"The Great Outdoors"
We took a drive on Sunday afternoon. This one was with a little more intentionality than some Sunday afternoon drives. We met our kids at Camp Wesley, a few miles north of Bellefontaine, Ohio. They were dropping off the two oldest grandchildren, Evan & Corinne, at church camp. It caused me to do some reminiscing. It created warm feelings in my spirit.
Camp Wesley has long been one of my favorite places - a big hill (for northwestern Ohio!) at the base of which, and between it and the lake, stands a large wooden cross around which many campfires have been held and many memories made - a chapel in the woods also over looking another part of the lake where some extremely meaningful devotions were shared and served as the bullpen for some awesome sledding - smelly, sulphur water - a retreat center that has been renovated more times than most church sanctuaries - a tired dining hall with a knotty pine paneled fireplace room that reeks of nostalgia (thank goodness walls cannot talk!).
I never attended Camp Wesley as a camper. My camping days and memories were at places like Camp Tecumseh in Michigan and Camp Palmer, a 4-H camp the United Methodist Church rented for a few weeks in the summer, near Fayette, Ohio. No, I mostly showed up at Camp Wesley as the dean of a camp. I often had the privilege of being a co-dean with some very fine fellow clergy friends and am most proud of some of the fantastic staffs we recruited to work with the young people. There were also some pretty awesome permanent staff members that flood my mind with treasured memories. (I'm not sure it's going to fit anyplace else, so I'll record it here: I was a particularly notorious Pepsi addict. Since there was no pop machine on the grounds, I was known to take nightly late-night drives into Bellefontaine to obtain liquid refreshments for the counselors while they led cabin devotions and put the kids down for the night. There, the confession is done!)
Last weekend brought the news of the death of one of the people, Ken Blubaugh, I became acquainted with because of Camp Wesley back in the Gary and Dick Cook days. Ken and Diane Blubaugh were good friends of the Cooks and did much around the camp to keep it up. The camp has always depended on the loving volunteer labor of church groups to prepare the facilities for the physical and spiritual opportunities planned for weekend and week-long campers. Many fine, skilled, and dedicated folks are being fondly remembered by me as I write this post.
Camp Wesley is a place where people have long pondered their relationship with God and God's world. It's a place where life-long friendships are born and nurtured. I count among my community of friends many whose paths I crossed on the grounds of Camp Wesley - campers, staff, board members all. It's what I am hoping and praying will be the experience for Evan and Corinne this week as well!
"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world,
Red and yellow, black and white,
they are precious in his sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world."
Peace!
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Friday, July 26, 2013
Sermon - "Prayer: Being Bent Toward God II"
Prayer: Being Bent Toward God II
Luke 11:1-13
Sometimes it takes a little humor for us to admit that we are guilty of promoting some rather bizarre, maybe even untrue?, understandings of prayer - its purpose and how we do it, communicate with God.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Dennis the Menace was kneeling beside his bed. His hands were folded – his eyes were focused toward the sky. He had an earnest look on his face. The caption below read: “I’m here to turn myself in.”
A husband was stationed for sixteen months in the South Pacific. His wife sent him a letter in which was an account of a prayer she’d heard their four-year-old daughter pray: “Dear Lord, please send me a baby brother so we will have something to surprise daddy with when he returns home.”
A six-year-old yelled from up in his bedroom: “I’m gonna say my prayers now. Does anybody want anything?”
A little girl, after praying for everything she could think of – relatives, friends, pets, etc., was heard to add: “And dear God, you take care of yourself, too. Because if anything happens to you, we’re all in trouble.”
Finally, there was a minister of a church who discovered at the last minute that he had neglected to invite one of the leading ladies of his congregation to a garden party. Trying to correct his mistake he called the lady up and asked her to come.
She responded: “It’s too late. I’ve already prayed for rain.”
Despite the interesting concepts or attitudes of prayer these short pieces of humor portray, they are not the source of what we’re going to consider. Rather, we’re going to consider the ideas suggested in Luke’s account of a time the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
While Jesus and his followers were on their way to Jerusalem, Jesus stopped to pray. It wasn't anything unusual, he often paused to pray. He was a pray-er. In the first ten chapters of the Gospel of Luke, the author thought the fact Jesus prayed significant enough to record several of those times. In 3:21, at his baptism, Jesus prayed and the Holy Spirit descended upon him and a voice from heaven said to him: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
In 6:12 we read about the time when he went out to a mountainside and prayed all night. The next morning he selected twelve to be his disciples. In 9:18, the author shared the story about the time Jesus prayed privately - although his disciples were close enough for Jesus to ask them what others were saying about him and what they thought. Of course it was Peter who boldly stated his belief: “The Christ of God.” And finally, in 9:28, there is the wondrous story of the transfiguration while he was praying on a mountain. James, Peter, and John were with him and observed it all.
Now, we can be sure these were not the only times Jesus prayed. But they were certainly times when something significant happened after it or during it thus earning for it the need to be reported upon. Again, Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem and Jesus paused to pray. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him: “Lord, teach us to pray, you know, like John taught his disciples.” "Lord, we've seen enough happen around you after and during your prayer times that we'd like you to teach us how we should go about it."
The significant thing about this request from the unnamed disciple was that it signaled a change in the way those who were following Jesus were perceiving him. The custom in that day was for religious leaders to teach their followers a simple prayer that they could regularly use to both help them communicate with God and summarize the key ideas the leaders wanted their followers to keep in their minds and hearts.
Behind the disciple's request might have been ideas like: "Jesus, we now understand you to be a religiously significant person in our lives - one from whom we have learned much and one from whom we want to learn more. Jesus, we want to be identified with you as John's followers were with him. Jesus, would you summarize what we are to believe in a prayer? Would you teach us how you communicate with God so that we will be able to also?"
“Watching Jesus awakened their belief in prayer. As they watched his personality grow stronger, they began to see that prayer was more than just begging God for the things they desired. Apparently, their prayers had been limited to asking God to give them this or give them that. But, now they saw how prayer influenced his life and they asked him to teach them this art of praying.”1
No longer was Jesus perceived as simply a man traveling through the countryside doing remarkable things. Now he was someone worth listening to - someone the disciples wanted to be taught by and to know as their rabbi. Although there's no question they still didn't fully perceive what all that meant, who he really was, they were willing to journey on with him, to let him lead them into a deeper fellowship, relationship, with God. They were willing to learn from him who and what he experienced God to be and how he got in touch with that God. So, they sought to learn from him how to pray. And so do we.
The very first two words give us much to ponder. "Our Father." "Our Father" is who we are to think of God as. When we pray, we are to pray, not as individuals, but as a community of faith. To be a Christian is to involve being in community. Christianity is about being called into relationships with others and it is together that we go to God. It is "we" that are in relationship with God. Every time we say "our Father" we are reminding ourselves that we are saved in community, as a community, as a group. Our faith is one that is lived out as we pray together, correct one another, forgive one another and try to follow Jesus in this world together.
It's also important to note here that when we use "our" we are not identifying a possessive relationship with God. That is, that God is exclusively ours, that God is Christian.
And then, there's that second word in the opening phrase, the word "Father." Now, what makes Jesus use of the term Father really significant is the word he used for Father. While it may have been common for Jews to refer to God as father in that day, the word they used would have implied an image of father more like “a religious, holy one” - “someone to be related to out of fear” - “someone you dared not approach.”
But the word Jesus used was the Aramaic “Abba,” which in our English would be more akin to “daddy,” or “papa.” You see, Jesus once again was introducing a radically different view of the relationship that is ours with God. It was a radically different view of what God is like, what God wants, who God is, and the kind of relationship God wants with us. When Jesus said that we should pray to "our Father" - to "Abba" - his point wasn't to identify the sex of God, but rather to suggest that God is approachable - is personable - is affectionate - is caring - is available. It was an unthinkable way for the religious of his day to speak of God, but it was how Jesus said his followers should. It’s not that we are to address some man in the sky – someone, somewhere out there in the cosmos - but a being, a creative source of power, an intimate power that is as close as the kind of dad or mom that cares for every need of ours when we are very young and the kind of parent that loves on us in a way that prepares us to live in the world knowing that they’ve got our back and sacrifices for us so that we can grow up and be all we are meant to be. “Hallowed be your name” – creator, Yahweh, father, abba, parent, daddy.
Well, after Jesus shared that we should address our prayers to God, then he stated his hope that the new kingdom, God’s kingdom, would come into existence - “Your kingdom come.” He was basically saying: “I want us to seek a partnership with God that will make things here like God has in mind, intended for them to be since the beginning of time.” “I want us to pray that God’s kingdom will be present in our hearts, our community, our country, our world.”
Jesus then addressed in his prayer some earthly concerns that are a part of our everyday existence. In just three short petitions Jesus identified concerns with which we have to deal every day of our lives. “Give us each day our daily bread,” was the first one. It’s appropriate for us to ask God to provide that which we need to live. Just as our ancestors lived by the bread which came to them daily in the desert while they sojourned out there, so now it’s appropriate for us to acknowledge our dependence on God for our present needs.
Note though, that the request that is appropriate is the one that asks for bread for the day. This is not a prayer that justifies our asking to become rich – to have plenty. We're not to worry about the unknown future. This is not about praying that our every need will be supplied but that we enough to live on. Jesus was basically saying that God will supply what we need to get through one day at a time. According to the students of the bible who’ve really studied texts such as these, our prayers should not include requests for unneeded possessions but only for what is needed to survive the day – today’s bread. It doesn't mean it's wrong to have more than a day's bread, only that we shouldn't go to God for it.
Jesus’ second petition was, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” It’s a recognition by Jesus that we human beings are prone to sin and are victims of the wrongdoing of others. Here he is noting that it is appropriate for those who wish to pray to God to seek assurance for past mistakes. It’s another one of those radical theological shifts Jesus was prone to teach – “God is one who blots out our past sin.” And, just as radical is the notion that those of us who pray this petition are thus committing ourselves to exhibit the same kind of overwhelming unmerited grace to those who sin against us. This petition of Jesus’ prayer closes the door on the idea that God holds grudges and it's OK for us to. Jesus’ prayer rules out the justifying of harbored resentments and the holding out of forgiveness. To do either would be to risk having our hearts closed to the free gift of God’s mercy.
The final petition Jesus offered according to the author of Luke’s version was, “And lead us not into temptation.” It’s O.K. to seek God’s influence to help us steer clear of trouble – it’s O.K. to ask for God’s help so that those thoughts and actions will not have a clear path into our hearts and minds. The petition acknowledges a daily reality for all of us – that temptation exists. The truth of the matter is that once temptation rears it’s ugly head, it’s difficult to win the battle. If we really want to keep from sinning, then we need to avoid the situations that cause us to be tempted. We don’t handle it very well once we’re in the middle of temptation – once temptation is present, we’re probably not going to successfully do battle with it. And so, the prayer that Jesus suggests we offer – teaches us to offer - is that God will help us stay out of the tempting situations altogether thus covering those future trials that are a danger on the journey through life.
Well, that’s all the author of Luke’s version of the prayer Jesus taught his followers contains. But he follows it with a story. He has Jesus inviting his listeners to think about visiting a friend at midnight. The hospitality of that day demanded that a host provide food for a guest whenever the person arrived. Jesus proposed that those listening imagine visiting a friend at midnight seeking three loaves of bread because another friend stopped by unexpectedly. But the neighbor friend expressed a reluctance to do what was requested because it would involve waking the whole family. You see, the sleeping arrangements in that day were that everyone slept on mats on the floor in the same room – including the animals. That certainly helps explain the neighbor’s reluctance now doesn’t it. However, the constant knocking at the door would finally cause the potential host to get up and give the persistent caller all he needed.
Now, the point of this story is often noted to be that it is important to be persistent in our praying. While that is certainly an important guideline, the point of this story is really something quite different. In contrast to the friend who will give a persistent neighbor three loaves of bread at midnight only because the neighbor makes a pest out of himself, God will simply give to those who ask; and, as the questions Jesus posed at the conclusion of the story notes – asking what father asked by a son for a fish would give him a snake or asked for an egg would give him a scorpion? – what these questions suggest is that God will not only give but will give what is asked for. Jesus was saying that if a mannerless and unwilling homeowner can in the end be persuaded – coerced – by a friend’s shameless persistence into giving him what he needs, how much more will a loving God – a God like our daddies – supply all our needs?
When Jesus’ disciples asked him about prayer, he modeled for them a prayer. But, The Lord’s Prayer is not just a model for praying. It’s also a summary of what it means to live a Christian life. The prayer first of all sums up, in a very condensed version to be sure, the way in which Jesus read and responded to the signs from God in his life – the way in which he understood his own vocation and mission and the way he invited his followers to share in it. “The Lord’s Prayer” is a vignette in which we can see Jesus and what he was about.
