As some of you may know, Lent is my favorite season of the year. The 40 days we spend preparing for Holy Week can be an intense and invaluable time set apart. Each year I take up a Lenten discipline to help me keep Lent on the forefront of my mind.
Here's my problem. It's Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, and I don't know what I'm going to do. Last year I gave something up so this year I really wanted to take something on. But what? I can't decide! Any thoughts, suggestions, would be appreciated!
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Collecting Hugs
Sitting in my second office (Coffee on the Corner for those who may not know) I had a delightful encounter. A young soft-spoken Mary Baldwin student - who I have seen around town before - came up to me and said "I'm collecting hugs and I was wondering if I could have one of yours." How odd a thing to hear. I - of course - said yes and gave her one of my hugs. And it was wonderful! Hugging a virtual stranger may sound like it would be uncomfortable but it wasn't. It felt right.
After our hug, she collected hugs from other patrons and went to eating her sandwich. I like to think I offer God's love to all I meet yet I doubt I could ever gather the nerve to do what she did. That hug - unexpected to say the least - was a lovely reminder that we shouldn't be afraid to express care and genuine affection - even to strangers.
After our hug, she collected hugs from other patrons and went to eating her sandwich. I like to think I offer God's love to all I meet yet I doubt I could ever gather the nerve to do what she did. That hug - unexpected to say the least - was a lovely reminder that we shouldn't be afraid to express care and genuine affection - even to strangers.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
elmer gantry
Just finished a book I've been working on for a couple weeks, Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis. It's about a man who rises from less than stellar beginnings to become a well-respected minister and morality leader. Except it's not as feel good as perhaps that brief description makes it sound. I really enjoyed the book - it had some brilliant commentary on hypocrisy in the church as well as some great laugh-out-loud moments.
Particular favorite quote: “Because the Baptists and the Methodists have all the numbskulls—except those that belong to the Catholic Church and the henhouse sects—and so even you can get away with being a prophet. There are some intelligent people in the Episcopal and Congregational Churches… Of course all Presbyterians are half-wits, too, but they have a standard doctrine and they can trap you into a heresy trial.”
That’s us, half-wits with a keen eye for heresy!
If you’re interested on reading a classic piece of American lit that was quite controversial in its days and is still rather dead-on in this day, I recommend it!
Particular favorite quote: “Because the Baptists and the Methodists have all the numbskulls—except those that belong to the Catholic Church and the henhouse sects—and so even you can get away with being a prophet. There are some intelligent people in the Episcopal and Congregational Churches… Of course all Presbyterians are half-wits, too, but they have a standard doctrine and they can trap you into a heresy trial.”
That’s us, half-wits with a keen eye for heresy!
If you’re interested on reading a classic piece of American lit that was quite controversial in its days and is still rather dead-on in this day, I recommend it!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Preaching the Word
One of the greatest joys of my ministry is the time I spend with our youth. Full of energy and laughter, our youth inspire and challenge me. Listening to their thoughts, ideas, passions and beliefs I find my own faith renewed in our time together. This Sunday the senior high will be leading us in worship. As they’ve been preparing and planning for this worship service, it’s been a delight to hear how the scripture for Sunday touches their lives. I look forward to sharing in worship with them and you this Sunday and seeing how their words touch all of us.
Along with hearing the voices of our youth, Youth Sunday excites me because it affirms what we as a Reformed people believe – God can and does speak to all of us. John and I have years of training and experience, yes, but that’s not what allows us to stand up in the pulpit and proclaim the Word of God. The Spirit is what empowers us – all of us: John, me, you, our youth. The Spirit is what moves us and gives us the words to speak. Every one of us can proclaim the Word of God.
Covenant affirms that truth in a variety of ways – from Youth Sunday and Children’s Sunday (this year on April 27th) to the Word proclaimed in October by lay leaders. We know it’s not just Ministers of Word and Sacrament to whom the Spirit speaks. The Word is also proclaimed on other days than Sunday and other places than the pulpit. Listening to and participating in conversations about God in Bible studies, at dinner on Wednesdays, around the kitchen table when I’ve been invited over for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I have heard the Word proclaimed. Sorting cans with you for the Salvation Army, repairing homes with you in Mississippi, seeing money donated to Heifer International instead of buying more stuff for loved ones, I have witnessed the Word proclaimed.
It’s quite a privilege to hear such powerful proclamations. Keep on proclaiming the Word with your words and your lives. As I’ve said to the youth, let me say to all of you: preach it, preacher!
Along with hearing the voices of our youth, Youth Sunday excites me because it affirms what we as a Reformed people believe – God can and does speak to all of us. John and I have years of training and experience, yes, but that’s not what allows us to stand up in the pulpit and proclaim the Word of God. The Spirit is what empowers us – all of us: John, me, you, our youth. The Spirit is what moves us and gives us the words to speak. Every one of us can proclaim the Word of God.
Covenant affirms that truth in a variety of ways – from Youth Sunday and Children’s Sunday (this year on April 27th) to the Word proclaimed in October by lay leaders. We know it’s not just Ministers of Word and Sacrament to whom the Spirit speaks. The Word is also proclaimed on other days than Sunday and other places than the pulpit. Listening to and participating in conversations about God in Bible studies, at dinner on Wednesdays, around the kitchen table when I’ve been invited over for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I have heard the Word proclaimed. Sorting cans with you for the Salvation Army, repairing homes with you in Mississippi, seeing money donated to Heifer International instead of buying more stuff for loved ones, I have witnessed the Word proclaimed.
It’s quite a privilege to hear such powerful proclamations. Keep on proclaiming the Word with your words and your lives. As I’ve said to the youth, let me say to all of you: preach it, preacher!
Friday, January 18, 2008
I'm dreaming of a white thursday
I love snow days!
Didn't really have them much as a kid - in Texas school got cancelled for floods much more often than it did for odd white stuff falling from the sky. Yesterday I got up planning on driving to Harrisonburg for a CPM meeting only to discover I wouldn't be driving my car anywhere that day! A snow day for me is a lovely unexpected gift; instead of sitting in an all day meeting (which has its own merits, to be sure), I got to run about and enjoy the wonder of a blanket of snow.
I've spoken to several friends and run into a few church members today. It seems many of us ran outside, made snowmen and women, went sledding, made snow angels, sipped hot cocoa, got together with friends – just enjoyed the day. We rush about so often and miss things like rays of the sun glistening on freshly fallen snow – I’m as guilty of that as anyone. It’s rather nice when the sky opens up and forces us to slow down, stop even, and just appreciate what’s before us.
Didn't really have them much as a kid - in Texas school got cancelled for floods much more often than it did for odd white stuff falling from the sky. Yesterday I got up planning on driving to Harrisonburg for a CPM meeting only to discover I wouldn't be driving my car anywhere that day! A snow day for me is a lovely unexpected gift; instead of sitting in an all day meeting (which has its own merits, to be sure), I got to run about and enjoy the wonder of a blanket of snow.
