Lord, teach me. . . .

I hope that in this year to come, you are making mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something. –Neil Gaiman It’s that time again. Time to set aside the old and take up the new. Time to reflect, to discern where we accomplished good things—and where we could use some improvement. For some folks, the end of the year means sitting down and writing one or more resolutions for the New Year. Problem with so many resolutions, though, is that they’re old hat. The same old, same old. Nothing new or radically different. Ho hum. Why bother to make a resolution if you’re not willing to take a chance and strive to do something that actually might make a difference in our lives and the world ? Change is good. Upset—even upheaval—can be a very good thing. Reso...

It is now, at Advent, that I am given the chance to suspend all expectation . . . and instead to revel in the mystery. –Jerusalem Jackson Greer Advent can be a season of watching. We watch as nativity scenes spring up. We peer into the cradle, looking for the Christ Child. Christmas carols, Christmas pageants all invite us to come and see. But there’s more to this season than simply standing by and looking. Besides the standard nativity figures—Holy Family, shepherds, Magi—I believe there is one more figure that’s a necessary part of every nativity. It’s you . Pause for a moment and let your mind wander in to that first Christmas, when Jesus was born. Instead of merely looking in as an outsider, like we glance at a Christmas card, place yourself in the scene. Maybe you see yourself as Zechariah or Elizabeth, receiving news of an unexpected pregnancy long, long after you thought those days were over. How do you react when the angel Gabriel shows up? Or perhaps...

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable,  to be compassionate,  to have it make some difference that you have lived  and lived well.  --Ralph Waldo Emerson It’s that time of year, when every other piece of mail is a request for a donation from Boys’ Town, Sierra Club, The American Heart association—the list is endless. And the worst part is, when you send a check, immediately you get a letter asking for another one. It’s hard to say no , but it’s hard to say yes to everyone who asks. The thing about sending a check is, it’s easy. We feel good about helping someone or some cause, and it hardly takes any effort on our part. And that’s great. Really. But I would like to challenge you to get your hands dirty this year. Instead of just sending a check to some distant, sterile clearinghouse organization, why not pick up a few gift cards to local grocery stores and give them, face-to-face, to folks you pass day ...

No one is excluded from calling upon God, the gate of salvation is set open unto all people; neither is there any other thing which keepeth us back from entering in, save only our own unbelief. –John Calvin I was raised in the church. From the time I was very little, Sunday morning meant going to church. Sunday school meant reading Bible stories and taking home a paper filled with pictures of children in Jesus’ loving presence. The stories, the words all pointed to one thing: a loving God whose love has no boundaries. This was the message I grew up with. But somewhere along the way, it seems, some church leaders started reading a different version of the Bible than the one I grew up on. Or maybe they felt they knew, better than anyone else, what Jesus really meant when he instructed us to love one another . I don’t know about that. Somewhere in Scripture ( Luke 2:49 ), it says the son knows the Father’s business better than anyone. For someone to suggest they know God...

I believe forgiveness is the best form of love in any relationship. It takes a strong person to say they’re sorry, and an even stronger person to forgive. –Yolanda Hadid For many of us, this time of year is filled with opportunities to get together with family and friends, to break out the old family favorite recipes, fill the house with wonderful holiday smells, and gather round the table to share a meal—and more—in love. But I wonder if there is someone missing? When your family gathers, is there someone you wish were there, but who hasn’t attended for years , because of something that happened so long ago that no one even remembers anymore? Or maybe the offense is more recent. Maybe it’s about politics, or religion, or the person someone wants to share their life with. Who is missing from your gathering this year? Before you address another Christmas card, before you begin checking out the ads for the groceries you’ll need for The Big Meal, stop. Who’s on your ...