The Lord’s Prayer reveals what it is going to take for us to be formed into faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. We are to take up the way of life described in the prayer – God’s kingdom is to come among us – God’s will is to be done in us – we are to forgive others and seek God’s forgiveness - that’s what we pray will happen when we pray The Lord’s Prayer.
Former Duke chaplain, now United Methodist bishop, William Willimon, once noted that by praying The Lord’s Prayer we’re being made into a people whose life together is a sign to the world that God has not abandoned the world but is still present in the world as a people on the move. Our lives are being bent toward God by our praying The Lord’s Prayer. It’s a lifelong act this being bent toward the one that has reached out to us.
We are the body of Christ and one of the things we do together is we pray this prayer when we get together. One of the things our repeating this prayer together reminds us of is that the Christian journey through life is tough to do alone. We pray this prayer until it becomes second nature – until we can do it without thinking – until it becomes a habit and we do it both in the community of faith and privately.
Even though there are times when we feel guilty about saying it out of habit – without thinking about what we’re saying – still it’s important that we develop the habit. “Many of the really important things in life we do out of habit. We eat, sleep, love, shake hands, hug our children, all out of habit. Some things in life are too important to be left up to chance. Some things in life are too difficult to be left up to spontaneous desire – things like telling people that we love them or praying to God. So we do them until they become a habit – we do them ‘out of habit.’”2 Prayer is bending our lives toward God and making it a habit is one of the ways we do that – it’s one of the ways we get bent – not bent out of shape – but bent toward God and thus into spiritual shape.
In that same sermon by Willimon he further noted, “We, who are accustomed to thinking of prayer as a good strategy for getting what we want, an appropriate opening for football games and important civic meetings, may be surprised that we must be taught to pray. This prayer is not for getting what we want but rather for bending our wants toward what God wants. This is the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer ‘in Jesus’ name,’ which means that this prayer, unlike some other modes of prayer, is distinctively related to the one who teaches us to pray. This prayer is the enactment of the story of a God who called a people into existence through Jesus. In praying this prayer we become the people God has called us to be in Jesus.”3
Praying, praying especially The Lord’s Prayer – bends us toward God. So, “How’s the bending going?”
1 Robert L. Allen, “I Believe in Prayer,” Greatest Passages of the Bible (Lima, Ohio: C.S.S. Publishing, Inc., 1990), 1-55673-172-8.
2 William Willimon, The Pulpit Resource, July,August September, 1998, p. 16 – 17.
3 Ibid.
Luke 11:1-13
Sometimes it takes a little humor for us to admit that we are guilty of promoting some rather bizarre, maybe even untrue?, understandings of prayer - its purpose and how we do it, communicate with God.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Dennis the Menace was kneeling beside his bed. His hands were folded – his eyes were focused toward the sky. He had an earnest look on his face. The caption below read: “I’m here to turn myself in.”
A husband was stationed for sixteen months in the South Pacific. His wife sent him a letter in which was an account of a prayer she’d heard their four-year-old daughter pray: “Dear Lord, please send me a baby brother so we will have something to surprise daddy with when he returns home.”
A six-year-old yelled from up in his bedroom: “I’m gonna say my prayers now. Does anybody want anything?”
A little girl, after praying for everything she could think of – relatives, friends, pets, etc., was heard to add: “And dear God, you take care of yourself, too. Because if anything happens to you, we’re all in trouble.”
Finally, there was a minister of a church who discovered at the last minute that he had neglected to invite one of the leading ladies of his congregation to a garden party. Trying to correct his mistake he called the lady up and asked her to come.
She responded: “It’s too late. I’ve already prayed for rain.”
Despite the interesting concepts or attitudes of prayer these short pieces of humor portray, they are not the source of what we’re going to consider. Rather, we’re going to consider the ideas suggested in Luke’s account of a time the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
While Jesus and his followers were on their way to Jerusalem, Jesus stopped to pray. It wasn't anything unusual, he often paused to pray. He was a pray-er. In the first ten chapters of the Gospel of Luke, the author thought the fact Jesus prayed significant enough to record several of those times. In 3:21, at his baptism, Jesus prayed and the Holy Spirit descended upon him and a voice from heaven said to him: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
In 6:12 we read about the time when he went out to a mountainside and prayed all night. The next morning he selected twelve to be his disciples. In 9:18, the author shared the story about the time Jesus prayed privately - although his disciples were close enough for Jesus to ask them what others were saying about him and what they thought. Of course it was Peter who boldly stated his belief: “The Christ of God.” And finally, in 9:28, there is the wondrous story of the transfiguration while he was praying on a mountain. James, Peter, and John were with him and observed it all.
Now, we can be sure these were not the only times Jesus prayed. But they were certainly times when something significant happened after it or during it thus earning for it the need to be reported upon. Again, Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem and Jesus paused to pray. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him: “Lord, teach us to pray, you know, like John taught his disciples.” "Lord, we've seen enough happen around you after and during your prayer times that we'd like you to teach us how we should go about it."
The significant thing about this request from the unnamed disciple was that it signaled a change in the way those who were following Jesus were perceiving him. The custom in that day was for religious leaders to teach their followers a simple prayer that they could regularly use to both help them communicate with God and summarize the key ideas the leaders wanted their followers to keep in their minds and hearts.
Behind the disciple's request might have been ideas like: "Jesus, we now understand you to be a religiously significant person in our lives - one from whom we have learned much and one from whom we want to learn more. Jesus, we want to be identified with you as John's followers were with him. Jesus, would you summarize what we are to believe in a prayer? Would you teach us how you communicate with God so that we will be able to also?"
“Watching Jesus awakened their belief in prayer. As they watched his personality grow stronger, they began to see that prayer was more than just begging God for the things they desired. Apparently, their prayers had been limited to asking God to give them this or give them that. But, now they saw how prayer influenced his life and they asked him to teach them this art of praying.”1
No longer was Jesus perceived as simply a man traveling through the countryside doing remarkable things. Now he was someone worth listening to - someone the disciples wanted to be taught by and to know as their rabbi. Although there's no question they still didn't fully perceive what all that meant, who he really was, they were willing to journey on with him, to let him lead them into a deeper fellowship, relationship, with God. They were willing to learn from him who and what he experienced God to be and how he got in touch with that God. So, they sought to learn from him how to pray. And so do we.
The very first two words give us much to ponder. "Our Father." "Our Father" is who we are to think of God as. When we pray, we are to pray, not as individuals, but as a community of faith. To be a Christian is to involve being in community. Christianity is about being called into relationships with others and it is together that we go to God. It is "we" that are in relationship with God. Every time we say "our Father" we are reminding ourselves that we are saved in community, as a community, as a group. Our faith is one that is lived out as we pray together, correct one another, forgive one another and try to follow Jesus in this world together.
It's also important to note here that when we use "our" we are not identifying a possessive relationship with God. That is, that God is exclusively ours, that God is Christian.
And then, there's that second word in the opening phrase, the word "Father." Now, what makes Jesus use of the term Father really significant is the word he used for Father. While it may have been common for Jews to refer to God as father in that day, the word they used would have implied an image of father more like “a religious, holy one” - “someone to be related to out of fear” - “someone you dared not approach.”
But the word Jesus used was the Aramaic “Abba,” which in our English would be more akin to “daddy,” or “papa.” You see, Jesus once again was introducing a radically different view of the relationship that is ours with God. It was a radically different view of what God is like, what God wants, who God is, and the kind of relationship God wants with us. When Jesus said that we should pray to "our Father" - to "Abba" - his point wasn't to identify the sex of God, but rather to suggest that God is approachable - is personable - is affectionate - is caring - is available. It was an unthinkable way for the religious of his day to speak of God, but it was how Jesus said his followers should. It’s not that we are to address some man in the sky – someone, somewhere out there in the cosmos - but a being, a creative source of power, an intimate power that is as close as the kind of dad or mom that cares for every need of ours when we are very young and the kind of parent that loves on us in a way that prepares us to live in the world knowing that they’ve got our back and sacrifices for us so that we can grow up and be all we are meant to be. “Hallowed be your name” – creator, Yahweh, father, abba, parent, daddy.
Well, after Jesus shared that we should address our prayers to God, then he stated his hope that the new kingdom, God’s kingdom, would come into existence - “Your kingdom come.” He was basically saying: “I want us to seek a partnership with God that will make things here like God has in mind, intended for them to be since the beginning of time.” “I want us to pray that God’s kingdom will be present in our hearts, our community, our country, our world.”
Jesus then addressed in his prayer some earthly concerns that are a part of our everyday existence. In just three short petitions Jesus identified concerns with which we have to deal every day of our lives. “Give us each day our daily bread,” was the first one. It’s appropriate for us to ask God to provide that which we need to live. Just as our ancestors lived by the bread which came to them daily in the desert while they sojourned out there, so now it’s appropriate for us to acknowledge our dependence on God for our present needs.
Note though, that the request that is appropriate is the one that asks for bread for the day. This is not a prayer that justifies our asking to become rich – to have plenty. We're not to worry about the unknown future. This is not about praying that our every need will be supplied but that we enough to live on. Jesus was basically saying that God will supply what we need to get through one day at a time. According to the students of the bible who’ve really studied texts such as these, our prayers should not include requests for unneeded possessions but only for what is needed to survive the day – today’s bread. It doesn't mean it's wrong to have more than a day's bread, only that we shouldn't go to God for it.
Jesus’ second petition was, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” It’s a recognition by Jesus that we human beings are prone to sin and are victims of the wrongdoing of others. Here he is noting that it is appropriate for those who wish to pray to God to seek assurance for past mistakes. It’s another one of those radical theological shifts Jesus was prone to teach – “God is one who blots out our past sin.” And, just as radical is the notion that those of us who pray this petition are thus committing ourselves to exhibit the same kind of overwhelming unmerited grace to those who sin against us. This petition of Jesus’ prayer closes the door on the idea that God holds grudges and it's OK for us to. Jesus’ prayer rules out the justifying of harbored resentments and the holding out of forgiveness. To do either would be to risk having our hearts closed to the free gift of God’s mercy.
The final petition Jesus offered according to the author of Luke’s version was, “And lead us not into temptation.” It’s O.K. to seek God’s influence to help us steer clear of trouble – it’s O.K. to ask for God’s help so that those thoughts and actions will not have a clear path into our hearts and minds. The petition acknowledges a daily reality for all of us – that temptation exists. The truth of the matter is that once temptation rears it’s ugly head, it’s difficult to win the battle. If we really want to keep from sinning, then we need to avoid the situations that cause us to be tempted. We don’t handle it very well once we’re in the middle of temptation – once temptation is present, we’re probably not going to successfully do battle with it. And so, the prayer that Jesus suggests we offer – teaches us to offer - is that God will help us stay out of the tempting situations altogether thus covering those future trials that are a danger on the journey through life.
Well, that’s all the author of Luke’s version of the prayer Jesus taught his followers contains. But he follows it with a story. He has Jesus inviting his listeners to think about visiting a friend at midnight. The hospitality of that day demanded that a host provide food for a guest whenever the person arrived. Jesus proposed that those listening imagine visiting a friend at midnight seeking three loaves of bread because another friend stopped by unexpectedly. But the neighbor friend expressed a reluctance to do what was requested because it would involve waking the whole family. You see, the sleeping arrangements in that day were that everyone slept on mats on the floor in the same room – including the animals. That certainly helps explain the neighbor’s reluctance now doesn’t it. However, the constant knocking at the door would finally cause the potential host to get up and give the persistent caller all he needed.
Now, the point of this story is often noted to be that it is important to be persistent in our praying. While that is certainly an important guideline, the point of this story is really something quite different. In contrast to the friend who will give a persistent neighbor three loaves of bread at midnight only because the neighbor makes a pest out of himself, God will simply give to those who ask; and, as the questions Jesus posed at the conclusion of the story notes – asking what father asked by a son for a fish would give him a snake or asked for an egg would give him a scorpion? – what these questions suggest is that God will not only give but will give what is asked for. Jesus was saying that if a mannerless and unwilling homeowner can in the end be persuaded – coerced – by a friend’s shameless persistence into giving him what he needs, how much more will a loving God – a God like our daddies – supply all our needs?
When Jesus’ disciples asked him about prayer, he modeled for them a prayer. But, The Lord’s Prayer is not just a model for praying. It’s also a summary of what it means to live a Christian life. The prayer first of all sums up, in a very condensed version to be sure, the way in which Jesus read and responded to the signs from God in his life – the way in which he understood his own vocation and mission and the way he invited his followers to share in it. “The Lord’s Prayer” is a vignette in which we can see Jesus and what he was about.
