09/15/2019

When we were younger, my wife, Sue, liked to just take a different road to see where it might lead.  This was before we had children or much formal responsibility.  Now days we need to plan more carefully.  Who will take care of our responsibilities if we are gone from our work?  Are there rest stops on the road we are taking?  Are there places to eat that meet our health needs?  Who will be worried or inconvenienced if we are late?  We both still like adventures, but they cannot be quite as spontaneous as they were in  our younger years.  Even in Sunday worship I am delighted when something happens that is a spontaneous blessing.  However, blessings also come when there is good planning for worship.  Spiritually sensitive planning can result in blessing.  God can work with us in both spontaneous and structured ways.  If the Spirit guides our plans, and we are willing to respond to the Spirit moving in our midst at any given time, then we have the best of both worlds.  At its best, then every Sunday morning can be an adventure in worship.  “O come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”  O Lord, open our lives to the adventure in worship that you have for us this Sunday morning.

09/08/2019

Here is an old saying that maintains, “Truth is stranger than fiction.”  It often seems to be the case.  I am not talking about tabloid stories which are both strange and factious.  Nature itself can provide us strange occurrences which were once the stock material for circus side shows.  At an earlier time people would be willing to part with a dime to see a two-headed calf or a bearded lady.  Along with the fakes there were real occurrences. I find it irritating when a story writer backs themselves into a corner and escape the literary trap by bringing a miracle in at the last minute, but I admit it sometimes happens that way in real life.  While we have a handle on many important things, there is still a lot of mystery in life.  There is much we still cannot understand.  While I will always strive to figure out the mysteries of our lives, I am content to live and work in the midst of mystery.  I love having answers to some questions, but I am content with the realization that there is much I do not understand.  How dull life must be for those who have all the answers.  I like the tingle of the unexpected, the shiver of the new adventure, the thrill of future possibilities, the new that still awaits us.  After my last breath of life, I want my first breath of new life to be “Okay, What’s next?”

09/01/2019

Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral  regularly used a musical invocation which read “Lord, make my life a window for your light to shine through, and a mirror reflecting your great love to all I meet.”  While the influence of his Hour of Power broadcast and the Crystal Cathedral faded after his retirement, the image of the Christian life as a window for the light of God to shine through or a mirror to reflect God’s great love to those around us, is still a brilliant image.  It is always a Christian challenge to be transparent so that God may be seen rather than making ourselves an idol to be admired.  We will always be seen as reflecting the understanding of God, but we want that reflection to be a clear image of God’s abundant love.  The cleansing power of God’s love can bring clarity to our windows or mirror so that nothing will obscure the presence of the divinity within.  At least that is our hope.  We want Jesus, the true image of God to be seen clearly in us.  Perhaps, we could paraphrase the old hymn “Take my life and let it be, clear, transparent Lord for Thee.”

08/25/2019

Recently, I answered a 765 area call from Angela who indicated that she was calling about my car insurance payment.  I recognized that this was code for an insurance sales call.  To her credit the sales person    politely ended the call when I indicated that I was not interested in making changes to my car insurance.  The initial statement could have been understood as “there is a problem with your car insurance payment.”  While technically not a false statement it was potentially deceptive.  I really do believe in truth in advertising.  I do not like to feel I have been manipulated, and I worry about others who could be victimized by such manipulation.  Christians also need to be careful to be transparent.  While it is wonderfully true that the Christian experience is full of blessing, joy and fulfillment, it also can be difficult and inconvenient.  It often involves sacrifice and at time has even involved martyrdom. A faith which involves a cross and resurrection is unlikely to involve “flowery beds of ease.”  Christian “truth in advertising” should make all of that clear.  Real choice begins when we see what our choice involves.  When we choose to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord, we have not chosen an easy road, but it is the best of all journeys.  It is the Jesus road.  It may lead through dark valleys and even through a cross, but there will be blessings on the way and resurrection at the end of the journey.

