This was written several years ago as a reflection on Matthew's telling of the birth of Jesus (1:18-25). I've always been struck by the nature of Joseph's struggles, finding in them many analogies to our own...and finding in his response a good model for our response to God. Herewith, a bit of poetry...and wishes for a very merry Christmas.
'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the place
every person was caught in the holiday race;
The stockings weren't hung; they'd not even been found;
and the cards were not sent, and nowhere around
were the cookies that should have been all baked and ready;
nor the ornaments made, nor the dinner plans steady.
And I with a sigh and Mama with a yawn
wondered how we would finish before Christmas dawn.
There we sat, not so nice, on the living room couch;
one tired and sad, and the other a grouch.
Perhaps we were snoozing; I don't really know,
but something or someone had startled us so
that we sprang to our feet to see what was the matter
while our hearts raced ahead of their usual patter.
When what to our wondering eyes should appear
but a village alive 'neath a night starry clear.
"Come this way," a voice seemed to lead us along
through a close, winding street towards the sound of a song.
There were people all over, crushed shoulder to shoulder,
and to stay with our guide we pushed on a bit bolder
until we were standing in front of a door
that was open, revealing a bare, earthen floor
and a rude, little room set with a straw and a trough
and a trio of doves cooing down from a loft.
"More water!" another voice hurried on by;
then a shout, "He is here!" and a woman's sharp cry.
And the song was replaced by a baby's first squall,
and a poor woman's tears from her nest in the stall.
"He is beautiful!" now a man softly exclaimed,
and his voice starting humming the song once again.
And taking his shawl, then the baby was clothed
in the prayers of his father and the love of all those
who had gathered to marvel at this long-waited birth
of a child and a promise and a hope for the earth.
"Yeshua is his name," soft the voice of his mother;
"God will save" was the murmur from one to another;
And the crowd backed away, and the babe fell asleep,
and the man looked to heaven and started to weep.
"Forgive me for doubting" he pled to the sky,
"all the words of the prophets from days long gone by
that you'd never abandon your creatures below."
And again came his song in a voice rich and low:
a simple refrain as his lullaby swelled,
"I love you, my child, my Emmanuel."
And then the dream vanished as quickly it came;
and we wakened to find most our things much the same.
Still the presents and parties and jobs to be done,
still the days over full and the work under fun.
But yet, in another way, subtle and true
this frantic-paced waiting is changed and made new;
Priorities shifted, and new questions raised:
Just what does it mean when the Lord of all Days
comes to live 'mongst his people and take as his own
their sins to be healed, and their hearts as his throne?
While the motive behind all our busy-ness is
to do just what is right; still the holiday's His.
All our gifts and our getting can never compare
to the gift of the child and the life that is there.
So I think of the song; may it fit to my voice!
May there be no temptation, no darkness, no choice
that would keep my own life from attesting it well:
"I love you, my child, my Emmanuel."
24 December 2007
17 December 2007
The way home...
There's a moment in the movie "Apollo 13" when Commander Jim Lovell (played by Tom Hanks) describes a harrowing experience during a mission over Korea. It's night and he's running low on fuel when something malfunctions...knocking out all his cockpit electronics. No radio, no lights, no gauges...nothing to help him find the aircraft carrier on which he is to land. This premier piece of aviation technology might as well be a rock since, when he runs out of fuel, thats precisely what it will fall like into the sea.
He prays for a way home and then looks out the cockpit window to the water below. There he sees a green bio-luminescent stream. It's algae...a simple sea-borne plant...that's been stirred up by the propellar of a large ship. He follows it straight to his carrier and a safe landing.
Relocated by their Babylonian captors, a disheartened group of exiles are afraid that they will never see their home, Jerusalem, again. But Isaiah (chapter 35) brings them the promise of a way...a Holy Way across the desert and back to Zion...which God will prepare for them. It's not something they can do on their own. But God who is faithful has not forgotten them, and will lead them by a way so clear and direct that even the most foolish can't mess it up.
What Isaiah foretells comes to pass. Judah does return to Zion in rejoicing. But Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in still another way...by the advent of God's Messiah...one who doesn't just show the way, but who...by his saving death and resurrection...is the Way.
That's good news in an age which trusts its own technology too much and then despairs the disappointments too deeply. Remember: when the night is dark, when the road is long, when your own efforts have failed, God in Christ is faithful still. By means of humility, self-sacrifice and steadfast love, God gathers us to himself. The way home is there for us and will not fail.
