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Saturday, April 03, 2010
Getting ready for Easter
Struggling with the Easter sermon. I know it's last minute, but I just haven't been able to find something that would put on the 'light bulb.' I thought I might talk about Mary Magdalene. Then I pulled last year's sermon and realized that I talked about her last year. Still might, though, just from a different perspective. Every preacher knows this, but just let me say it again--Christmas and Easter sermons are the hardest of the year!
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Suffering
Lately I've been thinking about suffering quite a bit. I'm not sure why that is. Partially I think it's from being with some friends who are in really difficult times in their lives and suffering quite a bit, and partially I think it's from working with the book of James.
Anyway, I have noticed that the people that I know who have the deepest, most vital, most robust relationships with God are those who have suffered the most--physically, spiritually, emotionally. I don't know why exactly that is, although I kind of think it has something to do with the fact that most of us have to reach the end of our ropes before we'll really and totally turn to God. And these people have all, at one time or another in their lives, found that end point of their personal ropes.
So, the question is, "Is it possible to have that kind of relationship to God without suffering?" This is a critical question for middle class Americans, because so many of us have been blessed to avoid so many of the major causes of suffering, all those caused by extreme poverty. The answer, I think, may be "Yes" and "No." I think that maybe if you have been fortunate enough in your life to have mostly avoided true suffering, you are obligated, especially if you are a Christian, to open yourself to, and help carry, the suffering of others. Your security is gift, not to yourself, but to others, so that you can, by sharing their pain and doing what you can to relieve it, not only be a gift and a blessing to them, but also grow yourself.
This is just a tiny, short 'brain dump' about what's been rattling around in my head the last few days. There is certainly much more to be said.
What do you think?
Anyway, I have noticed that the people that I know who have the deepest, most vital, most robust relationships with God are those who have suffered the most--physically, spiritually, emotionally. I don't know why exactly that is, although I kind of think it has something to do with the fact that most of us have to reach the end of our ropes before we'll really and totally turn to God. And these people have all, at one time or another in their lives, found that end point of their personal ropes.
So, the question is, "Is it possible to have that kind of relationship to God without suffering?" This is a critical question for middle class Americans, because so many of us have been blessed to avoid so many of the major causes of suffering, all those caused by extreme poverty. The answer, I think, may be "Yes" and "No." I think that maybe if you have been fortunate enough in your life to have mostly avoided true suffering, you are obligated, especially if you are a Christian, to open yourself to, and help carry, the suffering of others. Your security is gift, not to yourself, but to others, so that you can, by sharing their pain and doing what you can to relieve it, not only be a gift and a blessing to them, but also grow yourself.
This is just a tiny, short 'brain dump' about what's been rattling around in my head the last few days. There is certainly much more to be said.
What do you think?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
What do you want?
In, The Big Necessity, the author talks about how difficult it is to change people's habits. Since the whole book is about sanitation, you can guess which habits we're talking about. If not, read the book. Anyway, she talks about the fact that you can't get anyone to change their ways by talking to them about what they should do--doctors who smoke being the prime example. Instead, you have to connect with them about what they want to do, not what they should do. When you it say it out loud, that sounds like a 'duh' statement, but somehow we seem to miss it most of the time. Talking to kids, talking to friends, talking to co-workers, talking to spouses, and especially, preachers talking to congregations always seem to want to start with should instead of want. What are we thinking? Well, obviously we aren't thinking at all or we would know better. All we have to do is look at our own new year's resolutions. They are almost always about should, and they just fall by the wayside. But we don't even need to make resolutions to go after what we want, we just do it.
So, what do the people in the pews want? What do we all want from God? What 'want' brings us to church? Some want to know, not just think or believe that their souls are secure. Some want peace. Some want comfort. We all want to know we are loved. We don't want to just think about God, believe God. We want to feel God. We want to know God. Makes this week's sermon start to look all different.
So, what do the people in the pews want? What do we all want from God? What 'want' brings us to church? Some want to know, not just think or believe that their souls are secure. Some want peace. Some want comfort. We all want to know we are loved. We don't want to just think about God, believe God. We want to feel God. We want to know God. Makes this week's sermon start to look all different.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Do No Harm
So, I'm doing this sermon series on Reuben Job's Three Simple Rules. I did an introductory sermon last week, and I have to admit that it didn't look like I was getting a lot of response. Of course, it frequently looks that way. Anyway, so this week we're looking at the first rule: Do No Harm. That's really a much more complicated question than it appears to be. Like so many rules it appears easy, but like ripples on a pond it has effects that move outward much farther than you would expect. What does it really mean to do no harm to others--not just by deed, but by word and thought. I especially think of all the people I know who are so quick to say critical things about other people. I remember a time in my own life when I actively turned my back on living a Christian life because I didn't want to abide by that rule. Being snarky is so much more fun than being nice. And what about all the people, especially those in public life, who think that it's OK to be as critical and destructive as possible in the right cause. When exactly did it become OK not just to win, but to destroy anyone who disagreed with you. And how can anyone honestly believe that such behavior is ever OK for someone who claims to be a Christian? Honestly, sometimes Christians do more harm to the faith than any enemy the church has or has ever had. We have much to repent for.
Oh well, just a few beginning thoughts--and I haven't even begun to talk about not harming God's world, either.
So, I'm doing this sermon series on Reuben Job's Three Simple Rules. I did an introductory sermon last week, and I have to admit that it didn't look like I was getting a lot of response. Of course, it frequently looks that way. Anyway, so this week we're looking at the first rule: Do No Harm. That's really a much more complicated question than it appears to be. Like so many rules it appears easy, but like ripples on a pond it has effects that move outward much farther than you would expect. What does it really mean to do no harm to others--not just by deed, but by word and thought. I especially think of all the people I know who are so quick to say critical things about other people. I remember a time in my own life when I actively turned my back on living a Christian life because I didn't want to abide by that rule. Being snarky is so much more fun than being nice. And what about all the people, especially those in public life, who think that it's OK to be as critical and destructive as possible in the right cause. When exactly did it become OK not just to win, but to destroy anyone who disagreed with you. And how can anyone honestly believe that such behavior is ever OK for someone who claims to be a Christian? Honestly, sometimes Christians do more harm to the faith than any enemy the church has or has ever had. We have much to repent for.
Oh well, just a few beginning thoughts--and I haven't even begun to talk about not harming God's world, either.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
TMI?
I have almost come to the conlusion that there are too many ways to communicate out there! As a Twitter addict, I've got the short, stream-of-consciousness snippets covered. And since they are linked to both Facebook and Blogger, I can update all three at once. For longer snips (is that the longer version of snippets?) I can go directly to Facebook. By the time I've covered those, the well is kind of dry so I don't know what to put on Blogger that is both longer and still worthwhile. I am not nearly egotistical enough to think that anyone is that interested in every detail of my life. Nor do I think you all want to see the rough drafts/emerging thoughts for my sermons and my school papers. For devotional stuff, I prefer to write in a paper journal--although that is fast becoming a jumbled commonplace book. Just posting my sermons also seems egotistical.
Of course, all of this presumes that someone actually reads this blog. Not all that likely, really, considering all the blogs there are in the world today.
So maybe I'm just talking to myself. Wouldn't be the first time.
Of course, all of this presumes that someone actually reads this blog. Not all that likely, really, considering all the blogs there are in the world today.
So maybe I'm just talking to myself. Wouldn't be the first time.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Testing mobile
I am spending way too much time on this#
Sent by Felecia Hensley
via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
Sent by Felecia Hensley
via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
What, me procrastinate?
It's Palm Sunday tomorrow and I still have stuff to do. So why am I spending all this time mucking around with Twitter, Facebook and my Blackberry. I must be insane! Oh, and then there's the wedding and the musical tonight, too!
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
2,000 Verses, Are You Kidding
Since it's been requesting. I am again posting my sermons, even if late. Here's the one for last Sunday.
‘Tis The Season
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,who will prepare your way;3the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:‘Prepare the way of the Lord,make his paths straight,’”
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” *******************************
Advent, the time of waiting and preparing. He is almost here. The babe is on his way. Mary has gathered baby clothes and diapers, Joseph has made the cradle, we’re just waiting now—waiting and getting ready.
In the larger story, we stand in the same place as John the Baptist. We know Jesus is coming. We know what the rest of the world will soon know. God is doing something that has never been done before. Things are going to change. Nothing will ever be the same. We start to prepare. We start to tell people, “Get ready, things are going to be different.”
John the Baptist, what an interesting character. Not big on social skills or diplomacy, our John. But if anyone ever spoke his mind without a blink, it would be John. Can you imagine what he a Jesus were like together as children?
John, his whole life focused on preparing people for the Coming, for the fulfillment of all that had been promised, to see God walk on the earth. So, what exactly did John tell them?
You’ve heard his basic message this morning, but if you poke around a little more in scripture and read his story from Luke’s perspective, you get a few more specifics about his message. In Luke, the people said, “What exactly do we need to do to get ready?” So John told them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Oh, that again. God just never lets us off the hook on this giving and sharing thing. And, since all the commercials keep telling us that this is the season to give, maybe we should spend a few minutes looking at just what God’s expectations are.
Did you know that there are over 2,000 verses in the Bible about poverty? 2,000! This is the Bible that tells the whole story of creation in 2 chapters, where the story of the Good Samaritan is only 12 verses long, and some of the other parables are as short as 2 verses, where the coming of the Holy Spirit only takes up 13 verses. So 2,000 verses on what God thinks about poverty? I think this is maybe a big deal, then, for God.