08/18/2019

I did not realize that there were many kinds of salt.  I knew of table salt and kosher salt, but very little more than that.  There is sea salt and a variety of gourmet salts in this category including several kinds of gray salt like Fleu de sel, selgris and Celtic sea salt.  There is kala namak (black salt) and Hawaiian black salt.  There are red salts like Himalayan salt.  There are flake salts including maldon salt from England.  There is Dead Sea Salt and salt from the Great Salt Lake in Utah.  There is curing salt and pickling salt and even smoked salt.  All of them are Sodium Chloride with other minerals that add color and some small taste variations.  But if the salt has lost its flavor it is useless as a seasoning.  Throwing  it out on the road to melt the ice or hold down the dust is its only continuing value.  Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth.  If we can be as useful as salt we will surely bless the people around us.  We could easily draw analogies from salt to our purposes in God’s world.  The different kinds, colors, and origins of salt gave me a new picture of Christian diversity.  We are all essentially the same but our differences add color, flavor, and texture to all the places where we Christians find ourselves as long as we retain that essential Christian saltiness.

08/11/2019

I am convinced that we need worship.  I believe that deep within our human nature there is that which reaches out to interact with the one who created us.  We were designed to give praise to God and there is an emptiness when we do not have opportunity to offer God our praise.  We were designed to live quietly in the presence of the divine.  We were meant to be still and know the eternal God.  We were made to bring our needs and even our griefs to the divine parent of us all that we might receive comfort.  We were crafted for compassion, to give and receive love in relationship to the one whose very essence is love.  Our sight was meant to see beyond the limits of earthly vision and catch a glimpse of eternal things that we might know the God of hope.  All this and more are a part of our worship.  It is remarkable when worship surprises us in moments of beauty and insight when we are alone, and it is amazing when true worship happens when we are together.  In the deepest part of our authentic selves we need God.  It is not about attendance patterns or paying the church bills.  It is ultimately about who we are.  We were designed for relationship with God and that, at heart, is why we must worship.

08/04/2019

Psalm 127:2 contains a bit of wisdom for those of us who are, at times, anxious.  “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.” (NSRV) An alternative translation in the footnote says “he provides for his beloved during sleep.”  In either case it is a call to let go of our anxiety and rest in the providential care of God.  While a sleepless night may be as Ebeneezer Scrouge says “a bit of undigested potato;” it may also be the result of our own anxiety.  We may be kept awake by our worry about our families, or about our health.  We may worry about world conditions, fearing war or international disaster.  We may fret about money or the lack of it.  We may wish that the future would be more secure or more predictable.  Many of the worries that plague us are beyond our power to affect.  Two o’clock in the morning is never a good time to ponder difficult questions.  If we could but remember that God loves and can give us the confidence to relax and rest even in the midst of our fears.  “Fear not, I am with you!” speaks firmly to our anxiety.  Let’s take some deep breaths and relax in the loving arms of God, and let him give us rest.

07/28/2019

I learned a while back that there are people who have a career as hand models.  For commercials in print and on TV they are paid for their beautiful hands demonstrating lotions, mild dish soap and other products.  I don’t know if there are foot models, but I suppose there might be.  The prophet-poet Isaiah says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good tidings who publish peace…”  While this might initially sound like a comment about attractive heels and toes, it is more a matter of Hebrew language using concrete words to express more abstract meanings.  In the midst of conflict the arrival of a messenger proclaiming that the war is over is a beautiful moment in the life of a war torn people.  Would it not be a wonderful, beautiful moment if we could hear “the conflict is over, we can be at peace?”  It is good news in any war.  It would be beyond words if we could say “All wars have come to an end now and forever.”  Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we could say that humanity has found a better way to resolve disagreements than resorting to violence?  We teach little children to use their words not their fists.  It will mark a new stage in human maturity when we can use words rather than weapons to resolve our differences.  The arrival of that moment would indeed be beautiful.

