The Day After

Yesterday was Transfiguration Sunday. We read about Jesus and three disciples (Peter, James, and John) climbing a mountain to pray. While they were there, Jesus , Moses, and Elijah all appeared in glory. Peter was hoping to stay on the mountain, but instead, they left the mountain and returned to the crowds.

As our pastor was reading the passage from Luke (Luke 9:28-36), I began to wonder what the day after the Transfiguration would have been like for Peter. He had had what we would certainly call a Mountain Top experience, and he had wanted to stay there. Instead, he was back to the crowds, the people wanting help, and the demands of every day life. Was he strengthened in faith by what he had seen? I hope so.

Think about your own mountaintop experiences. What is the next day like? How can we keep the glory of the mountain with us in every day life? How can we know that God is near in the every day? Maybe there are clues in the passage:

1. They went to the mountain to pray. Prayer is one way to remember we are always close to God.
2. They heard a voice from the cloud say, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" We can hold that statement close in our hearts. We can read what Jesus said, and listen for the proddings of the Holy Spirit.
3. The passage said that the disciples kept silent about what had happened. I wonder if they talked about it with each other. It is good to share our faith - to remember with those who have had experiences of God's presence.
4. They got to work, didn't they. Jesus didn't send them off the mountain. He led them off the mountain. They got to work with Jesus.

It's hard to live the life off the mountain, but that's where life is, isn't it?

 

Perspectives: Adventure

 What will be your adventure this coming week?

Reputation

I taught Sunday school a few weeks ago.  The lesson  material started with these two facts, describing what the early Christians were known for:

• Tertullian, a North African church father, wrote a letter to the Roman authorities called Apologeticus in 197 AD.  In it he defended the Christian faith.  In the letter, he said that it was mainly the deeds of love that branded the Christians.  He insisted they were even willing to die for one another.
• Rodney Stark, a sociologist of religion and a professor, wrote that the early Christians gained a reputation for taking care of neighbors and even loving their enemies.  When The Plagues struck, many Christians risked their lives to care for the sick. 

And then the lesson asks, "Is our reputation the same as the early Christians or are we more known for what we are against than for what we are for?

Truthfully, this is the feeling I get sometimes when I scroll through my Facebook page.

Here are some recent headlines about Christians (from the New York Times):

• In a First, Fordham will be Lead by a Woman, Not a Catholic Priest
• Should we Continue Online Religious Services?
• The Dissenters Trying to Save Evangelicalism from Itself
• In Congo, Floating Pastors Follow Mobile Flocks along Busy River
• Piecing Together God's Body, From Head to Toe
• "Now there is no one": The Lament of One of the Last Christians in a Syrian City
• Mothers, Absent and Present
• Christian Nationalism is One of Trump's most Powerful Weapons
• Colorado Wildfire Inquiry Focuses on Christian Sect
• Is the West Becoming Pagan Again?

What is our reputation as Christians today?

2021 Reading Stats

 This isn't something I've done before, but I thought it would be interesting.  I love statistics, so I played with the information about the books I read in 2021.  I read a total of 56 books in 2021, and here is how the stats worked out.

Question 1: What was the format of the book?  Hard copy? Kindle? Audiobook?  Audiobook is clearly the winner, at 54%.

Question 2: Had I read the book before?  Interestingly (to me, anyway), it was a 50/50 split between first time reads and repeats.

Question 3: What was the genre of the books I read.  The winner at 41% were books about faith - I'm certain this is because I read lots of books for the CLM class I taught.

Question 4:  When were the books published?  This was surprising to me because I thought I would have had books of the list published prior to 1990, but I didn't.  The winner was 2010-2021 at 59%.

Perspectives: Balanced

What are you having to balance in your life today?  

Are you sure-footed like this bird, or are you uncertain.  

I send prayers for your balancing act today.

Moonfall

Moon image from 2020 Beach Vacation

Steve and I went to see the movie Moonfall a week or two ago.  It is the story of the moon falling out of orbit; it almost crashes into the earth - our heroes save the day.

There are things in life we take for granted - the orbiting of the moon, the rising and setting of the sun.  Our own breath each morning as we step out of bed, the presence of our family when we come home from work.  Our jobs, our groceries (both of those if we are lucky).

What happens when what we take for granted is no longer there? When our normal routine is upset? When we have to shelter in place during a pandemic or look for work when the pandemic costs us our job? What about when the loved one dies, and it feels like the moon is falling out of orbit?

Our lives are punctuated by moonfalls.  We are blessed to be able to draw close to God during those time (and all the time), but the moonfall is still earthshattering.

Be careful what you take for granted.  Enjoy the blessings of your day and don't let them be obscured by worry for tomorrow.  Savor.

If I love

This is a poem I wrote and posted on February 14, 2007.  I'm bring it out again, on its 15th birthday, as a repeat post.

Mark 12:28-31; Corinthians 13

Love God
With all of your heart
With all of your soul
With all of your mind
With all of your strength.
Love God.

Love your neighbor.
As you love yourself.

I hear it,
But what does it mean?

It means that there is nothing more important.
It means that even though God gives us many gifts,
The one which matters the most,
Is love.

If my words are spoken,
Without thought of anyone else,
Then I am just a noise.
Useless to God.
Even if I am smart enough
To predict what the future will bring,
Even if I am clever enough
To understand the most difficult thoughts,
Even if my faith is so strong
That the biggest obstacle I face is nothing at all,
If I do it all without love,
Then God cannot touch others through me.