And what do those verses say? They say pretty much what John said, and what John Wesley later said, “Fix it!” Do whatever you can, however you can, to fix it. How can we do that? The problem is too big, it has been here forever and, as Jesus said, it will always be with us. You’re right. So how does God expect us to fix an unfixable problem? To do what we can. To do everything we can.
This seems like kind of an odd time to be talking about this in some ways. It certainly doesn’t fit in with all the pretty pictures and Ricky Bobby’s sweet, cuddly, tame baby Jesus in Talladega Nights. But on the other hand, it’s the time when we think about giving the most—what are we going to give to whom, how much can we spend, what is someone giving to me? It’s also a time when we see some of the hidden need around us and are asked to do something about it.
It’s a time when we have interesting conversations about giving. All year long, people talk to me about their opinions on giving, how they decide, what they think is important, who merits it, but I hear more about it during Advent and Christmas than any other time of the year, so I think maybe now is a great time to talk about it.
The number one thing I hear is, “Well, I don’t give to ……..(you can fill in your own blanks) because they don’t deserve it.” The reasons “they” may not deserve it vary, but there’s always a reason. The funny thing is, in all those 2,000 verses God shares with us about the poor, never one time does God talk about the deserving poor. He doesn’t say, only help the widows and orphans whose husbands and fathers worked hard, but don’t worry about the ones who drink too much or don’t manage their money well. God doesn’t say take care of strangers and immigrants, but only if they have the proper documentation. God doesn’t give us an out. God says, if you see need, do whatever you can to fill it.
When you think about it, it’s not all that surprising that God would see it that way. It’s how he treats us. When God sent Jesus, when God reaches out to us in grace, there are no stipulations. Jesus didn’t come only to save those who work hard, follow the rules, live right and never challenge. Jesus came for everyone. If the only person in the entire history of humanity who ever accepted Jesus’ message was a drunken, Roman soldier who had spent his whole life pushing other people around and enjoying it, Jesus would have come anyway. God reaches out to all of God’s children—all of them, whether they’ve earned it or not—and that is really good news for all of us.
And if we accept God’s gift, there are still no strings. There are plenty of us who accept God’s help and then go off and do the spiritual equivalent of spending it all in the local bar. We mess up. And we go back to God and God bails us out again. Until we finally get it. But as many times as we waste this grace that God gives us, that many times God meets our need again.
And that’s the hard part for us, because when God then tells us to go out an be the light to the world, God is telling us to treat the rest of the world like God treats us—to meet need, to give freely, to not attach strings. Darn!
So let me share with you how that has worked out for me in my life and thought. When someone asks, I give, even if it’s the guys on the street corner holding up signs. Yes, I know it may be a scam. Yes, I know they may use it inappropriately. But I would rather be scammed than take a chance on not helping someone who really needs it. It’s the choice I make. They may be operating a scam. But even if they are, the seed has been planted and one day they may remember that the person who tried to help was a Christian and that may be enough to turn them toward God. That’s pretty much it. I may not can give much, but if I see need, I give what I can. No strings, no qualifications. This is what God did for me, and this is how I share God with others.
Now, I know that this makes some of you uncomfortable, if not downright angry. OK. You don’t have to agree with me. But God requires that you at least wrestle with it. If it upsets you, why is that? You may come out at a different place than I did, but you have to think about it honestly.
When you don’t give because one time you know of 45 years ago someone abused a gift, is that the exception or the rule? If it is the rule, how can you change it? I sat with a man this week and listened to him talk about one needed family in town that could never seem to make ends meet no matter how much help they got. Yes, the single mom didn’t spend her money in all the right places, but instead of just cutting her off, he and his wife went over and spent time with her helping her learn how to plan out a budget, balance a checkbook, manage what she had. Maybe instead of cutting people off, we need to get more involved with them as people.
Maybe your reason is that you don’t know where the money will be spent. Well, if it’s a gift, then it’s a gift. When you give your grandchild a bicycle, you don’t dictate how often and when they ride it. It’s theirs! We can’t maintain control over what we give. Besides, God is in control anyway.
Maybe you really, honestly feel like giving money to people harms them in some way, then make some microfinancing loans. Maybe you don’t have money to share, then do what you can. The point is, God calls us to share what God has given to us—everything God has given to us, and not just the leftovers. If we follow God’s model, we have to remember that God gave until it hurt—he gave us Jesus, knowing that we would kill him. How much does our giving hurt? How many presents have we given up to give to someone else? When we look at the amount that we spend giving unneeded luxuries to those we know, how close do we come to matching that with giving necessities to those we don’t know.
Now lest you think I’m asking you to give more to the church for the good of the church, I’m not. I won’t deny that we will be happy to take your gift and share it wherever we can. But what I’m really asking you to do is to think about what you give and why, and to whom. Be honest about your priorities. God tells us over 2,000 times what is expected of us. How are you going to respond?
In the name of the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
‘Tis The Season
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,who will prepare your way;3the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:‘Prepare the way of the Lord,make his paths straight,’”
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” *******************************
Advent, the time of waiting and preparing. He is almost here. The babe is on his way. Mary has gathered baby clothes and diapers, Joseph has made the cradle, we’re just waiting now—waiting and getting ready.
In the larger story, we stand in the same place as John the Baptist. We know Jesus is coming. We know what the rest of the world will soon know. God is doing something that has never been done before. Things are going to change. Nothing will ever be the same. We start to prepare. We start to tell people, “Get ready, things are going to be different.”
John the Baptist, what an interesting character. Not big on social skills or diplomacy, our John. But if anyone ever spoke his mind without a blink, it would be John. Can you imagine what he a Jesus were like together as children?
John, his whole life focused on preparing people for the Coming, for the fulfillment of all that had been promised, to see God walk on the earth. So, what exactly did John tell them?
You’ve heard his basic message this morning, but if you poke around a little more in scripture and read his story from Luke’s perspective, you get a few more specifics about his message. In Luke, the people said, “What exactly do we need to do to get ready?” So John told them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Oh, that again. God just never lets us off the hook on this giving and sharing thing. And, since all the commercials keep telling us that this is the season to give, maybe we should spend a few minutes looking at just what God’s expectations are.
Did you know that there are over 2,000 verses in the Bible about poverty? 2,000! This is the Bible that tells the whole story of creation in 2 chapters, where the story of the Good Samaritan is only 12 verses long, and some of the other parables are as short as 2 verses, where the coming of the Holy Spirit only takes up 13 verses. So 2,000 verses on what God thinks about poverty? I think this is maybe a big deal, then, for God.
And what do those verses say? They say pretty much what John said, and what John Wesley later said, “Fix it!” Do whatever you can, however you can, to fix it. How can we do that? The problem is too big, it has been here forever and, as Jesus said, it will always be with us. You’re right. So how does God expect us to fix an unfixable problem? To do what we can. To do everything we can.
This seems like kind of an odd time to be talking about this in some ways. It certainly doesn’t fit in with all the pretty pictures and Ricky Bobby’s sweet, cuddly, tame baby Jesus in Talladega Nights. But on the other hand, it’s the time when we think about giving the most—what are we going to give to whom, how much can we spend, what is someone giving to me? It’s also a time when we see some of the hidden need around us and are asked to do something about it.
It’s a time when we have interesting conversations about giving. All year long, people talk to me about their opinions on giving, how they decide, what they think is important, who merits it, but I hear more about it during Advent and Christmas than any other time of the year, so I think maybe now is a great time to talk about it.
The number one thing I hear is, “Well, I don’t give to ……..(you can fill in your own blanks) because they don’t deserve it.” The reasons “they” may not deserve it vary, but there’s always a reason. The funny thing is, in all those 2,000 verses God shares with us about the poor, never one time does God talk about the deserving poor. He doesn’t say, only help the widows and orphans whose husbands and fathers worked hard, but don’t worry about the ones who drink too much or don’t manage their money well. God doesn’t say take care of strangers and immigrants, but only if they have the proper documentation. God doesn’t give us an out. God says, if you see need, do whatever you can to fill it.
When you think about it, it’s not all that surprising that God would see it that way. It’s how he treats us. When God sent Jesus, when God reaches out to us in grace, there are no stipulations. Jesus didn’t come only to save those who work hard, follow the rules, live right and never challenge. Jesus came for everyone. If the only person in the entire history of humanity who ever accepted Jesus’ message was a drunken, Roman soldier who had spent his whole life pushing other people around and enjoying it, Jesus would have come anyway. God reaches out to all of God’s children—all of them, whether they’ve earned it or not—and that is really good news for all of us.
And if we accept God’s gift, there are still no strings. There are plenty of us who accept God’s help and then go off and do the spiritual equivalent of spending it all in the local bar. We mess up. And we go back to God and God bails us out again. Until we finally get it. But as many times as we waste this grace that God gives us, that many times God meets our need again.
And that’s the hard part for us, because when God then tells us to go out an be the light to the world, God is telling us to treat the rest of the world like God treats us—to meet need, to give freely, to not attach strings. Darn!
So let me share with you how that has worked out for me in my life and thought. When someone asks, I give, even if it’s the guys on the street corner holding up signs. Yes, I know it may be a scam. Yes, I know they may use it inappropriately. But I would rather be scammed than take a chance on not helping someone who really needs it. It’s the choice I make. They may be operating a scam. But even if they are, the seed has been planted and one day they may remember that the person who tried to help was a Christian and that may be enough to turn them toward God. That’s pretty much it. I may not can give much, but if I see need, I give what I can. No strings, no qualifications. This is what God did for me, and this is how I share God with others.
