May 27, 2009
Last week I shared with you a few of the life lessons that I have gleaned while serving as your Associate Minister and now as I am literally days away from turning in those keys that I have carried for so long, I offer you my final lessons that you have given me the space to learn.
Matthew 5:44-45
But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
I’ve learned over the years to become more observant of my behavior and that of others. This is not a lesson I have mastered but I see such value in trying to think through the effects of one’s actions and then act in compassion. Seeking to ask questions like, “who will this decision affect and what is the cost benefit analysis?” Somehow, the accomplishment of this cause and effect strategy seems like a straight path to wisdom.
One of the great strengths in my make up is being futuristic. But I’ve learned that living out there in the future means that I miss the savory nature of the present. I won’t ever see this moment again so learning to value this moment in time seems to be so key for claiming joy. I think of Job and how in the face of his pain he reflected on this fact. He understood that God was involved in every moment of his life. Remember that my life is a breath (Job 7:7a). I wonder if we remembered that fact more often if we wouldn’t value each moment as a gift.
Maybe if we remembered that fact, we’d also worry a bit less. I encourage you to read the section of Matthew 6:25-34 part of which reads “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to the span of your life? . . .”
In our culture we spend a lot of time worrying about needless things and some things that seem quite needful, but if we’ve learned to place the things of our lives—all of them-- in God’s care and then let go, then what do we have to worry about? A friend of mine, while driving around the capital beltway, once saw a billboard that said, “Worry is the misuse of the imagination.” My imagination is just too precious to misuse and I’m betting yours is too!
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
This verse sits on the bookshelf in my office. Planner that I am, it reminds me that there is a higher and better way. Too often we get caught up in our own agendas and with our own goals. We become inflexible and sometimes so inflexible that we force our way such that we cause pain to others. Isn’t it better to be kind than to be right? This verse reminds me of the value of doing the loving thing and trusting the big picture to God.
Isaiah 61:8b “ . . . and I will direct their work in truth . . .” reminds me that each one of us is here for a purpose that is greater than ourselves. When we can discern what our unique gifts and talents are and how God will calling us to utilize them beyond our own purposes, our lives become of monumental value. I have always believed that we can do what we love and love what we do—all of which is rooted in our God-given purpose.
So as I leave, I wish for you a life without worry in which your focus is on God first. Then through that focus may you find your purpose and live it out, living in each moment a life that honors God and makes a difference. I wish you each my love and Godspeed! Amen.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Lessons Learned Part One
May 20, 2009
As I struggled to figure out what passage to select for our devotional this week, I suddenly realized that in a week and a half I will no longer be doing this. Yes, I know I’ve known that these last days of my ministry among you were coming but now the palpability of them is real to me. So I figured that I would leave you, this week and next, with scriptures and lessons that I have learned, re-learned, (and am still practicing learning), while among you. May you find in these, hope for your days.
Psalm 46:10a
Be still and know that I am God.
The most crucial lesson in life that I have learned is the value of nurturing one’s personal relationship to God. Thirsting for God and allowing God to be the driving force in one’s life enables everything else to fall into place. You grow and advance in levels of consciousness until you find God’s peace. It seems to me that this is the ultimate goal of life and the foundational piece for living. If one can’t get this commitment in order, life will always be difficult and frankly it doesn’t have to be.
Matthew 7:1-5
Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye, while the log is in your own eye?’ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
This seems to be the hardest lesson for me. Somehow I was pre-wired to see how all of us should operate but the fact of the matter is there really are no shoulds. Things just are and we have a choice to accept them as they are and see the best in them or not. Letting life be as it is, is a very hard lesson but very freeing in the times that we can allow it to be as it is.
As a minister, one finds himself/herself standing as a representative of God which usually means that people feel free to lash out at you for no apparent reason. Learning to let others be as they are, learning that their issues are not about you, learning to allow others to have their journey in life without trying to fix them or internalize the hurt is such a challenge! But if the lesson can be learned, what peace can be found!
Luke 6:38
“Give, and it will be given you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over will be put in your lap . . .”.
There is something powerful to be said for giving. Giving gratitude to God first for what God has done in the past, then for what is happening now (even if it seems to stink to you right now) and for what God will do in the future. There is so much of the larger picture of life that we are not privy to see and if we can practice gratitude through it all, we come to an understanding that (as Romans 8:28 says—all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose) life just seems to flow.
