Monday, December 31, 2007

Resolutions

Much attention is given today to New Year’s resolutions. Losing weight and exercising more usually lead the list for many of us, especially after the gluttony of the holiday season. With the arrival of credit card bills and tax forms, the call for better financial management is heard by others. Recently, I read that nearly half of the adults in this country make resolutions and 25 percent of people break them in the first week. Six months later the majority of those making resolutions have broken them. However, according to several sources, making resolutions is useful. Those who do so are more likely to modify their behavior than those who don’t set specific goals. Of course, many fail a number of times before success.

So, one more time, I have been giving thought to those things that need to be my resolutions for the coming year. John Wesley’s Covenant Service begins with these words of invitation: “Commit yourselves to Christ as his servants.” With this in mind, I remember these words of Howard Thurman:

When the song of the angels is still,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost.
To heal the broken.
To feed the hungry.
To release the prisoner.
To rebuild the nations.
To bring peace among brothers (and sisters).
To make music in the heart.

It is the acts of compassion and mercy that define our servanthood and fulfill resolutions that make a real difference not only in our lives, but in the lives of others. Blessed are those who live in the Word.

Happy New Year!

P.S. Thanks for your responses to this blog. It has become an important discipline as I try to connect my faith to the world around me.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Dorothy


Our grandaughter, Annaka, is with her other grandparents for a few days in Sumter where Santa seems to have come early. In recent months, Annaka has become a big Wizard of Oz fan and is especially captiviated by Dorothy. Grandma Ruth created this wonderful dress to help a little girl live a fantasy. I can almost feel the excitement and hear the singing. Wouldn't it be wonderful for all children to know such joy?

Saturday, December 22, 2007

BOOM!



I recently listened to the audio version of Boom!, Tom Brokaw’s latest book, during my everyday driving. Therefore, I heard only short portions of it at a time which means I could ponder about what this bit of our national history (1963-1974) has meant to me. Like Brokaw I straddle two generations. I am shaped by the 1950s, but definitely defined by the 60s. The pivotal year during this time frame was 1968 - LBJ, RFK, MLK - and the 40th anniversary of it is being observed by the public media in a variety of ways. (Ex. Newsweek – November 19, 2007) So it was with personal interest I listened to Brokaw’s stories of both famous people and ordinary citizens in what he defines as a virtual reunion. He readily admits that the aftershocks of the 60s are not fully understood and that the verdict cannot yet be rendered about the effects of this time on our culture. However, the challenges and changes within this controversial era resound in our lives today and perhaps there are lessons that might guide us in the years ahead.

Boom! One minute it was Ike and the man in the grey flannel suit, and the next minute it was time to “turn on, tune in, drop out.” While Americans were walking on the moon, Americans were dying in Vietnam. Race, war, politics, feminism, popular culture, and music are all explored. Tom Brokaw analyzes how this formative decade has led to a recalibrated perspective–on business, the environment, politics, family, and our national existence.

In reflection, I understand much about the influence of the 60s on my life and on our nation. However, we still cry “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” . (Amos 5:24) Why?

Friday, December 21, 2007

Watercrunch

I enjoy reading my son's blog, Watercrunch, even though sometimes I don't fully appreciate some of the more scientific information that he often includes. However, the element of a mother's pride prevails and I faithfully read whatever he has to say. I think that his post for today is especially noteworthy.

Speaking of water issues, it is raining today! Praise the Lord!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Along the Way

Once again we are on the way to Christmas and I find myself wondering what might happen to us and within us and among us if we were to truly leave our fields and follow the star to Bethlehem to see this thing which has come to pass?

We might begin to believe that the Light will indeed shine in the darkness and that the darkness will never overcome it. We might know in our hearts that the one who made us is with us and offers hope.

We might begin to believe that the one true Love, the Love that has the power to change us all has come into being in the person of the babe in the manger.

We might begin to believe that the sharing in and the sharing of that Love, however and wherever we can, in ways great and small, is the only thing worth doing.

The great message of Christmas, of the Incarnation, is that in our weary world and our often times darkened lives, Jesus comes to share God’s love and grace. We might really believe God is with us and allow peace and justice to prevail.


"The shepherds returned; glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen..." Luke 2:20

Friday, December 14, 2007

Extending the Invitation

This week I had an interesting conversation with a young woman that has been attending our church for quite awhile. It left me saddened, frustrated and motivated because she told me, with an edge in her voice, that no one has invited her to join First Church. She also wondered why an invitation wasn’t given as part of worship. Of course, I immediately wanted to offer all sorts of reasons (excuses) as to why she felt that she had not been invited. But, I listened to her thoughts and offered an apology and tried to assure her that she was invited to join us.