He prays for a way home and then looks out the cockpit window to the water below. There he sees a green bio-luminescent stream. It's algae...a simple sea-borne plant...that's been stirred up by the propellar of a large ship. He follows it straight to his carrier and a safe landing.
Relocated by their Babylonian captors, a disheartened group of exiles are afraid that they will never see their home, Jerusalem, again. But Isaiah (chapter 35) brings them the promise of a way...a Holy Way across the desert and back to Zion...which God will prepare for them. It's not something they can do on their own. But God who is faithful has not forgotten them, and will lead them by a way so clear and direct that even the most foolish can't mess it up.
What Isaiah foretells comes to pass. Judah does return to Zion in rejoicing. But Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in still another way...by the advent of God's Messiah...one who doesn't just show the way, but who...by his saving death and resurrection...is the Way.
That's good news in an age which trusts its own technology too much and then despairs the disappointments too deeply. Remember: when the night is dark, when the road is long, when your own efforts have failed, God in Christ is faithful still. By means of humility, self-sacrifice and steadfast love, God gathers us to himself. The way home is there for us and will not fail.
04 December 2007
All I Want for Christmas...
...is my two front teeth. It's a silly old song, but a seasonal classic. I've already heard it twice this year on the "all-Christmas-music, all-the-time-until-you-run-screaming-from-the-room" radio channel. And that's about enough for me.
But it raises an interesting question. How much does what we want shape our behaviors and our attitudes? If we want new teeth, we daydream about what we'll do with them (including wishing you a Merry Christmas). If we're fixated on that new Wii, we're likely to notice how our old Playstation 2 just doesn't cut it anymore. If we're hoping that Santa will drop a new Lexus in our driveway, it's likely that our palms get sweaty when we see one on the street...and that we begin to really notice all the little things wrong with our current jalopy. You get the idea.
Christians aren't exempt from wanting these things (or a myriad of other necessities and toys). But we also want something else, yes? We await the coming kingdom of God...a reign of peace, wholeness, justice and dignity where God's values finally supplant our own. And in our waiting...our wanting...our anticipation for this grand future...how is the present time of life changed? It's worthy considering: What behaviors and attitudes in our lives reflect the already but not yet nature of the rule of God in our lives?
But it raises an interesting question. How much does what we want shape our behaviors and our attitudes? If we want new teeth, we daydream about what we'll do with them (including wishing you a Merry Christmas). If we're fixated on that new Wii, we're likely to notice how our old Playstation 2 just doesn't cut it anymore. If we're hoping that Santa will drop a new Lexus in our driveway, it's likely that our palms get sweaty when we see one on the street...and that we begin to really notice all the little things wrong with our current jalopy. You get the idea.
Christians aren't exempt from wanting these things (or a myriad of other necessities and toys). But we also want something else, yes? We await the coming kingdom of God...a reign of peace, wholeness, justice and dignity where God's values finally supplant our own. And in our waiting...our wanting...our anticipation for this grand future...how is the present time of life changed? It's worthy considering: What behaviors and attitudes in our lives reflect the already but not yet nature of the rule of God in our lives?
26 November 2007
Black Friday...
Perhaps you were one of the millions of folks who swarmed into stores last Friday at 4:00am to kick off the holiday shopping season. I personally don't understand the attraction. But then, I wouldn't jump out of an airplane or wrestle alligators either. I suppose everyone has their own sense of adventure.
What intrigues me is the name that the retailers have given their big day...Black Friday. For those in my generation and older, the word black (apart from its racial implications) is usually associated with the negative or empty or disappointing. "Black Friday" hardly means that for retailers who (some of them at least) count on that day and the season to follow to make their entire sales year. It's just that the name seems weird.
Then again...we Christians celebrate a Friday, too. We call it "Good." At first glance, it's the most terrible day we could possibly imagine. But it turns out that what happens on that day and on the brief three-day season to follow makes our entire year, too...indeed, our entire life.
Black Friday. Good Friday. Funny names. But I guess it makes sense after all.
19 November 2007
Jesus the Turkey?
I'm scheduled to be the preacher at this week's Community Thanksgiving service (Wednesday at
So here's a first thought...a question, actually? That turkey which you will enjoy on Thursday at Grandma's house...what did he ever do to you? And yet we will jump in, carve him up and eat him until we are somewhere well past full.
The turkey...an innocent victim of our hungers. The turkey...a Christ figure? Maybe. Guess it all depends on what we do afterwards. Fall asleep in the Lazy-Boy with our pants undone...or discover that we've been fed so that we can feed...so that we can witness to the providence of God.
