Our turkey is thawing in the fridge, the sweet potatoes wait on the counter to be cooked, and well if the pie was in the house it would already be half-eaten. Thanksgiving gathers us around a table of abundance and we bump elbows with our relatives and friends. Around the table there can be everything from laughter to tension if the topics of religion or politics come up. Around the table we celebrate the truth that our connections with each other and with God matter and make a difference.
Thanksgiving, in the popular culture signals the entrance to the holiday season. Shopping and parties and frenzied schedules. Thanksgiving in the church marks the entrance to Advent. Advent is a time set aside as the church to be intentional and prayerful about how we journey to Bethlehem to witness again and anew the birth of Jesus. Advent names aloud for all to hear that we already know the road to Bethlehem. This is one place where popular culture helps the church tell the story. Think about The Peanuts where Linus dons his blanket to recite the Luke passage after Charlie Brown exclaims at the top of his voice that 'Doesn't anyone know the true meaning of Christmas?!?!"(if you need a reminder of this great scene, clink here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKk9rv2hUfA)
But because we have 'been there, done that' with the Christmas narrative, you may wonder why? Why do we need Advent? Why not show up on Christmas Eve ready... set...go? Why add one more thing to my already, hectic life?
Advent, for me, is not about guilt as much as it is recognizing that even though I know the story so well, there is always a surprise waiting this year. Advent says even if I know the path to Bethlehem and can get there without my GPS/with my eyes closed, I am a different person this year. Or there may be a new side road to Bethlehem that I did not notice when I was traveling in 2010. Advent proclaims even if I go down the same path, even if it feels like I am standing in last year's straw with the same old shepherds, there will still be a serendipitous, sacred moment that I could miss if I am on autopilot.
I encourage you this Advent to be intentional, to be prayerful in preparing. The church I serve this Sunday (November 20, 2011) will be offering a devotional tied to things you are already planning to do that will hopefully help you notice the sacred and traces of God's grace all around you. It will also be posted to our website: www.janesvilleucc.org
Most of all, I pray in the marathon blur between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, you will find moments of peace and signs of hope and most of all traces of God's grace and love all around you.
Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Stirring and Swirling Spirit
Something is supposed to happen at church when we gather. Maybe it is not as life changing, earth shattering and disorienting as Acts 2:1-13 makes church out to be. But the movement of God's presence in our midst when we gather as a community of faith holds the promise that something should, could, might just happen every time we gather.
Acts 2 is the quintessential church beginning/birthday narrative. We read it on Pentecost every single year, which is celebrated 50 days after Easter. Perhaps reading it in the sanctuary is not the most appropriate place to read this passage. Pentecost is about God working outside the church: in our homes and in our lives. Maybe on Pentecost we would be better to gather as small groups in people's homes, read this passage, sit in silence and share where we've noticed traces of God's grace in our life since Easter morning.
Pentecost connects to John 1:14: the Word became flesh and lived (or better yet, 'lives') among us'. Pentecost connects to Genesis 1:1 where the Spirit of God surfed over the chaos of creation and started moving in new ways. Pentecost is a Red Sea moment where the disciples passed through the parted waters from relying on Jesus to tell them physically where to go and what to do to relying on the Spirit to help guide them where to go, what to do and believe. That transition was not easy (read the rest of Acts and you'll find some of the most gut-wrenching church arguments).
In some ways as people of faith we still live in the messy middle, transition of Pentecost. It remains difficult to truly rely on the Spirit because it awakens a variety of responses and explanations. I can feel led to try new worship formats that others find too jarring and not helpful. Where is the Spirit at then? Usually, we see this as a zero sum game. The Spirit needs to choose a side. Either I was 'right' to try the new format or the person who found it less than filled with God's presence was 'right'.
Yet, Pentecost proclaimed that God's realm isn't a zero sum game. We can perceive the Spirit each in our own language. Which makes it messy and hard to know what to do next. What we tend to do next is exactly what is recorded in verse 13 when those who wondered what in the world was going on, decided the explanation that made the most sense was that the disciples were 'full of new wine.' I think that is one of the funniest lines in all of scripture and it makes me smile every time.
