PURPLE – A SPECIAL SUNDAY – A SPECIAL COLOR.
” I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.” Alice Walker “The Color Purple”
In the April edition of our church newsletter, I’ve suggested that we celebrate PURPLE SUNDAY on the Sunday following Easter – April 19. The Sunday following Easter in the Christian calendar is referred to by lay people and clergy alike as “low Sunday”... low meaning lower attendance and certainly, lower expectations than Easter week – but I’m suggesting that we do something different (even radical?) on that Sunday. Let’s rename it and reclaim it! We’ll drape the pulpit and lectern in purple, hang a royal purple drape over the overhead cross and we’ll all wear purple – and all its varied shades – as diverse as we are: Violet, plum, lavender, lilac, puce, thistle, orchid, mauve, magenta, royal, amethyst, wine, pomegranate, eggplant and mulberry!
Why purple?? Purple has always been linked to royalty and spirituality. A mysterious color, purple is associated with both nobility and spirituality. The opposites of hot red and cool blue combine to create this intriguing color and it has a special, almost sacred place in nature: lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are often delicate and considered precious. Because purple is derived from the mixing of a strong warm and strong cool color it has both warm and cool properties – making it a blending of opposites – mysterious in its make up!
The color of mourning for widows in Thailand, purple was the favorite color of Egypt's Cleopatra. It has been traditionally associated with royalty in many cultures. Purple robes were worn by royalty and people of authority or high rank. The Purple Heart is a U.S. Military decoration given to soldiers wounded in battle.
The earliest archaeological evidence for the origins of purple dyes points to the Minoan civilization in Crete, about 1900 B.C. The ancient land of Canaan (its corresponding Greek name was Phoenicia, which means “land of the purple”) was the center of the ancient purple dye industry. “Tyrian Purple,” the purple dye of the ancients mentioned in texts dating back to about 1600 B.C., was produced from the mucus of the hypobranchial gland of various species of marine mollusks, notably Murex. It took some 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye. Legend credits its discovery to Herakles, or rather to his dog, whose mouth was stained purple from chewing on snails along the Levantine coast.
Rome, Egypt, and Persia all used purple as the imperial standard. Purple dyes were rare and expensive; only the rich had access to them. The purple colorants used came from different sources, most from the dye extraction from fish or insects. The imperial purple of Rome was based on mollusk from which purpura comes. Emperor Aurelian refused to let his wife buy a purpura-dyed silk garment, as it cost its weight in gold!
Insect and animal-based purple colors were mentioned in the Bible for use in textile furnishings of the Tabernacle and for the sacred vestments for the High Priest Aaron, and they also were used in King Solomon's and King Herod's temples in Jerusalem.
Pope Paul II in 1464 introduced the so-called “Cardinal's Purple,” which was really scarlet extracted from the Kermes insect. This became the first luxury dye of the Middle Ages until William H. Perkin discovered an aniline-based purple dye called “mauveine” in 1856 while searching for a cure for malaria. Perkin was an English chemist who changed the world of his time by making this purple color available to the masses. It became quite fashionable to wear clothing dyed with “mauve,” and Mr. Perkin became a very wealthy man.
The New Testament makes reference to one of Jesus’ female followers and financial supporters being a “seller of purple.”
During the Easter season we generally place a “robe” of purple on the cross hanging from the center of the sanctuary of our church to symbolize the authority of Christ in our lives. That is what the Easter season is all about – and the color purple can be an outward sign of our inward desire to be more like Christ – to live like Christ – to be known as Christ’s disciples! Let’s take our outwardly imperfect selves and clothe ourselves in the color of royalty and spirituality! Christ leads us through death of the old self, motives, attitudes and behavior -- to new life, and empowers, energizes, enables us to face life today and tomorrow as winners, not losers, lovers, not haters, victors, not victims. Amen!
” I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.” Alice Walker “The Color Purple”
In the April edition of our church newsletter, I’ve suggested that we celebrate PURPLE SUNDAY on the Sunday following Easter – April 19. The Sunday following Easter in the Christian calendar is referred to by lay people and clergy alike as “low Sunday”... low meaning lower attendance and certainly, lower expectations than Easter week – but I’m suggesting that we do something different (even radical?) on that Sunday. Let’s rename it and reclaim it! We’ll drape the pulpit and lectern in purple, hang a royal purple drape over the overhead cross and we’ll all wear purple – and all its varied shades – as diverse as we are: Violet, plum, lavender, lilac, puce, thistle, orchid, mauve, magenta, royal, amethyst, wine, pomegranate, eggplant and mulberry!
Why purple?? Purple has always been linked to royalty and spirituality. A mysterious color, purple is associated with both nobility and spirituality. The opposites of hot red and cool blue combine to create this intriguing color and it has a special, almost sacred place in nature: lavender, orchid, lilac, and violet flowers are often delicate and considered precious. Because purple is derived from the mixing of a strong warm and strong cool color it has both warm and cool properties – making it a blending of opposites – mysterious in its make up!
The color of mourning for widows in Thailand, purple was the favorite color of Egypt's Cleopatra. It has been traditionally associated with royalty in many cultures. Purple robes were worn by royalty and people of authority or high rank. The Purple Heart is a U.S. Military decoration given to soldiers wounded in battle.
The earliest archaeological evidence for the origins of purple dyes points to the Minoan civilization in Crete, about 1900 B.C. The ancient land of Canaan (its corresponding Greek name was Phoenicia, which means “land of the purple”) was the center of the ancient purple dye industry. “Tyrian Purple,” the purple dye of the ancients mentioned in texts dating back to about 1600 B.C., was produced from the mucus of the hypobranchial gland of various species of marine mollusks, notably Murex. It took some 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye. Legend credits its discovery to Herakles, or rather to his dog, whose mouth was stained purple from chewing on snails along the Levantine coast.
Rome, Egypt, and Persia all used purple as the imperial standard. Purple dyes were rare and expensive; only the rich had access to them. The purple colorants used came from different sources, most from the dye extraction from fish or insects. The imperial purple of Rome was based on mollusk from which purpura comes. Emperor Aurelian refused to let his wife buy a purpura-dyed silk garment, as it cost its weight in gold!
Insect and animal-based purple colors were mentioned in the Bible for use in textile furnishings of the Tabernacle and for the sacred vestments for the High Priest Aaron, and they also were used in King Solomon's and King Herod's temples in Jerusalem.
Pope Paul II in 1464 introduced the so-called “Cardinal's Purple,” which was really scarlet extracted from the Kermes insect. This became the first luxury dye of the Middle Ages until William H. Perkin discovered an aniline-based purple dye called “mauveine” in 1856 while searching for a cure for malaria. Perkin was an English chemist who changed the world of his time by making this purple color available to the masses. It became quite fashionable to wear clothing dyed with “mauve,” and Mr. Perkin became a very wealthy man.