We'll see where this analogy goes by Wednesday evening.
05 November 2007
Praying with the Saints...
We paused and prayed in the chapel beneath the old basilica at Assisi, Italy. There above the altar are the remains of the blessed St. Francis. My Roman Catholic colleagues described that experience as an opportunity to pray to St. Francis for the sake of the world. And they were deeply gratified by the experience. Probably because I'm Lutheran, I found myself praying with St. Francis...also for the sake of the world and for the peace for which he so famously prayed.
Praying to? Praying with? Is there a difference? I think so. And it may be a difference worthy of more theological reflection than a brief blog entry can accommodate. But in the meantime, allow me to suggest...
Francis and all of God's holy ones...those gone before us, those with whom we now share the earthly church, and those whose days in this sphere are yet to come...are one in the mystical body of Christ. We cannot perceive it completely because we are bound by the mortal constraints of space and time. God...our God of the living...is not so bound. So His holy ones are there with us at the font, around the table, and in the community's life of prayer, worship and praise. They are our sisters and brothers...our friends in the faith. And in the same way we would ask a friend in this life to pray with us or for us, might we not also ask the saints of every time and place that their prayers would be joined with ours and ours with theirs?
Often afraid of being "too Catholic," we Lutherans have avoided the saints. It occurs to me that we have done so to our own detriment. In our worship, in our understanding of the depth and breadth of Christian experience, we would do well to remember the saints...and to join our prayer to theirs.
Praying to? Praying with? Is there a difference? I think so. And it may be a difference worthy of more theological reflection than a brief blog entry can accommodate. But in the meantime, allow me to suggest...
Francis and all of God's holy ones...those gone before us, those with whom we now share the earthly church, and those whose days in this sphere are yet to come...are one in the mystical body of Christ. We cannot perceive it completely because we are bound by the mortal constraints of space and time. God...our God of the living...is not so bound. So His holy ones are there with us at the font, around the table, and in the community's life of prayer, worship and praise. They are our sisters and brothers...our friends in the faith. And in the same way we would ask a friend in this life to pray with us or for us, might we not also ask the saints of every time and place that their prayers would be joined with ours and ours with theirs?
Often afraid of being "too Catholic," we Lutherans have avoided the saints. It occurs to me that we have done so to our own detriment. In our worship, in our understanding of the depth and breadth of Christian experience, we would do well to remember the saints...and to join our prayer to theirs.
08 October 2007
Faith for the day...
Some days it's easy to identify with the prophet Habakkuk...and this is one of those days. A big part of the reason is admittedly self-inflicted. I stayed up way too late last night watching the Bears/Packers game...and I'm always grumpier when I don't get my beauty rest. But another part is something all of us suffer from time to time...that nagging doubt that the bad guys (by our definition, of course) are getting all the breaks while the good guys (who usually look remarkably like us) are taking all the lumps. Do you ever feel that way?
Small comfort, perhaps...but comfort nonetheless: We're not the only ones who've ever dealt with this dilemma. Hence the reference to the prophet Habakkuk. He's preaching at a time when Jerusalem is circling the drain...going down fast. And he's complaining to God about just this same thing. The good guys seem to be fodder only for the advancement of the bad guys. So...what's the deal, God?
God's response takes the form of both promise and challenge. First, it's pretty clear that God understands the situation precisely (just in case you had doubts about that). Second, God reminds Habakkuk that the end result of all this human upheavel is safely in God's own hands...not the prophet's. And fnally, God reminds Habakkuk (and us) that there is a mode of living that steers us safely through these doubts and frustrations. It's called "faith." And it's precisely how the people of God confront the world around them.
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." That's Hebrews 11:1. (I can heartily recommend the whole book.) It's a potent reminder for crabby days like today that our lives our held safe by a strength greater than our own. It's also a call to live in trust and obedience to God despite the choices that others make for their lives. It doesn't mean that there won't be conflict. Both Habakkuk and the writer of Hebrews will attest to that. But it does mean that we can live thankful, faithful lives in the midst of whatever upsets and disappointments come our way.
Faith is the God-given gift that makes such living possible. May it be the power that strengthens your journey this day...and in the days ahead.
Small comfort, perhaps...but comfort nonetheless: We're not the only ones who've ever dealt with this dilemma. Hence the reference to the prophet Habakkuk. He's preaching at a time when Jerusalem is circling the drain...going down fast. And he's complaining to God about just this same thing. The good guys seem to be fodder only for the advancement of the bad guys. So...what's the deal, God?
