Church Mice!?

                                                                                        
          On my desk sits a little toy gray mouse holding a heart.  I call it my church mouse.  It serves as a decoration, a distraction/attraction for babies and children who are here with their parents, and a reminder of family Christmases when I received it as a gift.  But as a church mouse, it also serves as a reminder of those in need and our need to share.
       There is a familiar saying, "poor as a church mouse" that goes way back; how far back I was not able to determine.  The depiction of church mice is such an old custom that carved church mice can be found in the wood and stone of medieval churches.  Modern church mice can be found carved and hidden in the architecture in many places including Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa and the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
       As far as I can tell, the origins of being poor go back to the vows of poverty taken by priests and those in monasteries or convents.  Following the biblical mandate to care for the least of these, these places served as hospitals, and also offered food and refuge to the poor and orphans.  But inside the church itself, there would be little for a mouse to eat considering that there would be no food stored there, with the communion bread locked safely away.
       In fact, the lack of food in a church may be what led some real church mice to gnaw away at the leathers of a pipe organ leaving it silent and unable to be played one Christmas Eve in Austria.  The work of those church mice led a desperate pastor priest (Joseph Mohr) and choirmaster (Franz Gruber) to compose the carol "Silent Night".   Those church mice created the opportunity for a wonderful blessing.
       But most poor church mice and those who are as poor as church mice live in a world that is much bleaker.  Poverty is at its highest rate in decades; and the use of food banks and food shelves, often run by churches, reflect the increase in those who hunger.  As we celebrate the end of another harvest season and look towards thanksgiving, I encourage us all to remember the poor and find ways to reach out and share our bounty with those truly in need.  Bring non-perishable food items to church or the nearest food bank or donate at your grocery store.  Give to the ELCA Hunger Program, Lutheran World Relief, Salvation Army, or other charity and/or donate your time.
       A lot of people talk about wanting to change but in my experience most people don't really mean it, or if they do, they don't want to change too much.  However, if you want the most gratifying experience you can have, volunteer to help feed people either at a food pantry or a soup kitchen or shelter.  I guarantee that if you bring food to someone who is truly hungry, it will change you forever.
       Last summer, someone came to the church hot and tired and hungry; he hadn't eaten that day or the day before.  A few minutes into our conversation, I remembered my forgotten bottle of soda sitting on the corner of my desk as he talked about his needs.  I immediately gave it to him.  He was so grateful for something I had even forgotten I had.  I have experienced that over and over again.  We have so much that we won't even notice or miss what we have given and yet it can make such a difference to those in need.  God asks over and over again, not for our piety but for us to "give (the hungry) something to eat" (Mark 6:37).  Join with me in truly "giving" thanks by giving to those in need especially as the cold sets in around us.  Read Isaiah 58:6-10

This Book is a Lamp!

       The fall of my senior year at seminary, I was approached by one of the professors in the hall.  He said (with a bit of grin on his face) that I should look into getting a new bible before certification interviews began. Seniors had to receive recommendations at these interviews in order to continue with the process towards ordination; without that, one could graduate with a degree but not become a pastor.
       "Why did I need a new bible?" I asked.  I knew mine was a bit ratty but I had received it at confirmation and so even though it had some years of wear and tear, it was special to me.
       He explained that the committee might have problems with my refusing to keep the book of Genesis in the canon of scripture.  When I began sputtering that I didn't know what he was talking about, he told me that my book of Genesis had been turned into the office.  I left him and sure enough, the first section of my bible including the page with my name on it and the entire book of Genesis had come loose from the binding, fallen out, and been turned in that day.  I collected my pages, bought a new bible, and did pass my interview!
       How is your bible?  Do you know where your bible is?  That may be an obvious answer for those of you who have come to read this post with your bible for study and prayer.  When I asked my confirmation students a couple of years ago, they weren't sure.  In fact, most of them admitted that although they had been given bibles as gifts at some point, they didn't remember ever reading them and weren't sure if they could easily find them.
       In an attempt to help change that, we began a new program last year.  Bibles for this year's confirmands were bought and given to family members: grandparents, parents, godparents, or others.  These people then spent the year using the bibles and marking favorite or important passages and writing in them.  Last Sunday after the young people came forward and affirmed their faith, they were given these bibles.  Now in order to find out what had been passed on to them, they would have to open up their bibles and read.  That was the theory.
       Last Sunday I was privileged to see the theory be proven almost immediately.   As soon as they received their bibles and were welcomed by the congregation, the service continued with the offering.  I had a great view of the first row where they all sat and as I watched, they opened up their bibles and began to look through them, read, and to share what they found with each other.  It was wonderful to see those heads bent over their bibles.  I pray that continues throughout their lives.
       They have been given a gift far beyond a book, even a copy of the bible, because the writings and markings in those bibles are also the passing on of the faith from the community of saints.  Those books pass on which verses have been important to their loved ones and have contained words of comfort, hope, wisdom, and joy.  These are not just books but are witnesses not only to God's truth but also to the living faith of those around them.
       That is the true gift of the community of saints, of all the people of faith who have gone before and who surround us now.  If we listen and share with each other, the faith of others forms a scaffold on which our own faith can grow through the years and a shelter when our faith is shaken by the storms of life around us.
       I remember being told that it was wrong to mark in bibles, that it showed disrespect for God's word.  Now I have lived enough that I disagree; I too have spent this last year marking and noting things in my own bible.  Over the years I have discovered what I should have said to that professor (and the committee if it had actually been raised), that my ratty bible with all it's markings and dog-eared pages was evidence of its hard and continual use over the years since my confirmation.  There is more in this book than can be understood in a life-time but open it up and I promise you will find treasure, hope, and above all, love.  Read Psalm 119:103-105.