As I was out to dinner with two friends one says, “I need to go lay in the sand.” The next thing we knew we were paying our bill and off to the beach. This was not in our plans for the day so we were not prepared. Luckily I was wearing my sandals – but one of my friends had his shoes and socks on. We all had long pants with dress shirts and walked onto the beach with blankets from the trunk.
The beach was full of well prepared beach goers. They had their swimsuits, aqua shoes, coolers with water, sun umbrellas, beach chairs, and towels. We looked around at all the well prepared beach goers as we walked to find a good place to lay down our blankets and rest in the sand. We may have not been well prepared that day – but our lack of preparedness didn’t take away from our soulful conversation on the sand that day.
We are always preparing for something in our personal life, work, or home. We worry, fret, and wonder if we have done everything. Yet to no avail we are caught off guard.
The disciples were caught off guard when Jesus rose from the dead. In Luke – they think Jesus a ghost; in John – Jesus has to speak Mary’s name before she recognizes him; in Matthew – there is an earthquake and angels descend from heaven; and in Mark – the disciples left the tomb so full of terror and amazement they couldn’t talk about what had happened.
The disciples were not prepared for what Jesus did on that day – even if they thought they were. The disciple’s lack of preparedness didn’t take away from the reality of what God did for us. Prepared or not, Jesus changed death into life.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Who Baptized You?
Who baptized you? Is your first thought of the Pastor? No! It’s bigger than that… it was God!
It is the God of our baptism who in Genesis created the heavens and the earth, separated the light and the dark, made the waters and dry land, made night and day, gave life to the vegetation, the creatures of the water, the birds of the air, and the animals of the dry land. It is the God of our baptism who formed humankind from the dust of the earth and breathed into its nostrils the breath of life.
It is the God of our baptism who comes to Elijah in the silence. The silence of when all hope is lost and God feeds his child so he can once again be “zealous for the Lord.”
It is the God of our baptism who reveals his love even in the depths of suffering found throughout the book of Job.
It is the God of our baptism who the psalmist praised and cried out to in lament. Ps. 40, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.”
Ps. 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.”
It is the God of our baptism who can come to us through a virgin womb.
It is the God of our baptism who gave his only Son. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send this Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Jesus revealed to us the God of our baptism. God’s self-giving, self-humbling, unending love for humankind.
This is a God who plunged us down into the waters of baptism and brought us up out of death's grip---like God did for Jesus.
It is the God of our baptism that keeps – the Church and the people of God living today.
It is the God of our baptism who in Genesis created the heavens and the earth, separated the light and the dark, made the waters and dry land, made night and day, gave life to the vegetation, the creatures of the water, the birds of the air, and the animals of the dry land. It is the God of our baptism who formed humankind from the dust of the earth and breathed into its nostrils the breath of life.
It is the God of our baptism who comes to Elijah in the silence. The silence of when all hope is lost and God feeds his child so he can once again be “zealous for the Lord.”
It is the God of our baptism who reveals his love even in the depths of suffering found throughout the book of Job.
It is the God of our baptism who the psalmist praised and cried out to in lament. Ps. 40, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.”
Ps. 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.”
It is the God of our baptism who can come to us through a virgin womb.
It is the God of our baptism who gave his only Son. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send this Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Jesus revealed to us the God of our baptism. God’s self-giving, self-humbling, unending love for humankind.
This is a God who plunged us down into the waters of baptism and brought us up out of death's grip---like God did for Jesus.
It is the God of our baptism that keeps – the Church and the people of God living today.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Flying Emotions
Have you been on a car ride that is perfect? The wind blowing in your hair, the radio playing a favorite tune, you’re excited about the destination, and the company in the car brings you joy. You are making the final left hand turn and someone rear ends your car. Your experience of life can change in a flash.
Another day you’re going about your normal business with nothing too exciting ahead of you. In the mundane world in which you exist, you realize it’s time for an eye appointment. You walk into a new place to make an appointment and suddenly you are thrust into what you thought only existed in the movies. A person walks up to you and you lose your breath, all you can think is, "Oh my goodness. I've seen a lot of beautiful people in my life but you ... those eyes ... that hair... your hands... your energy.... Wow I can't think!" They say something like, "How can I help you?" After numerous stuttering attempts they finally ask, "You want to make an eye appointment?" Your experience of life can change in a flash.