The Lord’s Prayer reveals what it is going to take for us to be formed into faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. We are to take up the way of life described in the prayer – God’s kingdom is to come among us – God’s will is to be done in us – we are to forgive others and seek God’s forgiveness - that’s what we pray will happen when we pray The Lord’s Prayer.
Former Duke chaplain, now United Methodist bishop, William Willimon, once noted that by praying The Lord’s Prayer we’re being made into a people whose life together is a sign to the world that God has not abandoned the world but is still present in the world as a people on the move. Our lives are being bent toward God by our praying The Lord’s Prayer. It’s a lifelong act this being bent toward the one that has reached out to us.
We are the body of Christ and one of the things we do together is we pray this prayer when we get together. One of the things our repeating this prayer together reminds us of is that the Christian journey through life is tough to do alone. We pray this prayer until it becomes second nature – until we can do it without thinking – until it becomes a habit and we do it both in the community of faith and privately.
Even though there are times when we feel guilty about saying it out of habit – without thinking about what we’re saying – still it’s important that we develop the habit. “Many of the really important things in life we do out of habit. We eat, sleep, love, shake hands, hug our children, all out of habit. Some things in life are too important to be left up to chance. Some things in life are too difficult to be left up to spontaneous desire – things like telling people that we love them or praying to God. So we do them until they become a habit – we do them ‘out of habit.’”2 Prayer is bending our lives toward God and making it a habit is one of the ways we do that – it’s one of the ways we get bent – not bent out of shape – but bent toward God and thus into spiritual shape.
In that same sermon by Willimon he further noted, “We, who are accustomed to thinking of prayer as a good strategy for getting what we want, an appropriate opening for football games and important civic meetings, may be surprised that we must be taught to pray. This prayer is not for getting what we want but rather for bending our wants toward what God wants. This is the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer ‘in Jesus’ name,’ which means that this prayer, unlike some other modes of prayer, is distinctively related to the one who teaches us to pray. This prayer is the enactment of the story of a God who called a people into existence through Jesus. In praying this prayer we become the people God has called us to be in Jesus.”3
Praying, praying especially The Lord’s Prayer – bends us toward God. So, “How’s the bending going?”
1 Robert L. Allen, “I Believe in Prayer,” Greatest Passages of the Bible (Lima, Ohio: C.S.S. Publishing, Inc., 1990), 1-55673-172-8.
2 William Willimon, The Pulpit Resource, July,August September, 1998, p. 16 – 17.
3 Ibid.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Sermon - "Prayer: Being Bent Toward God"
"Prayer: Being Bent Toward God"
Luke 11:1-13
(We'll see how the week goes, but I might post more than one rewritten sermon on this significant text dealing with Jesus sharing some thoughts about praying. This one is of a little more personal nature. The essence of it was created/crafted/inspired/gleaned in response to a request by the current pastor of Maple Grove, Rev. Glenn Schwerdtfeger, shortly after he began his appointment there - a kind gesture indeed. His intriguing and appropriate request was that I consider prayer and what it has been like for me since my diagnosis of ALS and incapacity leave.)
A few weeks before I was to share the sermon, I received a Facebook message from a ministerial friend, Dave Beckett, serving as a District Superintendent in the Alaska United Methodist Church Conference. He asked me what I consider to be an awesome question. "How do you want me to pray for you?" he asked. It's a question I wished I had asked more often in my own pastoral ministry before I launched into praying with someone.
Frankly, it caused me to ponder what my own praying had been like since diagnosis. Quite honestly, and I hope not shockingly or disappointedly to you, it has not been to be miraculously physically healed. Don't get me wrong, I'd love for ALS to go away. It's just that, that's not the way I understand God to work - or prayer to work for that matter. Those of you who know me have heard me share before that I'm not particularly fond of the idea that it's because of God’s grace that one family's house isn't destroyed when all the others in the area are. I don't believe God decides athletic events. Prayers aren't going to help the Browns win games. God doesn't cause players to miss tackles or score touchdowns. God doesn't cause innocent people to die in airplane crashes because one person on the plane had an affair! American soldiers dying in war is not God's judgment on our nation for changing attitudes about gays! Illnesses are not God's way of telling us we need to change our lifestyle. Some illnesses may indeed be a result of bad choices on our part, but they are the natural results of our mistakes/misdeeds/mistreatment and not God's selective enforcement of the laws of nature! I personally don’t think it's sound theology to promote an understanding of God as genie-like, a power who arbitrarily chooses some to get better and some not based on how many people are praying for the person or situation or even based on the amount of faith the one in need has or doesn't have, and especially not simply because God is a puppeteer-like being moving the strings of all of us human beings as we go through life.
So, what has my prayer life been like since diagnosis? What have I been praying about? Well, I've been praying for those doing research - that they will find treatments/cures that will bring this disease to its knees - for some understanding of the causes, if there are any. I've been praying for scientists and researchers and doctors and nurses and the miracles they are looking to discover in this arena just like they have in so many others over the centuries. I think miracles happen every day in hospitals in our communities, in our nation, and around the world because of the curiosity and intelligence of those who research the wonders of God's creation. God is the creator - scientists are those who help us understand how God did it and what all God did and what God continues to do as this world and we humans continue to evolve. And so, I've been praying for their continued work.
I also have been praying that God would be with me - that I would know God's comfort, God's peace - that those around me trying to help would not have to be put through too much and would also know God's comfort, peace, strength.
Jesus' disciples had observed on several occasions that Jesus prayed and after he prayed some curious/interesting things happened. It caused them to wonder about his prayer life - how he prayed - what he prayed about. Leading up to this interchange, Luke recorded the time when he was baptized; the time when he went out to the mountains and prayed all night and the next morning selected twelve to be his disciples; the time when Jesus privately prayed while the disciples were nearby and Jesus asked them what others were saying about him, what they thought about those thoughts and their own; and Peter boldly stated that he believed him to be "The Christ of God!" – and finally, there is the wondrous story of the transfiguration which James, Peter, and John observed, again on a mountain.
I'm sure these were not the only times Jesus prayed. But they were certainly times when something significant happened after his spending time in prayer or during it thus earning for it a place in Luke's report on Jesus' life from his perspective.
Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem and Jesus paused to pray, and when he was finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, you know, like your cousin John taught his disciples."
You've probably heard sermons before on this text and remember that the custom was for religious leaders to teach their followers a simple prayer that they could regularly use to remind them who they were and what they were about. I'm also going to assume you've heard a fair number of sermons on this text - the prayer itself and the little story following - maybe even a series with a phrase each week being reflected upon. I'm not going to repeat those efforts in this sermon.
What I want to do instead is move to a sort of summation of what I think is a take-away from this portion of Luke's accounting of things in his encounter between Jesus and his followers. When his disciples asked him about prayer, he modeled for them a prayer. But, the Lord's Prayer is not just a model for praying. It's also, if you will, a summary of what it means to live a Christian life. The prayer sums up, in a very condensed version to be sure, the way Jesus read and responded to the signs from God in his life - the way in which he understood his own vocation and mission and the way he invites his followers to share in it. "The Lord's Prayer" is a vignette in which we can see Jesus, what he was about, and what our lives as followers can be.
The Lord's Prayer reveals what it takes for us to be formed into faithful followers. We are to take up the way of life described in the prayer: God's kingdom is to come among us - God's will is to be done in us and through us - we are to forgive others and seek God's forgiveness - that's what we pray will happen when we pray The Lord's Prayer.
One of our United Methodist bishops, William Willimon, once noted that by praying The Lord's Prayer we're being made into a people whose life is a sign to the world that God has not abandoned the world but is still present in the world as a people on the move. Our lives are being bent toward God when we pray. It's a lifelong act, this being bent toward the one that reaches out to us. (1)
We most often repeat this prayer when we are gathered together as the Body of Christ - when we worship as the corporate body. One of the things our repeating this prayer together reminds us of is that the Christian journey through life is tough to do alone.
Willimon went on to say: “We, who are accustomed to thinking of prayer as a good strategy for getting what we want, an appropriate opening for football games and important civic meetings, may be surprised that we must be taught to pray. This prayer is not for getting what we want but rather for bending our wants toward what God wants. This is the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer ‘in Jesus’ name,’ which means that this prayer, unlike some other modes of prayer, is distinctively related to the one who teaches us to pray. This prayer is the enactment of the story of a God who called a people into existence through Jesus. In praying this prayer we become the people God has called us to be in Jesus.” (2)
Praying bends us toward God. That’s what I’ve been praying for since being diagnosed with ALS – to be bent toward God.
1. William Willimon, The Pulpit Resource, July, August, September, 1998, p. 16-17.
2. Ibid.
Luke 11:1-13
(We'll see how the week goes, but I might post more than one rewritten sermon on this significant text dealing with Jesus sharing some thoughts about praying. This one is of a little more personal nature. The essence of it was created/crafted/inspired/gleaned in response to a request by the current pastor of Maple Grove, Rev. Glenn Schwerdtfeger, shortly after he began his appointment there - a kind gesture indeed. His intriguing and appropriate request was that I consider prayer and what it has been like for me since my diagnosis of ALS and incapacity leave.)
A few weeks before I was to share the sermon, I received a Facebook message from a ministerial friend, Dave Beckett, serving as a District Superintendent in the Alaska United Methodist Church Conference. He asked me what I consider to be an awesome question. "How do you want me to pray for you?" he asked. It's a question I wished I had asked more often in my own pastoral ministry before I launched into praying with someone.
Frankly, it caused me to ponder what my own praying had been like since diagnosis. Quite honestly, and I hope not shockingly or disappointedly to you, it has not been to be miraculously physically healed. Don't get me wrong, I'd love for ALS to go away. It's just that, that's not the way I understand God to work - or prayer to work for that matter. Those of you who know me have heard me share before that I'm not particularly fond of the idea that it's because of God’s grace that one family's house isn't destroyed when all the others in the area are. I don't believe God decides athletic events. Prayers aren't going to help the Browns win games. God doesn't cause players to miss tackles or score touchdowns. God doesn't cause innocent people to die in airplane crashes because one person on the plane had an affair! American soldiers dying in war is not God's judgment on our nation for changing attitudes about gays! Illnesses are not God's way of telling us we need to change our lifestyle. Some illnesses may indeed be a result of bad choices on our part, but they are the natural results of our mistakes/misdeeds/mistreatment and not God's selective enforcement of the laws of nature! I personally don’t think it's sound theology to promote an understanding of God as genie-like, a power who arbitrarily chooses some to get better and some not based on how many people are praying for the person or situation or even based on the amount of faith the one in need has or doesn't have, and especially not simply because God is a puppeteer-like being moving the strings of all of us human beings as we go through life.
So, what has my prayer life been like since diagnosis? What have I been praying about? Well, I've been praying for those doing research - that they will find treatments/cures that will bring this disease to its knees - for some understanding of the causes, if there are any. I've been praying for scientists and researchers and doctors and nurses and the miracles they are looking to discover in this arena just like they have in so many others over the centuries. I think miracles happen every day in hospitals in our communities, in our nation, and around the world because of the curiosity and intelligence of those who research the wonders of God's creation. God is the creator - scientists are those who help us understand how God did it and what all God did and what God continues to do as this world and we humans continue to evolve. And so, I've been praying for their continued work.
I also have been praying that God would be with me - that I would know God's comfort, God's peace - that those around me trying to help would not have to be put through too much and would also know God's comfort, peace, strength.
Jesus' disciples had observed on several occasions that Jesus prayed and after he prayed some curious/interesting things happened. It caused them to wonder about his prayer life - how he prayed - what he prayed about. Leading up to this interchange, Luke recorded the time when he was baptized; the time when he went out to the mountains and prayed all night and the next morning selected twelve to be his disciples; the time when Jesus privately prayed while the disciples were nearby and Jesus asked them what others were saying about him, what they thought about those thoughts and their own; and Peter boldly stated that he believed him to be "The Christ of God!" – and finally, there is the wondrous story of the transfiguration which James, Peter, and John observed, again on a mountain.
I'm sure these were not the only times Jesus prayed. But they were certainly times when something significant happened after his spending time in prayer or during it thus earning for it a place in Luke's report on Jesus' life from his perspective.
Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem and Jesus paused to pray, and when he was finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, you know, like your cousin John taught his disciples."
You've probably heard sermons before on this text and remember that the custom was for religious leaders to teach their followers a simple prayer that they could regularly use to remind them who they were and what they were about. I'm also going to assume you've heard a fair number of sermons on this text - the prayer itself and the little story following - maybe even a series with a phrase each week being reflected upon. I'm not going to repeat those efforts in this sermon.
