A pastor friend of mine had a mini crisis when he faced his first Easter as a minister in Minnesota. In his previous church, he had always used the coming of spring as a metaphor for Easter. A Minnesota Holy Week snowstorm necessitated a change of metaphor. The glory of a snow-covered Easter landscape did not have the same cachet as a flowery spring landscape. He and Easter both survived and celebrated the resurrection and new life effectively. While Easter is far more than the rebirth of the seasons, I have always found that the re-emerging of spring brings Easter to my mind. The brave first flowers emerging from their tomb-like bulbs into colorful life, the sudden surprise green of the new leaves, the bright green grass displacing the brown of winter, all speak to me of new beginnings. Even in the snowy cold of a Minnesota Easter, the glory of Easter shines forth for me with the power of a new beginning, new hope, a new life in the power of the resurrection. “Christ the Lord is risen today!” “He is risen indeed!”
04/13/2025
While my daughters were in the Anderson Highland Band, we spent every 4th of July in Chesterfield watching our daughters march in the 4th of July parade. They wore their Highland wool kilts and heavy wool jackets. I never saw any of the band members faint, but Indiana in July has weather totally unsuited to woolen garments. Often by the end their faces were bright red from the heat. Even so, they loved marching in the parade and we loved watching them. I love a parade any time. This is Palm Sunday with a parade Jesus set up, but the response was spontaneous. People spread branches and colorful garments on the path of Jesus and the donkey. There were cheers and chants: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna to the Son of David.” The followers of Jesus were ecstatic over the reception which Jesus received. There were, of course, detractors who wished to stamp out the pageantry and silence the enthusiastic voices. But Jesus accepted the idolization and proclaimed to the nay Sayers, “If these were silent, the very rocks would cry out!” Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
04/06/2025
A few days ago, I found a bargain. I was at Trader Joe’s grocery store. White eggs were over seven dollars a dozen, but brown eggs were $3.49 a dozen (limited to one dozen per customer). I jumped on that (not literally) even at that price, of course. Eggs are one of my favorite foods--soft boiled, fried, poached, scrambled--I like them all, except for the current cost. They are an ideal complete protein. They have even been revised nutritionally in regard to cholesterol dangers.
This time of year I have such good memories of coloring eggs for Easter. It is a fond childhood recollection. I remember with delight decorating the eggs for Easter with my daughters. It felt like a rite of Spring. Eggs even have religious symbolism across many traditions. One of my students gave me an Easter egg with the white and yolk blown out and the shell decorated in the intricate Eastern Orthodox tradition. It is a fragile delicate thing, empty like the tomb of Jesus, a beautiful symbol of the resurrection. We hang it on the Christmas tree to remember Jesus’ birth, life, teaching, death, and resurrection. It is another reminder of his continuing presence.
03/30/2025
Sometimes I carry in my pocket a Leatherman mini-tool. It is a handy little device which folds up to a one by two and a half inch package. Unfolded it has a 5 inch or 12 millimeter rule, a sturdy pair of pliers, a wrench, a flathead screwdriver, a can opener, a bottle opener, a file, and a knife. It even has a leather carry case with a belt loop. It is a rugged well-engineered tool. I am amazed at the multi-function design. There are also larger versions of the tool. It reminds me of a Boy Scout piece of equipment to fit the motto, “Be prepared”. I can’t say that I use it frequently, but when I need it I am glad that I have it. With it, I feel a bit more ready to face the small emergencies of life. Christians have generally believed that Jesus will some day return to the earth and that it is part of our job to be ready when he returns. Unfortunately, there is no handy little tool to make us ready. Perhaps it is what an earlier generation meant by “being prayed up”. At least it means being at peace with God and our fellow beings. It is about inner soul readiness that will welcome His return. “Maranatha, even so Lord Jesus, come!”
03/23/2025
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist. His wealth came from the steel industry, but he was known for his great philanthropy. He donated to many different causes for the betterment of United States citizens. However, he was notably less generous as an employer. Human beings can be quite complicated with empathy in one area and lack of empathy in another. That being said, Carnegie had a profound effect on the nation through his gifts. The first time that as a child I encountered his name was his gifts to establish libraries in the U.S. As a child of limited means, the Carnegie library in our town seemed like finding a treasure chest. All these books which could be read at no cost! What a wonder that seemed--a gateway to both the real world and the imaginary one. The state with the most Carnegie libraries was Indiana. In addition to libraries in the U.S. there were over 1,200 scattered across the English-speaking world. The purpose of great wealth should always be to make the world a better place. So should it be for our small wealth. I wish that Andrew Carnegie was a flawless hero, but I do know that his gift of a small-town library benefited one little boy who loved to read and learn. So, thank you, Andrew Carnegie, for your gifts, especially to the young readers and learners.