We do that today. When someone has an experience outside what our heart or mind can comprehend, we try to explain it away. When someone holds a different perspective than our own, we try to find loopholes in their logic. Yet, at the same time, we know that our own experiences are far from fully understood. We know that our own perspectives have their own leaps of logic larger than the Grand Canyon.
This is where I prayerfully think the church can be a visible light to the world. By showing that people can be honest and listen with open hearts to each other. If you keep reading after the new wine comment, Peter doesn't demonize those who said the sarcastic comment. He preaches a sermon about God's presence and invites dialogue.
In my hope and prayer for the church, we strive to do the same. To have that kind of dialogue would certainly be a trace of God's grace and even a prayerful living out of the Pentecost story in our midst today. Who knows how the Spirit might stir and swirl; what kind of new creation and connections might be formed; and even the way we might re-discover what it means to be the church.
On this rainy, wind swirling day as I write these words, I pray you will notice God's presence in such a way so as to connect with a hope, peace, joy and love that is real and makes a difference for today and for countless days to come.
Blessings and peace
Acts 2 is the quintessential church beginning/birthday narrative. We read it on Pentecost every single year, which is celebrated 50 days after Easter. Perhaps reading it in the sanctuary is not the most appropriate place to read this passage. Pentecost is about God working outside the church: in our homes and in our lives. Maybe on Pentecost we would be better to gather as small groups in people's homes, read this passage, sit in silence and share where we've noticed traces of God's grace in our life since Easter morning.
Pentecost connects to John 1:14: the Word became flesh and lived (or better yet, 'lives') among us'. Pentecost connects to Genesis 1:1 where the Spirit of God surfed over the chaos of creation and started moving in new ways. Pentecost is a Red Sea moment where the disciples passed through the parted waters from relying on Jesus to tell them physically where to go and what to do to relying on the Spirit to help guide them where to go, what to do and believe. That transition was not easy (read the rest of Acts and you'll find some of the most gut-wrenching church arguments).
In some ways as people of faith we still live in the messy middle, transition of Pentecost. It remains difficult to truly rely on the Spirit because it awakens a variety of responses and explanations. I can feel led to try new worship formats that others find too jarring and not helpful. Where is the Spirit at then? Usually, we see this as a zero sum game. The Spirit needs to choose a side. Either I was 'right' to try the new format or the person who found it less than filled with God's presence was 'right'.
Yet, Pentecost proclaimed that God's realm isn't a zero sum game. We can perceive the Spirit each in our own language. Which makes it messy and hard to know what to do next. What we tend to do next is exactly what is recorded in verse 13 when those who wondered what in the world was going on, decided the explanation that made the most sense was that the disciples were 'full of new wine.' I think that is one of the funniest lines in all of scripture and it makes me smile every time.
We do that today. When someone has an experience outside what our heart or mind can comprehend, we try to explain it away. When someone holds a different perspective than our own, we try to find loopholes in their logic. Yet, at the same time, we know that our own experiences are far from fully understood. We know that our own perspectives have their own leaps of logic larger than the Grand Canyon.
This is where I prayerfully think the church can be a visible light to the world. By showing that people can be honest and listen with open hearts to each other. If you keep reading after the new wine comment, Peter doesn't demonize those who said the sarcastic comment. He preaches a sermon about God's presence and invites dialogue.
In my hope and prayer for the church, we strive to do the same. To have that kind of dialogue would certainly be a trace of God's grace and even a prayerful living out of the Pentecost story in our midst today. Who knows how the Spirit might stir and swirl; what kind of new creation and connections might be formed; and even the way we might re-discover what it means to be the church.
On this rainy, wind swirling day as I write these words, I pray you will notice God's presence in such a way so as to connect with a hope, peace, joy and love that is real and makes a difference for today and for countless days to come.
Blessings and peace
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Waiting
Hopefully the words of Acts 1 have been roaming around your heart and mind over the last week. Hopefully those words have even settled in and unpacked like welcomed house guest.
Here is what I find so compelling about the beginning of Acts: the disciples have to wait. Essentially, they are ready to go. In verse 6, they question when God's kingdom, or realm, is going to be fully realized/fully present in their midst. You sense that the expectation is soon...very soon...like get out your calendars and mark the date kind of soon.