What I want to do instead is move to a sort of summation of what I think is a take-away from this portion of Luke's accounting of things in his encounter between Jesus and his followers. When his disciples asked him about prayer, he modeled for them a prayer. But, the Lord's Prayer is not just a model for praying. It's also, if you will, a summary of what it means to live a Christian life. The prayer sums up, in a very condensed version to be sure, the way Jesus read and responded to the signs from God in his life - the way in which he understood his own vocation and mission and the way he invites his followers to share in it. "The Lord's Prayer" is a vignette in which we can see Jesus, what he was about, and what our lives as followers can be.
The Lord's Prayer reveals what it takes for us to be formed into faithful followers. We are to take up the way of life described in the prayer: God's kingdom is to come among us - God's will is to be done in us and through us - we are to forgive others and seek God's forgiveness - that's what we pray will happen when we pray The Lord's Prayer.
One of our United Methodist bishops, William Willimon, once noted that by praying The Lord's Prayer we're being made into a people whose life is a sign to the world that God has not abandoned the world but is still present in the world as a people on the move. Our lives are being bent toward God when we pray. It's a lifelong act, this being bent toward the one that reaches out to us. (1)
We most often repeat this prayer when we are gathered together as the Body of Christ - when we worship as the corporate body. One of the things our repeating this prayer together reminds us of is that the Christian journey through life is tough to do alone.
Willimon went on to say: “We, who are accustomed to thinking of prayer as a good strategy for getting what we want, an appropriate opening for football games and important civic meetings, may be surprised that we must be taught to pray. This prayer is not for getting what we want but rather for bending our wants toward what God wants. This is the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer ‘in Jesus’ name,’ which means that this prayer, unlike some other modes of prayer, is distinctively related to the one who teaches us to pray. This prayer is the enactment of the story of a God who called a people into existence through Jesus. In praying this prayer we become the people God has called us to be in Jesus.” (2)
Praying bends us toward God. That’s what I’ve been praying for since being diagnosed with ALS – to be bent toward God.
1. William Willimon, The Pulpit Resource, July, August, September, 1998, p. 16-17.
2. Ibid.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Preparing For Third Walk to Defeat ALS!
"Well, this is certainly a different post than normal!" you might be commenting to yourself at this moment. I'm sharing on my blog today the information on my personal page for the Columbus Walk to Defeat ALS. I've posted on Facebook and sent personal emails in the past and decided to add my "Giving Wings to Thoughts" blog to the effort. Yes, it's that important to me. I so appreciate the support on my journey with ALS and in this effort to combat this ugly disease!
The 2013 Walk to Defeat ALS will be held on Sunday, September 29 at the Fred Beekman Park on the campus of OSU with registration beginning at 9:30 am and the walk at 11 am. This is the third year a team of our family and friends (Bill's Backers) will participate as we do what we can to combat this challenging disease. The Walk raises funds to support the Central and Southern Ohio ALS Association Chapter as it provides support for those of us living with the realities of the disease and needed research.
Most of you are aware that I was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) in August of 2010. If you follow my blog, "Giving Wings to Thoughts" http://wcroy22.blogspot.ca/, you know that this past year the disease has progressed to the point where I stopped driving in December, 2012; recently was helped to my feet by paramedics four times in one week resulting in my no longer standing to transfer from power wheelchair to shower, toilet, and bed but learning to use a slide board; switched to an A-pap machine with a battery so I can still be mobile as my bi-pap needs increase; am showered and dressed by my loving and lovely wife, Dorothy; and now sleep in a hospital bed. While we are getting used to having to curtail our travels, we are blessed to be living in a handicapped accessible house which we moved into in September, 2012.
What began as a modest $5,000 goal two years ago has resulted in the Bill's Backers team contributing over $64,000 to the battle against ALS! I cannot thank you enough!
We want to continue doing what we can to support research as well as the work of the local chapters providing support groups and needed equipment. We want to invite you to join us in this year's efforts in one or more of the following ways:
1) Go to http://web.alsa.org/goto/billsbackers. If you simply wish to join our team and make a donation, proceed to the Register drop down box and join the Bill's Backers team as a walker or virtual walker and make a donation as a team member or to any of the team members already registered.
2) Or, this same area will also give you the opportunity to develop a Personal Page about our relationship and why you are participating. You simply make the donation to your own effort and then email this information to 5, 10, or 20+ of your family and friends thus further increasing the awareness of the disease and potential resources for this fight. You can also repost on Facebook. Remember: this event is both about sharing information about ALS and raising funds. Most of the work done this way is done electronically, which means you don't have to do the face-to-face ask. If your family, friends or work associates understand why you are interested in this effort, it's amazing how willing they are to join the fight to Defeat ALS! If you are interested and need help setting up your personal page, feel free to contact one of the persons noted below.
3) We've had wonderful success with ALS fundraising nights at City BBQ and Jersey Mike's. Would any of you be interested in hosting such a night at a local restaurant in your community? Bill's Backers captain, Nicki Crellin, is willing to help with the paperwork part of it if anyone is willing to give it a try. Again, her contact information is below.
Please note: If you make a gift, you will have the option of making an anonymous gift. Otherwise, your support will be recognized on the "Fundraising Honor Roll" scrolling on the right side of the page.
My daughter, Megan Croy (meganrcroy@yahoo.com), son and daughter-in-law, Jeremy & Meladie Croy (croyjn@tiffin.edu, meladiew@hotmail.com), sister, Phyllis Macke (pjmacke@gmail.com), and niece, Nicki Crellin (nicki.crellin@wright.edu), have all agreed to serve as contact persons if you have any questions.
Thanks and God's blessings on you all as you consider what you are able to do!
The 2013 Walk to Defeat ALS will be held on Sunday, September 29 at the Fred Beekman Park on the campus of OSU with registration beginning at 9:30 am and the walk at 11 am. This is the third year a team of our family and friends (Bill's Backers) will participate as we do what we can to combat this challenging disease. The Walk raises funds to support the Central and Southern Ohio ALS Association Chapter as it provides support for those of us living with the realities of the disease and needed research.
Most of you are aware that I was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) in August of 2010. If you follow my blog, "Giving Wings to Thoughts" http://wcroy22.blogspot.ca/, you know that this past year the disease has progressed to the point where I stopped driving in December, 2012; recently was helped to my feet by paramedics four times in one week resulting in my no longer standing to transfer from power wheelchair to shower, toilet, and bed but learning to use a slide board; switched to an A-pap machine with a battery so I can still be mobile as my bi-pap needs increase; am showered and dressed by my loving and lovely wife, Dorothy; and now sleep in a hospital bed. While we are getting used to having to curtail our travels, we are blessed to be living in a handicapped accessible house which we moved into in September, 2012.
What began as a modest $5,000 goal two years ago has resulted in the Bill's Backers team contributing over $64,000 to the battle against ALS! I cannot thank you enough!
We want to continue doing what we can to support research as well as the work of the local chapters providing support groups and needed equipment. We want to invite you to join us in this year's efforts in one or more of the following ways:
1) Go to http://web.alsa.org/goto/billsbackers. If you simply wish to join our team and make a donation, proceed to the Register drop down box and join the Bill's Backers team as a walker or virtual walker and make a donation as a team member or to any of the team members already registered.
2) Or, this same area will also give you the opportunity to develop a Personal Page about our relationship and why you are participating. You simply make the donation to your own effort and then email this information to 5, 10, or 20+ of your family and friends thus further increasing the awareness of the disease and potential resources for this fight. You can also repost on Facebook. Remember: this event is both about sharing information about ALS and raising funds. Most of the work done this way is done electronically, which means you don't have to do the face-to-face ask. If your family, friends or work associates understand why you are interested in this effort, it's amazing how willing they are to join the fight to Defeat ALS! If you are interested and need help setting up your personal page, feel free to contact one of the persons noted below.
3) We've had wonderful success with ALS fundraising nights at City BBQ and Jersey Mike's. Would any of you be interested in hosting such a night at a local restaurant in your community? Bill's Backers captain, Nicki Crellin, is willing to help with the paperwork part of it if anyone is willing to give it a try. Again, her contact information is below.
Please note: If you make a gift, you will have the option of making an anonymous gift. Otherwise, your support will be recognized on the "Fundraising Honor Roll" scrolling on the right side of the page.
My daughter, Megan Croy (meganrcroy@yahoo.com), son and daughter-in-law, Jeremy & Meladie Croy (croyjn@tiffin.edu, meladiew@hotmail.com), sister, Phyllis Macke (pjmacke@gmail.com), and niece, Nicki Crellin (nicki.crellin@wright.edu), have all agreed to serve as contact persons if you have any questions.
Thanks and God's blessings on you all as you consider what you are able to do!
Friday, July 19, 2013
"The Gospel of Hospitality"
The Gospel of Hospitality
Luke 10:38-42
After his open-air classroom type encounter with a lawyer resulting in the story about the good Samaritan, Jesus and his traveling companions continued toward Jerusalem. One of their stops was at the home of two sisters, Mary and Martha. They, along with their brother, Lazarus, are reported to be good friends of Jesus.
It had to have been a welcome respite for Jesus after numerous occasions of being challenged by those who gathered around him who were hoping to discredit him. He had to have been weary of traveling and knowing what probably lay ahead in the beloved Jerusalem. He wasn't as welcome everywhere as he once had been. People were becoming concerned about the tension growing between him and the religious authorities over his teachings and his growing following. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it was going to end badly. Some probably began to have second thoughts about being seen with him.
But, the doors to Mary and Martha's home were always open for their friend, Jesus. Upon his entering their home, they sat him down in the front room, washed his feet, and offered him water to refresh his face and hands. Then Martha excused herself to better ready the house for their guests. She started cooking and cleaning and putting clean sheets on all the beds. She had built quite a reputation for being the perfect host. Because of her attention to details, visiting her was always a pleasant experience.
It was obvious though that things were different this time - there was the louder than usual banging of pots and pans - the smell of burning food in the air instead of the usually pleasant smell of bread baking. Maybe it was because of the pressure of so many stopping by unexpectedly, or, maybe it was because of it being a special friend. There's no question though that she thought her sister should have been helping. The heat in the kitchen was the result of more than her cooking.
Finally, she’d had enough. She stormed out of the kitchen and got right in Jesus' face. Knowing full well that he knew she’d been in the kitchen by herself – she shouted her concern to him: “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” And she didn’t stop there, informing Jesus what she wanted him to do about it: “Jesus, tell my sister to help me!”
Now, to properly understand Jesus’ response, it’s important that we remember what was happening in his life – where he was going – what was going to happen to him. He was on his way to Jerusalem for a confrontation with the religious and political power-brokers of his day. He was on his way to the cross and to his death. Jesus’ whole being was wrapped up with the intense battle going on inside him between his will and God’s. He sensed that despite a group traveling with him, few understood the turmoil going on inside him between self-preservation and carrying out the will of God – few understood his need to be listened to.
When Jesus went into the home of his friends, excitement filled the air. But, the crowds that followed him – even his disciples – didn’t quite get it. They didn’t sense the struggle in his heart. They only knew there was something significant, something exciting about their going to Jerusalem. Their sense was that it might mean something special for their future. Martha was eager to celebrate it and tried to do her part by creating the very best spread she could – the most comfortable setting possible – so she rushed, fussed, and cooked. But, it wasn’t what Jesus needed.
It was peace and quiet – an attentive ear – hospitable hearts and minds – open hearts and minds in addition to the open doors that he needed. He had stopped on his journey to Jerusalem seeking an oasis of calm in the home of friends – to get away from the demands of the crowds so that he could think and reflect with friends who cared about him – who would listen to him. And that is what Mary did. Despite all her good intentions at being hospitable, that's what Martha missed out on. And so, to Martha’s question and directive, Jesus kindly responded, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” “Martha, Martha, a simple meal would be fine today. I prefer your attentive ear and heart.”
Martha’s mistake is really one many of us make when it comes to being hospitable to those who come to visit us. So often those who visit us are in need of our ears and our hearts rather than the more elaborate dessert that means we have to spend most of the time they are visiting out in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on it. It’s a good thing to keep in mind when friends simply stop by unannounced or when we go to visit our grown children or our parents or when we are making plans to do things with our teenagers or when our parents ask us to go out to eat or to go somewhere with them or when we are trying to help someone fix up their home on a mission trip. Being hospitable means being ready to stop our busyness - our work - and make ourselves available for others to share what’s on their hearts and their minds. Being hospitable means being able to relax and to sit at the feet of those who come into our lives – to listen to their life stories and to offer them the opportunity to find healing through our attention to the needs in their lives.
