01/05/2020

This first Sunday of the New Year finds us back in the chapel.  Originally, we came up with this strategy as a way to save money on the cost of heating the larger sanctuary during the coldest months.  Along the way we discovered other advantages.  The smaller space means we sit closer together.  We see each other more clearly as a result.  The interaction is far better as we linger in the chapel to talk with each other.  We miss the organ and the choir is a bit crowded, but the chapel simplifies things for our musicians.  When we sing in the chapel the sound of all our voices is wonderful as we fill that smaller space.  What started out as a money saving measure has turned out to be a significant blessing.  Similar things happen in the rest of our lives as well.  Simple changes often bless us, sometimes even by their simplicity alone.  Even disasters have at times opened a possibility which we would not have seen in the ordinary course of life.  The disaster may still be devastating, but hidden in the corner there may be a small blessing if we are looking for it.  So stick with us in the chapel, because who knows what blessing may await us in the chapel, in the new year, and have a blessed New Year.

12/29/2009

When I was a child, I remember being asked at birthday time, “How does it feel to be a year older?”  In truth it never felt at all different from the day before and the day after.  The only change I noticed was there was now a different answer to the question “How old are you?”  New Years has always seemed much the same to me.  The day before and the day after are pretty much the same.  The only big difference seems to be a different year date to put on checks.  It might be useful to reflect on the events of the previous years but the year ahead can not be planned in any great detail.  “New Year’s Resolutions” are normally defunct well before February arrives.  The New Year only gets the most cursory notice in the Christian calendar.  We are done with Advent and Christmas and are well on our way toward Lent and Easter.  Our culture will celebrate the New Year for an evening and a day and then we will be back to ordinary time.  We will have passed another mile marker, but the highway is still running a long toward destinations which we only dimly anticipate.  We hope the ordinary days will be pleasant and secure.  We look forward for events that are meaningful and ever for some divine surprises.  What we can count on in the New Year is that the presence of God will be with us whatever the new days bring.  Every day we will be able to say “This is the day the Lord has made.  We will rejoice and be glad in it.”

12/22/2019

The birth of Jesus reminds us of the necessity of shelter.  There was no room for them in the inn, so the little family of Joseph and Mary took shelter in a stable and laid their new born son in a feeding trough.  Still there are people who wander homeless.  Some are refugees of war, violence and poverty.  Others have fallen on bad times and may shelter in a tent or car or even or in a doorway or on a park bench.  Shelter is another of the basic human needs.  Recently, Jimmy Carter, our most useful ex-President fell while working on a Habitat for Humanity House.  He is in his 90’s and still working to bring shelter to those who need it.  I often think of the church as a sheltering place.  Here the wanderer can find rest, the sinner can find redemption, the lonely can find friendship.  At its best the church is a shelter for the world weary and storm tossed.  But as President Carter demonstrates, Christians also need to work at solving the practical problems of shelter for those who need it.  A pre-schooler, who was  told that there was no room in the inn for Jesus burst out, “He can have my room!”

12/15/2019

It was a few years ago when I first encountered the term ”food insecurity”. It was obvious from the beginning what was being described.  The fear that is experienced when there is no certainty about where the next meal is coming from can be devastating for any individual or family.  In a world of excess the idea that there are hungry people around us is very upsetting.  We would literally like to set another place at our table, especially for the hungry child.  There are other needs which human beings experience, but it is hard to feed the soul when the belly is empty.  Sharing food is one of the most basic of human experiences.  One preschooler that I met made sure everyone knew “My mommy is a good cooker!”  In this Advent season, when we think of the arrival of one we call “the Bread of Life”,  we are especially concerned that others in our world have the bread they need for life.  We pass our Christmas baskets to brighten the celebration of Jesus’ birth, but we also take regular hunger offerings so that the rest of the year is not forgotten.  We delight in the heavenly manna that comes down to us, but we also acknowledge the earthly crusty loaves which mark our daily bread.  Give us today our daily bread that we may give daily bread to all those in need of sustenance for body, mind and spirit.

