What We Believe

September 4, 2017

When I was in fourth grade, our class put on what essentially was a morality play. I was cast as a hayseed farmer who came on stage yelling at a couple kids who were doing something wrong. According to the script, their reply was to laugh and say, “Here comes that old windbag!” As a nine-year old, I wasn’t able to make the distinction between script and real life. Those words cut to the quick, and I believed that this is what my friends really thought of me. I failed to check my perception against reality. My belief in turn, produced feelings of worthlessness, inferiority, and friendlessness.

Our feelings are not accurate reflections of reality. They are the result of our interpretation of, and our beliefs about our past, present, and future. If as children, our parents or teachers or friends told us we were stupid, no good, or worthless and we believed it, we felt worthless and dumb. And unless our beliefs change, even as adults we will continue to feel those same feelings. If you haven’t achieved as an adult all you imagined you would when you were younger, you may believe you’re a failure. If you believe it, you’ll feel it. What we believe determines our feelings and actions. 

The Bible tells us that everything of value is rooted in faith. What we believe makes all the difference, which is why it is so important that what we believe is true. People believe all sorts of lies and falsehoods which end up distorting and twisting their lives into sad caricatures of all God intended for them. Jesus said, “I am…the Truth” (John 14:6). When we start with what Jesus tells us about ourselves, it’s hard to go wrong. After all, he knows us best. What I believed back in fourth grade was rooted in a false perception, and resulted in years of self-doubt. It wasn’t until I began to believe what Jesus tells me about myself that I began to shed the baggage I had carried for so long. I discovered a new reality in Jesus Christ that made all the difference. For that new reality and the faith to receive it, I am thankful tonight.

The Giving Side

September 3, 2017

Although sometimes it takes awhile before you know if you succeeded, it usually doesn’t take much of an effort to make a difference. And while you’re waiting to find out, you can always find satisfaction in knowing you tried. The fact is, when people are hurting or scared, their souls are like starving people, desperately grasping at the smallest crumbs of encouragement. People often refrain from reaching out to those in need because they don’t know what to say or do. I tell people all the time to just reach out. The fewer words, the better off both the giver and receiver of comfort will be. The giver doesn’t have to worry about saying stupid things, and the receiver doesn’t have to endure people talking about themselves as they recall events in their own lives that they think are relevant. Just being there, offering prayer, and often sitting in silence, is the best comfort we can give. Job’s friends did pretty well when they sat in silence with him for a week. It’s when they opened their mouths that things got ugly.

Today, I had the opportunity to encourage our organist as she starts a new teaching job this week. Later, Linda and I stopped by the funeral home to pay our respects to the mother of a young woman in our congregation. This evening, I had the opportunity to talk with, and listen to, another woman going through a very difficult time. In not one of those encounters was I able to solve any problem or make any difference in the realities these women are facing. I could be completely deceiving myself, but from those difficult times when people have stepped into my life, their often silent presence made all the difference. 

It’s like the story of the little girl who was scared of the dark. One night, her fears were particularly acute, and she repeatedly called out to her father for assurance. Good Christian man that he was, he assured her that all was well because Jesus was with her. She responded that she preferred “someone with skin on.” Most of us do, and when we get to be the Jesus with skin on for someone, it is a holy moment. I am grateful for those moments I had today. How well I did is open for discussion, but I had the privilege of being on the giving side of the equation, which is a precious gift in itself, for which I give thanks tonight.

Fairy Wings and Fedoras

September 2, 2017

They hung briefly on the wall, their gossamer beauty a stark contrast to the staid backdrop, childish imagination amidst the reminders of old age. Filmy fairy wings next to felt fedoras were clear testimony to the wonders of childhood wiggling their way into the unimaginative world of grownups. The grandkids were spending the night, and little Gemma had to model her fairy costume that she intends to wear for Halloween, still two months away. This girl knows how to plan ahead! Back when we had the family together in Lancaster, PA, to see Sight and Sound’s production of Jonah, she had seen them when she and her mother were shopping. There was no discouraging her; she had to have those fairy wings, and had to wear them when we went out to dinner that night. 

This evening, I was digging through my old laptop, looking unsuccessfully for some sermon notes from long ago. I did happen to find a file of old photos of the grandkids. They weren’t really that old; five to seven years ago, but when you’re a kid, a lot changes in just a few years. Some of the pictures would be positively embarrassing to them now, but are memories we nonetheless cherish. Childlike innocence is such a fleeting thing; in the blink of an eye, they are grown up, off to work or college, making their own way in life. 

When old people like us see little babies and toddlers, we often declare how we wish they would stay that way forever, but we know that would be tragic. When children fail to develop, to mature; when they stay children forever, that oft-repeated wish has a bitter taste. So we enjoy it while it lasts, letting those magical moments enthrall us with joy, even as we watch them grow out of that innocence into a more mature reality, all the while hoping and praying that they not lose the wonder of life itself. 

Trash Gone

September 1, 2017

They came around this morning just like every other Friday in the year. House to house they go, hoisting heavy containers to their shoulders and upending them before dropping them back to the ground. Thursday nights, we go through the house emptying baskets and gathering bags to set out by the curb waiting for their morning suitors to pick them up. 