God's response takes the form of both promise and challenge. First, it's pretty clear that God understands the situation precisely (just in case you had doubts about that). Second, God reminds Habakkuk that the end result of all this human upheavel is safely in God's own hands...not the prophet's. And fnally, God reminds Habakkuk (and us) that there is a mode of living that steers us safely through these doubts and frustrations. It's called "faith." And it's precisely how the people of God confront the world around them.
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." That's Hebrews 11:1. (I can heartily recommend the whole book.) It's a potent reminder for crabby days like today that our lives our held safe by a strength greater than our own. It's also a call to live in trust and obedience to God despite the choices that others make for their lives. It doesn't mean that there won't be conflict. Both Habakkuk and the writer of Hebrews will attest to that. But it does mean that we can live thankful, faithful lives in the midst of whatever upsets and disappointments come our way.
Faith is the God-given gift that makes such living possible. May it be the power that strengthens your journey this day...and in the days ahead.
02 October 2007
Missing body parts...
Sounds like something out of a scary movie, doesn't it? But in fact, it happens in churches all around the country every Sunday morning. Some of the body shows up...most of the body doesn't.
Confused? Check out 1 Corinthians 12. Paul writes rather convincingly to the rascals in Corinth about the Church as the body of Christ. Christ is the head; we are the members; together in the Spirit, we carry out the Father's mission of reconciliation and love for the world. (That's the Reader's Digest Condensed version. I'll trust you to read the whole thing on your own.)
Here at Grace, about 44% of our members are in weekly worship. More than half of the body is missing. And we're actually in much better shape than most places. I read somewhere recently that the average for congregations around the country is between 25-30% of the membership in weekly worship. Yikes! Can you imagine what it must be like to run without a leg or eat without a mouth or see without eyes or keep your innards from spilling out without enough skin? You might be able to do it...but not without some major reconstructive surgery or a lot of artificial help.
"But, pastor" you protest. "I'm just a little toe. How can it matter if I'm not around?"
Make no mistake. When the body is incomplete, it limps. Of course, God can still use limping bodies. Indeed, God's been doing just that since Eve invited Adam to try a bite of apple. But imagine how much more effectively God would be able to use the body that's whole and healthy...
Confused? Check out 1 Corinthians 12. Paul writes rather convincingly to the rascals in Corinth about the Church as the body of Christ. Christ is the head; we are the members; together in the Spirit, we carry out the Father's mission of reconciliation and love for the world. (That's the Reader's Digest Condensed version. I'll trust you to read the whole thing on your own.)
Here at Grace, about 44% of our members are in weekly worship. More than half of the body is missing. And we're actually in much better shape than most places. I read somewhere recently that the average for congregations around the country is between 25-30% of the membership in weekly worship. Yikes! Can you imagine what it must be like to run without a leg or eat without a mouth or see without eyes or keep your innards from spilling out without enough skin? You might be able to do it...but not without some major reconstructive surgery or a lot of artificial help.
"But, pastor" you protest. "I'm just a little toe. How can it matter if I'm not around?"
Make no mistake. When the body is incomplete, it limps. Of course, God can still use limping bodies. Indeed, God's been doing just that since Eve invited Adam to try a bite of apple. But imagine how much more effectively God would be able to use the body that's whole and healthy...
24 September 2007
Just too dense...
That's the way I feel this morning. Socked in...the nose and sinuses clogged with a nasty cold. It's hard to breathe...to get enough oxygen to keep the system running. The result is a tired, cranky, thick-headed, slow-brained guy staring at a computer screen. Not a pretty sight!
But it did make me wonder if there's an analogy here. My head is so full of guck that I can't get the oxygen I need to keep my body running right. Sometimes, we get so distracted by all the temptations of the world...so full of the guck around us...that it's hard for us to get the Good News we need to keep our souls running right.
Thanks be to God: there is a fix for this...something (or rather someone) who can make us whole and give us our breath back. That one is Jesus, whose love for us couldn't be stopped even by a cross, and whose resurrection points the way towards our own life with God. And the best part is that you don't have to go to Rite-Aid to pick him up. He's already present with you...ready to hear your prayers and guide your heart back towards wholeness and real health.
Why stay dense when you don't need to?
But it did make me wonder if there's an analogy here. My head is so full of guck that I can't get the oxygen I need to keep my body running right. Sometimes, we get so distracted by all the temptations of the world...so full of the guck around us...that it's hard for us to get the Good News we need to keep our souls running right.
