What's Your Name?
Okay, how many people here have names? It's a silly question because of course people have names! Most people have a story about their name, even if it's just, "My parents liked it." Some people carry family names, some are named after people, and others are named after television characters. But everyone has a name!
It's irritating when someone gets our names wrong…If you've got an unusual pronunciation or spelling and people stutter over how to say it…Maybe it's something that you've just gotten used to and shrug it off…What about if you get called the wrong name? If you're called by a siblings' name or by someone else's' name…Some people angrily correct and others won't say anything at all…
When you meet someone for the first time, there's usually a list of questions that make up an introduction, but first and foremost is the question, "What's your name?" And sometimes you can tell a lot by a person's name…Maybe you recognize the family name and know who they belong to…Maybe you know someone else with the same name and you mentally make comparisons…Maybe you focus so hard on trying to remember their name that you miss everything else that they say!
What makes names so important? Why do we care so much? Well, names help to identify us to other people…Names tell who we are…And most importantly, they're our names! Whether you like your name or not, we want people to know who we are!
The man that Jesus encountered was no different. Jesus and the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee, which meant they were on Gentile territory. That means they were with people who were not Jewish. That's what a Gentile is—someone who is not Jewish. So, technically, although Christianity has roots in Judaism, we're all Gentiles. So, Jesus and the disciples aren't at home anymore…They aren't with people who believe the same things that they do or practice the same things that they do. They are entering a place where they probably have no connection…They don't know anyone or know families or know pronunciations of names…They're strangers in a strange place.
As they enter this strange land, a man comes up to them…A man who is possessed and who is wearing no clothes…He's also not been living in a house, but in the tombs…He's not someone that anyone would want to hang out with, but particularly Jewish people. He was very unclean…He's naked…He's been living among the dead for some time…He probably smells, hasn't bathed in awhile…He probably hasn't eaten anything decent in quite sometime…This is not someone that one would normally want to hang out with! It doesn't even have to be Jesus' time either…If there were someone who ran around town naked, lived in the grave yard, would you want to associate with them? The people in the town that this man lived certainly didn't…They had tried on many occasions to keep him away in chains, but he would always break the chains…
Now the disciples must have been a little concerned…They didn't want someone like this approaching their teacher! They were keeping other people away from Jesus, so why would they let this guy get a free pass? But Jesus doesn't usually listen the disciples and does almost the opposite of what is expected…
He asks this man, "What is your name?" It's more than just simple introductions…By asking this man's name, he is saying so much more…He's saying, "I care about you."
You can get by having a conversation with someone and not ever knowing their name…You can get by sitting in a room with someone and not ever knowing their name…You can get by walking on the street and passing someone and not ever knowing their name…But when you ask someone their name, you're asking for much more and you're saying that you care enough to know what their name is.
For this man who approached Jesus, he had probably not been asked for his name for quite some time…Maybe ever. It could be that everyone in town made up a name for him…
There was a man like that in Belvidere, where I grew up. He was a man that was very scruffy looking, no one was really sure where he lived and there were all kinds of stories about that…I'm not sure that anyone really knew his name, at least the people that I hung out with…I heard many different names for him over the years, "Bicycle Bob" because he rode a bicycle everywhere… "Maniac Mike" and "Crazy Carl." A few years ago his house burned down…I still don't know what his real name is.
Jesus asked the man who approached him "What is your name?" Jesus made sure that this naked, smelly, possessed man knew that he was cared about by at least one person.
Now, there is more than just simply asking someone's name because you can do that to everyone, but may not remember…It's the remembering someone's name that's just as important as asking their name.
In the story of Elijah, as he's sitting in the cave waiting to hear from God…God calls Elijah by name. God says to Elijah, "What are you doing here, Elijah." God remembers Elijah's name…God cares about Elijah.
Jesus asks the man his name…Jesus cares about this man…Jesus is God…God cares about this man…
Legion and Elijah are two very different people…One was possessed by demons, one was a prophet…One was a Gentile, one was a Jew…One broke free from chains, one worshipped God…They were very different people…Yet, God cared about both of them…God cares about both of them.
God still cares about all of us… "What's your name?" But God wants us to keep asking the question…God wants all people to know that God cares about them! How best to show that than sending us out to ask people's name…To show that we care about people…
Sometimes that means going to talk to people who ware different than we are…They may not dress the same, they may not smell the same, they may not look the same, they may not act the same….But they're all people that God cares about very much…They're all people that God wants to get to know…They're all people that God wants us to get to know…To ask their name.
I'm sure that you can think of a few people that need to know that God cares about them…Maybe you know them through acquaintances…Maybe you've heard their name…But have you asked them? What's your name? Sometimes people just need to know that someone cares enough to ask.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
What's Your Excuse?
What’s Your Excuse?
Excuses are pretty common…In fact, there’s a saying that says that everyone’s got them. At one point or another, we’ve all made excuses for whatever reason…Sometimes they were good excuses and sometimes, they were, well…just excuses…Usually the poorer the excuse, the more explanation that’s needed…And we all know the people who have an excuse for everything…
Jesus encountered people all the time that had excuses for various reasons. In the story that we have for this morning, Jesus is calling people to follow him. This call story is happening just shortly before his death, and that may have an effect on the people Jesus is calling, but probably not. They have all kinds of excuses of why they can’t go with Jesus, some are good excuses and some are just…well, excuses…
“I need to bury my father.” Seems like it might be a good excuse and Jesus may seem a little harsh for his response; “Let the dead bury the dead.” It may be one of those times that we’re surprised by Jesus’ words, but as always there’s a part of the story that we’re missing. Now, because none of us were there and none of us are the person who made the statement, we don’t know anything for sure…We don’t know how close this person’s father was to death…Maybe it he had already died and was just waiting to be buried, maybe he had hours to live…Maybe it was going to be years. Jesus is usually a pretty compassionate person and his response, “Let the dead bury the dead.” Seems to say that there’s more to the story and probably this person’s father isn’t really near death…
Then there’s the second person, “Let me say goodbye to my house first.” And Jesus’ response, “No one who puts hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Now these are both curious statements. Again, Jesus may sound a little harsh for not letting this person even say good-bye to their family…But again, there’s probably more to the story…We don’t know where this person lives—maybe it’s in town, maybe it’s several hundred miles away…Plus, who knows how long it’s going to take to say good-bye…Maybe it would take just a few minutes and maybe the farewell would take months…Whatever the story is, Jesus sees right through the excuse and gives his response…
Now we can look at these two people who have given Jesus excuses and maybe think that they’re silly for the excuses that they’ve given Jesus, but what would you have said to Jesus?