The New Testament makes reference to one of Jesus’ female followers and financial supporters being a “seller of purple.”
During the Easter season we generally place a “robe” of purple on the cross hanging from the center of the sanctuary of our church to symbolize the authority of Christ in our lives. That is what the Easter season is all about – and the color purple can be an outward sign of our inward desire to be more like Christ – to live like Christ – to be known as Christ’s disciples! Let’s take our outwardly imperfect selves and clothe ourselves in the color of royalty and spirituality! Christ leads us through death of the old self, motives, attitudes and behavior -- to new life, and empowers, energizes, enables us to face life today and tomorrow as winners, not losers, lovers, not haters, victors, not victims. Amen!
Monday, March 16, 2009
On "Honoring the Hardened Heart" - A Lenten Sermon
The following is my sermon from March 8. I think it's a valuable subject -- and maybe worth repeating here. Enjoy -- and I'd be interested in your comments.
Our last two sermons of the Lenten season have been about the wilderness – and now that we know about the wilderness, this week becomes a time to choose a particular part of it and select a practice to clear space in that wilderness…. Or to put it another way “how to create a small oasis of peace amid the chaos of our lives.”
Hear another voice from scripture that talks about our hearts – “Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing” Joel 2:12-13
What does it mean to “rend your heart – and not your clothing?” Well, it’s not pretty! To rend a piece of fabric is to tear it… or break it. So what we are being asked to do is break our hearts or tear our hearts – rather than anything else – in order that we might be prepared for God?
O Great, you say – the one Sunday I come to church and the pastor tells me to break my own heart – like I need help with that!! Well, here’s what I mean:
If you’ve ever been in psychotherapy – you know that you can expect things to get worse before they get better. Therapy, rehab from a torn muscle or broken bone or any kind of recuperative healing, means that we have to work hard – and hurt – in order to bring about healing. Any significant experience of introspection and change, rends our hearts just in the way the book of Joel describes. In healing, a person begins to clear away defenses, old habits, and destructive patterns – whether they are physical, mental or emotional.
From an emotional or spiritual point of view we need to see that underneath those patterns is the heart – the tender, vulnerable and wounded core self. When feelings, long held at bay, begin to emerge, a person initially feels more pain than before the therapy or spiritual awakening began! – It feels like the effort to heal is making life worse!
However, when we move through long unfelt emotions and continue with courageous change – a richer, fuller life emerges – and produces a deeper connection with ones self and others.
What I’m suggesting today is that we “rend out hearts to God” – or break our hearts open to God for the sake of greater love – larger truth – and a more open communication with ourselves, one another and with our God. The Lenten invitation to “rend your hearts” is not a breaking for the sake of destruction – but a rending for the sake of greater tenderness, and openness.
The first step in rending one’s heart for God is learning to respect and appreciate the hardened heart! We all have hardened or closed our hearts in various ways for various reasons – and we will do it again. The hardened heart is essentially a collection of defenses that protect us from harm – some of these defenses have been in place for years – others may be new. When they are first used, these defenses serve a wonderful purpose – to deflect pain! But sometimes, those defenses – so closely guarded – become more of a problem than the pain itself.
At our first Lenten Learning event, Sam Gill talked about dependency and addiction as a defense. For instance, the child of an alcoholic might become a super achiever because achieving gives a much needed sense of control. Perfect grades and a perfectly tidy room can give a sense of safety. This child tells herself that a perfectly ordered life magically protects her from her alcoholic parent’s unpredictability. The super achiever role safeguards her from a terrifying sense of powerlessness. For this child, a good set of defenses means survival – and we owe our defenses a dept of gratitude – they keep us sane and in some cases, even alive. Recognizing and honoring our hardened hearts is the first step to a new way of being. Giving thanks for the precious gift of the protection that our hardened heart has offered helps us to break open the shell and reveal the precious vulnerability that we have guarded for so long.
Since it is daylight savings time – I’m reminded of a Sundaymany yea rs ago when we had turned the clocks forward as we did this morning – and after worship I recessed as I always do after the benediction and run head first into one of my parishioners – a man who was active in the church – smart and likeable – but also very controlled and fastidious – a perfectionist in many ways.
As our eyes met I saw that he was FURIOUS!! It was obvious that he had forgotten to set his clock forward – and here he was wandering into the lobby at the sound of the benediction – an hour late for worship. Before I could say anything he VERBALLY lunged at me. HOW COULD YOU?? HOW COULD YOU? He said. “Pardon me” I asked. HOW COULD YOU CHANGE THE TIME OF THE SERVICE AND TELL EVERYONE EXCEPT ME!!
Now, if it wasn’t so sad, it would have been laughable! He thought I had INTENTIONALLY moved the time of the service and INTENTIONALLY not let him know! That I had picked him out of 200 other members of the church – and kept it a secret from him.
Was his heart hardened? Oh yes it was – in a very sad and counterproductive way. Can you imagine how much hurt must have been in his life – how much rejection and abandonment – that he would actually BELIEVE that a church and a pastor would single him out to deny him something the rest of us had!
This defense of the hardened heart – the one who needs to be in control – or who lives in a faulty delusion. happens to far more than just the child of the alcoholic – it happens to ANY of us who experience our life as out of control.
The capacity to express vulnerability is a great human strength. We sometimes wish our vulnerabilities would disappear so we wouldn’t have to worry about hiding them. But without hose pesky vulnerabilities we could convince the world that we have it all together, that we have no unsatisfied needs, that we can care constantly for others and never need care ourselves, that we are who we appear to be on the outside – and that we are not afraid, or sad or insecure or ashamed or lonely.
But it is only in showing our weakness that we become strong – only in giving in to a broken heart that we can achieve real power – the power to truly be who we are.
Human beings need care, especially during childhood when our lives depend on it. But we also need it as adults. No one, not even the most rugged individual is entirely self-sufficient. Christ’s good shepherd image speaks directly to our need for care – here is one who knows that we need care and seeks us out and provides for us.
By admitting our weakness, we take the first step toward embracing true power, no matter how shameful we consider our weakness. Accepting our vulnerability is yet another way in which our hearts break for God. We break away the mask of false self-sufficiency and admit that we depend upon one another, that we depend on God and that we are limited and human – weak by nature and strong by our ability to connect with others and to ask for what we need.
So take a moment – What are your favorite defenses? How have they protected you over the course of your life? How have your defenses created a hardened heart – or barriers between you and God or you and others? When you feel that you are “rending you heart”
Our last two sermons of the Lenten season have been about the wilderness – and now that we know about the wilderness, this week becomes a time to choose a particular part of it and select a practice to clear space in that wilderness…. Or to put it another way “how to create a small oasis of peace amid the chaos of our lives.”