In a way, this encounter between Jesus and Mary and Martha was as scandalous as the parable of the Good Samaritan which preceded it. Jesus again ignored the social taboos of the day when he went to the home of a woman for a meal and when he allowed a woman to sit at his feet like a male disciple. The rabbis who were observing Jesus’ every activity had a very different understanding of the way men should relate to women in that day. A couple of the well-known teachings were: “It is better to burn the Torah than to teach it to a woman,” and, “It is better to teach a daughter to be a prostitute than to teach her the Torah.” Just as the parable of the Good Samaritan upset the traditional notions of who was a person’s neighbor, so this narrative dramatically challenged the place of women in the community of faith.
Jesus’ acceptance of women as vital members in the community of faith is not the only message to be gleaned from this text though. Again, Luke records this encounter as having taken place while Jesus’ was on his way to Jerusalem – a journey toward the cross and overshadowed by the cross. The question thus becomes you see, who will perceive the true character of his journey? Who will understand that the kingdom of God has drawn near in the person of Jesus? Who will receive him?
While there’s no question Martha loved Jesus and was willing to serve him, still, because of her attentiveness to other things she neglected to do what Jesus needed in that hour – having her spend time with him. At the heart of this story is the ongoing tension between those things which are a part of life and those things which are necessary for life: listening for and receiving the word of God. It’s a tension that continues to be a problem for we followers of Jesus. To each one of us Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.” And many of us have done as we have understood Jesus’ instructive word. We have served as Sunday-school teachers – we have held numerous offices in the church – we have prepared meals for the homeless and the grieving and the families with a new baby and people returning home from the hospital – we have ushered one Sunday a month for years – and on and on the list goes. Many of us are uncomfortable with Jesus’ response to Martha. We find it ironic – troubling - that Jesus applauded not the one who served but the one who sat and listened. That seems to us a bit like praising those who worship on Sunday morning but never do anything else in the life of the church or for the suffering in our world. We want Jesus to tell them that they should help us more rather than affirm their simply listening to the sermon or reading a daily devotional.
The point of the story in Luke though is not to force us to choose between service and worship – inner spirituality or outer service. It is not to make a case against social activism or doing church. It’s not to make a case for those who reject such activism. Rather, I believe the text speaks a needed word to a church that has too often tried to educate without Bible study and to serve without worship. Christian service grows out of followers spending time with God and God’s word and God’s people. It’s loving God AND serving our neighbors – it takes both pillars to hold up the temple of faith.
In a Scandinavian country there is a statue of Christ. A tourist standing in front of it appeared dismayed. A local resident asked what his problem was. He replied, “I cannot see his face.” The resident explained, “If you desire to see his face, you must kneel at his feet.”
There is a chapel somewhere in Wisconsin that has a stained glass window over the entrance, showing the figure of Jesus with open arms. Some, seeing it for the first time, have remarked, “How meaningful! He seems to be inviting us in to worship.”
“That’s true,” the pastor will say. “He is indeed inviting us into worship.”
When the service is over some persons going out the door, will again look up at the window with the figure of Jesus, with the same inviting open arms. “Look!” they will say. “Now he seems to be inviting us out.”
“Right,” the pastor replies. “The Jesus who invited you to worship now invites you out into the world to serve other people in his name.”1
A mother, listening to the bedtime prayers of her small daughter, heard the listing of requests for blessings that children often offer – Mommy and Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa and on and on. She was surprised, however, to hear the child conclude her prayer with these words: “Now, Jesus, what would you like for me to do for you?”2
The greatest need some of us have is the need to spend some time kneeling or sitting at the feet of Jesus. Our lives are out of sync. Our values are out of focus. Our priorities are hopelessly skewed. We need to stop where we are and pray, “Lord, help me to know what those things are that really need to matter in my life and help me to always put you first.”
Mary and Martha loved their friend, Jesus – their Lord, Jesus. And he loved them – both of them! And he appreciated the attention he received from them – their listening and their serving. It was just that at the moment Martha had overdone her doing and Jesus sensed that her spiritual strength was waning – perhaps even the cause of her irritableness. Both the journey inward and the journey outward are important – both are spiritual – neither can exist without the other.
Service, devotion, meditation, reflection, the healing words of friends – there’s a time and a place for each of them. Jesus was simply saying to Martha that what he needed and wanted at that point in his life were her ears and her heart – her undivided attention so that he could pour out his heart to her. If you’re anything like me, you probably have to confess along with me that more times than not Martha’s way has been the way the journey of faith gets lived out. May all of us hear our Lord lovingly whispering in our hearts and minds this day: “Calm down – slow down – spend some time with me – sit and listen.”
It takes loving God and serving our neighbors to be truly welcoming of all who come to our doors. In order to be hospitable we need to prepare our hearts and our minds as well as our hands. In order to serve all who cross our paths or enter our doors, we need to spend time loving God. The Gospel of hospitality invites us to keep our minds and our hearts and our doors open to all.
Let us pray.
We do so want to please you, Lord. We know our need to sit in calm – to strengthen our inner being for the challenges the world puts before us – but our need to be busy and to get on with it overshadows our knowledge. Slow us down, Lord, so that we might be better able to fight for your causes in this world. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Peace, brothers and sisters in Christ!
1. Carveth Mitchell, The Sign in the Subway, “Complaint From the Kitchen,” (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company), 1-55673-056-x.
2. Ibid.
Luke 10:38-42
After his open-air classroom type encounter with a lawyer resulting in the story about the good Samaritan, Jesus and his traveling companions continued toward Jerusalem. One of their stops was at the home of two sisters, Mary and Martha. They, along with their brother, Lazarus, are reported to be good friends of Jesus.
It had to have been a welcome respite for Jesus after numerous occasions of being challenged by those who gathered around him who were hoping to discredit him. He had to have been weary of traveling and knowing what probably lay ahead in the beloved Jerusalem. He wasn't as welcome everywhere as he once had been. People were becoming concerned about the tension growing between him and the religious authorities over his teachings and his growing following. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it was going to end badly. Some probably began to have second thoughts about being seen with him.
But, the doors to Mary and Martha's home were always open for their friend, Jesus. Upon his entering their home, they sat him down in the front room, washed his feet, and offered him water to refresh his face and hands. Then Martha excused herself to better ready the house for their guests. She started cooking and cleaning and putting clean sheets on all the beds. She had built quite a reputation for being the perfect host. Because of her attention to details, visiting her was always a pleasant experience.
It was obvious though that things were different this time - there was the louder than usual banging of pots and pans - the smell of burning food in the air instead of the usually pleasant smell of bread baking. Maybe it was because of the pressure of so many stopping by unexpectedly, or, maybe it was because of it being a special friend. There's no question though that she thought her sister should have been helping. The heat in the kitchen was the result of more than her cooking.
Finally, she’d had enough. She stormed out of the kitchen and got right in Jesus' face. Knowing full well that he knew she’d been in the kitchen by herself – she shouted her concern to him: “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” And she didn’t stop there, informing Jesus what she wanted him to do about it: “Jesus, tell my sister to help me!”
Now, to properly understand Jesus’ response, it’s important that we remember what was happening in his life – where he was going – what was going to happen to him. He was on his way to Jerusalem for a confrontation with the religious and political power-brokers of his day. He was on his way to the cross and to his death. Jesus’ whole being was wrapped up with the intense battle going on inside him between his will and God’s. He sensed that despite a group traveling with him, few understood the turmoil going on inside him between self-preservation and carrying out the will of God – few understood his need to be listened to.
When Jesus went into the home of his friends, excitement filled the air. But, the crowds that followed him – even his disciples – didn’t quite get it. They didn’t sense the struggle in his heart. They only knew there was something significant, something exciting about their going to Jerusalem. Their sense was that it might mean something special for their future. Martha was eager to celebrate it and tried to do her part by creating the very best spread she could – the most comfortable setting possible – so she rushed, fussed, and cooked. But, it wasn’t what Jesus needed.
It was peace and quiet – an attentive ear – hospitable hearts and minds – open hearts and minds in addition to the open doors that he needed. He had stopped on his journey to Jerusalem seeking an oasis of calm in the home of friends – to get away from the demands of the crowds so that he could think and reflect with friends who cared about him – who would listen to him. And that is what Mary did. Despite all her good intentions at being hospitable, that's what Martha missed out on. And so, to Martha’s question and directive, Jesus kindly responded, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” “Martha, Martha, a simple meal would be fine today. I prefer your attentive ear and heart.”
Martha’s mistake is really one many of us make when it comes to being hospitable to those who come to visit us. So often those who visit us are in need of our ears and our hearts rather than the more elaborate dessert that means we have to spend most of the time they are visiting out in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on it. It’s a good thing to keep in mind when friends simply stop by unannounced or when we go to visit our grown children or our parents or when we are making plans to do things with our teenagers or when our parents ask us to go out to eat or to go somewhere with them or when we are trying to help someone fix up their home on a mission trip. Being hospitable means being ready to stop our busyness - our work - and make ourselves available for others to share what’s on their hearts and their minds. Being hospitable means being able to relax and to sit at the feet of those who come into our lives – to listen to their life stories and to offer them the opportunity to find healing through our attention to the needs in their lives.
In a way, this encounter between Jesus and Mary and Martha was as scandalous as the parable of the Good Samaritan which preceded it. Jesus again ignored the social taboos of the day when he went to the home of a woman for a meal and when he allowed a woman to sit at his feet like a male disciple. The rabbis who were observing Jesus’ every activity had a very different understanding of the way men should relate to women in that day. A couple of the well-known teachings were: “It is better to burn the Torah than to teach it to a woman,” and, “It is better to teach a daughter to be a prostitute than to teach her the Torah.” Just as the parable of the Good Samaritan upset the traditional notions of who was a person’s neighbor, so this narrative dramatically challenged the place of women in the community of faith.
Jesus’ acceptance of women as vital members in the community of faith is not the only message to be gleaned from this text though. Again, Luke records this encounter as having taken place while Jesus’ was on his way to Jerusalem – a journey toward the cross and overshadowed by the cross. The question thus becomes you see, who will perceive the true character of his journey? Who will understand that the kingdom of God has drawn near in the person of Jesus? Who will receive him?
While there’s no question Martha loved Jesus and was willing to serve him, still, because of her attentiveness to other things she neglected to do what Jesus needed in that hour – having her spend time with him. At the heart of this story is the ongoing tension between those things which are a part of life and those things which are necessary for life: listening for and receiving the word of God. It’s a tension that continues to be a problem for we followers of Jesus. To each one of us Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.” And many of us have done as we have understood Jesus’ instructive word. We have served as Sunday-school teachers – we have held numerous offices in the church – we have prepared meals for the homeless and the grieving and the families with a new baby and people returning home from the hospital – we have ushered one Sunday a month for years – and on and on the list goes. Many of us are uncomfortable with Jesus’ response to Martha. We find it ironic – troubling - that Jesus applauded not the one who served but the one who sat and listened. That seems to us a bit like praising those who worship on Sunday morning but never do anything else in the life of the church or for the suffering in our world. We want Jesus to tell them that they should help us more rather than affirm their simply listening to the sermon or reading a daily devotional.
The point of the story in Luke though is not to force us to choose between service and worship – inner spirituality or outer service. It is not to make a case against social activism or doing church. It’s not to make a case for those who reject such activism. Rather, I believe the text speaks a needed word to a church that has too often tried to educate without Bible study and to serve without worship. Christian service grows out of followers spending time with God and God’s word and God’s people. It’s loving God AND serving our neighbors – it takes both pillars to hold up the temple of faith.
In a Scandinavian country there is a statue of Christ. A tourist standing in front of it appeared dismayed. A local resident asked what his problem was. He replied, “I cannot see his face.” The resident explained, “If you desire to see his face, you must kneel at his feet.”
There is a chapel somewhere in Wisconsin that has a stained glass window over the entrance, showing the figure of Jesus with open arms. Some, seeing it for the first time, have remarked, “How meaningful! He seems to be inviting us in to worship.”
“That’s true,” the pastor will say. “He is indeed inviting us into worship.”
When the service is over some persons going out the door, will again look up at the window with the figure of Jesus, with the same inviting open arms. “Look!” they will say. “Now he seems to be inviting us out.”
“Right,” the pastor replies. “The Jesus who invited you to worship now invites you out into the world to serve other people in his name.”1
A mother, listening to the bedtime prayers of her small daughter, heard the listing of requests for blessings that children often offer – Mommy and Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa and on and on. She was surprised, however, to hear the child conclude her prayer with these words: “Now, Jesus, what would you like for me to do for you?”2
The greatest need some of us have is the need to spend some time kneeling or sitting at the feet of Jesus. Our lives are out of sync. Our values are out of focus. Our priorities are hopelessly skewed. We need to stop where we are and pray, “Lord, help me to know what those things are that really need to matter in my life and help me to always put you first.”
