November 27, 2008 – 7:19 am
The morning sun is rising over the Neuse. The sky is red and the water reflects the color alongside its normal blue. My family is waking. There are four generations of us gathered to give thanks together this Thanksgiving Day. Sweet potatoes are cooked and ready to be peeled. The coconut cake is ready and pecan pie too. If I were to name my thanksgivings this day, there would not be enough room to list it all in the whole internet! In every person here, in every laugh, in every hug, in every molecule of being, love is here, God is here and my only response is thanksgiving and deep gratitude.
The words of Psalm 100 still echo from last week’s lectio. “Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to God and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations.” That is surely true for the generations gathered under our roof today; God;s blessings abound among us. So let thanksgiving abound from every heart today… with parades and football… and may God be pleased that we stop to remember the Source of all that is good and give thanks and praise! Have a blessed Thanksgiving Day.
November 11, 2008 – 6:47 am
Recent political rhetoric was filled with the word and idea of change. A new president was elected on the hope of change. The concept of change holds hope in the Scriptures too. When Paul writes the Romans he says, “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed…” Being transformed is being changed, and in Scripture the call is to be changed into the likeness, the mind, the image of Christ for the sake of the world. The hope of salvation is offered in this change.
Being like Christ in the world will change the world. Having the mind of kindness, goodness, forgiveness rather than the cultural mind set of fear and suspicion will bring great change everywhere we live it. The way of the world without change is not working in many ways. The earth under our feet is being assaulted as if there are not billions of us who share this home together. The air above our heads is being poluted with unclean toxins that we breathe daily. The animals with whom we share the planet are being crowded out of habitats. Our neighbors are losing homes and jobs, and afraid they will get sick and need medical help for which they cannot pay. Something needs to change.
One of my spiritual giants is Robert Mulholland who uses a few simple questions to measure the change of one’s life that marks transformation. Here are his questions to ask yourself:
- Am I more loving than I was a year ago?
- Am I more forgiving than I was a year ago?
- Am I more patient?
- Am I more kind?
- Do I have more joy?
You get the drift. Change in one’s life is measurable. When we are truly being transformed there is an outward component to the transformation, for as Dr. Mulholland says, ” we are being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.” The outward fruit of the inward change will be justice, love, and all the fruit of the Spirit of God. Our change will matter to the world and to God. From politics to the most personal points of our faith, may we invite and live the change that looks like hope for the world. Amen.
September 30, 2008 – 3:15 pm
Yesterday the ceiling fell. It made a loud crash heard all over the house. It made a mess of my stuff as it crashed and will take some time to clean up. But it’s just a ceiling, plasterboard and joint compound, nothing of eternal consequence, assaulted over time with water from a leak that was unseen and unknown until the ceiling fell. The sun shines and it rains and there are consequences from both. Cause and effect if you will.
Yesterday was, according to the House Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, a “Day of Consequence.” The Stock Market crashed and the reverberation was heard around the world. The fears of the people were measured in the crash of the Stock Market. Worry about security rose in direct proportion to the drop. Thoughts running through our heads: What about my future? My job? My home? What about sending my kids to college? Paying for my end of life care? Just how bad, just how painful is this going to be?
While we do not know the answers, we know the One who holds the answers and is the Answer. Our security rests in God, Creator of Heaven and Earth. Our valued bond is our covenant relationship with the One who says,”I will be your God; you will be my people.” This bond, this security will never fail us. Bonds and Securities of financial systems go haywire, tempered by the whims of human failings as we are now witnessing. So we return to the true Bonds of covenant love as witnessed in Jesus the Christ. We lean into the Security of the One to whom the Psalmist writes:
“I lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence does my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved. Behold, he who keep Israel will neither slumber nor sleep”….. I invite you to read and meditate on Psalm 121. This is a word of promise and hope…. a word you can take to the bank!
As a people of faith we will begin a midday prayer service at Saint Mark’s UMC on Tuesdays in the Sanctuary from 12:15 – 12:45. Tuesdays for Troubled Times will continue throughout the fall. You are invited to come. Blessings, Pastor Lib
September 25, 2008 – 12:58 am
Conversation following Disciple I Class has led me to a few thoughts about the word for the night: Authority. Authority can be experienced as a top down action. We see the face of an authoritative parent, a commanding officer, or a controlling spouse. Such authority holds us by sheer power, or intimidation, or fear. It is rarely life-giving and often resisted.