Too often we are offended by honest comments and fail to see them as an invitation to us to examine what we do and to make changes if needed. It is very easy to blame others as to why newcomers might not feel invited to join, but we have to question our own roles in this. Perhaps, as a Christian educator I should provide a learning experience for this congregation about offering an invitation. Certainly, I will address this matter with our Council on Ministries. As a staff member, I can help analyze our process for inviting persons to join. As a disciple, I need to be more intentional about extending personal invitations to join us

In this season of Advent, we witness to the Christ child’s coming through our acts of love and caring. In addition, we need also to make sure that we are inviting others to join us as we journey to Bethlehem. It would seem that we too often leave them to be spectators only.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The Golden Compass

The movie, The Golden Compass, is generating a lot of discussion in a variety of settings. I find myself easily irritated at anything that sounds like censorship and get frustrated with some of the irrational comments that hear about it. Yet, I want to have a better understanding of this movie and its author, Philip Pullman. Today, I was most pleased to hear NPR's On Point and commend it to others. For some viewers, this movie could be thought provoking and enriching. Others, could be confused and led astray by it. If my teen really wanted to see it, I would see it with him or her and make sure that we had a conversation about it. In the meantime, I think I will save my movie money for something else.

Out of the Darkness

Isn’t it ironic that in this season of bright and flashing lights and general sensory overload that we (I) often stumble into darkness? I warn others about this, yet find myself struggling to stay on the path to Bethlehem. The absence of compassion and of justice that captures my attention each day seems especially poignant. The shadows fall across the earth early in the day leaving me feeling as though the day is over and I have not accomplished what I should. A sense of loneliness in a time of busyness leaves me feeling that I am going the wrong way. The voices around me are echoes lost in the canyon of my empty soul. The Good News is that each time when I reach this point something or someone resets my compass and leads me back to the path which is to be traveled. Saturday it was the unconditional love of William and Ethan.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world, anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the light of life.” John 8

Friday, December 07, 2007

Unpacking the Creche

Yesterday, Patrick Downes, our organist, and I had lead our Snowbird-Seagull ministry in Advent worship. Using music and the word imagery of unpacking the crèche, we invited our senior adults to open their hearts to the promise of the season. As usual, I probably received more of a blessing from this effort than those who worshiped with us. I share some of the thoughts that I used and know that the seasonal music interspersed within was important to this time of worship.

For many of us the unpacking of the nativity or crèche opens our hearts to the promise of the season. As each precious piece is unwrapped and put in place, we find ourselves at the manger waiting for Jesus to come again. Whether elaborate or simple, our crèches each has a story unto itself…of who created and/or bought it, of its history and the family traditions that surround it. At one look it recalls in us all those whom we love, but no longer see. We remember Advents past and Christmases long since gone and half forgotten. And in this ritual of unpacking the crèche, these cherished figures will remind us of the Promise that has been made and will be kept when we let it.

With Mary we listen; with Joseph we remember to do the right thing. As shepherds keep watch, we know that in the dark God breaks through into our lives. The Wise Men come later, but are important as they tell of God’s gift for all.

As we put the babe in the manger, we pray:

“O little Jesus, sleep. Sleep while we kneel and watch over you in a dim light this Christmas too. We honor the woman that bore you. We admire the man that adopted you. We maintain sweet memories of those who brought us, like Mary and Joseph, into the stable to worship you during our own Christmas past. But you are the one we praise. You are the one whom we trust. In you we rest. In you we place our faith. Forever and forever, you are the Christ - and you are our Lord forever.” Amen


Walt Wangerin, Jr.
Preparing for Jesus


While I spoke about unpacking the creche, I remembered the little one which our sons enjoyed as children and that still has a prominent place in our home during this time of waiting. I have written a post about this previously.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

World AIDS Day 2007

Fifteen years ago I became an AIDS care team member. Our patient was dying and most of us were venturing into a new territory. Needless to say, we were apprehensive. After participating in training provided by the Christian Action Council, we met Randy. His partner and a small community of friends were trying to meet his needs. However, resources were limited and his family had abandoned him. Not everyone felt this was what we needed to be doing, but the scriptures reminded us that Jesus broke through all the stigmas of his day and his culture. He touched, he walked with, he prayed with, he ate with, and he entered the homes of those who were stigmatized. Jesus tells us to do the same. The message to be delivered then and now is be not afraid, be not ashamed. There is nothing that separates us from God’s love and God’s acceptance. I know we did the right thing by being a friend to Randy and others. I remember them today, but realize that I have become one of those the news media identifies as complacent. The 40 million HIV/AIDS patients have just become numbers and I trust the humanitarian and medical communities to deal with this on-going crisis. The 6,000 children who each day lose a parent to AIDS need my attention, also. Forgive me, O God, for forgetting to care.