Jesus responded by essentially saying, don't worry about that. And instead told them to wait.
Now, if you are ready for something to happen, if you have your bags all packed ready to go, if you believe that any minute now there is going to be a dramatic, life-shifting kind of change in your life, being told to wait is heart breaking.
If you want proof of this, think about an airport. There is a buzz of activity and anticipation. Then, if the poor person working the desk of the airline has to say over the speaker the flight has been delayed, there is loud, audible groan. I have sat there in those moments and heard not only the groan, but it felt like the air escaped and the chatter around me turned from anticipation to frustration in a single second.
Being told to wait is challenging to us. We live our life so fast that coming to a sudden stop because of waiting is just plain jarring to us. It feels like whiplash. I look around and see so many people waiting.
I think about people who do not have a job, keep on applying for positions and are forced to wait for responses after interviews that set hopes soaring.
I think about people whose mortgage is in limbo, keep on making payments, but are waiting for something to shift in the housing market.
I think about those who have illnesses who wait for treatment options or wait for results of the latest tests.
There are many types of waiting. There is the "I am bored" kind of waiting when you are in the line at the grocery store or counting train cars going past your windshield. Then there is the kind of waiting that is hoping beyond hope, praying with sighs louder than words, that something is going to happen...soon...please God.
Most of us know the first type of waiting and experience it daily. But too many people experience the second kind of waiting alone. The second type of waiting drains us emotionally and physically and we question God's presence.
And for all the church's good intentions over the years to provide comfort in the form of words or logical explanations about why the second kind of waiting exists at all, we have failed to live into the response of the disciples in verses 12-14. They waited...together. Sure Peter gave a sermon in verse 15. (I too sometimes find it hard to wait quietly in a group). The point is they waited...together.
Go back to that airport example. One of the reasons why it is so hard to wait there, so frustrating isn't because of the food and stale air (although that doesn't help). It is so difficult to wait in that moment because we feel powerless. I can't fly an airplane, even if there is one sitting outside the window. I don't know how long the delay will really be. To make matters worse, even though I am surrounded by people in the same place, they are strangers, and I feel alone. Waiting alone wreaks havoc on us. Feeling like you are waiting alone even as you bump up against people daily doesn't help either.
Too many people today are waiting alone...and at the same time they bump up against others daily.
One way (certainly not the only way) of the church being the church today is to wait together. My hunch is that as the disciples waited they had potluck meals, prayed together, worshiped together, laughed and shared stories together.
At some point in trying to maintain buildings and run interesting programs and trying to be an institution, as a church we lost the indescribable, faithful invitation to be together. It doesn't solve everything, but for me it is better than the alternative of being alone.
The first story in Acts...which describes the church being the church...is to wait together. But, that isn't the only story in Acts...that is not the only way of the church being the church.
So, because this is so much fun, look at Chapter 2 verses 1-15
Read it aloud...I know it is still not easy
Circle words that cause you to smile
Underline words that bring a frown to your face
Feel free to ask questions.
Again, I will offer a few insights soon. But I believe that traces of God's grace come from your thoughts and from your heart. Happy reading...and may God's peace warm your life like the sun on an autumn day.
Blessings
Here is what I find so compelling about the beginning of Acts: the disciples have to wait. Essentially, they are ready to go. In verse 6, they question when God's kingdom, or realm, is going to be fully realized/fully present in their midst. You sense that the expectation is soon...very soon...like get out your calendars and mark the date kind of soon.
Jesus responded by essentially saying, don't worry about that. And instead told them to wait.
Now, if you are ready for something to happen, if you have your bags all packed ready to go, if you believe that any minute now there is going to be a dramatic, life-shifting kind of change in your life, being told to wait is heart breaking.
If you want proof of this, think about an airport. There is a buzz of activity and anticipation. Then, if the poor person working the desk of the airline has to say over the speaker the flight has been delayed, there is loud, audible groan. I have sat there in those moments and heard not only the groan, but it felt like the air escaped and the chatter around me turned from anticipation to frustration in a single second.
Being told to wait is challenging to us. We live our life so fast that coming to a sudden stop because of waiting is just plain jarring to us. It feels like whiplash. I look around and see so many people waiting.