The authority of Scripture in our lives is a bottoms up authority. The same could be said of the Lordship of Christ in our lives. Such authority is born of trust, faith, hope, love, and obedience, all actions driven by free will, as we rise up to follow. (This is the ascent of the heart.) It is also born in remembering who God is and how God’s steadfast love has never left us. We rise up like yeast bread in a loaf pan… to be conformed to the shape of the pan… shaped in a way that is useful. We follow, like following the lead of a skillful dance partner, trusting that we will be led with joy in the Dance. Claiming such authority and living daily into such authority is life-giving, freeing, and abounding in joy. In it we know the abundance of God’s promise.
Next week the word is: Wonder. Where will that take us? Blessings, all. Lib
September 23, 2008 – 6:40 am
Last week’s Gospel lesson created quite a discussion in my house. The laborerers in the vineyard in Matthew 20 have very different work experiences in the vineyard. Some work all day in the hot sun. Some only work from 5:00 in the afternoon. Yet the landowner pays each laborer, however late they come to the field, a day’s wage and calls it right. Is this justice or perhaps more than justice?
In preaching the text, I remembered a few definitions that had been shared with me by a sage woman in the church. This is what she said:
- Justice is getting what we deserve.
- Mercy is not getting what we deserve.
- Grace is getting what we don’t deserve…. like the blessing received by the laborers who came late to the work.
When I pray for justice, I am praying for an equality of treatment, fairness, even-handedness, righteousness. I also am opening myself up for judgment in those places where I live injustice and unfairness. When I call for justice, I am called to identify with the marginalized and the disenfranchaised of the world. I am called to examine how it is that I live in the world. How do I share what is good?
When I pray for mercy, I pray to be released from the sin of things I have done or left undone. I stand accused, a child who has gone away from the teaching of the parent. I come to the mercy seat in confession and humility with trust that in Christ, I am forgiven and welcomed home.
Praying for grace is praying for that which I do not deserve, life abundant and eternal, release from the burdens of unforgiveness and sin, love, joy, peace. Grace is God’s very nature and God’s ongoing gift to us. It is offered freely and lavishly, running down like oil on the beard of Aaron. The day’s wage, the enoughness of God, is what God wants to give all of us. Leaning into God, unlocking a heart that may be shut up tight, is the inward journey of faith. Lessons like the laborers in the vineyard call us to new ways of understanding the God who loves us and wants all good for us. So let us pray for grace, grace, God’s grace this day and know again the goodness of God. Amen.
September 17, 2008 – 10:06 am
Sunday at Saint Mark’s UMC was a good day. Many hands had prepared wonderful food to share. The depth and breadth of ongoing and emerging ministry were celebrated. Going “live” on the WEB was announced. A newly re-done Youth Grotto was open for tour. Worship and music took us to the mountain top. At the end of the day the Canticle of Evening Prayer came to my heart and mind… “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior. For God has looked with favor upon his lowly servant.” To be part of a place that is rising in renewal and hope is great joy. While there is always work to do, goodness can be celebrated along the way, just as is was today.
Morning Prayer rises in my heart at this early hour on Monday… just as the sun is rising above the horizon. “New every morning is your love, Great God of light, and all day long you are working for GOOD in the world. Stir up in up us a desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbor and all your creation, and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.” Mindful of God’s ongoing blessing in the work of the church, in the hearts of a people, in the life of a community of faith, I give thanks for the good day… the day that was and the day that is. The day that will be is yet a mystery in God’s keeping. But God is with us. And God will lead us to that good place if we will but follow. Thanks be to God!
September 2, 2008 – 6:50 am
Adventure on the high sea began as the boy rowed the small boat about a hundred yards offshore. He threw a small anchor overboard and began to swashbuckle amid swells of a northeasterly wind. Back and forth he walked the boat… shouting to the gulls… swinging arms like a maestro. As he grew in boldness he began to rock the boat to and fro, back and forth. Before long the boat began to fill with water. He could not keep up with the intake. As the boat sank lower and lower into the water, the boy realized that figuratively and literally, he was over his head. “Help,” he cried. “I’m sinking!”