03/16/2025
Were you bothered by the springtime switch to Daylight Savings Time? Many people are. Apparently the change can affect your mood and even your health. Statistics indicate that more heart attacks occur in the spring forward time change than in the surrounding days. More suicides occur in the same timeframe. Judges hand down more stringent sentences and all of us are more irritable than normal. In general it is a bad time to make major decisions. There are a cluster of cells in our brains that control our inner clock. These cells are triggered by morning light which sets our internal clocks. Artificial light can fool these cells and mess with our bodies. So, if you found Sunday and Monday at the time change exhausting, it was probably more than just missing one hour of sleep. Isn’t it amazing that simple light can have such a profound effect on our bodies and minds? Perhaps that is why the Bible so often uses light to talk about God and our relationship with him. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am the Light of the World”, and in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples, “You are the light of the world.” So our job is to let that light shine all over the world. “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine!”
03/09/2025
My children already know not to expect a great financial windfall as an inheritance after my death. They are well aware of the financial limitations of ministry and teaching at a Christian university. I would love to be able to leave millions for their care after I am gone. They do have an inheritance of a different sort. They do know that they have been loved by their parents and grandparents. They know that love is extended down to grandchildren, as well. They have learned kindness and seen hard work in action. They are quite conscious of the need for service for God and those around them. Not least of all, they have been introduced to Jesus Christ, and have been encouraged to follow His way. As it is expressed in Ephesians 1:13 – 14, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit who is the deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.” How could there ever be a greater inheritance than that?
03/02/2025
There is an old saying that says “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” I don’t really think that is accurate. I do believe that it is useful and healthy to wash regularly and keep oneself physically clean. I have been next to people who could use a good wash and it is not pleasant. None of us want to have our scent arrive before we do, or linger after we have departed, but there are more important things in life. Some people have situations and conditions that make sweet smelling difficult.
In many ways, physical cleanliness is the outside of the cup. Recently I reached for a cup for my morning coffee and discovered that it was a dirty cup mistakenly put in with the clean cups. From the outside it looked pristine, but the white porcelain inside was dark with coffee stains.
Sometimes our outward appearance may be immaculate, but our spirits could still be full of sin and hatred. We are at our best when we are not just clean outside but when our whole soul is clean. Our scripture often used for Ash Wednesday reminds us “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
02/23/2025
Have you thought about how important medicines are for many of us? Some that we use are literally life savers. Without some of them our health and even our lives would be in jeopardy. Last Sunday, the driving conditions were so treacherous that we and many other churches cancelled services. I had just finished getting the snow off the car when the cancellation message came in. I went back in the house and changed to casual clothes. As I settled in with a fresh cup of coffee, I began to think about how I would get out in an emergency. What if I was out of one of my vital medications? I had enough for that moment, but what if there was a long-term emergency lasting weeks or months? What would we do then?
I was in no danger that Sunday except in my imagination. I am thankful for effective medications and their availability. Is there a spiritual medicine available to us? I think so, but it must be more than, “Take 2 verses of John, chapter 3, and call me in the morning!” It is rather found in the committed study of scripture. We have to keep taking it in all our lives in order to fully experience its protection and help. “Thy Word have I had in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalm 119:11
02/16/2025
Among our family treasures are shadow profiles of our two daughters. Even though the details of their features are missing, the outline of each is clearly recognizable. The profiles do not do full justice to who they were at the time. As active children, no static representation could demonstrate their life energy. The word “profile” has many other uses. It can be used in business to describe a company. It can be used in hiring to define the abilities of a candidate who is applying for employment. It can be used to describe the achievements of an award winner. In politics, it may be used to support someone seeking office. In none of these cases is it adequate to reveal the whole situation. Currently, congregational leaders are filling out a congregational profile for the South-Central Indiana District of the Church of the Brethren, which will also go to the Church of the Brethren national offices. The profile is quite detailed with many questions to be filled out. As extensive as the profile is, it cannot be the full picture of the congregation. Until we actually live and work together, we do not have an adequate view of who we are as a congregation, but the profile does reveal much about us, and will be valuable for someone wishing to know us better. Deeper knowledge will come only as we live and work together.