Now, I know that this makes some of you uncomfortable, if not downright angry. OK. You don’t have to agree with me. But God requires that you at least wrestle with it. If it upsets you, why is that? You may come out at a different place than I did, but you have to think about it honestly.
When you don’t give because one time you know of 45 years ago someone abused a gift, is that the exception or the rule? If it is the rule, how can you change it? I sat with a man this week and listened to him talk about one needed family in town that could never seem to make ends meet no matter how much help they got. Yes, the single mom didn’t spend her money in all the right places, but instead of just cutting her off, he and his wife went over and spent time with her helping her learn how to plan out a budget, balance a checkbook, manage what she had. Maybe instead of cutting people off, we need to get more involved with them as people.
Maybe your reason is that you don’t know where the money will be spent. Well, if it’s a gift, then it’s a gift. When you give your grandchild a bicycle, you don’t dictate how often and when they ride it. It’s theirs! We can’t maintain control over what we give. Besides, God is in control anyway.
Maybe you really, honestly feel like giving money to people harms them in some way, then make some microfinancing loans. Maybe you don’t have money to share, then do what you can. The point is, God calls us to share what God has given to us—everything God has given to us, and not just the leftovers. If we follow God’s model, we have to remember that God gave until it hurt—he gave us Jesus, knowing that we would kill him. How much does our giving hurt? How many presents have we given up to give to someone else? When we look at the amount that we spend giving unneeded luxuries to those we know, how close do we come to matching that with giving necessities to those we don’t know.
Now lest you think I’m asking you to give more to the church for the good of the church, I’m not. I won’t deny that we will be happy to take your gift and share it wherever we can. But what I’m really asking you to do is to think about what you give and why, and to whom. Be honest about your priorities. God tells us over 2,000 times what is expected of us. How are you going to respond?
In the name of the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Which way did I go?
Definitely tired. I feel that way a lot. I keep telling myself to remember that I only have to keep up this pace for one three month stretch at a time. Between semesters I get a break and I definitely need to take advantage of it when I get it.
At least the rhythm issue has kind of taken care of itself. Study, work, sleep. Eat when you can. At least speak to the family once a day. Breathe. That's about it. The first part of the week is pretty much exclusively devoted to school because of my 9-9 class schedule on Tuesdays. Noon Wednesday I switch gears and focus on the church until noon Sunday, then focus on schol. I can't say it's fun, but it is pretty well defined.
At least I enjoy school. I can't imagine doing this if I hated the schoolwork. Thank God for that blessing.
At least the rhythm issue has kind of taken care of itself. Study, work, sleep. Eat when you can. At least speak to the family once a day. Breathe. That's about it. The first part of the week is pretty much exclusively devoted to school because of my 9-9 class schedule on Tuesdays. Noon Wednesday I switch gears and focus on the church until noon Sunday, then focus on schol. I can't say it's fun, but it is pretty well defined.
At least I enjoy school. I can't imagine doing this if I hated the schoolwork. Thank God for that blessing.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
It's Not Fair
I know that I really haven't been keeping up with the old blog lately. If you're reading because you want exciting news about my not-so-exciting life, well I'm sorry. I've about come the the sad realization that during those months when school is in session, I might as well reconcile myself to the fact that I'm not going to get anything done except work and school. I haven't even picked up my knitting in over two weeks, and that's unimaginable! Thank God for supportive husbands and families!
Anyway, at least the sermons are getting done. Here is this week's:
It’s Not Fair
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3When he went out about nine o”clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5When he went out again about noon and about three o”clock, he did the same. 6And about five o”clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9When those hired about five o”clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:1-16)
How many of you have ever felt like this guy? I think that most of us have, at one time or another, even though we don’t like to admit it. Somewhere along the line, someone has overlooked us, or taken us for granted, or failed to reward us for something that we really felt like we deserved—something that we worked really hard for that was given to someone else. And whoever that person was, they had not done nearly as much as we had to earn it.
It happens to us all. And if we’re really honest, sometimes we allow ourselves to get so wound up that we convince ourselves that it only happens to us.
So maybe that’s why this parable strikes such a chord in people. They don’t like it. In fact, this parable is right behind the Prodigal Son as being the parable that angers people the most. Something about those laborers essentially getting paid for sitting around all day really gets our goat. It just seems wrong. It goes against just about everything our culture is built around. Isn’t that the American dream? That if you work hard enough and long enough you can get just about anything you want? That if we do the right things and keep the right attitude we can make ourselves healthy, wealthy and wise? That we, and we alone, are in control of our lives? So why would God reward these guys for not doing any of that? It offends us, the good kids, when Dad is generous to the not-so-good ones.
I find it interesting that Matthew is the only gospel that includes this story. At the time Matthew was being written down, towards the end of the first century, or about 50 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the church was still trying to get used to the idea that God was welcoming Gentiles as well as Jews into the family. It just really took some getting used to, and as you read through the Paul’s Epistles, you can see time and time again how much the early church struggled with what that meant and how it should work.
One of the things that really seemed to rankle those new Christians who had been observant Jews all their lives, was how easy it was for these former pagans to just waltz into the church and belong. They ate whatever they wanted, dressed however they wanted, worked or didn’t work whatever days they wanted, and God seemed to welcome them just as much as those who had worked so hard all their lives to follow all God’s laws. It just wasn’t fair. Good thing for us, the Gentiles, huh?
See, that’s the thing about this story. Just like we read in Romans last week, this story isn’t about us, it’s about God and God’s generosity—both to us, and to ‘the others,’ whoever they may be.
I agree with Barbara Brown Taylor that one of the most curious things about this story and people’s reactions to it is where they place themselves in the story. As we’ve said before, in every story there is a place for us to stand, a character that we can identify with. That’s what makes these parables so meaningful. So where do you place yourself in this story?
As Rev. Brown Taylor says,
“The story sounds quite different from the end of the line, after all, than it does from the front of the line, but isn’t it interesting that 99 percent of us hear it from front-row seats? We are the ones who have gotten the short end of the stick; we are the ones who have been cheated. We are the ones who have gotten up early and worked hard and stayed late and all for what? So that some backward householder can come along and start at the wrong end of the line, treating us just like the ne’er-do-wells who do not even get dressed until noon!
That is how most of us hear the parable, but it is entirely possible that we are mistaken about where we are in line. Did you ever think about that? It is entirely possible that, as far as God is concerned, we are halfway around the block, that there are all sorts of people ahead of us in line, people who are far more deserving of God’s love than we are, people who have more stars in their crowns than we will ever have
They are at the front of the line, and we are near the end of it for all sorts of reasons. No one told us about it, for one thing. We did not know there was a line until late in the day. But even if we had, we might not have done much about it. We know all kinds of things we do not do much about. There are so many things we mean to do that we never get around to doing, and there are so many things we meant not to do that we end up doing anyway. Even when we manage to do our best, things get in the way: People get sick, businesses fail, relationships go down the drain. There are lots of reasons why people wind up at the end of the line, and only God can sort them all out.” (Barbara Brown Taylor, The Seeds of Heaven, 2004)
That makes it different, doesn’t it? We all know, or have heard of, people who will be ahead of us in line, maybe far, far ahead. Do we really want what we deserve? Do we really want what we’ve earned? Maybe not so much. In fact, by this time I’m beginning to worry that instead of getting a fair day’s wage, I won’t even get enough for a Coke at the Sonic on the way home.
But God is not fair, and now that I think about it, that’s really, really good news. Because God is not fair, I’ll get better than I deserve. I’ll get God’s unmerited grace. I won’t be judged on who I am, but who God is. Thanks be to God.
To quote Rev. Brown Taylor one more time, “God is not fair; God is generous, and when we begrudge that generosity it is only because we have forgotten where we stand.” From where I stand, God’s generosity looks very good indeed.
In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sustainer—The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Anyway, at least the sermons are getting done. Here is this week's:
It’s Not Fair
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3When he went out about nine o”clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5When he went out again about noon and about three o”clock, he did the same. 6And about five o”clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9When those hired about five o”clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:1-16)
How many of you have ever felt like this guy? I think that most of us have, at one time or another, even though we don’t like to admit it. Somewhere along the line, someone has overlooked us, or taken us for granted, or failed to reward us for something that we really felt like we deserved—something that we worked really hard for that was given to someone else. And whoever that person was, they had not done nearly as much as we had to earn it.
It happens to us all. And if we’re really honest, sometimes we allow ourselves to get so wound up that we convince ourselves that it only happens to us.
So maybe that’s why this parable strikes such a chord in people. They don’t like it. In fact, this parable is right behind the Prodigal Son as being the parable that angers people the most. Something about those laborers essentially getting paid for sitting around all day really gets our goat. It just seems wrong. It goes against just about everything our culture is built around. Isn’t that the American dream? That if you work hard enough and long enough you can get just about anything you want? That if we do the right things and keep the right attitude we can make ourselves healthy, wealthy and wise? That we, and we alone, are in control of our lives? So why would God reward these guys for not doing any of that? It offends us, the good kids, when Dad is generous to the not-so-good ones.
I find it interesting that Matthew is the only gospel that includes this story. At the time Matthew was being written down, towards the end of the first century, or about 50 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the church was still trying to get used to the idea that God was welcoming Gentiles as well as Jews into the family. It just really took some getting used to, and as you read through the Paul’s Epistles, you can see time and time again how much the early church struggled with what that meant and how it should work.