When I was a senior in high school, getting ready to graduate, I hadn’t been very active in church. When I turned 16, I wanted a car and I thought that it was more important to work in order to pay for that…I tried to continue teaching Sunday School for a couple years, but I started working on Sunday mornings and it became harder and harder to get to church…I had more and more excuses on why I couldn’t get there…At that time the church was starting to have services on Wednesday night, but of course I had so many reasons on why I couldn’t go then either…If I wasn’t working, I was doing homework, or I was just too tired. During this time, there was a change in associate pastors and I still had not met him…Well, it finally worked out on the last Wednesday night service before summer that I was able to go. As I was standing in line to get dinner, a young man turned around and looked at me and said, “Hey! You’re going on the mission trip with us this summer.” I looked around to make sure that he was talking to me and when I realized that there wasn’t anyone else he was talking to, I just said, “Excuse me?” He repeated that I was going on the mission trip with them this summer…Then, he introduced himself as the associate pastor of the church. I had a million reasons why I couldn’t go…I had to work, I wasn’t sure if I would get off, graduation parties might be happening, my friends would all be leaving or getting ready to leave, what if a good movie came out? Ultimately, my excuses ran out and I went on the mission trip with him and two other people…I wasn’t the only one with excuses…But, had I not gone on that trip, I probably wouldn’t be here today. It was on that mission trip that I heard my calling into ministry and knew what it meant.
We have another story this morning, from 2 Kings and it’s different that Jesus’ story. Elijah is a prophet from God and has been called to leave and Elisha has been chosen by God as his successor. Elijah is preparing to leave and is passing the mantle onto Elisha…Elisha makes no excuses, but agreed that he would not leave and he wouldn’t fall away no matter what. Very different from the people that Jesus encountered…Before Elijah departs, Elisha asks for a double portion of the spirit that has been with Elijah, being the spirit of God…Elijah tells him that he will receive what he asks if Elisha sees Elijah being taken up…And Elisha has the opportunity to have a good excuse…A chariot of fire comes between them, but Elijah was not taken up in the chariot…Instead, Elisha sees Elijah carried up in a whirlwind. The people all around him saw only the fire and not the whirlwind…But Elisha saw what had really happened and there were no excuses…
The thing about these stories, is that they could just as well be happening right now…In fact they are…Jesus hasn’t stopped calling people to follow him…And people have all kinds of excuses as to why they can’t…I was listening to the radio recently and during a station commercial, the announcer asked if some of the excuses we use to not follow Jesus would sound the same if they were applied to eating… “I can’t eat today because I just don’t have enough time.” “I can’t eat because there’s just too much to choose from and I’m not sure what everything tastes like.” “I can’t eat because I don’t feel like I’m a good enough person.” The excuses don’t sound as credible…Yet, sometimes there are good excuses, and sometimes they’re just…well, excuses…And the excuses aren’t just for an initial following of Jesus…Even if we all have already committed to following Jesus, that’s not the end of it…Jesus is still calling people to do various things…Sometimes it’s going on a mission trip, sometimes it’s talking to our neighbors about our faith, sometimes it’s being pushed out of our comfort zone…But we have a choice…
When Jesus makes those calls to us, who will we be life? Will we be like the people Jesus encountered and full of excuses…Or will we be like Elisha, who focused on what he was told? It’s a choice that we have to make and each one of us will make our decision…That decision that we will probably make more than once…To follow what Jesus has called us to do and be, even when it seems difficult…
If Elisha had missed the whirlwind, he would still have received the Spirit of God…He wouldn’t have been abandoned just because he didn’t see…God would still be with him…God is still with us as we make the excuses…It just may be that God becomes more persistent with the calling that we receive…God sees through our excuses…
What is it that you’ve been making excuses for lately? Is there something that you have been hearing God say that you should be doing…Maybe it’s just a feeling that you have that you should be doing something…Maybe it’s helping with the children’s programs, maybe it’s assisting in worship, maybe it’s talking to your neighbor, maybe it’s a calling into ministry…Stop looking at the chariot of fire and look at the whirlwind…The excuses that you’ve had may have been good excuses, and maybe they’ve been just…well, excuses…
Excuses are pretty common…In fact, there’s a saying that says that everyone’s got them. At one point or another, we’ve all made excuses for whatever reason…Sometimes they were good excuses and sometimes, they were, well…just excuses…Usually the poorer the excuse, the more explanation that’s needed…And we all know the people who have an excuse for everything…
Jesus encountered people all the time that had excuses for various reasons. In the story that we have for this morning, Jesus is calling people to follow him. This call story is happening just shortly before his death, and that may have an effect on the people Jesus is calling, but probably not. They have all kinds of excuses of why they can’t go with Jesus, some are good excuses and some are just…well, excuses…
“I need to bury my father.” Seems like it might be a good excuse and Jesus may seem a little harsh for his response; “Let the dead bury the dead.” It may be one of those times that we’re surprised by Jesus’ words, but as always there’s a part of the story that we’re missing. Now, because none of us were there and none of us are the person who made the statement, we don’t know anything for sure…We don’t know how close this person’s father was to death…Maybe it he had already died and was just waiting to be buried, maybe he had hours to live…Maybe it was going to be years. Jesus is usually a pretty compassionate person and his response, “Let the dead bury the dead.” Seems to say that there’s more to the story and probably this person’s father isn’t really near death…
Then there’s the second person, “Let me say goodbye to my house first.” And Jesus’ response, “No one who puts hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Now these are both curious statements. Again, Jesus may sound a little harsh for not letting this person even say good-bye to their family…But again, there’s probably more to the story…We don’t know where this person lives—maybe it’s in town, maybe it’s several hundred miles away…Plus, who knows how long it’s going to take to say good-bye…Maybe it would take just a few minutes and maybe the farewell would take months…Whatever the story is, Jesus sees right through the excuse and gives his response…
Now we can look at these two people who have given Jesus excuses and maybe think that they’re silly for the excuses that they’ve given Jesus, but what would you have said to Jesus?
