Day 7 of Lent, Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Although on the way down, "Demons" by Imagine Dragons is a recent Top 40 pop hit whose lyrics discuss some interesting themes for the Lenten Season.

The lyrics represent a dark soul who feels trapped by the demons inside and represent a rather bleak look at relationships and life in general.

The main chorus states:

    No matter what we breed
    We are still made of greed
    This is my kingdom come
    This is my kingdom come

This of course is a reference to the singer's being in opposition to the Lord's Prayer where we pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  It is an honest recognition that our own greed often outweighs any better nature that we would try to emulate.

The song reveals more when it states:

    Don't get too close
    It's dark inside
    It's where my demons hide
    It's where my demons hide

and then later:

    Don't want to let you down
    But I am hell bound
    Though this is all for you
    Don't wanna hide the truth

A little melodramatic but an attempt to be open in all his faults.  In a sense, saying, "This is who I am.  You can't possibly want to be with someone with this many issues."  This continues as the singer states:

    They say it's what you make
    I say it's up to fate
    It's woven in my soul
    I need to let you go

Soloist of the Bolshoi Paul Hohlov as Demon

This is the theme of free will versus determinism again (see yesterday's post). It is a resignation that while this person is bad, he is at least able to see it and part ways so as not to infect the other with this darkness.

This reminds me of when Jesus encounters the Gerasene Demoniac in Mark 5:1-20.  The Demoniac
separates himself from friends and family to live among the dead.  They even tried to restrain him but he broke free of them to live in self-imposed isolation.  This is what the song appears to be leading us toward but we have a final possibility of hope when he sings:

   Your eyes they shine so bright
    I wanna save that light
    I can't escape this now
    Unless you show me how

As Christians, we remember that we are created in God's image.  Even as sin touches our lives, we understand that in Christ we reclaim that original grace.  We may find that after our encounter with Christ, we find ourselves in our right mind just like the Demoniac did. We see that our inner demons may be surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ.  Not an easy thing to do but something that we should at least attempt during Lent.

I'm not a super top 40 guy, but I liked this song for our own Christian Top 40 (days of Lent).

Lyrics (C) 2013 KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records
Picture via Wikimedia commons

Day Six of Lent, Tuesday, March 11, 2014

This skydiver becoming entangled with a plane taking off has been around the news lately. Due to Tim Telford's camera, we are able to see some of the shots of the accident as it occurred.

As I heard about the collision, I gave a silent prayer thanking God that there were no fatalities and only minor injuries.

Then I started wondering who was at fault.  Was it air traffic control at the airport?

Was it the skydiver, drifting off course from his landing site?

Was it the pilot who may have taxied to the wrong runway for takeoff?

Or was it God's fault?

Okay, the last question is a little ridiculous.  Why would someone blame God for human error or even what could have simply been a colossal mistake?

Yet, this is not out of the question for those who believe that God is in control of the universe down to the minutest details.  Those who claim Calvin as their theological grounding are more likely to be deterministic in their outlook on life.  Things, even like this plane crash, happen for a reason.

As a Wesleyan, I am in a different camp of thought.  We believe that humanity has free will.  If I decide to fly into a sky diver whether by mistake or by willful maliciousness, I'm not doing so as part of the larger divine plan but maybe in the latter case as counter to God's plan.

The Tower of Siloam
by James Tissot ca. 1886

Jesus tells about people that were killed by Pontius Pilate and states that they weren't any worse offenders than the rest of us.  In other words, God wasn't using Pilate's violence to exact justice on those deserving it.  Jesus also indicates the same thing for those killed in an accident when the Tower of Siloam fell on 18 people.

He uses this for an example that life can be cut short so we should repent of our sins while we can.  But he doesn't use it to show that all events are part of a divine plan for retribution or even justice.  It seems that God is more subtle than that.

Now the great thing about God (as a believer in free will) is that God can use even our sins and silly mistakes to bring about something good.

Maybe the sky diver becomes a more thoughtful person due to his brush with death.  Maybe the pilot is more attentive to the schedule and avoids a more horrific crash in the future.

As we engage in the Lenten season, this is often a season of repentance.  Rather than simply repent of your sins and move on as if all is well, think about some thing that you regret doing and pray about how God might use even this in order to bring about something good.  What would that be?

The creativity of God knows no bounds.

Of this I'm free to believe!

Day Five of Lent, Monday, March 10, 2014

Well, if you haven't heard by now, I'm going to be receiving an appointment other than Piedmont for the first time since we said goodbye to the 20th century.

