An Advent Faith

I have an advent faith. I seem to be looking for the new thing the Lord is doing in my life and the world. I have a sense that God's future engages our past in the present moment creating the opportunity for change. So we always have hope!
For a long time my advent orientation led me to look beyond this world but the Christmas story reminds us of the Lord's commitment of love to this life and creation. The Word became flesh.  Even Easter is about God's aim and intention. Moltmann referred to the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the radiance of the imminent dawn. The promise of Christmas and Easter is a new heaven and a new earth in which the things of this life will not be lost but transformed.
Each new day is a gift that holds promise and hope. The love of Jesus rises to meet us.  The Spirit leads us to the verge ...

Three Things

This morning I'm thinking about a message to share with the children this Sunday ... a message I repeat from time to time and try to remember daily. Faithfulness in our daily routines require us to remember and practice three things: to say "thank you", "I'm sorry", and "I love you".
People need affirmation.  So many struggle with tough burdens. We need to thank each other for the many gifts of grace that accompany daily life. We are God's gifts each to the other. Let us give thanks for our gifts and blessings.
People mess up.  We make mistakes. We hurt and betray and neglect each other. It is important to confess our sins ... saying to each other and the Lord: I'm sorry. A truckload of grace is needed for families or communities to make it through each new day.
I remember an old pastor counseling: Don't ever let a day pass without saying "I love you". Declaring our love reconnects us with the One who has loved us so well in Christ Jesus.
Of course there are other sets of three things.  John Wesley's General Rule that Bishop Job has articulated to well: do no harm; do good; and stay in love with God.
The prophet Micah offered another: to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.
This stream of trinities leads me to affirm that it all be done in the name of God: Father/Son/Holy Spirit ... Creator/Redeemer/Sustainer. Amen.

Letting Go

Our decision to go to Arkansas last week included a faint hope that we might experience the last vestiges of autumn color. Actually there were more leaves and color in Independence than northwest AR. One of prettiest trees whose leaves continue to cling is just outside Watson Memorial Chapel at CUMC. It is a lovely oak with yellow leaves which seem to resist the wind of seasonal change and hang on for dear life.
Several years ago I stopped for a sandwich in Sedalia, MO. While eating and making a couple of calls I was looking across the street at a gorgeous maple tree with magnficent red leaves.  To my amazement the leaves began to fall ... first a few ... then as if by agreement ... nearly all the leaves floated to the lawn creating an amazing crimson carpet. There was no strong wind. There was simple gracious release.
I visited with someone recently who prayed for just such a simple gracious release from this life.
O Lord, I seek the strength to cling tenaciously to your way and will along with the grace to let go and follow the flow of your Spirit from one season to the next. Amen.

I don't get it!

I confess I don't know much about economics.  I recall a professor saying something like: "If people have faith in the monetary system, it will work.  If they don't, it won't." That sums it up fairly well for me.
What I really don't understand is why the stock market goes up at the same time unemployment rises. If more people are out of work why would the value of companies increase? The answer is fairly simple, I guess: Companies are making more money with fewer employees which means productivity has increased. Productivity and efficiency are good.  I am not in favor of featherbedding. But let's not confuse any of this with the Gospel.
Jesus upset his disciples (Matthew 26) by allowing a woman to anoint him with an expensive oil. To those who objected that the oil could have been converted to cash for the poor, Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 15: ... you always have the poor with you.  Deuteronomy 15 challenges the notion that productivity is the first priority of a culture's economy. This chapter insists that lenders have a responsibility to not be hard-hearted [every seventh year you shall grant a remission of debts] and that the community is responsible for caring for the poor [open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land]. The Law mandates a sabbatical year or year of release in which loans are forgiven. The Law demands a portion be set aside for those in need and for the Lord.
It will be good when people are able to start spending again. But our first fruits of our efforts should be for those in need and the purposes of the Gospel and the Lord.

Pea Ridge

On this Veteran's Day I give thanks for the service and sacrifice of so many men, women and their families. The past eight years have brought tremendous struggle for our military as they have adapted to new challenges.
Last Saturday, as Peggy went to the baby shower (guys were not included), I toured the military battlefield at Pea Ridge, AR. In March, 1862, a significant battle effectively secured Missouri for the Union. Among the major battles west of the Mississippi, Pea Ridge provides a study in choices. The Confederate commander was positioned for a major victory but moved his troops without allowing for adequate provisions and supplies. When two of his generals were struck down in battle, no one stepped forward to assume leadership. Those choices brought major consequences.
Southwest of Pea Ridge is the town of Bentonville. In the center of the square is a fountain and statue dedicated to the memory of Confederate soldiers. One of the shops across from the monument is Walton's 5&10. This store (now a musem) was the beginning of the Walmart retailing empire.
Neither Pea Ridge nor Bentonville are on the main road to anywhere, yet plans and decisions in this region have impacted the country and the world. I am reminded that the Lord works most creatively around the edges and among the marginal.  Places like Bethlehem and Nazareth. Perhaps even in places where we live and work.
We offer to the Lord who we are and what we have and trust in God's grace-filled purposes.