It’s not too late to change direction if you’re not at peace with the life you have now. Don’t put a deadline on your happiness. --Anonymous Happy New Year! On the liturgical church calendar, this coming Sunday marks the start of Advent. The word Advent means coming , or arrival . As Christians, we take this to mean the arrival of the Christ Child, the one of whom the prophets spoke, born to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. The next four weeks, our hearts are filled with anticipation, joy and hope . It’s somehow fitting, as we in the States have just celebrated Thanksgiving, our day officially set aside to recognize just how blessed we are (whether we use that language or not), and to remember that not everyone has it so good. Rev. William Barber talks about his grandmama, a tremendous cook, who would spend an afternoon over the stove, feed her family—and then head out to visit those who had less, taking delicious, hot meals with her. She called it going out to hope...

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.  –Melody Beattie My pastor friend James lives in Chico, California, not far from Paradise. His church recently voted to close its doors, but in the wake of the horrific fires, their doors are open again. Members of surrounding communities have come together, bringing clothing and shoes and diapers and more. The clothes come by the truckload. People are offering new shirts, new jeans, socks, underwear—everything. One day this past week, James filled the bed of his pickup truck with clothing and set off for a distribution center in another community. To get there, he hopped on the local toll road, realizing that it would cost him $5 to drive the toll road—but it was fastest, and these people who had lost so much deserved a break. So he set off, a man on a mission. A pastor with a purpose. As James neared the end of his drive, he took the exit off the toll road and chose a g...

He drew a circle that shut me out— Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him in! --Edwin Markham It makes a soul weary, doesn’t it? Every night on the evening news, there’s something. Wars of words, wars of power. Fistfights, gunfights. Angry, shouting, red-faced neighbors and friends who suddenly seem transformed into complete strangers. What is going on in our nation and in the world? We find ourselves caught between the need to be informed—and the desire to remain reasonably sane in the midst of such insanity. And while everyone seems to have an answer, somehow any sort of solution evades our grasp. Here’s my innocent, naïve take on how we should be living this day: In God’s created order, God did not create other . We are all one family in Christ. Does this mean we all need to agree, all the time? Heavens, no! (How boring would that be?) But it does mean that as in any loving community, God expe...

Still, a man hears what he wants to hear— and disregards the rest. –Paul Simon Early season baseball is always an adventure. The weather is often more winter than spring; players are bundled up so tightly, they’re barely recognizable without the number on their back. Attendance? Well, some nights, five thousand guests is a good number. The Beer Guy ’s voice echoes through the ballpark. Lines at the coffee stand circles around, while workers at the cold drink stands stand idly by, chatting amongst themselves. Five thousand people in a ballpark that holds nearly 40,000. The guy with the foul mouth is having a heyday, knowing his voice will carry on a night like this! Fans try out every seat in the place, comparing this view and that, hollering across the sections to one another. Workers (like me) stamp their feet, trying to stay warm. Five thousand people. Hardly anyone here tonight , they say. Hardly worth the effort . And yet. And yet, when five thous...

You and I, the people of God, have permission to come before the throne of Heaven at any time we will, and we are encouraged to come there with great boldness. –Charles Spurgeon There’s a beautiful place in Barcelona, La Sacrada Familia Basilica, that’s been under construction since 1882. Designed by Antoni Gaudi, the finished design will have eighteen towers, the tallest of which soars over 170 meters high. It is an architectural wonder, and isn’t expected to be completed until 2026. In the meantime, tourists flock to this beautiful place by the millions. But apparently, when the construction of the cathedral first began, the builders failed to get a construction permit. (Yes, they required them even in 1882.) A hundred and thirty-six years later, the city and the builders have worked out an agreement to pay fines of nearly 32 million pounds —for the oversight of not seeking permission in the first place. Wouldn’t it have been simpler to just do the right thing in th...

The true work of art is but a shadow of the Divine perfection. --Michelangelo This week I learned that a painting by Rembrandt van Rijn, called The Night Watch , will undergo a very public restoration. Originally painted in 1642, it depicts a citizen watch group, and is considered a true masterpiece. It has had a rough life, to be sure. During World War II, this painting was hidden in a cave with other valuable works of art, away from Nazi eyes—and survived. But in 1975, it was slashed by a man with a knife, leaving twelve deep scars on the canvas. Then in 1990, someone sprayed acid on the canvas, further damaging the veneer. Despite all this, The Night Watch was on display, exposed to ordinary light and pollution. It is in deep need of some renewal. Indeed, the ordinary pace of daily living gets to us all, doesn’t it, causing casual damage we may not even notice until it’s nearly too late. Sometimes, the deepest damage lies so far below the surface, it’s invisible t...

