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.
12/01/2024
Today is the first Sunday of Advent. The season celebrates the coming of Jesus into our world. Mary and Joseph experienced the nine months of expectation before his arrival. In shortened form, we relive that amazing event. But the beginning was far earlier than these brief events. It stretched back to the very creation itself. When the Word of God was present with the Heavenly Father, and by the Word, the world was made.
Prophets and heroic women and men looked for his coming even before they fully understood what his coming to us would mean. The hope of all ages was vested in him even before the world really even knew how to hope.
The 4th century hymn picks up the ancient theme: “Of the Father’s love begotten, Ere the worlds began to be, He is Alpha and Omega, He the Source, the Ending, He Of the things that are, that have been, And that future years shall see, Evermore and evermore.” In our hymnal, the tune is titled Divinum Mysterium (Divine Mystery). This mystery from before creation delivered to a simple manger in a tiny country so long ago, that still echoes through the ages.
11/24/2024
This Thanksgiving, I will be celebrating with my family in Florida. It has been quite a while since this was possible. My son-in-law Marc will be cooking, so the feast will be abundant and delicious. All of it will be made from scratch down to the smallest detail, as is Marc’s delight to do. The rest of us will just be sous chefs to the master at work. Again this year, many of us will eat more than is strictly healthy, but how wonderful that we can celebrate such blessed abundance!
In the days following, we will remember again those who will not experience the abundance we enjoy, and we will plan what we might do to respond to their need. Thankfulness should always prompt sharing. A thankful heart can lead to thankful hands reaching out to help. My wife Sue’s family taught me much about extending the Thanksgiving table. There were friends, family, and strangers who graced their table every year. After the meal we played games, told stories, and shared conversation. It was a day that fed not only our bodies, but our souls. Sometimes, new friendships were made. Love and acceptance was experienced. I wonder what our world would be like if we viewed all the world as guests around our Thanksgiving table.
11/17/2024
All of us have noticed that Christmas decorations are up earlier every year. I recently read that retailers are starting to view the first Christmas season as starting immediately after Halloween. Then there is the short Thanksgiving season followed by the second Christmas season. Next year, I fully expect to see Santa ride in on his sleigh on Halloween night accompanied by Casper the Friendly Ghost or a couple of big-eyed minions riding along. I’m not sure how to feel about all this.
I like the four Sundays of Advent as preparation for the spiritual significance of Christmas, and I like the Twelve Days of Christmas beginning on December 25th – Christmas Day, and extending to Epiphany on January 6th. Epiphany celebrates the coming of the Wisemen and the revealing of the Christ Child to the Gentile world.
With Advent, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day on December 26 and the Twelve Days of Christmas, I feel that I get a full celebration of the birth of Jesus, so I am happy to begin Christmas observance after Thanksgiving. Of course, I must be thinking about Christmas already myself or I wouldn’t have written this note, so I guess I can forgive retailers for starting early on their Christmas promotions. Just so long as we remember what the season is all about.
11/10/2024
As I write this, we are one day beyond election day. Some things are now clear: We have a new president. Not since Grover Cleveland has a former president been elected after losing a second term. Control in the U.S. Senate has passed from Democrat to Republican control. Control of the U.S. House of Representatives is still to be determined. As in every U.S. election, some people will be pleased and other people will be disappointed.
As I have in every year since I became a voter, I voted for my choices. As I have always done, I will pray for the president and all the members of Congress that they may have wisdom from God that is beyond their human capacity. I am pleased that it appears there will be a smooth transition of power from one administration to another, which is in keeping with long-term American practice.
We are still a very divided country along many lines. Only the future will show whether we can find a realistic unity. Many of the same questions are still in the minds and emotions of the American people. Can we find ways to address these questions together or will we stay divided about the decisions and details of American life and policy? At the very least, I hope we can cool the inflammatory rhetoric and have more rational conversations about what we should be doing as a nation together under God. May God bless America even in spite of our divisive tendencies.
11/03/2024
II Samuel 23 contains a listing of King David’s champions of war. Three are noted: Josheb-Basshebeth; Eleazar, son of Dodai the Ahohite; and Shammah, son of Agee. Along with their names are short accounts of their mighty deeds in battle. In the same chapter, there are the names of other mighty warriors. These war accounts are not comfortable to me with their lists of the number of Philistines killed by each. I realize that the Israelites were being oppressed by the Philistines, but it still makes uncomfortable reading. It did make me wonder, could we make a list of the great women and men who were noteworthy because of their success at waging peace rather than war? For example, one of the stories of St. Francis of Assisi claims that during a battle between two Italian cities, Francis went out into the midst of the battle and shut it down. Apparently, the respect and veneration with which he was held quelled the battle. There certainly have been others who have “battled” for peace in the midst of conflict, often at risk of their own safety. Is it possible to work as hard for peace as it is to work hard for war? The commitment that it takes to bring about peace and reconciliation also takes courage and commitment. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” Jesus said, “for they will be called the children of God.” We might even call them God’s mighty women and men.