The other aspect of giving is the idea of abundance. I do not believe that God intends for us to lack in anyway. But I also believe that wealth and abundance of any sort were meant to be in constant flow. (Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21). We are called give of what we have been given and if we live from a belief in lack, then we are saying that we do not believe that God is able or willing to care for us. I believe that God is more than able to meet my every need. I just have to let God do it.
Finally, giving of a smile or prayer or a complement can begin to turn a sour relationship toward sweetness. Those are simple gifts to offer and we don’t do them enough, I know that I don’t.
There are many more lessons that you have allowed me to learn while among you and I will hope to finish sharing them next week. For now, may you find peace in your own commitments to being still and knowing God and in letting others be as they are. May you also find wonder in the many facets of giving! Wishing you God’s best this week!
As I struggled to figure out what passage to select for our devotional this week, I suddenly realized that in a week and a half I will no longer be doing this. Yes, I know I’ve known that these last days of my ministry among you were coming but now the palpability of them is real to me. So I figured that I would leave you, this week and next, with scriptures and lessons that I have learned, re-learned, (and am still practicing learning), while among you. May you find in these, hope for your days.
Psalm 46:10a
Be still and know that I am God.
The most crucial lesson in life that I have learned is the value of nurturing one’s personal relationship to God. Thirsting for God and allowing God to be the driving force in one’s life enables everything else to fall into place. You grow and advance in levels of consciousness until you find God’s peace. It seems to me that this is the ultimate goal of life and the foundational piece for living. If one can’t get this commitment in order, life will always be difficult and frankly it doesn’t have to be.
Matthew 7:1-5
Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye, while the log is in your own eye?’ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
This seems to be the hardest lesson for me. Somehow I was pre-wired to see how all of us should operate but the fact of the matter is there really are no shoulds. Things just are and we have a choice to accept them as they are and see the best in them or not. Letting life be as it is, is a very hard lesson but very freeing in the times that we can allow it to be as it is.
As a minister, one finds himself/herself standing as a representative of God which usually means that people feel free to lash out at you for no apparent reason. Learning to let others be as they are, learning that their issues are not about you, learning to allow others to have their journey in life without trying to fix them or internalize the hurt is such a challenge! But if the lesson can be learned, what peace can be found!
Luke 6:38
“Give, and it will be given you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over will be put in your lap . . .”.
There is something powerful to be said for giving. Giving gratitude to God first for what God has done in the past, then for what is happening now (even if it seems to stink to you right now) and for what God will do in the future. There is so much of the larger picture of life that we are not privy to see and if we can practice gratitude through it all, we come to an understanding that (as Romans 8:28 says—all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose) life just seems to flow.
The other aspect of giving is the idea of abundance. I do not believe that God intends for us to lack in anyway. But I also believe that wealth and abundance of any sort were meant to be in constant flow. (Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21). We are called give of what we have been given and if we live from a belief in lack, then we are saying that we do not believe that God is able or willing to care for us. I believe that God is more than able to meet my every need. I just have to let God do it.
Finally, giving of a smile or prayer or a complement can begin to turn a sour relationship toward sweetness. Those are simple gifts to offer and we don’t do them enough, I know that I don’t.
There are many more lessons that you have allowed me to learn while among you and I will hope to finish sharing them next week. For now, may you find peace in your own commitments to being still and knowing God and in letting others be as they are. May you also find wonder in the many facets of giving! Wishing you God’s best this week!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Will You Be the One?
May 13, 2009
Genesis 12:1-8
“Now the Lord said to Abram. ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord.”
As we come to this story we come with knowledge that Abram is not unfamiliar with picking up, moving and settling elsewhere. His father, Terah, had done it before. We also come knowing that Abram’s wife, Sarai, was barren. And then we hear these words that God will make Abram a great nation (but his wife is barren! She can’t bear children! How is God going to accomplish that one?!) Abram is no spring chicken when God asks him to do this. Yet, you’ll notice that there is no balking at the request that God makes of Abram. There is no self-doubt, no doubt of God, just faith, patience and obedience. Abram just gets up and goes and along the way he worships.
In 1877, the dean of the college at Yale University, Henry Parks Wright and his wife Martha Burt Wright, welcomed their baby boy Henry Burt Wright into their family. Little Henry would grow up in the shadow of Yale, first being home schooled until time for high school and then graduating from New Haven High School somewhere around 1894. It’s no surprise that he got his BA from Yale in 1898 and his PhD from Yale in 1903. While there he founded a YMCA chapter, was a member of the famed Skull and Bones and distinguished himself as a scholar and as a faithful Christian. He began teaching at Yale in 1903—teaching Greek, Latin, Roman History and Latin Literature and finally winding up as the Stephen Merrell Clement Professor of Christian Methods in the Yale Divinity School. He was a prolific writer and among my favorite work of his is The Will of God and Man’s Lifework.