When I was a senior in high school, getting ready to graduate, I hadn’t been very active in church. When I turned 16, I wanted a car and I thought that it was more important to work in order to pay for that…I tried to continue teaching Sunday School for a couple years, but I started working on Sunday mornings and it became harder and harder to get to church…I had more and more excuses on why I couldn’t get there…At that time the church was starting to have services on Wednesday night, but of course I had so many reasons on why I couldn’t go then either…If I wasn’t working, I was doing homework, or I was just too tired. During this time, there was a change in associate pastors and I still had not met him…Well, it finally worked out on the last Wednesday night service before summer that I was able to go. As I was standing in line to get dinner, a young man turned around and looked at me and said, “Hey! You’re going on the mission trip with us this summer.” I looked around to make sure that he was talking to me and when I realized that there wasn’t anyone else he was talking to, I just said, “Excuse me?” He repeated that I was going on the mission trip with them this summer…Then, he introduced himself as the associate pastor of the church. I had a million reasons why I couldn’t go…I had to work, I wasn’t sure if I would get off, graduation parties might be happening, my friends would all be leaving or getting ready to leave, what if a good movie came out? Ultimately, my excuses ran out and I went on the mission trip with him and two other people…I wasn’t the only one with excuses…But, had I not gone on that trip, I probably wouldn’t be here today. It was on that mission trip that I heard my calling into ministry and knew what it meant.
We have another story this morning, from 2 Kings and it’s different that Jesus’ story. Elijah is a prophet from God and has been called to leave and Elisha has been chosen by God as his successor. Elijah is preparing to leave and is passing the mantle onto Elisha…Elisha makes no excuses, but agreed that he would not leave and he wouldn’t fall away no matter what. Very different from the people that Jesus encountered…Before Elijah departs, Elisha asks for a double portion of the spirit that has been with Elijah, being the spirit of God…Elijah tells him that he will receive what he asks if Elisha sees Elijah being taken up…And Elisha has the opportunity to have a good excuse…A chariot of fire comes between them, but Elijah was not taken up in the chariot…Instead, Elisha sees Elijah carried up in a whirlwind. The people all around him saw only the fire and not the whirlwind…But Elisha saw what had really happened and there were no excuses…
The thing about these stories, is that they could just as well be happening right now…In fact they are…Jesus hasn’t stopped calling people to follow him…And people have all kinds of excuses as to why they can’t…I was listening to the radio recently and during a station commercial, the announcer asked if some of the excuses we use to not follow Jesus would sound the same if they were applied to eating… “I can’t eat today because I just don’t have enough time.” “I can’t eat because there’s just too much to choose from and I’m not sure what everything tastes like.” “I can’t eat because I don’t feel like I’m a good enough person.” The excuses don’t sound as credible…Yet, sometimes there are good excuses, and sometimes they’re just…well, excuses…And the excuses aren’t just for an initial following of Jesus…Even if we all have already committed to following Jesus, that’s not the end of it…Jesus is still calling people to do various things…Sometimes it’s going on a mission trip, sometimes it’s talking to our neighbors about our faith, sometimes it’s being pushed out of our comfort zone…But we have a choice…
When Jesus makes those calls to us, who will we be life? Will we be like the people Jesus encountered and full of excuses…Or will we be like Elisha, who focused on what he was told? It’s a choice that we have to make and each one of us will make our decision…That decision that we will probably make more than once…To follow what Jesus has called us to do and be, even when it seems difficult…
If Elisha had missed the whirlwind, he would still have received the Spirit of God…He wouldn’t have been abandoned just because he didn’t see…God would still be with him…God is still with us as we make the excuses…It just may be that God becomes more persistent with the calling that we receive…God sees through our excuses…
What is it that you’ve been making excuses for lately? Is there something that you have been hearing God say that you should be doing…Maybe it’s just a feeling that you have that you should be doing something…Maybe it’s helping with the children’s programs, maybe it’s assisting in worship, maybe it’s talking to your neighbor, maybe it’s a calling into ministry…Stop looking at the chariot of fire and look at the whirlwind…The excuses that you’ve had may have been good excuses, and maybe they’ve been just…well, excuses…
Monday, June 11, 2007
Get Up!
Get Up!
You may have noticed this morning that the two stories that we heard are quite similar…Yet, they’re about different people in a different time and a different place…The first story comes from I Kings and is the story of Elijah and the second comes from the Gospel of Luke and is about Jesus…And yet, they are almost identical!
In each of the stories, we have a widow who has lost her son. And in each of the stories, the “hero,” Elijah and Jesus, of the story brings the child back to life. Now beyond these details, there are, of course, more…
In that society, widows were not highly regarded…There were many rules about widows, widows of course being women…To be a woman in that society was bad enough, but to be a widow was even worse. So if you were a widow in that society, you needed to have someone take care of you, so you better have had a son at some point in your marriage. If your son was a baby, you’d have to wait until he grew to take care of you…There was an option to get remarried, especially if there was a family member related to your husband and you could convince him to marry you…Otherwise, if you as a widow didn’t have someone to take care of you…You were left to either beg on the streets for food or glean from others’ fields to get food. Either way…You weren’t well off…Can’t own property because you’re a woman…Can’t really work because you’re a woman…And you don’t have anyone in your life…It was pretty tough and probably very frustrating at times!