10/27/2024
Ever since I heard the old song, “Shine On, Harvest Moon,” I have wondered what is the significance of the harvest moon. The time of the harvest moon can be in either September or October. This year it was September 17 and next year, it will be October 6. It is the full moon nearest the autumnal (fall) equinox. On that day the moon is at its closest to the earth of any time in the year. As a result, it appears larger and brighter to us on earth. It is often called a super moon.
It is the mark of harvest time when the abundance of earth’s bounty is most apparent. It is thought of as a time of gratitude for the blessing of harvest. Some think of it as a time for self-reflection and change. The brightness and larger appearance seems ideal for romantic thoughts.
The early date in September is before some of us are really focused on harvest, but we know it is coming. Harvest time has always been especially significant for rural and village life. A good harvest assumes plenty over the lean days of winter before the spring fruits arrive.
For people of faith, the harvest is a mark of God’s blessing and care. So, we sing, “Come, ye thankful people, come; raise the song of harvest home. All is safely gathered in e’re the winter storms begin.”
Thanks be to God for each year’s bountiful harvest!
10/20/2024
On my online newsfeed from Apple from time to time there is a series of objects pictured. The reader is encouraged to identify what the objects are. Most often they are older objects which are no longer in common usage. Usually because of my age, I can identify what the objects are, but there are always one or two that stump me.
As a young teen it was one of my jobs to do the laundry. This involved an old wringer washing machine (a great advance over the scrub board). The tub was filled with hot water and soap was added and the agitator was turned on to clean the clothes. After the soapy water was drained, the clothes were put through the wringer to remove most of the water.
At that time, standard wear for school was jeans, which we referred to as “Levis” regardless of the brand. They were heavy and slow to dry, so pants stretchers were used to avoid having to iron the jeans. The stretchers worked well and could even provide a bit of a crease, if done correctly. It has been 65 years since I have seen those pants stretchers, but I recently went online and they are still available. They did the job, but they were a lot more work than chucking the jeans in a clothes dryer. My nostalgia is not sufficient to buy them now, even though they were cost effective.
I wonder how many of the old objects and old ways may have had advantages over more modern ways. Could it be that sometimes the old ways might be best?
10/13/2024
I remember many years ago when I encountered a book titled, Why Johnny Can’t Read. It was a best-seller for 37 weeks in 1955. That is nearly 70 years ago. As a life-long reader, I found this shocking at the time. My life has been so influenced by reading that it seems impossible to imagine that education could happen without reading.
Recently the magazine, The Atlantic, for October 1, 2024, contained an article titled, “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books.” Interviews with professors in several top universities detailed the problems students have reading a whole book. Apparently, long books (anything over a hundred pages?) are too challenging for university students. High School teachers are using short excerpts and anthologies, as well as other short forms, because the students can’t sustain reading.
Reading problems have been around for a long time as the “Johnny” book illustrates, but the problem has gotten increasingly worse. One professor confessed that students have trouble reading a sonnet (a 14-line poem) without becoming distracted and losing the train of thought.
Perhaps this explains why some of my students when I taught at university level had trouble following biblical materials and often showed virtually no familiarity with the Old or New Testament. Surely it is a problem to follow the teachings and actions of Jesus, if you can’t concentrate for more than 14 verses. Keep on reading for both your mind and your soul.
10/06/2024
One of God’s great gifts to humankind is the gift of imagination. Without this gift there would be no innovation; it is unlikely that many of the advances in human life would have come to pass. Without the wheel we would still be dragging things from place to place by sheer brute force. Without mathematics we might be limited to our ten fingers and “a big bunch.” Without the alphabet there would be no written literature. Without medical imagination, would we have discovered penicillin or other antibiotics? Without physics we would still be limited to the surface of our world.
It is informative to notice how many things first described in fantasy and science fiction later became possible and even a part of everyday life. The ubiquitous presence of cell phones seemed a total fantasy when I was a child.
Even in areas of the faith, how would we see the significance of Biblical stories without imaging how they might apply today? Scripture states, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard neither has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him.” Our imaginations rise up to wonder what those things might be.
We imagine all the goodness that Heaven will bring and it gives us hope even though we recognize that it will be even better than we can imagine.