Hear another voice from scripture that talks about our hearts – “Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing” Joel 2:12-13
What does it mean to “rend your heart – and not your clothing?” Well, it’s not pretty! To rend a piece of fabric is to tear it… or break it. So what we are being asked to do is break our hearts or tear our hearts – rather than anything else – in order that we might be prepared for God?
O Great, you say – the one Sunday I come to church and the pastor tells me to break my own heart – like I need help with that!! Well, here’s what I mean:
If you’ve ever been in psychotherapy – you know that you can expect things to get worse before they get better. Therapy, rehab from a torn muscle or broken bone or any kind of recuperative healing, means that we have to work hard – and hurt – in order to bring about healing. Any significant experience of introspection and change, rends our hearts just in the way the book of Joel describes. In healing, a person begins to clear away defenses, old habits, and destructive patterns – whether they are physical, mental or emotional.
From an emotional or spiritual point of view we need to see that underneath those patterns is the heart – the tender, vulnerable and wounded core self. When feelings, long held at bay, begin to emerge, a person initially feels more pain than before the therapy or spiritual awakening began! – It feels like the effort to heal is making life worse!
However, when we move through long unfelt emotions and continue with courageous change – a richer, fuller life emerges – and produces a deeper connection with ones self and others.
What I’m suggesting today is that we “rend out hearts to God” – or break our hearts open to God for the sake of greater love – larger truth – and a more open communication with ourselves, one another and with our God. The Lenten invitation to “rend your hearts” is not a breaking for the sake of destruction – but a rending for the sake of greater tenderness, and openness.
The first step in rending one’s heart for God is learning to respect and appreciate the hardened heart! We all have hardened or closed our hearts in various ways for various reasons – and we will do it again. The hardened heart is essentially a collection of defenses that protect us from harm – some of these defenses have been in place for years – others may be new. When they are first used, these defenses serve a wonderful purpose – to deflect pain! But sometimes, those defenses – so closely guarded – become more of a problem than the pain itself.
At our first Lenten Learning event, Sam Gill talked about dependency and addiction as a defense. For instance, the child of an alcoholic might become a super achiever because achieving gives a much needed sense of control. Perfect grades and a perfectly tidy room can give a sense of safety. This child tells herself that a perfectly ordered life magically protects her from her alcoholic parent’s unpredictability. The super achiever role safeguards her from a terrifying sense of powerlessness. For this child, a good set of defenses means survival – and we owe our defenses a dept of gratitude – they keep us sane and in some cases, even alive. Recognizing and honoring our hardened hearts is the first step to a new way of being. Giving thanks for the precious gift of the protection that our hardened heart has offered helps us to break open the shell and reveal the precious vulnerability that we have guarded for so long.
Since it is daylight savings time – I’m reminded of a Sundaymany yea rs ago when we had turned the clocks forward as we did this morning – and after worship I recessed as I always do after the benediction and run head first into one of my parishioners – a man who was active in the church – smart and likeable – but also very controlled and fastidious – a perfectionist in many ways.
As our eyes met I saw that he was FURIOUS!! It was obvious that he had forgotten to set his clock forward – and here he was wandering into the lobby at the sound of the benediction – an hour late for worship. Before I could say anything he VERBALLY lunged at me. HOW COULD YOU?? HOW COULD YOU? He said. “Pardon me” I asked. HOW COULD YOU CHANGE THE TIME OF THE SERVICE AND TELL EVERYONE EXCEPT ME!!
Now, if it wasn’t so sad, it would have been laughable! He thought I had INTENTIONALLY moved the time of the service and INTENTIONALLY not let him know! That I had picked him out of 200 other members of the church – and kept it a secret from him.
Was his heart hardened? Oh yes it was – in a very sad and counterproductive way. Can you imagine how much hurt must have been in his life – how much rejection and abandonment – that he would actually BELIEVE that a church and a pastor would single him out to deny him something the rest of us had!
This defense of the hardened heart – the one who needs to be in control – or who lives in a faulty delusion. happens to far more than just the child of the alcoholic – it happens to ANY of us who experience our life as out of control.
The capacity to express vulnerability is a great human strength. We sometimes wish our vulnerabilities would disappear so we wouldn’t have to worry about hiding them. But without hose pesky vulnerabilities we could convince the world that we have it all together, that we have no unsatisfied needs, that we can care constantly for others and never need care ourselves, that we are who we appear to be on the outside – and that we are not afraid, or sad or insecure or ashamed or lonely.
But it is only in showing our weakness that we become strong – only in giving in to a broken heart that we can achieve real power – the power to truly be who we are.
Human beings need care, especially during childhood when our lives depend on it. But we also need it as adults. No one, not even the most rugged individual is entirely self-sufficient. Christ’s good shepherd image speaks directly to our need for care – here is one who knows that we need care and seeks us out and provides for us.
By admitting our weakness, we take the first step toward embracing true power, no matter how shameful we consider our weakness. Accepting our vulnerability is yet another way in which our hearts break for God. We break away the mask of false self-sufficiency and admit that we depend upon one another, that we depend on God and that we are limited and human – weak by nature and strong by our ability to connect with others and to ask for what we need.
So take a moment – What are your favorite defenses? How have they protected you over the course of your life? How have your defenses created a hardened heart – or barriers between you and God or you and others? When you feel that you are “rending you heart”
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
A Trinity Challenge (Thanks, Oprah!)
If you’ve been around me for very long you know that I am an Oprah fan. I watch her show whenever I have the chance – and on Monday, still recovering from an upset stomach and with 4 inches of snow outside my window – I had the chance!
Her program was on a relevant topic – how to scale back in these tough economic times. Two families took an “Oprah challenge” that involved reductions in spending, time spent on the computer or in front of the television and driving. As I watched, I couldn’t help but think how a challenge like this would be good for everyone – and wondered if as a church we might engage ourselves in a similar challenge for the Lenten season.
Here is what Oprah proposed:
One day without spending.
One week without using your credit card
One month without going out to eat or ordering take out.
Additionally, her families had other restrictions involving prohibitions on electronics (TV and computer) and for some, giving away “excesses” to charities.
What would it be like to take the Oprah challenge? Could we come up with out own “Trinity Challenge” for Lent or could we offer each other the choice of taking the Oprah challenge or accepting our own challenge tailored to our congregation? I’d like to propose the following:
One day when we give an equal amount to the church or a charity what we spend on ourselves.
(Choose the day ahead of time – if it’s Thursday, then you will need to keep track of all your expenditures on that day so you know what to donate.)
