Walking

At John Lewis' funeral, Bill Clinton talked about John Lewis preparing to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday (as it would become known).  Read what President Clinton said about Lewis' preparation:

Bloody Sunday, he figured he might get arrested. And this is really important for all the rhapsodic things we believe about John Lewis, he had a really good mind and he was always trying to figure out how I can make the most out of every single moment. So he’s getting ready to march from Selma to Montgomery, he wants to get across the bridge. What do we remember? He cut quite a strange figure: He had a trench coat and a backpack. Now, young people probably think that’s no big deal but there weren’t that many backpacks back then. And you never saw anybody in a trench coat looking halfway dressed up with a backpack. But John put an apple, an orange, a toothbrush, toothpaste to take care of his body ‘cause he figured he would get arrested. And two books, one by Richard Hofstadter on America’s political tradition to feed his mind, and one, the autobiography of Thomas Merton, a Roman Catholic Trappist monk who was the son of itinerant artists making an astonishing personal transformation. What’s a young guy who’s about to get his brains beat out and planning on going to prison doing taking that? I think he figured that if Thomas Merton could find his way and keep his faith and believe in the future, he, John Lewis could too.

So we honor our friend for his faith and for living his faith, which the Scripture said is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. John Lewis was a walking rebuke to people who thought, ‘well, we ain’t there yet, we’ve been working a long time, isn’t it time to bag it?’ He kept moving. He hoped for and imagined and lived and worked and moved for his beloved community. He took a savage beating on more than one day. And he lost that backpack on Bloody Sunday. Nobody knows what happened to it. Maybe someone someday will be stricken with conscience and give some of it back. But what it represented never disappeared from John Lewis’ spirit.

Many days later, that passage of the speech still sticks with me. We are in ministry in the world.  What can learn that will strengthen our walk with Jesus from Representative Lewis' preparation for the March from Selma to Alabama?

1. Preparation.  John Lewis thought he might be arrested; in fact, he was beaten severely.  He suffered a skull fracture and bore scars from the beating for the rest of his life.   He didn't know that would happen, but he assumed the march would not be without resistance, so he prepared.  He prepared to care for his body and his spirit.  We need to take both of those steps as we walk out to serve Christ.
2. Courage. He didn't know exactly WHAT would happen, but he anticipated that it would not be good.  And he went anyway.  
3. Faith.  You can see it in his choice of reading material.  "If Thomas Merton could find his way and keep his faith and believe in the future, he John Lewis could too."
4. Perseverance.  He kept moving, in the face of strong resistance.  He kept moving as he walked across the bridge. He kept moving after the march.  He did not give up on what he knew was right.

This is all inspiring to me.  We need to prepare for ministry. We need to have the courage to start the journey, even when we see resistance, and we need to keep walking in ministry, all the time, knowing that God is with us.

Looking into the Eyes of the Beast

Rather than me posting an image today, go look at this image search on google:

I was reading from Rachel Held Evans' Inspired this morning.  In the chapter entitled "Beasts," she begins by telling the story of Bree Newsome.  Do you remember the shooting in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC that killed nine people?  Ten days after that, Bree Newsome climbed the flagpole in front of the state capitol building and removed the Confederate flag in an act of protest.  Evans ends the story with this sentence, which inspires me today, "On a muggy June morning in South Carolina, a young black woman named Bree Newsome scaled the thirty-foot flagpole outside the state's capitol building, looked straight into the eyes of the Beast, and said, 'Not today.'"

As she was handcuffed, she said, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?"  This is Psalm 27:1.

So I ask you today. How do you need to be Bree Newsome today? Against what Beast do you need to stand?  Where do you need God to be your light and salvation so that you will not fear, but will be courageous and take a stand?

Perspectives: Spring Point Ledge Path and the lighthouse

The first picture is of Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse in Maine.  To get to it, you have to walk on the rocks you can see in the picture. Steve and I stood looking toward the lighthouse, wondering about walking to it. Finally, we decided to do it. 

The trip was not fast, and it required patience and a little bravery (at least for me). It took cooperation, as we helped each other jump or step from rock to rock. It wasn't a walk in the park (although it wasn't terribly difficult - just not simple). 

As you can see, from the second picture, we made it. We turned around and took a picture of the path. And I was SO GLAD that we took the chance and made the trip.

I hope when you look at a potentially difficult path, you decide to step out and take the chance.

Hope Gateway

This is a picture of a ministry in Portland, Maine called Hope Gateway.  

This ministry started as a large downtown church called Chestnut Street United Methodist. As time went on, the church became smaller and smaller, until there were only 12 people left. They made the tough decision to sell their building, and do something else as a church. From this beginning, Hope Gateway was born.