I think about people who do not have a job, keep on applying for positions and are forced to wait for responses after interviews that set hopes soaring.
I think about people whose mortgage is in limbo, keep on making payments, but are waiting for something to shift in the housing market.
I think about those who have illnesses who wait for treatment options or wait for results of the latest tests.
There are many types of waiting. There is the "I am bored" kind of waiting when you are in the line at the grocery store or counting train cars going past your windshield. Then there is the kind of waiting that is hoping beyond hope, praying with sighs louder than words, that something is going to happen...soon...please God.
Most of us know the first type of waiting and experience it daily. But too many people experience the second kind of waiting alone. The second type of waiting drains us emotionally and physically and we question God's presence.
And for all the church's good intentions over the years to provide comfort in the form of words or logical explanations about why the second kind of waiting exists at all, we have failed to live into the response of the disciples in verses 12-14. They waited...together. Sure Peter gave a sermon in verse 15. (I too sometimes find it hard to wait quietly in a group). The point is they waited...together.
Go back to that airport example. One of the reasons why it is so hard to wait there, so frustrating isn't because of the food and stale air (although that doesn't help). It is so difficult to wait in that moment because we feel powerless. I can't fly an airplane, even if there is one sitting outside the window. I don't know how long the delay will really be. To make matters worse, even though I am surrounded by people in the same place, they are strangers, and I feel alone. Waiting alone wreaks havoc on us. Feeling like you are waiting alone even as you bump up against people daily doesn't help either.
Too many people today are waiting alone...and at the same time they bump up against others daily.
One way (certainly not the only way) of the church being the church today is to wait together. My hunch is that as the disciples waited they had potluck meals, prayed together, worshiped together, laughed and shared stories together.
At some point in trying to maintain buildings and run interesting programs and trying to be an institution, as a church we lost the indescribable, faithful invitation to be together. It doesn't solve everything, but for me it is better than the alternative of being alone.
The first story in Acts...which describes the church being the church...is to wait together. But, that isn't the only story in Acts...that is not the only way of the church being the church.
So, because this is so much fun, look at Chapter 2 verses 1-15
Read it aloud...I know it is still not easy
Circle words that cause you to smile
Underline words that bring a frown to your face
Feel free to ask questions.
Again, I will offer a few insights soon. But I believe that traces of God's grace come from your thoughts and from your heart. Happy reading...and may God's peace warm your life like the sun on an autumn day.
Blessings
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The Church Being the Church
What is the first image that pops into your mind when you hear the word, 'church'?
Maybe a brick building with a really tall steeple?
Maybe some one on television advocating a certain idea?
Or maybe that song from my years in Sunday School..."the church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is the people."
Church is a complicated word. It is a gathering of people. But like any gathering, at some point there has to be a purpose or a reason so that people keep gathering. Just standing around drinking decaf coffee causally chatting about the weather or the local sports team isn't going to get many people out of bed on a cold Wisconsin Sunday.
The reality is because the church is made up of people it means the gathering has individuals who are wholly/holy made in God's image who don't always/fully live out the profound truth that each person in the gathering reflects God's fingerprints.
To claim to be the church is a lofty (maybe a bit crazy) goal. Trying to sort out our purpose as followers of Christ today is hard enough. On top of that we are dealing with/trying to live out our purpose along side humans (with all the possibilities and pitfalls we bring to the table) . And on top of that there is two thousand years of history that has piled up on the table where we are gathering. That's a lot of paper work.
Given that reality, I get why people have left the church. I get why people drive past the church I serve and the church down the street or across town and think it's all the same...just different music. I get why people after hearing two pastors argue on national television, turn it off and tune out.
And yet something within me will not give up on the church as a gathering of people prayerfully trying to follow Christ. Partly that is because I am stubborn. Partly it is because given the world we live in - with all of its economic uncertainty and anger and times when it is really hard to notice traces of God's grace - I still find God's promise and presence most evident in a gathering of people.
So, how can the church be the church? I pray over the next several posts to get at that question. But before I do, I want to encourage you to get your Bible.
Go ahead...I'll wait.
Or you can try these websites: www.biblegateway.com or http://bible.oremus.org/
And if you would turn to the Book of Acts, chapter 1, verses 1 through 14.
Take time to read these words.