Thanks be to God: there is a fix for this...something (or rather someone) who can make us whole and give us our breath back. That one is Jesus, whose love for us couldn't be stopped even by a cross, and whose resurrection points the way towards our own life with God. And the best part is that you don't have to go to Rite-Aid to pick him up. He's already present with you...ready to hear your prayers and guide your heart back towards wholeness and real health.
Why stay dense when you don't need to?
17 September 2007
I believe...
There's a T-shirt I've seen that says: "Everyone believes in something." Then in smaller print below: "I believe I'll have another cookie." Good for a chuckle...but loaded with truth.
Take, for instance, the first line. Although I doubt the writer had Fr. Martin in mind, it's vintage Luther...reminding us that everyone believes in some thing or some one. Everyone has a god or gods...that force, concept or reality in which they trust. Even atheists have gods. (If you trust yourself above all else, then you are your own god...as disturbing as that might be!) So the T-shirt speaks the truth: everyone believes in something.
The second sentence also has something interesting to teach, i.e. that belief is always connected to action. To believe something implies more than just intellectual assent. To believe something requires that we act accordingly...that our lives reflect in some measure the grounding principals that we claim.
That's where things get sticky for a lot of Christian "believers." Our words may be right, but our actions often tell a different tale. The priorities reflected in our daily choices don't always match our stated intentions. Folks who are not Christian notice these things, and quite rightfully point out the hypocrisy of our lives.
It's an old, old problem, of course...goes all the way back to a man, a woman, a serpent and an apple. Ever since that fateful day in Paradise, we've been trying to reconcile belief in God with what we'd like to do on our own. Some days we shine. Most days we fail. At best, our performance is uneven. And if that were the end of the story, we'd surely be in sorry shape. There are few options for us when our cookies (or our false gods) crumble. Take your pick: denial or despair.
Christians profess, however, that there is some one beyond us...one who has made the decision to forgive and redeem us...one who remains faithful as our God even when we're off chasing our own tails. That one is Christ Jesus whose death put an end to our shame and whose resurrection opens a new life of opportunity. We don't need to live as though there were no God or, worse yet, as though we were gods. We are set free to believe and live with Christ as God, with mercy as motivation, and with hope as our way forward.
A bit of T-shrit wisdom: Everyone believes in something. I believe I'll give today another chance under the lordship of Christ. And when I do, how will my choices, my priorities, my values be different?
Take, for instance, the first line. Although I doubt the writer had Fr. Martin in mind, it's vintage Luther...reminding us that everyone believes in some thing or some one. Everyone has a god or gods...that force, concept or reality in which they trust. Even atheists have gods. (If you trust yourself above all else, then you are your own god...as disturbing as that might be!) So the T-shirt speaks the truth: everyone believes in something.
The second sentence also has something interesting to teach, i.e. that belief is always connected to action. To believe something implies more than just intellectual assent. To believe something requires that we act accordingly...that our lives reflect in some measure the grounding principals that we claim.
That's where things get sticky for a lot of Christian "believers." Our words may be right, but our actions often tell a different tale. The priorities reflected in our daily choices don't always match our stated intentions. Folks who are not Christian notice these things, and quite rightfully point out the hypocrisy of our lives.
It's an old, old problem, of course...goes all the way back to a man, a woman, a serpent and an apple. Ever since that fateful day in Paradise, we've been trying to reconcile belief in God with what we'd like to do on our own. Some days we shine. Most days we fail. At best, our performance is uneven. And if that were the end of the story, we'd surely be in sorry shape. There are few options for us when our cookies (or our false gods) crumble. Take your pick: denial or despair.
Christians profess, however, that there is some one beyond us...one who has made the decision to forgive and redeem us...one who remains faithful as our God even when we're off chasing our own tails. That one is Christ Jesus whose death put an end to our shame and whose resurrection opens a new life of opportunity. We don't need to live as though there were no God or, worse yet, as though we were gods. We are set free to believe and live with Christ as God, with mercy as motivation, and with hope as our way forward.
A bit of T-shrit wisdom: Everyone believes in something. I believe I'll give today another chance under the lordship of Christ. And when I do, how will my choices, my priorities, my values be different?
05 September 2007
Back Again...
Well...the suitcase is unpacked. Shirts and shoes, books and files are once again in their respective places. But the mental, emotional, theological and spiritual unpacking after sabbatical is still very much underway. I'm back...but still not exactly sure what that will mean for ministry here at Grace. I suppose that together, as pastor and parish, we'll continue that unpacking process for some time to come.
