Lord, teach me. . . .

You load sixteen tons, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. Saint Peter, don’t you call me ‘cause I can’t go— I owe my soul to the company store. --Tennessee Ernie Ford Since when did “we” decide that anything old is worth less than anything new? It seems like every few months, a brand new [fill in the blank] comes out, and we are encouraged to replace whatever we have. Newer! Bigger! Better? Maybe—or maybe not. This time of year, we tend to stop and reflect on what’s happened over the past year or so that’s broken, and make promises (aka resolutions ) that next year, things (and we) will be different. But right now, instead of looking for the bad things to get rid of, pause and reflect on the ways you are different in a better way that you were a year ago. Ask yourself: When did I smooth the path for someone who can’t return the favor? How have I changed my relationship with the Divine? (Or have I? Should I?) Have I loved someone...

She was five, sure of the facts, and recited them with slow solemnity convinced every word was revelation. She said they were so poor they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat and they went a long way from home without getting lost. The lady rode a donkey, the man walked, and the baby was inside the lady. They had to stay in a stable with an ox and an ass (hee-hee) but the Three Rich Men found them because a star lited the roof. Shepherds came and you could pet the sheep but not feed them. Then the baby was borned. And do you know who he was? Her quarter eyes inflated to silver dollars. The baby was God. And she jumped in the air whirled round, dove into the sofa and buried her head under the cushion which is the only proper response to the Good News of the Incarnation. --John Shea, “The Hour of the Unexpected” Monday  This time of year, community meals are running on empty. How will you help? Can you donate time? A cas...

Real faith has perfect peace and joy and a shout at any time. It always sees the victory. –Smith Wigglesworth Something remarkable happened in December 1914, during World War I. No one quite understands it. In the week leading up to Christmas, in some areas, French, German and British soldiers laid down their arms and set aside their differences. They ventured into No Man’s Land, exchanged greetings and hugs, shared a smoke and a story. Care packages from home belonged to everyone. It was as if God’s own Holy Spirit moved across the front lines and insisted on being recognized and welcomed. Soccer games broke out. Peals of joy and laughter replaced the sounds of gunfire and rocket blasts. Like little children, men took a break from the painful realities of war that surrounded them. The peaceable kingdom, in some small realms, was at hand. And God saw, and I am certain, God declared, It is good. Of course, it couldn’t last, not as long as even one heart w...

Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.  –Henri J. M. Nouwen Some days, it seems like it’s all bad news. It starts with a glance at the front page: desperate souls dying from overdoses; people we’ve respected now making headlines for abhorrent behaviors; more saber rattling in Korea and the Middle East. Peace in our time? Sure looks like we have a long, long way to go, doesn’t it? Building peace begins with each one of us. When we set aside daily time to focus on the Almighty and the work God is doing in our own lives, we begin to see others through God’s eyes. Building peace happens in the little things, the daily kindness offered to a friend—or a stranger—that brings a smile to their face and our...

If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a sun. –A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Advent is upon us. This week, we lit the first candle in the wreath, the candle of Hope. Now we begin four Sundays of waiting, watching, listening—remembering when Love first came down at Christmas. Sometimes it’s almost impossible to perceive even a glimmer of light in the midst of a cold, dark winter, and even harder to believe my little light can make any difference at all in the world. Every headline, every story on the evening news reminds us how far the world has wandered from the loving good news of the gospel. Even on days when my light burns brightly, it barely seems to light my corner of the city. In the face of expansive evil in the world and problems faced by people across the globe, it’s tremendously important to remember: I cannot do everything, but I can do one thing. I can buy one book to donate to our local schoolchildren. I can fill one bag of groceries for the local food ban...

From the beginning of literature, poets and writers have based their narratives on crossing borders, on wandering, on exile, on encounters beyond the familiar.  –Jhumpa Lahiri Welcome to Advent, the season during which we ponder and wait. A time when the world seems to pick up speed; yet as Christians, we yearn to slow down, to remember again the world-changing events of over 2000 years ago. On the first Sunday of Advent we will light the candle of prophecy and hope. The story begins in a manger or stable—or does it? Prophets like Malachi, Isaiah and Zechariah told of the Messiah, the one to come, thousands of years before a virgin named Mary was visited by an angel named Gabriel. Ours is an ancient story. Ours is a story of longing and unrest, of rescue from exile. As we begin the journey again, that slow, deliberate journey to Bethlehem, we remember and weep with those women who lost their young children at the hands of a murderous king. We gaze in awestruck wonde...

