When did you first learn to apologize and mean it sincerely? I’m sure, for me, it wasn’t that first time it was mandated that I tell my brother that I was sorry for some mistreatment of him. It takes a while for “sorry” to move from outside compulsion to internal imperative. It takes even longer to realize there are times when an apology is in order even when we do not feel totally in the wrong. We have made at least a small gain in maturity when we realize that continued good relationship matters more than being right. We have a somewhat natural tendency to defend ourselves when we feel we are in the right or even when we feel not fully understood. Stepping outside ourselves to try to see from another’s perspective can do wonders for our ability to relate. This is not the same as failing to stand up for oneself against a bully, but trying to live at peace as much as we are able. It is a hard thing to not return evil for evil or insult for insult. It is even harder to own up to when we have been the thoughtless aggressor. The philosophy of “If you punch me, I will punch you harder,“ may certainly result in bloody noses. Remember, Jesus said, “If someone strikes you on one cheek, then turn and offer the other.” Violence in response to violence, whether physical or verbal, often leads to more violence. “Blessed are the peace makers; they will be called the children of God.”
04/09/2023
In the wide range of my reading, I have at times included mysteries. Whether it is Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, or some other more contemporary detective, I enjoy seeing how they put the clues together to solve the murder mystery and reveal the killer.
Puzzles have an appeal to many of us from an early age. Even something as simple as a riddle can engage our minds and challenge our imagination. We never quite lose the delight of figuring out the riddle before having to ask for the answer. Even when we have guessed incorrectly, we enjoy trying the riddle on the next victim.
The word mystery occurs a number of times in the New Testament. There it often refers to the knowledge which is known only to God and to those to whom God chooses to reveal it. We all, as followers of Jesus, share in the mystery of the faith. Christ and his bride, the Church, are said to be a great mystery. How Christ will bring the faithful with him at his second coming is described as a mystery. What is not known by ordinary human minds is revealed by the Spirit of God to the followers of Christ. This is a great privilege of the faithful. It does not make us superior to those outside the faith but is another example of God’s unmerited favor. It is by the grace of God that we experience the mystery of knowing God as our Loving Father and Redeemer, because he has revealed himself to us.
04/02/2023
For centuries, the Christian church has made use of the lectionary which contains readings for each Sunday of the year. The readings have changed a bit over the years, but remain largely the same. Presently it is on a three-year cycle of readings, with each Sunday having a reading from the Old Testament, a reading from the Psalms, a reading from the Gospels, and a reading from the rest of the New Testament. Through this schedule, most of the Bible is covered in the three years. Not all Christian groups make use of the lectionary, but many do. Palm Sunday is unique in that there are two sets of readings. One set focuses on the Triumphal Entry. The second set focuses on the Passion or suffering of Jesus. The Sunday before Easter can be called Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday. Both settings form the front part of the frame for Holy Week, which is framed at the end by Easter. Most often we focus on the Palm Sunday aspect, but the Passion focus prepares us for Good Friday. The contrast sharpens the triumph and thanksgiving of Easter. I never want to focus on Jesus’ death on the cross without remembering his resurrection. But I don’t want to focus on His resurrection without remembering the cross. They are together one event that pushes us toward the continuing presence of the living Jesus with us now.
03/26/2023
As I write my column today, we are a full month from Presidents’ Day, which is far from our most popular federal holiday. There is value in reflecting on the lives of our better leaders. In a world full of kings in his time, George Washington refused to consider becoming one. In the intervening years, there have been leaders who seemed to want that kind of personal power. Washington’s principled decision set the precedent for the President of the United States. So far, so good, General Washington. We hope to continue your legacy.
Washington was not a perfect human being. Was he ever known to smile? It is a popular story that he had problems with his teeth. If so, that could dampen anyone’s smile. The state of dentistry in Washington’s day was primitive, at best. Allegedly, the first President had wooden false teeth. Now we have tooth implants and scientifically fitted teeth, not to mention the joy of real painkillers.
Scripture has only a few references to teeth, so maybe they found the topic as painful as we find a dentist visit. I just know as I visit my dentist, I am grateful for all the modern conveniences at her disposal. Unlike President George, I can emerge from a visit to my dentist with a smile on my face, even if it is a bit lop-sided from the anesthesia. It truly is a great time to be alive. Thanks for some good work, George, in spite of your pain!
03/19/2023
If you are an avid reader like I am, one of the real joys of life is discovering a new author whose writing is enjoyable. The author may not actually be new. It is enough if she or he is new to me. It feels like finding a new friend. As we age, finding a new friend is a less common experience than it seems to be when we are young. I am puzzled by people who rarely read. I am not critical of them, but I find reading so fulfilling that I can’t imagine not reading frequently and regularly. Perhaps it is just that we have differing preferences in life.
