All Together Now

       Last week was a wild and crazy week!  We had bible school with 90 children, 20 youth helpers, and over 35 adults who all worked to make it possible.  It was an amazing experience and full of so many blessings and also very exhausting.
       I once had a cartoon that showed a crowd of children running first one way and then the other in front of two adults.  In the third frame of the cartoon looking tired, one of them says, "Whoever named it vacation bible school had a strange sense of humor."  Indeed.  It takes a lot of energy, hard work, and help to make vacation bible school a good experience for so many children.
       During the same week, our denomination met together in a church wide body made of both laity and clergy to do the business of the church and plan for the future.  Like most churches, ours is in an on-going process of re-structuring and looking at finances and numbers.
       Knowing this, I had a feeling last week that while the meeting was discussing and voting on plans for the future; we were living the future here at bible school.
       In the past, churches and denominations lived behind separate walls and rarely ventured beyond them.  Even when decades of mergers landed neighboring congregations in the same denomination, all too often, they stayed separate.  (Lutherans are famous for having two churches in the same church body across the street from one another because of this!) The idea of working together was preceded by years of "talks" by church leaders and theologians.
       I take last week, as a sign of things to come and of the way things should be done. This is a small congregation; most of those children were not members.  We had kids from all over the county, from several churches and denominations and kids who have no church home.  Several neighboring congregations helped to make bible school happen.
       Some people see this as a negative side effect of the shrinking population of small towns and rural areas.  That may be part of what is moving us to work together but it is more than that.  Jesus envisioned a church where all would be one, unified by the love of Christ. (John 17:20-21)  If anything, I think we are finally seeing that as Christians, we cannot afford to be divided from each other but need to work together.  It has never been a good witness to the gospel for us to fight and disagree so loudly amongst ourselves.
       Will our pews be fuller on Sunday because of bible school? I don't know.  It wasn't the point.  We had a chance to make a difference in the lives of a lot of children if only for a short time, and sometimes that is all the time you need to make a positive change in a child's life.  That is what it was about.  I am convinced that Jesus was right in the middle of all of that chaos, noise, and energy!
       Let me share my favorite moment from bible school.  One of my roles was leading the children in prayer both before our meal and at the close.
       20 or so of the children came again on Sunday to share some of their songs with us during worship and sat up in front of the congregation with me.  During the prayers, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that one of the youngest girls had come over and was sitting by me looking at my guitar.  Then as we began the Lord's Lord, she stopped and noticed what we were doing.  She immediately knelt down and folded her hands and bowed her head.  In her ruffled dress and long hair, she sat absolutely still for the whole prayer.
       May we all come to God in prayer with such innocence and attention.  Read Matthew 19:13-15.

Half Full?!

       How is your hope meter? --- You know, that feeling inside that tells you whether the cup is half full or half empty.  Are you up or are you down?

        These days it seems that there are lots of reasons to feel empty.  It has been a spring and summer of disasters, trauma, and discord from natural disasters and the famine in East Africa to the violence in Norway, the downward economy, and congressional gridlock.  Add to all of that the stuff that happens in our personal lives, and life can seem overwhelming.

       But in spite of it all, I am full of hope.  And not just hope, I am excited and filled with wonder to be part of this family Jesus has put together!  I count on this hope and trust this promise no matter what comes my way because it comes from Christ and not anything that I am or do or say.  It is a matter of faith, faith that has been given to me.

       That’s a very different hope than the hope some churches are dishing out.  If you listen on the radio or watch church on TV, you will probably hear their version of gospel that says that if you are a faithful Christian, you will be healthy, wealthy, and wise.  Life will be good and you will be happy.  The preachers and leaders are charming, smiling, and if not pretty, are certainly not dumpy.  Some will even go so far as attach specific criteria: there are specific prayers to be prayed in the right way or verses to be “claimed” or behaviors to be followed faithfully such as the amount of money given to the church, services to be attended, etc…  It follows that if your life hasn’t been “blessed” yet, that it has to do with the quality of your faith and your rightness of action.