02/09/2025
The first five books of the Bible are known as the Torah. Often the Hebrew word is translated as “law”. While that is correct as one of its meanings, the word Torah has broader meaning. Genesis through Deuteronomy are often described as the Five Books of the Law. They do contain many rules that we would describe as law, but they also contain many things that clearly are not law as we think of it. Much of the material could best be described as narrative or story. There are examples of poetry in the five books. Parts of Deuteronomy read more like sermons than legal pronouncements. The first eleven chapters of Genesis seem to be stories illuminating theological ideas. The literature of the five is complex and challenging. If we understand the broader meaning of Torah, this all makes sense. Torah is probably best understood as “teaching” or “instruction”. “Law” is part of that teaching or instruction, but so are the stories. All this provides guidance as to what God expected of the people of Israel and it contains much that can instruct us, as well, in our walk of faith.
02/02/2025
What do you do with your old clothes? My grandparents lived by the philosophy, “Make it last, use it up, go without, and save it up.” I have not really followed those rules. Few in our culture do. We try to be responsible and donate our outgrown clothes to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or others that can recycle them, but even so, much of the worn-out clothing ends up in landfill or burned for fuel. The synthetic materials end up (as I understand it) releasing small bits of plastic into the environment as dangerous pollutants.
Clothing manufacturers even design garments to last a short time. Finding a heavy white t-shirt which is not semi-transparent is increasingly difficult. I have read that some manufacturers have even designed garments for only one-time use.
Perhaps my grandparents were not so far off. Could I learn to darn my favorite socks when I wear a hole in them? Could I buy used clothes that are in good condition and save them from landfill? Do people still make rag rugs or braided rugs? I know we have quilters as well as knitters among us.
After Jesus fed the 5,000 he had his disciples gather up the leftovers. Maybe we should model our lives a bit more like that.
01/26/2025
Someone recently said to me, “Be safe.” It may have been in the context of the extreme cold which we are currently experiencing. Wisely our leadership moved Commissions and Board meetings to a less frigid day. The cold and icy conditions now present a real challenge especially to those of us who are a bit older. Now one of the first questions which medical staff asks me is, “Have you fallen recently?” Earlier in my life, nobody asked me that. I have always been less than careful and as a result fell many times when I was younger, although I have never broken any bones. Nowadays, I listen to my doctors and take care not to fall. I try to be safe, but is safety just about not falling? What does it mean to be safe in the rest of my “not falling” life? I am told to keep my passwords safe. Should I worry about how safe my food and water are? Should I wear a face mask all winter flu season? Perhaps I should wrap myself and those I love in bubble wrap instead of a puffy coat. Where is the balance between safety and obsession? Fear for our safety could end up blocking us from enjoying and experiencing life. Risky behavior makes little sense but neither does neurotic fear. I try to remember the line from the gospel song, “Safe am I, safe am I, in the shelter of His love.” I think it is a better way.
01/19/2025
I guess it’s time to take the Christmas decorations down and put them away for another year. Sometimes, I am tempted to just leave them all up. They are cheery and colorful. There is a huge wreath with lights and red bows that hangs above the fireplace in the living room. The ceiling is vaulted so hanging the wreath is quite a chore, requiring a tall ladder and some precarious balancing. Two years ago, I decided to just leave it in place. It has worked out well and even received some compliments, so who not leave it all up, at least until Valentine’s Day? Add a few hearts and the red and green could still work…
Having some special decoration for Christmas is fun. If it was up all year, it might become boring and unnoticed. The work of opening the storage boxes like presents every year has its own delight. We have small traditions in the decorations and the memories they evoke. Even the extra work it involves brings a brightness and beauty to the cold and dark season. For these few moments, we return to the wide-eyed delight of the youngest children who are awed by the light and color and pageantry. If we are aware, we may remember that we are the children of God’s heavenly kingdom, which is filled with light and glory.
01/12/2025
If you are already dreading the winter ahead, imagine winters in Minnesota. We lived for several years in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The winters start early and last late. Surprisingly, it is a very pleasant place to live. Minnesotans are a hearty breed, as Garrison Keeler’s Lake Wobegon humor illustrates. The humor is, of course, exaggerated for effect, but people who have lived there recognize the characters and culture he teases about. People do not just hunker down and hope for Spring. Many get out and play in the snow, ice skate, sled, snowshoe, and ski. While it only takes two inches of snow to shut down Atlanta, it would take nearly two feet of snow to have much of any effect on the local populace. At 20˚ below zero Fahrenheit, church will still be meeting. Stores will still be open and school will still be in session. Before indoor stadiums were common in the NFL, the Minnesota Vikings considered the weather the twelfth player on defense. Whatever the obstacles, human beings find a way to endure and even find happiness no matter what the conditions. After all, no matter how cold you get outside there is always a hot cup of chocolate beside the fireplace to look forward to. I wonder if endurance might be one of God’s gifts to human beings…
01/05/2025
Among the birds that stay around during the winter, my favorites are the chickadees. With their winter feathers puffed out they look like plump apple cheeked girls to my mind. They bring a warm joy to winter’s chill. It is a pleasure to watch them gobble up the seeds from the bird feeders. I am even fond of the plain little sparrows like frown-haired matrons diligently working their way through the seeds.