I’ve been to countries where trash is dumped alongside the roads, left lying all over the ground. I know that happens here, too. Anyone who has lived through a sanitation workers’ strike in a major city knows how quickly our garbage can pile up, raising a real stink. Yes, garbage can pile up, but it doesn’t have to. We have a dedicated team of workers who faithfully pick up what we leave behind, hauling it to the landfill where it is buried in sealed cells, out of sight, out of mind. We don’t often think of them, even less often do we thank them, but tonight I am thankful that when I walked to the roadside this evening, it was an empty cart I brought back to the garage, its contents collected and deposited, leaving behind a cleaner, more beautiful house and yard. I am thankful tonight for the men and women who work hard at an often thankless job, making life better for the rest of us.

Facing Trials

August 31, 2017

In the face of overwhelming disaster such as is being played out by hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana, it seems almost callous to speak of the small blessings of life for which I give thanks today, except that many who have experienced the worst of the storm are themselves giving thanks that though property has been washed away, their lives have been preserved and their hopes and dreams for the future are undiminished. It is not for those untouched by disaster to instruct those in the throes of it how they should react; the best we can do is to demonstrate love in caring for and assisting those whose lives have been tragically uprooted.

It nonetheless remains important to consider how we handle the troubles that come our way, for even in the absence of such massive destruction, every human being sooner or later is faced with hardship, loss, and the temptation to simply give up. Some refuse even to face difficulty, instead retreating from it in denial. Others engage in finger-pointing, blaming other people or even God for their misfortune. Some bury their souls in substance abuse. But others face the issues head on, running like first responders towards the problem while others are running away. 

Such behavior is rarely instinctual, but is always necessary if we are to overcome rather than be overcome. The world has enough nay-sayers, critics, and blamers. I am thankful for those who when faced with difficulty, instead offer prayers, a word of encouragement, and a helping hand.

Thinking About Disaster

August 30, 2017

It’s a sad commentary on modern American life when it takes a tragedy the magnitude of hurricane Harvey to unite us even for a few moments. For the first time in months, we are hearing of something other than the continual sniping going on in Washington. Unfortunately, the blaming will probably soon pick up once again after the initial shock of the storm has subsided. 

In many circles, religious ones included, people ask, “Why?” What did the people in Houston and environs do to deserve such devastation? Sad to say, there will be no shortage of right-wing religious pundits telling us that it is God’s judgment on America for her many sins. I hope my prediction is a total miscalculation, but it won’t miss the mark completely. 

No less than Jesus Christ himself weighed in on these kinds of tragedies when his disciples asked him about certain Galilean Jews who had been slaughtered while in the very act of worship. The story is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 13:

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

Jesus categorically denies that human suffering, whether caused by deliberate human depravity or merely by the too-ordinary misfortunes of life, is necessarily the judgment of God. Bad things happen to all people, as do good things. God makes his sun to rise on the evil as well as the righteous, the Scriptures declare. It’s how Jesus ends his little lesson however, that makes people nervous. It sounds like a condemnation, when in reality, it is a necessary warning. His call for repentance is his way of telling us that in light of the uncertainties of life of which he has just spoken, it is well for us to be ready now for the death that can come at any moment. In other words, live today as one ready to die. 

Those of us fortunate enough to live in middle-class America expect to live a full and long life. When life is cut short, we not only take it as a tragedy, but almost as a personal insult. “This shouldn’t happen to people like me,” we think. But often enough, it does. And if it doesn’t happen to us, it comes to people no less deserving of long life than we. Human history is full of sorrow and suffering, undeserved pain. We can try to explain it or explain it away, but it persists. Jesus was a realist. So he told us simply to be ready. I am grateful that he did. It doesn’t change the tragedy, but it changes how I deal with it when it hits me. And it cautions me to be careful how I think, talk, and act about tragedy that hits others.

Growing Faith

August 29, 2017

For years, when people would ask about how to grow in faith, I would quote Romans 10:17, “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”  

“Read your Bible,” I would say. It’s true. If our faith is weak, it’s often because we see our situation more clearly than we see our Savior. Getting our eyes focused on Jesus will grow our faith. But that’s only part of the picture. Liberal seminaries have no shortage of Bible scholars who don’t have a flea’s worth of faith. They know the Bible, but its authority for matters of life and godliness is watered down by an interpretive framework that makes it merely one of many resources. In their view, the Biblical text as it has come down to us cannot be trusted to give accurate information about its own central characters such as Abraham, Moses, David, and even Jesus Christ. Bible study is one way to build faith, but strangely enough, faith is required for it to build faith.

This morning’s Scripture highlights one other means of growing our faith. It also comes from St. Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians. Romans 4:20 “[Abraham] grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.” Did you catch that? Abraham grew strong in his faith by glorifying God. Our faith grows as we study the Scriptures as did the early Christians, looking for Jesus in every passage. In everything we do and everything we say, we also lift up God so people can see him for who he really is. By focusing on God, our faith grows strong. It’s not rocket science. It’s basic Christian discipleship. And though it isn’t easy, it is simple, so even people like me can get it. That makes me happy tonight. And thankful.