I've spoken to several friends and run into a few church members today. It seems many of us ran outside, made snowmen and women, went sledding, made snow angels, sipped hot cocoa, got together with friends – just enjoyed the day. We rush about so often and miss things like rays of the sun glistening on freshly fallen snow – I’m as guilty of that as anyone. It’s rather nice when the sky opens up and forces us to slow down, stop even, and just appreciate what’s before us.
Monday, January 07, 2008
a monday afternoon
I adore living in Staunton and I most particularly appreciate the wonderful opportunities this town gives me to meet and make new friends. Now, yes, I happen to be an extra-amiable woman, but I do think there’s something about this town that makes it easy to strike up conversations with people at, say, your local coffee shop and by the end of the conversation, make plans for lunch!
This afternoon as I’ve forced myself to finish the youth calendar (I have trouble committing to dates for certain activities) I also made a new friend – another minister in the area (Lutheran). How wonderful that it’s not strange here (at least I hope not) for me to just go up and introduce myself upon overhearing her career.
I love the museums, the ballet, the many areas of exploration big cities offer but nothing can beat moments like the one I had this afternoon.
This afternoon as I’ve forced myself to finish the youth calendar (I have trouble committing to dates for certain activities) I also made a new friend – another minister in the area (Lutheran). How wonderful that it’s not strange here (at least I hope not) for me to just go up and introduce myself upon overhearing her career.
I love the museums, the ballet, the many areas of exploration big cities offer but nothing can beat moments like the one I had this afternoon.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The Angels Hung Around
Texts: Isaiah 63:7-9
Matthew 2:13-23
I hope all of you had blessed and love filled Christmas day and are enjoying both leftovers and loved ones in the days that have followed.
Watching Christmas movies with my family, I’ve heard a lot of “this is what Christmas is about” from the characters on screen. Christmas is about truth, about love, about taking a chance, about family. I’ve enjoyed listening to all these statements about what the season is supposed to be, what it’s supposed to inspire in us, because I think they all are speaking to this feeling many of us have, this feeling deep down that Christmas is special and during this season all wonderful things are possible.
We long for Christmas tide to be full of nothing but joy and warmth, moments we can capture on film that we can look back upon when times are challenging and remember the glow of Christmas.
Sometimes we do get Christmases full of glow and love and nothing else. Sometimes we don’t. And even when we have the perfect Christmas, a gentle fresh snow on the ground, all our loved ones together without any of that pesky squabbling, the perfect Christmas ham or turkey or veggie platter that everyone salivates over… Even when we do have this perfect Christmas, you and I know that the feelings of warmth and love don’t last as long as the fruit cake and good tidings don’t ring in our ears all year long.
What happens? The world happens. Too much family togetherness brings up old grudges; those who have trouble feeling close to others are reminded of their isolation during the season that emphasizes kinship; violence erupts even as we worship the Prince of Peace.
The Christmases we experience which turn toward the harshness of the world follows in the unfortunate tradition set by the very first Christmas. Even the first Christmas, accompanied by proclamations from angels, did not usher in an eon of warmth and happiness. The shepherds came and went, as did the wise men, and this child whose birth was lauded by the heavenly chorus finds his life threatened.
Jesus is still a babe who is learning to sit up, eat solid foods, talk, and already the establishment is terrified of him. Herod—determined no king other than him should reign—sends out the troops under his command to eliminate any threat.
Eliminate any threat. As though a child who can’t yet speak is a threat to anything other than a good night’s sleep.
An angel of the Lord sends a message to Joseph to escape. The Holy Family bundles up and get out of Israel and headed toward Egypt. Jesus escaped but there were so many children who did not.
Just like the child Moses who escaped the wrath of Pharaoh when so many other Hebrew children did not, Jesus slips into the night with his mother and father and finds himself in Egypt, the land from which the adult Moses led his people. Just as we celebrate Moses’ journey down the river Nile in a basket, we celebrate Jesus’ escape from Herod’s wrath. How can we, though? How can we celebrate Jesus’ good fortune when so many others suffered?
This is the question we deal with every day. How do we praise God when the little children in this world are suffering? How do we rejoice that some are saved when others are lost?
We celebrate the birth of one child even as we look around and see children facing death – death from hunger, violence, need beyond anything we can comprehend. We see children of God of all ages fighting against the darkness of loneliness, self-doubt, loss of direction, anger, and so much more. Just like in the village of Bethlehem, the Herods of our world are seeking out the innocents for destruction.
This is the hard reality of Christmas, one many of us face in different ways. We want to first find the joy and warmth the season is supposed to bring and then remain in this sacredly serene feeling for the rest of the year. But it never happens that way. We want to praise God for all the good God has done and not be challenged with our praise of the Lord with the truth of evil in this world. But it never happens that way.
Instead of eternal bliss, rather than uncomplicated praise of a god who guarantees only good things to his or her followers, we have this messy and mysterious God who, when we follow, promises something else entirely.
Our Christmas story has been filled with visions and visits from angels. After the Christ-child has been born, the angels hung around, watched after him and his family. We could celebrate this part of the story – the presence of angels – but that isn’t what our text is about, that isn’t what Christmas is about, isn’t what our God is about.
God’s promises are more complicated than visions from angels or perfect happiness – and yet in some ways so much more simple. Isaiah reminds the people of his time and the ages to follow what it is to follow this God, what it is to trust in God’s promises, what and how it is we celebrate Christmas.
“he became their savior in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”
It was no messenger or angel but God’s presence that saved them.
This—this is what Christmas is about, this is what we celebrate in the midst of the dark of our world.
The story of the massacre of the infants, of the innocents, isn’t just a story of a miraculous escape for Jesus and his family. Jesus escaped death here, yes, but we know what awaits him 30 or so years down the road. This story proclaims to us from the beginning what we will come to know so well throughout his life – Jesus is with us. He is subject to the pain and injustice of this world, he is victim of hatred and prejudice, and through him God is with us in all our suffering, in all things.
It is because of the God we know in the person of Jesus Christ that we can dare to say that even though the infant Jesus was not in Bethlehem when Herod’s soldiers came God was.
Jesus is God with us, Jesus is our salvation, our saving story. Through the person of Christ, God loves us, pities us, redeems us, and lifts us up into to the divine presence.
Through the person of Jesus Christ we know that though the world is not full of bliss, though the glow of Christmas fades and our troubles may seem here to stay, though something as horrific as the murder of these children is proof of the darkness, through Jesus we know our saving story.
Being a follower of Christ isn’t about escaping the clutches of evil… I wish it was. Following Christ can be about that- Jesus wants us to be free from evil, murder, but it’s more complicated.
The promise we have as a Christ follower comes in God’s presence among us – a presence we have known in the person of Jesus Christ and the life-giving and moving Spirit.
Even when our family squabbles, even when we can’t find any more Christmas cheer to light our days and nights, even when the worst we could imagine – beyond what we could imagine – happens, we can take comfort, find our cheer, find our hope in the knowledge that God is with us.
