Good Morning Bethlehem Trekkers,
The Peanut’s Gang, of Charles Schulz fame, is once again getting ready for Christmas. Sally is lying on a bean bag chair, watching TV and her brother, Linus, is reading to her about the real meaning of Christmas: “Listen to this, Sally!” “The census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem is said to have been ‘of all the world,’ but this probably really means only the Roman Empire at that time…”
“And when we read that there was no room in the inn, the word inn is really better translated as ‘guest room.’ The intention of course is to contrast a place of human lodging with a place for feeding animals...”
“And look at this, says Linus. “The name Bethlehem is interesting too. It literally means, ‘House of Bread.’ I think things like this are so fascinating, Sally…What do you think?”
“Well…I think if I don’t get every single thing I want for Christmas this year, I’m gonna totally gross out!” :)
Well…How many of us can relate to Sally’s response? Maybe not literally, but I believe there is such a thing as a “Sally Trap”—missing the meaning of Christmas all together because we keep our minds and hearts more on the trappings of Christmas, rather than capturing the true meaning of Christmas.
But the “Sally Trap” can also include being inundated, even beaten over the head with (a nice peaceful sign of Christmas, huh?) “the true meaning of Christmas…” “…the true meaning of Christmas…” Enough already! What if you can’t quite capture or discover this “true meaning of Christmas?” What then? Do you forfeit your church membership? Are you no longer a card carrying Christian? Are you forever banned from attending Christmas parties? Are you eternally relegated into the Bah Humbug Brigade and thereby frozen in time with your cynical, doubting, even unbelieving attitudes?
Of course, none of the above consequences really happen. But I have also come to the conclusion that there really is such a thing as trying too hard to believe…trying too hard to find the meaning of Christmas. But “trying too hard” implies that you and I are actually in control of all this. “Trying too hard” implies that we can somehow “do something” to make this all happen. Ah, if it were only as easy as following “This Way to the True Meaning of Christmas;” not missing even one sign or turn; or baking up a batch or two of “Christmas Spirit” perfectly putting the recipe together; or cranking up the CD player and blasting Mannheim Steamroller or The Trans-Siberian Orchestra through our weary and sad hearts and…Voila! We find the true meaning of Christmas…Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but none of these exercises makes it so either…
So, my advice is quite simple…take time to breathe! Better yet, take some “holy time” to breathe. Breathe deeply and exhale…breathe deeply and exhale…repeat until you relax…with each breath in, breathe God’s presence into your body, mind and spirit…with each breath out, exhale any impurities, sadness, frustrations, worries, concerns, loneliness, struggles, whatever seems to be taking up residence and threatening to take over the entire neighborhood of your being…and make room for the Spirit to move in like an “Extreme Home Makeover…”
Make this exercise a part of your daily prayers, add some patience—maybe a whole lot of patience :); practice at least once a day and discover how God is blessing you on your way to a fuller, richer, deeper understanding of hope, peace, joy & love—the very gifts of God—that move us closer and closer to Bethlehem town to receive the greatest gift of God to the whole world…Jesus Christ…Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Courage to Listen
Good Morning Bethlehem Trekkers,
“Rev. Joanne, I don’t mean to interrupt. But if you have time, could you come to my class and speak with the children? They have some questions about angels…” And my mind immediately went back about 12 years ago to a children’s moment when I asked the bundle of Christmas energy gathered before me, “What is an angel?” With no hesitation whatsoever, Ben replied, “Dead people with wings!” :) “Yes, I suppose that’s one way of describing an angel…” All of us managed to recover and make it through the rest of worship. But that one remark was the only nugget we carried with us as we left that morning! Once again, I was upstaged by an 8 year old!
That experience gave me the courage and the curiosity to enter the classroom where 2 Kindergartners and 1 first grader were busy coloring paper angels. “Good morning, guys!” “What beautiful angels you’re making!” “I understand you have some questions about angels…” And the conversation went something like this:
“What color are angels?” “Great question, Christopher…” Taking my cue from Jesus’ teaching moments, I quickly answered with another question: “What color are you?” “I’m brown…” “And you, Eli? “I’m white.” “And you, Matthew? Blonde—I think angels are blonde.”
“Well, I think you’ve answered the question yourselves...the way I look at it, God made us and God made the angels; so I think angels are the same colors as we are.”
All the while the coloring continues. “Tell me what you think angels do?” “They fly around.” “They help people.” “How do they know what to do?” “God tells them.” “Do you know what the word, messenger means?” Matthew answered, “Yes, messengers bring messages.” “Good for you…to know that…Angels are messengers…who bring messages…important messages from God…” I think we’re good here…
…Important messages from God…not always with the bold words, “ Greetings, favored one!...Do not be afraid…you will bear a son and you will name him Jesus…” or “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people…” But important messages nonetheless come to us from God. But we are not always aware of them. Perhaps we are too busy or our lives are drowning in noises that distract us.
Perhaps we don’t take the time to listen; or maybe, just maybe…we don’t have the desire to listen…or we are afraid of what we might hear God telling us and then we would have to go and do it! It takes courage to listen, especially to God… For the most part I agree with J. Barrie Shepherd, in his book, Faces at the Manger, “…God’s Word then, comes to us through things as they are…God’s Messengers…appear right at the heart of the everyday. But unless we are listening, unless we are prepared to drop, even for a moment, our busy work of preparation, celebration, we will never hear the angels’ song…”
As you continue to make your way to Bethlehem , be aware of God’s messengers all around you, trying their best on God’s behalf, to reach you in the everyday, in the midst of the stuff of life; with an important message custom-tailored just for you…
“Can you hear Me now?
Blessings, Joanne
“Rev. Joanne, I don’t mean to interrupt. But if you have time, could you come to my class and speak with the children? They have some questions about angels…” And my mind immediately went back about 12 years ago to a children’s moment when I asked the bundle of Christmas energy gathered before me, “What is an angel?” With no hesitation whatsoever, Ben replied, “Dead people with wings!” :) “Yes, I suppose that’s one way of describing an angel…” All of us managed to recover and make it through the rest of worship. But that one remark was the only nugget we carried with us as we left that morning! Once again, I was upstaged by an 8 year old!
That experience gave me the courage and the curiosity to enter the classroom where 2 Kindergartners and 1 first grader were busy coloring paper angels. “Good morning, guys!” “What beautiful angels you’re making!” “I understand you have some questions about angels…” And the conversation went something like this:
“What color are angels?” “Great question, Christopher…” Taking my cue from Jesus’ teaching moments, I quickly answered with another question: “What color are you?” “I’m brown…” “And you, Eli? “I’m white.” “And you, Matthew? Blonde—I think angels are blonde.”
“Well, I think you’ve answered the question yourselves...the way I look at it, God made us and God made the angels; so I think angels are the same colors as we are.”
All the while the coloring continues. “Tell me what you think angels do?” “They fly around.” “They help people.” “How do they know what to do?” “God tells them.” “Do you know what the word, messenger means?” Matthew answered, “Yes, messengers bring messages.” “Good for you…to know that…Angels are messengers…who bring messages…important messages from God…” I think we’re good here…
…Important messages from God…not always with the bold words, “ Greetings, favored one!...Do not be afraid…you will bear a son and you will name him Jesus…” or “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people…” But important messages nonetheless come to us from God. But we are not always aware of them. Perhaps we are too busy or our lives are drowning in noises that distract us.
Perhaps we don’t take the time to listen; or maybe, just maybe…we don’t have the desire to listen…or we are afraid of what we might hear God telling us and then we would have to go and do it! It takes courage to listen, especially to God… For the most part I agree with J. Barrie Shepherd, in his book, Faces at the Manger, “…God’s Word then, comes to us through things as they are…God’s Messengers…appear right at the heart of the everyday. But unless we are listening, unless we are prepared to drop, even for a moment, our busy work of preparation, celebration, we will never hear the angels’ song…”
As you continue to make your way to Bethlehem , be aware of God’s messengers all around you, trying their best on God’s behalf, to reach you in the everyday, in the midst of the stuff of life; with an important message custom-tailored just for you…
“Can you hear Me now?
Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Countdown to Christmas
Good Morning All,
20…19…18…17…16…15…the Countdown to Christmas is officially in the “Oh my gosh, where has the time gone,” zone! It’s getting more and more difficult to find that “holy time out” we’ve been talking about; and yet the opportunities for worship and enjoyable programs are still before us…after all, we just got started, right? Advent is only 4 days old, isn’t it? So, why is there such a sense of panic in the air…Maybe we’re caught up in “So much to do, so little time…” constantly ringing in our heads like the never ending sounds of the Salvation Army volunteer’s bells and the clanging of change being dropped in the red buckets… leaving us yearning more and more for just a few moments peace and quiet.
And yet, there is something that draws me into all the frenetic activity this time of year. Don’t get me wrong, I still need and crave any and all times when I can retreat and escape the hustle and bustle. In fact it’s the quiet moments that actually give me the strength to enter the chaos. But there is still some thing, some force, like a giant magnet, that seems to draw me into the fray.
For the last couple of years when I have visited NYC during the Thanksgiving/Christmas season, I took time to stand perfectly still, fixed in one spot, in the middle of Times Square at night; in the midst of all the lights; flashing billboards; the endless cacophony of horns honking, music blaring, bells ringing, people shoving and plowing through the crowds, street vendors crying out, “Rolex, Rolex, Rolex! Special price for you! There I stood…taking it all in…this is New York City ! And as crazy as it may sound, I became energized; renewed by all that was happening around me!
Holiday preparations are like this for me…I often look for those moments at the Mall or in the middle of some specialty store or grocery; in the midst of all that is whizzing by, to step back, rest on a bench, take it all in and somehow gain energy from it all. I see and hear many things…some good and heart warming; some not so good, filled with tension and anger…
The spiritual preparations for this sacred season do the same for me…taking time in the middle of all the demands; all our concerns, challenges and sadness; any and all that calls us into the upheaval; to somehow take it all in, sit with it all for a while and then pausing to listen, really listen… for God calling us into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God and each other; to hear God’s voice whispering in our ears…reminding us that this is the time when heaven and earth are one; where all our hopes and fears are met together; as we seek peace, a true sense of well-being; as we are filled with great joy and celebrate the love of God born once again in our hearts and minds…
This is the miracle of Christmas; Christ coming into this time and this place; taking the stuff of life, every bit of the good, the bad and the ugly and transforming us, healing us, energizing us as we become agents and vessels of God’s hope in the world…May you receive Holy Energy from the chaos as we journey to Bethlehem and encourage others to travel with us…Come and see what God has done! Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Dare to Dream
Good Morning All,
Dreams are interesting, aren’t they? Dreams can be comforting and exciting as well as scary or foreboding. Are they filled with signs and symbols? Who knows for certain, but just like most things in life, dreams are open to all kinds of interpretation. Many of Freud’s efforts were spent on dreams and their meanings. And long before his day, ancient interpreters of the dreams of Pharaohs and Kings can be found in scripture and other texts. Nonetheless, dreams are part of our lives; many of which leave lasting impressions on us; some even guide our decisions about our future.
I think dreaming is a wonderful tool that moves us forward into the unknown… headlong into the mysteries of God…discovering what God desires for us as individuals and as the Church-the Body of Christ at work in the world; attempting to fulfill what God is calling us to do in this time and this place.
Once again, another Anniversary Sunday at Covenant has come and gone. We “Shared the Feast” while remembering the words of the African-American spiritual, “We’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord…” 21 years have passed since our congregation was but a “gleam in the eye” of a handful of leaders in our region—a dream of a faith community in the Cary area. Many people captured that dream and shared their many gifts of time, energy, money and creativity…and Covenant was born.
And the Spirit of Christ offered those gifts in thanksgiving to God, who in turn multiplied these gifts several times over. And just like the folks who were there when Jesus fed the 5000+ crowd on that hillside with 5 loaves and 2 fish, God’s Feast of Life was shared and lives were filled to overflowing. And that feast began with the sharing of the Living Bread & the Cup of Blessing; first in a Regional Assembly where other Disciples of Christ congregations pledged their support to make the dream of a fledgling community of faith a reality; and then several times over, the feast was shared in the living room of a small apartment and then in the homes of those who dared to capture the dream.