There are also experiences in life that we wait for like a trip to visit friends or a far away country. It could be preparation for a wedding or a newborn child. It could be results from a resent test. Whether your experience of life changes quickly or over a long period of time, we cannot deny change is part of life. Change brings about our emotions. Our emotions bring about a physical response. Our physical response determines how others experience us.
Most of us want to be experienced as love, but we often have little to no control of the things that change in our life. So, what can we do with all of our unpredictable emotions that flow through us every day? Where do we turn? Isn’t there something we can always count on that won’t change? Oh, yes, our creator, solid rock, Emmanuel!
Among the chaos of emotions and change we can be still and know God.
Another day you’re going about your normal business with nothing too exciting ahead of you. In the mundane world in which you exist, you realize it’s time for an eye appointment. You walk into a new place to make an appointment and suddenly you are thrust into what you thought only existed in the movies. A person walks up to you and you lose your breath, all you can think is, "Oh my goodness. I've seen a lot of beautiful people in my life but you ... those eyes ... that hair... your hands... your energy.... Wow I can't think!" They say something like, "How can I help you?" After numerous stuttering attempts they finally ask, "You want to make an eye appointment?" Your experience of life can change in a flash.
There are also experiences in life that we wait for like a trip to visit friends or a far away country. It could be preparation for a wedding or a newborn child. It could be results from a resent test. Whether your experience of life changes quickly or over a long period of time, we cannot deny change is part of life. Change brings about our emotions. Our emotions bring about a physical response. Our physical response determines how others experience us.
Most of us want to be experienced as love, but we often have little to no control of the things that change in our life. So, what can we do with all of our unpredictable emotions that flow through us every day? Where do we turn? Isn’t there something we can always count on that won’t change? Oh, yes, our creator, solid rock, Emmanuel!
Psalm 46:2-3 & 10 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. 10"Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth."
Among the chaos of emotions and change we can be still and know God.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Closet Full of Shoes
Imagine being a young child and walking into a large closet full of shoes, clothes, and jewelry. You are small and everything you are looking at is large. Suddenly, the afternoon has lots of possibilities. You can mix and match shoes. You can put on one necklace or twelve. The closet is a costume chest of a fun new existence. The shoes make you walk differently. The clothes may drag on the floor but you can still twirl. The necklace makes you feel full-fledged, attractive, and extraordinary.
For adults the closet loses some of that magical vitality. Instead, we walk into the closet and stand there staring, feeling we don’t have anything to wear. We look through our shoes and realize these just won’t do. We look through our jewelry feeling that nothing really matches.
A poet friend, Oren Wagner, in his book Voluptuous Gloom writes:
you know that feeling
when you look inside
your full closet and think
you don't have anything to wear?
that’s how I feel
about everything
currently
in my life
The New Year is a time where we long to clean out our closets: our emotional closet, our spiritual closet, our physical closet. We want a fun new existence as we weed out the bad that has infiltrated our lives, to fill them with the new vigor. We want to walk differently, letting go of that which drags on us so we can twirl and fill our life with that which makes us full-fledged, attractive, and extraordinary.
Jesus said… "For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20We have been given a new existence in Jesus Christ! You are extraordinary.
______________
If you would like to read more poems by Oren Wagner visit:
http://www.nyqbooks.org/author/orenwagner
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
"testify to the light..."
By Johanna Johnson
“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.” (John 1:6-7)
Like John, we are also called to testify to the light. How do you let the light of Christ within you, which comes to us at Christmas, shine in the world?
Perhaps you are like a mirror, reflecting the light of Christ in the world. You see good in the world, and you try to mimic it. You look to good examples of godly living, and are inspired to follow suit. I find myself doing this as I look to my grandparents’ amazing witness in the world as loving, hospitable, gracious, God-fearing people. I try to live up to their example.