God’s presence gives us hope—hope that things can improve, may improve, will improve, slowly, too slowly to be sure. Hope in something greater than us, hope that what we know and see here and now is not all there is, is not God’s full kingdom, not yet. Hope that once we have departed from this place there is togetherness with God, our salvation, our hope, a togetherness that banishes all tears, all death, all pain.
The Christmas story is full of amazing signs and visions, the glory of God shone through the heavenly chorus singing “Glory to God in the highest!” and the story of Christ’s first days ends in brutality for so many of God’s innocents.
But above all the angels and beyond all the brutality lies the good news - “It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”
Rejoice in cheer, rejoice in sorrow, rejoice that wherever you are, God is with you. Amen.
Matthew 2:13-23
I hope all of you had blessed and love filled Christmas day and are enjoying both leftovers and loved ones in the days that have followed.
Watching Christmas movies with my family, I’ve heard a lot of “this is what Christmas is about” from the characters on screen. Christmas is about truth, about love, about taking a chance, about family. I’ve enjoyed listening to all these statements about what the season is supposed to be, what it’s supposed to inspire in us, because I think they all are speaking to this feeling many of us have, this feeling deep down that Christmas is special and during this season all wonderful things are possible.
We long for Christmas tide to be full of nothing but joy and warmth, moments we can capture on film that we can look back upon when times are challenging and remember the glow of Christmas.
Sometimes we do get Christmases full of glow and love and nothing else. Sometimes we don’t. And even when we have the perfect Christmas, a gentle fresh snow on the ground, all our loved ones together without any of that pesky squabbling, the perfect Christmas ham or turkey or veggie platter that everyone salivates over… Even when we do have this perfect Christmas, you and I know that the feelings of warmth and love don’t last as long as the fruit cake and good tidings don’t ring in our ears all year long.
What happens? The world happens. Too much family togetherness brings up old grudges; those who have trouble feeling close to others are reminded of their isolation during the season that emphasizes kinship; violence erupts even as we worship the Prince of Peace.
The Christmases we experience which turn toward the harshness of the world follows in the unfortunate tradition set by the very first Christmas. Even the first Christmas, accompanied by proclamations from angels, did not usher in an eon of warmth and happiness. The shepherds came and went, as did the wise men, and this child whose birth was lauded by the heavenly chorus finds his life threatened.
Jesus is still a babe who is learning to sit up, eat solid foods, talk, and already the establishment is terrified of him. Herod—determined no king other than him should reign—sends out the troops under his command to eliminate any threat.
Eliminate any threat. As though a child who can’t yet speak is a threat to anything other than a good night’s sleep.
An angel of the Lord sends a message to Joseph to escape. The Holy Family bundles up and get out of Israel and headed toward Egypt. Jesus escaped but there were so many children who did not.
Just like the child Moses who escaped the wrath of Pharaoh when so many other Hebrew children did not, Jesus slips into the night with his mother and father and finds himself in Egypt, the land from which the adult Moses led his people. Just as we celebrate Moses’ journey down the river Nile in a basket, we celebrate Jesus’ escape from Herod’s wrath. How can we, though? How can we celebrate Jesus’ good fortune when so many others suffered?
This is the question we deal with every day. How do we praise God when the little children in this world are suffering? How do we rejoice that some are saved when others are lost?
We celebrate the birth of one child even as we look around and see children facing death – death from hunger, violence, need beyond anything we can comprehend. We see children of God of all ages fighting against the darkness of loneliness, self-doubt, loss of direction, anger, and so much more. Just like in the village of Bethlehem, the Herods of our world are seeking out the innocents for destruction.
This is the hard reality of Christmas, one many of us face in different ways. We want to first find the joy and warmth the season is supposed to bring and then remain in this sacredly serene feeling for the rest of the year. But it never happens that way. We want to praise God for all the good God has done and not be challenged with our praise of the Lord with the truth of evil in this world. But it never happens that way.
Instead of eternal bliss, rather than uncomplicated praise of a god who guarantees only good things to his or her followers, we have this messy and mysterious God who, when we follow, promises something else entirely.
Our Christmas story has been filled with visions and visits from angels. After the Christ-child has been born, the angels hung around, watched after him and his family. We could celebrate this part of the story – the presence of angels – but that isn’t what our text is about, that isn’t what Christmas is about, isn’t what our God is about.
God’s promises are more complicated than visions from angels or perfect happiness – and yet in some ways so much more simple. Isaiah reminds the people of his time and the ages to follow what it is to follow this God, what it is to trust in God’s promises, what and how it is we celebrate Christmas.
“he became their savior in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”
It was no messenger or angel but God’s presence that saved them.
This—this is what Christmas is about, this is what we celebrate in the midst of the dark of our world.
The story of the massacre of the infants, of the innocents, isn’t just a story of a miraculous escape for Jesus and his family. Jesus escaped death here, yes, but we know what awaits him 30 or so years down the road. This story proclaims to us from the beginning what we will come to know so well throughout his life – Jesus is with us. He is subject to the pain and injustice of this world, he is victim of hatred and prejudice, and through him God is with us in all our suffering, in all things.
It is because of the God we know in the person of Jesus Christ that we can dare to say that even though the infant Jesus was not in Bethlehem when Herod’s soldiers came God was.
Jesus is God with us, Jesus is our salvation, our saving story. Through the person of Christ, God loves us, pities us, redeems us, and lifts us up into to the divine presence.
Through the person of Jesus Christ we know that though the world is not full of bliss, though the glow of Christmas fades and our troubles may seem here to stay, though something as horrific as the murder of these children is proof of the darkness, through Jesus we know our saving story.
Being a follower of Christ isn’t about escaping the clutches of evil… I wish it was. Following Christ can be about that- Jesus wants us to be free from evil, murder, but it’s more complicated.
The promise we have as a Christ follower comes in God’s presence among us – a presence we have known in the person of Jesus Christ and the life-giving and moving Spirit.
Even when our family squabbles, even when we can’t find any more Christmas cheer to light our days and nights, even when the worst we could imagine – beyond what we could imagine – happens, we can take comfort, find our cheer, find our hope in the knowledge that God is with us.
God’s presence gives us hope—hope that things can improve, may improve, will improve, slowly, too slowly to be sure. Hope in something greater than us, hope that what we know and see here and now is not all there is, is not God’s full kingdom, not yet. Hope that once we have departed from this place there is togetherness with God, our salvation, our hope, a togetherness that banishes all tears, all death, all pain.
The Christmas story is full of amazing signs and visions, the glory of God shone through the heavenly chorus singing “Glory to God in the highest!” and the story of Christ’s first days ends in brutality for so many of God’s innocents.
But above all the angels and beyond all the brutality lies the good news - “It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”
Rejoice in cheer, rejoice in sorrow, rejoice that wherever you are, God is with you. Amen.
heard on Sunday morning
- coffee, coffee, I need coffee... (me)
- you talk too fast for me to understand you (a 7 year old visitor who I was greeting)
- that started to be quite the downer of a sermon, but I'm glad you got to the good stuff (a member at the 8:30 service)
- you sound kinda British (another member)
- Glory to God in the highest and ah, crap (my 10:30 liturgist practicing).