Lives were transformed over and over again…and the early stirring within Covenant Christian Church began to awaken to God’s call to be the Church. Our dreams took on many themes: We’re in This Together; Together We Can Make a Difference; and in the leaner times, Keep This Boat Afloat; Capture the Covenant Spirit…all of which have brought us to, Come, Satisfy the Hungry Heart and Share the Feast..
The dream continues as we have reached the age of accountability, preparing the fertile ground for reaching many more people as they discover this dynamic faith community filled with those who desire a deeper relationship with God in Jesus Christ; a place that welcomes ALL people; respecting our differences and celebrating our diversity…knowing, believing and trusting that God is always at work within us; forming us into a congregation that reflects God’s dream of what it means to be the Church. As we allow our lives to be reshaped by Christ into his own body for the world, we become the Living Bread as we dare to Share the Feast with others; as we dare to dream God’s dream…Dream along with me…Joanne
Dreams are interesting, aren’t they? Dreams can be comforting and exciting as well as scary or foreboding. Are they filled with signs and symbols? Who knows for certain, but just like most things in life, dreams are open to all kinds of interpretation. Many of Freud’s efforts were spent on dreams and their meanings. And long before his day, ancient interpreters of the dreams of Pharaohs and Kings can be found in scripture and other texts. Nonetheless, dreams are part of our lives; many of which leave lasting impressions on us; some even guide our decisions about our future.
I think dreaming is a wonderful tool that moves us forward into the unknown… headlong into the mysteries of God…discovering what God desires for us as individuals and as the Church-the Body of Christ at work in the world; attempting to fulfill what God is calling us to do in this time and this place.
Once again, another Anniversary Sunday at Covenant has come and gone. We “Shared the Feast” while remembering the words of the African-American spiritual, “We’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord…” 21 years have passed since our congregation was but a “gleam in the eye” of a handful of leaders in our region—a dream of a faith community in the Cary area. Many people captured that dream and shared their many gifts of time, energy, money and creativity…and Covenant was born.
And the Spirit of Christ offered those gifts in thanksgiving to God, who in turn multiplied these gifts several times over. And just like the folks who were there when Jesus fed the 5000+ crowd on that hillside with 5 loaves and 2 fish, God’s Feast of Life was shared and lives were filled to overflowing. And that feast began with the sharing of the Living Bread & the Cup of Blessing; first in a Regional Assembly where other Disciples of Christ congregations pledged their support to make the dream of a fledgling community of faith a reality; and then several times over, the feast was shared in the living room of a small apartment and then in the homes of those who dared to capture the dream.
Lives were transformed over and over again…and the early stirring within Covenant Christian Church began to awaken to God’s call to be the Church. Our dreams took on many themes: We’re in This Together; Together We Can Make a Difference; and in the leaner times, Keep This Boat Afloat; Capture the Covenant Spirit…all of which have brought us to, Come, Satisfy the Hungry Heart and Share the Feast..
The dream continues as we have reached the age of accountability, preparing the fertile ground for reaching many more people as they discover this dynamic faith community filled with those who desire a deeper relationship with God in Jesus Christ; a place that welcomes ALL people; respecting our differences and celebrating our diversity…knowing, believing and trusting that God is always at work within us; forming us into a congregation that reflects God’s dream of what it means to be the Church. As we allow our lives to be reshaped by Christ into his own body for the world, we become the Living Bread as we dare to Share the Feast with others; as we dare to dream God’s dream…Dream along with me…Joanne
Thursday, November 8, 2007
No place like home
Good Morning All!
As I look through the Channels from the Sunday edition of the N & O, I see that The Wizard of Oz will be shown sometime this weekend. As the holiday season approaches, there will be more and more opportunities to view this classic film. I am reminded of the memorable scene where Dorothy clicks the heels of her red sparkly shoes three times and says, “There’s no place like home; there’s no place like home; there’s no place like home!”
While it isn’t necessarily one of the holiday films I would choose for this time of year, I realize that the competing networks are about to unleash all sorts of classic films throughout the next 6-8 weeks. My guess is, the classics attract a lot of viewers mostly due to nostalgia, the longing for the familiar things that delight us and conjure up wonderful memories of childhood and past holiday celebrations and gatherings.
Recently I have had the opportunity to be the guest in 2 different churches; one at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church during the ecumenical pulpit exchange and just last Sunday at Wilson ’s Mills Christian Church (DoC) where I preached for their stewardship ministry’s Consecration Sunday. Rev. Lea Slaton has been the minister there for 2 years, after leaving a year of being mentored in ministry here at Covenant. It was wonderful to observe Lea in this position and to experience the love and support she receives there.
When I returned to the church this past Tuesday, I stood in the sanctuary, minus the red sparkly shoes, clicked my heels 3 times and repeated Dorothy’s mantra, “There’s no place like home!” I offered a prayer of thanks for all of you, the members, guests and countless others who love & support Covenant. Truly, there is no place like Covenant Christian Church. The renewed energy, the sharing of time, talents & gifts by so many; the increased desire to grow spiritually as we move deeper and deeper into our relationship with God; growing in our understanding of what it means to connect our lives with the life and teachings of Jesus; to learn more about how to share our faith…Wow! This really is a wonderful place to be. No wonder I miss it when I am not here! :)
This Sunday, we each have an opportunity to return to Covenant as together we celebrate 21 years as a dynamic faith community. Maybe the return flight to Covenant is a short one since you were here just last Sunday or last night or will be here tonight for Choir rehearsal…or perhaps the demands of your Fall schedule have kept you from regularly hanging out with your church family and the flight is more like cross-country… maybe because of family dynamics, the birth of children or grandchildren; ill health or recovery from surgery; the death of a loved one; your search for employment; sports commitments or just plain fun…Your absence has been duly noted!
Last night in The Way of Transforming Discipleship class, we focused on knowing who we are as beloved children of God. Beloved…deeply loved by God; dear to God’s own heart. Many of us struggle with truly believing that we are beloved by God, and the way we discover and grow in understanding how beloved we are, is to come home to God…to return to God…knowing and trusting that God is there waiting to welcome us.
My hope and prayer is that your absence has made your own heart grow fonder and that your home-longing, your desire to reconnect or deepen your relationship with God, will lead to your home-coming to God as you worship with your church family. God and a whole host of others are waiting to welcome YOU. Let’s Share the Feast together as we worship, celebrate and strengthen our church family ties.
Longing to see you Sunday…Blessings, Joanne
As I look through the Channels from the Sunday edition of the N & O, I see that The Wizard of Oz will be shown sometime this weekend. As the holiday season approaches, there will be more and more opportunities to view this classic film. I am reminded of the memorable scene where Dorothy clicks the heels of her red sparkly shoes three times and says, “There’s no place like home; there’s no place like home; there’s no place like home!”
While it isn’t necessarily one of the holiday films I would choose for this time of year, I realize that the competing networks are about to unleash all sorts of classic films throughout the next 6-8 weeks. My guess is, the classics attract a lot of viewers mostly due to nostalgia, the longing for the familiar things that delight us and conjure up wonderful memories of childhood and past holiday celebrations and gatherings.
Recently I have had the opportunity to be the guest in 2 different churches; one at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church during the ecumenical pulpit exchange and just last Sunday at Wilson ’s Mills Christian Church (DoC) where I preached for their stewardship ministry’s Consecration Sunday. Rev. Lea Slaton has been the minister there for 2 years, after leaving a year of being mentored in ministry here at Covenant. It was wonderful to observe Lea in this position and to experience the love and support she receives there.
When I returned to the church this past Tuesday, I stood in the sanctuary, minus the red sparkly shoes, clicked my heels 3 times and repeated Dorothy’s mantra, “There’s no place like home!” I offered a prayer of thanks for all of you, the members, guests and countless others who love & support Covenant. Truly, there is no place like Covenant Christian Church. The renewed energy, the sharing of time, talents & gifts by so many; the increased desire to grow spiritually as we move deeper and deeper into our relationship with God; growing in our understanding of what it means to connect our lives with the life and teachings of Jesus; to learn more about how to share our faith…Wow! This really is a wonderful place to be. No wonder I miss it when I am not here! :)
This Sunday, we each have an opportunity to return to Covenant as together we celebrate 21 years as a dynamic faith community. Maybe the return flight to Covenant is a short one since you were here just last Sunday or last night or will be here tonight for Choir rehearsal…or perhaps the demands of your Fall schedule have kept you from regularly hanging out with your church family and the flight is more like cross-country… maybe because of family dynamics, the birth of children or grandchildren; ill health or recovery from surgery; the death of a loved one; your search for employment; sports commitments or just plain fun…Your absence has been duly noted!
Last night in The Way of Transforming Discipleship class, we focused on knowing who we are as beloved children of God. Beloved…deeply loved by God; dear to God’s own heart. Many of us struggle with truly believing that we are beloved by God, and the way we discover and grow in understanding how beloved we are, is to come home to God…to return to God…knowing and trusting that God is there waiting to welcome us.
My hope and prayer is that your absence has made your own heart grow fonder and that your home-longing, your desire to reconnect or deepen your relationship with God, will lead to your home-coming to God as you worship with your church family. God and a whole host of others are waiting to welcome YOU. Let’s Share the Feast together as we worship, celebrate and strengthen our church family ties.
Longing to see you Sunday…Blessings, Joanne
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Saints among us
Happy Halloween Day!
Halloween.Sly does it. Tiptoe cats paws. Slide and creep.But why? What for? How? Who? When! Where did it all begin?“You don’t know, do you?” asks Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud climbing out of the pile of leaves under the Halloween Tree. “You don’t really know!”
—Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree
Well just in case you’ve forgotten the Why? The What for? The How? Who? When? and where it all began, here’s a bit o’ Halloween background, thanks to www.wikipedia.org. Halloween has become the sixth most profitable holiday (after Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentines Day, Easter, and Father's Day in popularity. The market for decorations, costumes and treats grows more profitably with each passing year…What happened to making up costumes from whatever you had around the house? But I digress…
Halloween originated from the Pagan festival Samhain, celebrated among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to us in the late 19th century. Halloween is now celebrated in several parts of the western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United Stated, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom and occasionally in parts of Australia and New Zealand.
Historically, dressing in costume on All Hallow’s Eve (Halloween) was a ritual to scare away the evil spirits, cleansing one’s soul and making way for the celebration of All Saints Day, November 1-a day to remember the saints who have gone before us. Saints? We don’t celebrate the saints…we’re Protestant. Isn’t that the practice of the Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians? Well, there are two common understandings of saints. One includes saints as being all people who belong to God and who believe in Jesus Christ; like those in the early churches that the Apostle Paul established. And the saints who are also referred to as the martyrs of the early Church who were willing to die for their faith.
I love Barbara Brown Taylor’s take on All Saint’s Day and I return to it every time I need a refresher course on saints. She claims it as a family reunion for those in the church—a day for pulling out the old family photograph albums and remembering from whence we have come. A day to remember people like St. Francis, the Patron Saint of Animals or St. Christopher, the patron Saint of travelers or St. Joan of Arc, who received the voice of God in her head and went into battle as a faithful servant of God. But more times than not when we begin to delve more deeply into the lives of those who have been deemed as saints, we discover that they were everyday people, not necessarily distinguished for their goodness, but mostly because of their extravagant love of God which seemed to shine brighter than anything else about them.
Saints do exist among us today and we may not see them immortalized in stained glass windows. We mostly see them living in our hearts and memories. They may be those who have gone before us who responded to the call to do great things for God. Who are the people you have known who fit this description? Tomorrow and this Sunday would be a good time to offer a prayer of gratitude for the ways they have touched your life…
And then there are everyday kinds of folks who have also gone before us; who lived among us for a while—that great cloud of witnesses who have blazed a trail of faith for us to follow. Our memory of them serves to cheer us on to faithfulness. Name these saints for you…and offer a prayer for courage to follow…
But then there are still other saints among us quite ordinary and regular; those who are seeking to be faithful and holy in the here and now; walking beside us in every day experiences and challenges as examples of faithful living. Name these saints for you…and offer a prayer for the ability to recognize the saints among us; to be able to see the light that shines through their goodness…
And while we may never be comfortable with thinking of ourselves as saints, but by Paul’s usage, we are just that--not because we’re perfect, but because we’re called by God to live a life of faith; and in our goodness the Light of Christ shines through. So, look in the mirror today or any day; catch a glimpse of a saint…and be grateful; take courage. But don’t say you haven’t been warned. Walk gently into this life of a saint, but as you do, go forth remembering: People just might expect a miracle!
