BLOGGING TOWARD SUNDAY…

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services
regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the preacher decided to visit
him.

It was a chilly evening. The preacher found the man at home alone, sitting
before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his preacher’s visit, the man
welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

The preacher made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he
contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some
minutes, the preacher took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly
burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone, then he sat
back in his chair, still silent.

The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember’s
flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its
fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The preacher glanced
at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked
up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire.
Immediately it began to glow,once more with the light and warmth of the
burning coals around it.

As the preacher reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running
down his cheek, ‘Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the
fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday .

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From an old Erma Bombeck column:

In church the other Sunday, I was intent on a small child who was truning around smiling at everyone.  He wasn’t gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking, tearing the hymnals, or rummaging through his mother’s handbag.  He was just smiling.  Finally, his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that could be heard in a little theater off Broadway said, “Stop that grinning!  You’re in church!”  With that, she gave him a belt and as the tears rolled down his cheeks added, “That’s better,” and returned to her prayers.

Suddenly, I was angry.  It occurred to me that the entire world is in tears, and if you’re not, then you’d better get with it.  I wanted to grab this child with the tear-stained face close to me and tell him about my God.  The happy God.  The smiling God.  The God who had to have a sense of humor to have created the likes of us….  By tradition, one wears faith with the solemnity of a mourner, the gravity of a mask of tragedy, and the dedication of a Rotary badge.

What a fool, I thought.  Here was a woman sitting next to the only light left in our civilization — the only hope, our only miracle — our only promise of infinity.  If he couldn’t smile in church, where was there left to go?

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Lewis Smedes is a professor of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary.  In his book titled Shame and Grace, he writes:

Guilt was not my problem as I felt it.  What I felt most was a glob of unworthiness that I could not tie down to any concrete sins I was guilty of.  What I needed more than pardon was a sense that God accepted me, owned me, held me, affirmed me, and would never let go of me even if he was not too much impressed with what he had on his hands.  (apologies for the all-masculine language!) 

What Smedes felt was exactly my own experience, and what I most needed is what I got…the assurance that God loves me, even me, unconditionally, and God’s love in no way depends upon my behavior, and is in no way linked to my worthiness of it.  Having been brought up to believe that I had to “behave” myself into God’s affection, it took me a long, long time to accept my acceptance.  Since I have, however, everything has changed.  All has become new.  Everything is better.  I hope each of you can find the same. 

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In his book, Guilt and Grace,  Swiss physician Paul Tournier writes:

I cannot study this very serious problem of guilt with you without raising the very obvious and tragic fact that religion — my own as well as that of all believers — can crush instead of liberate.

I grew up with a version of Christianity which crushed.  It was all about the things I was NOT to do:  no smoking, no drinking, no unwholesome reading, no dancing, no fun on a Sunday.  And don’t be caught doing something questionable anytime, because Jesus could return at any moment — the idea being that if that were to happen, He wouldn’t be taking me with him!  God, according to those who taught me, was the “great eye in the sky,” always watching to see when I messed up, and quick to send punishment, swift and sure as a lightning bolt,  for any and all indiscretions. 

Thank God, I moved from the religion that crushes to the religion that liberates.  As I teach year-long Disciple classes, majoring on dispelling the childhood images of God so many adults still retain,  my most often-heard comment at the end of the study is something like this: “I feel so free, as if a burden has been lifted from my shoulders.”  What the student has finally realized is…grace.  God’s free, unconditional, undeserved, amazing grace.

What disturbs me so is the number of folks who cling to a faith that crushes, holding on to it as if it were a life preserver in the stormy seas of human existence, and never realizing it’s made of lead.�

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In the book The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis, a devil briefs his demon nephew, Wormwood, in a series of letters, on the subtleties and techniques of tempting people. In his writings, the devil says that the objective is not to make people wicked but to make them indifferent. This higher devil cautions Wormwood that he must keep the patient comfortable at all costs. If he should start thinking about anything of importance, encourage him to think about his luncheon plans and not to worry so much because it could cause indigestion. And then the devil gives this instruction to his nephew: “I, the devil, will always see to it that there are bad people. Your job, my dear Wormwood, is to provide me with people who do not care.”

Nothing bothers me more as a pastor than people who do not care.  Every day I meet people who do not care about their spiritual lives, who give no thought for others, who couldn’t care less about whether the Sunday School and the church continue to exist.  It seems to me that Wormwood is doing an excellent job.