Things that weren't around when we arrived in Piedmont were Facebook (and social media in general), Energy Drinks, and smart phones with touch screens just to name a few.

In fact, broadband internet was not widely available.  We were all still on dial-up service. There are a lot of younger people that don't identify with this noise:


Sheryl and I have experienced a lot of changes to our lives.  Our two children would have to be the biggest difference of note since we've arrived.  They have both been shaped by the church into which they were baptized.  There's not a way that I can say "thank you" that would really entail all that we have received from this congregation.

As we think about how God is involved in this change, I believe that God was involved in the system that brought me to Piedmont and God is involved in this next phase too. God is surely at work in the process that will send a new minister to lead in Piedmont.

There is a difficulty in being a pastor that we may not often acknowledge.  To engage in people's lives spiritually is an intimacy that no one should take lightly.  Pastors are present, next to hospital beds and in marriage counseling.  Pastors visit with families newly in the throes of grief.  Pastors celebrate new births and baptisms.  Pastors share Holy Communion - the elements of Christ - with real people who need this presence.  It is an honor to do these things.  But it can also be scary and it can sometimes take its toll.

Congregations somehow know this and thus, there is a bond between pastors and laity. When it is time to move on, the bond is stretched but somehow not broken entirely. That's because we remain in Christ together even if separated by distance.

I don't want to leave Piedmont.  It is my home and yet I feel God's call to do so.  I am comforted knowing that God remains with you and that your faith in knowing this is strong.

As we grieve this change together, I'm reminded by Elijah's call of Elisha.  Elijah knows that speaking for God is difficult and he exclaims, "What have I done to you?"

And yet, Elijah doesn't hesitate to call him.

Please pray for our church during Lent.  Pray for the Bishop and the District Superintendents who are making the decision to send someone here.  Pray for the pastor who will come in June.  Pray for the people and the community who will receive a new voice.  And finally pray for me and my family so that we would continue to share the love of Christ effectively with a hurting world.

I don't doubt that you will do so and that makes me smile.

This photo will be 10 years old in September.  The ball connected with the target!

First Sunday of Lent, March 9, 2014

If you watch cable new regularly, you've undoubtedly seen video of the minivan driving into the ocean.  Thirty-two year old Ebony Wilkerson of South Carolina was pregnant and had her three other children in the vehicle as she attempted to end their lives last week.

Everyone was rescued and the children are safe in custody.

Immediate reaction to this kind of story is offense at the mother.  What kind of mother tries to drown her children?

This natural reaction is healthy in that all people should have the value of protecting children.  Most Christians also believe that parents should put their own lives on the line before allowing harm to come to their children.

As authorities didn't find her abusing any substances, we may assume that this woman has mental illness.

As we dig deeper, we see that she was involved in an abusive relationship.

Domestic abuse can push people to do desperate acts that we view as despicable. Family violence is often so horrid because most of the time it happens behind closed doors where the cameras are not rolling.

On average, women are at a physical disadvantage to men.  As we consider abuse and suffering during Lent, we remember that there are many in the world that are already at the cross.

What we do and say makes a difference.  I believe that God stands with those who are on the outside looking in as Jesus declared that we should watch out for the least of these.

A great Biblical example of a woman standing up for her rights is in the story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38.  It is a frank story about sexuality, inheritance and social standing and how the three were interrelated in that day and probably still are to some degree today.  This story reminds us that gender injustice has been around for a long time and that abuse takes many forms.

During Lent, let us pray for those suffering from domestic violence and remind ourselves to inform children and youth when we see examples of violence among spouses that "We are to be respecters of ourselves and others."  It may save a child's life.


 

Day 4 of Lent, Saturday, March 8, 2014

It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late,
    and work your worried fingers to the bone.
Don’t you know he enjoys
    giving rest to those he loves?
                            Psalm 127:2 (The Message)

Okay, today is the day we are supposed to set our clocks ahead one hour when we go to bed tonight.  In the fall, I think Daylight Savings Time sounds like a good thing.  Who doesn't enjoy the extra hour of sleep?

In the spring, it is a nightmare.

It seems as if most people in the United States don't get enough sleep anyway.  I'm wondering why we are messing with our already distressed sleep patterns.

I guess it comes down to will power.  Most people don't go to bed early and just suffer for it.  I say this as one pleading "guilty".

This is what I'll feel like Sunday afternoon.