- you talk too fast for me to understand you (a 7 year old visitor who I was greeting)
- that started to be quite the downer of a sermon, but I'm glad you got to the good stuff (a member at the 8:30 service)
- you sound kinda British (another member)
- Glory to God in the highest and ah, crap (my 10:30 liturgist practicing).
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Sermon Prep
I'm sitting at home staring at my father who's reading one of my favorite books - Good Omens - wishing I could do the same. Instead, I'm trying to figure out what exactly God wants to say through me this Sunday. My brow is currently on the "scrunchy" setting.
Thought I'd take a quick break and answer a question I know has been just burning on so many minds.
I often am asked "hey, Amy, how'd you come up with that" in reference to my sermons.
Well, let's see. I study the scripture, occasionally break out the Hebrew and/or Greek, enjoy the conversations held during our Monday morning Bible study class, take it with me wherever I go (not literally, though sometimes I do carry around a printed version of the text), and of course this:
Coffee is an essential component of my sermon writing process. I think the Holy Spirit is infused in the coffee beans or something. Really.
On that note, I think I need to go see if I've got any coffee left!
Peace.
Thought I'd take a quick break and answer a question I know has been just burning on so many minds.
I often am asked "hey, Amy, how'd you come up with that" in reference to my sermons.
Well, let's see. I study the scripture, occasionally break out the Hebrew and/or Greek, enjoy the conversations held during our Monday morning Bible study class, take it with me wherever I go (not literally, though sometimes I do carry around a printed version of the text), and of course this:
Coffee is an essential component of my sermon writing process. I think the Holy Spirit is infused in the coffee beans or something. Really.
On that note, I think I need to go see if I've got any coffee left!
Peace.
Monday, December 24, 2007
And the Angel Said: "I Bring You Tidings of Great Joy..."
Texts: Isaiah 7:10-16
Luke 2:8-14
Christmas time is here – bringing with it joy for many and sorrow for some, business for shops and carols in the street. For me, Christmas time brings in my family – the whole large, loud lot of them. Parents, grandparents, and this Christmas 4 out of my 5 siblings.
My family, as you may know, is not your traditional family. I have two biological siblings and 3 sisters who are adopted – though not in the legal sense. It can get confusing, I know. My blonde sprite of an adopted sister Dawn doesn’t raise too many eyebrows but I’ve gotten quite used to the puzzled looks that come when I introduce Neli and Nyembe – who happen to be from Zambia – as my sisters. Sometimes people understand right away what I mean; sometimes it takes a bit of explaining that even though we don’t share genes, these amazing women are my sisters.
I mention my family in part to warn you that the Summers-Minette clan has indeed descended upon poor Staunton town, but also because of what being a part of this family has taught me about our scriptures. It is in great thanks to my family that I understand what it means for a child to be born into one particular family but to be born for more than just that family.
In many communities, including the one where my sisters Neli and Nyembe grew up, your family wasn’t just your mom, dad, and siblings. Everyone, unfortunately for you as Neli says, is your parent. People you aren’t related to by blood look out for you, correct you, care for you.
The community Jesus was born into was more like my sisters’ community of origin than ours. When a child was born, he or she wasn’t just born for the particular parents, but for the whole community. The whole community would have a hand in raising this child, guiding this child, loving this child.
Jesus’ Palestinian-Jewish community also had a long tradition of understanding that children may be born with a purpose – they may themselves be a sign. The prophet Hosea had children whose birth and names told of the people’s unfaithfulness to God and the punishment that would come. Even before Samuel – he who is from God - was born, he had been dedicated to God and had been marked as the one who would preside as prophet under Eli.
And then there is the child Immanuel. During the Advent season we remember the child Isaiah spoke of, one who would be born as a reminder to the king of the time that God is with us. King Ahaz was faced with two powerful nations who had united to bring him and Judah down and was looking to align his and his nation’s fate with the current world power – Assyria. The child Immanuel – God-with-us – was born to remind the king that it is God and God alone who Judah needed to rely on for protection—for salvation.
It is no wonder the Gospel writers looked to this child hundreds of years later when Jesus was born. If this child Immanuel was a reminder that God is with us then Jesus is the ultimate reminder, the ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy. For in Jesus, God is with us in a most profound and unprecedented way.
In Jesus too a child has been born for more than just his mother and father – much, much more. Jesus is not just a sign or a reminder, not just one dedicated to God. In Jesus the idea that a child may be born for a people, for a purpose, is realized most fully.
“I am bringing you tidings of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
When the angel speaks to the shepherds of a Savior being born for them – that a child has been born for them – these men in the field understand that this child can indeed – even though he is newborn – that he can already been known as Savior, as something greater for them. If Jeremiah can be called prophet while still in the womb, if Samson can be dedicated as a Nazirite before his birth, then surely at his birth, this child whose name the shepherds do not yet even know can be called Savior.
The world in which the angel brings tidings of great joy is a world where some, like the shepherds, can indeed look upon a child and see the Messiah. They may not yet understand what confessing Jesus as Messiah means, but this child born of Mary is indeed their Savior.
It is because of this child whose birth the angel announces that we are all bound together, regardless of our family, our age, even our location. We too, I hope, can understand how a child born into one family can be born for all of us. It is because of this one who was found wrapped in swaddling clothing that we call the person next to us brother or sister and know that we are theirs. Because of this child, we recognize each person as a child of God.
In the sacrament of baptism we welcome each child of God – whatever their age – as part of our family. We welcome each child of God and promise “to share in worship and ministry through our prayers and gifts, our study and service, and so fulfill our common calling to be disciples of Jesus Christ.” In baptism we proclaim through our ritual and our words that we are connected and that together we will strive to be faithful disciples of Christ.
Writer and poet James Agee said that “in every child who is born, the potentiality of the human race is born again.” We can say that in every child welcomed into the family of the church, the potentiality of the body of Christ is welcomed again. In every child we welcome, in every one of us, the potential for being the true and faithful church is here.
In every child we welcome and in every one of us, we may find both the comfort and the challenge that Christ, who is the head of our body, brought to his disciples.
Being a follower of Jesus is not just about rejoicing in the birth of the Savior. We don’t know what became of the child Immanuel that Isaiah spoke of, but we certainly know what happened to Jesus. Even in the birth story, the writer of Luke does not let us forget what will become of this child. The child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger foreshadows the man wrapped in linen cloth and laid in a rock-hewn tomb.
The babe whom the shepherds welcomed, who was raised by his mother and earthly father as well as his community in Nazareth, was rejected by those who once welcomed him. Jesus did not just care for the sick or the poor; Jesus challenged those who would be unjust and unrighteous. Jesus was welcomed as long as he was a sweet child, but when he became the revolutionary – a peaceful one mind – he was rejected with “isn’t this Joseph’s kid?” and run out of town.
Each child of God we welcome through the sacrament of baptism brings with him or her the full potential of being a faithful disciple. When we welcome this child, when we welcome one another, we don’t just welcome with hugs and prayers – we welcome what this child might say, what he or she might do, what he or she might move us toward. God works in and through each of us and as a child of God, each of us has the potential to continue God’s revolutionary work.