Even if I am so unselfish
That my belonging are like chalkdust to me.
Even if I give all that I am
To whatever purpose God has for me,
But I do it without love,
Then I have no purpose to God.

I must receive and give the greatest gift of all.
I must Love.

Love works at its own speed.
If I love,
Then I do not wish for what I cannot or should not have.
I do not trumpet my own worth,
I do not value what I do over who other people are.
I show the value of other people by my actions toward them.

When I love,
My own wishes or desires sink in importance
Compared to the needs of others.
When I love, I am easy to be around,
And I do not wish it to be otherwise.

When I love,
I do not celebrate sin, but instead I glory in the truth.
Love will put up with a lot,
Love will trust beyond reason,
Love will hope when all seems lost,
And love never gives up.

Love never ends.

Everything else in the world is temporary.
All other gifts will eventually fade away,
But not love.

Love is so hard to understand,
But God knows that.
He understands that what we can accept
Is so much less
Than what he is willing to give.
The time will come, though,
When all will be made clear.
And love will be for us
Like the air we breathe,
And it will make us complete.

When I was younger,
My habits were those of a child.
My speech, my thoughts, my actions
Were immature.
As I grew older, I grasped something better.
And I gave up my childish ways,
For those of an adult.
We are like that.
What we see now, what we can understand now
Is so much less than what God wants us to be.

My relationship with God,
My ability to love God,
My hope of being able to love my neighbor,
Is fractured.
God has promised
That I will know fully what love means
And that there will come a time
When I am able to know him
Just as fully as he knows me,
When I am able to love him
With just as much completeness
As he loves me.

He has given us
Faith
Hope
Love.
But his greatest gift,
Beyond comparison
Beyond price
Is love

Perspectives: Mail Boxes

 Who is waiting to hear from you today?

Our faith and our witness

Thoughts from a Sunday school lesson I taught last Sunday:

What were the early Christians known for?  Tertullian, a North African church father, wrote a letter to the Roman authorities called Apologeticus in 197 AD.  In it he defended the Christian faith.  In the letter, he said that it was mainly the deeds of love that branded the Christians.  He insisted they were even willing to die for one another.   Rodney Stark, a sociologist of religion and a professor, wrote that the early Christians gained a reputation for taking care of neighbors and even loving their enemies.  When The Plagues struck, many Christians risked their lives to care for the sick. (Information from the Adult Bible Studies lesson for February 6).

I asked our class, "What kind of reputation do Christians have today in America?"  Almost the whole class made disappointing noises.  The answers they provided centered around the words judgmental and hypocritical.  I asked the question from the curriculum, "Is our reputation the same as the early Christians or are we more known for what we are against than for what we are for?"  The answer was a resounding, "yes."

We talked about Deuteronomy 6:4-9 which is part of the Shema prayed by Jews.  They teach their children this prayer.  Some orthodox Jews wear the prayers in boxes on their hands (tefillin) or their foreheads (phylacteries).  They are hung on doorposts (mezuzah).  Think of these public displays of faith, and how they can be a witness to others.  Do we, as Christians, have anything similar?  The class spoke of the crosses we wear, t-shirts, bumper stickers.  What happens when we do not live our lives as Christ calls us to live when the symbols of our faith are a visible witness to others?  Hypocricy.

What about social media?  What happens when we do not live our lives according to the name we bear?  Is it any wonder we are called judgmental?  

It reminded me of a resource that was shared with me.  It's the Three Simple Rules of Social Media.  What would happen if before we posted anything on social media, we asked ourselves - will this do harm?  Will it do good? Will it help anyone to stay in love with God?  No?  Then don't post it.

Integrity

From Church Leadership by Lovett Weems: "No matter what we say, people only pay close attention to what we do.  Inconsistency is devastating.

Year ago, and I don't know who said it, I heard that honesty is telling people what you have done and integrity is doing what you have told people you will do.  They are both a type of honesty, don't you think?  Truthfulness in words and actions.

Weems talks about two kinds of integrity.  There is personal integrity; our trustworthiness as a person.  "Brilliance is not required for leadership, but integrity is."  Do we follow through with what we say we will do?  Do we tell the truth? Do we accept fault for our mistakes? When we say we love and care for someone, do our actions live out our words, or are we inauthentic?  People think qualifications and experience are important for leadership, and no doubt they are, but without character and integrity, a leader will fail. 

As I write that, I can think of people I have seen who do not possess an admirable character and who do not exhibit integrity, and yet have risen to high positions of leadership.  Why is that?  Is it because we (as the follower) can't see or admit to the lack of integrity? Is it because power can be used to keep people in control? I don't know, but I do believe that excellent leadership in God's kingdom grows out of trustworthiness and integrity.

Weems also talks about organizational integrity.  Does our organization - whether that is a church, a charity, a school, a government - live into what its purpose is? Does it do what it states is its mission? Is it honest in its transactions? For example, if I give a gift to an organization for a specific purpose, and the gift is used for something else, I won't find that organization to be trustworthy, and I will stop giving gifts.  Will I trust (and participate in) an organization that I don't trust?  No, probably not.

Can we as a church - the body of Christ - say that God loves all people, and that we bring the light of God to the world, when what we bring is judgment and hate?  Integrity is doing what you have said you will do.