In a flash the boy’s grandaddy pulled the kayak from the beach and paddled out to bring a bucket and a rope to pull the boy in. All is well in the presence of the grandfather as the water is scooped from the boat and the boy is towed safely back home.
Lessons of the day:
- The Spirit of the Prodigal is alive and well. People will take off on high adventure to test themselves, to know independence, to try their hand at conquering the world.
- The boy and the boat were never out of the oversight of the Grandfather. He was watching from the shore, and the boy trusted that he was.
- If we do not ask for help, we will not likely get it. We can sink, or we can call for help. The choice is ours.
- Cause and effect is a natural law. If we tip our boat too far, it will fill with water. Concesquences of bad decisions may not be desired, but cannot be unexpected. Choice is a double edged sword.
In the end we can be assured: remaining under the watchful eye of God… secures us. When we call for help in our distress, God comes to us with a bucket and a tow rope. That is why it is called “Good News.” Thanks be to God!
August 26, 2008 – 9:56 am
The churches of the South are known for insider “lingo.” We know what we say when we say it, and others who may be new in our earshot are left to guess. Teaching the lingo of the church ranks with teaching theology and doctrine that all may participate fully in the grace offered, especially when it comes to the language of the Covered Dish. The Covered Dish… more than a bowl or pot that has a lid… is expanded to mean a gathering with hospitality, fellowship, and food as the central players. The Covered Dish, also known as The Pot Luck, is an event in which church people bring their special “dishes” like unto heavenly manna for the taking and sharing.
Traditionally a groaning table – or perhaps a length of chicken wire stretched between two trees and covered with white butcher paper – is loaded with the bounty of the harvest. The goodness of God’s Providence and Plenty is celebrated with thanksgiving by cookers and eaters alike who keep the event as a opportunity to celebrate in community all that is good.
Menu items of old include: Corn Pudding, Potato Salad, Deviled Eggs, Ham and Fried Chicken, Mac and Cheese, Coconut and Chocolate Cakes and the list goes on. The practice of Radical Hospitality in the covered Dish is that I will cook and bring enough for my family and for a family that might be visiting that they will experience the enoughness and sufficiency of God… like loaves and fishes. I have learned through the years that a plate of cookies does not a Covered Dish make. Meagerness and scarcity do not witness God’s abundance for God is not a puny or paltry God. So when our church calendar says we are having a Covered Dish, let us participate in the abundance of God bringing gifts of food and fellowship to share with others and give witness to the Radical Hospitality of Christ.
August 6, 2008 – 10:19 am
Robert Benson, spiritual guide, author, and personal friend wrote a book aout baseball… “The Game: One Man, Nine Innings, A Love Affair With Baseball.” He loves the game, knows the game, and frequents the game as often as he can. Little league or major league, baseball is a teacher of truth. As an example: Life is often not fair. We can be out before we have a chance to run the bases. Being part of a team takes work and trust. Being part of the game is blessing, even if we are not star players. For some score is everything… for others of us, the smells of leather gloves and mown grass, the sight of flags waving in the breeze and children with sticky cotton candy fingers, the taste of mustard on pretzels and onions on hot dogs, the sounds of bats cracking and people cheering … all bring joy and a reminder of God’s goodness in all things great and small.
This week my family heads for Chicago and a weekend of baseball with the White Sox, whom we hope will all be able to stay in the whole game.. and the Cubbies playing the Cardinals. For my family who also love and appreciate the game this will be a great time of fellowship and fun. So we give thanks for happy hearts as we participate, spectate, and saturate ourelves in the Old Ballgame. In a world where life is increasingly complicated, the ballgame reminds us that we are a people blessed with much goodness in which to dwell, much goodness that we are called to share with a hurting world. May you find in this day a place of joy and goodness and fun. Take in all the ordinary sights and smells and give thanks for a Creator God who loves us enough to invite us into the Game. Blessings all! Pastor Lib