Mary and Martha loved their friend, Jesus – their Lord, Jesus. And he loved them – both of them! And he appreciated the attention he received from them – their listening and their serving. It was just that at the moment Martha had overdone her doing and Jesus sensed that her spiritual strength was waning – perhaps even the cause of her irritableness. Both the journey inward and the journey outward are important – both are spiritual – neither can exist without the other.
Service, devotion, meditation, reflection, the healing words of friends – there’s a time and a place for each of them. Jesus was simply saying to Martha that what he needed and wanted at that point in his life were her ears and her heart – her undivided attention so that he could pour out his heart to her. If you’re anything like me, you probably have to confess along with me that more times than not Martha’s way has been the way the journey of faith gets lived out. May all of us hear our Lord lovingly whispering in our hearts and minds this day: “Calm down – slow down – spend some time with me – sit and listen.”
It takes loving God and serving our neighbors to be truly welcoming of all who come to our doors. In order to be hospitable we need to prepare our hearts and our minds as well as our hands. In order to serve all who cross our paths or enter our doors, we need to spend time loving God. The Gospel of hospitality invites us to keep our minds and our hearts and our doors open to all.
Let us pray.
We do so want to please you, Lord. We know our need to sit in calm – to strengthen our inner being for the challenges the world puts before us – but our need to be busy and to get on with it overshadows our knowledge. Slow us down, Lord, so that we might be better able to fight for your causes in this world. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Peace, brothers and sisters in Christ!
1. Carveth Mitchell, The Sign in the Subway, “Complaint From the Kitchen,” (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company), 1-55673-056-x.
2. Ibid.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
"Facing New Health/Life Realities"
Let me begin by assuring everyone that my intent in blogging is not to be an obnoxious nuisance. It is not my intent to bore you with health reports, reworked sermons, social commentary, or life stories. I really do understand that not everyone is going to enjoy/appreciate/care about all the different topics with which I choose to deal. I know some find it too depressing to read about how ALS is impacting my life or are tired of hearing about it. I know some of you find reading sermons almost as boring as having to listen to one! I understand that some don't share my political and social views and thus choose not to read those posts which might reveal how much we differ. Really, I understand and want to assure you it's OK not to go to my blog. I don't know if you do or don't anyway! Those of you receiving the email reminders that I've posted something new, feel free to ask me to drop you from the list. My feelings will not be hurt. Now, you learning about new posts on Facebook, I hope you don't unfriend me but instead choose to "Hide" "Giving Wings to Thoughts" posts.
I blog because:
I need something to do - to feel that my continuing to live serves a purpose.
It's therapeutic for me to try to put what I'm thinking into words on paper.
Others claim some of the things I am pondering help them with their own musings.
Friends and family encourage me to share.
Well, before I'm accused of stalling - which I'm afraid, quite honestly, I'll have to confess some of the above is - I suppose I should get to the point of the title of this post: "Facing New Health/Life Realities." So, warning: this one deals with some recent physical happenings and the resultant changes in the way we live!
Over the last few months I've become more and more nervous/concerned about my standing on my legs and holding onto my wheelchair and toilet bars and shower bars and then locking my legs against something while I pulled down my pants to do whatever I needed to do (sorry for the blunt details!). More than once I caught myself and was able to steady myself enough to keep from falling. Thus, I was becoming more and more reluctant to go places where I would have to deal with unknown spaces and situations. That was not the me before ALS. I loved the new, the adventurous, the challenging. That all changed last week while on a recent mini-vacation.
Dorothy found a motel in St. Joseph, Michigan and we invited the kids and grandkids to join us. Our daughter, Megan, and son, Evan, were unable to get away, but son, Jeremy and his wife, Meladie, and children, Corinne & William, fortunately were planning on some time away from Tiffin that same week. The plan was for Dorothy and I to leave on a Sunday morning and arrive in St. Joseph on Monday afternoon with Jeremy's family meeting us there on Monday evening. We enjoyed a leisurely drive on Sunday through northwestern Ohio stopping for lunch with some of my sister Phyllis' family at McDonalds, a stop at Putnam Heritage to visit mom and aunt Dorothy, and a garage-visit with some of Dorothy's sister Susie's family in Defiance. (We were forced into the garage by a thunderstorm that was accompanied with some of the loudest thunder I've ever hear! It was actually somewhat frightening!)
We finally arrived at the Holiday Inn Express near the outlet mall outside Angola, Indiana where we had reservations for a handicapped-accessible room with a roll-in shower. Everything appeared to be as we had hoped and needed it to be. When we got up the next morning we decided I would shower in case the motel accommodations in St. Joseph weren't as accessible as what we currently perceived. (One of the things we've learned on this handicapped journey is how unbelievably different are the motel, restaurant, and restroom attempts at providing handicapped helps and how overwhelmingly impossible it is to provide appropriate helps for all handicapped realities - not intended as a political statement!)
Well, as soon as I sat down on the shower bench I knew it was too low and it was going to present a challenge for me to get back on my feet and into my power wheelchair. After Dorothy finished bathing me, washing my hair, and drying me off, we began the grueling ordeal of trying to get my feet enough under me for my arms to be able to lift my dead-weight high enough for me to lock my legs in place and then transfer to the power wheelchair. After a few unsuccessful attempts I admitted that I was going to need additional help getting to my feet and into my chair. Dorothy first put the bi-pap on me to keep me calm and enable me to breath easier despite the anxiety-producing situation and then called 911.
Within a few minutes, four burly paramedics arrived and professionally, compassionately, and competently went out about their ministry of providing physical help and authentic kindness. I've provided plenty of pastoral care over the years and I cannot say enough about the wonderful way those guys did their job physically and pastorally to both Dorothy and myself! (Episode # 1)
After a few hours we proceeded to St. Joseph. (I have to mention the brief stop at Chocolate Garden along I-94 on our way. If in the area, take the time to stop! Yum!) Since we arrived so early in St. Joseph and our room wasn't quite ready, we had an enjoyable afternoon acclimating ourselves to this wonderfully family-friendly lakefront community. Mid-afternoon we checked in and again found the accommodations at Silver Beach Motel to be as advertised, and what wasn't quite as we needed it to be the staff went out of their way to correct it. They were spectacular!
Around dinner time I decided to go the bathroom before going out to eat. While I'm not sure exactly what happened I'm going to assume that my legs gave way and down I went while transferring from my power wheelchair to the toilet. (I had learned my lesson back in December, 2012, when I had a near fall at an OSU basketball game in a restroom. It's better to fall than to over-exert myself by attempting to catch myself and holding myself up.) Still, I was heart-broken. For the first time, I was on the floor because my once strong legs couldn't do it. For the first time, I immediately knew there was no way I could get back on my feet on my own and didn't waste energy trying. Dorothy again quickly got the bi-pap on me and called 911.
Again, within a few minutes one very strong, compassionate paramedic arrived and "professionally, compassionately, and competently went about his ministry of providing physical help and authentic kindness." Folks, the men and women who provide this service in our communities as paramedics deserve all the support we can offer them. (Yes, that is a political comment!) (Episode # 2)
The next few days included watching the grandchildren play in the fountain water park, ride the carrousel, and enjoy the Children's Discovery Museum. It included wonderful meals, ice cream, walks along the bluff, sunsets, and a visit from a college friend and teammate of Jeremy's, Rob Lydick and his wife, Patti, but no more falls or 911 calls. This was primarily because my son was present offering extra physical strength whenever I had to transfer out of or into my power wheelchair.
We returned to our home in Columbus/Powell on Thursday afternoon. I was able to successfully attempt my normal way of getting around and falsely rationalized that what I had experienced earlier in the week was a fluke and probably the result of the stress of being away and the unknown. The next morning cracked open the door to our new reality.
Friday morning, July 12, after Dorothy again helped me with my shower and dried me, I struggled more than normal to get to my feet from the shower chair. Again, I'm not sure whether my legs gave way or I slipped off the chair or I slipped on the shower floor but down I went. And for the third time in one week, Dorothy calmly put my bi-pap on me and called 911. And for the third time in one week, the paramedics arrived - four of them "professionally, compassionately, and competently went about their ministry of providing physical help and authentic kindness." To be sure, I was more upset, emotional this time. To a person they offered encouraging words, reassuring me of their availability and informing us of a unique program for people with special needs. They were great! Kudos to the Liberty Township Paramedics! (Episode # 3)
I spent the next hour in my wheelchair with my bi-pap on to try and lessen the work of my breathing muscles and to regain some energy for the rest of the day. Then came the life-changer. I had to go to the bathroom and for some reason assumed I was back to normal - got off my wheelchair, onto the toilet, did what I needed to do, got up and down I went again. Bi-pap on, 911 called for second time in 1 1/2 hours, paramedics arrived and did their thing with grace and understanding and I shed a few more tears as the reality was setting in big time now - no more transferring by depending on my legs! (Episode # 4)
And so, over the weekend we learned to transfer with a sliding board from wheelchair to shower chair and from wheelchair to bed. I reluctantly agreed that Dorothy would have to wipe me. I accepted additional help from Dorothy to get dressed and undressed - still much to learn here we both agree! Not as comfortable making plans to go places with unknown restroom facilities. Using my bi-pap more, hopefully because of the heat and increased anxiety about changing health and life realities. Reluctantly accepting not having to take a shower every day - frankly, it has been more helpful than I thought it would be, less energy expended.
So, there it is - more than you ever wanted to know! I used a lot more words than I planned. Sorry.
Peace and God's blessings on you all!
(Appendix: (FYI if you didn't know and probably more than you want to know!) Dorothy has been drying me after my showers for at least two years. I finally agreed to let her help me with showering about a month ago. It was just too exhausting. I have been using a urinal for about a month which is much safer than transferring and helps conserve energy. This is but a tip of the iceberg that is ALS. PALS I follow and know are dealing with much more lack of muscle use than I am, but we know it's in our future as well. Thanks for your continued prayers and support!)
I blog because:
I need something to do - to feel that my continuing to live serves a purpose.
It's therapeutic for me to try to put what I'm thinking into words on paper.
Others claim some of the things I am pondering help them with their own musings.
Friends and family encourage me to share.
Well, before I'm accused of stalling - which I'm afraid, quite honestly, I'll have to confess some of the above is - I suppose I should get to the point of the title of this post: "Facing New Health/Life Realities." So, warning: this one deals with some recent physical happenings and the resultant changes in the way we live!
Over the last few months I've become more and more nervous/concerned about my standing on my legs and holding onto my wheelchair and toilet bars and shower bars and then locking my legs against something while I pulled down my pants to do whatever I needed to do (sorry for the blunt details!). More than once I caught myself and was able to steady myself enough to keep from falling. Thus, I was becoming more and more reluctant to go places where I would have to deal with unknown spaces and situations. That was not the me before ALS. I loved the new, the adventurous, the challenging. That all changed last week while on a recent mini-vacation.
Dorothy found a motel in St. Joseph, Michigan and we invited the kids and grandkids to join us. Our daughter, Megan, and son, Evan, were unable to get away, but son, Jeremy and his wife, Meladie, and children, Corinne & William, fortunately were planning on some time away from Tiffin that same week. The plan was for Dorothy and I to leave on a Sunday morning and arrive in St. Joseph on Monday afternoon with Jeremy's family meeting us there on Monday evening. We enjoyed a leisurely drive on Sunday through northwestern Ohio stopping for lunch with some of my sister Phyllis' family at McDonalds, a stop at Putnam Heritage to visit mom and aunt Dorothy, and a garage-visit with some of Dorothy's sister Susie's family in Defiance. (We were forced into the garage by a thunderstorm that was accompanied with some of the loudest thunder I've ever hear! It was actually somewhat frightening!)
We finally arrived at the Holiday Inn Express near the outlet mall outside Angola, Indiana where we had reservations for a handicapped-accessible room with a roll-in shower. Everything appeared to be as we had hoped and needed it to be. When we got up the next morning we decided I would shower in case the motel accommodations in St. Joseph weren't as accessible as what we currently perceived. (One of the things we've learned on this handicapped journey is how unbelievably different are the motel, restaurant, and restroom attempts at providing handicapped helps and how overwhelmingly impossible it is to provide appropriate helps for all handicapped realities - not intended as a political statement!)
Well, as soon as I sat down on the shower bench I knew it was too low and it was going to present a challenge for me to get back on my feet and into my power wheelchair. After Dorothy finished bathing me, washing my hair, and drying me off, we began the grueling ordeal of trying to get my feet enough under me for my arms to be able to lift my dead-weight high enough for me to lock my legs in place and then transfer to the power wheelchair. After a few unsuccessful attempts I admitted that I was going to need additional help getting to my feet and into my chair. Dorothy first put the bi-pap on me to keep me calm and enable me to breath easier despite the anxiety-producing situation and then called 911.
