Signs of Hope

       I was asked by a young person this week if the world is really going to end in 2012.  There is a new movie out based on the supposed predictions of the Mayan calendar.  The movie is very graphic with earthquakes, erupting volcanoes, tornadoes, cities brought to utter destruction, and thousands and millions of people dying.  Of course, quite improbably, the major figures of the movie get to drive, fly, and boat away from the destruction, always escaping death by mere seconds.  If they didn't, there wouldn't be a plot line.

       Now, we both understood that we were talking about a movie not reality but the question was real.  It's a question that people have been asking since before the birth of Christ, even in those cultures without knowledge of Jesus.  Will the world really end in disaster and what happens to us?  And ultimately the question is about God.  Does God really care for us?

       After a devastating flood where the levee between a town and a river was breached, I was allowed in (with other response people) with residents just after the National Guard had pumped the water back behind the levee.  Residents had spray painted on their houses things such as, 'don't tear down', 'we'll be back', 'under renovation', etc...  Where the water had been the deepest, into the second story of houses and everything had been lost, residents had painted in big letters on their house, "God is here".

        Everything was not all right and the way between the chaos and moving back home was long, hard, and full of pain.  That truth was clear.  It wasn't a sign that it was okay but it was a sign of hope for the future but even more so of comfort for the right now.  Even in the midst of the destruction, the houses full of mud and ruined clothes, furniture, and possessions, in the freezing drizzle, God was present.

       As the homeowners and other residents told me that day and in the months that followed, God was there.  They experienced God's love and hope in the hands and feet of the National Guard who worked to pump the water back behind the levee and restore it.  In the hands and feet of those that had come out in boats to rescue them in the dead of night, and who greeted them with blankets, food and dry clothes in the shelters.  God was there as volunteers helped to salvage what they could from above the water line, washing clothes, shoveling out the smelly mud, and cleaning putrid food from refrigerators.  God was with them.

        To me this is the clearest sign of hope in the midst of apocalyptic destruction and the gospel we can proclaim even in the face of death. God does not abandon us.  Ever.  As Paul writes, there is nothing that is big, bad, or strong enough to separate us from God's love; not even the end of the world.  (Romans 8:38-39)  For God brings life not death.

       That's the truth that faith gives us.  God is with us always.  Nothing can happen that take us away from God's love and promise of eternal life.  Anyone can find joy in the glory of sunshine and pleasure; it's finding God and trusting God in the midst of the ruin that we need.   And that is the hope that only faith can give us.  It is what the psalmist writes about in Psalm 23.  Even in the valley of death, God is with us.  People of faith live not in fear of what terrible things might happen but live in the joyous hope of what God has promised: light, life, and love.  Read Psalm 23.

Its been a very busy week.  I've been at a ministry conference for the last three days from early to late.  Thank you for your patience.  Please enjoy an earlier post while you wait!

Grow Up in Love

          I once preached at a church that had split over the decision of whether to paint or panel the church basement walls.  I hadn't experienced yet the depth of emotions and consequences  that can arise over such decisions.  It was hard for me to take it seriously.  I  didn't really understand the pain and anger that could still be present so when they asked me how I would have handled it, I answered very easy and glibly. 'Why not put paneling on the bottom half of the walls and paint the top half?'  I thought I was being wise when in reality, all I had accomplished was to show my ignorance.  I couldn't conceive of breaking up relationships and a congregation that had existed for so many years over such a thing.  However, the division was all too real.

         We experience how easy it is  for people to disagree, to become hurt and angry from the time we are children.  All one has to do is watch toddlers at play and observe the fights over toys and space which only get worse as children get hungry or tired.  The same things happen at school, at work, in our families.  It just gets harder to take our toys and go home.

        We would like the church to be different from other gatherings and institutions around us - a place of unity and peace.  But the Church is made up of people - imperfect as we all are.  We are a gathering of people in need of God's love and forgiveness made possible only by God's grace.  The pews (like our homes, work, school, and towns) contain people who will by turns exasperate and infuriate us and bring us to tears of joy and warm our hearts.  No where does Christ promise that we will always live in harmony.

         But Christ does promise to hold us in God's grace  and that is more than enough to strengthen us and root and ground us in God's love (1 John 3:17).   Like a tree whose roots hold it fast through storms and tempest, drawing up water from a deep and bottomless source and being nourished even in the hardest times, we stand and grow in God's love.  Our strength and unity comes from Christ who calls us "with all humility and gentleness, with patience" to bear one another in love and "make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace".

        Gentleness, humility, patience, love, and peace; these are the words of how we can "bear" to be with each other.  They are the mercy given to us as a gift through Christ's grace.  We are to put aside childish ways and "grow up in love".  Read 1 John 4:1-7.