07/21/2019

This past week marked fifty years since the moon launch which says Astronaut Armstrong actually walked on the surface of the moon, a first for humankind.  It was a heady moment for a boy who had grown up dreaming about space exploration and reading both science and science fiction about space travel.  The moon launch was the product of thousands of hours of preparation with attention to myriad details from the stitches on the space suits to the largest rocket engines.  All of this began major further work on exploration of the solar system and beyond.  It produced the International Space Station and new kinds of space vehicles.  Few of these had the emotional appeal of the moon walk, but the effect on society and especially on technology has been huge.  Much that we now take for granted as part of our everyday technology grew out of the preparations that backed the moon launch.  That we can now have computer power in a watch that fifty years ago filled whole rooms has made us rather unconscious of the amount of change in the technology around us.  All this is amazing and often wonderful.  Unfortunately, there has been less progress in settling conflicts without violence, in combating prejudice, in defeating poverty, in waging peace.  Perhaps building a better technology is easier than building a better world, but the success of the one might inspire us to go for the moon in the other as well.

07/14/2019

It is always interesting to me to notice how language changes.  Often waiting in Doctor’s offices I look at the recipes in the old magazines.  Earlier America recipes were called receipts, a term that dictionaries define as an archaic usage.  Some of those old receipts could be rather vague with expressions like “cook until done”,  or “add as needed.”  Modern recipes often include very detailed information like, “Select a 10 inch nonstick pan with an oven safe handle.”  Cooking times and temperatures are very precise.  Instructions are detailed and descriptive in ways that earlier receipts would have thought to be common knowledge.  A country gentleman was visiting a restaurant for the first time.  He was puzzled when his waiter asked if he wanted gravy with his meat and potatoes.  As he put it, “They had something they called gravy.  It looked like sop and tasted like sop and I think it was sop.”  Whether we call it a recipe or a receipt, a gravy or sop, it really doesn’t matter as long as the food tastes good.  I wonder if too often the changes in our language and perception obscure things for us.  The reality of something is usually more important than the terminology we use, but the change in expression may interfere with our appreciation of the situation on the plate before us.

07/07/2019

When I was young there was just coffee. There were some different brands, but the coffee was all the same.  It was a mild American roast.  It could be made stronger or weaker but those were the only options that my family knew of.  Decaffeinated was a new revolution for heart problems and sleep issues, but that was all we knew about.  Now we can get flavored coffees: Hazelnut, French Vanilla, etc.  We can have dark French Roast or Italian Roast.  We can choose the country of origin: Kenya or Columbia, or Jamaica. Coffee shops like Starbucks and Seattle’s Best list multiple choices as do independent coffee shops.  There is confusion for the beginner to even understand the choices. Imagine a coffee novice walking into a Starbucks.  “Can I help you,” says the barista (the what?).  I just want a cup of coffee,” says the customer.  “What kind?” says the barista?  “Just a regular cup of coffee,” he says.  “Oh, you want an Americano” says the cheery barista.  “Is that a regular cup of coffee?” he asks.  “Yes, it is,” she replied.  “Do you want a Grande?” “just give me the little one.”  “Do you want that in a paper cup or a ceramic mug?” she asks.  “I just want a plain old regular cup of coffee.” He moans.Sometimes in the midst of all the glitzy choices we just want the simple regular stuff that gives us the feeling of comfort.

06/30/2019

In my library there are maps of the United States and of the rest of the world.  They are bound in a leather book.  The colors are vivid, the bindings are first class, the paper is fine, yet durable.   It is a beautiful volume.  Its only drawback is that it measures 41/2 inches, by 3 inches by ½ inch.  Major rivers, cities and boundaries and roads are there, but detail is very limited.  It is of no help in figuring out how to get from here to there except in the most general way.  For big goals it is useful but for the small steps in between it leaves much to be desired.  Using these maps could leave one saying, “I know I’m in Indiana but where am I?”  Often life leaves us with similar quandaries.  A high school student a day after graduation might say “I know where I want to go, but how do I get there?” or even” I don’t even know where I want to go.”  We may know that we want to live as a Christian should, but what does that mean in specific situations?  The Bible gives us good general guidelines and at times is very specific, but at other times God wants us to figure things out for ourselves.  That can mean that we may take a wrong turn at times, but we can trust that God’s loving kindness will call us back to the right path.  We could wish for everything to be made crystal clear but then we might never learn to make wise decisions on our own.  We can depend on God for guidance, but we still have to learn to decide wisely ourselves.