Read the words... aloud....I know it makes me self-conscious too
Circle words that surprise you.
Circle words that frustrate you.
Read the words aloud again
What do you take away from that?
I'll share my thoughts soon.
But for now...may the traces of God's grace be with in this season of autumn. May God's presence swirl around you like a crisp fall breeze and God's love warm you like a cup of warm tea...or hot chocolate...or coffee...or cider.
Blessings and peace
Maybe a brick building with a really tall steeple?
Maybe some one on television advocating a certain idea?
Or maybe that song from my years in Sunday School..."the church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is the people."
Church is a complicated word. It is a gathering of people. But like any gathering, at some point there has to be a purpose or a reason so that people keep gathering. Just standing around drinking decaf coffee causally chatting about the weather or the local sports team isn't going to get many people out of bed on a cold Wisconsin Sunday.
The reality is because the church is made up of people it means the gathering has individuals who are wholly/holy made in God's image who don't always/fully live out the profound truth that each person in the gathering reflects God's fingerprints.
To claim to be the church is a lofty (maybe a bit crazy) goal. Trying to sort out our purpose as followers of Christ today is hard enough. On top of that we are dealing with/trying to live out our purpose along side humans (with all the possibilities and pitfalls we bring to the table) . And on top of that there is two thousand years of history that has piled up on the table where we are gathering. That's a lot of paper work.
Given that reality, I get why people have left the church. I get why people drive past the church I serve and the church down the street or across town and think it's all the same...just different music. I get why people after hearing two pastors argue on national television, turn it off and tune out.
And yet something within me will not give up on the church as a gathering of people prayerfully trying to follow Christ. Partly that is because I am stubborn. Partly it is because given the world we live in - with all of its economic uncertainty and anger and times when it is really hard to notice traces of God's grace - I still find God's promise and presence most evident in a gathering of people.
So, how can the church be the church? I pray over the next several posts to get at that question. But before I do, I want to encourage you to get your Bible.
Go ahead...I'll wait.
Or you can try these websites: www.biblegateway.com or http://bible.oremus.org/
And if you would turn to the Book of Acts, chapter 1, verses 1 through 14.
Take time to read these words.
Read the words... aloud....I know it makes me self-conscious too
Circle words that surprise you.
Circle words that frustrate you.
Read the words aloud again
What do you take away from that?
I'll share my thoughts soon.
But for now...may the traces of God's grace be with in this season of autumn. May God's presence swirl around you like a crisp fall breeze and God's love warm you like a cup of warm tea...or hot chocolate...or coffee...or cider.
Blessings and peace
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Marking Time
Eight years ago this week, I became a father.
And twenty months later, I became a father again.
Even though you have nine months to prepare to welcome a baby into your life, it is unfathomable how upside down your life becomes in the span of a few weeks. Those first few sleep deprived months of my son's life were a daze. You hold in your hands this vulnerable baby and the enormity of raising, shaping, caring for a life weights on your heart. The gospels tell us that Jesus came to us in the form of a baby. As much as we sing about a Silent Night and Holy Night when Jesus Away in a Manger, 'no crying he made,' there was an enormity of caring for Jesus that sat on the shoulders of Mary and Joesph that every parent can relate to.
It is too bad that the gospels don't have many stories about Jesus growing up. Luke 2:41 records a brief encounter Jesus had in the temple at age 12 with the leaders at Passover. But in some ways this is a foreshadowing of how Jesus will encounter the religious leaders at Passover when he came riding on a donkey at Palm Sunday and set in motion the holy drama of Holy Week. Luke's brief narrative ends with these words, "Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor." Which is a nice way of saying, he grew up.
Watching my son and daughter grow up is a blurry joy at times. Each child has a unique personality. My son is so serious at time and can be anxious about things (It is great when you see your own personality idiosyncrasies reflected in your child). He has a great sense of humor... that I don't always understand. My daughter is care free and has the ability to enjoy life deeply (It is great when you see personality idiosyncrasies you'd like to have reflected in your child). And every morning she has a slow....motion....mode...that...seems...to....take...for...ever...to...get... out...the...door...to...get...to...school.