Being the church, the true church, is not a simple task and requires us to be open in ways that are quite painful. Your neighbor next to you may be the sister or brother who brings you a meal when you are ill, he or she may be the one who sits with you at Together on Wednesday, may be the person who teaches your Sunday school class or offers insights in class. This sister may also be the one who makes you uncomfortable because she suggest that we should first give to the church and then to ourselves. This brother in Christ may make you squirm when he asks why he hasn’t seen you in church lately. This child of God may make you question your values and priorities and you may be the child of God who – in love – helps to question others’.
Together as children of God we are called to grow as Christians. Together we are called love one another and confront one another. Together we are called to hear the words of comfort we long for and the words of challenge we need.
I bring you tidings of great joy for all people – to you has been born a Savior and to you has been born brothers and sisters who will help you follow that Savior. This Christmas I pray that we welcome both our Savior and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.
Luke 2:8-14
Christmas time is here – bringing with it joy for many and sorrow for some, business for shops and carols in the street. For me, Christmas time brings in my family – the whole large, loud lot of them. Parents, grandparents, and this Christmas 4 out of my 5 siblings.
My family, as you may know, is not your traditional family. I have two biological siblings and 3 sisters who are adopted – though not in the legal sense. It can get confusing, I know. My blonde sprite of an adopted sister Dawn doesn’t raise too many eyebrows but I’ve gotten quite used to the puzzled looks that come when I introduce Neli and Nyembe – who happen to be from Zambia – as my sisters. Sometimes people understand right away what I mean; sometimes it takes a bit of explaining that even though we don’t share genes, these amazing women are my sisters.
I mention my family in part to warn you that the Summers-Minette clan has indeed descended upon poor Staunton town, but also because of what being a part of this family has taught me about our scriptures. It is in great thanks to my family that I understand what it means for a child to be born into one particular family but to be born for more than just that family.
In many communities, including the one where my sisters Neli and Nyembe grew up, your family wasn’t just your mom, dad, and siblings. Everyone, unfortunately for you as Neli says, is your parent. People you aren’t related to by blood look out for you, correct you, care for you.
The community Jesus was born into was more like my sisters’ community of origin than ours. When a child was born, he or she wasn’t just born for the particular parents, but for the whole community. The whole community would have a hand in raising this child, guiding this child, loving this child.
Jesus’ Palestinian-Jewish community also had a long tradition of understanding that children may be born with a purpose – they may themselves be a sign. The prophet Hosea had children whose birth and names told of the people’s unfaithfulness to God and the punishment that would come. Even before Samuel – he who is from God - was born, he had been dedicated to God and had been marked as the one who would preside as prophet under Eli.
And then there is the child Immanuel. During the Advent season we remember the child Isaiah spoke of, one who would be born as a reminder to the king of the time that God is with us. King Ahaz was faced with two powerful nations who had united to bring him and Judah down and was looking to align his and his nation’s fate with the current world power – Assyria. The child Immanuel – God-with-us – was born to remind the king that it is God and God alone who Judah needed to rely on for protection—for salvation.
It is no wonder the Gospel writers looked to this child hundreds of years later when Jesus was born. If this child Immanuel was a reminder that God is with us then Jesus is the ultimate reminder, the ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy. For in Jesus, God is with us in a most profound and unprecedented way.
In Jesus too a child has been born for more than just his mother and father – much, much more. Jesus is not just a sign or a reminder, not just one dedicated to God. In Jesus the idea that a child may be born for a people, for a purpose, is realized most fully.
“I am bringing you tidings of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
When the angel speaks to the shepherds of a Savior being born for them – that a child has been born for them – these men in the field understand that this child can indeed – even though he is newborn – that he can already been known as Savior, as something greater for them. If Jeremiah can be called prophet while still in the womb, if Samson can be dedicated as a Nazirite before his birth, then surely at his birth, this child whose name the shepherds do not yet even know can be called Savior.
The world in which the angel brings tidings of great joy is a world where some, like the shepherds, can indeed look upon a child and see the Messiah. They may not yet understand what confessing Jesus as Messiah means, but this child born of Mary is indeed their Savior.
It is because of this child whose birth the angel announces that we are all bound together, regardless of our family, our age, even our location. We too, I hope, can understand how a child born into one family can be born for all of us. It is because of this one who was found wrapped in swaddling clothing that we call the person next to us brother or sister and know that we are theirs. Because of this child, we recognize each person as a child of God.
In the sacrament of baptism we welcome each child of God – whatever their age – as part of our family. We welcome each child of God and promise “to share in worship and ministry through our prayers and gifts, our study and service, and so fulfill our common calling to be disciples of Jesus Christ.” In baptism we proclaim through our ritual and our words that we are connected and that together we will strive to be faithful disciples of Christ.
Writer and poet James Agee said that “in every child who is born, the potentiality of the human race is born again.” We can say that in every child welcomed into the family of the church, the potentiality of the body of Christ is welcomed again. In every child we welcome, in every one of us, the potential for being the true and faithful church is here.
In every child we welcome and in every one of us, we may find both the comfort and the challenge that Christ, who is the head of our body, brought to his disciples.
Being a follower of Jesus is not just about rejoicing in the birth of the Savior. We don’t know what became of the child Immanuel that Isaiah spoke of, but we certainly know what happened to Jesus. Even in the birth story, the writer of Luke does not let us forget what will become of this child. The child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger foreshadows the man wrapped in linen cloth and laid in a rock-hewn tomb.
The babe whom the shepherds welcomed, who was raised by his mother and earthly father as well as his community in Nazareth, was rejected by those who once welcomed him. Jesus did not just care for the sick or the poor; Jesus challenged those who would be unjust and unrighteous. Jesus was welcomed as long as he was a sweet child, but when he became the revolutionary – a peaceful one mind – he was rejected with “isn’t this Joseph’s kid?” and run out of town.
Each child of God we welcome through the sacrament of baptism brings with him or her the full potential of being a faithful disciple. When we welcome this child, when we welcome one another, we don’t just welcome with hugs and prayers – we welcome what this child might say, what he or she might do, what he or she might move us toward. God works in and through each of us and as a child of God, each of us has the potential to continue God’s revolutionary work.
Being the church, the true church, is not a simple task and requires us to be open in ways that are quite painful. Your neighbor next to you may be the sister or brother who brings you a meal when you are ill, he or she may be the one who sits with you at Together on Wednesday, may be the person who teaches your Sunday school class or offers insights in class. This sister may also be the one who makes you uncomfortable because she suggest that we should first give to the church and then to ourselves. This brother in Christ may make you squirm when he asks why he hasn’t seen you in church lately. This child of God may make you question your values and priorities and you may be the child of God who – in love – helps to question others’.
Together as children of God we are called to grow as Christians. Together we are called love one another and confront one another. Together we are called to hear the words of comfort we long for and the words of challenge we need.