If I had the chance to go back in time and meet someone, Henry Burt Wright is one of the people I would like to know. I would love to have sat at his feet in tutelage, if only for to hear him speak the words with which he closed every class: “The world has yet to see what can be done by, with and through . . . one person . . . totally committed to doing the will of God. Will you be that one?”
Faith doesn’t come easy to us. Upon God’s calling, we automatically say “no way, Jose!” I can’t to do this! And . . .therein rests the lesson. WE are right when we say that. We can’t do this. What we can do is let go and let God work in us. Henry Burt Wright, even in the protective shadows of Yale academia, must have learned that lesson of letting go to seek God’s will—of surrendering himself so fully that he was able to just be and to live his life as God desired.
The scripture suggests that Abram got it pretty easily. Abram was one person totally committed to doing the will of God and a whole nation and three religious perspectives have been formed around his name.
As a church family, you stand on the precipice of making a significant mark on the world. You will not be successful if you rely upon yourselves. The possibilities will be endless if you let go and trust God. I amend Wright’s words only slightly—“The world has yet to see what can be done by, with and through . . . (one church) . . .totally committed to doing the will of God.” Will you be like Abram and walk in faith? Can you answer Wright’s question with your hearts, hands and feet? “Will you be the one?”
Genesis 12:1-8
“Now the Lord said to Abram. ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord.”
As we come to this story we come with knowledge that Abram is not unfamiliar with picking up, moving and settling elsewhere. His father, Terah, had done it before. We also come knowing that Abram’s wife, Sarai, was barren. And then we hear these words that God will make Abram a great nation (but his wife is barren! She can’t bear children! How is God going to accomplish that one?!) Abram is no spring chicken when God asks him to do this. Yet, you’ll notice that there is no balking at the request that God makes of Abram. There is no self-doubt, no doubt of God, just faith, patience and obedience. Abram just gets up and goes and along the way he worships.
In 1877, the dean of the college at Yale University, Henry Parks Wright and his wife Martha Burt Wright, welcomed their baby boy Henry Burt Wright into their family. Little Henry would grow up in the shadow of Yale, first being home schooled until time for high school and then graduating from New Haven High School somewhere around 1894. It’s no surprise that he got his BA from Yale in 1898 and his PhD from Yale in 1903. While there he founded a YMCA chapter, was a member of the famed Skull and Bones and distinguished himself as a scholar and as a faithful Christian. He began teaching at Yale in 1903—teaching Greek, Latin, Roman History and Latin Literature and finally winding up as the Stephen Merrell Clement Professor of Christian Methods in the Yale Divinity School. He was a prolific writer and among my favorite work of his is The Will of God and Man’s Lifework.
If I had the chance to go back in time and meet someone, Henry Burt Wright is one of the people I would like to know. I would love to have sat at his feet in tutelage, if only for to hear him speak the words with which he closed every class: “The world has yet to see what can be done by, with and through . . . one person . . . totally committed to doing the will of God. Will you be that one?”
Faith doesn’t come easy to us. Upon God’s calling, we automatically say “no way, Jose!” I can’t to do this! And . . .therein rests the lesson. WE are right when we say that. We can’t do this. What we can do is let go and let God work in us. Henry Burt Wright, even in the protective shadows of Yale academia, must have learned that lesson of letting go to seek God’s will—of surrendering himself so fully that he was able to just be and to live his life as God desired.
The scripture suggests that Abram got it pretty easily. Abram was one person totally committed to doing the will of God and a whole nation and three religious perspectives have been formed around his name.
As a church family, you stand on the precipice of making a significant mark on the world. You will not be successful if you rely upon yourselves. The possibilities will be endless if you let go and trust God. I amend Wright’s words only slightly—“The world has yet to see what can be done by, with and through . . . (one church) . . .totally committed to doing the will of God.” Will you be like Abram and walk in faith? Can you answer Wright’s question with your hearts, hands and feet? “Will you be the one?”
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
You shall know the truth . . .
May 5, 2009
2 Peter 3:14-18
“So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master’s patient restraint for what it is: salvation. Our good brother Paul, who was given much wisdom in these matters, refers to this in all his letters, and has written you essentially the same thing. Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don’t know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it. But you, friends, are well-warned. Be on guard lest you lose your footing and get swept off your feet by these lawless and loose-talking teachers. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Yes!”