12/08/2019

“Glory to God in the highest Heaven and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” sang the heavenly hosts at Jesus’ birth.  The Church of the Brethren peace group has chosen “On Earth Peace” as its title.  We still, after nearly 2000 years, are looking to bring about peace on earth.  We pray for it.  We practice it on various levels.  We desire to work with all that promotes peace in our world among nations, within nations in communities and in homes.  It has many dimensions from eliminating wars, to countering violence in our society.  At times, it seems to be an uphill battle to wage peace, but we are confident that the Prince of Peace, Jesus, supports our efforts.  Our real goal is not just absence of conflict, but the achievement of wholeness for everyone.  Wholeness is a matter of body, mind, and spirit.  It is peace within, but it is also peace among.  Creative conflict without violence may be one stage along the way, but ultimately we hope for cooperation and wholeness.  The Hebrew concept of Shalom has that sense of comprehensive wholeness where we are at one with God and with our neighbor in body, mind, and spirit.  We strive to be at peace with each other so that love and compassion may be the watchword for all our endeavors.

12/01/2019

One of the minor characters in Tolkien’s novel,  Lord of the Rings who never made it into the movies is Tom Bombadil.  He is described as the “Eldest,” one who “walked under the stars at night before the fear came…”  It is interesting how often we associate the darkness of night with fear and the light with safety and security.  Even the small light of a candle in the window is a symbol of home and comfort.  For God, light and darkness are both warm and comfortable.  For us light can be a gift from God.  Jesus is the light of the world and to a lesser degree so are we his disciples.  We are not to cover it up with a shade but let it shine.  Advent is a season of light and each Sunday we light an additional candle until we light the Christ candle in honor of Christ’s birth.  From that candle we light our own candles as we sing “Son of God love’s pure light in radiant beams from Thy holy face…”  We raise our candles and the whole sanctuary is flooded with beautiful, soft light, just as we hope Christ’s light will flood all the world.  We hope each little light of ours will shine as well in all the dark corners of the world.  Light of lights, shine around us.  Light of lights, shine in us.  Light of lights, shine through us until the whole world blazes with your heavenly light.

11/24/2019

President John F. Kennedy issued Proclamation 3560 on November 5, 1963, stating, “Over three centuries ago our fore fathers in Virginia and in Massachusetts far from home in a lonely wilderness, set aside a time of thanksgiving on the appointed day, they gave reverent thanks for their safety, for the health of their children, for the fertility of their field, for the love which bound them together and for the faith which united them with their God.”  Like many leaders before him and after him, President Kennedy reminded us of our heritage of celebration of thanksgiving to God for the abundance of our blessings.  Christians ought always to be thankful, but it is quite appropriate for civil authorities to acknowledge our corporate thankfulness to God.  At the end of tragic or disastrous events, at the end of a war or major conflict a time of thanksgiving seems needed.  In times of fruitfulness, plenty, and peace we should be even more thankful.  The fourth Thursday of November seems a fitting time to offer our thanks.  The harvest is gathered in.  The families are gathered together.  The worshippers are gathered together in the house of God.  The organ is opened up with all the stops out on "Now thank we all our God with heart and soul and voices, who wondrous things has done, in this world rejoices…”

11/17/2019

Remind me in February when I complain about the snow and cold that I said back in November that I love the snow.  I like it best sitting by the fireplace with a cup of coffee and a cookie.  Looking out the window, the snow looks so clear and clean. If there is ice on the trees it looks like a crystal fairyland.  I know that the ice is not good for the trees and that before Spring, Indiana will be the slush capital of the nation.  Most of us like the variety that the change of seasons present.  We are often ready for that change even well before it comes.  It is interesting that we find other kinds of change difficult.  Perhaps that is because we can’t be sure what the results of change will be.With the seasons we can be sure that spring will follow winter and summer will follow spring and fall will follow summer and winter will follow fall.With other change we are less certain.If customs change, what will be lost or what will be the final outcome?Is the change good or bad?Is the change inevitable?How will we deal with the changing circumstances?It can help if we remember that we worship a God who is even more dependable than the seasons.There will be no change that we cannot face with the help of the dependable God.