I bring you tidings of great joy for all people – to you has been born a Savior and to you has been born brothers and sisters who will help you follow that Savior. This Christmas I pray that we welcome both our Savior and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Ringing the Bell!
Two Saturdays ago I participated in Covenant’s bell ringing for the Salvation Army. Between singing carols with other Covenant members (badly on my part), trying to ring some sort of melody with the bells, and greeting people as they walked by, I really got into the Advent spirit. One story in particular I’d like to share.
My fellow bell ringer had stepped aside to help two women with their questions, leaving me to my enthusiastic ringing and (because it’s me) dancing to the carols I was trying to ring out. Several cars slowed down as they drove by me, all drivers smiling and waving.
Several minutes later, after my partner had come back to ringing and we were trying to remember all the words to 12 Days of Christmas, a woman burst out of the mall doors. She came over to me and said “this is all your fault.” My brain raced; who was she? What was my fault? With a smile she put several dollars in the kettle and handed me an item. It was a heart keychain with the words “the pure of heart will see God” engraved on it. Surprised that this woman would be giving me something, I didn’t hear the rest of her words. According to my fellow bell ringer, she said “I haven’t stopped by one of these things in years but on seeing your joy, I just had to.” She left me with another smile as I wondered at her kindness.
I share this not to confirm that being joyous puts people in a giving spirit (though I certainly think it does) but to share this moment in front of the mall when Christ appeared, with almost twenty days until Christmas remaining. In my joy, this woman saw the face of Christ in me. In her generous spirit, in her sharing of herself, and in her affirmation of what I had to give (that joy she recognized), I saw the face of Christ in her.
Christ came as a baby over two thousand years ago and Christ will come again. And – as this woman reminded me – Christ comes in the here and now, in moments like I experienced while ringing bells, in moments of generosity and joy, in so many different ways and places, Christ comes. Rejoice, believers, rejoice!
My fellow bell ringer had stepped aside to help two women with their questions, leaving me to my enthusiastic ringing and (because it’s me) dancing to the carols I was trying to ring out. Several cars slowed down as they drove by me, all drivers smiling and waving.
Several minutes later, after my partner had come back to ringing and we were trying to remember all the words to 12 Days of Christmas, a woman burst out of the mall doors. She came over to me and said “this is all your fault.” My brain raced; who was she? What was my fault? With a smile she put several dollars in the kettle and handed me an item. It was a heart keychain with the words “the pure of heart will see God” engraved on it. Surprised that this woman would be giving me something, I didn’t hear the rest of her words. According to my fellow bell ringer, she said “I haven’t stopped by one of these things in years but on seeing your joy, I just had to.” She left me with another smile as I wondered at her kindness.
I share this not to confirm that being joyous puts people in a giving spirit (though I certainly think it does) but to share this moment in front of the mall when Christ appeared, with almost twenty days until Christmas remaining. In my joy, this woman saw the face of Christ in me. In her generous spirit, in her sharing of herself, and in her affirmation of what I had to give (that joy she recognized), I saw the face of Christ in her.
Christ came as a baby over two thousand years ago and Christ will come again. And – as this woman reminded me – Christ comes in the here and now, in moments like I experienced while ringing bells, in moments of generosity and joy, in so many different ways and places, Christ comes. Rejoice, believers, rejoice!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
okay, not quite
Well December 1 is approaching and if you look to the little image on the right on this page, you'll see I'm no where near the 50,000 word mark for my novel. And yet, I'm not at all discouraged!
I had so much fun and plan on continuing the fun - my new goal is to finish before Christmas. I'm also going to keep up the NaNoWriMo model of not editing, though I certainly am making notes about ideas I have for that process.
I had so much fun and plan on continuing the fun - my new goal is to finish before Christmas. I'm also going to keep up the NaNoWriMo model of not editing, though I certainly am making notes about ideas I have for that process.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
a little down time
I've been on vacation this week - what a nice treat! - and spent most of it reading or with friends or writing. Yep, writing. Not sermons, not lesson plans, but good ole fashion fiction. I've always been a writer and this month several friends of mine have signed up for National Novel Writing Month - NaNoWriMo - where we are challenged to write a 50,000 word novel in a the month of Novemeber. They've gotten me to sign up to.
At first, I was fairly intimidated. 50,000 is a lot to write in 30 days and other than this vacation, I don't have a whole lot of free time on my hands. Plus while I enjoy writing, I always hit a spot where I run out of ideas or energy or something.
The great thing about this project, however, is that you aren't trying to write something brilliant. You're just trying to get to 50,000 words. So that means I don't have to spend time weighing different options in direction or going back and meticulously editing what I've written. I write and then I write somemore, no matter how good or bad I think my prose is. And I'm seeing results. Not only in my word count, but in my desire. I want to write. Today I didn't because I didn't have time (truly) and I could tell I missed it. I'd even go so far as to say that while driving home from visiting a friend, I craved writing and was frustrated I couldn't get out my pen and paper. And just think, a week or so ago it wouldn't have even crossed my mind.
Will I have a brilliant novel by the end of the month? Probably not. But I hope to have a novel of at least 50,000 words. And I know I'll have the memories and effects of this process.
At first, I was fairly intimidated. 50,000 is a lot to write in 30 days and other than this vacation, I don't have a whole lot of free time on my hands. Plus while I enjoy writing, I always hit a spot where I run out of ideas or energy or something.
The great thing about this project, however, is that you aren't trying to write something brilliant. You're just trying to get to 50,000 words. So that means I don't have to spend time weighing different options in direction or going back and meticulously editing what I've written. I write and then I write somemore, no matter how good or bad I think my prose is. And I'm seeing results. Not only in my word count, but in my desire. I want to write. Today I didn't because I didn't have time (truly) and I could tell I missed it. I'd even go so far as to say that while driving home from visiting a friend, I craved writing and was frustrated I couldn't get out my pen and paper. And just think, a week or so ago it wouldn't have even crossed my mind.
Will I have a brilliant novel by the end of the month? Probably not. But I hope to have a novel of at least 50,000 words. And I know I'll have the memories and effects of this process.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
A Success!
This weekend 9 senior high youth joined together to fight hunger. We played games, prayed for people, did a can drive scavenger hunt for the food pantry, reflected a lot, and didn't eat a darn thing for 30 hours. We talked about the people we were trying to help - sat in a circle of light until candle after candle was blown out, representing all those who day each day from hunger.
I don't know if I can convey with words how proud I am of these amazing young people or how honored am I to work with them.
Below are a few of their reflections on the experience.
I don't know if I can convey with words how proud I am of these amazing young people or how honored am I to work with them.
Below are a few of their reflections on the experience.
Reflections from the Famine
I’ve never been seriously hungry for a long length of time and I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like without it. Participating in this famine has helped me see how rough some children have it. Thinking about the United States and the abundance of food we have compared to those which have very little makes me think that there is a lot we can do for them. This is why I am supporting the 30 Hour Famine; it’s just a small step to helping those who go hungry everyday.