In the meantime: it is good to be home. I've missed the people here. I've missed the sense of place here. I've missed the privilege of sharing the word and the meal around a familiar table. Sunday is coming...and I can't wait.
See you then.
In the meantime: it is good to be home. I've missed the people here. I've missed the sense of place here. I've missed the privilege of sharing the word and the meal around a familiar table. Sunday is coming...and I can't wait.
See you then.
30 April 2007
Hearing the voice...
"My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me."
I've noticed that the older I get, the less tolerant I am of noisy things, people and places. (Hell is probably a Chucky Cheese restaurant with eight birthday parties going on at once. I shudder at the thought.) Sure...part of that is just getting older (I'm slowly and somewhat proudly moving towards curmudgeon status) and the deterioration of my hearing (too much rock-n-roll as a crazy youth). My grandpa and my dad both struggled with the same thing as they got older and their hearing got worse. I'm just next in line.
And yet, it's not just a "guy thing" or a "getting older" thing. The world around us is, indeed, getting noisier all the time. There are so many voices...so many inducements...so many offers and ideas and temptations floated our way every day...all demanding our time, our attention, our investment of self and resources and loyalty.
How does one decide what to listen to? How do we determine those voices that are good and genuine and life-giving? How do we learn to listen?
It's not easy. But it occurs to me that a part of what we do in worship each week and in our own daily prayers is just that...we learn to listen for God. Not just to pile up before God our needs and fears and demands, but to open our hearts and minds and wills to the guidance and direction of the One who has promised to be Good Shepherd for us.
I had the opportunity a couple weeks ago to spend some time practicing and learning more about centering prayer...an ancient practice of holy listening that helps us focus on the speaking of God to us. I think we need to do a workshop or retreat around this idea here at Grace (watch for info on that).
In the meantime, I'd like to encourage you to take time...quiet time...focused time...even just a few minutes a day, if that's all you've got. Think about a favorite Bible verse or hymn text or prayer. And then listen...not to the clamor of the kids or the TV or the iPod or the "Whack-a-Mole" game going on in the next room...but for the voice of the Shepherd. He already knows you. He's already expecting you. And indeed, He has promised to find you as you seek Him...even amidst the noise of life.
I've noticed that the older I get, the less tolerant I am of noisy things, people and places. (Hell is probably a Chucky Cheese restaurant with eight birthday parties going on at once. I shudder at the thought.) Sure...part of that is just getting older (I'm slowly and somewhat proudly moving towards curmudgeon status) and the deterioration of my hearing (too much rock-n-roll as a crazy youth). My grandpa and my dad both struggled with the same thing as they got older and their hearing got worse. I'm just next in line.
And yet, it's not just a "guy thing" or a "getting older" thing. The world around us is, indeed, getting noisier all the time. There are so many voices...so many inducements...so many offers and ideas and temptations floated our way every day...all demanding our time, our attention, our investment of self and resources and loyalty.
How does one decide what to listen to? How do we determine those voices that are good and genuine and life-giving? How do we learn to listen?
It's not easy. But it occurs to me that a part of what we do in worship each week and in our own daily prayers is just that...we learn to listen for God. Not just to pile up before God our needs and fears and demands, but to open our hearts and minds and wills to the guidance and direction of the One who has promised to be Good Shepherd for us.
I had the opportunity a couple weeks ago to spend some time practicing and learning more about centering prayer...an ancient practice of holy listening that helps us focus on the speaking of God to us. I think we need to do a workshop or retreat around this idea here at Grace (watch for info on that).
In the meantime, I'd like to encourage you to take time...quiet time...focused time...even just a few minutes a day, if that's all you've got. Think about a favorite Bible verse or hymn text or prayer. And then listen...not to the clamor of the kids or the TV or the iPod or the "Whack-a-Mole" game going on in the next room...but for the voice of the Shepherd. He already knows you. He's already expecting you. And indeed, He has promised to find you as you seek Him...even amidst the noise of life.
07 March 2007
05 March 2007
Reading a truly good blog...
On those days (like today) when I don't have anything earth-shattering to share, might I suggest you surf on over to First Things (www.firstthings.com). And while you're there, sign up for the RSS feed so that you'll get the daily postings from their blog. Always excellent, challenging stuff. Enjoy!
20 February 2007
Fat Tuesday...
Pancakes and sausage for dinner. Red wine later as I while away my time and dull my brain cells watching "Boston Legal." Maybe I can even find a leftover pascki to stuff in before bedtime. Ah...the delicious decadence of the night before the fast.