An “E-Sabbath” when you turn off all electronic devices for at least 24 hours – no Blackberry, no personal computer, no email, no cell phone, no television, no DVD or VCR, no Gameboys or other handheld electronics. (Exceptions can be made for those who use a computer at work… this is about your PERSONAL use of these items)
One week without going out to eat or ordering take out – and in addition, making an effort to “eat local” by avoiding all foods that have been grown in far-away places and shipped, trucked or railed to us. Eating local means shopping at a local farmers market and reading the labels about where you food comes from when you buy it at the grocery store.
Donate what you don’t need and what you can live without: Go through your closet and remove “duplicate” items. Do you have 4 cans of baked beans? 6 bottles of detergent? Are there clothes in your closet with the tags still on them that you haven’t worn? Do you have 8 pair of the same kind of shoes? Make some tough decisions! Donate those items to the rummage sale or to some other charity – or give them to a friend or family member who has less than you do.
Lastly, think of what else might belong on this list. Contact me in the next week and we can make decisions about the “Trinity Challenge”. Perhaps one week before Easter we can make some changes in our lives and the lives of others by doing some rather simple things.
I’ll wait to hear from you!
Her program was on a relevant topic – how to scale back in these tough economic times. Two families took an “Oprah challenge” that involved reductions in spending, time spent on the computer or in front of the television and driving. As I watched, I couldn’t help but think how a challenge like this would be good for everyone – and wondered if as a church we might engage ourselves in a similar challenge for the Lenten season.
Here is what Oprah proposed:
One day without spending.
One week without using your credit card
One month without going out to eat or ordering take out.
Additionally, her families had other restrictions involving prohibitions on electronics (TV and computer) and for some, giving away “excesses” to charities.
What would it be like to take the Oprah challenge? Could we come up with out own “Trinity Challenge” for Lent or could we offer each other the choice of taking the Oprah challenge or accepting our own challenge tailored to our congregation? I’d like to propose the following:
One day when we give an equal amount to the church or a charity what we spend on ourselves.
(Choose the day ahead of time – if it’s Thursday, then you will need to keep track of all your expenditures on that day so you know what to donate.)
An “E-Sabbath” when you turn off all electronic devices for at least 24 hours – no Blackberry, no personal computer, no email, no cell phone, no television, no DVD or VCR, no Gameboys or other handheld electronics. (Exceptions can be made for those who use a computer at work… this is about your PERSONAL use of these items)
One week without going out to eat or ordering take out – and in addition, making an effort to “eat local” by avoiding all foods that have been grown in far-away places and shipped, trucked or railed to us. Eating local means shopping at a local farmers market and reading the labels about where you food comes from when you buy it at the grocery store.
Donate what you don’t need and what you can live without: Go through your closet and remove “duplicate” items. Do you have 4 cans of baked beans? 6 bottles of detergent? Are there clothes in your closet with the tags still on them that you haven’t worn? Do you have 8 pair of the same kind of shoes? Make some tough decisions! Donate those items to the rummage sale or to some other charity – or give them to a friend or family member who has less than you do.
Lastly, think of what else might belong on this list. Contact me in the next week and we can make decisions about the “Trinity Challenge”. Perhaps one week before Easter we can make some changes in our lives and the lives of others by doing some rather simple things.
I’ll wait to hear from you!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
I am old enough to remember Laurel and Hardy. One of their stock lines was "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever just looked around and suddenly said: "How did we get here?" All of us have and all of us have scrambled then to get out of the mess.
It’s Lent, and of all the seasons of the church year, this is the time when we take a hard look at all the “messes” we’ve gotten ourselves into – and how we might get ourselves out – with the help of God, each other and a time of introspection.
The theme for our Lenten worship and learning is “A Clearing Season”. It’s a time for considering that archaic word “sin” which perhaps we should bring out of the closet! Lent is the season when we consider “sin” – and the sins that we may be participating in that create all those messes!
In his book “The Fifth Discipline”, Peter Senge states "Today's problems come from yesterday's solutions." Sometimes the current “mess” we find ourselves in is a direct result of an old solution adopted months or years before. For instance – one’s loneliness and fear of abandonment might be “solved” by infidelity or casual sex. Emotional pain and anxiety might be assuaged by drugs or alcohol. Fear and jealousy might be alleviated by higher control or bullying. And dissatisfaction with one’s appearance could be addressed by abstaining from food or a “binge and purge” response to eating. All of these “cause and affect” cycles can lead to more problems rather than the elimination of the original predicament!
Another law you may be familiar with is "The easy way out usually leads back in.” Sometimes we try solutions that have worked in the past or just easy solutions that may or may not address the real issues. Lent is a time to “go underneath” the outer layers of ourselves and to find what may be hidden deep within us. It’s a time for radical surgery rather than a Band-Aid fix.
How do you get out the mess you find yourself in? Here are a few suggestions:
1. STOP. Take a long look at the big picture, a panorama of processes that led to the mess instead of just looking at the mess.
2. Avoid the temptation to use solutions you have tried before when they may not address the real underlying problem.
3. If you are in a mess, find a way to stop messes from happening, not just look for a cleaning crew. In other words, an apology and flowers (cleaning crew) might get you out of a “mess” but what needs to change in order to prevent another “mess” from happening?
4. Look “inside” instead of trying to find the cause "out there." In the Laurel and Hardy sketches, it was usually Oliver (the plump one) saying that line..."Well here is another nice mess...." to Stan (the thin one.) It was always true that the mess they were in was not Stan's fault alone. Ollie made decisions too!
Welcome to Lent! A time to enter into a “clearing season” – a time to find our way out of our messes – and into God’s curative time and healing love! This is a time to reconcile, rebuild and be restored to emotional and spiritual health. Let Lent do it’s thing! Let God bring healing to you life. Participate in the “clearing season”.
*”A Clearing Season” – by Sarah Parsons
* “The Fifth Discipline” – by Peter Senge
It’s Lent, and of all the seasons of the church year, this is the time when we take a hard look at all the “messes” we’ve gotten ourselves into – and how we might get ourselves out – with the help of God, each other and a time of introspection.
The theme for our Lenten worship and learning is “A Clearing Season”. It’s a time for considering that archaic word “sin” which perhaps we should bring out of the closet! Lent is the season when we consider “sin” – and the sins that we may be participating in that create all those messes!
In his book “The Fifth Discipline”, Peter Senge states "Today's problems come from yesterday's solutions." Sometimes the current “mess” we find ourselves in is a direct result of an old solution adopted months or years before. For instance – one’s loneliness and fear of abandonment might be “solved” by infidelity or casual sex. Emotional pain and anxiety might be assuaged by drugs or alcohol. Fear and jealousy might be alleviated by higher control or bullying. And dissatisfaction with one’s appearance could be addressed by abstaining from food or a “binge and purge” response to eating. All of these “cause and affect” cycles can lead to more problems rather than the elimination of the original predicament!