- Courtney K
Other than the famine, I have never been hungry for a long span of time. For those who are starving, I am very sorry for. I feel as though they’re not getting a true chance to live. This weekend makes me feel like the abundance in food we have in the United States is almost a waste; especially when now the U.S. is considered obese. While those in other countries are starving, we are overeating. I think there is hope for those in extreme poverty, however. Watching 200 candles being blown out was heartbreak. I felt as if I was watching the breath of hunger take away the lives of 200 children. I didn’t want to blow out anymore candles after the thought came to my mind. However, some candles were almost “fighting” for their chance of survival; others gave out without any sign of resurrection.
- Christian D
All my life I have never been hungry for this long, not even when I was sick. But now that I am saving a child's life for almost a year, I can feel good about being hungry. I realize that the way that I feel now probably cannot even come close to the hunger those children and families must live. Amy told all of us that about 10 million children die from hunger or poverty. To hear that is just awful, and is something no one would ever want to hear. The 30 Hour Famine has been a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again next year.
- Michael S
It's pretty upsetting to think that so many children die of hunger. While Americans take in and consume almost enough for a person for an entire week, those living in poverty take in a considerable amount of suffering. I myself have never gone without food for a long peiod of time and I can't even imagine what the other kids go through. The U.S. has an opportunity to help these people just by making a donation or contributing to any food pantry. The question is whether or not we will step up and do so. I know that I have taken in so much from this experience. Next time before you eat just think about all the poverty in the world.
- Daniel O
- Courtney K
Other than the famine, I have never been hungry for a long span of time. For those who are starving, I am very sorry for. I feel as though they’re not getting a true chance to live. This weekend makes me feel like the abundance in food we have in the United States is almost a waste; especially when now the U.S. is considered obese. While those in other countries are starving, we are overeating. I think there is hope for those in extreme poverty, however. Watching 200 candles being blown out was heartbreak. I felt as if I was watching the breath of hunger take away the lives of 200 children. I didn’t want to blow out anymore candles after the thought came to my mind. However, some candles were almost “fighting” for their chance of survival; others gave out without any sign of resurrection.
- Christian D
All my life I have never been hungry for this long, not even when I was sick. But now that I am saving a child's life for almost a year, I can feel good about being hungry. I realize that the way that I feel now probably cannot even come close to the hunger those children and families must live. Amy told all of us that about 10 million children die from hunger or poverty. To hear that is just awful, and is something no one would ever want to hear. The 30 Hour Famine has been a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again next year.
- Michael S
It's pretty upsetting to think that so many children die of hunger. While Americans take in and consume almost enough for a person for an entire week, those living in poverty take in a considerable amount of suffering. I myself have never gone without food for a long peiod of time and I can't even imagine what the other kids go through. The U.S. has an opportunity to help these people just by making a donation or contributing to any food pantry. The question is whether or not we will step up and do so. I know that I have taken in so much from this experience. Next time before you eat just think about all the poverty in the world.
- Daniel O
Friday, October 19, 2007
It Begins!
All the food is locked up, all the activities are ready to go, and in just 30 minutes, 8 of our youth will be joining me here at church as we continue to fast. So far we've been fasting for a little over 5 hours and of course, it's not so hard. But I suspect that as dinner time comes and goes we'll start to notice our lack of food a little bit more.
I've been running around this afternoon getting together the last few items we need (mainly food for tomorrow's break-fast). As I was surrounded by food I couldn't eat I thought about just how easily available food is. I could have picked up an apple or a candy bar or a roll from so many places around town. And that's the thing with hunger - food actually is readily available. It's just that folks suffering from issues of poverty can't access what is abundant. By tomorrow evening, in just a little over 24 hours, I'll be back to being able to pick up that apple when ever I want. 30 hours. Not a week or a month or a really bad year. Not a lifetime.
Counting my blessings and thinking how I can share those blessings as I wait for our youth to arrive.
I've been running around this afternoon getting together the last few items we need (mainly food for tomorrow's break-fast). As I was surrounded by food I couldn't eat I thought about just how easily available food is. I could have picked up an apple or a candy bar or a roll from so many places around town. And that's the thing with hunger - food actually is readily available. It's just that folks suffering from issues of poverty can't access what is abundant. By tomorrow evening, in just a little over 24 hours, I'll be back to being able to pick up that apple when ever I want. 30 hours. Not a week or a month or a really bad year. Not a lifetime.
Counting my blessings and thinking how I can share those blessings as I wait for our youth to arrive.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Hunger Around the World and at Home
This weekend our youth are doing amazing things to fight hunger. Our Senior High is going to starve hunger by participating in the 30 Hour Famine Friday and Saturday. Our Middle School is going to stamp out hunger by participating in the Crop Walk on Sunday. As our youth prepare to work towards alleviating issues of poverty and hunger, I invite you to join them in prayer and increasing awareness on these issues.
Here are some facts about hunger from Bread for the World:
Globally
More than 852 million people in the world are malnourished - 799 million of them are from the developing world. More than 153 million of them are under the age of 5.
In the last 50 years, 400 million people worldwide have died from hunger and poor sanitation. That's three times the number of people killed in all wars fought in the entire 20th century.
Of the 6.39 billion people in today's world, 1.2 billion live on less than $1 per day.
Nationally
36.3 million people - including 13 million children - live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents approximately one in ten households in the United States.
Our youth are doing something to help stop this easily preventable problem – hunger. Along with donating to these two wonderful causes and offering prayers for our youth, as we continue our stewardship season, I’d like to invite the Covenant family to think about if and how we are called to join the battle to fight hunger.
Here are some facts about hunger from Bread for the World:
Globally
More than 852 million people in the world are malnourished - 799 million of them are from the developing world. More than 153 million of them are under the age of 5.
In the last 50 years, 400 million people worldwide have died from hunger and poor sanitation. That's three times the number of people killed in all wars fought in the entire 20th century.
Of the 6.39 billion people in today's world, 1.2 billion live on less than $1 per day.
Nationally
36.3 million people - including 13 million children - live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents approximately one in ten households in the United States.
Our youth are doing something to help stop this easily preventable problem – hunger. Along with donating to these two wonderful causes and offering prayers for our youth, as we continue our stewardship season, I’d like to invite the Covenant family to think about if and how we are called to join the battle to fight hunger.
Monday, September 24, 2007
dreams do come true!
Friday night saw the fulfillment of a dream of mine. I—along with thousands of others, including members of Covenant—had the opportunity to see and hear Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. He was at JMU to receive the Mahatma Gandhi Global Nonviolence Award.
I was expecting powerful words (and they were there). I was expecting kindness and humility (and they were there). But a delightful sense of humor and good comic timing? Who knew Desmond Tutu was just darn funny?!? What a blessed surprise.
Another blessing was his message, one he has been all around this world proclaiming. “Goodness is stronger than evil, love stronger than hate.” Someone from Covenant said to me “the most profound messages are always the simplest.” How true. We know that goodness is stronger than evil—it’s what we say every time we confess Jesus Christ Lord and Savior, the one who died and was resurrected. But sometimes we need to be reminded of that, need to be renewed in our faith and hope.