So these widows’ sons are important for many reasons. The first being that they are their sons! This was their child that was dead. Their pride and joy…But aside from being their child, this was also the only person who was going to take care of them. So, as devastated as these widows would be at the loss of their child, it was multiplied by knowing that they had no security in the world.
Have you ever felt that devastation? Maybe it’s not on as the same level as the widows. But a time when you felt absolutely helpless…When you felt like you had no security in the world…It doesn’t matter if it’s really true or not, whatever it is that you feel is important. Maybe it was getting a bad grade on your report card…Or burning dinner…Or losing something important to you…Or maybe it was something like the widow and you lost a child…Or you got bad news from the doctor…Or you got in a car accident…Devastation…We all know what it feels like to us…
As you’ve thought about your experience, can you understand what the widow must be feeling? Her devastation…And then someone says that they can help…For one it was Elijah and for another it was Jesus…Now at this point, there must be some skepticism about what these men were going to do, but what did they really have to lose? They really didn’t have anything to lose…If they men didn’t help their sons; they were facing the same thing…
But by letting Elijah & Jesus near their sons, there must have been at the very least a glimmer of hope…Even if they thought that nothing would happen, by allowing them to come forward and near their sons, there must have been even a small sense of hope that these women had. Maybe it was bigger than a small sense…Maybe hope is really all they had…
When I worked with Iraqi and Afghani refugees when I was in Italy, I looked at the environment these men were living in…They were living in a parking lot outside of a bus station. There was a group living in the bushes…There was a group who were living on the concrete in the parking lot…And there were others who were living on the sidewalk…None had a hot meal in quite some time…None had seen their family in quite some time…None had any money to do anything…There was certainly a sense of devastation among them…As we served them tea and cookies, we started to talk with them and they had fun testing out their English skills and we tried to remember not to ask too many questions because there were things that we didn’t want to know because if we did and were approached by the police, we would have far too much information and could the refugees in a difficult position. As each of the refugees told us their plans for the future, we were amazed that they had plans for the future…Most were planning on going someplace else—Ireland, Canada, Paris, America…While they were in what seemed to be devastation—torn from their home & family, no money or food, no bed or blanket…They had a glimmer of hope of a better life somewhere…It was that glimmer of hope that kept them going…The same glimmer that was present with the widows as Elijah & Jesus approached their sons…
For Elijah, he prayed so hard that the widow’s son would be raised and God heard his prayer…For Jesus, he called the young man to “Get up!”
The hope that’s in those words, “Get up!” It’s the hope that keeps us all going…To be able to get up and move along…There are times when there is devastation and when things seem bleak, but even in the midst of those times, there are glimmers of hope that help us all to get up and keep moving…Where do we find that hope?
Well, we find that hope all over the place…In the moments of grace that abound…They are everywhere, if you look for them…When I was flying to Seattle a couple weeks ago, I missed my flight and while I wasn’t feeling devastation, it was certainly frustrating and irritating as I sat in O’Hare airport for more than 10 hours waiting and praying for a flight that I could take…There were moments of grace and hope everywhere…On the last flight out to Seattle from O'Hare,I was 3rd on the standby list and they let on 3 people for standby! I made the calls I needed to, to let folks know I was on my way and as the plane was getting ready to take off we were trying to figure out how to get me from the airport to where we were staying and with the last seconds, I told them to call and leave me a message and I’d figure it out…3 minutes before the flight takes off, the flight attendant pages over the intercom that they are looking for me…Dread spreads over me and I tried to think of what I may have left at the counter or if the person who was supposed to have my seat arrived…She comes over and hands me a card and says that the gentleman in 22 E was looking for me…It was the person that I was supposed to wait for at the airport to give me a ride to the conference center. So, I'm feeling so much better about everything…But, the air is blowing right on me and I didn't exactly dress for sitting in the airport all day to take a night flight! There was an older Korean woman sitting next to me and saw that I was cold and offered me her blanket…I declined and told her I would be okay. She insisted, "No" and proceeded to unfold the blanket, cover me up and said that we would share. She pulled the blanket all the way up over my shoulders and down over my legs, providing me easily with more than half of the blanket. Those are moments of grace…Those are the moments of hope that we live into…
It would be easy to live into the devastation and the bad feelings of the situations…But we don’t live in the devastation, we live in the hope of the resurrection…We live in the moments of grace that are all around us even when we aren’t looking…Those moments that tell us to “Get up!” and keep going…Those moments when our lives intersect with God and are never the same…For as many of those stories of devastation that oyu rememebred earlier, you have just as many stories of grace…Those are the stories that we live into…Those are the moments of grace that we live into…That’s where we get up and keep going….
You may have noticed this morning that the two stories that we heard are quite similar…Yet, they’re about different people in a different time and a different place…The first story comes from I Kings and is the story of Elijah and the second comes from the Gospel of Luke and is about Jesus…And yet, they are almost identical!
In each of the stories, we have a widow who has lost her son. And in each of the stories, the “hero,” Elijah and Jesus, of the story brings the child back to life. Now beyond these details, there are, of course, more…
In that society, widows were not highly regarded…There were many rules about widows, widows of course being women…To be a woman in that society was bad enough, but to be a widow was even worse. So if you were a widow in that society, you needed to have someone take care of you, so you better have had a son at some point in your marriage. If your son was a baby, you’d have to wait until he grew to take care of you…There was an option to get remarried, especially if there was a family member related to your husband and you could convince him to marry you…Otherwise, if you as a widow didn’t have someone to take care of you…You were left to either beg on the streets for food or glean from others’ fields to get food. Either way…You weren’t well off…Can’t own property because you’re a woman…Can’t really work because you’re a woman…And you don’t have anyone in your life…It was pretty tough and probably very frustrating at times!