11/10/2019

Some may think that the Church Annual Business Meeting is not a very important event.  Certainly, it often does not feel that exciting.  I have heard national church leaders describe Annual Conference or Annual Meeting with the sentence “We survived another one.” A meeting in which there are not major problems is one to be appreciated.  On a local level there can at times be controversies  but we have not had any difficult meetings in many years.  If our annual business meeting has good attendance, appropriate questions are raised and responded to and good decisions are made.  It is then alright if the meeting feels a bit boring with no major controversy.  After all, it is good to have reports on the work of that the church is doing.  We know much of this already, but it is good to be reminded.  We do not desire to operate the church like a business, but we do hope to have good business practices in place to meet the legal expectations for church corporations.  We expect today’s Business meeting to be typical in these regards because of the good and competent leadership we have in boards, commissions and deacons as well as in other working groups.  If the atmosphere is open, compassionate and thoughtful at the meeting an occasional peaceful yawn would not be a bad thing.

11/03/2019

One of the great titles for God is Creator.  It provides an intimate link between us as part of the created world and the God who made us all.  We are not self- made beings no matter how arrogant we might become.  Our individual existence was dependent on other agencies, namely our parents.  We are part of the created order.  We share our existence with other created beings.  We are genetic cousins with other species even though it is hard sometimes to take such knowledge into our minds.  The common connection is the God who created us and our world.  By creation we are sisters and brothers with all the other human beings on our planet.  We were created in God’s image and at our best intended to be like God.  Since God is creator we are endowed with creativity as well.  When we create art, poetry, music, machines, computers, rockets, new plant varieties, medicines, and societal structures, indeed anything good and worthy, we are imitating God’s creative instinct. We hope that all such things will be for good and for the glory of God and not for evil and destruction.  At the end of all our endeavors we wish to look back at all we have done and say like the Creator God, “It is very good.”

10/27/2019

It is Fall and the leaves are beginning to change.  I remember from childhood science classes telling how that happens.  The green of the leaves is there because of chlorophyll.  When the chlorophyll is gone, the other colors in the leaves appear brighter.  It is based on weather or rain or temperature.  I really don’t know the answers, but that does not mean that I can’t enjoy the beautiful fall display.  I like knowing the answers to things and am willing to study to find answers to things.  Increasingly, however, I am aware that I often do not know the answers to some of the most profound issues of life.  Even without all the answers I am committed to the joy of living.As my circle of knowledge increases so does the boundary of my ignorance.I can chaff under the burden of not knowing or rejoice in what I do know.I do not need all the answers to appreciate the beauty and grandeur that surrounds me often on a daily basis.I can kick through the scattered leaves, gaze on the bright crimson piles thatmaples sprinkle among the yellow and green.I can hear the crunch of the brown leaves already on the ground and say with a glad heart “O, God, What a beautiful world you have created!”

10/20/2019

Breakfast is often described as the most important meal of the day.  It is extremely important for people with diabetes and other health conditions.  While I do not really remember it, there is a family legend that while I was still in the high chair I was demanding “Mo” bacon, mo’eggs.” Later when my mother was working full time, breakfast was a more sketchy event.  Usually it was cold cereal, milk, sugar, toast and on occasion a sliced banana.  Sometimes in the years since childhood, breakfast was an after- thought with a cup of coffee snatched while going out the door.  After my wife and I were diagnosed with diabetes we changed our breakfast habits.  While I sometimes cook meals, it is my wife who makes sure we have a hot breakfast with toast and fruit and a protein source like eggs, cheese, sausage, bacon, etc.  I think of this as an act of love in an everyday practical way.  I am sure we are both heathier because of my wife’s loving action.  I try to always say “thank you” for breakfast.  Love ought to be measured more by the simple kind acts than by the huge romantic gestures.  We admire the Christian martyrs but should never forget the simple Christians who live daily for Jesus.

