Would Somebody Please Put Me Back Together?!

“Then [the thief] said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’”

 

Jesus, remember me.

 

“Remember language” always makes me think of the story of Noah and the flood – more precisely, God’s words regarding the rainbow (Genesis 9:13-17). Whenever God sees the bow in the clouds, God remembers the covenant…More precisely, God re-members it…Whenever God sees the bow, God puts the covenant back together; even though we continue to tear it apart.

 

Jesus, re-member me.

 

Jesus, put me back together.

 

It’s interesting to me that on this Christ the King Sunday – the last Sunday in the church year, we get this story of Jesus hanging on the cross, promising to put this thief back together (Luke 23.40-43: “Then the other [thief said…] ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”). Another equally valid translation of that last part is, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in God’s garden.” It’s an end-time vision of new creation. I think that is what Paradise is about. I think it’s about creation – or, Creation…And I think it necessitates re-membering. Because we have been dis-membered. We have been torn apart.

 

This is what I’m trying to get at. The biblical witness is very clear that we have been created in the image of God (Gen.2)…the VERY IMAGE of God! But that image has been torn and marred and beaten and buried under mounds and mounds of hurt and anger and fear and self-doubt and greed and war on and on and on.

 

The very image of God is one of creation and peace, not destruction and war. The image of God is love and compassion and forgiveness, not hate and indifference and grudges. The image of God is plenty and inclusion and grace, not poverty and exclusion and pay-back.

 

The image of God in us has been dis-membered, and we can feel it. To be re-membered is to be all that God created us to be. Does that make sense?

 

The second lesson assigned for Sunday is from the book of  Colossians. The author has this to say, that I think is instructive (Colossians 1.16-18): “…for in [Jesus] all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers – all things have been created through him and for him…and in him all things hold together (I suppose one could say, “In him all things are ‘membered.’” – but that’s playing pretty “loose” with the text.). Instructive, because it is painfully obvious that thrones and dominions and rulers all around us do not behave (in any apparent way) as though they were created for this Jesus, the very image of God (Col. 1.15) – who, as we just agreed is about creation and peace and love and compassion and forgiveness and plenty and inclusion and grace.

 

I think the thief’s dis-memberment (and mine too, for that matter) has precisely to do with the fact that the kingdom of this world (which – now I’m just being redundant – was created for and through the God of love) has lost its way (My friend Hutch, who makes up an excuse to drop by my office every 3-5 weeks – he has the heart and training of a Spiritual Director – and I suspect, that he shows up when he can feel that my spirit needs a little boost – Anyhow, he  just left my office. He says that we are living in Exile from our true selves…in exile from the Paradise God intends for us.).

 

I get asked fairly often, “if God is all-powerful, then why can’t God make us behave?”

The question of God’s all-powerfulness aside (which is a question which necessitates a glass of wine – or, at least, a cup of coffee), I believe that to force someone – or a whole creation’s-worth of “someones” to behave a certain way is a form of abuse. And God refuses to be abusive…Therefore God allows us to make really lousy choices; as evidenced by our lost-ness and the exilic nature of the kingdom of this world as opposed to the Kingdom of Jesus – where even thieves are re-membered and made whole to live and love and be what and who God created them (Us??? Me???) to be.

 

Jesus, re-member me – that I may glimpse Paradise now, and show it to others, as we move toward creation and peace and love and compassion and forgiveness and plenty and inclusion and grace.

 

Stand Up and Raise Your Heads

Part of the gospel lesson assigned for Sunday, November 17, (Luke 21.5-19) has this to say: “…there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.” Then a few verses after the assigned reading concludes there is this (21.25-28): “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

 

I cannot read that without thinking about our sisters and brothers in the Philippines…signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars and confusion caused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.

 

And I cannot read the first part of the lesson (21.5-6) where Jesus talks about the great and seeming permanence of things (in this case the temple in Jerusalem) being revealed as an illusion, without seeing images of the buildings in that island nation lying in ruins: homes and churches and shops destroyed by the confusion of the roaring sea.