So these widows’ sons are important for many reasons. The first being that they are their sons! This was their child that was dead. Their pride and joy…But aside from being their child, this was also the only person who was going to take care of them. So, as devastated as these widows would be at the loss of their child, it was multiplied by knowing that they had no security in the world.
Have you ever felt that devastation? Maybe it’s not on as the same level as the widows. But a time when you felt absolutely helpless…When you felt like you had no security in the world…It doesn’t matter if it’s really true or not, whatever it is that you feel is important. Maybe it was getting a bad grade on your report card…Or burning dinner…Or losing something important to you…Or maybe it was something like the widow and you lost a child…Or you got bad news from the doctor…Or you got in a car accident…Devastation…We all know what it feels like to us…
As you’ve thought about your experience, can you understand what the widow must be feeling? Her devastation…And then someone says that they can help…For one it was Elijah and for another it was Jesus…Now at this point, there must be some skepticism about what these men were going to do, but what did they really have to lose? They really didn’t have anything to lose…If they men didn’t help their sons; they were facing the same thing…
But by letting Elijah & Jesus near their sons, there must have been at the very least a glimmer of hope…Even if they thought that nothing would happen, by allowing them to come forward and near their sons, there must have been even a small sense of hope that these women had. Maybe it was bigger than a small sense…Maybe hope is really all they had…
When I worked with Iraqi and Afghani refugees when I was in Italy, I looked at the environment these men were living in…They were living in a parking lot outside of a bus station. There was a group living in the bushes…There was a group who were living on the concrete in the parking lot…And there were others who were living on the sidewalk…None had a hot meal in quite some time…None had seen their family in quite some time…None had any money to do anything…There was certainly a sense of devastation among them…As we served them tea and cookies, we started to talk with them and they had fun testing out their English skills and we tried to remember not to ask too many questions because there were things that we didn’t want to know because if we did and were approached by the police, we would have far too much information and could the refugees in a difficult position. As each of the refugees told us their plans for the future, we were amazed that they had plans for the future…Most were planning on going someplace else—Ireland, Canada, Paris, America…While they were in what seemed to be devastation—torn from their home & family, no money or food, no bed or blanket…They had a glimmer of hope of a better life somewhere…It was that glimmer of hope that kept them going…The same glimmer that was present with the widows as Elijah & Jesus approached their sons…
For Elijah, he prayed so hard that the widow’s son would be raised and God heard his prayer…For Jesus, he called the young man to “Get up!”
The hope that’s in those words, “Get up!” It’s the hope that keeps us all going…To be able to get up and move along…There are times when there is devastation and when things seem bleak, but even in the midst of those times, there are glimmers of hope that help us all to get up and keep moving…Where do we find that hope?
Well, we find that hope all over the place…In the moments of grace that abound…They are everywhere, if you look for them…When I was flying to Seattle a couple weeks ago, I missed my flight and while I wasn’t feeling devastation, it was certainly frustrating and irritating as I sat in O’Hare airport for more than 10 hours waiting and praying for a flight that I could take…There were moments of grace and hope everywhere…On the last flight out to Seattle from O'Hare,I was 3rd on the standby list and they let on 3 people for standby! I made the calls I needed to, to let folks know I was on my way and as the plane was getting ready to take off we were trying to figure out how to get me from the airport to where we were staying and with the last seconds, I told them to call and leave me a message and I’d figure it out…3 minutes before the flight takes off, the flight attendant pages over the intercom that they are looking for me…Dread spreads over me and I tried to think of what I may have left at the counter or if the person who was supposed to have my seat arrived…She comes over and hands me a card and says that the gentleman in 22 E was looking for me…It was the person that I was supposed to wait for at the airport to give me a ride to the conference center. So, I'm feeling so much better about everything…But, the air is blowing right on me and I didn't exactly dress for sitting in the airport all day to take a night flight! There was an older Korean woman sitting next to me and saw that I was cold and offered me her blanket…I declined and told her I would be okay. She insisted, "No" and proceeded to unfold the blanket, cover me up and said that we would share. She pulled the blanket all the way up over my shoulders and down over my legs, providing me easily with more than half of the blanket. Those are moments of grace…Those are the moments of hope that we live into…
It would be easy to live into the devastation and the bad feelings of the situations…But we don’t live in the devastation, we live in the hope of the resurrection…We live in the moments of grace that are all around us even when we aren’t looking…Those moments that tell us to “Get up!” and keep going…Those moments when our lives intersect with God and are never the same…For as many of those stories of devastation that oyu rememebred earlier, you have just as many stories of grace…Those are the stories that we live into…Those are the moments of grace that we live into…That’s where we get up and keep going….
Friday, June 08, 2007
Are you kidding me?
Okay, I have admitted before that I check in on the celebrity bloggers...I needed some nonsense gossip in my head, you know just to keep in touch with the world...I'm not surprised that the whole Paris Hilton fiasco has caught their attention and many posts are devoted to her in jail, out of jail, on her way to court, etc...What I was surpised to see was a screen caputre from a news station and not just a local news station, but one of the national ones...I tuned into said news station and I am baffled by the "news" coverage that is being devoted to this! Not only is Fox news "reporting" on this, but also MSNBC! Thank God CNN hasn't devoted all of their time to it...
What has our world come to when people are more interested in hearing about Paris Hilton than learning about the retirement & appointments for the Joint Chiefs of Staff...Or do people not really know what the Joint Chiefs of Staff really do?
Here are my thoughts on the whole fiasco...This is a completely ridiculous "news" item to be on two of the major news stations...When there are people dying around the world for real issues...When people are really starving...When people really have no clean water to drink...When people are killing each other...When people have no place to live...Those stories aren't being told, but we are telling this silly little story...
And yet there's something about it that is not such a silly little story...There is something deeper about affluence in America. That if you have money, you are able to get out of whatever legal trouble that you get in. There certainly seems to be a preferential treatment of Paris Hilton to leave the jail cell to which she was held to her 40 million dollar estate...Becuase surely that seems like justice!