06/23/2019

I am deeply appreciative for those who do the dirty and difficult jobs.  Some years ago New York City discovered what a disaster resulted in when the garbage workers went on strike.  Garbage collection may seem a lowly job to some, but we really need their work.  As a teenager I did stoop labor in the fields and knew a tiny bit of the pain of the farm workers.  Much of our fruit and vegetables would not be available without them.  One round of changing the muffler on a car made me appreciate the work of mechanics and others with grease under their fingernails.  Firefighters, and policepersons, janitors and sanitation workers, orderlies and nursing home attendants all do some of the hard jobs in our world.  I can not even fully grasp the number of people and jobs it takes to make a society operate.  No matter  how difficult or dirty the work,  it is part of what makes life good for the rest of us.  All such labor is worthy.  Much of this work is unseen except in extraordinary circumstances.  It is, it seems to me, appropriate that we feel gratitude to all those who do the hard jobs.  Like icebergs, we often only see the top surface but underneath there is a vast system which makes the surface possible.  Thanks you all, you unsung workers, without whom our society would flounder.  Thanks for all the help.  We appreciate it.

06/16/2019

“Summertime, and the living is easy.  Fish are jumping and the cotton is high.  Your daddy’s rich and your mamma’s good-looking so hush little baby don’t you cry”, begins one of the great jazz classics.  Our extended family was having High Tea at the Canterbury Hotel in Indianapolis for a special celebration.  We were the only ones that afternoon in the tea room as a jazz pianist was playing.  He was quite accomplished and we were admiring his skill and he asked us if we had any requests.  There are many musicians in the family, some with real interests in jazz.  The requests were for songs like Brubeck’s “Take Five” and other classics like “Rhapsody in Blue”.  We gave him quite a work out.  Perhaps trying to for an easier song he asked Christy, then still a youngster, if she had a request.  When she requested “Summertime” his expression was a bit shocked and he said, “Who are you people?”  How often we might be shocked to learn just who the people are who are listening to us.  One time Abraham was sitting in the doorway of his tent when some men approached him.  He invited them to share his hospitality.  As he talked with them he realized that they were more than what he had first expected.  As a later scripture put it, “some have entertained angels unaware.”  When we speak who know who might be listening.

06/09/2019

Who was the person who first decided to eat an oyster?  Was that an act of bravery or starvation?  Personally, I like oysters in a variety of forms: stewed, fried, and scalloped or on the half shell, but I admit that my first try was challenging.  An oyster is not an attractive option as sea food goes.  There are a number of foods which are not attractive at first taste that I have learned to enjoy.  Blue Cheese is one of those.  Still others have never reached my level of appreciation.  There are other things which I did not appreciate at first that later gave me pleasure.  Some music at first hearing offended my ears that later I came to enjoy.  Most often the difference has been what I experienced with other people.  Tastes, sounds, and sights that I have experienced with people I love seem to find a permanent place in my heart.  Music that I have experienced in religiously meaningful settings with God’s people often raise feelings in me far beyond just the quality of the music.  In fact the music often calls back into my mind those sacred experiences of fellowship with God and God’s people.  Even some hymns and spiritual songs which I did not respond to at first, have over time, become those most meaningful old favorites filled with experiences and memory.

06/02/2019

It is true that the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 is one of the best known passages in all of scripture.  It is used in the liturgy of Christian churches and is available in countless published forms and engraved on all manner of objects.  It is the form of prayer that Jesus taught his disciples and for that reason could also have been called the disciple’s prayer.  What is not realized as often is the number of times in the New Testament that Jesus is described as praying himself.  We have only a few examples of the content of those prayers, but many examples of Jesus praying.   “The Lord’s Prayer” is an ideal example of the basic elements of prayer and can serve as a model for our prayers.  While it is appropriate to recite it together in worship, it is best used when it informs us of how we might shape our own prayers.  The mixture of praise and petition, of intercession and instruction are vital in our prayers as well. When we truly pray rather than merely repeat the words we have entered into the Jesus way of prayer.  Then our conversation is truly with the Creator of the Universe to whom belongs glory and honor forever and ever. Amen.