One of the things that really seemed to rankle those new Christians who had been observant Jews all their lives, was how easy it was for these former pagans to just waltz into the church and belong. They ate whatever they wanted, dressed however they wanted, worked or didn’t work whatever days they wanted, and God seemed to welcome them just as much as those who had worked so hard all their lives to follow all God’s laws. It just wasn’t fair. Good thing for us, the Gentiles, huh?
See, that’s the thing about this story. Just like we read in Romans last week, this story isn’t about us, it’s about God and God’s generosity—both to us, and to ‘the others,’ whoever they may be.
I agree with Barbara Brown Taylor that one of the most curious things about this story and people’s reactions to it is where they place themselves in the story. As we’ve said before, in every story there is a place for us to stand, a character that we can identify with. That’s what makes these parables so meaningful. So where do you place yourself in this story?
As Rev. Brown Taylor says,
“The story sounds quite different from the end of the line, after all, than it does from the front of the line, but isn’t it interesting that 99 percent of us hear it from front-row seats? We are the ones who have gotten the short end of the stick; we are the ones who have been cheated. We are the ones who have gotten up early and worked hard and stayed late and all for what? So that some backward householder can come along and start at the wrong end of the line, treating us just like the ne’er-do-wells who do not even get dressed until noon!
That is how most of us hear the parable, but it is entirely possible that we are mistaken about where we are in line. Did you ever think about that? It is entirely possible that, as far as God is concerned, we are halfway around the block, that there are all sorts of people ahead of us in line, people who are far more deserving of God’s love than we are, people who have more stars in their crowns than we will ever have
They are at the front of the line, and we are near the end of it for all sorts of reasons. No one told us about it, for one thing. We did not know there was a line until late in the day. But even if we had, we might not have done much about it. We know all kinds of things we do not do much about. There are so many things we mean to do that we never get around to doing, and there are so many things we meant not to do that we end up doing anyway. Even when we manage to do our best, things get in the way: People get sick, businesses fail, relationships go down the drain. There are lots of reasons why people wind up at the end of the line, and only God can sort them all out.” (Barbara Brown Taylor, The Seeds of Heaven, 2004)
That makes it different, doesn’t it? We all know, or have heard of, people who will be ahead of us in line, maybe far, far ahead. Do we really want what we deserve? Do we really want what we’ve earned? Maybe not so much. In fact, by this time I’m beginning to worry that instead of getting a fair day’s wage, I won’t even get enough for a Coke at the Sonic on the way home.
But God is not fair, and now that I think about it, that’s really, really good news. Because God is not fair, I’ll get better than I deserve. I’ll get God’s unmerited grace. I won’t be judged on who I am, but who God is. Thanks be to God.
To quote Rev. Brown Taylor one more time, “God is not fair; God is generous, and when we begrudge that generosity it is only because we have forgotten where we stand.” From where I stand, God’s generosity looks very good indeed.
In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sustainer—The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Saturday, September 06, 2008
What Do I Owe You?
Hah! I'm finally going to get my sermon up on time. So again I say, 'Ha!'
The Sermon Today, Romans 13: 8-14
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
11Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
In this passage, Paul continues his lessons on ‘how to live like a Christian’ for the church at Rome. In my mind, I have this image of Paul leaning out of the window of a train that is pulling out of a station, waving and shouting out last minute instructions to those of us standing on the platform as the train moves away. “Don’t forget to lock take out the trash.” “Turn off the lights before you leave.” “Walk as a child of the light.”
He began this section of his letter by reminding us that God is asking for, and deserves our whole lives, every tiny bit, every minute of every hour of every day, not just our Sunday morning lives. Then he went on, last week, to paint us a picture of God in Christ as our role model and remind us that now, since the resurrected Christ no longer walks the earth with us, we have become God’s role model for the rest of the world.
Between last week’s passage and this week’s Paul talks about how we should live in relation with the governmental authorities and what it means to be not just a citizen of God’s kingdom, but also to still be functioning as a part of a worldly kingdom. This wasn’t just a theoretical issue for Paul and the Roman church, it was an incredibly practical one. At the time of this letter, Christians had already been banished from Rome once and forced to leave behind either their faith or their homes and livelihoods. They had only recently bee allowed to return and it was anybody’s guess how long the capricious Emperor Claudius would allow them to remain.
And that brings us to today’s passage. Paul begins with an unusual grammatical construction—a Greek double negative. A more literal translation, although bad English, would be ‘Owe no one nothing except love.’ Now, in English, as we all know, a double negative is really a positive. But in Greek, a double negative is just a really, really strong negative. So Paul is stating this just as forcefully as he possibly can. Since Paul is so concerned about this, it must be important, then.
And so what is he saying here, that we shouldn’t be in financial debt. Well, yes, certainly. Most of us already know that. And even without Dave Ramsey, I’m pretty sure that the Roman church members knew as well just how draining, just how depressing and just how debilitating it is to be enslaved to financial debt. Talk about living counter-culturally, especially in the credit-crazy world of America today. But that’s another sermon.
Yes, Paul was talking about financial debt, but he was also trying to cause a paradigm shift in the Roman Christians. He was trying to help them see themselves and the world they lived in in a whole new way. He wasn’t talking just about financial debt but also about relationships. What he was saying is that we have to get away from taking care of others because we feel like we owe them, or God something, and move to a place where we take care of them not because of a debt, but because of love. It all goes along with what he said earlier about seeing others as God sees them. It’s about responding to them not out of obligation, not because ‘that’s what a Christian would do,’ not because we have too, but because we love to.
Once again, Paul is not making it easy for us. There are some people that make it hard for us to love them. They are mean--to us or to others. They are negative--and their refusal to see anything but the down side makes us want to run away every time we see them. They are self absorbed--so interested in their own illnesses or hardships that they are blind to the blessings in their lives or the happiness in someone else’s. Or they are just so needy--so desperate to know that someone cares for them that they just wear us out and we’re afraid that we’ll sucked into some kind of quicksand if we get too close to them. By now, each of you probably has a mental image of someone that in your opinion I have just described. Yes, they are hard to love. And yes, they are also us, because sometimes we are the ones that are hard to love.
So, Paul says, love them anyway. Not out of duty or a sense of obligation, but out of God’s love. This is what God is asking of us. We aren’t bound by any law, we are bound by love.
And, he goes on to say, we can’t put this off. We can’t afford to cling to any hardness of heart toward God, ourselves, or each other because we are running out of time. We can’t put it off any longer. We can’t sleep on this. Why, because ‘the night is far gone, the day is near.’
Now some people think that here Paul is talking about the return of Christ to redeem the world. There is evidence, in this letter and other letters from Paul, that he, like many in the new church, expected Christ’s return to be imminent. It could be coming any day now, even, as Anne Lamott says, ‘next Tuesday after lunch.’ But Paul had been working in God’s fields for a long time by this point, and it’s not so clear that he still thought that might happen in his lifetime. Who knew when the time might be.
But he also knew, as we all do, that whether Christ came today, or tomorrow or not for a long time, it really shouldn’t matter to how we live our lives. If we are truly living fully for Christ, if we are completely focused on God, if we walk daily, 24/7 hand in hand with the Holy Spirit, then it shouldn’t make any difference to us when Christ returns because we are ready all the time. So what if we knew when Christ was coming? If we are living in love like Paul is calling us to do in this passage, knowing that Christ is coming tonight during volleyball practice shouldn’t change our behavior one little bit. No small challenge there.
So how do we achieve this goal? How do we live up to this impossibly high standard? We’ve talked on other Sundays about prayer, Bible study, private and corporate worship, partaking of the sacraments like we are going to do in a little while, all these ways of learning to live like Christ. But here Paul gives us another image. ‘Let us lay aside the works of dardness and put on the armor of light….Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ….’ Let’s think about that image for a while.
In Rome, as in most ancient societies, what we call sumptuary laws were common. These laws basically dictated what you could or could not wear, and what you could wear usually depended on your profession or social class. The best known of these laws from Rome were the ones restricting the wearing of purple to royalty, and just how much purple you could have on your toga depended on just how royal you were.
Even today, we still recognize some tiny remnant of this in our obsession with dress. Entire careers have been made for people who can tell us what to wear or not to wear to make a proper impression in a given situation. Personally, I have gotten so bored with the whole power tie thing that I almost automatically pay attention to any man, especially a politician, who doesn’t wear a red tie.
And Paul knows all this. He knows that ‘you are what you wear.’ He knows, just like we all do, just how much what we wear and when affects how people respond to us and what they think about us. So what is his recommendation? Pul on Christ. Wear Christ like a garment, so you are completely wrapped up in God, hidden behind Christ, and only Christ shows. We all have work clothes and church clothes, school clothes and play clothes, uniforms and civvies. But over all of these, the ultimate outfit is Christ. Wrap yourself in Christ. Walk like Christ, talk like Christ, look like Christ and you will eventually come to love like Christ.
It’s time to quit sleeping. It’s time to get up and get dressed. It is time now for us to begin to walk children of the light, because that is what we are.
In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sustainer—The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
The Sermon Today, Romans 13: 8-14
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
11Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
In this passage, Paul continues his lessons on ‘how to live like a Christian’ for the church at Rome. In my mind, I have this image of Paul leaning out of the window of a train that is pulling out of a station, waving and shouting out last minute instructions to those of us standing on the platform as the train moves away. “Don’t forget to lock take out the trash.” “Turn off the lights before you leave.” “Walk as a child of the light.”