Choose Life

I've been praying for the folks at Ft. Hood in the aftermath of the terrifying killings. Already the challenges stretch those families too far and now this grief and fear.
A memory emerges of a woman whose husband was posted at Ft. Hood. A young mother whose child was sick ... she was ovewhelmed by all of it: the heat, the incessant crying of her baby, the strange surroundings of a new military culture. One night she climbed on the roof of their base housing and wept in despair. She wanted to run away. She wanted to end it all. She wanted to do so many things. But she chose to climb down, go back in the house and hold her baby.
So many people face unacceptable challenges with faith, hope and love. Thank God for their witness.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life ... Deuteronomy 30: 19

Peggy's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Later today we drive to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for a baby shower. Two of Peggy's sons will present us with grandchildren this winter and we rejoice in this new season in our life!
Every culture develops rituals to signify and celebrate life events (birth, marriage, baptism, graduation, death, etc). Part of this weekend will include getting better acquainted with the in-laws. As they offer us hospitality we plan to respond with some host/hostess gifts. Simple hospitality rituals of sharing/gifting are among the nicer expressions of our imago dei.
Among our plans are to give Peggy's cookies.  You need to understand that Peggy makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. I realize this is an extreme claim but has your wife's publisher stolen her cookie cookbook and advertised it in Oprah's magazine? (I rest my case.) People gush over Peggy's cookies. Couples fight over Peggy's cookies. Parents hide Peggy's cookies from their children.
She doesn't bake often. Mostly this is because it takes a great deal of time and attention. Peggy has finally learned exactly which pan to use in our house's oven. The cookies bake for exactly 13 minutes and then sit on the counter for exactly 5 more minutes before being placed on the parchment paper. I'm not sure if she only cooks in a certain phase of the moon ... but she is delightfully attentive to detail and the result is a blessing.
That's the point of hospitality, isn't it?  To bless. The blessing of this new child's life seems to demand Peggy's cookies.  :-)

Remember to Pay Attention

I believe there are two basic spiritual disciplines. First is to remember daily  the One who is the source of life, light and love. Remembering should be easy and natural. Truth is we are easily distracted. I recall Steve Sjogren explaining why he talked about his church's mission every week. He said something like: God is really smart.  The Lord understands that we can only remember something for a short time. So we worship weekly to remind us of what is important.
The second discipline (once we've remembered) is to pay attention. Most of our practices simply remind us and provide ways to be attentive to the presence and power of the One who knows each of us by name.
My daughter, Catherine, gifted me with an introduction to a poet, Denise Levertov, who wrote about all this.

Flickering Mind - Denise Levertov

Not for one second
will myself hold still, but wanders
anywhere,
everywhere it can turn. Not you,
it is I am absent.
You are the stream, the fish, the light,
the pulsing shadow,
you the unchanging presence, in whom all
moves and changes.
How can I focus my flickering, perceive
at the fountain's heart
the sapphire I know is there?

I Wish the Bishop Were Here

Last summer while walking around Maramec Springs the birds were especially joyful in their greeting of the day.  Usually I am aware of the birdsongs but more as background to the flow of the water, the fish and whatever issue I am working on that day.
On this morning the birds demanded my attention. Being more visual than auditory, I was frustrated trying to find and identify the birds.  I found myself wishing that my Bishop, Robert Schnase, was with me.  Bishop Schnase is an avid bird watcher.  He could teach me how to listen and observe the birds in the canopy of beautiful trees surrounding the springs.
Life is kaleidoscopic. If we shift our attention to another dimension we often are blessed with fresh insights, perspectives and experiences of God's presence and grace. It also helps to have a coach or companion to guide us through the blessings or challenges of that new dimension of faith experience.
Lord, help me pay attention to your presence in the midst of this day ... and accept the guidance and wisdom of my companions on the journey. Amen.

Meramac Mornings

Morning Worship

Watching people gather
to fish
reminds me of the community
coming for worship.
A few settle into the pew
to prayerfully prepare

    Silently now I wait for thee
    Ready my God, Thy will to see

Most are talking
greeting family or friends
Others focus on the ligatures
of liturgy

     This is the day the Lord has made
     Let us rejoice and be glad in it

Maramec Morning

they gather quietly

each seeking a place

along the river bank

or in the current

some tinker with hooks and lures

others wait expectantly

listening for the signal

for fishing to begin

a siren's wail

shatters the morning silence ...

then a whispered whoosh

of casting lines ...

watch out -- fish!