Perhaps the statement that will be running around in my head for the longest is one His Grace said to all of us, but to young people in particular. To young people, to those who aren’t afraid to dare and do, to those who enact change, he said “Dream your dreams; they are God’s dreams.” What a wonderful message for all of us—young and not-so-young alike. We can get caught up in the reasons why something will never be—why there will never be peace in the Middle East, why poverty will never be eradicated, why diseases will continue to ravage the world. We can forget that indeed goodness is stronger than evil, that with God all things are possible. This isn’t just some fairy tale – this is God’s dream, God’s promise.
As the Archbishop reminded us, many people swore South Africa would go up in flames after apartheid ended—there was just too much hate, too much resentment, too much gone by for anything but violence. But it didn’t. Desmond Tutu and people like him dreamed a dream of reconciliation—they dreamed God’s dream—and saw that dream come to life.
I had one dream of mine fulfilled this Friday when I saw Desmond Tutu speak. I’m going to see if I can’t dream a little bit bigger and help that dream come true too. And maybe we can dream a little (or not so little) dream together.
I was expecting powerful words (and they were there). I was expecting kindness and humility (and they were there). But a delightful sense of humor and good comic timing? Who knew Desmond Tutu was just darn funny?!? What a blessed surprise.
Another blessing was his message, one he has been all around this world proclaiming. “Goodness is stronger than evil, love stronger than hate.” Someone from Covenant said to me “the most profound messages are always the simplest.” How true. We know that goodness is stronger than evil—it’s what we say every time we confess Jesus Christ Lord and Savior, the one who died and was resurrected. But sometimes we need to be reminded of that, need to be renewed in our faith and hope.
Perhaps the statement that will be running around in my head for the longest is one His Grace said to all of us, but to young people in particular. To young people, to those who aren’t afraid to dare and do, to those who enact change, he said “Dream your dreams; they are God’s dreams.” What a wonderful message for all of us—young and not-so-young alike. We can get caught up in the reasons why something will never be—why there will never be peace in the Middle East, why poverty will never be eradicated, why diseases will continue to ravage the world. We can forget that indeed goodness is stronger than evil, that with God all things are possible. This isn’t just some fairy tale – this is God’s dream, God’s promise.
As the Archbishop reminded us, many people swore South Africa would go up in flames after apartheid ended—there was just too much hate, too much resentment, too much gone by for anything but violence. But it didn’t. Desmond Tutu and people like him dreamed a dream of reconciliation—they dreamed God’s dream—and saw that dream come to life.
I had one dream of mine fulfilled this Friday when I saw Desmond Tutu speak. I’m going to see if I can’t dream a little bit bigger and help that dream come true too. And maybe we can dream a little (or not so little) dream together.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Sunday Night Live!!!
I'm getting kinda jittery again.
No, it's not the coffee (though I'm certain my drink of choice doesn't help).
I'm just really excited about this Sunday. During the Sunday School hour we're rolling out our new options for Christian education - always fun - and then in the evening the middle schoolers and senior high are getting together for dinner, fun, and good God-talk, something we're oh-so-creatively calling "Sunday Night Live."
I'm really excited about this evening activity for a couple reasons. First, well, let's be honest - the food. Who doesn't love a good meal they don't have to make for themselves. And my momma didn't raise no fool - I have asked folks who I know can make a mean meal. So there's food. But there's also our youth. It's no secret that I love our youth (I mean, really, I can never play poker and I know it). And now we're all going to gather together for games but also for good discussion. If you haven't had a chance to spend time with our youth you may not know what I know - they're pretty stellar thinkers and questioners. Seriously. You senior high and middlers, you really provide this getting-older-by-the-minute preacher good convo that fills her spirit. Thanks!
We've got quite a few wonderful adults who are going to be spending time with us on these Sundays. If you'd like to be one of them -- and really, everyone should -- let me know. I'd be glad to invite you to the party!
No, it's not the coffee (though I'm certain my drink of choice doesn't help).
I'm just really excited about this Sunday. During the Sunday School hour we're rolling out our new options for Christian education - always fun - and then in the evening the middle schoolers and senior high are getting together for dinner, fun, and good God-talk, something we're oh-so-creatively calling "Sunday Night Live."
I'm really excited about this evening activity for a couple reasons. First, well, let's be honest - the food. Who doesn't love a good meal they don't have to make for themselves. And my momma didn't raise no fool - I have asked folks who I know can make a mean meal. So there's food. But there's also our youth. It's no secret that I love our youth (I mean, really, I can never play poker and I know it). And now we're all going to gather together for games but also for good discussion. If you haven't had a chance to spend time with our youth you may not know what I know - they're pretty stellar thinkers and questioners. Seriously. You senior high and middlers, you really provide this getting-older-by-the-minute preacher good convo that fills her spirit. Thanks!
We've got quite a few wonderful adults who are going to be spending time with us on these Sundays. If you'd like to be one of them -- and really, everyone should -- let me know. I'd be glad to invite you to the party!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
here we go again
As I drove into work this morning (from my new house!) I noticed in the midst of the fog all these cars parked at Robert E. Lee. Ah, yes. School's back in session. Which of course means that our own fall is about to start.
We've been preparing for this fall for, well, months and months. Our Sunday School hour is going to look a little different, as is our Together on Wednesday education offerings. Our youth have all new leaders and even more fun stuff planned for them this year. The kids have an exciting and creativity filled year ahead of them. It's going to be good.
It's also going to be different. Not hugely different, but still. I hope we can all make the adjustments without too many aches and pains. Of course, every year brings a few adjustments. Think about those kids starting school today. If they've been to Lee before, it's the same building, the same classmates, but different teachers and different classes, different seniors and different freshman. Same idea - school - but different enough that I know I got first day jitters each year of high school.
Maybe that's what I'm feeling now (or maybe it's just the massive amount of coffee I've had this morning). It's exciting, a new year, with new classes, new teachers, and even new friends. But anything exciting often causes a little bit of nervousness. So with a combination of excitement and a few jittery nerves, I'm looking forward to our own start of the fall. At least I know I won't have any homework.
We've been preparing for this fall for, well, months and months. Our Sunday School hour is going to look a little different, as is our Together on Wednesday education offerings. Our youth have all new leaders and even more fun stuff planned for them this year. The kids have an exciting and creativity filled year ahead of them. It's going to be good.
It's also going to be different. Not hugely different, but still. I hope we can all make the adjustments without too many aches and pains. Of course, every year brings a few adjustments. Think about those kids starting school today. If they've been to Lee before, it's the same building, the same classmates, but different teachers and different classes, different seniors and different freshman. Same idea - school - but different enough that I know I got first day jitters each year of high school.
Maybe that's what I'm feeling now (or maybe it's just the massive amount of coffee I've had this morning). It's exciting, a new year, with new classes, new teachers, and even new friends. But anything exciting often causes a little bit of nervousness. So with a combination of excitement and a few jittery nerves, I'm looking forward to our own start of the fall. At least I know I won't have any homework.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)