You take it on faith, you take it to the heart. The waiting is the hardest part. –Tom Petty Tom Petty, pop theologian, really got it right when it comes to Advent. The season seems to come earlier every year. Thanksgiving has been ingloriously shoved to one side. After all, Christmas is coming, right? It’s true. Christmas is coming—but it’s not here yet. So let’s slow down and wander to the manger together. Instead of tearing into the Gift that awaits us, pause for a bit and admire the “packaging.” Wait expectantly with Israel as we sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel . Feel the desperate longing in their hearts. When, O Lord, will you return to your children? Listen with the shepherds. What’s that fresh, unusual sound? The gentle flutter of angels’ wings? Lifted voices of a cherub chorus? Understand the words by listening with the ears of your heart. Hold your breath with Mary as Gabriel appears. Rejoice at the unexpected miracle of birth with Elizabeth. (Can you ...

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.  –Newt Gingrich Following Jesus is hard work. And it is never done. We are pulled in so many directions in life, with our jobs, our families. It seems, some days, as if every single minute is filled; yet there are still only 24 hours in a day, only seven days in a week—and only so many dollars in our paycheck. How are we supposed to get it all done, give to those who are hungry or needy, and still provide for ourselves and our families? I wish I had an easy answer. But here’s a place to start: Take a d-e-e-e-e-e-p breath. Listen as the air fills and leaves your lungs. Pause and appreciate the miracle of life itself. Give thanks to Creator God for such a gift. Now remember that God truly loves you, just because . How can you best respond to that unconditional love? The greatest commandment, Jesus reminds us, is to love God, then love one another. In loving God,...

Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not ask. The spring rains will come again. –Sarah Ban Breathnach Help? Thanks! Wow. . . . Anne Lamott* wrote a book about the three most basic prayers everyone prays in the course of their life. Whether we are active, conscientious pray-ers, or occasional supplicants, we tend to turn to God (or to whomever or whatever one prays) in three basic circumstances: We turn to God in crisis; when we can no longer take it, or are unable to make it alone, we beg for mercy or assistance from the One who, in all things, is greater than we are. We reach out and ask for help. We reach out to God in gratitude when life goes our way, or when we feel God has shown us favor in answering a prayer for help. And we pray when we cannot help ourselves, when the goodness of God or the beauty of creation is simply overwhelming. Our souls burst just a bit, and we are compelled, lit...

The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more. –Jonas Salk Are you a list-maker? (I probably should be.) Sometimes, it’s absolutely necessary, if I expect to have a successful day or week, I have to make a list. Otherwise, I wind up standing in Target looking around like a lost child, trying to remember what I came in for. Really, so much of Life goes easier with a list. We should focus our spirits on making the world a better place. So if you’re struggling today to remember what it means to be a follower of Jesus, I’m offering you a list as a starting point: L ove your neighbor. O pen a door. V olunteer to help with a community meal. E at lunch with a friend. O ffer a smile or a hug. N etwork together. E xpress gratitude. A dvocate for justice. N ever go to bed angry. O rder take-out—and share with a neighbor. T ake a pet for a walk. H ave coffee with a long-lost friend. E xpect a miracle—and you will see one. R emember, not everyone is a mind-re...

You’re never guaranteed about next year. People ask what you think of next season, you have to seize the opportunities when they’re in front of you. –Brett Favre My city, Cleveland, is a huge sports town. We have professional basketball, football and baseball, and each of those teams has a strong, hungry fan base. The Cleveland Cavaliers did manage to “win it all,” but the others. . . . Well, let’s just say we’ve had (more than) our share of disappointments. The Indians almost won the World Series last year. And the Browns. . . . Never mind. (The Browns' record continues to be perfect. 0-7.) Maybe next year. How often do we live out our spiritual calling the same way? Do we dream about tomorrow while puttering around today, wishing things were better than they are, but not doing anything about it? How do you suppose God feels about this? Paul reminds us that we are called to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus until he returns ( 1 Corinthians 12 ). There are peo...

The reality is, my prayers don't change God.  But, I am convinced prayer changes me.  Praying boldly boots me out of that stale place of religious habit into authentic connection with God Himself. --Lysa TerKeurst A group of dedicated believers has chosen October to be a month of prayer for the nation, culminating with the remembrance of those who have gone before, on All Saints’ Day (November 5). As we celebrate our commitment to being a united church family, fulfilling a promise of Jesus to the Father, it seems fitting to focus our minds and hearts even more , and perhaps imagine our prayers as outreach into the world. We have grown tremendously as a praying congregation. We pray as one heart, in private and even >gasp< in public! We are discovering that in praying for one another, our own deepest longings are often satisfied. Even more intriguing: we are seeing and sensing God’s Holy Spirit at work, in individuals and as a Family. It’s truly remarkable...