Another law you may be familiar with is "The easy way out usually leads back in.” Sometimes we try solutions that have worked in the past or just easy solutions that may or may not address the real issues. Lent is a time to “go underneath” the outer layers of ourselves and to find what may be hidden deep within us. It’s a time for radical surgery rather than a Band-Aid fix.
How do you get out the mess you find yourself in? Here are a few suggestions:
1. STOP. Take a long look at the big picture, a panorama of processes that led to the mess instead of just looking at the mess.
2. Avoid the temptation to use solutions you have tried before when they may not address the real underlying problem.
3. If you are in a mess, find a way to stop messes from happening, not just look for a cleaning crew. In other words, an apology and flowers (cleaning crew) might get you out of a “mess” but what needs to change in order to prevent another “mess” from happening?
4. Look “inside” instead of trying to find the cause "out there." In the Laurel and Hardy sketches, it was usually Oliver (the plump one) saying that line..."Well here is another nice mess...." to Stan (the thin one.) It was always true that the mess they were in was not Stan's fault alone. Ollie made decisions too!
Welcome to Lent! A time to enter into a “clearing season” – a time to find our way out of our messes – and into God’s curative time and healing love! This is a time to reconcile, rebuild and be restored to emotional and spiritual health. Let Lent do it’s thing! Let God bring healing to you life. Participate in the “clearing season”.
*”A Clearing Season” – by Sarah Parsons
* “The Fifth Discipline” – by Peter Senge
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
What Time Is It?
What Time Is It?
Next week volunteers from Trinity will “pull an all-nighter” in order to make Fastnachts for sale. If you are not a native to Central Pennsylvania (like me!) you may be asking an obvious question: “What the heck are fastnachts – and what do they have to do with church?”
Well, it all goes back to the early church (doesn’t everything!) and some of the religious customs that developed over the centuries – but which have been clouded by time and changing traditions as time has gone by.
Let’s start with “Fat Tuesday”. Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday… and if you know your high school French, you may know that Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday". The name comes from the ancient custom of parading a fat ox through Paris on this day. The ox was to remind the people that they were not allowed to eat meat during Lent. Lent runs from Ash Wednesday thru Easter Sunday.French people who came to the United States brought the custom of Mardi Gras with them. The most famous festival in the US (and perhaps the world) is in New Orleans, but Mardi Gras parades happen throughout the world:
In Southern Italy, people dress up in costumes and put on an ancient play during Mardi Gras
In Rio de Jeneiro, people dance in the streets for “Carni-Val” (Literal translation: “To “lift” or abstain from flesh”)
In Nice, France people wear giant masks in the Mardi Gras parade (it looks like a bunch of walking heads with tiny bodies).
In Binche, Belgium people dress in colorful clown costumes (the clowns are called gilles). The clowns wear bunches of ostrich feathers on their heads and dance in the streets. They carry baskets of oranges which they throw to the watching crowds.
In Germany, “fastnachts” were made and eaten. The word means “Fast Night” – or the beginning of the “fast” of Lent.
And in New Orleans everyone dresses up in costumes. Trinkets, especially beads and doubloons, are tossed to the crowds from the parade floats.
The Christian faithful have many different ways of recognizing the beginning of Lent. For some, they pulled out all the stops and did all their “sinning” and celebrating before the start of a time of fasting and repentance. For others of a more serious bent, they spent the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday confessing! For those, it wasn’t called “Fat” Tuesday, it was called “Shrove” Tuesday. Shrove means "to be forgiven one's sins."
The tradition behind all this conspicuous consumption comes from the observance of Lent when the faithful spent 40 days (except Sundays) preparing their hearts, minds and souls for the celebration of Easter. In earlier times those days were spent in solemn reflection, prayer and fasting – when no bright colors were worn, no parties were held, no marriages performed, no dancing, no singing, no alcohol, no sex and no meat or sweets were eaten! (No wonder it’s currently out of fashion – even for the pious faithful!) On “Fat Tuesday” the cupboards were stripped of sugar and fats which were considered “luxuries” as people entered into a period of introspection, confession and sacrifice. All of this to mirror the suffering of Christ and a re-enactment in the lives of Christians of the 40 days of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.
Until refrigeration became common, there was no way to store any perishable food for the 40 days of Lent, so ALL had to be eaten before Ash Wednesday so as not to waste...and what better way to get rid of any extra food and drink than to have a party! Depending on the country of origin, Christians around the world used up their eggs, milk and butter (not to mention candy and alcohol!) Today, we continue some of those traditions -- although there meaning has been lost to most of us.
Aren't you glad we just make donuts??!!
Next week volunteers from Trinity will “pull an all-nighter” in order to make Fastnachts for sale. If you are not a native to Central Pennsylvania (like me!) you may be asking an obvious question: “What the heck are fastnachts – and what do they have to do with church?”
Well, it all goes back to the early church (doesn’t everything!) and some of the religious customs that developed over the centuries – but which have been clouded by time and changing traditions as time has gone by.
Let’s start with “Fat Tuesday”. Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday… and if you know your high school French, you may know that Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday". The name comes from the ancient custom of parading a fat ox through Paris on this day. The ox was to remind the people that they were not allowed to eat meat during Lent. Lent runs from Ash Wednesday thru Easter Sunday.French people who came to the United States brought the custom of Mardi Gras with them. The most famous festival in the US (and perhaps the world) is in New Orleans, but Mardi Gras parades happen throughout the world:
In Southern Italy, people dress up in costumes and put on an ancient play during Mardi Gras
In Rio de Jeneiro, people dance in the streets for “Carni-Val” (Literal translation: “To “lift” or abstain from flesh”)
In Nice, France people wear giant masks in the Mardi Gras parade (it looks like a bunch of walking heads with tiny bodies).
In Binche, Belgium people dress in colorful clown costumes (the clowns are called gilles). The clowns wear bunches of ostrich feathers on their heads and dance in the streets. They carry baskets of oranges which they throw to the watching crowds.
In Germany, “fastnachts” were made and eaten. The word means “Fast Night” – or the beginning of the “fast” of Lent.
And in New Orleans everyone dresses up in costumes. Trinkets, especially beads and doubloons, are tossed to the crowds from the parade floats.
The Christian faithful have many different ways of recognizing the beginning of Lent. For some, they pulled out all the stops and did all their “sinning” and celebrating before the start of a time of fasting and repentance. For others of a more serious bent, they spent the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday confessing! For those, it wasn’t called “Fat” Tuesday, it was called “Shrove” Tuesday. Shrove means "to be forgiven one's sins."