Blessings, Joanne
PS. This Sunday during Communion at both times of worship, we will remember the saints in our lives and in the life of Covenant; those who have gone before us and those who live among us, right here, right now…Let us gather to remember…
Halloween.Sly does it. Tiptoe cats paws. Slide and creep.But why? What for? How? Who? When! Where did it all begin?“You don’t know, do you?” asks Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud climbing out of the pile of leaves under the Halloween Tree. “You don’t really know!”
—Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree
Well just in case you’ve forgotten the Why? The What for? The How? Who? When? and where it all began, here’s a bit o’ Halloween background, thanks to www.wikipedia.org. Halloween has become the sixth most profitable holiday (after Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentines Day, Easter, and Father's Day in popularity. The market for decorations, costumes and treats grows more profitably with each passing year…What happened to making up costumes from whatever you had around the house? But I digress…
Halloween originated from the Pagan festival Samhain, celebrated among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to us in the late 19th century. Halloween is now celebrated in several parts of the western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United Stated, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom and occasionally in parts of Australia and New Zealand.
Historically, dressing in costume on All Hallow’s Eve (Halloween) was a ritual to scare away the evil spirits, cleansing one’s soul and making way for the celebration of All Saints Day, November 1-a day to remember the saints who have gone before us. Saints? We don’t celebrate the saints…we’re Protestant. Isn’t that the practice of the Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians? Well, there are two common understandings of saints. One includes saints as being all people who belong to God and who believe in Jesus Christ; like those in the early churches that the Apostle Paul established. And the saints who are also referred to as the martyrs of the early Church who were willing to die for their faith.
I love Barbara Brown Taylor’s take on All Saint’s Day and I return to it every time I need a refresher course on saints. She claims it as a family reunion for those in the church—a day for pulling out the old family photograph albums and remembering from whence we have come. A day to remember people like St. Francis, the Patron Saint of Animals or St. Christopher, the patron Saint of travelers or St. Joan of Arc, who received the voice of God in her head and went into battle as a faithful servant of God. But more times than not when we begin to delve more deeply into the lives of those who have been deemed as saints, we discover that they were everyday people, not necessarily distinguished for their goodness, but mostly because of their extravagant love of God which seemed to shine brighter than anything else about them.
Saints do exist among us today and we may not see them immortalized in stained glass windows. We mostly see them living in our hearts and memories. They may be those who have gone before us who responded to the call to do great things for God. Who are the people you have known who fit this description? Tomorrow and this Sunday would be a good time to offer a prayer of gratitude for the ways they have touched your life…
And then there are everyday kinds of folks who have also gone before us; who lived among us for a while—that great cloud of witnesses who have blazed a trail of faith for us to follow. Our memory of them serves to cheer us on to faithfulness. Name these saints for you…and offer a prayer for courage to follow…
But then there are still other saints among us quite ordinary and regular; those who are seeking to be faithful and holy in the here and now; walking beside us in every day experiences and challenges as examples of faithful living. Name these saints for you…and offer a prayer for the ability to recognize the saints among us; to be able to see the light that shines through their goodness…
And while we may never be comfortable with thinking of ourselves as saints, but by Paul’s usage, we are just that--not because we’re perfect, but because we’re called by God to live a life of faith; and in our goodness the Light of Christ shines through. So, look in the mirror today or any day; catch a glimpse of a saint…and be grateful; take courage. But don’t say you haven’t been warned. Walk gently into this life of a saint, but as you do, go forth remembering: People just might expect a miracle!
Blessings, Joanne
PS. This Sunday during Communion at both times of worship, we will remember the saints in our lives and in the life of Covenant; those who have gone before us and those who live among us, right here, right now…Let us gather to remember…
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The Breadcrumbs of Life
Good Morning All,
“Can you find your way home?” I jokingly asked Megan as she walked up the hill after worship to go to her home one block away. “I think so,” she laughed. “But if not,” I continued. “You can always look down and follow the bread crumbs back here and someone will help you.” As I looked at her face, I somehow knew she was simply accommodating the minister with a weird sense of humor. And when I stopped to think about it, I realized that she might never have heard the fairy tale, Hansel & Gretel, in which case she had every right to look at me quizzically.
With all the justifiable concerns we have these days about the safety and well being of our children some of the beloved stories of my childhood have been brushed aside by parents, especially when literally interpreted. Isn’t it funny, when stories or sayings that once brought us meaning and or pleasure, when literally interpreted, either make no sense or the meaning and message go beyond simple make-believe.(“If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride..” comes to mind! And I’m sure you can think of several of your own…)
But back to the breadcrumbs metaphor…what kind of breadcrumbs would help someone find their way to church? I suppose there’s a direct correlation between people’s needs and desires and the type of breadcrumbs that would attract them…If people are in deep sorrow or pain, then a breadcrumb of comfort would speak to them. If one is lonely or feeling isolated and forgotten, then a breadcrumb of community would begin to satisfy their need.
If some have spent their entire lives only peeking in the church windows instead of having the courage to enter, then a breadcrumb of welcome and acceptance would help them on their way. If one were facing a personal crisis in the midst of divorce or other broken relationships, then a breadcrumb of support might bring them into the circle of faith. If one has simply lost his or her way in life, a breadcrumb of direction and guidance would help…
The breadcrumbs of life are as vast as the stars in the night sky. And the Good News is that God doesn’t miss a one…the challenge for us lies in joining forces with God to cast the breadcrumbs along the way; sharing the love of God that we have experienced with those who have yet to know what it means to delight in God.
God is calling us to do some “crumby” work. In the midst of placing breadcrumbs along the different paths in our lives, as we encourage others to find their way home to God and the community of faith, called church; we are also called to gather the crumbs together; to receive the fractured parts of our lives and this world, mix well with compassion, love, acceptance and welcome, as God transforms us into the Bread of Life offered for all…
Blessings, Joanne
“Can you find your way home?” I jokingly asked Megan as she walked up the hill after worship to go to her home one block away. “I think so,” she laughed. “But if not,” I continued. “You can always look down and follow the bread crumbs back here and someone will help you.” As I looked at her face, I somehow knew she was simply accommodating the minister with a weird sense of humor. And when I stopped to think about it, I realized that she might never have heard the fairy tale, Hansel & Gretel, in which case she had every right to look at me quizzically.
With all the justifiable concerns we have these days about the safety and well being of our children some of the beloved stories of my childhood have been brushed aside by parents, especially when literally interpreted. Isn’t it funny, when stories or sayings that once brought us meaning and or pleasure, when literally interpreted, either make no sense or the meaning and message go beyond simple make-believe.(“If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride..” comes to mind! And I’m sure you can think of several of your own…)
But back to the breadcrumbs metaphor…what kind of breadcrumbs would help someone find their way to church? I suppose there’s a direct correlation between people’s needs and desires and the type of breadcrumbs that would attract them…If people are in deep sorrow or pain, then a breadcrumb of comfort would speak to them. If one is lonely or feeling isolated and forgotten, then a breadcrumb of community would begin to satisfy their need.
If some have spent their entire lives only peeking in the church windows instead of having the courage to enter, then a breadcrumb of welcome and acceptance would help them on their way. If one were facing a personal crisis in the midst of divorce or other broken relationships, then a breadcrumb of support might bring them into the circle of faith. If one has simply lost his or her way in life, a breadcrumb of direction and guidance would help…
The breadcrumbs of life are as vast as the stars in the night sky. And the Good News is that God doesn’t miss a one…the challenge for us lies in joining forces with God to cast the breadcrumbs along the way; sharing the love of God that we have experienced with those who have yet to know what it means to delight in God.
God is calling us to do some “crumby” work. In the midst of placing breadcrumbs along the different paths in our lives, as we encourage others to find their way home to God and the community of faith, called church; we are also called to gather the crumbs together; to receive the fractured parts of our lives and this world, mix well with compassion, love, acceptance and welcome, as God transforms us into the Bread of Life offered for all…
Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Challenge of Trust
Good Morning All,
Last Sunday I used the African rain stick as our call to prayer, reminding us of the great need for rain in our area and throughout this part of the country. I also was reminded that “We don’t have, because we don’t ask…” It’s in the bible, you know…in John’s gospel, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish and it will be done for you” (John 15:7); and “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” (John 16:24)
Of course when we hear these words all kinds of questions and concerns arise…especially when we ask God for something…we pray and we pray and we pray and at least in our opinion, God has turned a deaf ear to our requests and petitions. And we end up believing that God doesn’t really answer prayer…at least not our particular prayer. And so most of us end up thinking it does no good to pray and we end up giving up on prayer altogether. Sound familiar?
I believe that God DOES answer prayer…we just don’t always get the answer we desire or think is best. Of course we can never fully know God’s mind or exactly what’s behind God’s answer to our prayer. So we are called to do something that I believe is one of the most difficult challenges of having faith in God—and that’s the challenge of trust. We must trust God…to always have our best interests at heart…that God indeed desires the best for us. Trust is at the heart of God’s covenant with us as God’s people…it’s a 2-way street…God trusts us and we trust God.
I also believe in the power of corporate prayer…no, not the prayers of some large corporation…but the power that comes when we come together and pray the same prayer, whether it’s the Lord’s Prayer or when we are like-minded in purpose as we pray. The answers are not always immediate, nor in ways we expect. After all, God is the God of surprise and delight! But the power comes from being in prayer together, seeking God’s wisdom and guidance for whatever is most on our minds and in our hearts.
If we believe “We don’t have because we don’t ask,” Let’s get busy and ask…
We pray this day for our own personal needs whatever they may be; for friends and family; for peace in Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur and so many other places in our global village; for justice; for reconciliation among the races and any and all barriers that divide us from one another; for our nation’s leaders; for the leaders of all nations; for prisoners and captives; for those serving our country; for those in need of life’s basics—food, medical care, clean water, shelter; for healing of body, mind and spirit; for the children; for families; for those who are abused and oppressed...Whew…
In your tender mercy, O God…hear our prayers…
…for the Church wherever it may be found as we strive to share our faith with those who are hungering and thirsting to be in relationship with God in Jesus Christ; and for Covenant Christian Church in particular, O God, as we celebrate the renewed energy and excitement that abounds; as you call us to meet the challenge of being faithful stewards, managers of all that you have provided for us…for ALL things come from you, O God. May we give of our time, energy and money; that we may give out of our abundance and not out of scarcity as you call us to sustain the ongoing ministries; while you are also calling us into YOUR future--to grow and provide programs and facilities that reach out to those who need a community of faith such as Covenant…Whew…
In your tender mercy, O God, hear our prayers…
Does God hear out prayers? YES! Does God answer prayer? YES! Will God answer the prayers we have just prayed? YES! How do I know this? I know this because I trust God in God’s wisdom to help us know that YOU and I are God’s answer to prayer…
Yes, whatever we dare to pray for, we must be open to God using us as the answer…
In your tender mercy, O God, reveal your answers to us as we open our hearts and lives to You, as you work in and through us…Blessings, Joanne
Last Sunday I used the African rain stick as our call to prayer, reminding us of the great need for rain in our area and throughout this part of the country. I also was reminded that “We don’t have, because we don’t ask…” It’s in the bible, you know…in John’s gospel, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish and it will be done for you” (John 15:7); and “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.” (John 16:24)
Of course when we hear these words all kinds of questions and concerns arise…especially when we ask God for something…we pray and we pray and we pray and at least in our opinion, God has turned a deaf ear to our requests and petitions. And we end up believing that God doesn’t really answer prayer…at least not our particular prayer. And so most of us end up thinking it does no good to pray and we end up giving up on prayer altogether. Sound familiar?
I believe that God DOES answer prayer…we just don’t always get the answer we desire or think is best. Of course we can never fully know God’s mind or exactly what’s behind God’s answer to our prayer. So we are called to do something that I believe is one of the most difficult challenges of having faith in God—and that’s the challenge of trust. We must trust God…to always have our best interests at heart…that God indeed desires the best for us. Trust is at the heart of God’s covenant with us as God’s people…it’s a 2-way street…God trusts us and we trust God.