Instead of losing your energy on hating and fighting, strengthen it by enjoying and getting along. –Anonymous Facebook can be a wonderful, terrible, awesome, awful place (just like the real world). I have made marvelous friends there, some of whom I have never met face to face and likely never will. We laugh together; we mourn together. We celebrate each other’s achievements. We keep each other in line when we need it. But there is this other side to Facebook, as well, those people whom I don’t know who are friends of a friend—or maybe just trolls. They fly by, drop their little bombs, light my fuse and disappear. Oh, how easy it would be to respond in kind! It might feel so good to stoop to their level and give them a piece of my mind (except I haven’t a piece of my mind I can do without). . . . Except what, exactly would that accomplish in the bigger picture? Scripture reminds us that we are called, among other things, to beat our swords into plowshares (...

Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast—you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. –Eddie Cantor The old adage tells us that if we need something done, we should ask a busy person to do it. But these days, it seems like everyone is just too busy to do anything. When we are racing around like our hair is on fire (figuratively speaking), the first thing well-meaning folks tell us is to “make some time for yourself.” How on earth is that supposed to happen? There are only 24 hours in a day! But this is actually very sound advice. Remember, if you’ve flown on an airplane, how the flight attendant reminds us to put on our own oxygen mask first— and then help younger or less able passengers? It’s like that. We cannot run on an empty tank. Jesus knew that, and modeled The Way for us in this practice, as well. Many times throughout the Gospels, we are reminded that Jesus went off by himself to pray. And especially, as th...

The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think. No book in the world equals the Bible for that. –Harper Lee There’s a trend lately trying to get folks back into Bible reading, church going and such. And many times, church leaders will remind us: You just need to read the Bible and do what it tells you to do . Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? But I wonder, really, what they mean by “read the Bible and do what it tells you to do.” If you land in Leviticus, does it mean the part about only wearing clothing made of single fibers, or only growing a single crop in the garden ( Leviticus 19 )? If you’re reading Psalms and truly believe God answers prayers, are you hoping the L ORD will slay those whom you deem wicked—maybe just because you disagree ( Psalm 139 )? Sometimes, I’m afraid, these are exactly the parts of Scripture folks would choose to uphold, while ignoring the Love that abounds, even in our Old Testament. Do Justi...

Patience is not simply the ability to wait—it’s how we behave while we’re waiting. –Joyce Meyer It’s been quite the month, not only here in the States, but in other nations, as well. Hurricanes and forest fires in the US; floods and famine in Indonesia. Modern-day genocide in Myanmar. Locally, break-ins and other crimes seem to loom ever closer, threatening our sense of security. Turning on the evening news can leave one anxious and wondering: What does it all mean? Are we living in the end times? I’m certainly not qualified to answer those questions; however, Jesus himself reminds us that no one knows the day and hour, except the Father ( Matthew 24:36 ). Let me offer another question: What practical difference does it make in the way we live our lives? Throughout the New Testament, Jesus tells parables reminding us what the Kingdom of God will be like, and how we are called to participate in that Kingdom. Whether we are like leaven working goodness through the...

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you cannot hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. –Harriet Beecher Stowe September 10 was World Suicide Prevention Day . Take a moment and reflect: Every year, over 800,000 people die by suicide; up to twenty-five times that many attempt to end their lives. While that statistic is staggering, each one of those people is more than a statistic. Each one of them is someone’s child, someone’s parent, someone’s lover, someone’s friend. And many of their deaths might have been preventable. For many people, one of the hardest things to do can be to ask for help. Starting that conversation with someone considering suicide is really, really tough. Even harder is listening. Listening to someone try to explain the pain. Listening for honest answers to tough questions. Listening and saying nothing—just listening. Openly ...

A blessing is a circle of light drawn around a person to protect, heal and strengthen them.”  –John O’Donohue Sometimes we use a word freely and often, and may not have really stopped to think about what it means. For me, blessing is one of those words. The “dictionary definition” makes blessing something God does, and to bless something is to ask God’s favor on someone or something. But in Paul’s letter to the church at Rome, he turns this idea around a little. Drawing from God’s calling of Abram (Genesis 12), Paul charges the church not simply to ask God’s blessing, but to be God’s blessing. As we work, as we play—as we love, Paul reminds us to step down and step back. It’s not about us. It is about who God created us to be. As the Body of Christ, we each have a role to play: some are teachers; some, preachers; some offer abundant hospitality. We are not all called to serve or love in the same way. As Paul puts it (via Eugene Peterson’s The Message ): Love fro...

Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both directions. –Margaret Thatcher A long time ago, before Play Station and X-Box, there was . . .  Atari. One of the few games for Atari that I remember and enjoyed was Frogger . The premise behind Frogger was that the player is a frog trying to cross the road without getting smashed flat by high-speed traffic. I was never very good at it, but enjoyed trying to hop my way across the Interstate. As children, our parents remind us not to play in the street. It’s just not a good idea, what with cars and all! But sometimes in life, things happen that force us, really, to leave the safety of the sidewalks and get involved. Now might be just one such time. In many corners of the world, including our corner, civil rights are being ignored. Some folks are deciding they deserve more , at the expense of others not like them. Some folks are even claiming God is ordaining them ...