Celebrating my son's birthday this week helped me realize that birthdays are a way we mark time. Both the passage of time as well as what is to come. My son already talks about when he can learn to drive a car or sit in the front seat. I am not someone who wants to pause time. I realize you cannot capture or contain moments in a bottle. I try my best to immerse myself in the moment, the joy of the moment. Even last night when I am standing on a hill freezing and can't feel my fingers from the cold watching my son play flag football. But, it takes practice to immerse myself in the moment. I can get caught up in looking back or looking forward. Marking time is less about the calendar than it is about noticing fully the present moment.
So, as the autumn air turns crisp around us. As more and more leaves swirl in the breeze, may you find ways to mark time in a way that opens you to traces of God's grace all around you. Blessings and peace and happy 8th birthday to my son!
And twenty months later, I became a father again.
Even though you have nine months to prepare to welcome a baby into your life, it is unfathomable how upside down your life becomes in the span of a few weeks. Those first few sleep deprived months of my son's life were a daze. You hold in your hands this vulnerable baby and the enormity of raising, shaping, caring for a life weights on your heart. The gospels tell us that Jesus came to us in the form of a baby. As much as we sing about a Silent Night and Holy Night when Jesus Away in a Manger, 'no crying he made,' there was an enormity of caring for Jesus that sat on the shoulders of Mary and Joesph that every parent can relate to.
It is too bad that the gospels don't have many stories about Jesus growing up. Luke 2:41 records a brief encounter Jesus had in the temple at age 12 with the leaders at Passover. But in some ways this is a foreshadowing of how Jesus will encounter the religious leaders at Passover when he came riding on a donkey at Palm Sunday and set in motion the holy drama of Holy Week. Luke's brief narrative ends with these words, "Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor." Which is a nice way of saying, he grew up.
Watching my son and daughter grow up is a blurry joy at times. Each child has a unique personality. My son is so serious at time and can be anxious about things (It is great when you see your own personality idiosyncrasies reflected in your child). He has a great sense of humor... that I don't always understand. My daughter is care free and has the ability to enjoy life deeply (It is great when you see personality idiosyncrasies you'd like to have reflected in your child). And every morning she has a slow....motion....mode...that...seems...to....take...for...ever...to...get... out...the...door...to...get...to...school.
Celebrating my son's birthday this week helped me realize that birthdays are a way we mark time. Both the passage of time as well as what is to come. My son already talks about when he can learn to drive a car or sit in the front seat. I am not someone who wants to pause time. I realize you cannot capture or contain moments in a bottle. I try my best to immerse myself in the moment, the joy of the moment. Even last night when I am standing on a hill freezing and can't feel my fingers from the cold watching my son play flag football. But, it takes practice to immerse myself in the moment. I can get caught up in looking back or looking forward. Marking time is less about the calendar than it is about noticing fully the present moment.
So, as the autumn air turns crisp around us. As more and more leaves swirl in the breeze, may you find ways to mark time in a way that opens you to traces of God's grace all around you. Blessings and peace and happy 8th birthday to my son!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Vacation
What would be your perfect vacation destination? If you had asked me that question a few months ago, I would have described some Emerson-like cabin in the secluded woods away from cell phones and noise and crowds. I would have waxed poetic about the joys of leisurely reading books or rowing in a canoe on a calm river. It would be peaceful and relaxing...at least in my imagination.
But last week I found another spot that was surprisingly filled with traces of God's grace.
Disney World.
It was not exactly the place I thought I would encounter God's presence. Amid dancing dolls from around the world singing, "It's a small world" or riding rides or standing in a line waiting for Buzz Lightyear's autograph. But there was a deep joy and peacefulness even in the midst of the crowds and the occasional crying child and being constantly on the go for ten plus hours each day.
Part of that joy and peace was discovered as I saw my daughter's eyes light up when she saw the Disney princesses or when my son became a "Jedi" defeating Darth Vader. Spending time with my family for one whole week was truly the best and my favorite part.
Part of that joy and peace was being in a place where happiness radiates. Walking down Main St. in the Magic Kingdom and seeing people wave at you is strangely refreshing. It gives you hope that the people who bicker on the nightly news might just be the ones living in a fairy tale land and that there is something about the human condition that can connect us to each other with a simple wave. Seeing people from around the country and the world gather together to share in the experience is renewing. It is a powerful witness to our need as humans to play and laugh together. Hearing my kids laugh was good for my soul. Eating ice cream on hot days was good for my soul. And sharing in the experience was good for my soul.