 

Then I read this: “Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (21.28), and I think of the faces of those I see on the evening news coverage…Faces of people standing up, with heads raised, in the midst of the disaster. And I am left wondering just what it is they are looking at. Or maybe, they are not looking at anything – they are rather (perhaps)  looking for. For what? Signs of life, to be sure…signs which may promise food, help, clothing, water…signs of sanity in a world rocked by confusion and chaos? I imagine them (if by any chance they are familiar with this particular bit of scripture), shaking their fists at God, flailing their arms toward heaven and demanding to know “Where is the promised redemption that is supposedly drawing near?! Because this looks only like hell!”

 

A pastor friend of mine, here in Charlotte, serves a congregation whose membership is made up of quite a number of Montagnard refuges from Vietnam. Two grown men in her congregation, brothers, came to Charlotte just before their father was arrested and imprisoned (about three years ago) for refusing to bow down to an image of the president and instead professing his allegiance to Jesus. No trial, no term of sentence no specified length of imprisonment.

No one had heard from him in quite a while.

Several weeks ago, the brothers were contacted by their sister, still living in Vietnam.

Out of the blue, their father had called her from the prison.

Speaking Vietnamese, he told her that he was “doing fine and will be okay.”

She hung up the phone, thinking it odd that he did not speak the language of his Montagnard tribe.

She concluded that her father must have been forced to call and speak the language that the prison guards could understand.

Just as she came to this conclusion, the phone rang again. This time one of the guards spoke, telling her that her father had just died.

Most likely he was killed for refusing, still, to bow to another’s image.

 

It is hard for me to wrap my mind around the kind of suffering I hear about. “Confusion caused by the roaring seas and waves.”

“Being hated or put to death because of the name of Jesus” (21.16-17).

It is hard for me to fully appreciate how it is that folks keep on standing up, over and over again, despite the complete lack of evidence that any redemption is drawing near.

 

The closest I can come to grasping it, is when I am paying close enough attention to notice that the arms that flail, flail toward heaven…despite all evidence to the contrary, calling out – as if by instinct – to something bigger than this pain, before they slump to the flailer’s side and absent-mindedly clasp the hand of the child beside them, urging them on...helping that smaller one to stand nonetheless.

 

The closest I can come to grasping it, is when I see the eyes of my pastor friend fill with tears of frustration – shaking her head and saying among the safety of other pastor friends – “I swear that I’m going to smack the next person who comes up to me and complains that American Christians are persecuted for their faith!” just as she asks if any of us can serve at the soup kitchen in her congregation’s fellowship hall.

 

These are models of faith, whose model most will never see nor know about…

Those who hold hands and not only continue to stand up – but who reach out to others to help them stand as well…And who, standing, embody the reality of the coming redemption, in their presence that is persistent even in the face of death.

 

 

I Can't Breathe!

Is it just me, or does anybody else feel like they are having a hard time breathing these days? 

Maybe it's the change in the weather. Maybe it's allergies. Maybe it's the time-change. Maybe it's the fact that we just finished with Halloween, and already the Christmas decorations are up. 

I don't know what to attribute it to, but I know that literally, physically, and psychically, I'm having a hard time breathing, and Benadryl doesn't seem to be helping. Add to that, the seemingly daily reporting of gun-violence, the wavering economy, the increase in pettiness, politicians smoking crack, clergy-people, who claim to follow the same Jesus I follow, who at the same time are justifying their building of million-dollar homes, and I just cannot breathe! 

So...maybe it's just me.

In any case, you have been warned, dear reader, that I am not taking full, deep breaths as I approach the scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday!

I am cynical and frustrated by what looks like pettiness in the extreme in the gospel lesson (Luke 20.27-38...You should really read it first, otherwise nothing I say here will make any sense.). Not surprisingly, the Sadducees come to Jesus and challenge him. I'm pretty sure that there is nowhere  in scripture when the Sadducees approach Jesus with anything other than a challenge...but this time, Jesus looks like he gets drawn into the prettiness! Bad form Jesus (I warned you that I am grumpy!)! 