The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen, but if one will, are to be lived. --Soren Kierkegaard This week, I headed out early for a service of committal at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery. The drive, seldom interesting, is one I know well, the same drive I made to seminary for three years. But this morning. . . . As I came over a hill, the view was breathtaking. Fog truly came in on its little cat feet, just like Carl Sandburg said, filling the valley. I left the interstate and headed off on country roads. The village hadn’t yet begun to wake up. I turned onto Rawinga, captivated by those amber waves of grain that so inspired Katharine Lee Bates waving in the early morning sunshine, whispering thanks for the service of Ohio veterans. My soul settled in as beautiful flute and oboe music came quietly from my speakers. Shhhhhhh . . . . The cemetery itself stood in silent beauty. Row after row of white ...

I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church.  For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the Spirit. –Khalil Gibran There is an expression that is thrown about frequently when something unexpected—and usually bad—happens without explanation. Well-meaning folks, trying to empathize, will offer comfort by saying something like, Well, hey, you know? Sometimes sh*t happens . (Apparently, we are supposed to feel better when we realize that the bad things that happen in our lives can’t be helped. I suppose that’s better than blaming the awful, nasty stuff on God, but only a little.) But let’s look at the balance in life. Sometimes, good stuff just happens, too. And church just happens. And just like that other stuff, church frequently happens completely unexpected and in unusual places. Church—space where God’s Spirit shows up and lives are changed—can happen anywhere. It can happen in a park on weekday afternoons; it ca...

A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That’s why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity,  two intelligent talkers seldom meet. –Truman Capote Does this ever happen to you? You’re engaged in a Bible study, seriously trying to understand a challenging concept. Maybe it’s the story about the boy with epilepsy, whom only Jesus can heal, even though the other disciples have tried and tried. The father has stepped out in faith to admit: Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief! And as we begin to admit our own fallibility and uncertainties, someone in the group will pipe up: Well, he just needs to believe . Or Well, the Bible says all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed. Everyone falls silent. You could hear a pin drop. Yes, it’s in Scripture. But is it helpful? We allow our vulnerability to show, we confess that we aren’t always sure we have doubt-free belief in God (which, in my opinion, is A-Okay). Comments like this tend to silence the...

Only you can make this world seem right. Only you can make the darkness bright. --The Platters Sometimes it all feels like it’s just too much , doesn’t it? When we have one of those days (or weeks) that feels overwhelming, between job demands, political craziness and worldwide angst, we can feel total insignificant. Worthless. Unimportant. And of course, feeling that way only makes us feel even worse . But time and time again, throughout history, it has been shown that while there may be safety in numbers, the true power of change lies in the courage of individuals who are willing to speak up and take a stand, even when it’s an unpopular one. Language lesson: that word courage has, at its root, the French word coeur , which means heart . Think about it: while the brain allows us to process, to think, to do, it’s the heart that keeps the life-giving blood circulating, enabling everything else to happen. Once you come to understand the direction your heart is l...

You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down. –Mary Pickford In my community, after several false starts when the summer heat just wouldn’t let go, everyone is finally back to school. The buses rumble down my street early in the morning. Kids, some of them carrying backpacks nearly as big as they are, walk with their adults, many with eyes downcast. After all, summer is over. No more lazy days of swimming and baseball. But I know, as a former teacher, that many of those children are secretly excited to return to school. After all, they’ll probably be in a new class, with a teacher who doesn’t know their story—so they can tell it themselves. New friends, new learning experiences. What is not to like? Most adults don’t have the clear delineation of summer-to-fall. The older we get, the more challenging it can be to really get excited. After all, to paraphrase Shakespeare, tomorrow and tomo...