Jesus said, “Consider the birds of the field –they do not sow or reap or gather into barns and yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ”Nowadays, I help out the heavenly Father by feeding the birds in winter, but the heavenly Father feeds them year-round. So, when you consider it, there is no reason to worry about the new year. With any challenge the new year presents, the grace of God will be with us.
The hymn printed in last week’s Parish Voice says it this way, “Another year is dawning: Dear Father let it be, in working or in waiting another year with Thee; Another year of progress, Another year of praise. Another year of proving Thy presence all the days. Another year of mercies, Of faithfulness and grace; Another year of gladness In the shining of Thy face; Another year of leaning Upon Thy loving breast; Another year of trusting, Of quiet, happy rest. Another year of service, Of witness for Thy love; Another year of training For holier work above. Another year is dawning; Dear Father, let it be, On earth or else in heaven, Another year for Thee.”_
12/29/2024
This is the first Sunday after Christmas and the Sunday before New Years. It is just three days before the birth of the new year. Visual images of that holiday picture the old year as an ancient man and the new year as a diapered baby. How much will be different in the New Year? January 1, 2025, will not look much different than December 31, 2024. When I was a child on my birthday some adult always asked me, “Do you feel any older? ” I never quite knew how to answer. I never felt any different than I had the day before, but by the question it seemed like I should feel different, somehow. One day to the next can seem much the same, at least until something larger comes in sight. No doubt, the new year will present different challenges. Some may be good and others may be quite difficult. There will always be surprises in the New Year. As we review 2024, we will always note the changes. God will not be surprised by what happens, but we will be. That may be why we pray for a good year ahead. We put our trust in God, that he will see us through the New Year 2025, as he has kept us in the past. There will be challenges but there will also be blessings. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, for the Lord is good and his mercy is everlasting.”
12/22/2024
In one of Alfred Burt’s spritely Christmas carols, the text reads, “We’ll dress the house with holly bright and sprigs of mistletoe. We’ll trim the Christmas tree tonight and set the lights aglow. We’ll wrap our gifts with ribbons gay and give them out on Christmas day. By everything we do and say our gladness we will show… And ye, who would the Christ Child greet, your heart also adorn, that it may be a dwelling meet for Him who now is born. Let all unlovely things give place to souls bedecked with heavenly grace, that ye may view His heavenly face with joy on Christmas morn…”
Beyond all the busy, joyful, exhausting preparations for Christmas, the most important is the preparation of our hearts. That is the real purpose of Advent. We always manage to get the long list of Christmas tasks done somehow, but preparing our hearts can easily be put off in the other frantic responsibilities of the season. If we can remember to take a deep breath, sit down and prepare our hearts, perhaps even the rest of the preparations may seem less of a stress. If we relax a bit in the presence of God, we might even find the peace of Christmas alive in our souls.
12/15/2024
This is the third Sunday of Advent. So, how are your Christmas preparations going? Have you finished your gift shopping or gift making? Perhaps you are marking off the days on your Advent calendar and already enjoying some of the Christmas treats. How can you be sure they are good enough for your beloved family unless you sample them yourself? I recommend trying more than one sample to be completely sure.
One Christmas, two of our youngest grandchildren found a tin of Grandma’s cookies and took on the arduous task of testing them out for the rest of the family in a corner of the empty dining room. No official count was taken, but they pronounced them suitable for the rest of us. Fortunately, Grandma had other tins well hidden from the junior testers. What could be more an expression of joy than a bunch of decorated cookies shared with a beloved cousin, especially if no one else knew until later?
In all ways great and small, may you feel the hope, love, joy, and peace of the Christmas season. If you can, may you especially sense the JOY of Christmas, as perhaps you did as a child.
12/08/2024
This is the second Sunday of Advent. We began with anticipation and hope on the first Sunday of Advent and we have moved on to love right from the beginning. So how is your love continuing and growing? Have you already found some ways to put your love into action? Far beyond how we feel, our love is about how we act. Especially meaningful are those acts of love that we do anonymously. Even in the family there may be tasks which we can do even before anyone knows they need to be done.
Sometimes it is the small acts of care and compassion which best express our love. A sincere compliment unexpectedly given may be the gift to someone who feels unappreciated in life. It is always good to express our love and gratitude verbally, but doing so by our actions has its own power. During this season of preparation for the birth of Jesus celebration, perhaps we could ask ourselves, “How can I express the love of God in a new way to celebrate Christmas?”
May this season help us to grow in our expression of the love of God to all those around us.