They get into this long discussion about leverite marriage, a method that, while it is presented as a means to ensure that women are not left destitute when/if their husbands die, it really seems that it is (also) a process that keeps women in the position of being nothing more than chattel to be traded from one man to the next (please don't feel the need to correct me on this...I know the basis of leverite marriage...still feels like horse trading to me!). And they are using the whole argument to discuss (debate) the reality/validity of the resurrection...which is already a confusing enough topic...let alone when you try to couch the discussion in terms of marriage, etc. What, in Sweet Betty's name, does this have to do with the resurrection?!

I can imaging my sister telling me, at this point in my rant, that I need to spray some saline in my nose, take three deep cleansing breaths, try to find my "happy place...," and then look again.  Okay, say it with me: "Clear blue ocean. Clear blue ocean." 

My sister is so smart!

Here's what I really think this is all about...the Sadducees don't really give a flip about the resurrection they just want to make Jesus look like a fool...and Jesus uses their own argument against them, which he does on a fairly regular basis (so, if I offended you by saying"bad form, Jesus," I apologize).

This is what I think he is saying, "Really, Sadducees? Can't you think any bigger than that? Don't try to draw me into a discussion about resurrection, then limit resurrection to your silly legalisms! Don't you get it?! 

Resurrection is NOT just a continuation of the way things are! 

It is not the status quo forever!

It isn't even a going back to the "good ol' days" when women were traded about among the brothers...neither is it a reality where there would need to be care for the welfare of women. Think bigger! 

Think totally different! 

Think something COMPLETELY NEW!

Think relationships. 

Think wholeness and happiness and joy and plenty and welcome!" 

Now, I'm fairly certain that that is not what the Sadducees wanted to hear (In fact it is, most likely, just that very type of thinking/visioning/talking/hoping/etc. that had them wanting to humiliate Jesus in the first place.)...But, while it may not be what they wanted to hear...it is definitely what I want to hear...because if the resurrection comes with all off those things (wholeness and happiness and joy and plenty and welcome, then it probably also comes with clear sinuses and easy breaths - which, I guess, is really pretty minor, in the grand scheme of things.)!

Sent from my iPad

Sent from my iPad

Sent from my iPad

No Girls Allowed!

So, this coming Sunday is Lutheran Men in Mission Sunday at the congregation I serve.

 

Truth be told, I’m not 100% sure just what that means…but I am 100% sure that I have no idea what to expect (except that there are “no girls allowed.” How fun to serve in a congregation where the absence of female leadership in worship is unusual!)!

 

I met with the two gentlemen who will be the primary leaders for worship on Sunday, and I was reminded of something that I was told in seminary. It was something like: “Remember, you do this pastoral thing all day, almost every day…Not everybody else does. It will become natural to you…It won’t be for everyone.”

 

At their request, I met with these two remarkable, and very accomplished, men for about an hour…looking at the bulletin; figuring out what to take out and what to leave in; deciding who was going to stand or sit where, and when; what lesson(s) to preach about; what hymns to sing; etc., etc., etc. It was, in all actuality, very humbling for me. I don’t remember what Earl has retired from – something to do with TWA (someone who is reading this may be able to help me on that), but Ralph retired from an executive position with Estee Lauder – both of them are world-travelers. These are strong and wise men, who reminded me that what I do is sacred…holy…different, and not to be entered into lightly.

 

Their concern over doing the absolute best they can do for God and for the people of God, caught me up short – and convicted me of being (at least occasionally) unaware of the impact worship has on folks’ lives.

 

It also reminded me that I do not do nearly as good a job as I like to think I do of reminding folks that my ministry (or calling) as a pastor is no higher or better than anyone else’s…just different. That, in fact, their//your life-ministries (I think I just created that hyphenated word…I like it) stand a far better chance of impacting “un-churched” folks than mine does. After all, they//you spend more time “out there” than I do. It reminded me that I need to do a better job of helping folks worship with every breath they have…doing their absolute best for God and for the people of God in every moment they have.