As I age and as family members pass on from this life, I am finding that I am discovering stories (most of which I would rather not know) that leave me feeling so disappointed. These were stories of truths that were covered over out of someone’s embarrassment over their own sinfulness or truths that others didn’t share for fear that they would create more pain. As I hear them now and learn of the failings of others, I find the phrase echoing in my brain . . . “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free . . .”
As Peter comes to close his letter to the church, he acknowledges the Apostle Paul. Paul had a good grasp on the truth but sometimes communicated in a way that was difficult to comprehend. To this day, we have trouble with Paul’s thinking and we deal with it in all manner of ways. Some of us interpret his work very literally because frankly it’s just easier to do so. But, if we are willing to do the work of historical, literary, textual, etc. criticism, then we discover aspects of the texts through different lenses and we begin to have a glimpse of what Paul was trying to communicate. As Peter prepares to close his letter, he makes it clear that the hearers of his letter have within their grasp the ability to discern the truth. It is only through their inner honesty with themselves that they can claim that truth.
If they will be objective and honest about what they know about God, then they will not live in the context of the delusion that false teachers like to paint. The false teachers, as we well know by now, had a proclivity for taking a part of the truth. Just as in our study of any Scripture, we have to look at the whole to understand the parts. The same is true for the living of our lives.
Many have been the times that people have lashed out at me because I am a minister and they believe that they can rightfully through their anger upon me as a representative of God. In those moments, I find it easier to ignore the truth and internalize their anger. But the truth is that the moment of their anger at me isn’t about me but is about their larger history—a history that usually I am not privy to know.
This passage is an exhortation to us at many levels. First, in our study, we will do well do avoid delusion if we take the time to understand the context of the message. Then, we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free . . .. Second, in our relationships, there exists so much about each one of us that we do not share but to understand each other and to live with each other in peace, grace and forgiveness without delusion, it seems so important to be honest with each other. This passage call us to honesty . . . with ourselves, with others, with God. So where are we failing in honesty? The words continue to ring in my thoughts . . . “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free . . ..”
2 Peter 3:14-18
“So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master’s patient restraint for what it is: salvation. Our good brother Paul, who was given much wisdom in these matters, refers to this in all his letters, and has written you essentially the same thing. Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don’t know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it. But you, friends, are well-warned. Be on guard lest you lose your footing and get swept off your feet by these lawless and loose-talking teachers. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Yes!”
As I age and as family members pass on from this life, I am finding that I am discovering stories (most of which I would rather not know) that leave me feeling so disappointed. These were stories of truths that were covered over out of someone’s embarrassment over their own sinfulness or truths that others didn’t share for fear that they would create more pain. As I hear them now and learn of the failings of others, I find the phrase echoing in my brain . . . “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free . . .”
As Peter comes to close his letter to the church, he acknowledges the Apostle Paul. Paul had a good grasp on the truth but sometimes communicated in a way that was difficult to comprehend. To this day, we have trouble with Paul’s thinking and we deal with it in all manner of ways. Some of us interpret his work very literally because frankly it’s just easier to do so. But, if we are willing to do the work of historical, literary, textual, etc. criticism, then we discover aspects of the texts through different lenses and we begin to have a glimpse of what Paul was trying to communicate. As Peter prepares to close his letter, he makes it clear that the hearers of his letter have within their grasp the ability to discern the truth. It is only through their inner honesty with themselves that they can claim that truth.
If they will be objective and honest about what they know about God, then they will not live in the context of the delusion that false teachers like to paint. The false teachers, as we well know by now, had a proclivity for taking a part of the truth. Just as in our study of any Scripture, we have to look at the whole to understand the parts. The same is true for the living of our lives.
Many have been the times that people have lashed out at me because I am a minister and they believe that they can rightfully through their anger upon me as a representative of God. In those moments, I find it easier to ignore the truth and internalize their anger. But the truth is that the moment of their anger at me isn’t about me but is about their larger history—a history that usually I am not privy to know.
This passage is an exhortation to us at many levels. First, in our study, we will do well do avoid delusion if we take the time to understand the context of the message. Then, we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free . . .. Second, in our relationships, there exists so much about each one of us that we do not share but to understand each other and to live with each other in peace, grace and forgiveness without delusion, it seems so important to be honest with each other. This passage call us to honesty . . . with ourselves, with others, with God. So where are we failing in honesty? The words continue to ring in my thoughts . . . “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free . . ..”
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