I also believe in the power of corporate prayer…no, not the prayers of some large corporation…but the power that comes when we come together and pray the same prayer, whether it’s the Lord’s Prayer or when we are like-minded in purpose as we pray. The answers are not always immediate, nor in ways we expect. After all, God is the God of surprise and delight! But the power comes from being in prayer together, seeking God’s wisdom and guidance for whatever is most on our minds and in our hearts.
If we believe “We don’t have because we don’t ask,” Let’s get busy and ask…
We pray this day for our own personal needs whatever they may be; for friends and family; for peace in Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur and so many other places in our global village; for justice; for reconciliation among the races and any and all barriers that divide us from one another; for our nation’s leaders; for the leaders of all nations; for prisoners and captives; for those serving our country; for those in need of life’s basics—food, medical care, clean water, shelter; for healing of body, mind and spirit; for the children; for families; for those who are abused and oppressed...Whew…
In your tender mercy, O God…hear our prayers…
…for the Church wherever it may be found as we strive to share our faith with those who are hungering and thirsting to be in relationship with God in Jesus Christ; and for Covenant Christian Church in particular, O God, as we celebrate the renewed energy and excitement that abounds; as you call us to meet the challenge of being faithful stewards, managers of all that you have provided for us…for ALL things come from you, O God. May we give of our time, energy and money; that we may give out of our abundance and not out of scarcity as you call us to sustain the ongoing ministries; while you are also calling us into YOUR future--to grow and provide programs and facilities that reach out to those who need a community of faith such as Covenant…Whew…
In your tender mercy, O God, hear our prayers…
Does God hear out prayers? YES! Does God answer prayer? YES! Will God answer the prayers we have just prayed? YES! How do I know this? I know this because I trust God in God’s wisdom to help us know that YOU and I are God’s answer to prayer…
Yes, whatever we dare to pray for, we must be open to God using us as the answer…
In your tender mercy, O God, reveal your answers to us as we open our hearts and lives to You, as you work in and through us…Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Grace and Mercy
Good Morning All,
Yesterday I was in Wilson at the Regional Office of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in NC to conduct the quarterly meeting of the Commission on Ministry. During our meetings we spend most of our time listening to the faith stories of those who believe God has called them to serve in various forms of ministry as well as learn about what they are experiencing as they serve a congregation or as seminary students. It truly is a privilege to hear how God is at work in their lives. Often times they say things that cause even the most experienced of ministers to sit up and take notice or at the very least to ponder for a while.
One such minister shared a part of his story as one in need of forgiveness for a past behavior. We can all relate to being in need of forgiveness from time to time, right? He told us how one of his mentors in the faith once asked a group of ministers, “Can you tell me the difference between grace and mercy?” The ministers began to share their understanding of these meaningful, yet “churchy” words…but he told them they were a bit off the mark—which usually means, he had the answer and they had yet to come close to his answer. :)
“Listen carefully,” he cautioned. “Grace is getting what you don’t deserve and Mercy is NOT getting what you deserve…” Hmmmmm…interesting distinction, isn’t it? I spent some time thinking about the difference between the two and hope you will as well...And let me stir the waters just a bit and add this one fact: of all the major world religions, Christianity is the ONLY one that embraces grace or even has the word grace expressed in the basic tenets.
I believe that God is the source of both grace and mercy; that grace and mercy go hand in hand; that God’s judgment is tempered with grace and mercy. Grace comes to us a gift, freely given; grace is the unmerited, free act of God to plant and nourish within our hearts a new spirit. And it is God’s mercy that allows us to embrace a new way of being; a new lease on life; that gives us the strength and courage to be drawn closer and closer to the love of God.
Frederick Buechner reminds us that, “Grace is something you can never get, but only be given. There’s no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth. Grace is a good sleep; good dreams. Most tears are grace. The smell of rain (I we certainly could use some), is grace…
…The grace of God means something like: Here’s your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It’s for you I created the universe. I love you.
There’s only one catch. Like any other gift, the give of grace can be yours only if you’ll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it, is a gift too…”
(Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, Frederick Buechner; 1973. Harper & Row)
May God’s grace and mercy be yours today…Blessings, Joanne
Yesterday I was in Wilson at the Regional Office of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in NC to conduct the quarterly meeting of the Commission on Ministry. During our meetings we spend most of our time listening to the faith stories of those who believe God has called them to serve in various forms of ministry as well as learn about what they are experiencing as they serve a congregation or as seminary students. It truly is a privilege to hear how God is at work in their lives. Often times they say things that cause even the most experienced of ministers to sit up and take notice or at the very least to ponder for a while.
One such minister shared a part of his story as one in need of forgiveness for a past behavior. We can all relate to being in need of forgiveness from time to time, right? He told us how one of his mentors in the faith once asked a group of ministers, “Can you tell me the difference between grace and mercy?” The ministers began to share their understanding of these meaningful, yet “churchy” words…but he told them they were a bit off the mark—which usually means, he had the answer and they had yet to come close to his answer. :)
“Listen carefully,” he cautioned. “Grace is getting what you don’t deserve and Mercy is NOT getting what you deserve…” Hmmmmm…interesting distinction, isn’t it? I spent some time thinking about the difference between the two and hope you will as well...And let me stir the waters just a bit and add this one fact: of all the major world religions, Christianity is the ONLY one that embraces grace or even has the word grace expressed in the basic tenets.
I believe that God is the source of both grace and mercy; that grace and mercy go hand in hand; that God’s judgment is tempered with grace and mercy. Grace comes to us a gift, freely given; grace is the unmerited, free act of God to plant and nourish within our hearts a new spirit. And it is God’s mercy that allows us to embrace a new way of being; a new lease on life; that gives us the strength and courage to be drawn closer and closer to the love of God.
Frederick Buechner reminds us that, “Grace is something you can never get, but only be given. There’s no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth. Grace is a good sleep; good dreams. Most tears are grace. The smell of rain (I we certainly could use some), is grace…
…The grace of God means something like: Here’s your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It’s for you I created the universe. I love you.
There’s only one catch. Like any other gift, the give of grace can be yours only if you’ll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it, is a gift too…”
(Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, Frederick Buechner; 1973. Harper & Row)
May God’s grace and mercy be yours today…Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Ministry of Presence
Good Morning All,
The past few weeks have been a mixture of excitement, joy and sorrow. In addition to the attention paid to the ongoing needs of our church family and all the excitement of the recent changes in worship and programming around here, there didn’t seem to be enough time to share my reflections with you in the weekly Musings. During one those weeks I longed so to share with you the pain and the joy that filled the hospital waiting room outside the ICU when Johanna Martinez physically and spiritually could no longer hold on to receive a yet to be donated liver.
Johanna, you may recall, was the 24 year old niece of a Covenant member, Nora Martinez, who had moved back to Puerto Rico a few years ago. The family had recently returned to the area to enter the hospital to wait for Johanna’s second liver transplant. I was so proud of Covenant and the generosity and compassion that was shared as we helped the family settle in to what was thought to be their permanent relocation.
For 2 weeks, the family was filled with great hope for a successful transplant. But after a while, it became more evident that there was great cause for concern as Johanna grew weaker awaiting the donor liver. Her very life depended on it. When I arrived at the hospital, soon after knowing that Johanna was in grave danger, I realized that I needed to find ways to share the ministry of presence…simply being with people in times of crisis and pain. The ministry of presence allows one to be there and to communicate love and support, often times without having to say a word.
And in this case, it meant more to me than ever before, because of the language barrier between those of us, i.e. me, who speak very little Spanish and those who spoke very little English. And all the while, I was silently kicking myself for not yet taking time to learn conversational Spanish, at least beyond a few words of greeting. But God always makes a way out of no way. God plowed through that barrier and continued to surround me and others with very loving and supportive bi-lingual people.
The prayers, the singing, the tears, the touching, the smoothing back of her hair…all gentle ways of showing love, of letting go, of attempting to say goodbye to a daughter, a wife, a mother of 2 year old Keysha, a niece and a good friend…trusting and believing with all our hearts in the promise of sharing in Christ’s resurrection; the promise that God is there to receive each one of us back into life everlasting; life filled with joy in ways we cannot begin to imagine.
As the time grew nearer for Johanna to breathe her last earthly breath and be filled with the breath of God, a sense of peace; a sense of well-being…a sense that “all is well…” filled the room. There was nothing else left for loving hands to do than to release her into God’s presence.
As I prepared to leave the family, I so desperately wanted to speak a word of hope; a word of comfort to Johanna’s parents, who knew so little English. I asked one of the family friends to go with me into the hallway and teach me how to say…”Thanks be to God; your hope is in Christ; may God bless you and keep you...” In a few moments, I composed myself and approached the parents. With hands clasped, our eyes met and I was able to speak through their tears, as we hugged one another and said goodbye. God truly blessed that grace-filled moment and they understood one humble pastor’s bumbling attempt to share the feelings of her heart amid all their pain…God is so good…
Blessings, Joanne
The past few weeks have been a mixture of excitement, joy and sorrow. In addition to the attention paid to the ongoing needs of our church family and all the excitement of the recent changes in worship and programming around here, there didn’t seem to be enough time to share my reflections with you in the weekly Musings. During one those weeks I longed so to share with you the pain and the joy that filled the hospital waiting room outside the ICU when Johanna Martinez physically and spiritually could no longer hold on to receive a yet to be donated liver.
Johanna, you may recall, was the 24 year old niece of a Covenant member, Nora Martinez, who had moved back to Puerto Rico a few years ago. The family had recently returned to the area to enter the hospital to wait for Johanna’s second liver transplant. I was so proud of Covenant and the generosity and compassion that was shared as we helped the family settle in to what was thought to be their permanent relocation.
For 2 weeks, the family was filled with great hope for a successful transplant. But after a while, it became more evident that there was great cause for concern as Johanna grew weaker awaiting the donor liver. Her very life depended on it. When I arrived at the hospital, soon after knowing that Johanna was in grave danger, I realized that I needed to find ways to share the ministry of presence…simply being with people in times of crisis and pain. The ministry of presence allows one to be there and to communicate love and support, often times without having to say a word.
And in this case, it meant more to me than ever before, because of the language barrier between those of us, i.e. me, who speak very little Spanish and those who spoke very little English. And all the while, I was silently kicking myself for not yet taking time to learn conversational Spanish, at least beyond a few words of greeting. But God always makes a way out of no way. God plowed through that barrier and continued to surround me and others with very loving and supportive bi-lingual people.
The prayers, the singing, the tears, the touching, the smoothing back of her hair…all gentle ways of showing love, of letting go, of attempting to say goodbye to a daughter, a wife, a mother of 2 year old Keysha, a niece and a good friend…trusting and believing with all our hearts in the promise of sharing in Christ’s resurrection; the promise that God is there to receive each one of us back into life everlasting; life filled with joy in ways we cannot begin to imagine.
As the time grew nearer for Johanna to breathe her last earthly breath and be filled with the breath of God, a sense of peace; a sense of well-being…a sense that “all is well…” filled the room. There was nothing else left for loving hands to do than to release her into God’s presence.
As I prepared to leave the family, I so desperately wanted to speak a word of hope; a word of comfort to Johanna’s parents, who knew so little English. I asked one of the family friends to go with me into the hallway and teach me how to say…”Thanks be to God; your hope is in Christ; may God bless you and keep you...” In a few moments, I composed myself and approached the parents. With hands clasped, our eyes met and I was able to speak through their tears, as we hugged one another and said goodbye. God truly blessed that grace-filled moment and they understood one humble pastor’s bumbling attempt to share the feelings of her heart amid all their pain…God is so good…
Blessings, Joanne
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Telling the story
Good Morning All,
“Once upon a time…and they lived happily ever after…” That’s the way we like our stories…but of course we know that when reality sets in, there’s a whole lot that happens in between these two phrases. But no doubt, everyone loves a good story. Stories not only take us to other times and places; they offer us a change of venue from the routines of daily living. Stories can make us laugh until tears stream down our faces; or they can bring a lump to our throats or cause us to sob uncontrollably.