Growing up in an economically and culturally limited environment, it was reading that opened a larger world for me. Through books, I could journey to far off places. I could imagine beautiful vistas and magnificent environments. I could meet famous people and feel a part of history. Through that great book of faith, The Bible, I could walk in Galilee with Jesus and his other disciples. I could escape Egypt with Moses and the children of Israel. I could journey with Paul and even look into the royal throne room of God with John the Revelator. All this through reading!
For me, reading is part of what makes life rich, meaningful, and significant.
03/12/2023
One time, when I was in London, England, I attended a performance of the musical CATS, which was based on T.S. Eliot’s poems collected in Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Eliot wrote other more serious poetry collections such as The Love Song of J. Albert Prufrock and The Wasteland. In 1948, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He is considered one of the great modern poets of the English language. He was also an essayist, playwright, publisher, and literary critic. His whimsical poems about cats and their secret names endeared him to me. A major poet who can let his supposed dignity be impugned by a collection of cat poems must have been able to not take himself too seriously. With notable humor, Eliot captures the character and foibles of both cats and humans. Someone has said that “dogs live for us, but cats live with us.” Perhaps it could be said that, from the cat’s perspective, we live with them. I value and enjoy the independent nature of both cats and humans. In children, young people and adults, I like the independent thinkers and I suspect that Jesus likes them, too.
03/05/2023
One of my morning jobs every day is to lay out the daily medications that Sue and I need. Currently, I have six pills and two kinds of insulin to take. I do this with my breakfast to go easy on my tummy, so all these pills and breakfast go in altogether. Somehow my body sorts all of that out so the various medications and the nutritional elements end up going where they are needed in my body. Recently, I was contemplating how amazing that all is. I need a pill box to keep my medications sorted and on time, but my body is able to work out all of this without hardly any effort on my part. The message and delivery system operates automatically. There are so many other automatic systems at work in each of us, including our bodies’ amazing power to heal itself, fighting off disease and injury. Our very breath continues while we are asleep and at times, even when we are unconscious. Truly, God’s design for us is wonderful! As scripture phrases it, “We are awesomely and wonderfully made.” The great Creator has made each of us a great creation. Thank you, God!!
02/26/2023
In Revelation 8:1, the text reads, “When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in Heaven for about half an hour.” I have always found this text puzzling. Is the silence about respect or awe? Does it intend to show how important the next section of the revelation is? Are we to look for some other meaning?
I know that silence can be a very important matter. There are times when words or even noise is inappropriate. Silence in the presence of God can be a mark of respect. Silence may enable us to listen for God’s voice. It is hard to listen while we are still speaking. Silence can be a way of making ourselves receptive to hear the “still small voice.”
When we have learned the discipline of quiet waiting, we notice much that is obscure in our noisy fast-paced existence. “Be still and know that I am God,” is still the divine counsel. It can be one of the marks of love to find comfort in the presence of another even when no words are spoken. Like Samuel we can say to the divine voice, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
Silence in the presence of the divine majesty may actually speak louder than any words. Maybe it was so for that half hour in Heaven as John the Revelator experienced it.
02/19/2023
One of the ancient traditions about Abraham is that he was known as the “friend of God”. This could be taken to mean that God had befriended Abraham. Such an interpretation could have a lot in common with the old hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”. It is heartening to know that God has reached out to us in friendship. Jesus’ statement, “Greater love has no one that a man should lay down his life for his friend (paraphrased). Jesus shows us his ultimate friendship by sacrificing his life for us. But, Abraham as God’s friend could be viewed from the other side. Not only is God Abraham’s friend, but Abraham is God’s friend. So, how does one show one’s friendship toward God? Friendship is rarely, if ever, one-sided. Real friendship in our experience is characterized by mutuality. Friendship has a tough time surviving without commitment by both friends. What does it mean to act as God’s friend? Someone has joked that you know you have a real friend when they are willing to help you move from one house to another. What behaviors would reflect our friendship with God? In addition to how we feel, are there things we can do that suggest that we are the friends of God? If we do them, perhaps, like Abraham, we will be known as the friends to God.
02/12/2023
Paying bills is not the most enjoyable of tasks, but there is real satisfaction when there are adequate funds to bring all the bills up to date. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why the various lotteries are tempting for many. Along with the fantasy of being rich, there is the desire to never have to worry about there being enough to meet all the needs without worry. In reality, winning the lottery has its own problems. No doubt the desires grow with the greater funds. That is why grace is so much superior to wealth. The verse in the song “Grace Greater Than Our Sin” reads, “Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe.” The grace of God is free and boundless. It will never be in short supply. There is no reason to worry or fret. The well is massive! It will never run out. The living water of God’s grace will constantly refresh, constantly sustain, constantly bless. It is living water that will never die. God’s grace is infinite and guaranteed by the living, eternal God, and it is freely available to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. So relax – no checks to sign, no bank balance to check, just worry-free grace available to all who believe!