Those 12 people took the brave step of doing something different. They are now a church with two locations whose focus is on serving their community. They are outward focused ministry, operating out of two "campuses" with three worship services, including a dinner worship at this store front location.

What brave, new thing is God calling your church to do? 

Logos: Leviticus 19:1-2,9-10

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.  “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:1,2 and 9,10)

The Lord spoke to Moses and told him that because God is holy, so are we. 

How does that change our lives? I think these verses tell us that because we are created in the image of God, and because God is always re-creating us, to make us more holy, that we are called - demanded -to structure our lives to reflect God's holiness.

In these verse, the Israelites are told to not be so greedy as to harvest the edges of their fields - this was a way to care for those who were hungry, and who would come to glean from the fields. Remember in the story of Ruth - how she gleaned from the edges of the field? They are called to not strip their vineyards clean - to leave something for the poor and the alien.

I don't know about you, but I'm not harvesting fields or picking grapes, but I still think these verses apply to my life and to yours. How do we structure our lives to care for the poor and the alien?

We can gather from these verses a few things:

1. Our care of the poor and the alien isn't accidental. It require intentional acts on our part.
2. It requires that we let go of the fear of not enough - that we let go of our greed. Of what are you afraid? Let go of it and care for others.
3. This intentional, brave, fearless work we are called to do is holy. It doesn't make us holy, but it reflects the holiness of God - and of ourselves.

So, think on these things. What do these verses say about our care for the hungry and homeless around us? For our care of our neighbor? For our care of the immigrant? What intentional, brave, holy thing do we need to do?

Courage

Last night Steve and I went to see the movie The Hobbit.  Good movie.  Get comfortable; it's 3 hours long.  Peter Jackson doesn't know how to make a short movie.  And this is just 1/3 of the book.

Anyway, Gandolf finds a sword in a cave and give it to Bilbo.  The Hobbit replies that he doesn't know anything about using a sword.  Gandolf says, "True courage is not about knowing when to take a life but when to spare one."

It's probably rare that you or I have to decide if we are going to take a life or spare it, but expand the thought a little bit.  Think about the weapon we use all the time -- our words.  It is easy to cut someone with what we say.  Even if it doesn't physically kill them, it does kill something, each time we do it. 

Perhaps true courage could also be sparing people from the barbs of our words -- building them up instead of tearing them down.

There is alot of talk lately about 26 random acts of kindness.  Maybe some of mine and some of yours could be kind acts of speech.

Joseph

You may have noticed a pattern through some of the posts this week. Our Sunday school class was taught by Rev. Jan Thornton last Sunday. She focused on Joseph -- what can we learn from Joseph and how he responded to the Angel's instructions regarding Mary.

She said that exhibited mercy, a belief in the mysterious, and courage. These are characteristics the Holy Spirit enabled him to demonstrate, and we are called to demonstrate them as well.

Many things she said struck me as "a hah!" moments, but especially, "Joseph didn't have the advantage of Jesus' teaching." He didn't, but Jesus had the advantage of Joseph's teaching.

That idea was the basis of the three poems: Joseph's Mercy, Joseph's Faith, and Joseph's Courage.

Joseph's Courage

He sat in the garden,
The heat of the day still slithering
through the quiet of the night.
Beyond his torment
the disciples stood watch,
with closed eyes
and sleeping hearts.
He was alone with his prayers
and lonely in his fears.

He saw the friends he loved
softly snoring sounds of desertion.
He saw the future,
men coming to take him
where he did not want to go.
The rock under his hand was hard
sharp points piercing his skin
as the sweat of his struggles
dripped like blood.

Jesus remembered Joseph,
and the stories he had told him.
Instead of soldiers quickly approaching
He saw Joseph.
Instead of betrayal by a friend
He saw Joseph.
He pictured his struggling father
searching for the ability to obey.

He remembered the story.
He pictured Joseph, sitting on the ground
Outside the home he had been building
for his new family.
Sitting in the dirt
Tears of despair and disbelief
dripping to the ground.

An angel had come
and had given him instructions,
describing a path that would carry him
through ridicule and shame.
Marry the woman who had seemingly betrayed him.
Claim the child who all believed was the son of another.
He was the son of another.
He was the son of the One.

Joseph had stood.
The only thing holding him up
was his courage.
A gift from the Father.
And he walked to Mary.
Each step requiring fortitude.
And unearthly courage.

And Jesus had witnessed courage
In the life of Joseph.
The son stood, and demonstrated
What the Father had taught the man
Through is Holy presence.
Each walked the road
Showing love, grace,
Showing Joseph's courage.

Luke 22:39-46; John 18:1-4