        It’s no wonder that this kind of religion is very popular in uncertain and difficult times.  It offers a way out that seems much more sure and more available that winning the lottery.  Surely Jesus wants us to have the good life, right?

        Well, it not that Jesus doesn’t want good for us.  The truth is that our Savior himself lived a live that was not “blessed” in that way.  Even for the birth of God’s own son, there wasn’t a room available except for a stable.  He wandered in ministry and said that he had no home to call his own (Matthew 8:20).  And as the great arc of the Gospel story makes clear, his own life ended early in suffering and pain. 

        Jesus never promises the disciples an easy beautiful life.  In fact, he often warns them that following him is hard. (Mark 8:34-35)  In the reading for August 7^th, the disciples end up in a boat all night, tossed about by wind and waves.  They are afraid and the text makes it clear that Jesus made them get into that boat.  We often find ourselves trying to be faithful in difficult places.  I find that hopeful.

        When life turns to chaos around me, or is hard and painful, instead of that being a sign that I am somehow not being “faithful” enough, I look to Jesus with hope.  I know that Jesus is with me especially in those hard places.

       As the morning began to dawn on that storm-tossed sea, Jesus came walking to the disciples and got into the boat with them.  And then the waves and wind ceased.  We do not have to pray our way out of the boat or off the sea; the real promise is that Jesus comes to us and gets into the boat with us. 

       By himself, outside of the boat, Peter lost faith and began to sink; then Jesus reached out and saved him and put him back into the boat with the others.  It is so with us.  By ourselves, it is easy for us to lose heart and hope in the storms of life.  It is when we are back in the boat with Jesus and each other that our faltering faith is strengthened and hope is restored.  Join me and climb back into the boat that is life together.  Read Matthew 14:22-33

Faith is a No Hate Zone

       I have stood at the fences in mourning with our nation at both Ground Zero in New York and in Oklahoma City.  Now I find myself praying for and mourning with the people of Norway after the violent attacks in July.  I've known what I wanted to say in response, but it has been hard to write it down in part, I think, because it stirs up older griefs but more that I needed to find some clarity about why I feel it necessary to speak out about this.
       After all, it is not my country, my city, friends or relatives that have been affected.  Why is it my business?
       It is my business because it is the business of the Church to speak and act in response.  And like the children's song says, the Church is the people and that is each one of us who are on the journey of following Jesus whether we are just taking our first tentative steps of faith or have lived long lives of faithfulness.
       It is our business because once again someone has acted violently, killing people and stunning a nation, all the while naming Christianity as the reason for their cause.  Once again, someone (an individual or group) is acting out of hate for others and trying to bless that action with faith.  And whether Breivik acted alone or with others, there are all too many people who are willing to climb on board and voice their hateful rhetoric and perhaps act on that hate.  Once again, hateful messages are getting attention, causing some to live in fear.
       The Church needs to respond loudly and confidently that hate is not the response of faith.
       We, you and I, need to speak out that talking and acting out of hate is not acceptable now or ever.
       Jesus makes it very clear that being his disciple, being one of those that belong to him, means  acting out of love to all people.  It is the instruction Jesus gives over and over.  "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another."  And more than commandment, Jesus  teaches that we are to be known and recognized by how we live out that love with one another.
       It is not a new idea.  The prophet Micah writes, "what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"   In spite of all the speeches and rabble-rousing to the contrary, hate-filled speech and actions are not equated with faith in anyway.  As the people that make up "the Church", we need to speak up and out to make clear to others that such actions are not Christian in any way.
       We need to bear witness to the love that comes from Jesus Christ.
       Out of that love, join with me in praying for those affected by the violence in Norway and all those who are targeted by hate.  Ask God for courage to be able to say "no" when hate is spoken or urged in your presence.
       And above all, seek out ways to act in love towards others.  It is about welcoming, forgiving, and caring.  It is the witness that Jesus wants.  We don't have to impact a whole group or culture of people or change the world.  It starts with the next person we meet when we reach out in love.  The most powerful thing we can do is to act out of love to the person next to us.    Read John 13:34-35

Thank You!

          Thank you for your patience, while I have been on vacation and doing some continuing education (and working to get back on track).  Thanks!