Throughout my ministry, I have come to really appreciate the power of story…how it transforms our lives in the telling. This is why Jesus chose story/parable to teach his closest followers as well as his sworn enemies. What a story-teller extraordinaire as he used examples with which his hearers could relate. Tapping in on the agrarian society in which he and the people lived, he used farmers and crops; seeds and wheat; coins and relationships of family members; actions of the rulers and leaders of the religious community to make his point. When you relate to those about you—their daily lives; their livelihood; families and religious experiences; the chances are greater that the hearers will understand your teaching. Sermon illustrations do this too as preachers find ways to bring people into the stories of scripture to teach others about God and how God wants us to live.
I believe that everyone has a story…we may not think our story is anything all that great; but in reality all stories are important and informative and play a role in teaching others around us. Our life story is continuous, moving from one day, one year, one decade, throughout one’s entire lifetime; from birth to death and beyond. I also believe that each one of us has a faith story—of our ongoing spiritual journey that lies at the heart, the core, of our life’s story.
Many of us have had or are still blessed to have, people who have taken the time to share their life story and or the stories of their faith journey with us. And we are grateful. And I believe that you and I have the responsibility… No, we have the joy, of sharing our faith story with others. Lately, I’ve been privileged to hear the faith journeys of a variety of folks, the young and not so young; people who have grown up in the church—some who were able to grasp faith stories along the way while others did not. There are also those who did not grow up in the church, who are, as youth or adults, attempting to find their way into a relationship with God or to grow more deeply in their relationship.
We may be at different places and signposts along our life and faith journeys, but we’re here for the same reason--we are all seekers of the Way—in fact the early Christians were actually called, Followers of the Way! We are always seeking answers to our faith questions. Some of us have moved beyond some of the basic questions, “Is there a God?” or even, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” But there are other questions we carry with us, brooding and contemplating, seeking God’s guidance for our personal needs and desires; moral and ethical dilemmas or simply struggling with the “hot topics” of this day and time. We could live as long as Methuselah and still continue to ask, “So, where is God in all of this?”
How blessed we are here at Covenant, to be a place where we are not only invited to ask the important questions of life and faith, and to share our faith stories with others; but we are encouraged to do so. May your journey lead you to Covenant’s front porch among other seekers here in this Spirit-filled setting. Come on over and sit a spell…I’ll put some water on for tea... “Once upon a time...” Blessings, Joanne
“Once upon a time…and they lived happily ever after…” That’s the way we like our stories…but of course we know that when reality sets in, there’s a whole lot that happens in between these two phrases. But no doubt, everyone loves a good story. Stories not only take us to other times and places; they offer us a change of venue from the routines of daily living. Stories can make us laugh until tears stream down our faces; or they can bring a lump to our throats or cause us to sob uncontrollably.
Throughout my ministry, I have come to really appreciate the power of story…how it transforms our lives in the telling. This is why Jesus chose story/parable to teach his closest followers as well as his sworn enemies. What a story-teller extraordinaire as he used examples with which his hearers could relate. Tapping in on the agrarian society in which he and the people lived, he used farmers and crops; seeds and wheat; coins and relationships of family members; actions of the rulers and leaders of the religious community to make his point. When you relate to those about you—their daily lives; their livelihood; families and religious experiences; the chances are greater that the hearers will understand your teaching. Sermon illustrations do this too as preachers find ways to bring people into the stories of scripture to teach others about God and how God wants us to live.
I believe that everyone has a story…we may not think our story is anything all that great; but in reality all stories are important and informative and play a role in teaching others around us. Our life story is continuous, moving from one day, one year, one decade, throughout one’s entire lifetime; from birth to death and beyond. I also believe that each one of us has a faith story—of our ongoing spiritual journey that lies at the heart, the core, of our life’s story.
Many of us have had or are still blessed to have, people who have taken the time to share their life story and or the stories of their faith journey with us. And we are grateful. And I believe that you and I have the responsibility… No, we have the joy, of sharing our faith story with others. Lately, I’ve been privileged to hear the faith journeys of a variety of folks, the young and not so young; people who have grown up in the church—some who were able to grasp faith stories along the way while others did not. There are also those who did not grow up in the church, who are, as youth or adults, attempting to find their way into a relationship with God or to grow more deeply in their relationship.
We may be at different places and signposts along our life and faith journeys, but we’re here for the same reason--we are all seekers of the Way—in fact the early Christians were actually called, Followers of the Way! We are always seeking answers to our faith questions. Some of us have moved beyond some of the basic questions, “Is there a God?” or even, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” But there are other questions we carry with us, brooding and contemplating, seeking God’s guidance for our personal needs and desires; moral and ethical dilemmas or simply struggling with the “hot topics” of this day and time. We could live as long as Methuselah and still continue to ask, “So, where is God in all of this?”
How blessed we are here at Covenant, to be a place where we are not only invited to ask the important questions of life and faith, and to share our faith stories with others; but we are encouraged to do so. May your journey lead you to Covenant’s front porch among other seekers here in this Spirit-filled setting. Come on over and sit a spell…I’ll put some water on for tea... “Once upon a time...” Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Imitation
Good Morning All,
It has been said that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery;” (not sure who said it; googled and goodsearched it to no avail). But the phrase still stands and everywhere we look, we can see imitations, some sincere and others not: designer knock-offs; hairstyles and lifestyles of the rich and famous; and the latest summer television reality show, The Celebrity Look-a-Like Show.”
There have always been impersonators of celebrities, but one that continues to stand the test of time, is that of Elvis Presley. Last week, on the 30th anniversary of Elvis’ death, the TV airwaves were filled with the many celebrations that were taking place to remember this famous entertainer and his music. His daughter, Lisa Marie, chose this time to also introduce a new “Daddy and Me” album of voice-over duets with her famous dad. Hundreds of Elvis Presley wannabes, outfitted from head to toe, some better than most, could be seen from NYC to LA—everybody getting into the act. Don’t you wonder how many hours these folks have spent trying to get the voice, the intonations, let alone the hair, that upper lip sneer :), the gestures, the eye movement, all just right? If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, Elvis should be flattered beyond all flattery, don’t ya think?
The gyrations and entertainment by the Elvis wannabes and even the release of a new music album with his daughter seem an appropriate way to remember this famous person. But as each anniversary of his death rolls around, I become increasingly uncomfortable by some of what takes place at Graceland : the candlelight vigils, the singing of hymns, the renovations of the mansion to present upgrades for each anniversary; the somber remembrances of the tragic last years of his life, etc. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that a religious figure were being honored and remembered.
When it comes to imitating and remembering someone, I think the emphasis needs to be more about the lasting characteristics of that person…how one lives from day to day; how one shares with those in need; how one cares for others; how one treats a neighbor, a teacher, a spouse or partner; parents or grandparents; how one lives out one’s faith. That’s why I believe that more emphasis needs to be put on the everyday lives of the people who surround us. Think about the influence we have on the children in our families and church family. Think about how they look up to you and me, even when we think they’re not. It is our life that is out there for all the world to see.
And when all is said and done, who is it that we imitate in life? Who is it that we look to? Thomas a Kempis, over 500 years ago, wrote a little book, Imitation of Christ, truly an oldie but goodie, that helps us bear resemblance to the One who came to point the way to God. But, hey, if you can’t put your hand on that book, there’s always the Bible :) “…Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children and live in love as Christ loved us…” (Ephesians 5:1).
If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, won’t God be pleased?
Blessings, Joanne
It has been said that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery;” (not sure who said it; googled and goodsearched it to no avail). But the phrase still stands and everywhere we look, we can see imitations, some sincere and others not: designer knock-offs; hairstyles and lifestyles of the rich and famous; and the latest summer television reality show, The Celebrity Look-a-Like Show.”
There have always been impersonators of celebrities, but one that continues to stand the test of time, is that of Elvis Presley. Last week, on the 30th anniversary of Elvis’ death, the TV airwaves were filled with the many celebrations that were taking place to remember this famous entertainer and his music. His daughter, Lisa Marie, chose this time to also introduce a new “Daddy and Me” album of voice-over duets with her famous dad. Hundreds of Elvis Presley wannabes, outfitted from head to toe, some better than most, could be seen from NYC to LA—everybody getting into the act. Don’t you wonder how many hours these folks have spent trying to get the voice, the intonations, let alone the hair, that upper lip sneer :), the gestures, the eye movement, all just right? If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, Elvis should be flattered beyond all flattery, don’t ya think?
The gyrations and entertainment by the Elvis wannabes and even the release of a new music album with his daughter seem an appropriate way to remember this famous person. But as each anniversary of his death rolls around, I become increasingly uncomfortable by some of what takes place at Graceland : the candlelight vigils, the singing of hymns, the renovations of the mansion to present upgrades for each anniversary; the somber remembrances of the tragic last years of his life, etc. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that a religious figure were being honored and remembered.
When it comes to imitating and remembering someone, I think the emphasis needs to be more about the lasting characteristics of that person…how one lives from day to day; how one shares with those in need; how one cares for others; how one treats a neighbor, a teacher, a spouse or partner; parents or grandparents; how one lives out one’s faith. That’s why I believe that more emphasis needs to be put on the everyday lives of the people who surround us. Think about the influence we have on the children in our families and church family. Think about how they look up to you and me, even when we think they’re not. It is our life that is out there for all the world to see.
And when all is said and done, who is it that we imitate in life? Who is it that we look to? Thomas a Kempis, over 500 years ago, wrote a little book, Imitation of Christ, truly an oldie but goodie, that helps us bear resemblance to the One who came to point the way to God. But, hey, if you can’t put your hand on that book, there’s always the Bible :) “…Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children and live in love as Christ loved us…” (Ephesians 5:1).
If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, won’t God be pleased?
Blessings, Joanne
Thursday, August 16, 2007
What’s doubt got to do with it?
Good Morning All,
Last Sunday during worship we explored Hebrews 11: 1-3 and several verses that followed. The writer of Hebrews defines faith as, “…the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen…”The gist of this passage reminds us that it is “by faith,” that the ancient people of God, as well as you and I today, are able to serve God and share in the many wonders of God’s work in the world.
By faith…
…Abraham & Sarah moved out of the familiar and into the unknown…
…Noah, known to drink way too much, was warned by God about events yet unseen & was able to build an ark & save his household and begin again...
…Miriam rescued Moses from the reeds soon after his birth
…Moses who stood up against Pharaoh; killed an Egyptian; yet responded to God’s call to lead the People Israel to the Promised Land...
…Rahab, a prostitute, did not perish with those who were disobedient because she had received the spies in peace...
…David became the greatest of Kings, in spite of arranging to kill Uriah and having an affair with Bathsheba…
By faith…
…Mary humbly accepted her role and gave birth to Jesus...
…The women went to the empty tomb and were responded to the call to tell the Good News of Christ’s resurrection...
…The Samaritan Woman listened to Jesus and allowed him to change her life forever...
…The Hemorrhaging Woman reached out in faith, to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe as he simply passed by, and she was healed...
…Paul, the great persecutor of the early Christians, responded to Christ’s call to become one of the most faithful servants of all time...
By faith…by faith…by faith, you…by faith, me. But when we consider the folks listed above along with countless others, we might begin to shrink away knowing our faith pales by comparison. So many of us think that our doubts outnumber any evidence of faith our lives; that we end up doubting more than believing.
Well, take a look at these words of wisdom:
“Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; doubt is an element of faith…” (Paul Tillich)
“Doubt is only faith, waiting to be born.” (Rev. Bussey, a now 98 yr. old preacher)
“Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God (or somewhere in between), if you don’t have any doubts you are either kidding yourself or you’re asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep you awake and moving.” :) (Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking, A Theological ABC)
So what’s doubt got to do with it? Everything, at least according to these writers and I would daresay, even God! So just when you think your faith has to be absolute, doubt-free, 100% rock solid, revisit the names of those listed above and remember that God uses everybody for God’s purposes…even those you and society may put on the low end of “acceptable:” murderers; prostitutes; alcoholics; adulterers, etc.
I have it on good authority that God is an equal-opportunity employer and therefore, an equal-opportunity giver of faith. So dust off your excuses; move to the ants in your pants, and get busy serving God as God has called you to serve. Blessings, Joanne
Last Sunday during worship we explored Hebrews 11: 1-3 and several verses that followed. The writer of Hebrews defines faith as, “…the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen…”The gist of this passage reminds us that it is “by faith,” that the ancient people of God, as well as you and I today, are able to serve God and share in the many wonders of God’s work in the world.
