Making Room

For the last several years, Carly and I made a decision that we were not going to buy additional book shelves for our ever growing collection of books. Instead, we made a decision that when we buy new books (unless they are digital books) we would have to make room for the books on the shelves we already own. As you can imagine for two pastors who have come from families that value books, this has not been an easy transition. In order to fit the new book or books on our shelves, we find ourselves asking questions such as, “Is this a book that will have some lasting value?” Will we use this book more than just a couple of times?” “Do we really need to buy this book or can we borrow it from the library?” “For what reasons are we attracted to this book?” If we purchase the book and we have to make room for the new ones, we take a look at our old collection and see which ones we have not looked at in a long time or perhaps the topic or material  is outdated, then we remove it from our collection. We might sell it on half.com, pass it on to another person that would appreciate the book, or we donate it to the library. Regardless we make room for something new.

Recently,  I wanted to reduce my file cabinet collection of twelve full drawers to one four drawer file cabinet. You can imagine what a task that was, but I was able to do it. As I began cleaning files, I had material from my college years, Seminary notes and papers. I found material that dated back to my first Confirmation class. I found material that I prepared for some of my very first Bible studies.  I found my Ordination paper I wrote twenty-five years ago,  and countless other resources that I've collected and used at one time or another. In a day and age when there is so much information stored digitally, it makes sense to lighten the load and find new ways to accumulate, store, and use the plethora of material that is now available to the average American. Change makes all of this possible.

Deciding on books, storing books, going through years and years of files and deciding which ones to keep and which resources have served their purpose and which ones are no longer helpful is what I've been up to lately. When I find  resources that no longer serve my ministry, I might flip through pages, re-read some of the material, bathing in the special memories for a moment and celebrate what, at one time, was what I needed, but like so much in life, I've moved beyond that resource and need to find new resources that will serve me better today.

It seems to me the task of living and loving every day is about making room for something new; learn new ways to relate to one another. We need to take time to bathe in special memories, and move forward into the future with a different set of tools, expectations, hopes and dreams that are needed to embrace our new experiences.  I wonder if God gets bored with the sameness of life and I think that’s why God puts a lot of value in creating and renewing. God endowed all of us with creativity and has given us the skills to do some amazing things. God calls us to keep our eyes on the new possibilities and to live into this exciting new day. When making room for this new day, we’ll quickly learn is that this new time requires a different set of tools, skills and new ways to live and love together. 

 Is it time to go through book shelves of once helpful quotes, "how to do" books, or  insights that served us well at one time, but are no longer usable?  Is it time to go through the  file cabinets of past grudges, old behaviors that served us well, but now it is time to leave behind and find new tools and skills that will be more helpful and relevant? As you sort through your books to make room for something new and as you sort through the files that you will soon leave in another place, bathe in the memories for a moment, bless them as a part of who you are today,  move to the new place where God is calling you, and rejoice in the new creation you are becoming.  

How well have we loved?

Recently, I was talking to a pastor who is updating his Last Will and Testament and we were talking about professional books and what to do with them. Clergy have a particular affinity toward books, manuscripts, articles, etc. It is one of the hazards of the vocation. Nonetheless the books must be attended to as pastors update their Last Will and Testament.

We've been packing boxes and going through an accumulation of “stuff” that we've kept over the years. While going through our “stuff”, we came across old High School Year Books and College Yearbooks. We mused about good times and are still wondering what to do with them. I found my collection of stamps and my baseball cards from the seventies and we found some of the decorations from our wedding day and the homecoming clothes worn by our boys when we brought them home from the hospital so many years ago. These items gave us an opportunity to reflect upon our thirty years that we have shared together. Each re-discovered item brought back a special memory that remains in our collective memory. . 

As I prepare to make another move, I have been cleaning out my files so that I will take only the material that I need to do the new ministry to which I have been called. As I go through files, I find bulletins, obituaries and  materials I have used for every funeral I have done over the last ten years. As I clean out  my files, I am remembering the faces and the  memories of the people I have known and loved. I find lists and short biographies of the many members who have joined our congregation since I arrived. Their are faces of the Confirmation classes I have confirmed and the children I have baptized over the years. My task of cleaning out my files gives to me an opportunity to recall the many joys of my years of my ministry among the people of St. Paul's. 

Finally, however, such reminiscing must come to an end and decisions must be made as to what to save and what to throw away. Eventually,  my minister's  Last Will and Testament must be filed with his lawyer and copies made for his children. The last box must be taped closed, the last book packed and the internal dialogue of how we lived and worked and played together will move to a different level as we ask ourselves, “how well did I love".