05/25/2019

Dotted all over my desk and planner are examples of failure.  Many years ago scientists at 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing) were working at developing a new adhesive for commercial use.  The initial results were positive, but in the end it was a failure.  It was sticky but not sticky enough.  There was no permanent holding ability.  Just a small tug released the adhesive.  What good is an adhesive that only holds a little bit? Somewhere along the line the question was asked what could this new adhesive be used for?  After some further research the “sticky note” was born.  This failed adhesive became a new product in all kinds of shapes and colors.  Sometimes what seems a failure is just a stage along the way to a future success.   In the life of faith there are moments when what we hoped for does not come to fruition in the way we anticipated, but God continues to work even in our failures to bring about blessings.  We often learn more from our failures than from our successes.  It would be good to let go of our fear of failure and venture out.  Of course, we want to plan for the best result and avoid foolish pitfalls, but whatever happens we have the promise of God’s care.  The words, “Be not afraid I am with you always” applies whether we succeed or fail.  So rejoice in the successes and worry less about the failures.  God is with us.

05/19/2019

Psalm 121: 1-2

I lift my eyes to the mountains-

  where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord

  the Maker of heaven and earth.

-          International Version

When we visit our family in Centenniel, Colorado, I am reminded of how much I love the mountains.  I always find them inspiring.  They never fail to remind me of the Creator who made them.  It is then I can answer the question “Where does my help come from?”  The answer is as majestic as the mountains, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth!” The King James Version’s reading “ I lift up my eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help, “ could easily be misunderstood as my help comes from the hills.  Clearly, while the Psalmist seems inspired by the mountains to think about the Creator, it is clear to him that help comes from the Lord.  It is always easy for human beings to confuse the Creator with the creation.  So let the glory of the mountains, the color of the sunset, the tranquility of a mountain lake, the power of the surf pounding a rocky shore, the majesty of the night sky, and all other things of grandeur and beauty remind you of the Creator from whom our help comes.

05/12/2019

I am not overly fond of name tags.  They seem to be a common part of conferences and conventions.  They signal to the hosts that the wearer has paid the convention registration fee, but they serve a more important function as well.  Being able to call someone by name without fumbling through brain freeze makes the event more welcoming and friendly.  One of my silly jokes is that I like to wear my name tag upside down so I can look down and read it if I forget my own name.  Perhaps the resistance many of us have to name tags has to do with our own identity.  We like the feeling that we are known.  Being a recognized part of the group gives us a sense of belonging.  Some of us do not like to draw attention to ourselves and a name tag makes us feel we are open to public scrutiny.  At times in church we try to get everyone to wear a name tag.  This never seems to last very long.  We forget the name tag at home or don’t remember to pick it up at church.  After all we have been going here for years and doesn’t everyone know us?  Visiting in other churches and being name tagged has given me a slightly different perspective.  When I am the only one wearing a name tag I feel uncomfortable, but when everyone is wearing one it feels less like I’m the center of attention.  Being called by name and calling others by name is welcoming.  I would just as soon not wear a name tag, but if it makes my church more welcoming to visitors and strangers, I guess I could go ahead and do it for their comfort.  It seems like a Jesus kind of thing to do.

05/05/2019

  “He drew a circle that shut me out,

    Heretic, Rebel and Thing to Flout,

    But love and I had a will to win

    We drew a circle and took him in.”

I am unsure of the source of this little poem, but it is firmly lodged in my brain.  In a time when many seem intent on dividing people and closing some out of the circle of concern, this poem seems more important than when I first learned it.  I much prefer circles of inclusion to circle of exclusion.  My wife’s parents had special gifts for inclusion.  From the very beginning of our dating they made me feel at home in their family.  When Sue and I married I felt like I became another son in the family.  We have experienced similar things in many of the churches I have served.  The Anderson Church of the Brethren is a wonderful example of that kind of love, acceptance and inclusion.  Right from the beginning Sue and I felt comfortable and accepted.  The increasing friendship and love we have experienced is quite remarkable.  Our church is genuinely concerned about our children and grandchildren, and they were even before they met them.  Visitors often comment that our church is very friendly.  I often would like to say, “Come back regularly and you may find that we are not just friendly, but loving and compassionate.  We like to draw the circle takes folk in.”