May your Mardi Gras be gras indeed. And may you wake up tomorrow ready to wear your repentance faithfully.
May your Mardi Gras be gras indeed. And may you wake up tomorrow ready to wear your repentance faithfully.
14 February 2007
An unexpected gift...
There's enough snow on the ground to blow into the top of your jeans. The roads are a mess (though getting better); schools are cancelled; businesses are closed; and the manufactured anxiety flowing out of the TV reporters would have you believe that we're all going to be consumed by the raging winter beasty at any moment.
Granted, there are some legitimate problems. If your car's in a ditch or your furnace has gone out, you've got issues. But is it just possible that we might be missing something here? Could it be that winter storms are a gift...an opportunity to take a little break and to simply watch the snowfall?
Last night, the Mrs. and I didn't have to...couldn't actually...go anywhere. Her office closed early. Meetings at the church were cancelled. So we did something daring. We had dinner together...a nice, quiet, conversation-filled dinner. We shared a bottle of wine. We watched Law & Order re-runs until the cable gave out and we got tired. What a lovely evening. What an unexpected gift in the midst of what is usually a very busy time of year.
Excuse me while I go pray for more snow.
Granted, there are some legitimate problems. If your car's in a ditch or your furnace has gone out, you've got issues. But is it just possible that we might be missing something here? Could it be that winter storms are a gift...an opportunity to take a little break and to simply watch the snowfall?
Last night, the Mrs. and I didn't have to...couldn't actually...go anywhere. Her office closed early. Meetings at the church were cancelled. So we did something daring. We had dinner together...a nice, quiet, conversation-filled dinner. We shared a bottle of wine. We watched Law & Order re-runs until the cable gave out and we got tired. What a lovely evening. What an unexpected gift in the midst of what is usually a very busy time of year.
Excuse me while I go pray for more snow.
06 February 2007
Channeling Grandma...
This morning, the Mrs. and I talked to our youngest face to face...even though he's in Germany. Thank you, Skype. Later this morning, the youngest and I IM'd for a few minutes while I was updating the church's website. Just after that, I spoke to elder son on his cell phone while he's pulling up stuff on his computer about a database/search program that I had entered about two minutes prior, and telling me about his new VISTA-running, 1024M, 120Gig, 6-cell, 15.4 TGVA computer. (Does that thing have four on the floor and a hemi?)
And in the back of my head the whole time, I'm hearing Grandma Piehl telling us how she walked to the one-room schoolhouse more than a mile, even in the winter with snow up over your knees. They carried a baked potato in the pockets to keep their hands warm and to have something for lunch. On the way home this time of year, your hands just got cold.
I know: the mere act of channeling Grandma is testimony to the advancing years. But I'm amazed at some of the things we're able to do now. She'd be absolutely flabbergasted.
And in the back of my head the whole time, I'm hearing Grandma Piehl telling us how she walked to the one-room schoolhouse more than a mile, even in the winter with snow up over your knees. They carried a baked potato in the pockets to keep their hands warm and to have something for lunch. On the way home this time of year, your hands just got cold.
I know: the mere act of channeling Grandma is testimony to the advancing years. But I'm amazed at some of the things we're able to do now. She'd be absolutely flabbergasted.
01 February 2007
Just for fun...
This is for my friends on the political right. (Lefties, you'll be offended...so just don't go there.)
Check out Kitty Myers' blog (http://myerskatt.blogspot.com) for the Hillary Clinton poetry slam. I couldn't resist contributing something myself. Bring a hymnal.
Check out Kitty Myers' blog (http://myerskatt.blogspot.com) for the Hillary Clinton poetry slam. I couldn't resist contributing something myself. Bring a hymnal.
29 January 2007
"When a penny in the coffer rings..."
You have got to check this out.
I decided (after listening to all the hoo-hah about global warming) to try and figure out what my "carbon footprint" was. What could it hurt to determine my personal responsibility for the planet's slow drift into the grave? So I googled up some sites that might help me calculate my culpability and ended up at a place labeled www.conservation.org.
Once on the site, I was invited to join the Dixie Chicks and Pearl Jam in their fight to save the planet, and then was led through a series of questions about my housing situation, automobile usage, etc. Apparently, I am personally dumping 18.5 tons of bad carbon into the air every year. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.
Here's the kicker. At the end, was a little "invitation" from the site's sponsors: I can send them money to offset my environmental debt. The good people at conservation.org assure me that a donation of $185 will eradicate the effects of the carbon that I produce each year. Such a deal!