02/05/2023
Most kids will eat practically anything if you put enough ketchup on it (or is it catsup?) with the possible exception of liver or some vegetables. But just when you think you have that figured out as a rule for kids, you find the exceptions. You watch as a grandson at eight years of age orders steamed broccoli in a restaurant and eats every bite! One grandchild would like on rice, cheese, and tortillas only with no meat, thank you. Her younger sister is a true carnivore, willing to down big portions of meat, especially if it is hot off the grill. Just when you think you have kids figured out, you learn again that they are all so very different. What is true of children is also true of adults. When we make judgments about all of a specific group, we are always mistaken about any individual in the group. Whether we are talking about men or women, black or white, young or old, no one perspective fits all. We have a natural tendency to want to group people and things into easy categories, but it never really works. We would be so much better off to drop the stereotypes and just meet each new person as the unique individual that they are. I suspect that is how God looks at each one.
01/29/2023
With apologies to the composer of a popular old song “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” we could hum, “there’s no business like snow business!” To those of us who have lived in snow country like Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota and others, snow is only a minor inconvenience until it really is a big storm. Two inches can cripple a southern city but for rugged northerners, we nearly need a foot before we are really slowed down or kept indoors. At least, that is the way our bragging suggests. When Sue and I lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a massive storm buried the whole metropolis. Even with great city snow equipment, the whole city was shut down. Church was cancelled everywhere. Nothing could move out of the neighborhoods. When we finally shoveled our way past our door and helped the neighbors shovel out, we invited several of our neighbors to come to our house for a simple Sunday worship service. The result was among the warmest and most lovely experiences of our life in Kalamazoo. How often the inconvenient, and at times even the tragic, becomes the opportunity for God to show us His blessing, no matter what the circumstance!
01/22/2023
A few days ago, I realized that my car battery was dead. I turned the key and not even a click was heard. It was “No show, no go!” It turns out that a door was left open, draining the battery. I had only been making short trips so the battery had inadequate time to re-charge. The battery is relatively new, but all car batteries need re-charging. It is another example of “use it or lose it.” Neglect, even if unintentional, can result in problems. I have often thought that it is better to pray beforehand than just pray hard in the midst of an emergency. During a funeral is a rather late time to prepare for death or grief. It is certainly good to learn, even late, but better to prepare ahead. Even something as basic as spoken and written language can deteriorate, if unused. Even native speakers can find it difficult to remember their first language vocabulary when they do not have opportunity to participate in spoken and written language. Even spiritual gifts can weaken when neglected or not utilized. Fortunately, much which is initially lost can be regained. Whether in the practical world or the spiritual world, it is better to use what we are given. It keeps things fresh and vital.
01/15/2023
The New Year brings many changes. This year brought a new prescription change due to a new Medicare Part D plan. This change means a new set of prescriptions from all of our doctors. There is a new formulary for what is and is not covered, and at what level each is covered. Our family will probably be better off for all the changes, but it still feels annoying to have to analyze and implement all these changes. For all my talk of staying open to change, I still find myself resistant when I have to make the changes. This is not simply a factor of old age as anyone who has made changes in a young child’s routine has learned. We may long for change at times, and conversely rebel at having to make change. We enjoy the stability of things staying the same and may even fear what change may bring. I think that fear explains much of what is happening in our world. What we don’t like we want to see changed, and what we treasure we want to remain the same. Change engages the unknown. What if our deepest fears come to pass? We can’t even predict the weather, let alone the changes which the future might hold. No doubt the future will not be as bad as we fear or as good as we hope. Perhaps that is why Jesus spent so much time telling his disciples, “Don’t be afraid,” and “I am with you always to the end of the age.” Whatever the future holds, God’s people can be confident that God will always be with us.
01/08/2023
We are well into “the year of our Lord, two thousand twenty three.” It is an old-fashioned way to state the date, but also a good reminder that each new year is “the year of our Lord.” There is nothing in this new year that the Lord is not prepared to help us face. No terror or tragedy that this year may bring is unanticipated by the sovereign Lord. This year will bring new blessings, new comforts, new opportunities, and new joys. This is indeed the year the Lord has established -- another year of the Lord’s favor. It is, however, a new year and that means some adjustment. It will take a while to put 2023 on checks and letters, if indeed you still send letters by snail mail, or still write checks instead of using electronic pay systems. Laws will change, new circumstances will emerge. Though we cannot anticipate all that the year 2023 will bring, we know that all our tomorrows, like all our yesterdays, rest in the Lord’s hands. So rejoice, people of God! Our God has never let us down in the past and He will not abandon us in the yet-unknown future. He is the faithful God whose mercies are new every morning. God is good, and because of His loving kindness, we will come to the end of 2023, having reason to proclaim “It was a good year!”