The tradition behind all this conspicuous consumption comes from the observance of Lent when the faithful spent 40 days (except Sundays) preparing their hearts, minds and souls for the celebration of Easter. In earlier times those days were spent in solemn reflection, prayer and fasting – when no bright colors were worn, no parties were held, no marriages performed, no dancing, no singing, no alcohol, no sex and no meat or sweets were eaten! (No wonder it’s currently out of fashion – even for the pious faithful!) On “Fat Tuesday” the cupboards were stripped of sugar and fats which were considered “luxuries” as people entered into a period of introspection, confession and sacrifice. All of this to mirror the suffering of Christ and a re-enactment in the lives of Christians of the 40 days of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.
Until refrigeration became common, there was no way to store any perishable food for the 40 days of Lent, so ALL had to be eaten before Ash Wednesday so as not to waste...and what better way to get rid of any extra food and drink than to have a party! Depending on the country of origin, Christians around the world used up their eggs, milk and butter (not to mention candy and alcohol!) Today, we continue some of those traditions -- although there meaning has been lost to most of us.
Aren't you glad we just make donuts??!!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Valentine's Day - Then and Now
Valentine's Day - Then and Now
On Sunday, for the “children’s time” I shared the story of the origins of Valentine’s Day – or rather, SAINT Valentine’s Day, its actual name. What we often think of as a “Hallmark Holiday” had its roots in the early Christian church and is today a “saints day” in the Catholic tradition. The story of St. Valentine goes like this:
In Rome in 270 AD, the Emperor Claudius II issued an edict forbidding marriage. (Just goes to show that politics hasn’t changed much over the millennia! Emperors could do such things in those days – and local and state governments are still continuing the practice today with same-sex couples!)
Claudius’s reasoning was a bit flawed -- he believed that married men made poor soldiers because they didn’t want to leave their families...and the empire needed soldiers, and so Claudius, never one to fear unpopularity, abolished the church’s rights to perform marriage ceremonies. That wasn’t too big a deal for the folks who practiced Paganism – they didn’t particularly need any outside influence to “couple up” and create a family -- but for Christians, who were taught by the Church that sex outside of the sacrament of marriage could land them in hell – it was a BIG deal!Naturally, the early Christian church had a bit of a problem with this edict, but the ties between “church and state” were close and many priests and bishops followed the government’s rules for fear of retribution.
However, one Bishop of Interanna (now Terni, Italy) by the name of Valentine, invited young lovers to come to him in secret, where he joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. (Even then there were clergy who were rebels!)Claudius learned of this “friend of lovers” as Valentine was called, and had him brought to the royal palace where he tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods. Valentine would have none of it...and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity, Claudius didn’t take too well to Valentine’s evangelism and in retaliation sentenced him to death.While in prison awaiting his execution, poor Valentine fell in love with the blind daughter of the jailer. (A priest’s vow of chastity had not come into vogue yet.) According to legend, through his unswerving faith in God and his abiding devotion to his beloved, he miraculously restored her sight. He signed a farewell message to her before his execution with the phrase “from your Valentine”, a phrase that would long outlive its author. On February 14, 270 AD Valentine was clubbed, stoned, and beheaded by the Roman Empire.Later, Pope Gelasius (496 AD) would declare Valentine a martyr and a saint with his very own “Saint’s Day” - February 14 – and today we continue to remember our loved ones in honor of this Saint of the early Church.
Which brings me to the “today” part of this story. Evidently the religious and political communities haven’t learned much over the years because edits that keep lovers apart have never worked – and won’t work now or ever… and there will always be those who will stand on the side of the oppressed.
In celebration and recognition of good ole’ St. Valentine, I’ll be performing a Holy Union service on February 14 for two women who want to solemnize their commitment to each other and proclaim their love in front of friends and family.
St. Valentine – You Rock!
On Sunday, for the “children’s time” I shared the story of the origins of Valentine’s Day – or rather, SAINT Valentine’s Day, its actual name. What we often think of as a “Hallmark Holiday” had its roots in the early Christian church and is today a “saints day” in the Catholic tradition. The story of St. Valentine goes like this:
In Rome in 270 AD, the Emperor Claudius II issued an edict forbidding marriage. (Just goes to show that politics hasn’t changed much over the millennia! Emperors could do such things in those days – and local and state governments are still continuing the practice today with same-sex couples!)
Claudius’s reasoning was a bit flawed -- he believed that married men made poor soldiers because they didn’t want to leave their families...and the empire needed soldiers, and so Claudius, never one to fear unpopularity, abolished the church’s rights to perform marriage ceremonies. That wasn’t too big a deal for the folks who practiced Paganism – they didn’t particularly need any outside influence to “couple up” and create a family -- but for Christians, who were taught by the Church that sex outside of the sacrament of marriage could land them in hell – it was a BIG deal!Naturally, the early Christian church had a bit of a problem with this edict, but the ties between “church and state” were close and many priests and bishops followed the government’s rules for fear of retribution.
However, one Bishop of Interanna (now Terni, Italy) by the name of Valentine, invited young lovers to come to him in secret, where he joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. (Even then there were clergy who were rebels!)Claudius learned of this “friend of lovers” as Valentine was called, and had him brought to the royal palace where he tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods. Valentine would have none of it...and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity, Claudius didn’t take too well to Valentine’s evangelism and in retaliation sentenced him to death.While in prison awaiting his execution, poor Valentine fell in love with the blind daughter of the jailer. (A priest’s vow of chastity had not come into vogue yet.) According to legend, through his unswerving faith in God and his abiding devotion to his beloved, he miraculously restored her sight. He signed a farewell message to her before his execution with the phrase “from your Valentine”, a phrase that would long outlive its author. On February 14, 270 AD Valentine was clubbed, stoned, and beheaded by the Roman Empire.Later, Pope Gelasius (496 AD) would declare Valentine a martyr and a saint with his very own “Saint’s Day” - February 14 – and today we continue to remember our loved ones in honor of this Saint of the early Church.
Which brings me to the “today” part of this story. Evidently the religious and political communities haven’t learned much over the years because edits that keep lovers apart have never worked – and won’t work now or ever… and there will always be those who will stand on the side of the oppressed.
In celebration and recognition of good ole’ St. Valentine, I’ll be performing a Holy Union service on February 14 for two women who want to solemnize their commitment to each other and proclaim their love in front of friends and family.
St. Valentine – You Rock!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Community At Communion
THE COMMUNITY AT COMMUNION
I love it when a parishioner asks a question!! Jerry Nichols sent me an email recently when he noticed that Trinity had changed the schedule for Communion! Not only did Jerry impress me by wanting to know the reasons behind this decision – I was also impressed that somebody actually reads the newsletter!! So here is Jerry’s question and my response for this week’s blog!