And the argument that I have heard also-- is it justice to force someone who is used to the upper echelon of society to be in a prison cell? To tear away everything that she knows and lives with and force her into almost nothing...Isn't that what jail is supposed to be? No, it's not a place to get the finer food, to drink alcohol, to get waxed for crying out loud! If you are crying after 2 days and let to go home, is that really justice?
I haven't lived in LA, so I'm not all aware of the situations of what happens there, but I have heard from people who do live there and from various other media sources that there is a distinct tension between the police and the people. There are distinct racial tensions in the city...There are distinct poverty tensions in the city...There are problems in this city (not that there aren't in any city!)...How does this situation just explode those tensions? That a welathy Euro-American woman who has been caught violating her probation is able to go home for "house arrest"...Is there a poor Hispanic woman that is allowed the same? Or even a wealthy Hispanic woman? Is there a poor African-American womn who is allowed the same? I would say no...
A conversation on the news station centered around justice. One woman made the comment that it would be a sad day in America if we discovered that there were two sets of justice systems-- one that caters to the rich and another that is for everyone else. I hate to be a pessimist, but I would say that it has been a sad day for quite some time. There has not been justice in America for all people...We as a nation have not treated one another equally and offered the same treatment for all people...There have been some redemptive times in our nation when we have attempted to treat one another equally, but that usually just means another group of people becoming the oppressed...
Is there no justice in America because we show no justice? It reminds me at times of the parable that Jesus told of the servant who owed money to their master and whose debt was forgiven. Yet, the servant then threw in jail another who owed them money...Is that justice? In order to live in America and live the lives that we lead, we oppress people...The clothes that we're wearing were made by someone who didn't have a fair wage...The house that we are living in were built by people who didn't live in the same way...The food that we eat is prepared, harvested, cooked, etc...by people who may not be able to afford the same food....We as Americans oppress others in order to live. It's the truth....It saddens me to say that and yet here I sit in my 4 bedroom hosue typing my angry rant on my blog on my laptop...Is this justice?
In the meantime, let's all focus our attention on Paris Hilton and ignore the other injustices in the world...
What has our world come to when people are more interested in hearing about Paris Hilton than learning about the retirement & appointments for the Joint Chiefs of Staff...Or do people not really know what the Joint Chiefs of Staff really do?
Here are my thoughts on the whole fiasco...This is a completely ridiculous "news" item to be on two of the major news stations...When there are people dying around the world for real issues...When people are really starving...When people really have no clean water to drink...When people are killing each other...When people have no place to live...Those stories aren't being told, but we are telling this silly little story...
And yet there's something about it that is not such a silly little story...There is something deeper about affluence in America. That if you have money, you are able to get out of whatever legal trouble that you get in. There certainly seems to be a preferential treatment of Paris Hilton to leave the jail cell to which she was held to her 40 million dollar estate...Becuase surely that seems like justice!
And the argument that I have heard also-- is it justice to force someone who is used to the upper echelon of society to be in a prison cell? To tear away everything that she knows and lives with and force her into almost nothing...Isn't that what jail is supposed to be? No, it's not a place to get the finer food, to drink alcohol, to get waxed for crying out loud! If you are crying after 2 days and let to go home, is that really justice?
I haven't lived in LA, so I'm not all aware of the situations of what happens there, but I have heard from people who do live there and from various other media sources that there is a distinct tension between the police and the people. There are distinct racial tensions in the city...There are distinct poverty tensions in the city...There are problems in this city (not that there aren't in any city!)...How does this situation just explode those tensions? That a welathy Euro-American woman who has been caught violating her probation is able to go home for "house arrest"...Is there a poor Hispanic woman that is allowed the same? Or even a wealthy Hispanic woman? Is there a poor African-American womn who is allowed the same? I would say no...
A conversation on the news station centered around justice. One woman made the comment that it would be a sad day in America if we discovered that there were two sets of justice systems-- one that caters to the rich and another that is for everyone else. I hate to be a pessimist, but I would say that it has been a sad day for quite some time. There has not been justice in America for all people...We as a nation have not treated one another equally and offered the same treatment for all people...There have been some redemptive times in our nation when we have attempted to treat one another equally, but that usually just means another group of people becoming the oppressed...
Is there no justice in America because we show no justice? It reminds me at times of the parable that Jesus told of the servant who owed money to their master and whose debt was forgiven. Yet, the servant then threw in jail another who owed them money...Is that justice? In order to live in America and live the lives that we lead, we oppress people...The clothes that we're wearing were made by someone who didn't have a fair wage...The house that we are living in were built by people who didn't live in the same way...The food that we eat is prepared, harvested, cooked, etc...by people who may not be able to afford the same food....We as Americans oppress others in order to live. It's the truth....It saddens me to say that and yet here I sit in my 4 bedroom hosue typing my angry rant on my blog on my laptop...Is this justice?
In the meantime, let's all focus our attention on Paris Hilton and ignore the other injustices in the world...
Hurtful...
A friend of mine called recently and wanted to know how to shut off a tape recorder in your head of something that's hurtful. Now, I ask myself the same question.
I was told something recently that I had heard once before and it brought up not only those hurt feelings but also new ones. I wonder how to turn off that tape recorder in your head...
There's so much about what's been said that is not really my issue, but rather goes back to the other peoples' perception and really their insecurities...It's the reply that really it's not my fault but theirs...And while my head may know that, my heart is telling me different...My heart is making me question almost everything about who I am and what I do. That's not fair for any one or two individuals to do to any person...But how do you turn off that tape recorder in your head?
The advice that I gave was to focus on the positive...For her it was one individual who was hurtful and so many others that were affirming...I suppose the same is true for me. To focus on the positive...There are other affirming voices that need to be heard and echoed throughout my head to drown out the tape recorder. I think that's the thing...You don't ever really turn off the tape recorder, you just learn how to drown it out better....