He began this section of his letter by reminding us that God is asking for, and deserves our whole lives, every tiny bit, every minute of every hour of every day, not just our Sunday morning lives. Then he went on, last week, to paint us a picture of God in Christ as our role model and remind us that now, since the resurrected Christ no longer walks the earth with us, we have become God’s role model for the rest of the world.
Between last week’s passage and this week’s Paul talks about how we should live in relation with the governmental authorities and what it means to be not just a citizen of God’s kingdom, but also to still be functioning as a part of a worldly kingdom. This wasn’t just a theoretical issue for Paul and the Roman church, it was an incredibly practical one. At the time of this letter, Christians had already been banished from Rome once and forced to leave behind either their faith or their homes and livelihoods. They had only recently bee allowed to return and it was anybody’s guess how long the capricious Emperor Claudius would allow them to remain.
And that brings us to today’s passage. Paul begins with an unusual grammatical construction—a Greek double negative. A more literal translation, although bad English, would be ‘Owe no one nothing except love.’ Now, in English, as we all know, a double negative is really a positive. But in Greek, a double negative is just a really, really strong negative. So Paul is stating this just as forcefully as he possibly can. Since Paul is so concerned about this, it must be important, then.
And so what is he saying here, that we shouldn’t be in financial debt. Well, yes, certainly. Most of us already know that. And even without Dave Ramsey, I’m pretty sure that the Roman church members knew as well just how draining, just how depressing and just how debilitating it is to be enslaved to financial debt. Talk about living counter-culturally, especially in the credit-crazy world of America today. But that’s another sermon.
Yes, Paul was talking about financial debt, but he was also trying to cause a paradigm shift in the Roman Christians. He was trying to help them see themselves and the world they lived in in a whole new way. He wasn’t talking just about financial debt but also about relationships. What he was saying is that we have to get away from taking care of others because we feel like we owe them, or God something, and move to a place where we take care of them not because of a debt, but because of love. It all goes along with what he said earlier about seeing others as God sees them. It’s about responding to them not out of obligation, not because ‘that’s what a Christian would do,’ not because we have too, but because we love to.
Once again, Paul is not making it easy for us. There are some people that make it hard for us to love them. They are mean--to us or to others. They are negative--and their refusal to see anything but the down side makes us want to run away every time we see them. They are self absorbed--so interested in their own illnesses or hardships that they are blind to the blessings in their lives or the happiness in someone else’s. Or they are just so needy--so desperate to know that someone cares for them that they just wear us out and we’re afraid that we’ll sucked into some kind of quicksand if we get too close to them. By now, each of you probably has a mental image of someone that in your opinion I have just described. Yes, they are hard to love. And yes, they are also us, because sometimes we are the ones that are hard to love.
So, Paul says, love them anyway. Not out of duty or a sense of obligation, but out of God’s love. This is what God is asking of us. We aren’t bound by any law, we are bound by love.
And, he goes on to say, we can’t put this off. We can’t afford to cling to any hardness of heart toward God, ourselves, or each other because we are running out of time. We can’t put it off any longer. We can’t sleep on this. Why, because ‘the night is far gone, the day is near.’
Now some people think that here Paul is talking about the return of Christ to redeem the world. There is evidence, in this letter and other letters from Paul, that he, like many in the new church, expected Christ’s return to be imminent. It could be coming any day now, even, as Anne Lamott says, ‘next Tuesday after lunch.’ But Paul had been working in God’s fields for a long time by this point, and it’s not so clear that he still thought that might happen in his lifetime. Who knew when the time might be.
But he also knew, as we all do, that whether Christ came today, or tomorrow or not for a long time, it really shouldn’t matter to how we live our lives. If we are truly living fully for Christ, if we are completely focused on God, if we walk daily, 24/7 hand in hand with the Holy Spirit, then it shouldn’t make any difference to us when Christ returns because we are ready all the time. So what if we knew when Christ was coming? If we are living in love like Paul is calling us to do in this passage, knowing that Christ is coming tonight during volleyball practice shouldn’t change our behavior one little bit. No small challenge there.
So how do we achieve this goal? How do we live up to this impossibly high standard? We’ve talked on other Sundays about prayer, Bible study, private and corporate worship, partaking of the sacraments like we are going to do in a little while, all these ways of learning to live like Christ. But here Paul gives us another image. ‘Let us lay aside the works of dardness and put on the armor of light….Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ….’ Let’s think about that image for a while.
In Rome, as in most ancient societies, what we call sumptuary laws were common. These laws basically dictated what you could or could not wear, and what you could wear usually depended on your profession or social class. The best known of these laws from Rome were the ones restricting the wearing of purple to royalty, and just how much purple you could have on your toga depended on just how royal you were.
Even today, we still recognize some tiny remnant of this in our obsession with dress. Entire careers have been made for people who can tell us what to wear or not to wear to make a proper impression in a given situation. Personally, I have gotten so bored with the whole power tie thing that I almost automatically pay attention to any man, especially a politician, who doesn’t wear a red tie.
And Paul knows all this. He knows that ‘you are what you wear.’ He knows, just like we all do, just how much what we wear and when affects how people respond to us and what they think about us. So what is his recommendation? Pul on Christ. Wear Christ like a garment, so you are completely wrapped up in God, hidden behind Christ, and only Christ shows. We all have work clothes and church clothes, school clothes and play clothes, uniforms and civvies. But over all of these, the ultimate outfit is Christ. Wrap yourself in Christ. Walk like Christ, talk like Christ, look like Christ and you will eventually come to love like Christ.
It’s time to quit sleeping. It’s time to get up and get dressed. It is time now for us to begin to walk children of the light, because that is what we are.
In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sustainer—The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Enrolled
So, yesterday I went to OCU and got enrolled for seminary. What I didn't realize when I went down there is that they enroll for a year at a time, not a semester at a time, so I guess I'm really committed now. Still have no idea how I'm going to pay for it.....
DS started school yesterday as well. He is now officially a senior. That is so hard to believe, and I am so proud of him. I'm afraid that this year will go by much too fast. Such is the way of life.
DD is also back in school. So far, so good. She's a busy girl, and has one class that absolutely terrifies her. But, I'm confident that if she will just stay on top of it, things will be fine. I guess that's some advice that I should take myself.
DH is still looking and listening for his new direction, waiting for a change is such a hard place to be.
Obviousle, life is blissfully dull at this point. Of course, I'm still way behind with things, but that is normal for me. Time to quit babbling and get busy.
DS started school yesterday as well. He is now officially a senior. That is so hard to believe, and I am so proud of him. I'm afraid that this year will go by much too fast. Such is the way of life.
DD is also back in school. So far, so good. She's a busy girl, and has one class that absolutely terrifies her. But, I'm confident that if she will just stay on top of it, things will be fine. I guess that's some advice that I should take myself.
DH is still looking and listening for his new direction, waiting for a change is such a hard place to be.
Obviousle, life is blissfully dull at this point. Of course, I'm still way behind with things, but that is normal for me. Time to quit babbling and get busy.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Rainy Day
It has been raining here for two days straight. Most unusual for Oklahoma in August! It's great, because we really needed the rain. The only downside (for me) is that DS still has not put the new repaired wheel on his car, so his brand new car is sitting in the driveway! I'm starting to get a little cranky about that, but done is done so all we can do now is wait for the rain to stop.
If you check my reading list, you will probably notice that I have finally (at least six months after the rest of the know world) have read The Shack. So, alonge with every other blogger in the world, here's my response. Very interesting book. Yes, I know the the writing is not Pulitzer Prize winning quality, so what. A lot of the fiction most of us read isn't. I won't claim that I think that William Young has suddenly divulged all the answers to the questions of eternity. In fact, if you look at the theology critically, I'm sure it gets a little wonky in places. (Not yet being officially trained in systematic theology I can't really say that definitively.) But, I do feel that it contains a great deal of truth and that it certainly points in the right direction.
For those trying to get a handle on the emergent church movement, I think that is some ways it encapsulates a lot of the core thinking that is giving life to the emergent church. It's so easy to see something new happening in the church and try and copy it without understanding what's at the root of it. Emergent church as I understand it isn't about new (or reviving old) worship styles, finding ways to reach out to younger constituents, or learning new music. It is about a new way of thinking about what it means to be a Christian. Dogma, doctrines, believing the right things (or the same things I do), organizations and institutions, even worship styles are just details. It's all about relationship--our relationship with God, and flowing from that our relationship with every other individual we come in contact with and on out through the rest of the world. I think The Shack wraps this up and and presents in in a very accessible package.
I also think that this book could be an immesurably wonderful gift to someone in pain and needing healing.
So, that's what I think. I also think it's worth your time to read it. It only took me a day(ish) so it's well worth the time. Let me know what you think.
If you check my reading list, you will probably notice that I have finally (at least six months after the rest of the know world) have read The Shack. So, alonge with every other blogger in the world, here's my response. Very interesting book. Yes, I know the the writing is not Pulitzer Prize winning quality, so what. A lot of the fiction most of us read isn't. I won't claim that I think that William Young has suddenly divulged all the answers to the questions of eternity. In fact, if you look at the theology critically, I'm sure it gets a little wonky in places. (Not yet being officially trained in systematic theology I can't really say that definitively.) But, I do feel that it contains a great deal of truth and that it certainly points in the right direction.