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\”Playing By the Rules\”

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I could hardly believe my ears when the offer was made yesterday!  An unknown benefactor wants to give Union Grove United Methodist Church $100,000!  The call came to our treasurer, Rose Speece, about 3 pm Tuesday afternoon.  The benefactor pointed out to Rose that the church currently owes $229,000 on our building fund, and said that he was representing a family who would like to help us retire the debt.  His offer is as follows:

The family will donate $100,000 to our building fund if we can raise $129,000 by December 31.  Their gift,  if we are able to raise the balance, will get us completely out of debt!

During a hastily called meeting last night of church financial leaders, the consensus was that this will be difficult to do on such short notice, but not impossible.  The truth is that it will take ALL of us, giving sacrificially, to do it.  The possible benefits to the church of going into the new year debt-free are endless.

I know,  given the current state of the economy, that this is asking a lot.  I also know that we cannot afford not to give this our best efforts.  Judy and I are willing to lead the way, not giving “until it hurts,” but “until it feels good.”   We thank God for the generosity of this donor family, and for the challenge they have laid before us.  Please join me in praying for the success of our efforts.  Blessings….

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My friend, the Rev. Dr. John Killinger, Baptist preacher extraordinaire, composed the following prayer, seeking God’s blessings on our new President and our nation.  It is my pleasure to share it with you:

Lord, you

kairos moment, this point in

time when everything is fulfilled and there is a confluence

of your will and the will of the people in the election of your servant

Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States of America. It is a

great moment for America and for the entire world, and we all say YES to the

possibility of a new way for everyone, a way of peace and diplomacy, of love and

respect, of decency and hard work and achievement and fulfillment. Help us to make

great strides toward respect and employment and health care and education for all,

even the least among us. Make our nation a servant-leader to the world, so that everyone,

from the North and South poles to the equator itself, can say YES with us because

they know we are sincere in trying to help them achieve the optimal living we covet for

ourselves. Let young and old alike praise your name for this new era, and join our

hearts and minds in the pursuit of the greater welfare of all. Teach the laborer and the

financier, the clerk and the physician, the engineer and the cocktail waitress, the bus

driver and the business owner, the psychiatrist and the teacher, the plumber and the

computer repairman, the student and the artist, the scientist and the housewife, to say

YES together, in the full realization that our joy as human beings is a product of our

common labor and joint pursuit, and that none of us can be happy and fulfilled alone,

for each is related to all the others in a symbiotic union, at both personal and national

levels. We pray that your servant Barack may become the symbol of a wholly new age

in the world, when all people say no to self and YES to the common good, when

doctors once more make sacrifices for their patients and teachers impart true wisdom to

their students and politicians refuse to accept bribes or short cuts and businesses seek

the best interest of their clients and there is generosity and cooperation and a new spirit

of selflessness throughout the globe. Let peace become the norm and forgiveness

our daily experience as we seek to understand one another and to build upon the

best traditions of the past in our search for a remarkable future. Uphold your

servant Barack as he leads us in saying YES to the manifold opportunities

before us to strengthen not merely a nation but a world as you

have imagined it can be. To that end, enable us to bury our

differences and affirm our unity; lead us in paths of

ʼs sake; and help

us to say YES and AMEN, now and in

all the time to come!

–– John Killinger, author of

The Changing Shape of Our Salvation

and the soon-to-be-published

(St. Martinʼs

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A prayer for the U.S. presidential election

Break down walls of political partisanship
by The Rev. Kenneth Carter Jr.

Creator of us all:
you are the source of every blessing,
the judge of every nation
and the hope of earth and heaven.

We pray to you on the eve of this important and historic election.

We call to mind the best that is within us:
That we live under God,
that we are indivisible,
that liberty and justice extend to all.

We acknowledge the sin that runs through our history as a nation:
The displacement of native peoples, racial injustice,
economic inequity, regional separation.

And we profess a deep and abiding gratitude
for the goodness of ordinary people who have made sacrifices,
who have sought opportunities,
who have journeyed to this land as immigrants
and strengthened its promise in successive generations,
who have found freedom on these shores,
and defended this freedom at tremendous cost.

Be with us in the days that are near.

Remind us that your ways are not our ways,
that your power and might transcend
the plans of every nation,
that you are not mocked.

Let those who follow your Son Jesus Christ be a peaceable people in the midst of division.

Send your Spirit of peace, justice and freedom upon us,
break down the walls of political partisanship,
and make us one.

Give us wisdom to walk in your ways,
courage to speak in your name,
and humility to trust in your providence.

Amen.

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