By faith…
…Abraham & Sarah moved out of the familiar and into the unknown…
…Noah, known to drink way too much, was warned by God about events yet unseen & was able to build an ark & save his household and begin again...
…Miriam rescued Moses from the reeds soon after his birth
…Moses who stood up against Pharaoh; killed an Egyptian; yet responded to God’s call to lead the People Israel to the Promised Land...
…Rahab, a prostitute, did not perish with those who were disobedient because she had received the spies in peace...
…David became the greatest of Kings, in spite of arranging to kill Uriah and having an affair with Bathsheba…
By faith…
…Mary humbly accepted her role and gave birth to Jesus...
…The women went to the empty tomb and were responded to the call to tell the Good News of Christ’s resurrection...
…The Samaritan Woman listened to Jesus and allowed him to change her life forever...
…The Hemorrhaging Woman reached out in faith, to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe as he simply passed by, and she was healed...
…Paul, the great persecutor of the early Christians, responded to Christ’s call to become one of the most faithful servants of all time...
By faith…by faith…by faith, you…by faith, me. But when we consider the folks listed above along with countless others, we might begin to shrink away knowing our faith pales by comparison. So many of us think that our doubts outnumber any evidence of faith our lives; that we end up doubting more than believing.
Well, take a look at these words of wisdom:
“Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; doubt is an element of faith…” (Paul Tillich)
“Doubt is only faith, waiting to be born.” (Rev. Bussey, a now 98 yr. old preacher)
“Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God (or somewhere in between), if you don’t have any doubts you are either kidding yourself or you’re asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep you awake and moving.” :) (Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking, A Theological ABC)
So what’s doubt got to do with it? Everything, at least according to these writers and I would daresay, even God! So just when you think your faith has to be absolute, doubt-free, 100% rock solid, revisit the names of those listed above and remember that God uses everybody for God’s purposes…even those you and society may put on the low end of “acceptable:” murderers; prostitutes; alcoholics; adulterers, etc.
I have it on good authority that God is an equal-opportunity employer and therefore, an equal-opportunity giver of faith. So dust off your excuses; move to the ants in your pants, and get busy serving God as God has called you to serve. Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Power of Prayer
Good Morning All,
“Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer” are the words that were uttered from the lips of a WWII pilot about to come in for a landing in one of those old black & white movies on TCM. That phrase has new meaning for me these past few weeks as I see recent signs of prayer at work in the lives of so many. Of course, I first attribute this all to God who calls us to “pray without ceasing.” But I also know the Spirit of God is at work through those who have been in worship and those who are reading our summer book club offering, Unbinding the Gospel by Martha Grace Reese; a guide to help us reclaim the power of the “E” word—evangelism. The premise of her writings centers on prayer.
No, Covenant folks have not been abducted by aliens and are now suddenly standing on street corners shouting, “The End is Near!” :) We are simply discovering and rediscovering how God is calling us to share the joy of our faith and the excitement of our church family with those who need to know that God loves them no matter what, and that they’re invited to a place where they can experience the joy of being in relationship with God. Look for the book study coming to a small group near you as we stretch and grow in learning more about the power of prayer and how to pray!
Prayer is a mark of the faithful. A praying congregation is a faithful congregation. While some folks dip and dab at speaking with God; others claim that their days are filled with prayers offered to God and time spent listening for God’s response. There are those who seem to only pray when they’re in a jam or some life-threatening situation; or when someone near and dear is in trouble. Then there are the skeptics among us who say they’ve tried that prayer stuff, but so far, it’s just not working for them. Prayer cynics stand by to remind us that it doesn’t do any good to pray God doesn’t answer prayer. And what about those times in worship when we share joys and concerns and pray together as one body? If God knows our words before they are even formed on our lips, why in the world do we even bother to pray?
Growing up I used to think that prayer was like a Christmas wish list—you ask God for what you want and God, like Santa Claus or a cosmic bellhop, was there to make your wishes come true. But there came a time when my prayer life was shattered. I discovered that my prayer formula of “I ask-God answers,” was no longer working. Surprise, surprise! I didn’t get everything I prayed for. I’m still waiting on my Christmas pony to arrive and lots and lots of my childhood pets and people I loved were not healed of their injuries or diseases and they died! I wasn’t so sure I wanted much to do with a God who let such bad things happen!
Ahhhh, if it were only that simple—I ask, God answers. As adults we do know this to be true—we ask, but the rub comes when we realize God does indeed answer our prayers, not just in the way we want or think we need. So often we must find patience and understanding as we hear God say, “Not just yet; look there instead of here; not in this way; or maybe we hear God in the dreaded, resounding, No!” Prayer is a lot harder than you may first think. Being in relationship with God is an issue of first trusting in God; believing that God always desires the best for us. And then we have to fine tune all our senses to receive God’s answers that can come to us in the most unexpected circumstances and from the most unlikely people.
If all of this “prayer stuff” seems too demanding; if you’re still not sure praying makes any difference whatsoever, heed the words of a faithful Jewish man who prays several times a day at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, “In spite of what may seem like God is not listening; that my prayers for my life and for this world, go unanswered, I shutter to think what my life and the world would be like, if I stop…” Blessings, Joanne
“Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer” are the words that were uttered from the lips of a WWII pilot about to come in for a landing in one of those old black & white movies on TCM. That phrase has new meaning for me these past few weeks as I see recent signs of prayer at work in the lives of so many. Of course, I first attribute this all to God who calls us to “pray without ceasing.” But I also know the Spirit of God is at work through those who have been in worship and those who are reading our summer book club offering, Unbinding the Gospel by Martha Grace Reese; a guide to help us reclaim the power of the “E” word—evangelism. The premise of her writings centers on prayer.
No, Covenant folks have not been abducted by aliens and are now suddenly standing on street corners shouting, “The End is Near!” :) We are simply discovering and rediscovering how God is calling us to share the joy of our faith and the excitement of our church family with those who need to know that God loves them no matter what, and that they’re invited to a place where they can experience the joy of being in relationship with God. Look for the book study coming to a small group near you as we stretch and grow in learning more about the power of prayer and how to pray!
Prayer is a mark of the faithful. A praying congregation is a faithful congregation. While some folks dip and dab at speaking with God; others claim that their days are filled with prayers offered to God and time spent listening for God’s response. There are those who seem to only pray when they’re in a jam or some life-threatening situation; or when someone near and dear is in trouble. Then there are the skeptics among us who say they’ve tried that prayer stuff, but so far, it’s just not working for them. Prayer cynics stand by to remind us that it doesn’t do any good to pray God doesn’t answer prayer. And what about those times in worship when we share joys and concerns and pray together as one body? If God knows our words before they are even formed on our lips, why in the world do we even bother to pray?
Growing up I used to think that prayer was like a Christmas wish list—you ask God for what you want and God, like Santa Claus or a cosmic bellhop, was there to make your wishes come true. But there came a time when my prayer life was shattered. I discovered that my prayer formula of “I ask-God answers,” was no longer working. Surprise, surprise! I didn’t get everything I prayed for. I’m still waiting on my Christmas pony to arrive and lots and lots of my childhood pets and people I loved were not healed of their injuries or diseases and they died! I wasn’t so sure I wanted much to do with a God who let such bad things happen!
Ahhhh, if it were only that simple—I ask, God answers. As adults we do know this to be true—we ask, but the rub comes when we realize God does indeed answer our prayers, not just in the way we want or think we need. So often we must find patience and understanding as we hear God say, “Not just yet; look there instead of here; not in this way; or maybe we hear God in the dreaded, resounding, No!” Prayer is a lot harder than you may first think. Being in relationship with God is an issue of first trusting in God; believing that God always desires the best for us. And then we have to fine tune all our senses to receive God’s answers that can come to us in the most unexpected circumstances and from the most unlikely people.
If all of this “prayer stuff” seems too demanding; if you’re still not sure praying makes any difference whatsoever, heed the words of a faithful Jewish man who prays several times a day at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, “In spite of what may seem like God is not listening; that my prayers for my life and for this world, go unanswered, I shutter to think what my life and the world would be like, if I stop…” Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
God's shorthand
Good Morning All,
Laughter, chatter, giggles, jumping, singing, squeals of delight, excitement, wonder…just some of the treasures you will find if you stop by the church house any evening this week between 6:30 and 8:30p. The sanctuary, hallways and rooms take you up, up & away; soaring to the highest heights to experience God in a hot air balloon with Skylar the flying squirrel and “Scoop,” the Hot Air BallyHoo News reporter to guide you!
The real treasures are of course, the children themselves, producing some of the loudest and most enthusiastic responses to stories, questions and songs. Listening to the children share their understandings of what it means to follow God and to trust God as we make our way through the stories of Abraham & Sarah, Joseph & his brothers, Mary & Martha, Zaccheus and Peter, is a wonder to behold.
I am always amazed at how children “get it” when it comes to the meaning and message of so many stories. They have the uncanny knack to take the heart of a story and within a matter of minutes, they are somehow able to express its meaning in the simplest, purest, clearest and unmuddied of terms. Whereas you and I as adults make a much bigger deal out of our understanding and will mull over, brood over, ponder, think and pray about it for way too long as we grasp just the right words; that usually come out in the form of run on sentences and huge paragraphs! (see previous sentence :))
I’m not exactly sure how or why children are able to do this far better than most adults, but I so appreciate it; because when they do, we usually receive is a priceless gift of wisdom and insight. Art Linkletter hosted a television show of a bygone era with the quintessential title, “Kids Say the Darndest Things!” Let me give you an example…
Monday evening this week, all the children and adults explored the story of Abraham & Sarah and how God called them to move from all things familiar and set out for an unknown destination. The scriptures tell us they were obedient and followed God’s lead. The students in the adult class spent quite a bit of time struggling with how difficult this assignment would be, even if we knew it was from God. We wrestled with all that we would have to leave behind and admitted how difficult it was at times to fully trust God to take care of us without being offered any specifics in the contract.
But one young boy knew exactly what this story was all about as he summed it up, this way: “If God tells you to get into a hot air balloon…you get into a hot air balloon!” :) It’s as simple and profound as that! Duh!
The other day I was talking with a grandmother whose granddaughter had fallen and shattered her arm. Just before they were to take the child to the operating room, her grandmother leaned over the gurney and asked, “Who loves you?” To which the child replied, “You and Jesus!” Later on that same weekend a family friend stopped by to tell the child how sorry she was about her accident and how it must hurt; only to hear this response: “Not to worry, God’s got me!” :)
“Who loves you?” “You and Jesus!” “Not to worry, God’s got me!” This child truly “gets it!” Three short sentences using only 12 words to describe God’s love and care for us. And here we are with countless numbers of bibles, dictionaries and concordances chock-full of verse after verse after verse; probably using thousands upon thousands of words to convey a gazillion different ways of telling us how we are never beyond God’s love and care…Let’s hear it for God’s shorthand! “…And a little child shall lead them…” :)
Blessings, Joanne
Laughter, chatter, giggles, jumping, singing, squeals of delight, excitement, wonder…just some of the treasures you will find if you stop by the church house any evening this week between 6:30 and 8:30p. The sanctuary, hallways and rooms take you up, up & away; soaring to the highest heights to experience God in a hot air balloon with Skylar the flying squirrel and “Scoop,” the Hot Air BallyHoo News reporter to guide you!
The real treasures are of course, the children themselves, producing some of the loudest and most enthusiastic responses to stories, questions and songs. Listening to the children share their understandings of what it means to follow God and to trust God as we make our way through the stories of Abraham & Sarah, Joseph & his brothers, Mary & Martha, Zaccheus and Peter, is a wonder to behold.
I am always amazed at how children “get it” when it comes to the meaning and message of so many stories. They have the uncanny knack to take the heart of a story and within a matter of minutes, they are somehow able to express its meaning in the simplest, purest, clearest and unmuddied of terms. Whereas you and I as adults make a much bigger deal out of our understanding and will mull over, brood over, ponder, think and pray about it for way too long as we grasp just the right words; that usually come out in the form of run on sentences and huge paragraphs! (see previous sentence :))
I’m not exactly sure how or why children are able to do this far better than most adults, but I so appreciate it; because when they do, we usually receive is a priceless gift of wisdom and insight. Art Linkletter hosted a television show of a bygone era with the quintessential title, “Kids Say the Darndest Things!” Let me give you an example…
Monday evening this week, all the children and adults explored the story of Abraham & Sarah and how God called them to move from all things familiar and set out for an unknown destination. The scriptures tell us they were obedient and followed God’s lead. The students in the adult class spent quite a bit of time struggling with how difficult this assignment would be, even if we knew it was from God. We wrestled with all that we would have to leave behind and admitted how difficult it was at times to fully trust God to take care of us without being offered any specifics in the contract.