For those trying to get a handle on the emergent church movement, I think that is some ways it encapsulates a lot of the core thinking that is giving life to the emergent church. It's so easy to see something new happening in the church and try and copy it without understanding what's at the root of it. Emergent church as I understand it isn't about new (or reviving old) worship styles, finding ways to reach out to younger constituents, or learning new music. It is about a new way of thinking about what it means to be a Christian. Dogma, doctrines, believing the right things (or the same things I do), organizations and institutions, even worship styles are just details. It's all about relationship--our relationship with God, and flowing from that our relationship with every other individual we come in contact with and on out through the rest of the world. I think The Shack wraps this up and and presents in in a very accessible package.
I also think that this book could be an immesurably wonderful gift to someone in pain and needing healing.
So, that's what I think. I also think it's worth your time to read it. It only took me a day(ish) so it's well worth the time. Let me know what you think.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Fall Transformation
On RevGalBlogPals the Friday Five question is this:
For this Friday's Five, share with us five transformations that the coming fall will bring your way.Bonus: Give us your favorite activity that is made possible by the arrival of fall.
So here are the transformations I anticipate this fall. (The question, of course, is what will happen that I don't anticipate.):
1. At age 52, becoming a student again as I start work on my MDiv degree. (What am I thinking?)
2. At the same time, continuing to morph from a rookie pastor (2 months in to my first appointment) to someone who has a clue about what they're doing. Of course, there is also the need to appear to remain calm and in control at the same time.
3. In December, my son turns 18, so I become a parent of adult children--very different than having just children.
4. Getting to go back to wearing my lace shawls again all the time. Yes, I have missed them. Maybe I can even add some heavier ones into the mix.
5. Going outside without melting. I'm not really much of a hot weather person, so I look forward to this one.
Favorite fall activity: With the whole family back in school, being able to get back to a predicatable and much more productive schedule.
For this Friday's Five, share with us five transformations that the coming fall will bring your way.Bonus: Give us your favorite activity that is made possible by the arrival of fall.
So here are the transformations I anticipate this fall. (The question, of course, is what will happen that I don't anticipate.):
1. At age 52, becoming a student again as I start work on my MDiv degree. (What am I thinking?)
2. At the same time, continuing to morph from a rookie pastor (2 months in to my first appointment) to someone who has a clue about what they're doing. Of course, there is also the need to appear to remain calm and in control at the same time.
3. In December, my son turns 18, so I become a parent of adult children--very different than having just children.
4. Getting to go back to wearing my lace shawls again all the time. Yes, I have missed them. Maybe I can even add some heavier ones into the mix.
5. Going outside without melting. I'm not really much of a hot weather person, so I look forward to this one.
Favorite fall activity: With the whole family back in school, being able to get back to a predicatable and much more productive schedule.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
I'm In!
The big news-I've officially been accepted by St. Paul's School of Theology at Oklahoma City University. Woohoo!! Let the 'fun' begin. Actually, craziness might be a better term. In any case, I'm soon going to be a lot busier. It's been nice feeling like there was at least a hope of getting or staying caught up, but I think that's about to change. Oh well, what's life without a challenge. Guess my Xbox time if fixing to really take a nosedive.
Oh well, speaking of being less than caught up, here's my sermon for last week (even as I'm late getting started with this week's):
Killing the Dreamer
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
August 10, 2008
Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 4But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
5Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I dreamed. 7There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words. 9He had another dream, and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, “What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?” 11So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
12Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” 14So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, 15and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16“I am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’“ So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. 18They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” 21But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him” —that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father.
23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; 24and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. 28When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
****************
If you remember the story from last week, we talked about Jacob the liar, Jacob the cheat, Jacob the wheeler-dealer. We talked about how Jacob dealt so sharply with his brother, Esau, that he ended up having to leave home to save his life. And we talked about how even after all that, God came to him when he had lost everything and promised that God would never leave him, God would take care of him, and God would bring him back to his family—not because of who Jacob was, but in spite of who he was.
And all those thing came to pass, just as God promised. Maybe not as quickly as Jacob expected. In fact, surely not as quickly as Jacob expected because it took 20 years of being subjected to the same kind of duplicity that he had handed out to his brother before he was able to come home. He had to spend some time unlearning how he had always behaved before, some time reaping the consequences of his behavior. But eventually he came back home, with his four wives and thirteen children, and his flocks and his herds and his servants. He came home to face Esau and to face up to what he had done. He came home expecting to have more consequences to face—and Esau forgave him.
Which brings us to this week. This week’s story is set somewhat after Jacob’s return, maybe 10 years or so. The children are mostly grown, some have wives and children of their own. Even the youngest, Joseph and Benjamin are teenagers by now, and Jacob is starting to get old. Funny thing about Jacob. Even though he had suffered so much because of his father, Isaac’s, preferential treatment of his brother Esau, in spite of that, Jacob still apparently hadn’t learned much about parenting. He certainly hadn’t learned just how toxic parental preference could be. Or maybe he remembered, but because he missed Rachel so much, he just couldn’t help himself. For whatever reason, Jacob repeated the mistakes of his father and favored one son over all the others. And the son that he favored was Joseph.
Joseph is an interesting son. Certainly he is amazingly gifted—smart, good looking, charming, well-spoken. Everything that a father could want in a son. Not nearly as disappointing as some of his other sons had been. This boy was truly full of promise.
Of course, he was also a teenager--he was 17 at this time--and just as naïve, passionate, self involved and convinced he was right as many 17 year olds are today. Why else would Joseph tell Jacob and his brothers about his dreams of someday being in charge of things, of being better than the rest of them? Only a teenager could share a story like that and not understand why everyone else found it annoying.
Of course, Joseph had already burned a few bridges with his brothers by ratting them out to their father, so it wouldn’t take much. And then for Jacob to make it even worse be giving him that special coat, much better than everyone else’s stuff too boot, was just more than they could tolerate. The scripture tells us that it had gotten so bad that the brothers couldn’t even speak peaceably to Joseph. They literally couldn’t even stand to be around him.
So what did Joseph do? He sent Joseph off alone to check on his brothers. I cannot imagine what he was thinking. Although Rabbi Marc Gellman says that the reason he sent Joseph after his brothers was to give Joseph the chance to make things right with them away from the Jacob’s presence and away from the prying eyes of friends, family and servants. That certainly makes more sense than any other explanation I can think of.
So Joseph went looking for his brothers. He didn’t find them in the first place he looked, but he found someone who put him on the right path and soon he found his way to his brothers’ sheep camp.
The boys were not thrilled to see him coming. It apparently didn’t occur to them that Joseph might be looking for reconciliation. All they could see was that the annoying one had followed them even all the way out here. They could not get away from this guy! But they had had enough. They were going to take care of this burr under their saddle once and for all.
But look what they say. Not, “Now’s our chance to get rid of the punk.” Not, “Finally we can get even with Dad’s pet, now that the old man’s not here to protect him.” What they said was, “This is our chance to get rid of this dreamer.” What an interesting complaint. Out of all the things that they could be angry with Joseph about, the one that really sticks in their craw is his dreams.
Dreams. What was the big deal with that? Dreams are just dreams, after all. Well, most of the time that’s true. That’s true when the dreams are our dreams. But when the dreams are God’s dreams, that’s something else entirely. We aren’t often privileged, as individuals, to receive a dream from God. And maybe that’s a good thing. God dreams are disturbing. Without fail, God dreams will disrupt the status quo. Without fail, God dreams will bring change. And God dreams will not fail. Those who are given the gift of a dream from God may ignore it, and lose the opportunity to be part of something great. But no one can kill it.
Joseph’s brothers knew all about God dreams. Their father had had two of them, and they were still living in the promises of those dreams. They knew what God dreams meant. And if Joseph’s dreams were truly from God, things were going to change. And not in their favor. Of course, they didn’t want anything to change. They wanted everything to stay just the way it was. They were comfortable with the status quo. They knew how everything was going to go from week to week. They knew who got what they wanted and how they fit into the scheme of things. It might not be exciting, but it was comforting. They had grown up with it. They were raising their children in the same context. As long as nothing ever changed, they wouldn’t have to change either. They might never get the chance to embrace anything new, but they wouldn’t have to let go of anything old, either.
You see, they didn’t just hate Joseph, they feared him. They were afraid that he might be right. They were afraid that his dreams really were from God. And they were afraid they God might use Joseph to really bring change. And not only might things change, but in that change, they might lose something. They might lose power, or jobs, or opportunities, or status. Of course, they might gain, too, but they couldn’t see that. All they could see was their fear.
So they decided to get rid of the dreamer. If they killed him, maybe the dream would die with him. But God’s dreams don’t die that easily. In fact, that’s one of the ways you can tell God’s dreams from people’s dreams. God’s dreams won’t die, no matter what we do to them. Our dreams may fade or fail, but God’s will come to pass, even if you kill the dreamer. That’s one of the great benefits of choosing to open ourselves to God. When we let go of our dreams in order to grasp God’s dreams, we become part of dreams that won’t die, fade or turn out to be all wrong. God’s dreams don’t ever turn out to be nightmares in disguise the way ours sometimes do.
God’s dreams continue beyond the dreamer, even if they are killed. Joseph’s brothers desperately hoped that Joseph’s dreams were his own alone. They told themselves that was just Joseph being Joseph. They were afraid when he insisted that these dreams were different. The last thing these jealous brothers wanted was for Joseph’s dreams to come true and change their world. So they decided to get rid of him.