QUESTION: I was curious as to why there is a rescheduling of Communion to only Holy Days.
ANSWER: History gives precedent to celebrating holy communion according to the church calendar – not the secular one. When the Protestants broke away from the “Mother church” they had to decide whether to keep communion on the “everytime basis” or go to another system. Some elected to keep communion the center of worship (Lutherans, Episcopalian, Anglican, Disciples of Christ, to name a few) – others elected to have the sermon/message/lesson as the center of worship (Presbyterians, Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, etc.) For those churches, the decision arose “but then when do we celebrate communion?” The decision was different from denomination to denomination, but primarily those churches looked at the church calendar and celebrated communion on some schedule that recognized the “high” holy days (some are higher than others!). Members of the Anabaptist persuasion (Church of the Brethren, Mennonite, Baptist, etc.) chose to limit the celebration to only a few times a year in order to make it more meaningful – and for some, to include the FULL expression of Jesus’ command to serve one another by also embracing a feetwashing ceremony at the same time. Each group began to “tweak” the communion ritual to meet their own needs.
For instance, as a denomination the UCC says “everyone is invited to the Lord’s table.” However, that “everyone” generally refers only to baptized believers. In some churches, however, that rule is being relaxed – but it has not become the “standard practice” even in the UCC. (At Trinity, we make no distinction – EVERYONE is invited to celebrate communion – but Trinity may be unique as UCC churches go.
Other denominations have other rules: only those who are members of that denomination may partake or of that specific local church or only those in “good standing” which generally means that the person hasn’t been party to some “sinful” circumstance such as divorce, or they have regularly attended worship or confession or have supported the church financially. All of these can play a part in whether or not one is welcome at the Lord’s table!
It was also common practice for churches to record whether or not a parishioner took part in communion when it was offered. The historical records of our church include great books of carefully recorded dates and names of all of those who took communion every time it was offered. It was also a practice (and may still be practiced!) that when one visited a church other than ones own and took communion, that a card was sent back to your home church saying that communion had been offered and received by the parishioner on such and such a date! Then the record book could accurately show that detail. Why was this important? Because a non-communioning member could be stricken from the membership rolls and although that doesn’t sound like too big a deal today, there was a time when that eventuality struck fear into the hearts of believers! What if you died and you weren’t a member of a church? What if you died and you hadn’t had communion for weeks or months or even years? What would happen to your immortal soul? These are not questions that need to be answered for those of us who are today’s UCC where God’s grace is great enough for even the most wayward of us – but for some, these questions had eternal consequences – thus the record keeping!
As time passed and faith groups evolved and changed, some communion rituals became less rigid – others, more – and some changed the “schedule” based on circumstances other than biblical ones!
At Trinity in the mid-1990s when our current location was established (and at both of our founding churches for decades previous) the schedule was based on the church calendar – communion was celebrated at the juncture of the holy seasons of the church year and at the important “anniversaries” of iconic Christian events – Christmas Eve, Easter, Maundy Thursday to name a few. That means that communion is celebrated approximately 9-11 times a year, depending on the way the calendar falls and which holy days are recognized.
It was a fairly sure bet that attendance at a given worship service increased if communion was offered (remember all that recording keeping?) So some smart clergy and savvy church counsels looked at the budget and determined that if they ADDED communion on the first Sunday of every month in ADDITION to all those “holy days” – why, we could pick up more cash in the offering plate!! And that is exactly what Trinity did in the late 90’s when attendance was down and the church was experiencing some really severe problems.
Now I don’t know about you – but “more money” is a lousy reason to celebrate communion if you ask me!! Changing the communion schedule to those important days in the life of the church gives me (or any pastor) a “hook” to hang the communion on!! It gives us a REASON to be coming to the Lord’s table – which is meaningful, I think – rather than “it happens to be the first Sunday of February!” Now, to be fair, we have added a few communions where there are no holy days – one in the summer, for instance… but that’s because there is a long “dry spell” in the church calendar during the season of Pentecost.
So that’s the (long version) reason why we recently changed Trinity’s communion schedule! I’d love to answer any more questions (theological or not!) – so why not give me some ideas for future blogs!
Blessings,
Rev Nan
I love it when a parishioner asks a question!! Jerry Nichols sent me an email recently when he noticed that Trinity had changed the schedule for Communion! Not only did Jerry impress me by wanting to know the reasons behind this decision – I was also impressed that somebody actually reads the newsletter!! So here is Jerry’s question and my response for this week’s blog!
QUESTION: I was curious as to why there is a rescheduling of Communion to only Holy Days.
ANSWER: History gives precedent to celebrating holy communion according to the church calendar – not the secular one. When the Protestants broke away from the “Mother church” they had to decide whether to keep communion on the “everytime basis” or go to another system. Some elected to keep communion the center of worship (Lutherans, Episcopalian, Anglican, Disciples of Christ, to name a few) – others elected to have the sermon/message/lesson as the center of worship (Presbyterians, Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, etc.) For those churches, the decision arose “but then when do we celebrate communion?” The decision was different from denomination to denomination, but primarily those churches looked at the church calendar and celebrated communion on some schedule that recognized the “high” holy days (some are higher than others!). Members of the Anabaptist persuasion (Church of the Brethren, Mennonite, Baptist, etc.) chose to limit the celebration to only a few times a year in order to make it more meaningful – and for some, to include the FULL expression of Jesus’ command to serve one another by also embracing a feetwashing ceremony at the same time. Each group began to “tweak” the communion ritual to meet their own needs.
For instance, as a denomination the UCC says “everyone is invited to the Lord’s table.” However, that “everyone” generally refers only to baptized believers. In some churches, however, that rule is being relaxed – but it has not become the “standard practice” even in the UCC. (At Trinity, we make no distinction – EVERYONE is invited to celebrate communion – but Trinity may be unique as UCC churches go.
Other denominations have other rules: only those who are members of that denomination may partake or of that specific local church or only those in “good standing” which generally means that the person hasn’t been party to some “sinful” circumstance such as divorce, or they have regularly attended worship or confession or have supported the church financially. All of these can play a part in whether or not one is welcome at the Lord’s table!
It was also common practice for churches to record whether or not a parishioner took part in communion when it was offered. The historical records of our church include great books of carefully recorded dates and names of all of those who took communion every time it was offered. It was also a practice (and may still be practiced!) that when one visited a church other than ones own and took communion, that a card was sent back to your home church saying that communion had been offered and received by the parishioner on such and such a date! Then the record book could accurately show that detail. Why was this important? Because a non-communioning member could be stricken from the membership rolls and although that doesn’t sound like too big a deal today, there was a time when that eventuality struck fear into the hearts of believers! What if you died and you weren’t a member of a church? What if you died and you hadn’t had communion for weeks or months or even years? What would happen to your immortal soul? These are not questions that need to be answered for those of us who are today’s UCC where God’s grace is great enough for even the most wayward of us – but for some, these questions had eternal consequences – thus the record keeping!