01/01/2023
I never understood the significance of the Watch Night Service on New Year’s Eve. Perhaps, it was because I could see no connections to Christian traditions. Recently I became aware that the Moravians and latter John Wesley observed the practice as a time of reflection on the past year and anticipation of the coming year. The reflection was meant to focus on the spiritual issues past and future. In the African American church community there was another significance. On January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves was enacted. Anticipating Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Proclamation many African Americans held services all night on December 31, 1862, waiting for the announcement of their freedom. Many African American congregations still celebrate with services beginning in the evening and extending to midnight. These new understandings have caused me to rethink what a Watch Night Service could be. It might even be worth staying up past midnight to celebrate freedom and reflect on our past and future together.
12/25/2022
On this bitterly cold Christmas Morning, we can easily call up images of the holy family shivering in the cold of the stable in the midwinter. In her poem of Christmas morning Christina Rosetti pens “In the bleak midwinter frosty wind did blow, earth stood strong as iron, water like a stone. Snow was blowing, snow on snow in the bleak midwinter long-time ago.” We now suspect that the time of Jesus’s birth was not mid winter, the but image still has value. It captures that sense of Jesus sharing in the whole lot of human kind. We may find ourselves cold and hungry like the baby Jesus. He shares all our humanity. Our brother Jesus knows our suffering and our joys. The divine has come down to our level that we might be sure of God’s understanding and love. He put himself in human hands that we might place ourselves in his hands. Now is born the divine Christ child so let us rejoice and sing in praise and honor of his coming. Allelujah! Praise God! He has come to be with us that we might come to be with him.
12/18/2022
One of the hardest parts of putting meals on the table is not the actual cooking, but the planning of what to cook. While Thanksgiving dinner can be a huge amount of work, there are traditional dishes that can help with planning. Turkey is traditional and dressing (or stuffing), green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin or pecan pie. One could add a salad or vegetable, but it will probably be ignored in favor of the other items. Christmas dinner is more uncertain. One could do a rerun of Thanksgiving, but otherwise what would one do? The grocery store seems to favor ham or if you are flush with cash, the Prime Rib. If you get too frustrated you could settle for Chinese carry-out. Easter is an ever greater puzzle. Lamb would seem a logical choice but rarely done in the U.S. Ham is on the grocer’s agenda. How did we think of Easter ham? Was it because it rhymes with lamb in the crazy English language spelling? In the end it is more important who is sitting around the table than what is sitting on the table. So relax. If you are lucky enough to be with the people you love, then the dishes will be more savory and the desserts sweeter because of the tasty company.
12/11/2022
In our family we open Christmas stockings on Christmas Eve and open our larger presents on Christmas Day. Our stockings have small gifts and treats. We all try to be creative and include things meaningful to each other. Only rarely is a stocking gift expensive. Sometimes it is funny or poignant. Favorite candies are often included along with a toothbrush. It is a favorite time with less emphasis on the gift than on being together. It is about being a family together. We each have stockings with our names embroidered on the cuff. As new members come into the family they each have a personalized stocking to hang over the fireplace to show they belong. Recently one in our family decided to change what she wanted the family to call her. This resulted in a new stocking with her new name. It said to the whole family “We support you and you will always be part of us as you learn and grow.” In the Bible a change of name often signaled a new beginning, a new life. These names signified a new relationship with God. God knows our names and our nicknames. He calls us by name and that signifies his deep and profound recognition of us. He knows our name and we belong with him.
12/04/2022
I learned early how to be frugal with the pennies, but the pounds still did not always work out. Even in the generous time of Christmas we still watch even the small things. We always saved the bows and ribbons from the gifts and were even able to save the paper for future smaller packages. I learned later that some of those small economies actually had a kitchen drawer with bits of string too short to be used. I often wince at our current throw-away world. Products with built-in obsolescence seem basically wrong to me. Why can’t products be built that can be fixed easily and efficiently? So many things now seem not to last as long as they should. Is it just me or are products designed to break down just after the warrantee expires? Now days I still practice small economies. I save left over foods. I recycle anything I can. I reuse the aluminum foil. I mend clothes. I find new uses for old things. I save glass bottles. I do it not because of expense but to cut down on the junk piling up on God’s beautiful world. It seems like good stewardship to me. If I could only learn to not buy the junk in the first place! O well, It gives me something to work on for 2023.