”You know that love is more than a just a nice thought, or a beautiful piece of poetry or the lyrics of a love song. Love is the standard by which we measure our life and how well we have loved in the time we've been blessed to share as we pass through the chapters of our life. Love is about changing our  motivation and our purpose for living .Love is about raising the bar of our social connections, eliminating our own meaningless prejudices, and changing the rules by which we engage in the process of making decisions and impacting lives. Love is foundational to the Christian faith. 

“Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action” 1 John 3:18. This is our guiding principle in all that we do and say and show. At the end of the day,whether on New Year’s Eve, or some other significant event in our lives that causes us to ponder the meaning our humanity, we  ask ourselves the only question that really matters to God,  ‘how well have we loved?”

Prayer

At the end of the day, O God, may I say with confidence that I have loved well. God, in your grace forgive me when I do not love, convict me and show me a better way. In the name of the one who loved in truth and action, please hear my prayer. Amen.  

Easter Eggs, Resurrection and Transformation

It was at the Easter Egg Hunt this year when I noticed the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. For many years the congregation that I serve plans an Easter egg hunt for the community. It’s really an outreach to the community and over the years we’ve developed this event to also be a about the resurrection and not all about Easter bunnies, chocolate eggs, and an abundance of great fun. It is also true that this Easter egg hunt would not be possible without the youth of the church to take care of the games, hiding the Easter eggs and supervising the many children filling their Easter baskets with plastic eggs filled with candy. 

As I watched the youth take on this responsibility I saw the transforming power of the Holy Spirit working through these young people with beauty and grace. I remember all of these now teen-age children when they were the fair skinned, towheads that carried their over-sized baskets across the open fields to claim their Easter surprises. Now, they are the ones providing spirited fun for the children who have come after them. It was that day that I could see the power of the resurrection as the young people took such care and grace to provide for a positive and enjoyable experience for children half their age. They were the leaders – the bearers of a sacred story that has become our story to the community in which we live and witness.  In the midst of the present, the resurrection of Jesus Christ continues to bring about a new day – a new creation.

The Easter story is a beautiful story and one that feels good – like a favorite pillow or a worn out pair of sneakers. But that is all it is – a story – if nothing more comes of the promise. It was the Easter egg hunt that the resurrection became real once again. As I watched the youth, once children themselves, take responsibility for our tradition, how I saw them take charge of the age group they had been assigned, and saw how graciously they passed along one of the stories of our ministry to another generation, I witnessed the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. This is resurrection and inherent in the Easter story is the promise for a new tomorrow. 

Prayer:

Spring time and Easter bunnies are not the message of this season, but in the midst of the ordinary, the secular, Spirit God breathes new life with a promise and miracle. Thank you God for the gift of faith that sees what many cannot see, but the faithful and all times and places continue to seek. May I be a seeker too and help me, O God, to know when I have witnessed the resurrection. Amen.

"For a Little While" Reflections on John 13:31-35

“Little children, I am with you only for a little longer and where I am going, you cannot come.” The darkness closes in and the candles burn brighter in the upper room. Quiet hymns of praise, mark the changing of the story and the crucifixion marches on – marches on to the garden to the place of new beginnings and the voice of Jesus cries out, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but your be done.” 

Alone for a little while and what will we do? How often don’t we feel so alone, so afraid of the night sounds and we wonder if we’ll see tomorrow. But Jesus gives us an important commandment that calls upon a sacrifice – a sacrifice of love. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

While in the Upper Room that dark and gloomy night, “Jesus got up from the table took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around. Him.” Then, to show how to love Jesus began to teach the disciples that just as he has washed the feet of the disciples, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set an example. Very truly, I  tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receive me and whoever received me receives him who sent me. All this is to tell us that in the absence of our Savior, for a little while, we will be alone, but Jesus will send to us an advocate, Spirit God that will sustain us through the darkest hours and in the meantime, we must love one another, as God has loved us.

While shadows grow darker and the flames of the candle grow dim, one of us will betray our Lord, one of us will deny that we know Jesus many times, many of us will flee from the loud cries of crucifixion, and won’t be present to hear the hammer strike the head of the nail and the cry of our Savior shout out, “Father, why have you forsaken me!” The hour is coming when we must stand alone and where will we be standing? Perhaps we’ll gather in the home of a friend, lock the doors and hope no one saw us with the Lord. Maybe we’ll stand in the shadows of the night, just peaking a little to see for ourselves if Jesus was right when he said to us, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three day after being killed, he will rise again.” Or will we be at the foot of the cross to hear him say, “It is finished.” Where will you be?

"This is my Lord" Reflections on Philippians 2:5-11

Then he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” When Peter, James and John went to the mountain top with Jesus, the clothes of Jesus became dazzling white and there appeared to them Elijah with Moses and they were talking with Jesus. We shall make a shrine here, we shall have a shrine to Elijah and to Moses and to you Jesus, and the generations will worship you. 