So as I write this for Lent, how in the world do I find God in the midst of a lost hour of sleep?

I guess we could consider this a fast from sleep but that doesn't sound very healthy.

We could also say that this is a test of faithfulness for those attending worship the next morning but that puts God in the role of detached scientist who is tinkering and observing reactions.

I suppose for myself, I have to remember that God sustains me when I am tired and lifts me up when I am weary.  This is a good reminder for today and especially for Sunday morning when the alarm rings all too early.


So Sleepy by Fiona Apple featuring Jon Brion and the Punch Brothers


Photo By xlibber (Sleepy Time Uploaded by russavia) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Day Three of Lent, Friday, March 7, 2014

At the end of February, Oklahoma City dealt with tragedy as two families lost four year old boys in accidental deaths.

Bralyn Shively was happy to have his uncle visiting from Iowa.  While whittling on a hammock, Bralyn was leaning over him.  When the hammock broke, the boy fell on top of him as he was still holding the knife.  He later died in the hospital from the knife wound.

Cherub sitting on the headstone of a
child's grave at Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington D.C.

A few days later, Quaid Dolan was run over by his father as he was being dropped off for school.  His dad was pulling away from the drop-off line.

Both situations were terrible accidents in that not only would a family grieve the loss of a son but they would also grieve the loss of all the future years with those children.  This is then compounded with the self-recrimination of the father and the uncle.

How many times would you replay the incident in your mind?

When Israel experienced civil war between King David and his son Absalom, you knew it would not end well no matter who won.  After Absalom's death at the hands of David's soldiers, we see that even though his son became his enemy, David was not pleased by this outcome.  He mourned and cried out in a loud voice, "O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

How does God comfort us when we experience such deep loss - not only at the death of a child but when we feel that we are to blame?

What if you were married to the person who caused the accidental death of your child? What if it were your brother or brother-in-law?  What would this do to your family?

We can imagine the resentment building up like a cancer - quite natural for us as human beings.  We can see the handwriting on the wall for these relationships.  Is any healing possible here?

It would be a miracle.

As we see with the vantage of an outsider, it is easy to diagnose the need for forgiveness. When we are living on the inside of the pain, we may know it is needed but we often have more difficulty even seeking after it.  Bitterness is the easier emotion to grasp in the immediate.

If you are dealing with a painful situation emotionally, try to step outside yourself in prayer for a moment.  Ask God to help you see it objectively from an outsider's viewpoint.

You may be ready for a miracle in your life.

Photo By Tim Evanson [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Day Two of Lent, Thursday, March 6, 2014

As a child, I grew up with the USA's cold war with the Soviet Union in full swing.  We were in an arms race but the weapons of choice were nuclear.

Movies such as WarGames were popular when I was a teen and Generation X gave up the Baby Boomer practice of having duck and cover drills as we watched The Day After on ABC.

On December 26, 1991, we saw the dissolution of the Soviet Union.  We've lived since that time with more threat from terrorism than from "global thermonuclear war".  Movies changed from threats of long range missiles to suit-case nukes.

Now the latest headlines are getting scary with Russia's military intervention in the Ukraine.  Leading up to this in February, 88 people were killed as protests were violently suppressed.  President Yanukovych of the Ukraine fled the country and an interim Prime Minister was appointed until elections can be held in May.  Russian military forces have taken control of Crimea in the Ukraine claiming that deposed President Yanukovych invited them to come to their aid.

How far will Russia go?  What will be the response of the world?

Barack Obama and Vladmir Putin shake hands
at the G8 Summit in Ireland, June 17, 2013.
Photo by Pete Souza, Creative commons

The whole thing seems beyond my control which is very similar to how I felt as a teenager in the 1980's.  However, as Christians, we believe that prayer makes a difference.  It allows me to pray for a spirit of peace to come over all the leaders involved so that they may come to a just and peaceful resolution.

To some this sounds naive or maybe like a cop-out.

But I believe that as we set our minds on God, we move toward the good.

As Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:6-7: "Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (NRSV)

And so let us pray for the people of Ukraine and especially those who lost loved ones in the protests.

Let us pray for their government as they make crucial decisions.

Let us pray for President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry.

Let us pray for President Putin of Russia.

Let us pray for all of the soldiers involved in this region as nerves will be on edge.

I remember this song coming out when I was in high school almost thirty years ago (I have the album on vinyl in a closet).  It's lately had an antiquated feel to it and I hope that we return to that feeling soon.