Helping One Another

After a Monday morning spend cleaning garlic to help a farmer friend who is seriously ill in the hospital, I thought what a gift it is to allow people to help. When there is a catastrophe in life, our friends and family want to help, and so frequently there is little anyone can do to "fix" anything. But giving someone a chance to share the load not only gets the work done, it gives those who come the opportunity to feel better because of helping. It offers folks a chance to exercise their "compassion muscles." I've been thinking so much about a very old song (since I'm a pretty old person these days):

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows where
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there

For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share

And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy he's my brother

Work and Faith

"If I am supposed to hoe a garden or make a table, then I will be obeying God if I am true to the task I am performing. To do the work carefully and well, with love and respect for the nature of my task and with due attention to its purpose, is to unite myself to God's will in my work. In this way I become [God's]instrument. [God]works through me." (Source: Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation)

How does this apply to my professional life? My family life? My friendships? My use of time and money? My own self care? I think I ought to keep this thought before me all the time.

Waiting for Number Eight

Why is it so hard to see God's design--or to wait until it unfolds? Samuel didn't want a new king for Israel at all, and when he was choosing one from Jesse's sons, he was ready to choose the first one. God said NO. Samuel had to go through seven sons, all of whom looked like a perfect king, before the eighth son, David, showed up, young and inexperienced, dragged out of the fields. He was totally unlikely--the wrong one. Just as Jesus was unlikely to be God's chosen Messiah, and he was rejected, until God did a new thing in his death and resurrection! How many possibilites am I missing, because I think I have it all figured out? Hopefully, I can wait until number eight every time I am trying to find the right path to follow Jesus.

Happy Birthday!

I just received a new T-shirt for my birthday. On the front it says Columbia Theological Seminary (my alma mater) and on the back is a LARGE picture of John Calvin. Probably only a Presbyterian would ever wear this shirt, but why would anyone (including Presbyterians) really care about a French Protestant born exactly 500 years ago this July?

As our PCUSA web site asserts: “Lutherans adore Martin Luther. Methodist hearts are strangely warmed by John Wesley. Anglicans even have a sardonic fondness for Henry VIII. But Presbyterians are uncertain about John Calvin and his legacy. Calvin is not a Reformed idol. John Calvin would have been pleased by our reluctance to revere him. He did not want to be idolized by future generations. In order to discourage veneration, he specified that he be buried in Geneva’s common cemetery in an unmarked grave.”

Yet we cannot help but be grateful for Calvin’s influence on the Protestant Church in general and the Presbyterian Church in particular. Calvin placed highest value on education in the church, on teaching all Christians to read and understand scripture, not just as material to be memorized, but as a lens through which to understand the world in which we find ourselves.

Calvin saw economic justice, social compassion, and education to be central to our mission as Christians, and he established hospitals, schools, governmental support for the poor and weak. He insisted that theology could not be separated from life, and that Jesus Christ is Lord in every sphere of existence. We are who we are in many ways because of his leadership and influence. So Happy Birthday, John Calvin!

Earth Day - Outside and Inside

As I write this, I am keenly aware that it is Earth Day. The earth—or at least the atmospheric portion of Earth—has been making its presence known today, in wind and rain and even snow—but now the sun is shining and I can hear birds outside the study window. It is an awesome time to think about God’s great gift of creation . . . and new creation.

Psalm 24 reminds us:

The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
for God has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.

It is easy to see new creation in the environment around us. Perhaps not as easy to see is the new creation that is within us. There is an environment that is our own self, soul, psyche, being—our “within” environment. It is as important to care for that environment as it is to cherish and maintain the earth. We face storms in our lives, too—wind, rain, ice, thaw, the falling and dying of leaves, the greening of newness in spring. We sometimes endure toxic dumping from others, pollution from sin, hatred, grief, guilt. We find old feuds, disappointments, and current fears and ailments littering our spirits.