I was told something recently that I had heard once before and it brought up not only those hurt feelings but also new ones. I wonder how to turn off that tape recorder in your head...
There's so much about what's been said that is not really my issue, but rather goes back to the other peoples' perception and really their insecurities...It's the reply that really it's not my fault but theirs...And while my head may know that, my heart is telling me different...My heart is making me question almost everything about who I am and what I do. That's not fair for any one or two individuals to do to any person...But how do you turn off that tape recorder in your head?
The advice that I gave was to focus on the positive...For her it was one individual who was hurtful and so many others that were affirming...I suppose the same is true for me. To focus on the positive...There are other affirming voices that need to be heard and echoed throughout my head to drown out the tape recorder. I think that's the thing...You don't ever really turn off the tape recorder, you just learn how to drown it out better....
Sunday, June 03, 2007
On Fire!
On Fire
Pentecost…Some call it the birthday of the church…It’s the day when the Holy Spirit came with a mighty rushing wind to the waiting disciples. It’s the advocate that Jesus had promised the disciples…The Holy Spirit is one that was promised to be a connection to Jesus…To remind of Jesus’ message and not just to remind, but also call to witness to the message…
Could you imagine being in the place with the disciples on that first Pentecost? To be sitting and waiting, maybe still unsure of everything that had been going on…And suddenly a mighty rushing wind! And the wind wasn’t all…There were tongues of fire that touched each of the disciples and they could understand one another in their own language, even those who they couldn’t understand before….
If they were unsure of everything that had been happening before, would this have cleared everything up for them or would it have caused more confusion? It certainly didn’t clear things up for people who were witnessing what was happening…Those who were witnessing this event and the enthusiasm of the disciples called them drunk, filled with new wine…So, now the disciples not only have to wrestle with this new thing that they’ve experienced, but they also have to deal with people talking about them behind their back…Oh and by the way, their teacher was taken up into the sky not to long ago…And let’s not forget what they went through with him before that…His lessons, teachings, death, and resurrection…Maybe the disciples even felt crazy when they were touched by the Holy Spirit…Or at the very least filled with new wine…
Then something happens…Peter gets up to speak and tell everyone what’s going on…There’s certainly been a change in Peter from the last few times we saw him…He’s gained confidence…He’s gained the ability to speak authoritatively in public…He’s grown in faith…When did it happen? Well, Peter has certainly been a work in progress…From his time as a fisherman to a preacher and teacher…From his time of denying Jesus to proclaiming Jesus’ message in the middle of Jerusalem…Some might ask what got into Peter…Was he filled with new wine himself? Or filled with the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit…One of the members of the Trinity…The trinity being God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit…Father, Son, Holy Spirit…Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer…The Trinity…And the Trinity is a difficult concept to understand…It’s God three-in-one…Three distinct pieces, yet one God…
In theology class one day, Dr. Andrew Park asked us to use an image to describe the Trinity…Each person used an image that they had either used to teach in confirmation or somewhere else…There were really only two images that we had all heard and that were the ones that were being used. Andrew nodded his head for a few minutes and quietly informed us that we were heretics…That instead of preaching for the church’s beliefs, we were actually preaching against them, or at the very least our images didn’t match up with what we believed…He then gave us an image to work with…
It’s the image of the sun…The middle of the sun, the great ball of light being the Father…The rays of the sun being Jesus, the Son…The heat coming off being the Holy spirit…All three are intertwined in the image…All are of the same substance…God, Jesus, Holy Spirit…Father, Son, Holy Spirit…Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer…
Heat usually spreads also…It doesn’t just stay in one place…The Holy Spirit is like that too…It doesn’t just stay in one place, but it spreads…The image of heat and the Holy spirit is one that is also held in the first Pentecost…The tongues of fire that rested on each of the ones present in that place…They were on fire…
On fire…It’s a phrase that’s used to describe when someone is passionate about something…So passionate about something that everyone knows…Can you think of the things that you are on fire for? That you are so passionate about that everyone knows it? Maybe it’s music or movies or a game…Something that when people think of you they associate whatever it is with you…Oh, there’s Angie—Angie who plays soccer…Oh, yeah—that’s Billy, Billy who plays guitar…Oh, you know Jane, Jane who reads a lot…Something that you’re on fire for…
A phrase that’s used often in Christian conferences, concerts, and books is being “on fire for Jesus.” Being passionate about Jesus and Jesus’ message so much that everyone knows about it…Some people show that passion in different ways…Some will talk about it to anyone and everyone that they encounter…Others will show their passion through actions…For some it’s a mixture of the two…
Last weekend, I was in Seattle working with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, which is a global board of the United Methodist Church and serves all schools of the United Methodist Church and those who are seeking ordination in the Unite Methodist Church. There are many facets to this board, and this particular conference that I was at, there were two conferences going at the same time—one for United Methodist college students and one for United Methodist seminarians...I traveled with two students from Garret Evangelical Theological Seminary, which is located in Chicago…I knew both students from previous work and we had arranged our flights to be able to fly together…Both students would be considered to be “on fire” for the message of Jesus, but both showed it in different ways…One talked with everyone that he encountered, be it in line at security or in line to get lunch, or sitting on the floor waiting to board the plane…The message wasn’t always about Jesus explicitly, but he usually ended the conversation with “God bless you.” The other, not quite as talkative, showed his passion in other ways…He let people ahead of him in line who were wanting to be with the rest of their group, listened to the person sitting next to him on the plane as they shared their faith journey, let another passenger know that they dropped money on the floor…Maybe never explicitly stating that he was doing it because of Jesus….Both were moved by the Holy Spirit to act…to share the message of Jesus in their own ways…sometimes with words and sometimes with none…
What is it that you can do to show your passion? It could be in something with the ministries of the church—helping teach Sunday school or Vacation Bible School or working in the kitchen during a breakfast or dinner…Those are certainly ways to share your passion…But what about in everyday life…in the ordinary time…Maybe it’s striking up a conversation with someone at the grocery store…Maybe it’s helping someone cross the street…Maybe it’s reading a book to children at the library…Sharing the message of Jesus sometimes with words and sometimes without….