10/13/2019

One of my favorite musicals is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s  Cats which I first saw in London many years ago.  The musical was based on a book of poems by T.S. Elliot Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.  The most famous song from the Musical is Memory sung by Grizella, a former glamour cat, who has fallen on hard times.  The song is nostalgic and poignant with the aging cat remembering former glories and wishing for current acceptance.  The song’s lyrics and melody are haunting and sad.  Memory can be like that at times, but it can also be warm and sustaining.  In memory we can relieve the joys of the past and explore its significance for the present. Israel preserved the memory of the Exodus when God saved his people from their captivity.That memory became the center of their identity as a people.That memory had liberating force for the African-American community as well in the time of slavery.Jesus understood the power of memory when he instituted the Bread and Cup with the words “Do this in in remembrance of me.”We still remember Jesus, his teaching, his death, his resurrection when we share together the Bread and Cup.This living memory is still alive for us, still shaping our lives and our community. In that moment we remember the living savior who is still with us.It is a solemn and joyous moment.We remember Jesus and we again experience his presence in the breaking of bread and the sharing of the cup.

10/06/2019

During the Soviet era in Russia, the government limited access to candles.  This seems rather strange until you realize how important candles are for worship in the Russian Orthodox Church.  It was a not so subtle way of limiting the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church.  While candles do not hold so great an influence in our worship, I do enjoy them. A candle sits on my desk year round and I like to surround it with seasonal decorations.  Christmas candles are a particular delight.  I love seeing a candle in the windows of homes.  I am helped by the Advent candles to focus my attention on the meaning of Christmas.  My heart rejoices when we light the Christ candle to mark the birth of Jesus.  It always stirs my emotions when we raise our candles in the Christmas Eve Service.  The glow of candlelight softens the angels of everyone’s face and I think again, “everyone is beautiful in their own way.”  The light of candles recalls Jesus as the light of the world, and Jesus’ followers as lights in the World.  The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can’t put it out.  Every Sunday morning we light the candles on the communion table and acknowledge the presence of God that enlightens our lives.  When the service has ended we go out to serve and all week long and light little candles to pierce the darkness, so that Jesus, the light of the world my shine.

09/29/2019

In contrast to many men, our two son-in-laws are rather easy to buy for at Christmas.  For one, as long as Sports Illustrated  (minus the exploitive swim suit edition.)  Yes, it can be ordered that way is included, he is pleased.  For the other a gift card to Penzey’s Spice and Herb store is always well received.  Even if those two gifts were not included they would still be gracious.  Since giving those gifts, I have started reading Sports Illustrated and Penzey’s has become one of my favorite stores.  I can now shout at the TV “pass interference”  and “he came to play”  as if I knew what I was talking about.  But the real discovery is how many spices and herbs there are and how they can change the taste of even the common foods we enjoy.  Let’s face it, a boiled chicken breast may be healthy but it is as bland and tasteless as a bland boiled chicken breast.  Add a few well selected herbs and spices and the dish is transformed.  Whether it is Tex-Mex or Curry or Harissa or Sichuan Pepper or Thai Basil or the hundreds of other spices, herbs and blends, all have enriched our culinary world.  Would it change our view of the world to view other cultures and countries as gifts rather than as enemies?  We share the spices; could we also share the table?

09/22/2019

This week I ordered my new calendar workbook for 2020.  It is titled Calendar and Workbook for Church Leaders.  It is packed full of useful information including special dates, lectionary, and a four year calendar.  More importantly for my work, there is a full page for Sunday with space for notes and recording information.  On the opposite page there are six spaces for Monday through Friday. Other calendar workbooks often have a small divided space for Saturday and Sunday.  This is the perfect minister’s tool.  I searched for years for a calendar/workbook that worked for my job.  The right tool can make such a  difference.  It is true in so many parts of life.  I wonder if God looks down on the congregation and says, “What tools do I have for my work in this congregation?”  I do know when we have people in the tasks in the church that fit their special spiritual and practical gifts everything works better.  The right tool for the right task is a key for smooth work.  When you need a faucet wrench, one hundred socket wrenches will not fill the need.  Comparing church workers to plumbing tools doesn’t have quite the dignity that apostle, prophet, teacher, deacon, etc. do, but perhaps the point is the right person for the right task is the ideal.  Until that ideal comes, we may need to stretch our gifts to meet the needs we find.  We might even discover we have more gifts than we realized.

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.