But all they got by killing him was a load of guilt that did change their lives anyway. They crippled themselves by trying to go against the dream. Instead of destroying the dream, they destroyed themselves. They destroyed themselves with guilt. Which of them could ever look their father or their brother Benjamin in the eye again? They destroyed themselves with fear. Their fear that things might change and they couldn’t control it led them to actions that bound them in fear for the rest of their lives. What if someone found out what they had done? What if someone told? They destroyed themselves with shame over what they had done. The guilt, fear and shame they took on that day eventually twisted and warped their lives so much that they couldn’t accept the good things that came later. Even after Joseph saved them all by bringing them to Egypt, they never could let go of their fear, guilt and mistrust. They doomed themselves.
So why does this matter to us today? It matters because God is still sending dreams into the world. God is sending dreams of justice and mercy. God is sending dreams of peace and freedom. And God is sending dreams of something new to the church. I believe that in next 20 to 50 years, the church will be transformed into a something we can’t imagine. The question is, are we going to embrace these changes, be part of God’s dream? Or are we going to make the same mistake Joseph’s brothers made and try to kill it?
Soon it will be time for our Annual Charge Conference. Soon it will be time to begin drawing up our plans for the future. Now it is the time to begin to open ourselves to God and to seek God’s dream for us, individually and as a church.
Do we act from faith in God and the dreams God sends us? Or do we act in fear? As with Joseph’s brothers, the choice is ours.
In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sustainer—The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Oh well, speaking of being less than caught up, here's my sermon for last week (even as I'm late getting started with this week's):
Killing the Dreamer
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
August 10, 2008
Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 4But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
5Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I dreamed. 7There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words. 9He had another dream, and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, “What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?” 11So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
12Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” 14So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, 15and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16“I am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’“ So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. 18They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” 21But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him” —that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father.
23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; 24and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. 28When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
****************
If you remember the story from last week, we talked about Jacob the liar, Jacob the cheat, Jacob the wheeler-dealer. We talked about how Jacob dealt so sharply with his brother, Esau, that he ended up having to leave home to save his life. And we talked about how even after all that, God came to him when he had lost everything and promised that God would never leave him, God would take care of him, and God would bring him back to his family—not because of who Jacob was, but in spite of who he was.
And all those thing came to pass, just as God promised. Maybe not as quickly as Jacob expected. In fact, surely not as quickly as Jacob expected because it took 20 years of being subjected to the same kind of duplicity that he had handed out to his brother before he was able to come home. He had to spend some time unlearning how he had always behaved before, some time reaping the consequences of his behavior. But eventually he came back home, with his four wives and thirteen children, and his flocks and his herds and his servants. He came home to face Esau and to face up to what he had done. He came home expecting to have more consequences to face—and Esau forgave him.
Which brings us to this week. This week’s story is set somewhat after Jacob’s return, maybe 10 years or so. The children are mostly grown, some have wives and children of their own. Even the youngest, Joseph and Benjamin are teenagers by now, and Jacob is starting to get old. Funny thing about Jacob. Even though he had suffered so much because of his father, Isaac’s, preferential treatment of his brother Esau, in spite of that, Jacob still apparently hadn’t learned much about parenting. He certainly hadn’t learned just how toxic parental preference could be. Or maybe he remembered, but because he missed Rachel so much, he just couldn’t help himself. For whatever reason, Jacob repeated the mistakes of his father and favored one son over all the others. And the son that he favored was Joseph.
Joseph is an interesting son. Certainly he is amazingly gifted—smart, good looking, charming, well-spoken. Everything that a father could want in a son. Not nearly as disappointing as some of his other sons had been. This boy was truly full of promise.
Of course, he was also a teenager--he was 17 at this time--and just as naïve, passionate, self involved and convinced he was right as many 17 year olds are today. Why else would Joseph tell Jacob and his brothers about his dreams of someday being in charge of things, of being better than the rest of them? Only a teenager could share a story like that and not understand why everyone else found it annoying.
Of course, Joseph had already burned a few bridges with his brothers by ratting them out to their father, so it wouldn’t take much. And then for Jacob to make it even worse be giving him that special coat, much better than everyone else’s stuff too boot, was just more than they could tolerate. The scripture tells us that it had gotten so bad that the brothers couldn’t even speak peaceably to Joseph. They literally couldn’t even stand to be around him.
So what did Joseph do? He sent Joseph off alone to check on his brothers. I cannot imagine what he was thinking. Although Rabbi Marc Gellman says that the reason he sent Joseph after his brothers was to give Joseph the chance to make things right with them away from the Jacob’s presence and away from the prying eyes of friends, family and servants. That certainly makes more sense than any other explanation I can think of.
So Joseph went looking for his brothers. He didn’t find them in the first place he looked, but he found someone who put him on the right path and soon he found his way to his brothers’ sheep camp.
The boys were not thrilled to see him coming. It apparently didn’t occur to them that Joseph might be looking for reconciliation. All they could see was that the annoying one had followed them even all the way out here. They could not get away from this guy! But they had had enough. They were going to take care of this burr under their saddle once and for all.
But look what they say. Not, “Now’s our chance to get rid of the punk.” Not, “Finally we can get even with Dad’s pet, now that the old man’s not here to protect him.” What they said was, “This is our chance to get rid of this dreamer.” What an interesting complaint. Out of all the things that they could be angry with Joseph about, the one that really sticks in their craw is his dreams.
Dreams. What was the big deal with that? Dreams are just dreams, after all. Well, most of the time that’s true. That’s true when the dreams are our dreams. But when the dreams are God’s dreams, that’s something else entirely. We aren’t often privileged, as individuals, to receive a dream from God. And maybe that’s a good thing. God dreams are disturbing. Without fail, God dreams will disrupt the status quo. Without fail, God dreams will bring change. And God dreams will not fail. Those who are given the gift of a dream from God may ignore it, and lose the opportunity to be part of something great. But no one can kill it.
Joseph’s brothers knew all about God dreams. Their father had had two of them, and they were still living in the promises of those dreams. They knew what God dreams meant. And if Joseph’s dreams were truly from God, things were going to change. And not in their favor. Of course, they didn’t want anything to change. They wanted everything to stay just the way it was. They were comfortable with the status quo. They knew how everything was going to go from week to week. They knew who got what they wanted and how they fit into the scheme of things. It might not be exciting, but it was comforting. They had grown up with it. They were raising their children in the same context. As long as nothing ever changed, they wouldn’t have to change either. They might never get the chance to embrace anything new, but they wouldn’t have to let go of anything old, either.
You see, they didn’t just hate Joseph, they feared him. They were afraid that he might be right. They were afraid that his dreams really were from God. And they were afraid they God might use Joseph to really bring change. And not only might things change, but in that change, they might lose something. They might lose power, or jobs, or opportunities, or status. Of course, they might gain, too, but they couldn’t see that. All they could see was their fear.
So they decided to get rid of the dreamer. If they killed him, maybe the dream would die with him. But God’s dreams don’t die that easily. In fact, that’s one of the ways you can tell God’s dreams from people’s dreams. God’s dreams won’t die, no matter what we do to them. Our dreams may fade or fail, but God’s will come to pass, even if you kill the dreamer. That’s one of the great benefits of choosing to open ourselves to God. When we let go of our dreams in order to grasp God’s dreams, we become part of dreams that won’t die, fade or turn out to be all wrong. God’s dreams don’t ever turn out to be nightmares in disguise the way ours sometimes do.
God’s dreams continue beyond the dreamer, even if they are killed. Joseph’s brothers desperately hoped that Joseph’s dreams were his own alone. They told themselves that was just Joseph being Joseph. They were afraid when he insisted that these dreams were different. The last thing these jealous brothers wanted was for Joseph’s dreams to come true and change their world. So they decided to get rid of him.
But all they got by killing him was a load of guilt that did change their lives anyway. They crippled themselves by trying to go against the dream. Instead of destroying the dream, they destroyed themselves. They destroyed themselves with guilt. Which of them could ever look their father or their brother Benjamin in the eye again? They destroyed themselves with fear. Their fear that things might change and they couldn’t control it led them to actions that bound them in fear for the rest of their lives. What if someone found out what they had done? What if someone told? They destroyed themselves with shame over what they had done. The guilt, fear and shame they took on that day eventually twisted and warped their lives so much that they couldn’t accept the good things that came later. Even after Joseph saved them all by bringing them to Egypt, they never could let go of their fear, guilt and mistrust. They doomed themselves.
So why does this matter to us today? It matters because God is still sending dreams into the world. God is sending dreams of justice and mercy. God is sending dreams of peace and freedom. And God is sending dreams of something new to the church. I believe that in next 20 to 50 years, the church will be transformed into a something we can’t imagine. The question is, are we going to embrace these changes, be part of God’s dream? Or are we going to make the same mistake Joseph’s brothers made and try to kill it?
Soon it will be time for our Annual Charge Conference. Soon it will be time to begin drawing up our plans for the future. Now it is the time to begin to open ourselves to God and to seek God’s dream for us, individually and as a church.
Do we act from faith in God and the dreams God sends us? Or do we act in fear? As with Joseph’s brothers, the choice is ours.
In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sustainer—The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
And Now...
Well, a lot has happened since last Saturday. I just now realized that I completely forgot to post last Sunday's sermon. Maybe I can get that done later today, although my plans for today have been superseded by other people's events.
We did get a car for DS, a base-model Hundai Accent. It's a really nice car and he really likes it. Now we're in the flurry of arranging financing, insurance, etc. Of course, coming home from a church party last night in the rain, he hit a curb and bent the rim (Ouch) on one of the tires, so now a big chunk of today will be spent getting prices and making arrangements to get that repaired. We did agree that this expense is on him, though, so it looks like he'll be keeping that summer job a little longer than he planned to. I know that when you get something new that's really special, something always happens to it right away, but it still makes you kind of sick when it happens.