This first Pentecost, the people received the Holy Spirit, but they didn’t stay in the room together forever…They went out to share what they had received and learned…The heat of the Holy Spirit spread…Hopefully we can be like those first disciples…That we can spread the heat of the Holy Spirit as well…
Pentecost…Some call it the birthday of the church…It’s the day when the Holy Spirit came with a mighty rushing wind to the waiting disciples. It’s the advocate that Jesus had promised the disciples…The Holy Spirit is one that was promised to be a connection to Jesus…To remind of Jesus’ message and not just to remind, but also call to witness to the message…
Could you imagine being in the place with the disciples on that first Pentecost? To be sitting and waiting, maybe still unsure of everything that had been going on…And suddenly a mighty rushing wind! And the wind wasn’t all…There were tongues of fire that touched each of the disciples and they could understand one another in their own language, even those who they couldn’t understand before….
If they were unsure of everything that had been happening before, would this have cleared everything up for them or would it have caused more confusion? It certainly didn’t clear things up for people who were witnessing what was happening…Those who were witnessing this event and the enthusiasm of the disciples called them drunk, filled with new wine…So, now the disciples not only have to wrestle with this new thing that they’ve experienced, but they also have to deal with people talking about them behind their back…Oh and by the way, their teacher was taken up into the sky not to long ago…And let’s not forget what they went through with him before that…His lessons, teachings, death, and resurrection…Maybe the disciples even felt crazy when they were touched by the Holy Spirit…Or at the very least filled with new wine…
Then something happens…Peter gets up to speak and tell everyone what’s going on…There’s certainly been a change in Peter from the last few times we saw him…He’s gained confidence…He’s gained the ability to speak authoritatively in public…He’s grown in faith…When did it happen? Well, Peter has certainly been a work in progress…From his time as a fisherman to a preacher and teacher…From his time of denying Jesus to proclaiming Jesus’ message in the middle of Jerusalem…Some might ask what got into Peter…Was he filled with new wine himself? Or filled with the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit…One of the members of the Trinity…The trinity being God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit…Father, Son, Holy Spirit…Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer…The Trinity…And the Trinity is a difficult concept to understand…It’s God three-in-one…Three distinct pieces, yet one God…
In theology class one day, Dr. Andrew Park asked us to use an image to describe the Trinity…Each person used an image that they had either used to teach in confirmation or somewhere else…There were really only two images that we had all heard and that were the ones that were being used. Andrew nodded his head for a few minutes and quietly informed us that we were heretics…That instead of preaching for the church’s beliefs, we were actually preaching against them, or at the very least our images didn’t match up with what we believed…He then gave us an image to work with…
It’s the image of the sun…The middle of the sun, the great ball of light being the Father…The rays of the sun being Jesus, the Son…The heat coming off being the Holy spirit…All three are intertwined in the image…All are of the same substance…God, Jesus, Holy Spirit…Father, Son, Holy Spirit…Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer…
Heat usually spreads also…It doesn’t just stay in one place…The Holy Spirit is like that too…It doesn’t just stay in one place, but it spreads…The image of heat and the Holy spirit is one that is also held in the first Pentecost…The tongues of fire that rested on each of the ones present in that place…They were on fire…
On fire…It’s a phrase that’s used to describe when someone is passionate about something…So passionate about something that everyone knows…Can you think of the things that you are on fire for? That you are so passionate about that everyone knows it? Maybe it’s music or movies or a game…Something that when people think of you they associate whatever it is with you…Oh, there’s Angie—Angie who plays soccer…Oh, yeah—that’s Billy, Billy who plays guitar…Oh, you know Jane, Jane who reads a lot…Something that you’re on fire for…
A phrase that’s used often in Christian conferences, concerts, and books is being “on fire for Jesus.” Being passionate about Jesus and Jesus’ message so much that everyone knows about it…Some people show that passion in different ways…Some will talk about it to anyone and everyone that they encounter…Others will show their passion through actions…For some it’s a mixture of the two…
Last weekend, I was in Seattle working with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, which is a global board of the United Methodist Church and serves all schools of the United Methodist Church and those who are seeking ordination in the Unite Methodist Church. There are many facets to this board, and this particular conference that I was at, there were two conferences going at the same time—one for United Methodist college students and one for United Methodist seminarians...I traveled with two students from Garret Evangelical Theological Seminary, which is located in Chicago…I knew both students from previous work and we had arranged our flights to be able to fly together…Both students would be considered to be “on fire” for the message of Jesus, but both showed it in different ways…One talked with everyone that he encountered, be it in line at security or in line to get lunch, or sitting on the floor waiting to board the plane…The message wasn’t always about Jesus explicitly, but he usually ended the conversation with “God bless you.” The other, not quite as talkative, showed his passion in other ways…He let people ahead of him in line who were wanting to be with the rest of their group, listened to the person sitting next to him on the plane as they shared their faith journey, let another passenger know that they dropped money on the floor…Maybe never explicitly stating that he was doing it because of Jesus….Both were moved by the Holy Spirit to act…to share the message of Jesus in their own ways…sometimes with words and sometimes with none…
What is it that you can do to show your passion? It could be in something with the ministries of the church—helping teach Sunday school or Vacation Bible School or working in the kitchen during a breakfast or dinner…Those are certainly ways to share your passion…But what about in everyday life…in the ordinary time…Maybe it’s striking up a conversation with someone at the grocery store…Maybe it’s helping someone cross the street…Maybe it’s reading a book to children at the library…Sharing the message of Jesus sometimes with words and sometimes without….
This first Pentecost, the people received the Holy Spirit, but they didn’t stay in the room together forever…They went out to share what they had received and learned…The heat of the Holy Spirit spread…Hopefully we can be like those first disciples…That we can spread the heat of the Holy Spirit as well…
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