To be sure, coming back to the 'real' world is a bit of an adjustment. People no longer randomly wave at me. The streets are not as clean. And there is no catchy tune constantly playing in the background.
Part of vacation is to get away. To live another way. Part of vacation is to realize that our bodies and souls and emotional well being need Sabbath rest every week. Now, I am not one who think we will ever go back to everything being closed on Sundays with Blue Laws...as though Sunday is the only day for Sabbath. But I am one who believes that the pace of our culture and our lives today is unsustainable. Our constant on the go, busyness is wreaking havoc on us. The demands we place on our bodies, the food we feed our bodies because of our schedules and the stress and illness are pervasive. While every drug company promises us they have the magic pill to keep us going...medication alone will not make everything all better.
Part of my challenge is to not be (as Kirk Bryon Jones says) so addicted to hurry. So caught up in my own self importance and need to control that I miss the fact I was away from the church for a week and the church survived. The church of Jesus Christ will survive...it did so for thousands of years before me and will for thousands of years after me. Sabbath time is not just about collapsing after a frenzy paced day. Sabbath time is not just a convenient way of saying you don't want to do something.
Sabbath is at the core an affirmation that God is God...and you are not. God's grace is what sustains us...not the work of our hands. God's love is what fills us....not what we get at the Apple Store. God's presence is what is meaningful. Sabbath opens our eyes...even in places we were not sure we would discover the traces of God's grace. May that kind of Sabbath time be found in your life this week and every week.
Blessings
But last week I found another spot that was surprisingly filled with traces of God's grace.
Disney World.
It was not exactly the place I thought I would encounter God's presence. Amid dancing dolls from around the world singing, "It's a small world" or riding rides or standing in a line waiting for Buzz Lightyear's autograph. But there was a deep joy and peacefulness even in the midst of the crowds and the occasional crying child and being constantly on the go for ten plus hours each day.
Part of that joy and peace was discovered as I saw my daughter's eyes light up when she saw the Disney princesses or when my son became a "Jedi" defeating Darth Vader. Spending time with my family for one whole week was truly the best and my favorite part.
Part of that joy and peace was being in a place where happiness radiates. Walking down Main St. in the Magic Kingdom and seeing people wave at you is strangely refreshing. It gives you hope that the people who bicker on the nightly news might just be the ones living in a fairy tale land and that there is something about the human condition that can connect us to each other with a simple wave. Seeing people from around the country and the world gather together to share in the experience is renewing. It is a powerful witness to our need as humans to play and laugh together. Hearing my kids laugh was good for my soul. Eating ice cream on hot days was good for my soul. And sharing in the experience was good for my soul.
To be sure, coming back to the 'real' world is a bit of an adjustment. People no longer randomly wave at me. The streets are not as clean. And there is no catchy tune constantly playing in the background.
Part of vacation is to get away. To live another way. Part of vacation is to realize that our bodies and souls and emotional well being need Sabbath rest every week. Now, I am not one who think we will ever go back to everything being closed on Sundays with Blue Laws...as though Sunday is the only day for Sabbath. But I am one who believes that the pace of our culture and our lives today is unsustainable. Our constant on the go, busyness is wreaking havoc on us. The demands we place on our bodies, the food we feed our bodies because of our schedules and the stress and illness are pervasive. While every drug company promises us they have the magic pill to keep us going...medication alone will not make everything all better.
Part of my challenge is to not be (as Kirk Bryon Jones says) so addicted to hurry. So caught up in my own self importance and need to control that I miss the fact I was away from the church for a week and the church survived. The church of Jesus Christ will survive...it did so for thousands of years before me and will for thousands of years after me. Sabbath time is not just about collapsing after a frenzy paced day. Sabbath time is not just a convenient way of saying you don't want to do something.
Sabbath is at the core an affirmation that God is God...and you are not. God's grace is what sustains us...not the work of our hands. God's love is what fills us....not what we get at the Apple Store. God's presence is what is meaningful. Sabbath opens our eyes...even in places we were not sure we would discover the traces of God's grace. May that kind of Sabbath time be found in your life this week and every week.