But one young boy knew exactly what this story was all about as he summed it up, this way: “If God tells you to get into a hot air balloon…you get into a hot air balloon!” :) It’s as simple and profound as that! Duh!
The other day I was talking with a grandmother whose granddaughter had fallen and shattered her arm. Just before they were to take the child to the operating room, her grandmother leaned over the gurney and asked, “Who loves you?” To which the child replied, “You and Jesus!” Later on that same weekend a family friend stopped by to tell the child how sorry she was about her accident and how it must hurt; only to hear this response: “Not to worry, God’s got me!” :)
“Who loves you?” “You and Jesus!” “Not to worry, God’s got me!” This child truly “gets it!” Three short sentences using only 12 words to describe God’s love and care for us. And here we are with countless numbers of bibles, dictionaries and concordances chock-full of verse after verse after verse; probably using thousands upon thousands of words to convey a gazillion different ways of telling us how we are never beyond God’s love and care…Let’s hear it for God’s shorthand! “…And a little child shall lead them…” :)
Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Lessons from Elijah
Good Morning All,
For the past two Sundays we have met up with the Hebrew prophet Elijah. Elijah’s encounters with God remind me so much of Peter and his conversations with Jesus. Both Elijah and Peter are not exactly what one might call, “conventional.” Their actions and even their attitudes might indicate that they have all but one toe in the acceptable cultural practices of the day, but that one unaccounted for toe causes them to think and act in ways that get them into some sort of difficulty from time to time. As with most of us, their intentions and maybe even their hearts are in the right place, but when they say or do certain things they end up, as the saying goes, “opening their mouth only to change feet!” Sound familiar? :)
This accounts for Peter and his anxious desire to honor and preserve the gathering of Jesus, Moses and Elijah on top of the Mount of Transfiguration; or when his back was up against the wall and it was time to declare his allegiance to Jesus and all he could say was, “…I do not know him…”
And Elijah, while attempting to be a good and faithful prophet who only serves the one, true God of Israel, managed on more than one occasion to disregard God’s advice, let alone God’s direction. Last Sunday we learned in I Kings 18 that his trust in God allowed him to defeat the prophets of the pagan god, Baal, on the top of Mt. Carmel . And while he gets an A+ from God, in turn, he has really made King Ahab & Queen Jezebel angry beyond belief for killing off all of Baal’s 450+ prophets, whom they held in such high regard!
So much for the reward of serving God…His life is on the line and he heads for the hills and hides out in a cave, hoping for God to kill him before Jezebel does. God doesn’t seem to pay much attention to Elijah’s whining and carrying on. It’s as if God is asking him if he wants “some cheese with that whine!” And instead, God redirects Elijah’s laments and ends up giving him a new attitude--a new purpose in life; a new sense of direction for the future.
It’s evident that God never gave up on Elijah; God heard his cries of desperation, allowed him to wallow around in self-pity and to even wish he were dead and yet, through it all, God remained faithful. God believed in Elijah; God desired the very best for him and gave him all he needed to be faithful and to serve God in return.
And God promises you and me the same as well…As a good friend, Tex Evans used to say, “That’s the truth if I ever told it!” Blessings, Joanne
For the past two Sundays we have met up with the Hebrew prophet Elijah. Elijah’s encounters with God remind me so much of Peter and his conversations with Jesus. Both Elijah and Peter are not exactly what one might call, “conventional.” Their actions and even their attitudes might indicate that they have all but one toe in the acceptable cultural practices of the day, but that one unaccounted for toe causes them to think and act in ways that get them into some sort of difficulty from time to time. As with most of us, their intentions and maybe even their hearts are in the right place, but when they say or do certain things they end up, as the saying goes, “opening their mouth only to change feet!” Sound familiar? :)
This accounts for Peter and his anxious desire to honor and preserve the gathering of Jesus, Moses and Elijah on top of the Mount of Transfiguration; or when his back was up against the wall and it was time to declare his allegiance to Jesus and all he could say was, “…I do not know him…”
And Elijah, while attempting to be a good and faithful prophet who only serves the one, true God of Israel, managed on more than one occasion to disregard God’s advice, let alone God’s direction. Last Sunday we learned in I Kings 18 that his trust in God allowed him to defeat the prophets of the pagan god, Baal, on the top of Mt. Carmel . And while he gets an A+ from God, in turn, he has really made King Ahab & Queen Jezebel angry beyond belief for killing off all of Baal’s 450+ prophets, whom they held in such high regard!
So much for the reward of serving God…His life is on the line and he heads for the hills and hides out in a cave, hoping for God to kill him before Jezebel does. God doesn’t seem to pay much attention to Elijah’s whining and carrying on. It’s as if God is asking him if he wants “some cheese with that whine!” And instead, God redirects Elijah’s laments and ends up giving him a new attitude--a new purpose in life; a new sense of direction for the future.
It’s evident that God never gave up on Elijah; God heard his cries of desperation, allowed him to wallow around in self-pity and to even wish he were dead and yet, through it all, God remained faithful. God believed in Elijah; God desired the very best for him and gave him all he needed to be faithful and to serve God in return.
And God promises you and me the same as well…As a good friend, Tex Evans used to say, “That’s the truth if I ever told it!” Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Being Aware
Good Morning All,
Many times since I began writing the Musings in 2000, people have asked me how I come up with my ideas. And my response is the same…my ideas come from my attempts to be in tune with God’s never-ending presence in my own life and the lives of God’s people and in my awareness of God’s creation all around me. It’s not a matter of looking for God to show forth here or over there. It’s more like being aware of what’s happening in people’s lives and then being able to see God present in any given situation.
Take yesterday for example…God was very busy, as God tends to be, in so many different ways, just in my little corner of the world; in the lives of people near and dear to me and you as well…
- As night rolls into the bright morning light, a life went from the understandable pits of concern and despair to the mountaintop with the news of an excellent pathology report…
- Then in the midst of gathering to support a family in time of grief and remembrance, God was there uniting hearts and lives in the common experience of death and burial…
- And during that same time, I was able to hear stories of celebration about the birth of a grandchild and a loved one who has been sober longer than previous attempts…
- Earlier I received the news of 2 people who are about to embark on new career opportunities while later only to learn how the anticipated dream job for someone else has been dashed and deferred; yet how hope is still alive as multiple resumes were sent out once again…
- During the Elders’ meeting when the incoming met with outgoing leaders, God was very present in the enthusiasm of one class, meeting the wisdom and experience of the other; held together by the common desire to be witnesses of God’s Spirit in the lives of our church family…
These are just a few examples of God’s presence and work made known to me during the course of one day. I’m certain that each of you has his or her own experiences of God that are evident from day to day; the key is awareness…being aware of God at work in your life and the lives of others each and every day. Otherwise, we are easily caught in the trap of one day being like the previous one and exactly like the next one…head down, shoulder to the wheel, maybe even eyes closed and ears plugged as you plow your way through the monotony of your life and worldview. What a waste of time and energy!
Being aware of our surroundings; listening for words in conversations that help us share and connect our life stories with another or several others; taking time to breathe deeply from God’s rarified air…will give us a sense of awareness that brings meaning and purpose to our days and memories to our years...
God surrounds us wherever we go and in all that we do…God goes with us no matter where we go or what we do or whether we acknowledge it or not…Some say that our lives are lived as if we are “swimming in God…” So as the summer temperatures rise, there’s nothing quite like a refreshing swim…Got beach? Got Pool? No? Well then…let’s go swimming in God…the last one in is a rotten egg!
Blessings, Joanne
Thursday, May 31, 2007
The party's over...?
Good Morning All!
“The party’s over…” Once again that phrase resonates in my mind and heart. I’m not sure when I first became acquainted with that phrase, but I think, just like with so many other things in life, I experienced what it meant long before I had the words to describe it. On most given summer afternoons, I’m playing with all my neighborhood friends. Laughter and loud voices fill the air; the sun is going down all too quickly and the trees and houses stand still as silhouettes against the pink & orange sky…and one by one, you and your friends, one by one, are called home by the even louder voice of a parent standing in the open screen door…
All the presents are wrapped. The house is alive with festive decorations and music. Anticipation and excitement abound. The oohs and ahs and “Thanks, how did you know this is exactly what I wanted?” fill the room. And the last Christmas gift has been opened. The holiday food has been prepared and devoured to everyone’s delight. You fall into bed exhausted but with a huge smile on your face…
You’ve been consumed with the planning and arranging. The invitations have been sent. And your wedding day has finally arrived. And before you know it, the ceremony ends with a kiss; the last guest has left the reception and you’re traveling to your honeymoon destination...
Your Senior year is quickly coming to a close…all those years of blood, sweat and tears—and those come from your parentsJ; Graduation is finally in sight. You’ve fulfilled all your requirements; survived the rehearsal, the tassels have been turned and your future awaits…
As we move from childhood to adulthood, our life experiences allow our feelings to be described in words and we learn all too quickly what it means when we say or hear “the party’s over.” That’s how I felt this past Sunday following worship. We threw the Church a birthday party…complete with red balloons; a few party hats, bubbles, wind chimes, birthday cupcakes, folks dressed in red clothing or wearing red accessories; inspiring music that told the story of that first Christian Pentecost Day so long ago…
The party’s over…and I think I am suffering from a bit of Pentecost Day withdrawal…My favorite church holiday has come and gone…the leftover helium balloons have fallen to the floor; the flame is extinguished; gone are the songs that speak of the wind and fire that blew the disciples and other early followers out into the city streets of Jerusalem that morning long ago…The sanctuary is silent…Gone is the festive atmosphere of the one day in church’s calendar that frees us up a bit to really celebrate God’s Holy Spirit breathing life into the early community of faith and into our community of faith…
The sharing of experiences of wind and fire, visions and dreams, has been silenced…or have they? Pentecost Day may have come and gone, but each day of our lives you and I are filled with the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. The Spirit that would allow us to continue to experience God in Jesus Christ, as if that first Day of Pentecost were just yesterday…
God continues to fulfill the ancient promise of sending us an Advocate, a Comforter, to guide us; to lead us; to call us into the unknown of our lives…and we are left praying, Come, Holy Spirit, Come…shine among the shadows…transform our hearts…console our grieving…encircle us with your peace…lead us in the dance of life…rekindle the flame of your desires within us…draw us to your goodness…empower us to move with you into your future…giving us courage and strength and hope for each new day…The party’s over…No, I think it’s only just begun… Blessings, Joanne
Thursday, May 24, 2007
What to do?
Good Morning All,
Life is filled with all sorts of sayings; tried and true maxims, some biblically based while others come from one of the other major world religions or simply out of the mouths of children and older folks. They offer us, wisdom for the ages; advice and encouragement for the human condition. In my readings I came across one familiar to many, “When God shuts a door, God opens a window”—or appropriately paraphrased, “God never slams a door in your face without opening a box of Girl Scout cookies!” J (Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love) This one comes to mind when we are in the throes of important decision-making or perhaps you have been thrust into this arena through no fault of your own.
Some decisions we are asked to make are vital to our health and well-being, especially when facing a diagnosis of a life-threatening illness or condition, our own or that of one whom we love and cherish. Some decisions have to do with relationships that are in trouble, or at the least on rocky ground—with a spouse or a teenager or grown child; or maybe a best friend… What to do, what to do?
There also comes a time in life when decisions must be made concerning aging parents who can no longer care for themselves as they once did; living independent and productive lives… What to do, what to do?
Some folks know all too well what it means to face decisions concerning the workplace—having to let an employee go or to be that employee on the verge of being fired or let go because of “down-sizing” or bankruptcy or simply because you are no longer challenged or you have an opportunity for advancement somewhere else; or retirement is on the horizon… What to do, what to do?