Within a few minutes, four burly paramedics arrived and professionally, compassionately, and competently went out about their ministry of providing physical help and authentic kindness. I've provided plenty of pastoral care over the years and I cannot say enough about the wonderful way those guys did their job physically and pastorally to both Dorothy and myself! (Episode # 1)
After a few hours we proceeded to St. Joseph. (I have to mention the brief stop at Chocolate Garden along I-94 on our way. If in the area, take the time to stop! Yum!) Since we arrived so early in St. Joseph and our room wasn't quite ready, we had an enjoyable afternoon acclimating ourselves to this wonderfully family-friendly lakefront community. Mid-afternoon we checked in and again found the accommodations at Silver Beach Motel to be as advertised, and what wasn't quite as we needed it to be the staff went out of their way to correct it. They were spectacular!
Around dinner time I decided to go the bathroom before going out to eat. While I'm not sure exactly what happened I'm going to assume that my legs gave way and down I went while transferring from my power wheelchair to the toilet. (I had learned my lesson back in December, 2012, when I had a near fall at an OSU basketball game in a restroom. It's better to fall than to over-exert myself by attempting to catch myself and holding myself up.) Still, I was heart-broken. For the first time, I was on the floor because my once strong legs couldn't do it. For the first time, I immediately knew there was no way I could get back on my feet on my own and didn't waste energy trying. Dorothy again quickly got the bi-pap on me and called 911.
Again, within a few minutes one very strong, compassionate paramedic arrived and "professionally, compassionately, and competently went about his ministry of providing physical help and authentic kindness." Folks, the men and women who provide this service in our communities as paramedics deserve all the support we can offer them. (Yes, that is a political comment!) (Episode # 2)
The next few days included watching the grandchildren play in the fountain water park, ride the carrousel, and enjoy the Children's Discovery Museum. It included wonderful meals, ice cream, walks along the bluff, sunsets, and a visit from a college friend and teammate of Jeremy's, Rob Lydick and his wife, Patti, but no more falls or 911 calls. This was primarily because my son was present offering extra physical strength whenever I had to transfer out of or into my power wheelchair.
We returned to our home in Columbus/Powell on Thursday afternoon. I was able to successfully attempt my normal way of getting around and falsely rationalized that what I had experienced earlier in the week was a fluke and probably the result of the stress of being away and the unknown. The next morning cracked open the door to our new reality.
Friday morning, July 12, after Dorothy again helped me with my shower and dried me, I struggled more than normal to get to my feet from the shower chair. Again, I'm not sure whether my legs gave way or I slipped off the chair or I slipped on the shower floor but down I went. And for the third time in one week, Dorothy calmly put my bi-pap on me and called 911. And for the third time in one week, the paramedics arrived - four of them "professionally, compassionately, and competently went about their ministry of providing physical help and authentic kindness." To be sure, I was more upset, emotional this time. To a person they offered encouraging words, reassuring me of their availability and informing us of a unique program for people with special needs. They were great! Kudos to the Liberty Township Paramedics! (Episode # 3)
I spent the next hour in my wheelchair with my bi-pap on to try and lessen the work of my breathing muscles and to regain some energy for the rest of the day. Then came the life-changer. I had to go to the bathroom and for some reason assumed I was back to normal - got off my wheelchair, onto the toilet, did what I needed to do, got up and down I went again. Bi-pap on, 911 called for second time in 1 1/2 hours, paramedics arrived and did their thing with grace and understanding and I shed a few more tears as the reality was setting in big time now - no more transferring by depending on my legs! (Episode # 4)
And so, over the weekend we learned to transfer with a sliding board from wheelchair to shower chair and from wheelchair to bed. I reluctantly agreed that Dorothy would have to wipe me. I accepted additional help from Dorothy to get dressed and undressed - still much to learn here we both agree! Not as comfortable making plans to go places with unknown restroom facilities. Using my bi-pap more, hopefully because of the heat and increased anxiety about changing health and life realities. Reluctantly accepting not having to take a shower every day - frankly, it has been more helpful than I thought it would be, less energy expended.
So, there it is - more than you ever wanted to know! I used a lot more words than I planned. Sorry.
Peace and God's blessings on you all!
(Appendix: (FYI if you didn't know and probably more than you want to know!) Dorothy has been drying me after my showers for at least two years. I finally agreed to let her help me with showering about a month ago. It was just too exhausting. I have been using a urinal for about a month which is much safer than transferring and helps conserve energy. This is but a tip of the iceberg that is ALS. PALS I follow and know are dealing with much more lack of muscle use than I am, but we know it's in our future as well. Thanks for your continued prayers and support!)
Sunday, July 14, 2013
"Who Are Our Neighbors?"
"Who Are Our Neighbors?"
Luke 10:25-37
Well, this sermon post is coming much later in the week than I had planned. In fact, if it had not been for a friend's innocent challenge/inquiry this morning I probably would have let my earlier decision to forget it this week be the outcome. You see, last week didn't go as planned. I had intended to rework the four sermons I had crafted in past years into one on this well-known and important text. Due to a technological mistake - that being I sent them to my iPad in an incorrect format and thus could not open them -
and needing to be helped to my feet four times by paramedics last week (I'll post a separate blog about that!) my intention evaporated.
But, my friend David's email this morning calling my attention to this week's Gospel text and querying whether I had ever given any thought to the Good Samaritan story stirred my will power a bit. The result being what follows. Oh, I first sent all four sermons to Dave in their original format hoping that would satisfy him. I haven't heard back so I figure he's still reading!
The Good Samaritan story is one Jesus told in response to a question a lawyer asked him. It's another one of those times an attorney doesn't come off looking very good. It happens a lot to attorneys. Usually I begin my sermons on this familiar scripture passage with a few lawyer jokes. A few years ago I needed some new ones so I sent an email to all the attorneys in the church asking for their favorites. Almost every one of them sent me one or two. Some of them were even clean enough to use in church! A few months ago one of those lawyers gave me a book he found the only content of which was attorney jokes! In honor of all my attorney friends I'm going to forego the jokes in this post. Just tell yourself the best one you've ever heard, laugh, and read on.
The first thing we note in this exchange between Jesus and the lawyer is that the lawyer's intent appears to be to test Jesus - to see if Jesus really knew his stuff or how what Jesus believed measured up to the way he understood things. So he posed this question: "Teacher, what about this eternal life idea? What do I have to do to inherit it?"
Jesus chose not to take the bait and answer the question with the obvious answer - that nothing has to be done to receive an inheritance. Jesus chose not to embarrass the learned man in front of the others. Instead, he gave the man the opportunity to show off a bit - to share his legalese knowledge. "Well, sir, let's start with what the law itself has to say about the matter. As you understand it, what does the law say?"
The lawyer didn't disappoint as he went for the gold - for the praise, the recognition - by walking center stage and waxing eloquently: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself."
By this time in history Jewish scholarship and tradition had distilled the 613 points of the Mosaic law into these two commandments from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. The lawyer showed that he had paid attention in his The Law of Moses 101 class. He'd remembered the dean of the law school talking about "...loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength and mind" being sort of a shorthand way of arguing that all that makes up our humanity must be involved in loving God. Likewise, he'd been paying attention when his brilliant instructor argued that out of this integrated, all-consuming love of God, which was the ultimate commandment, grew this second and inseparable one which stated that this included "loving our neighbor as yourself." "Loving God includes loving yourself and your neighbor." "Loving God includes being concerned about one's community."
And so, Jesus gave the man a perfect score, an A+ on his report card: "Excellent answer - You have answered correctly," thus providing the lawyer the public recognition he probably hoped and expected to receive. But, Jesus didn't stop with his words of affirmation. Instead, he said something that waved a red flag in the lawyer's mind. When Jesus said to the lawyer, "Do this, and you will live," all of a sudden the lawyer realized how impossible it was going to be for him to gain eternal life on his own. He wasn't dumb - he knew that he was incapable and unwilling to do all the law said was necessary.
And so, trying to create a loophole for himself - trying to save face - trying to still earn his way - trying to create a little wiggle room - the lawyer phrased a new question for Jesus: "Who's my neighbor, sir?" "Uh, Jesus, we both know that it's impossible to live up to the whole of the law, so how about if we discuss how we might narrow the scope of this neighbor bit?" "Jesus, could we put some parameters on this neighbor thing? If we could, perhaps I might have a chance at eternal life."
When we're honest with ourselves, I suppose we have to admit the lawyer's question is one we all wonder about on occasion. I mean, when we think of the demands others make on our limited resources of time, energy, and money, wouldn't having a clearer understanding of who our neighbors are help us set some limits? When we think about the hundreds of thousands, the millions that are starving or living impaired lives because of malnutrition or disease or poverty, wouldn't it help if we could narrow who was considered our neighbors? Are there not times when we wonder if there are some people who deserve our compassion and some who don't? Don't we wonder at times if there's a difference between babies with AIDS and adults who practice risky sexual behavior? Are some deserving of our compassion and others our condemnation? Are there not times when we turn to Jesus for justification just like the lawyer did and ask: "Who really is our neighbor, Jesus?" We don't want to feel guilty about all these situations so we embark on a little legalistic sojourn. We draw some lines in the sand so we can set some persons outside those who need us to have a neighborly concern. The lawyer's question isn't really all that far from our reality, now is it?
Jesus was up to the lawyer's request and told him, those listening in, and thus us, this story about a man who foolishly traveled alone one day on the dangerous road between Jerusalem and Jericho. He told him that the man got roughed up pretty good by a couple of robbers - actually a gang of them. He told him about how a couple of religious types - a priest and a Levite - failed to help the injured man. And then he shocked them all by claiming that a hated Samaritan stopped and helped the guy not only get up, but get back on his feet for good by guaranteeing even to pay for his time of rehabilitation in an inn.
The persons listening to the parable probably had no real problem with the "religious" and the "righteous" and the "establishment" being used as the "bad guys" in Jesus' story. But you can be sure, they winced when Jesus introduced a Samaritan as the hero. Why, just a little time before this encounter James and John had asked permission to call fire down upon a whole Samaritan village because they had been rejected.
Let me see if I can help us feel a little more intensely the way those who first heard this story felt. “If Jesus went to a Ku Klux Klan rally and they asked who is my neighbor, Jesus then might tell the parable having the Grand Master of the Klan crash into a ditch only to be passed over by a white sheriff and a white minister. Finally, along would come a black sharecropper playing the part of the Good Samaritan. Those attending the Ku Klux Klan meeting would have about as much trouble using the words “good” and “black” man in the same sentence as those listening to Jesus in his day would have had trouble using the words "Good Samaritan" together. (1)
Or, imagine some American Christian soldier being injured by a terrorist on a road outside of Baghdad and a Campus Crusade leader and a United Methodist Committee on Relief volunteer passing by on their way to attend a conference on how they can carry out their ministry in Iraq. And then, imagine a Shiite Muslim coming along and performing the caring ministry of the Good Samaritan. (2)
Or, imagine an OSU football player being attacked by a gang on some ghetto street in Detroit and several of his own teammates driving by in a car on their way to see a Detroit Lions football game and thus not being willing to stop and help. But then, a member of the University of Michigan football team happens by and stops, loads him in his car and takes him to the nearest hospital with instructions to send any uncovered insurance charges to him. (3)
Get the picture? That’s how unbelievable the scene was that Jesus painted for the lawyer that day. And then Jesus asked the lawyer, “Who was the neighbor in this story?” And the learned lawyer wisely responded, “The one who showed mercy.” And Jesus said to the lawyer, “Go and do likewise.”
Several years ago this story was the lectionary Gospel reading the week after I was in a car accident. I was driving a mini-van and was hit broadside and the van landed upside down with me dangling in mid-air held in place by my seatbelt. Later in the week when I finally felt good enough to work on the sermon, as I read the text it was as if a neon-light flashed the sermon title across the page - "Thank you, neighbors!" For the first time in my life as I read this text, I was the victim who received the aid of the neighbors - the Samaritans if you will. Oh, I wasn't beaten or robbed - persons who came to my aid weren't enemies - but I was injured - weak - in need of others - in need of neighbors - and both those I knew and many I did not, responded.