DD is coming home today to visit for a day or two and take home her dog. I really do like her dog, but I have to admit that I like it better at her house than mine.
I'm still waiting for word from the seminary. They should have received the last recommendation by now because I know they were mailed last week so I should hear something really soon. I know I need to get my books ordered, but I wanted a definite acceptance before I did that. I may have to go ahead and order them anyway.
DS and his friend are awake now, so I can actually turn on lights and make noise so I think I'll go and get a few things done.
We did get a car for DS, a base-model Hundai Accent. It's a really nice car and he really likes it. Now we're in the flurry of arranging financing, insurance, etc. Of course, coming home from a church party last night in the rain, he hit a curb and bent the rim (Ouch) on one of the tires, so now a big chunk of today will be spent getting prices and making arrangements to get that repaired. We did agree that this expense is on him, though, so it looks like he'll be keeping that summer job a little longer than he planned to. I know that when you get something new that's really special, something always happens to it right away, but it still makes you kind of sick when it happens.
DD is coming home today to visit for a day or two and take home her dog. I really do like her dog, but I have to admit that I like it better at her house than mine.
I'm still waiting for word from the seminary. They should have received the last recommendation by now because I know they were mailed last week so I should hear something really soon. I know I need to get my books ordered, but I wanted a definite acceptance before I did that. I may have to go ahead and order them anyway.
DS and his friend are awake now, so I can actually turn on lights and make noise so I think I'll go and get a few things done.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Time Flows Like Water
Today seems to be one of those days where you feel like you're swimming through gel. We've been busy, getting some things done, but time still seems to be crawling by. Usually, when I'm busy, time flies, but not today. I think it's due to a combination of things--the heat and humidity, all the things hanging over my head that I'm not getting to, being really, really tired and sleepy, all those things. In any case, I'm busy and I'm moving, but I feel like I'm standing still.
We're at the church right now, installing the wireless network so I can use my own laptop and not have to move from computer to computer to print or use the internet. This morning, we went and looked for inexpensive cars for my son, whose a senior this year. I'm not much of a car person, so car shopping is not really fun for me. All I can see is big giant dollar signs.
Oh well, time to get back to work. Still have a sermon to finish.
We're at the church right now, installing the wireless network so I can use my own laptop and not have to move from computer to computer to print or use the internet. This morning, we went and looked for inexpensive cars for my son, whose a senior this year. I'm not much of a car person, so car shopping is not really fun for me. All I can see is big giant dollar signs.
Oh well, time to get back to work. Still have a sermon to finish.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Still settling in
Even though I've been here two months today, I still feel like I'm settling in and searching for a rhythm. And at the back of my head, there's alittle voice that keeps singing, "Don't get too settled, school starts in less than a month and you'll have to do it all over again." Then it says, "Remember, the rhythm of the church is a yearly cycle, the weekly cycle is only part of it, and it always varies depending are when you are in the year." Such complexity.
But, I have learned a few things. I don't work well at home, except under extreme pressure (like writing sermons on Saturday), but I'm still struggling to feel home enough in my office so that I can be truly creative there. i know it will come, and the more of my 'stuff' expecially worship resources and books that I bring in, the quicker it will come to feel like 'my place.' At least for as long as I am here, which I sincerely hope will be a while. Actually, getting the filing cabinet helped a lot and when I get my own bookshelf and the ability to hook my laptop up to the internet, I think I'll start to feel right at home., maybe some curtains or a few more fabrics to soften some of the edges and bring in some color. Truth is, are we ever really finished with the whole nesting thing?
I think I've figured out what was causing my knitting slump. I've been away from the lace too long. I really need a lace project going most of the time. I don't know why I love it so much, I just do. I have signed up for Mystery Stole 4, but that won't start until September, so I may have to start something else in the mean time. This church doesn't have a lot to work with in terms of decorative supplies, so I'm actually toying with the idea of some lace altar cloths or just accent pieces to help dress things up, at least for communion and other special times. What do you all think? Has anyone ever done anything like this?
But, I have learned a few things. I don't work well at home, except under extreme pressure (like writing sermons on Saturday), but I'm still struggling to feel home enough in my office so that I can be truly creative there. i know it will come, and the more of my 'stuff' expecially worship resources and books that I bring in, the quicker it will come to feel like 'my place.' At least for as long as I am here, which I sincerely hope will be a while. Actually, getting the filing cabinet helped a lot and when I get my own bookshelf and the ability to hook my laptop up to the internet, I think I'll start to feel right at home., maybe some curtains or a few more fabrics to soften some of the edges and bring in some color. Truth is, are we ever really finished with the whole nesting thing?
I think I've figured out what was causing my knitting slump. I've been away from the lace too long. I really need a lace project going most of the time. I don't know why I love it so much, I just do. I have signed up for Mystery Stole 4, but that won't start until September, so I may have to start something else in the mean time. This church doesn't have a lot to work with in terms of decorative supplies, so I'm actually toying with the idea of some lace altar cloths or just accent pieces to help dress things up, at least for communion and other special times. What do you all think? Has anyone ever done anything like this?
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
He's Baaaack
Hooray! DS is back from his Appalachian mission trip. I know it's not like he's been off in military service (as is the case with my friend's son). I know it's nothing like that, but he was gone for 2 weeks and we really did miss the guy. I know it's just a prelude to next fall's empty nest, but it was really empty around here. He got back Sunday, and I spent all yesterday morning playing video games with him. I know it was a waste of time, but there's very few things he really wants to do with mom these days so I was happy to waste the morning. (Now what's my excuse with my video time today?)
As far as we know, DD is surviving Rush Week. We really didn't expect to hear from her, because it is a really busy time with not a lot of rest, so I imagine that no news is good news. The good news from our end is that we haven't killed her dog yet (or even damaged it), even after she (the dog) chewed up my DH's favorite iPod cover. I don't know what would have happened if she had worked her way down to the iPod itself.
I have just this afternoon turned in the last part of my paperwork to start seminary this fall at St. Paul's at OCU here in Oklahoma City. There are still two reference letters out, but I expect them to get in soon. This is so exciting and soooo scary. I did OK when I was taking one class at a time at Philips, but for financial reasons I have no choice except to take a full load (9 hours) at St. Paul's. So, while still learning the ropes on being a pastor for the first time, I get to remember how to be a full time student again as well (only this time as a graduate student). Yes, I am nervous.
So, starting this week I'm trying to start living by my school schedule as far as when I go in to the office/church and when I work from home. I figure that the sooner both the church and I get used to it, the easier it will be. But the truth is, it's really hard for me to not run out to the church (although it's over 20 miles away) every day. Discipline, discipline.
Speaking of which, I guess I had better get going.
As far as we know, DD is surviving Rush Week. We really didn't expect to hear from her, because it is a really busy time with not a lot of rest, so I imagine that no news is good news. The good news from our end is that we haven't killed her dog yet (or even damaged it), even after she (the dog) chewed up my DH's favorite iPod cover. I don't know what would have happened if she had worked her way down to the iPod itself.
I have just this afternoon turned in the last part of my paperwork to start seminary this fall at St. Paul's at OCU here in Oklahoma City. There are still two reference letters out, but I expect them to get in soon. This is so exciting and soooo scary. I did OK when I was taking one class at a time at Philips, but for financial reasons I have no choice except to take a full load (9 hours) at St. Paul's. So, while still learning the ropes on being a pastor for the first time, I get to remember how to be a full time student again as well (only this time as a graduate student). Yes, I am nervous.
So, starting this week I'm trying to start living by my school schedule as far as when I go in to the office/church and when I work from home. I figure that the sooner both the church and I get used to it, the easier it will be. But the truth is, it's really hard for me to not run out to the church (although it's over 20 miles away) every day. Discipline, discipline.
Speaking of which, I guess I had better get going.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Ordinary Day
Things are quiet around here this week. DD is back at school, tied up with Rush Week prep and then Rush itself, so I don't expect to hear much from her this week. In fact, she's so busy, we're dog sitting this week and next week. I must admit granddog is much better than she used to be, but we still have to watch her every minute because you just never know when she's going to find something to chew up. It's almost like having a destructive toddler in the house. Fortunately, she has a winning personality, probably the only thing that keeps her alive.
DS is off to Kentucky for a mission trip. Little does he know that I have been playing with the new Xbox360 while he's been gone. Those things are so addictive! It's a good thing I'll have to fight him for time on the box when he gets home or I would never get anything done. :-) DH and I have been moving furniture, etc., so DS may not even recognize the place when he gets home.
I've been in a real knitting funk lately. I still enjoy it immensely when I pick up the needles, but I'm just having trouble getting myself to pick them up. Burnout maybe. OTN: triangular prayer shawl and green clerical stole in metallic rayon
Must go clean the dehydrator now, so I can put some apples and peaches on and then run errands and start sermon for next Sunday.
DS is off to Kentucky for a mission trip. Little does he know that I have been playing with the new Xbox360 while he's been gone. Those things are so addictive! It's a good thing I'll have to fight him for time on the box when he gets home or I would never get anything done. :-) DH and I have been moving furniture, etc., so DS may not even recognize the place when he gets home.
I've been in a real knitting funk lately. I still enjoy it immensely when I pick up the needles, but I'm just having trouble getting myself to pick them up. Burnout maybe. OTN: triangular prayer shawl and green clerical stole in metallic rayon
Must go clean the dehydrator now, so I can put some apples and peaches on and then run errands and start sermon for next Sunday.
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