The disciples answered Jesus, “Some say you are Elijah, while others say you are Moses or John the Baptist.” Peter, James and John wanted to build a shrine for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, but Jesus rebuked them and said, “But, who do you say that I am?” On the top of the mountain, God brought together the significant prophets that shaped the promise of God’s people. Like the baptism of Jesus, the voice of God was heard, identifying Jesus as the Son of God and we were admonished to listen to him and Jesus took the disciples down to the mountain where there was sadness and suffering, pain and trouble, injustice and hunger, children dying, women beaten, and men forsaken. There’s no time to worship on the mountain, there’s work to do. 

 

Then Peter identified Jesus as the Messiah and went on to teach them many things. He said that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priest, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He taught them that greatest ones among us would deny themselves and take up their cross and follow him.” For this is the mind we must have among us: 

“Let this same mind be in you that was Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.” 

 

This is the Christ! The Son of the Living God. This is my God.

"This is the Fast I Choose" Reflection on Isaiah 58:6-9

As the dust of Ash Wednesday settles, vestiges of another time, we find ourselves on this day wondering if our ashes delight God – a sign of humility and complete submission to the One who created heaven and earth and planted a garden to be our home. The dust of Ash Wednesday seems far from our memory on the threshold of the crucifixion of Jesus. Day after day we seek God, hoping we’ve got it right this time.

In addition to the ashes that marked our foreheads with the words, “Turn away from your sins and embrace the good news” or “You are dust and to dust you shall return.” These are words that frame the season of Lent and we hope that our actions delight God and draw us nearer to God. Throughout the years, we’ve participated in various disciplines that help us experience the fullness of this season. Some of us fast and pray daily, eating only after sunset or before the sun rises. At times we have dutifully put quarters into our self-denial folders, some of us give something up and others eat fish on Friday. Whatever we may do, there is one thing we know for sure that that is at this time of year, more than any other time of year, and participate in a more rigorous spiritual life. And we wonder, does this delight God? Is this what God would have us to do in this season of Lent? 

 

 Amid the ashes of Ash Wednesday, the path we’ve chosen to take as we practice spiritual disciplines we hope delight our God, but the words from the Prophet Isaiah calls us to something different. God does not seem to delight in our ashes, our fasting, fish on Friday, or quarters in our Lenten Self-Denial folder. There is something that pleases God even more. 

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to lose the bonds of injustice?” Where do you see injustice, where is love qualified, shared only with people who think and act like me? What delights God more than fasting, alms giving, a more disciplined spiritual life, or passing up the chocolate for seven weeks, does not delight God if justice is ignored in our communities, our nation, or the world. Is not the fast that God chooses, the fast of injustice? Does God not ask us to “let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke, every yoke” that keeps us or anyone else from knowing freedom. Is this not the fast that God chooses? Is this not what would delight God? When we share our bread with the hungry, provide a safe place for the homeless and the poor and when we share our clothing with the naked, this is what delights God more than anything else. When we succeed in doing these things and when we cry out to the Lord, then God will hear us and say to us, “Here I am.”

Morning Song

It was mid-March and a short break in winter's slow march to spring time connections when I woke early and took a morning walk. It began with the quiet rhythm of the soft cry of a Mourning Dove. As I listened to the gentle song and my mind went back to Northern Wisconsin when we took family vacations in the north woods. Before the sun lifted the misty fog from warm lake in July, I'd wait for my father at the fishing pier and listened to the Mourning Doves calling out my name. That's where I seemed to have disappeared for a time early this morning as the frigid grasp of winter breaks with the rising of the sun. 

As the Mourning Dove sang its lonely song, I heard the rustling of wings grow louder and louder as thousands of fluttering wings from a brood of starlings passed through at the beginning of this new day. There wings were like the crescendo of a thousand drums. As their wings rustle through the morning breeze,  the sound of their traveling wings add to the morning song of the quiet, mournful song of a solitary dove perched in the trees above. 

As daylight breaks the darkening horizon, the staccato barking of a  fox joins the morning song.  As I stood amid nature's amphitheater and listened to the chorus, God's hand of grace opened my my tired eyes and gave life to a heart still waiting for the warming sun. As the chorus continued their morning song,  I was in box seats of a magnificent orchestra that opened my heart to a new day.

The concert continues, each voice adding to the new day with this new song.The steady quiet rhythm of the song of the Mourning Dove, the dramatic movement of starling wings adds to the morning song. The staccato bark becomes the counter-rhythm of a, barking fox and a robin's descant adds color and beauty to this composition, welcoming the morning with God's heavenly chorus.

Prayer:

God, help me to hear the sounds of a thousand wings today and may I hear the music of the morning. May the song I write be a praise gift to you and may our  music  be  filled with descants, counter rhythms and a welcome response to your glory. Amen.