O Foggy Night!

Let me clear the air a bit of the Advent/Christmas fog.  I am consistently hearing from good Christian folks that Advent, these precious days leading toward Christmas, are special days to get busy by preparing ourselves.  While I understand the logic, too often feels like a “Santa Clause religion.”  You know the drill, Santa is going to find out who is naughty and nice and then there will be sort of judgment day on Christmas Eve, so you better be good.  I hear the church echoing some of the same insights such as; you better get busy and be productive for Christ, you better prepare the way of the Lord, you better forgive, attend, witness, and offer or else you might miss the “real” Christmas.  In a strange humorous way, as a superintendent for the church, I can appreciate the guilt path of “you better be good,” because many times it works. 

However, as a theologian and child of God, I am here to proclaim it just isn’t so.  Christmas doesn’t need our good works, our good gifts, or our good anything.  Truth is you/we do not deserve Christmas, not a bit.  Truth is we cannot seem to do much of anything worthy of God’s love, never have.  And this is the power of the season.  Christmas is something God is doing and we cannot change a single thing about it.  It will be what God wants it to be.  Period.  And that is grace so large my eyes begin to leak water.

I do not give myself to the season because God needs me to do so.  I give myself because I believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord of the entire world.  My faith is secure that Jesus came to save all people, those who care and those who do not; those who sing in choirs and those who curse in darkness; those who give with all their hearts and those who have yet to find their hearts, let alone their ability to give.

My heart tells me to sit quietly and listen for the voice of God during this season.  My soul wants to sing praise to God, not of my need to act.  “Get busy or miss the season”; sounds like more Santa talk to me.

“Come and sit here by me Mary.  Sit and listen to what your heart is telling you.  Martha, come quickly and join your sister Mary.  She has chosen the better path which will never be taken away from her.”   My paraphrase of Luke 10:38 FF

"Season of Holy Moley"

“Holy Moley,” she exclaimed as she poked her eyes over the edge of the mixing bowl.  Cheryl and a granddaughter were busy making cookies last week.  I can only wonder at the comment made by the 3 yr old as the beaters began to stir the batter.  Was she surprised, perhaps even amazed, by what she was seeing.  Or was she just being a three year old who has a flair for the dramatic at times.

I have experienced Moley, even Holy Moley, at times in my life.  Feels like less as I get older.  However, I often wonder if that is because of my inattentiveness or because I am not as easily shocked.  A few of my experiences of  Holy Moley are, seeing my wife walking down the isle toward me at our wedding, experiencing the birth of our children, and seeing natural wonders like the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, and the Ocean.

Wouldn’t that be the same reaction of the women and the disciples when they encountered the risen Christ?  Holy Moley!  Maybe a brief season following Easter should be called the season of Holy Moley.  Works for me.

Is Moley even a word? I do not think so.  Still communicates, just the same.  

"New for Easter"

New!

I am thinking: What do I really know about New?

I know the Smell of New.

New plastic swimming pool,

New leather boots,

New hay stacked in a barn.

I know the Feel of New

New haircut on a Saturday night,

New dollar bill, stiff and crisp,

New skin over an old scar.

I know the Look of New

New moon in the sky,

New car in the showroom,

New tooth just breaking the skin.

I know the Sound of New.

New calf’s First gargling breath,

New guitar strings stretching into tune,

New gravel on the road home.

Maybe new is not really altogether new.  Not always.

Maybe new is new for today, new only to us, or new for just a season.

Maybe why something is new is more important than how.

What do I really know about New?

Maybe, Easter.

A Good Friday

I scratch me head.  I ponder the sight.

I lower me chin.  I kick dirt for spite. 

Thou speak without words; like clouds in the wind.

And I feel me pain, while I suffer thy death.

Brother, my brother, what purpose this.

And I scratch me head.  I lower me chin.

Bury Me With the Remote

Several of our pastors in the district have been quite busy with funerals the last few weeks, which is not unusual for January.  It can be difficult to keep up with all the day to day and provide for the needs of hurting families, as we also attempt to deal with our own grief.

Funerals and the grief work surrounding them can also be surprisingly humorous at times.  I offer this personal experience from a few years ago.

As the pastor, I was in the lead car of the funeral procession.  We had to stop before entering the cemetery gates because of oncoming traffic leaving the cemetery.  As a work-van sped past us to make room in the gateway I noticed the business logo in colorful bold type. It simply read, “Cable TV.” 

Now I am sure there was a valid reason for that crew to be in the cemetery during the middle of the day, but to tell you the truth, I chuckled and wondered aloud that some things in life are probably not as they appear.  To this day I smile thinking about that work van driving past a mile of cars and all those folks who were thinking the same thing. 

What Will We Look Like?

I recently answered a number of questions as part of the Program Review process.  One, in particular, struck me and I share both the question and my response here:

The mission of the United Methodist Church is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

The mission of the Iowa Annual Conference is “to make disciples, develop leaders and transform the world.” 

What will the Annual  Conference look like if this mission is accomplished?