As we remember that the earth is the Lord’s, let us remember that WE are the Lord’s, too. God has created us, sustains us with God’s Holy Spirit, and offers us every moment the possibility of new creation. God has promised that to us in Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for eternal Spring!

Hints of Easter

Dictionary.com defines hermeneutics as “the science of interpretation, especially of the scriptures.” During my ministry, I have increasingly seen what I do—in almost every area of pastoral work—as hermeneutics. I see what is going on around me, I reflect on it in light of the Bible and theology and experience, and I try to make sense of it to myself and to others—in preaching, teaching, pastoral care, even during meetings and seemingly unrelated activities.

I suspect we all do a lot of hermeneutics in our lives. It is part of how we live as disciples of Jesus Christ. We interpret the world we inhabit in light of what we know of God through Jesus and scripture, and what we have learned in the hundreds of worship services and Sunday school classes we have attended.

Yesterday afternoon, I traveled “down the mountain” for a lecture at Second Presbyterian. As you all know, around here spring is giving a few little hints, a bit of green lawn here, a few buds there, daffodils and crocus—but in the valley, all the trees have bloomed out—the tulip trees, the redbuds, the pears—and everything gloriously green and lush. As I soaked it in, I kept thinking about Easter—about resurrection—new life—and the hints of it we keep getting throughout our earthly lives. If heavenly life is anything like spring, what a wonder it will be! And if is anything like our glimpses of joy, peace, and love that we share as we worship, fellowship and study together, what a wonder that will be! Even in death, we are in life—life today, and life complete one day. Thanks be to God!

Beginning a New Decade

On March 1, I completed ten years as pastor of Northside Presbyterian Church in Blacksburg, Virginia. It is hard to believe that a whole decade has passed. When I arrived in 1999, the world was a different place. In 1999: the Roth IRA, the IBook, and the G4 were introduced, the Dow closed above 10,000 for the first time, we were at war in Kosovo, the Columbine High School shootings took place, George Bush declared for the presidential race, earthquakes killed almost 20,000 people globally, and the list (and the world) goes on.

During this decade, which has been almost half of my ministry, this congregation and I have been through a lot together. We weathered 9-11 and 4-16. We have grieved thousands killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as some dearly loved folks from this church. We have watched the economy go from boom to bust. We have bid farewell to those moving on to new places, and welcomed new members. We have faithfully worshiped together each Sunday, celebrated Christmas and Easter, and Pentecost, baptized and confirmed, married and buried. We began Logos and our church garden. We fought the “mold” and struggled to remain in loving community through disagreements. We have studied, played, and worked together. And through it all, God in Jesus Christ has gone with us.

I am so grateful that God brought metogether with this church in these times, in this place. I echo the sentiments of Paul, who wrote: “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.” Here’s to the next decade!

One of the great joys of being the pastor at Northside is journeying with our young people as they participate in the confirmation process. This year, I am so grateful to be learning together with Emmy Bender, Maggie Hancock, Avery Jones, Paavo Kaldro-Bridge, and Megan McCoy. These seventh graders are bright, keenly interested in exploring what their faith in Jesus Christ means, understanding the Bible, Christian ethics and history, and even a little theology (more than a little!).

Their enthusiasm and energy in learning is inspiring to me. I wish it were contagious! My wish for all of us, especially those of us who are a little farther down the road than these young folks, is that we would engage in study and exploration more than we presently do. I’d like to see everyone in our church involved in Sunday School or formal Bible study. Think about it . . . when was the last time you read a good book about the Christian faith, or tried a new spiritual discipline, or talked with others about how to live in this world as a follower of Jesus Christ?

If you are doing any of these things, I’d love to hear about it. Send me the name of the best book you have read lately about Christian faith. Tell me what faith groups you are participating in. Share a meaningful spiritual discipline you use. I’d like to post a “recommended” reading list and some “helps” for Christian living on the bulletin board and on the web site, and help steer folks to energetic pursuit of their journey of faith. Let’s inspire each other!