Perhaps you are more like a window. When people look at you, they see Christ inside you. They see light pouring out of you, like light pours out of the uncovered windows of a house at night. I love driving by my church at night when there is something going on in the sanctuary. Normally, during the day, we enjoy our beautiful stained glass windows from the inside, but at night, when it’s dark outside and the light is from within, our sanctuary boasts a gorgeous stained glass cross of many colors directly toward Highway 41. And along the sides of the building, our windows project the illumined story of Jesus for all to see.
Perhaps you are like a taper candle. My family has a tradition of candle-lighting during this season. We begin in a dark room and light one candle at a time, bearing witness with each candle to an experience of Christ’s light in the world. My grandparents liked to tell a story of my uncle John. When he was a child participating in this tradition, he used to try to find the very darkest corner of the room, and carry a lit taper to light a candle there. Do you look for those dark corners into which you can bring some light? It’s often much easier, at least safer, to stay on the well-lit major thoroughfares of life, and avoid the dark corners of the world. But perhaps you are like a taper, bringing light even into the darkness.
Or maybe you are like the crystals my mom likes to hang in her kitchen window, which, when they meet the morning light, throw rainbows all over the kitchen. Maybe you refract light all over a room, bringing unexpected splashes of color and promise into the world.
How does the light of Christ work in your life? Do you put it under a bushel? (No!) How do you let it shine? How do you testify to the light?
“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.” (John 1:6-7)
Like John, we are also called to testify to the light. How do you let the light of Christ within you, which comes to us at Christmas, shine in the world?
Perhaps you are like a mirror, reflecting the light of Christ in the world. You see good in the world, and you try to mimic it. You look to good examples of godly living, and are inspired to follow suit. I find myself doing this as I look to my grandparents’ amazing witness in the world as loving, hospitable, gracious, God-fearing people. I try to live up to their example.
Perhaps you are more like a window. When people look at you, they see Christ inside you. They see light pouring out of you, like light pours out of the uncovered windows of a house at night. I love driving by my church at night when there is something going on in the sanctuary. Normally, during the day, we enjoy our beautiful stained glass windows from the inside, but at night, when it’s dark outside and the light is from within, our sanctuary boasts a gorgeous stained glass cross of many colors directly toward Highway 41. And along the sides of the building, our windows project the illumined story of Jesus for all to see.
Perhaps you are like a taper candle. My family has a tradition of candle-lighting during this season. We begin in a dark room and light one candle at a time, bearing witness with each candle to an experience of Christ’s light in the world. My grandparents liked to tell a story of my uncle John. When he was a child participating in this tradition, he used to try to find the very darkest corner of the room, and carry a lit taper to light a candle there. Do you look for those dark corners into which you can bring some light? It’s often much easier, at least safer, to stay on the well-lit major thoroughfares of life, and avoid the dark corners of the world. But perhaps you are like a taper, bringing light even into the darkness.
Or maybe you are like the crystals my mom likes to hang in her kitchen window, which, when they meet the morning light, throw rainbows all over the kitchen. Maybe you refract light all over a room, bringing unexpected splashes of color and promise into the world.
How does the light of Christ work in your life? Do you put it under a bushel? (No!) How do you let it shine? How do you testify to the light?
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Christmas Gifts
Have you found the perfect gift for everyone?
One woman went Christmas shopping with her two children. There were many hours of looking at row after row of toys, and everything else imaginable. And after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she was finally ready to leave the store.
As they headed toward the elevator, she was feeling what so many of us feel during the Christmas holiday. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every open house, taste all the holiday food and treats, and get that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.
Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the elevator. She pushed her way into the elevator and dragged her two kids in with her with all the bags of stuff.
When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot."
From the back of the elevator she heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't worry, we already crucified him."
Wow! In the midst of the craziness someone had her mind set on the reality of Christmas. The reality of baby Jesus in a manger, the Word made Flesh, the Word Incarnate. It’s not about the gifts under the tree, it’s not about the big dinner tonight! It’s about the gift of love, the gift of the Word made Flesh. The ultimate gift, a gift of forgiveness.
One woman went Christmas shopping with her two children. There were many hours of looking at row after row of toys, and everything else imaginable. And after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she was finally ready to leave the store.
As they headed toward the elevator, she was feeling what so many of us feel during the Christmas holiday. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every open house, taste all the holiday food and treats, and get that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.
Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the elevator. She pushed her way into the elevator and dragged her two kids in with her with all the bags of stuff.
When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot."
From the back of the elevator she heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't worry, we already crucified him."
Wow! In the midst of the craziness someone had her mind set on the reality of Christmas. The reality of baby Jesus in a manger, the Word made Flesh, the Word Incarnate. It’s not about the gifts under the tree, it’s not about the big dinner tonight! It’s about the gift of love, the gift of the Word made Flesh. The ultimate gift, a gift of forgiveness.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Anyone Thirsty?
At times I miss watching the snow gently fall from the sky and the trees slowly being covered with a white frosting. It is always so peaceful and beautiful.
There are many beautiful things about winter but I also remember the things that drove me crazy. The beautiful snow that turns into a dirty mess on the side of the road. The heat dries out the air. My skin begins to crack, my lips long for moisture, the static cling drives me crazy, AND I always seem to be thirsty.
Thirst is something we humans experience in all seasons. There are different types of thirst. After a long run we need a drink of water. After a salty meal or a night’s sleep we are thirsty. Our bodies are made up of 80% water so it is no wonder that we thirst for something to drink daily. Then there is the type of thirst that means we are longing for something. We thirst to see our family at Christmas time. We thirst for a closer relationship with God.
These two meanings of thirst are woven throughout the Gospel of John. The writer of John uses thirst to link both of the meanings together. Thirst referred to in the Gospel of John is much more passionate than we have been trained to imagine. It is like a fisherman standing in a river on a hot sunny day with water running everywhere but no water to drink.
We long for a close relationship with God. We thirst to see God’s presence in our lives. The Gospel of John shares with us the abundant life given to us through Christ in his life, death, and resurrection; so, that we may never be thirsty.
Jesus shares with the Samaritan woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks of this water [from the well] will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I [Jesus] give them will never be thirsty.” (Jn 4: 13-14)
Jesus describes himself as the bread from heaven, “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (Jn 6:35).
At the feast of Tabernacles, “On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink’” (John 7:37-38).
While Jesus is on the cross Jesus shares in our thirst, “After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I am thirsty’” (Jn 19:28).
Jesus shared in our thirst. Jesus walked with us, died for us, and rose so that we may have eternal life. Jesus overcame death. That is the news of abundant life. As the dryness of winter sets in and you continue to fill those glasses of water may you remember that God is with you. That Christ has given you new and abundant life. Let us rejoice!
There are many beautiful things about winter but I also remember the things that drove me crazy. The beautiful snow that turns into a dirty mess on the side of the road. The heat dries out the air. My skin begins to crack, my lips long for moisture, the static cling drives me crazy, AND I always seem to be thirsty.
Thirst is something we humans experience in all seasons. There are different types of thirst. After a long run we need a drink of water. After a salty meal or a night’s sleep we are thirsty. Our bodies are made up of 80% water so it is no wonder that we thirst for something to drink daily. Then there is the type of thirst that means we are longing for something. We thirst to see our family at Christmas time. We thirst for a closer relationship with God.
These two meanings of thirst are woven throughout the Gospel of John. The writer of John uses thirst to link both of the meanings together. Thirst referred to in the Gospel of John is much more passionate than we have been trained to imagine. It is like a fisherman standing in a river on a hot sunny day with water running everywhere but no water to drink.
We long for a close relationship with God. We thirst to see God’s presence in our lives. The Gospel of John shares with us the abundant life given to us through Christ in his life, death, and resurrection; so, that we may never be thirsty.
Jesus shares with the Samaritan woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks of this water [from the well] will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I [Jesus] give them will never be thirsty.” (Jn 4: 13-14)
Jesus describes himself as the bread from heaven, “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (Jn 6:35).
At the feast of Tabernacles, “On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink’” (John 7:37-38).
While Jesus is on the cross Jesus shares in our thirst, “After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I am thirsty’” (Jn 19:28).
Jesus shared in our thirst. Jesus walked with us, died for us, and rose so that we may have eternal life. Jesus overcame death. That is the news of abundant life. As the dryness of winter sets in and you continue to fill those glasses of water may you remember that God is with you. That Christ has given you new and abundant life. Let us rejoice!
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