It’s important to remember that God doesn’t really shut doors and open windows, causing us to face the important decisions of our lives. Decisions come our way, sometimes when we least expect it; sometimes because of prior poor decisions we have chosen. Yet God is there walking through it all with us; never leaving us fully to our own devices. God expects us to learn from our life experiences and to grow from them…sure most times we have to wrestle with the alligators of life, but God gives us the strength and courage and yes, wisdom to do so.
When facing vital decisions for our lives, we tend to put our prayer life into full throttle…going to God in prayer, looking for that window that is supposed to be opening sometime soon after the shutting of a door. We seek God’s guidance as the consummate embodiment of Wisdom to help us make the best decisions based on the information at hand.
God promises to be our partner through all of life, ready, willing and most of all able, to stand with us through thick and thin; sharing the desires of God’s own heart as God listens to our pain, our suffering, our dilemmas, our fears and uncertainties; as well as our desires. And the Good News is, God makes good on all these promises. Hopefully as you travel your faith journey and the bends in the road up ahead call forth your best decision-making skills, you will ultimately be at peace with God and thereby the outcome…
Hmmmm…I hear a box of Thin Mints calling…or is it Tagalongs? What to do, what to do? Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Desert Day
Good Morning All,
One of my colleagues spends a week each year at a Benedictine Sisters Monastery on retreat. While living among them she has learned so much about prayer and meditation. She also learned about some of the other disciplines of monastic life. Of course as you might suspect, the sisters live a very simple life, unencumbered by many worldly possessions. They each live in a very small room that consists of a few pieces of furniture, wall décor, books, clothing and other personal items.
Each year the resident sisters observe “Desert Day.” Now at first hearing I thought this was a day of fasting and prayer, but it is something altogether different. It’s a day when each sister removes everything from her room--every last thing and then has to make decisions about what gets put back! They also have the option of putting every bit of it back as before, but not without stopping to think and pray about what is needful or desired.
Most of us only dare to go through this kind of practice when we are moving to a new house or apartment! We make stabs at it when we do a little Spring or Fall cleaning or as we get ready for a yard sale. Think about it though…what would the discipline of an annual Desert Day in our own homes and offices look like? What about our church building? How many trips to the Dorcas Shop or Good Will would you make? Or would you just air it all out on the lawn and put it all back?
But I think I am fascinated more by the discipline of having to think and pray about each item before determining its fate…Now, there’s the intrigue…figuring out the item’s worth in my life… not necessarily its monetary value; more than likely I would spend way more time considering an item’s personal sentiment; the memory, the story it holds, the joy or the sadness it evokes…after all, so many things really are priceless…
I think we also have to ask some other questions as well: What can I live without? What can someone else use more than I? What items are really cluttering up my life? Then I begin to think about how many more possessions each of us has in comparison with a Benedictine sister…Whew! It’s laughable! But even in light of this gross comparison, when the dust all clears, the discipline is still the same, is it not?…thinking and praying about what is needful in our lives…
And then my mind begins to play with other ramifications of “Desert Day”… What if we applied this same ritual, not with our possessions, but with our thoughts and actions…clearing out the clutter; sorting through what stays or goes…all the while thinking and praying about what I think, say and do in order to be a more faithful person…Asking for God’s strength, courage, and yes, much forgiveness. Whew! Maybe that’s a discipline for another day…then again, I’m pretty good at multi-tasking…how ‘bout you? O, Lord, give me strength…Blessings, Joanne
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Wiggle-room
Good Morning All,
I continue to reflect on yet another aspect of my silent retreat last week. The first few hours of silence for me is spent sifting through long streams of consciousness about whatever has been going on in my life up and until the time of arrival at the retreat setting. I sort through different scenarios and attempt to let it all go so that I am freed up to focus on the where I am and why I am here. That first afternoon the group gathers for “centering prayer.” Centering prayer is meant to call us together as we continue to sit in silence. The spiritual director guides us with scripture and/or other readings, giving us something to center our thoughts and prayers on. It always amazes me how whatever I have been praying or thinking about prior to this time of centering is somehow brought to the center of my inner being…kind of like when you put cooked pasta in a colander and as you rinse it and raise it up a bit, the water drains and the pasta is ready for the next step. Likewise, my thoughts are raised up and the water rinses away the extraneous. And I’m good to go...
During the centering prayer time, Steven, our leader asked us 2 questions: Where have I been closed in my life? In other words, where in my life am I closed minded? The second question, “Where have I become more open in my life and faith? While I had a variety of answers to both questions, I also discovered that one answer I had to the first question gave me insight into an answer for the second. There seemed to be a correlation of sorts. So scoot your chair up a bit, listen carefully and reverently…it’s time for the minister’s confession… :)
It should come as no surprise to many of you that while I respect the right for anyone to believe and express whatever they believe, and will do all in my power to defend that right, I am not without my own response to it…especially when it comes to those old, tired and worn labels of “liberal” and “conservative” as they pertain to religion. I do fine in the midst of a casual conversation or while in a counseling session with someone whose beliefs are at the “other” end of the spectrum from mine. But when I am on the receiving end of folks trying to strong-arm me into their way of believing or who attempt to make me feel inadequate or guilty because I do not share their beliefs, I quickly close down. I’m really working at NOT doing this and I hope I am at least a smidgen closer to being more open in the midst of this kind of struggle. (?)
That being said, my answer to the second question about where I have been open, has to do with a most recent leg of my faith journey: wrestling with the questions deep within me; creating an atmosphere where any and all questions are welcomed to be explored, no matter if they come off arrogant or even border on blasphemous…God can take any and all of these kinds of questions, so why can’t they be asked? The freedom to ask questions of faith, leads us to living with these questions of faith, knowing all too well that there are those questions which will never have any answers, at least in this life. I am more and more open and comfortable with NOT being so certain about all my answers to faith questions. I take comfort in the “not knowing.”
When I began to reflect on my answers to where I am closed and where I am open, I came closer to understanding why I respond to those who are so forceful and filled with such definite answers to questions of faith; or those who are so drippingly “sweet” and “sugary” about their faith—yes, these are judgmental terms. I wonder if they are afraid of “not knowing” or not having an answer for everything when it comes to God or Jesus, the Spirit or the Church. Do folks who are so quick to expound their beliefs; who don’t seem to leave much of anything to uncertainty—believe that uncertainty and a questioning mind and heart, are somehow sinful or unfaithful?
And then it hit me…it’s as if there is no wiggle-room in the house of faith! Having no wiggle-room is like working in untilled soil—big chunks of dry, compacted dirt—dirt packed so tightly that there is no room for light or water…the light can’t penetrate deep within and the water rushes over us like a flash flood…Striving not to be closed; being open in our faith is knowing and celebrating that there always needs to be wiggle-room to grow…hmmm…Perhaps I am now convicted by own words…Let’s wiggle…Blessings, Joanne
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sounds of silence…
Good Morning All!
Sounds of silence…Silent Night, Holy Night…Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent…silent partner…silent auction…silent prayer…deafening silence…silence is golden…breaking the silence…called out of silence into the cycle of sound and silence…I’ve just returned from participating in my Bethany Prayer Retreat; this time at Shalom House in the tiny community of Montpelier, VA, a 100 acre wooded area nestled at the end of a half-mile gravel road. The group has held my spot for 2 years, knowing I would return when I could…It’s such a wonderful experience to be among a small group of clergy friends from VA; MD; WVA and NC…to know that so much has happened in our lives since we were able to last meet and yet also knowing that the deep respect and love for God and for each other has only grown stronger and we simply picked up where we last left off...first sharing stories filled with hope and joy; pain and sorrow…the stuff of life, as we prepared to enter a world filled with almost 48 hours of silence. We’ve come a long way these last 7 years when we struggled on that very first retreat to make it through a mere 12 hours of silence.
The sounds of laughter, the intense listening and the expressions of sympathy and concern died down and we were called into silence in a time of worship. Dave prepared us for that evening’s rest with the words of Psalm 4:8, “I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O God, make me lie down in safety.” He also challenged us to greet the morning light, eager to enter God’s world in silence and to go “marveling.” Marveling is what Fred Craddock talks about doing with his family on Sunday afternoons as a child, riding through the countryside and “marveling” at the wonders of God all around them.
After the night’s rest I awakened eager to go marveling and marveling is exactly what I did. I engaged my different senses and became aware of so many little things going on in my world of silence…but soon discovering that silence simply meant not using spoken words and conversation…God’s world is hardly silent…the birds chirping and insects humming as they hovered over the pond...the crackling of the pine straw and dead leaves ‘neath my feet as I followed the path around the pond…fish jumpin’ and me without my fishing pole; dogs barking; cattle mooing; faint construction noises in the distance. But once I was able to clear my mind of the clutter of thoughts and my constant Covenant “to-do” list, I became in tune with my surroundings and began to be fully engaged in my oneness with God in God’s world.
Going marveling in the woods soon brought me to a small wooden bench. And while I wasn’t yet tired enough to rest, I accepted its gracious invitation to come and sit a spell. It wasn’t long before a female Downy woodpecker landed on a dead tree nearby. I became intrigued as I watched her find the exact spots to use her beak like a miniature jack-hammer, drilling out insects for her morning snack. I then became aware that her pecking wasn’t making the usual loud, rat-a-tat sounds…the spots where she stopped to peck seemed to be made of soft wood…and I marveled at how she too knew this was a day of silence. J And then, “what to my wondering eyes should appear?” I looked down on the ground in front of me and saw a most wonderful cluster of pink Lady Slippers…given their particular location, I surely would have missed seeing them had I continued walking past this area…
The art of marveling isn’t confined to silent retreats or Sunday afternoon rides. You can marvel at the wonders of God anytime and anywhere…Take even the briefest of moments to stop and maybe even sit a spell in the midst of all that tugs on your time and energy to allow God to surprise you…Let’s go marveling… Blessings, Joanne
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Wednesday Musings
Good Morning All!
Not again! How can this happen again? And with many more victims than the last? When will such violence end? Student turned sociopath… contempt for victims… irrational… emotionless… senseless murders… We need stiffer gun control in this country… Why did it take so long to alert the campus and take further action between the first incident and the second one? Aren’t colleges and universities responsible for the student safety?
Who could have done such a dastardly deed? Was it a terrorist-induced attack? Oh… a man from South Korea … might have known it was someone foreign? One of them. Bet he wasn’t here legally… Why don’t we figure out how to keep our borders safe from illegal entrants… Wait a minute… Waco… Oklahoma City… Austin TX… Paducah, KY… ”they” were each one of “us”…
Wonder, fear and blame have filled our minds and hearts these past couple of days… We are filled with so many questions; some of which have no answers. We are filled with fear; fear that it will happen again; fear that comes from knowing such a horrific act cannot be predicted nor prevented. And we are ever so quick to seek and find blame. Someone, some institution, some law or lack of law, some mental illness gone undetected or untreated; lack of policies in place we can blame. If only this… if only that… this wouldn’t have happened…
Grief floods our souls and hangs over us like a pall, weighing so heavy upon us; surrounding us on all sides as we seek comfort for all who mourn… there is time and great amounts of time will be taken to investigate these shootings…
But for now, many of us need to take time to be allowed to grieve… to simply grieve… as we pray for the families, friends, students, VTech faculty and administration… the Hokie Nation as it is called… all who must hasten to collect their thoughts and somehow through their grief make funeral and memorial arrangements; go through the “stage play” of doing what must be done to honor and bury the dead… dead sons and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins, students, professors, roommates, classmates and best friends… God rest their souls…
And yes, we must pray for Cho Seung and his family… here legally in this country since he was 8 years old… not raised by wolves, but by caring parents who sought a better life here for their family; seeking a fine education for their son… a son filled with rage… a son whose mind somehow became twisted enough for him to think he would help society rid itself of those he thought were living lives of debauchery and shame… God rest his soul as well…
So for today we are a human race in mourning for the loss of wonderful, productive young people with bright futures. We will never know the missed opportunities and accomplishments that will be buried with them… teachers, scientists, researchers, doctors, lawyers, government leaders—men and women who were just getting started on their dreams to make a difference and have an impact on the lives of others… May this senseless moment in time never make sense… may it serve to remind the living of the compassionate and caring work left for us to do… Blessings, Joanne
The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?...I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness f the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord (Psalm 27: 1-2, 14)
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