As time passed and faith groups evolved and changed, some communion rituals became less rigid – others, more – and some changed the “schedule” based on circumstances other than biblical ones!
At Trinity in the mid-1990s when our current location was established (and at both of our founding churches for decades previous) the schedule was based on the church calendar – communion was celebrated at the juncture of the holy seasons of the church year and at the important “anniversaries” of iconic Christian events – Christmas Eve, Easter, Maundy Thursday to name a few. That means that communion is celebrated approximately 9-11 times a year, depending on the way the calendar falls and which holy days are recognized.
It was a fairly sure bet that attendance at a given worship service increased if communion was offered (remember all that recording keeping?) So some smart clergy and savvy church counsels looked at the budget and determined that if they ADDED communion on the first Sunday of every month in ADDITION to all those “holy days” – why, we could pick up more cash in the offering plate!! And that is exactly what Trinity did in the late 90’s when attendance was down and the church was experiencing some really severe problems.
Now I don’t know about you – but “more money” is a lousy reason to celebrate communion if you ask me!! Changing the communion schedule to those important days in the life of the church gives me (or any pastor) a “hook” to hang the communion on!! It gives us a REASON to be coming to the Lord’s table – which is meaningful, I think – rather than “it happens to be the first Sunday of February!” Now, to be fair, we have added a few communions where there are no holy days – one in the summer, for instance… but that’s because there is a long “dry spell” in the church calendar during the season of Pentecost.
So that’s the (long version) reason why we recently changed Trinity’s communion schedule! I’d love to answer any more questions (theological or not!) – so why not give me some ideas for future blogs!
Blessings,
Rev Nan
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
THE MOSES GENERATION MEETS THE JOSHUA GENERATION (or "How Could Your Pastor Be So Dumb!!)
Yesterday I held a meeting with four volunteers from the congregation who wanted to help craft some new music ministry at Trinity by publishing our revised "Trinity Song Book"... the "old" one was removed from the pews several months ago. As we discussed the music that we wanted in the new songbook -- we also discussed the kinds of music we sing during worship services.
Now, being a wise and thoughtful pastor --and wanting to incorporate ALL kinds of music in worship without alienating any one "group" -- I have been diligent in my choices to include music from our hymnal that are "traditional" AND more modern. What I have been avoiding (for the most part) were those really OLD hymns -- the ones that grandma and grandpa sang and that I've often referred to as "oldy moldy". I THOUGHT that by choosing "In the Bulb There is a Flower" over "The Old Rugged Cross" that I was hitting on ALL cylinders -- meeting EVERYONE'S needs -- a familiar tune with new words -- or an easy tune with more contemporary language.
Imagine my surprise when my group of musical "helpers" said that they really wanted to hear the hymns from "their past"!! Those "oldy moldy" hymns!! Now let me just say here that these folks are WAY younger than I am -- less than 40 in all cases (I'm guessing!) -- in some, less than 30! You could have knocked me over with a feather!! Sing those OLD hymns?? No way!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing!
Could it be I've missed the boat entirely on the kinds of music that my congregation wants? When I heard that these younger people -- some parents -- want their children to learn the songs and hymns from their parents' spiritual heritage, I was moved -- and surprised!!
When I've talked about bringing a "blended" musical program to our "blended" worship I've thought that meant all those great (newer) UCC hymns mixed with some contemporary music printed in the bulletin... and frankly, some of what I think is contemporary isn't contemparary at all!! I'm learning that too!! Now what I'm hearing is that some of those really traditional hymns are missed, even by some of the younger members of the congregation.
SO -- expect a wider margin between what is REALLY contemporary (a new songbook will be forthcoming with some of the newer contemporary Christian music) and what is REALLY traditional. Don't worry, we'll sing some of those great UCC hymns too -- but you'll be singing a few more of the older ones as well.
It's all in a day's work, I suppose -- this thing about learning and relearning what's important when people worship! As the congregational grows and changes we will ALL need to grow and change -- it's just that this change felt a little bit more like moving backward instead of moving forward -- but maybe it was because I was facing the wrong direction!
Blessings 00 and let me know what you think!
Yesterday I held a meeting with four volunteers from the congregation who wanted to help craft some new music ministry at Trinity by publishing our revised "Trinity Song Book"... the "old" one was removed from the pews several months ago. As we discussed the music that we wanted in the new songbook -- we also discussed the kinds of music we sing during worship services.
Now, being a wise and thoughtful pastor --and wanting to incorporate ALL kinds of music in worship without alienating any one "group" -- I have been diligent in my choices to include music from our hymnal that are "traditional" AND more modern. What I have been avoiding (for the most part) were those really OLD hymns -- the ones that grandma and grandpa sang and that I've often referred to as "oldy moldy". I THOUGHT that by choosing "In the Bulb There is a Flower" over "The Old Rugged Cross" that I was hitting on ALL cylinders -- meeting EVERYONE'S needs -- a familiar tune with new words -- or an easy tune with more contemporary language.
Imagine my surprise when my group of musical "helpers" said that they really wanted to hear the hymns from "their past"!! Those "oldy moldy" hymns!! Now let me just say here that these folks are WAY younger than I am -- less than 40 in all cases (I'm guessing!) -- in some, less than 30! You could have knocked me over with a feather!! Sing those OLD hymns?? No way!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing!
Could it be I've missed the boat entirely on the kinds of music that my congregation wants? When I heard that these younger people -- some parents -- want their children to learn the songs and hymns from their parents' spiritual heritage, I was moved -- and surprised!!
When I've talked about bringing a "blended" musical program to our "blended" worship I've thought that meant all those great (newer) UCC hymns mixed with some contemporary music printed in the bulletin... and frankly, some of what I think is contemporary isn't contemparary at all!! I'm learning that too!! Now what I'm hearing is that some of those really traditional hymns are missed, even by some of the younger members of the congregation.
SO -- expect a wider margin between what is REALLY contemporary (a new songbook will be forthcoming with some of the newer contemporary Christian music) and what is REALLY traditional. Don't worry, we'll sing some of those great UCC hymns too -- but you'll be singing a few more of the older ones as well.
It's all in a day's work, I suppose -- this thing about learning and relearning what's important when people worship! As the congregational grows and changes we will ALL need to grow and change -- it's just that this change felt a little bit more like moving backward instead of moving forward -- but maybe it was because I was facing the wrong direction!
Blessings 00 and let me know what you think!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