Who were my neighbors that week? They were the people who jumped off their front porches and out of their cars and took over the scene - did what they could. She was the woman who dashed back into her house for something to stop the bleeding with - he was the man who wrapped my arm, while applying pressure and holding it in the air until the paramedics arrived - it was the young staff woman from the Y who recognized me and rushed to the church to catch my associate to share with him the information about my condition and returned to the Y to share with my daughter, Megan, who was teaching a gymnastic course for her. It was my associate and his wife going to be with my wife, Dorothy, who had just had surgery, before she saw it on the evening news. They were the young couple driving the car that broadsided me as they jumped from their car to see what they could do to help all the while expressing their regret. It was those who ordered and delivered the fried chicken to our house since the crock-pot meal prepared by another church member now covered the ceiling of our van. It was my son, Jeremy, holding my hand in the ER and offering reassuring words of love. They were the persons who dropped off food the rest of the week - the people who called to ask how we were doing - those who sent cards - the ER doctors and nurses - the paramedics - the guys from "Big Daddy's Towing" who greeted me the next morning when I went to retrieve the important papers strewn all over the van.
Yes, I gained a new understanding of who our neighbors are - and I'm thankful for those in that day and those who claim that title in my current health journey.
"Who is a neighbor?" "Those who show mercy!"
Now let us hear Jesus say to us: "Go, and do likewise."
Peace and God's blessings on you all!
Steven E. Burt, Fingerprints on the Chalice, (C.S.S. Publishing, 1990).
Homiletics, p. 28.
Emphasis, p. 18.
Luke 10:25-37
Well, this sermon post is coming much later in the week than I had planned. In fact, if it had not been for a friend's innocent challenge/inquiry this morning I probably would have let my earlier decision to forget it this week be the outcome. You see, last week didn't go as planned. I had intended to rework the four sermons I had crafted in past years into one on this well-known and important text. Due to a technological mistake - that being I sent them to my iPad in an incorrect format and thus could not open them -
and needing to be helped to my feet four times by paramedics last week (I'll post a separate blog about that!) my intention evaporated.
But, my friend David's email this morning calling my attention to this week's Gospel text and querying whether I had ever given any thought to the Good Samaritan story stirred my will power a bit. The result being what follows. Oh, I first sent all four sermons to Dave in their original format hoping that would satisfy him. I haven't heard back so I figure he's still reading!
The Good Samaritan story is one Jesus told in response to a question a lawyer asked him. It's another one of those times an attorney doesn't come off looking very good. It happens a lot to attorneys. Usually I begin my sermons on this familiar scripture passage with a few lawyer jokes. A few years ago I needed some new ones so I sent an email to all the attorneys in the church asking for their favorites. Almost every one of them sent me one or two. Some of them were even clean enough to use in church! A few months ago one of those lawyers gave me a book he found the only content of which was attorney jokes! In honor of all my attorney friends I'm going to forego the jokes in this post. Just tell yourself the best one you've ever heard, laugh, and read on.
The first thing we note in this exchange between Jesus and the lawyer is that the lawyer's intent appears to be to test Jesus - to see if Jesus really knew his stuff or how what Jesus believed measured up to the way he understood things. So he posed this question: "Teacher, what about this eternal life idea? What do I have to do to inherit it?"
Jesus chose not to take the bait and answer the question with the obvious answer - that nothing has to be done to receive an inheritance. Jesus chose not to embarrass the learned man in front of the others. Instead, he gave the man the opportunity to show off a bit - to share his legalese knowledge. "Well, sir, let's start with what the law itself has to say about the matter. As you understand it, what does the law say?"
The lawyer didn't disappoint as he went for the gold - for the praise, the recognition - by walking center stage and waxing eloquently: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself."
By this time in history Jewish scholarship and tradition had distilled the 613 points of the Mosaic law into these two commandments from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. The lawyer showed that he had paid attention in his The Law of Moses 101 class. He'd remembered the dean of the law school talking about "...loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength and mind" being sort of a shorthand way of arguing that all that makes up our humanity must be involved in loving God. Likewise, he'd been paying attention when his brilliant instructor argued that out of this integrated, all-consuming love of God, which was the ultimate commandment, grew this second and inseparable one which stated that this included "loving our neighbor as yourself." "Loving God includes loving yourself and your neighbor." "Loving God includes being concerned about one's community."
And so, Jesus gave the man a perfect score, an A+ on his report card: "Excellent answer - You have answered correctly," thus providing the lawyer the public recognition he probably hoped and expected to receive. But, Jesus didn't stop with his words of affirmation. Instead, he said something that waved a red flag in the lawyer's mind. When Jesus said to the lawyer, "Do this, and you will live," all of a sudden the lawyer realized how impossible it was going to be for him to gain eternal life on his own. He wasn't dumb - he knew that he was incapable and unwilling to do all the law said was necessary.
And so, trying to create a loophole for himself - trying to save face - trying to still earn his way - trying to create a little wiggle room - the lawyer phrased a new question for Jesus: "Who's my neighbor, sir?" "Uh, Jesus, we both know that it's impossible to live up to the whole of the law, so how about if we discuss how we might narrow the scope of this neighbor bit?" "Jesus, could we put some parameters on this neighbor thing? If we could, perhaps I might have a chance at eternal life."
When we're honest with ourselves, I suppose we have to admit the lawyer's question is one we all wonder about on occasion. I mean, when we think of the demands others make on our limited resources of time, energy, and money, wouldn't having a clearer understanding of who our neighbors are help us set some limits? When we think about the hundreds of thousands, the millions that are starving or living impaired lives because of malnutrition or disease or poverty, wouldn't it help if we could narrow who was considered our neighbors? Are there not times when we wonder if there are some people who deserve our compassion and some who don't? Don't we wonder at times if there's a difference between babies with AIDS and adults who practice risky sexual behavior? Are some deserving of our compassion and others our condemnation? Are there not times when we turn to Jesus for justification just like the lawyer did and ask: "Who really is our neighbor, Jesus?" We don't want to feel guilty about all these situations so we embark on a little legalistic sojourn. We draw some lines in the sand so we can set some persons outside those who need us to have a neighborly concern. The lawyer's question isn't really all that far from our reality, now is it?
Jesus was up to the lawyer's request and told him, those listening in, and thus us, this story about a man who foolishly traveled alone one day on the dangerous road between Jerusalem and Jericho. He told him that the man got roughed up pretty good by a couple of robbers - actually a gang of them. He told him about how a couple of religious types - a priest and a Levite - failed to help the injured man. And then he shocked them all by claiming that a hated Samaritan stopped and helped the guy not only get up, but get back on his feet for good by guaranteeing even to pay for his time of rehabilitation in an inn.
The persons listening to the parable probably had no real problem with the "religious" and the "righteous" and the "establishment" being used as the "bad guys" in Jesus' story. But you can be sure, they winced when Jesus introduced a Samaritan as the hero. Why, just a little time before this encounter James and John had asked permission to call fire down upon a whole Samaritan village because they had been rejected.
Let me see if I can help us feel a little more intensely the way those who first heard this story felt. “If Jesus went to a Ku Klux Klan rally and they asked who is my neighbor, Jesus then might tell the parable having the Grand Master of the Klan crash into a ditch only to be passed over by a white sheriff and a white minister. Finally, along would come a black sharecropper playing the part of the Good Samaritan. Those attending the Ku Klux Klan meeting would have about as much trouble using the words “good” and “black” man in the same sentence as those listening to Jesus in his day would have had trouble using the words "Good Samaritan" together. (1)
Or, imagine some American Christian soldier being injured by a terrorist on a road outside of Baghdad and a Campus Crusade leader and a United Methodist Committee on Relief volunteer passing by on their way to attend a conference on how they can carry out their ministry in Iraq. And then, imagine a Shiite Muslim coming along and performing the caring ministry of the Good Samaritan. (2)
Or, imagine an OSU football player being attacked by a gang on some ghetto street in Detroit and several of his own teammates driving by in a car on their way to see a Detroit Lions football game and thus not being willing to stop and help. But then, a member of the University of Michigan football team happens by and stops, loads him in his car and takes him to the nearest hospital with instructions to send any uncovered insurance charges to him. (3)
Get the picture? That’s how unbelievable the scene was that Jesus painted for the lawyer that day. And then Jesus asked the lawyer, “Who was the neighbor in this story?” And the learned lawyer wisely responded, “The one who showed mercy.” And Jesus said to the lawyer, “Go and do likewise.”
Several years ago this story was the lectionary Gospel reading the week after I was in a car accident. I was driving a mini-van and was hit broadside and the van landed upside down with me dangling in mid-air held in place by my seatbelt. Later in the week when I finally felt good enough to work on the sermon, as I read the text it was as if a neon-light flashed the sermon title across the page - "Thank you, neighbors!" For the first time in my life as I read this text, I was the victim who received the aid of the neighbors - the Samaritans if you will. Oh, I wasn't beaten or robbed - persons who came to my aid weren't enemies - but I was injured - weak - in need of others - in need of neighbors - and both those I knew and many I did not, responded.
Who were my neighbors that week? They were the people who jumped off their front porches and out of their cars and took over the scene - did what they could. She was the woman who dashed back into her house for something to stop the bleeding with - he was the man who wrapped my arm, while applying pressure and holding it in the air until the paramedics arrived - it was the young staff woman from the Y who recognized me and rushed to the church to catch my associate to share with him the information about my condition and returned to the Y to share with my daughter, Megan, who was teaching a gymnastic course for her. It was my associate and his wife going to be with my wife, Dorothy, who had just had surgery, before she saw it on the evening news. They were the young couple driving the car that broadsided me as they jumped from their car to see what they could do to help all the while expressing their regret. It was those who ordered and delivered the fried chicken to our house since the crock-pot meal prepared by another church member now covered the ceiling of our van. It was my son, Jeremy, holding my hand in the ER and offering reassuring words of love. They were the persons who dropped off food the rest of the week - the people who called to ask how we were doing - those who sent cards - the ER doctors and nurses - the paramedics - the guys from "Big Daddy's Towing" who greeted me the next morning when I went to retrieve the important papers strewn all over the van.
Yes, I gained a new understanding of who our neighbors are - and I'm thankful for those in that day and those who claim that title in my current health journey.
"Who is a neighbor?" "Those who show mercy!"
Now let us hear Jesus say to us: "Go, and do likewise."
Peace and God's blessings on you all!
Steven E. Burt, Fingerprints on the Chalice, (C.S.S. Publishing, 1990).
Homiletics, p. 28.
Emphasis, p. 18.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
"It Takes a Village"
"It takes a village to raise a child" is an oft used and popular phrase. Some people believe it so deeply they adopt it as a key tenet of their life philosophy. Sadly, some see it as something misguided and representing a dangerous political mindset contributing to much that is wrong in our society. For reasons that escape me, some see it as somehow something that will allow socialism or communism or .... something bad for us gain a foothold in how we view life. I suppose part of it is attributed to the fact that Hillary Rodman Clinton heavily used the concept in her 1996 book It Takes A Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us. People love the concept or hate it often because of their political leanings, and frankly, I think that's a shame. It really wasn't a new idea with Hillary. She just helped promote the phrase and give momentum to it.
"It takes a village" is a concept that has been central to the way I have experienced life and tried to live. Let me share some of the ways the phrase has breathed meaning and value into my living: "It takes a team." "It takes a family." "It takes a choir." "It takes a scout troop." "It takes a church." "It takes a youth fellowship." "It takes a small group." "It takes a neighborhood." "It takes a gang." "It takes a group of friends." "It takes a committee." "It takes business associates." "It takes a band." "It takes a daycare." "It takes a Sunday School class." "It takes a service club." "It takes a clergy cluster." I could go on, but I think you get the picture.
There's no question that there were many in my hometown and throughout my life who had a hand in not only helping raise me but also forming me while challenging and encouraging me to grow - parents primarily, assuredly; but also siblings and cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles; teammates; friends; parents of friends and neighbors; the youth fellowship and Sunday School classes and their respective leaders; as well as pastors, coaches, teachers, business owners and staff at the places I frequented; church members, committee members, service clubs, Bible study groups, classmates in high school and college and seminary. And most dramatically, intensely, intimately and lovingly, my wife, Dorothy.
It continues even to this day as I struggle with the realities of this journey with ALS - oh how I depend on, again Dorothy, but also doctors, nurses, therapists, medical equipment personnel, miraculous medical equipment, church members, the ALS Support group and ALS Association, family, friends, the Living With ALS - For PALS Only Facebook page, the Patients Like Me website, Facebook friends and family, fellow clergy, old and new neighbors, etc. Yes indeed, "it takes a village" to deal with ALS and many other diseases and life situations.
I write this post because a group of friends of a newly diagnosed PAL attended our last ALS Support Group meeting. As I remember it, five friends (primarily church members I believe) came to the meeting to learn more about this disease robbing their friend of life and how they might be more helpful to their PAL. I was impressed with their spirit, their passion, their interest, their determination, their willingness to be "the village it is going to take" to help their friend on this journey.
Yes, "it does take a village" and I want to close by simply complimenting this group of friends for being their PALS' village! Peace and God's blessings on you all!
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