But wait just a minute. That sounds vaguely familiar.
Of course! 490 years ago, Pope Leo wanted to build a new church in Rome. So he sent preacher/salesmen into the German territories with a deal for the peasants: give us money and we'll give you a plenary indulgence...the entire forgiveness of all your sins (or the sins of a loved one already suffering in purgatory). They even had a catchy slogan: "When a penny in the coffer rings, another soul to heaven springs."
Times change. Back in the early 16th century, people were terrified at the prospect of spending eternity in hell. Here in the 21st century, people are terrified at the prospect of being blamed for hell on earth. Isn't it interesting that the solution to the problem doesn't seem to have changed at all. Apparently, you can still buy forgiveness.
Yikes!
I decided (after listening to all the hoo-hah about global warming) to try and figure out what my "carbon footprint" was. What could it hurt to determine my personal responsibility for the planet's slow drift into the grave? So I googled up some sites that might help me calculate my culpability and ended up at a place labeled www.conservation.org.
Once on the site, I was invited to join the Dixie Chicks and Pearl Jam in their fight to save the planet, and then was led through a series of questions about my housing situation, automobile usage, etc. Apparently, I am personally dumping 18.5 tons of bad carbon into the air every year. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.
Here's the kicker. At the end, was a little "invitation" from the site's sponsors: I can send them money to offset my environmental debt. The good people at conservation.org assure me that a donation of $185 will eradicate the effects of the carbon that I produce each year. Such a deal!
But wait just a minute. That sounds vaguely familiar.
Of course! 490 years ago, Pope Leo wanted to build a new church in Rome. So he sent preacher/salesmen into the German territories with a deal for the peasants: give us money and we'll give you a plenary indulgence...the entire forgiveness of all your sins (or the sins of a loved one already suffering in purgatory). They even had a catchy slogan: "When a penny in the coffer rings, another soul to heaven springs."
Times change. Back in the early 16th century, people were terrified at the prospect of spending eternity in hell. Here in the 21st century, people are terrified at the prospect of being blamed for hell on earth. Isn't it interesting that the solution to the problem doesn't seem to have changed at all. Apparently, you can still buy forgiveness.
Yikes!
23 January 2007
Finally...
At long last, we have snow on the ground. And it's cold...supposed to get down into the teens tonight.
I know it's not a popular idea, but I love this time of year and this kind of weather. I'm not sure why. Maybe I didn't get my share of snow angels and snowball fights as a kid, although I seem to remember enjoying plenty of those. Maybe it's because I've been blessed to have always had enough food and a warm place to live so that I haven't had to face the cold like some folks do. Or maybe my medication just needs adjusted again. Who knows?
For those of you living in (or fleeing to) warmer climates: you're missing out on a beautiful thing. I just wish my knees still worked so we could go skiing.
I know it's not a popular idea, but I love this time of year and this kind of weather. I'm not sure why. Maybe I didn't get my share of snow angels and snowball fights as a kid, although I seem to remember enjoying plenty of those. Maybe it's because I've been blessed to have always had enough food and a warm place to live so that I haven't had to face the cold like some folks do. Or maybe my medication just needs adjusted again. Who knows?
For those of you living in (or fleeing to) warmer climates: you're missing out on a beautiful thing. I just wish my knees still worked so we could go skiing.
20 January 2007
Resolution...
At the beginning of the year, I had privately resolved to do a better job of keeping up with my blog. Now that it's the 20th of the month, I finally got around to it...and have discovered that I don't have much to say.
Lord, what a mess. Commitment with no urgency. Energy for the task, but not the eloquence to pull it off. More and more each day, I come to appreciate what Luther is after when he labels human beings "simul justus et peccator." It's not just a theological statement; it is true, practical and insightful anthropology. We are divided creatures whose intentions and actions rarely correspond with one another. (And sometimes, that's a good thing.)
"Wretched man that I am! Who can rescue me from this body of death?" See Romans 7:25 for the answer to that one.
Lord, what a mess. Commitment with no urgency. Energy for the task, but not the eloquence to pull it off. More and more each day, I come to appreciate what Luther is after when he labels human beings "simul justus et peccator." It's not just a theological statement; it is true, practical and insightful anthropology. We are divided creatures whose intentions and actions rarely correspond with one another. (And sometimes, that's a good thing.)
"Wretched man that I am! Who can rescue me from this body of death?" See Romans 7:25 for the answer to that one.
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