We cannot know how the Iowa Annual Conference might look when the mission is accomplished.  Some believe the Annual Conference would look more like a powerful political party with strength and leadership taking center stage. This view engages the idea that the Annual Conference would be the center of life for the disciples called United Methodist and all would act and work together in concert with no little ability to make change for the good within our area of influence.  Some believe the Annual Conference would look much less robust, even somewhat ordinary or pedestrian.  This view understands the transformation of the world could make the work of the Annual Conference obsolete or at the very least diminished. 

The view from the Central District is that, regardless of the direction the wind may blow, making Disciples is and will be a continuing process as new people come to the church, others grow in their relationship to the church, and still others come of age within the church.

We cannot know the future, but we can understand this vital point, we shall be changed.  What we shall be has not yet been revealed, but we know we will be like Christ.  Perhaps our humble willingness to be changed, transformed, or born again, is as close to an answer as we are able to provide.  In hope, in truth, in love we shall be changed.  We shall all be changed to offer grace and peace in ways which defend and reconcile all persons.  We shall be changed to hold together in tension the very best of truth and love.

And we believe this must be done with an incredible sense of urgency and must include addressing the four areas of focus identified by the denomination:

•              Initiating new faith communities and revitalizing existing congregations

•              Leadership Development

•              Alleviating Poverty, particularly for Children      

•              Eradicating Killer Diseases

 Central District Leadership will work toward setting specific goals in these areas of focus.

Step Away then Step Back

Living in close proximity to our neighbors, what they do rubs off on us and moves us ever so slightly toward a new understanding of the world.  This works both ways.  

The church universal is called to be a pinch of leaven in the whole loaf.  We accomplish this task through our faithfulness, regardless of season or position.  We may believe our meager gifts are of no real account, but the church has always taught that the Kingdom of God has a whole different way of promoting what is right and true.

In God’s Kingdom you are a difference maker when you offer peace.  In God’s kingdom you are somebody when you settle your dispute with justice.  In God’s kingdom you have accomplished great things when you share your possessions with love.  The kingdom is full of persons who are faithful and kind.  But so is the church full of persons who know all the words, but suffer short with their application.  We in the church tend to watch the nightly news a little too closely and believe all that is offered a little too easily.  We turn away too quickly, we focus on ourselves a little too faithfully. 

A friend offered a prayer that we should, “Step away from the world for a little bit.”  I have pondered this idea.  And we can gain to separate ourselves from our neighbors for a time to enable our heaven connection to become functional.  I wonder how do you step away from the world?  Can you find the presence of God in a TV show or Internet site?  Do you work hard at stepping away or would yours be more like tripping away or falling away?  Is this stepping away more like a tango, barn dance, or a ballet or does it even matter as long as one moves within the arms of God.  To step away from the world for a time, feels like a good thing for ones who are called by God to offer love and grace to a hurting and angry world.

If stepping away to gather perspective and strength for tomorrow is important, so is the re-engaging of the world.  I have long suspected that the church has stepped away and wants no part of the stepping back.  We rather like our little nest and are cozy here.  Yet, the gospel calls us to go into the world and offer the world grace.  Surely our God will be strong enough, present enough, and mighty enough to accompany you and me on our stepping back into our neighborly relationships. 

So yes, sisters and brothers, step away from the world for a time of refreshment and retooling.  This may be your Sunday worship time, or mid-week study time, a small accountability or prayer group.  But, then step back into relationship with the world and begin again to be the neighbor your neighbor needs, the neighbor Jesus talked about.  Trust and let the Holy Spirit lead you. 

Thinking Baseball on a Snowy Day

 

Baseball.  Life is like baseball. 

We may be retired from the game, but we can still remember the excitement of the late inning victory and the pain of a one run loss.   We may be active in coaching or umpiring and assist others to gain knowledge and discipline from the structure imbedded in the contest.  Or we may be an active participant in the game on a regular basis finding new ways to express our ability with a ball, bat and glove. 

At any age, at any level, baseball is a lesson in life.  At first glace, the game appears to be so very easy, and in fact it is possible to gain a fair amount of competence with just a little practice and courage.  And yet as we grow in our achievement we find the game is beyond complex.  We soon find perfection to be a thing strived for and yet not likely to be attained beyond a fleeting moment of our breath in the midst of a lifetime. 

The elements are basic to life: Dirt, Sweat, Wood, Leather, a little Spit.  God used some dirt early in creation.  Noah used some wood to make a boat.  Jesus used some spit to heal a blind man.  The rules are straightforward: Strike or Ball, Out or Safe.  It takes a human judgment to discern the authority, but isn’t that just like life. 

And just as the book telling of our life is not complete until the last chapter has been written, so the game is not over until the last out.

The ballplayers come and go and every season is new and full of promise.  To win the championship is to achieve a relative greatness.  Ahh, but to love the game is to win an even greater reward.   Every summer teams find themselves standing in awe while in the midst of the long line of players before them who played, “just for the love of the game.” 

Remember the feel of the wood in your hands and the crack of the ball as it leaves the yard.  Remember the walk back to the dugout after strike three. 

Remember ice cream for the whole team, win or lose. 

Yeah, baseball is like life, big time.