Blessings
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Fully Formed
Recently I have found myself frustrated by the choices I've made. I have said some things in retrospect I wish I had not said...done some things in retrospect I wish I had not done. To be sure this is not a new situation for a human to find himself or herself in. I think Paul said it best in Romans chapter 7:15
Yes. I'm full of myself - after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. The Message
Most of us prefer the language of mistake to sin. Most of us try really hard to cover up our mistakes rather than publicly tout them. Most of us find it hard to look at the reflect staring back at us in the mirror and see that we are: fully formed, unconditionally loved, and surrounded with unceasing grace.
We see the mistakes...or sins.
We see those moments our mouth gets ahead of our brain...a problem I have. We see those moments we laugh at the expense of another...or always make myself out to the bumbling butt of every joke. We see the shortcomings. That is important to be honest. We are not perfect.
What makes the good news so GOOD is that God sees our worst, our warts, AND our gifts, the time we get it right. God sees the moments I lose my temper AND when the moments when my energy is so low but by God's grace I sit down and play a game with my kids rather than zone out watching TV. God sees us as fully formed, because that is the promise of the beginning. We are created in the image of God. Not just a small part of us commonly called a 'soul'. All of us. To be fully formed is the promise we celebrate at baptism. This small child with drips of water running down her forehead is fully claimed, loved and formed to living into God's presence around her and within all of her. Our hands, hearts, heads, feet, voice, our laugh, our off-key, rhythmic challenged way I sway to hymns...all of that God sees as fully formed.
Often what happens for me is I get out of sync and in those moments I am not living into, living out the whole identity God formed and calls me to be. When I start stressing too much about tomorrow rather than trusting that manna (Exodus 16) will be there. When I start over planning for five years down the road rather than noticing God's presence and promise right here and right now. When I start seeing the glass half empty and thinking ONLY I can get it filled again. I am not living into that fully formed promise of God.
I don't think the goal of life is that I get it right all the time. But maybe I can notice when I am relying too much on myself and not enough on the traces of God's grace in my life. Maybe I can help people see the water level in that proverbial glass for what is: not as full as it could be, but full of God's presence and life and love nevertheless. Maybe by leaning into life, I won't stop all my mistakes but see them as part of the profound truth that I am fully formed.
May the truth and promise that you are fully formed lead you to lean into life and notice the graces traces this day.
Blessings
We see the mistakes...or sins.
We see those moments our mouth gets ahead of our brain...a problem I have. We see those moments we laugh at the expense of another...or always make myself out to the bumbling butt of every joke. We see the shortcomings. That is important to be honest. We are not perfect.
What makes the good news so GOOD is that God sees our worst, our warts, AND our gifts, the time we get it right. God sees the moments I lose my temper AND when the moments when my energy is so low but by God's grace I sit down and play a game with my kids rather than zone out watching TV. God sees us as fully formed, because that is the promise of the beginning. We are created in the image of God. Not just a small part of us commonly called a 'soul'. All of us. To be fully formed is the promise we celebrate at baptism. This small child with drips of water running down her forehead is fully claimed, loved and formed to living into God's presence around her and within all of her. Our hands, hearts, heads, feet, voice, our laugh, our off-key, rhythmic challenged way I sway to hymns...all of that God sees as fully formed.
Often what happens for me is I get out of sync and in those moments I am not living into, living out the whole identity God formed and calls me to be. When I start stressing too much about tomorrow rather than trusting that manna (Exodus 16) will be there. When I start over planning for five years down the road rather than noticing God's presence and promise right here and right now. When I start seeing the glass half empty and thinking ONLY I can get it filled again. I am not living into that fully formed promise of God.
I don't think the goal of life is that I get it right all the time. But maybe I can notice when I am relying too much on myself and not enough on the traces of God's grace in my life. Maybe I can help people see the water level in that proverbial glass for what is: not as full as it could be, but full of God's presence and life and love nevertheless. Maybe by leaning into life, I won't stop all my mistakes but see them as part of the profound truth that I am fully formed.
May the truth and promise that you are fully formed lead you to lean into life and notice the graces traces this day.
Blessings
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