 

I think that Ralph has decided to preach on a different gospel lesson than the one assigned – I told him that I thought it would probably still “take,” even if it is not the one assigned for this week in the lectionary.

 

But the assigned gospel reading (if anyone’s interested) is from Luke, the 18^th chapter. I didn’t really get any farther than the first verse. It says, “Jesus told them a parable about the need to pray always and not to lose heart.” Lord knows that we are living in times that threaten to make us loose heart…How wonderful to be reminded, by this unlikely duo of men, that God hears the prayers of all people: seminary trained and drop-outs, young and old and world-travelers and homebodies and executives and those who speak in front of people easily and those who struggle to put words together and those leading worship and those who will never set foot in a church. And how wonderful to have lips other than mine speak those prayers and model lives of intentional worship.

 

I am looking forward to being able to sit with my family in worship this coming Sunday…And I thank the Lutheran Men in Mission men for that blessing.

 

And I am eager to see how God will use these men, with and through their wisdom and their nervous concern and their determination…how God will use them to change me and to change the world.

 

No Girls Allowed!

So, this coming Sunday is Lutheran Men in Mission Sunday at the congregation I serve.

 

Truth be told, I’m not 100% sure just what that means…but I am 100% sure that I have no idea what to expect (except that there are “no girls allowed.” How fun to serve in a congregation where the absence of female leadership in worship is unusual!)!

 

I met with the two gentlemen who will be the primary leaders for worship on Sunday, and I was reminded of something that I was told in seminary. It was something like: “Remember, you do this pastoral thing all day, almost every day…Not everybody else does. It will become natural to you…It won’t be for everyone.”

 

At their request, I met with these two remarkable, and very accomplished, men for about an hour…looking at the bulletin; figuring out what to take out and what to leave in; deciding who was going to stand or sit where, and when; what lesson(s) to preach about; what hymns to sing; etc., etc., etc. It was, in all actuality, very humbling for me. I don’t remember what Earl has retired from – something to do with TWA (someone who is reading this may be able to help me on that), but Ralph retired from an executive position with Estee Lauder – both of them are world-travelers. These are strong and wise men, who reminded me that what I do is sacred…holy…different, and not to be entered into lightly.

 

Their concern over doing the absolute best they can do for God and for the people of God, caught me up short – and convicted me of being (at least occasionally) unaware of the impact worship has on folks’ lives.

 

It also reminded me that I do not do nearly as good a job as I like to think I do of reminding folks that my ministry (or calling) as a pastor is no higher or better than anyone else’s…just different. That, in fact, their//your life-ministries (I think I just created that hyphenated word…I like it) stand a far better chance of impacting “un-churched” folks than mine does. After all, they//you spend more time “out there” than I do. It reminded me that I need to do a better job of helping folks worship with every breath they have…doing their absolute best for God and for the people of God in every moment they have.

 

I think that Ralph has decided to preach on a different gospel lesson than the one assigned – I told him that I thought it would probably still “take,” even if it is not the one assigned for this week in the lectionary.

 

But the assigned gospel reading (if anyone’s interested) is from Luke, the 18^th chapter. I didn’t really get any farther than the first verse. It says, “Jesus told them a parable about the need to pray always and not to lose heart.” Lord knows that we are living in times that threaten to make us loose heart…How wonderful to be reminded, by this unlikely duo of men, that God hears the prayers of all people: seminary trained and drop-outs, young and old and world-travelers and homebodies and executives and those who speak in front of people easily and those who struggle to put words together and those leading worship and those who will never set foot in a church. And how wonderful to have lips other than mine speak those prayers and model lives of intentional worship.

 

I am looking forward to being able to sit with my family in worship this coming Sunday…And I thank the Lutheran Men in Mission men for that blessing.

 

And I am eager to see how God will use these men, with and through their wisdom and their nervous concern and their determination…how God will use them to change me and to change the world.

Thankfulness, awareness, and being "made whole"

My parents are here! My parents are here! Thanks be to God, my parents are here!!!!

 

Last week, they moved here from Tennessee.

It has been a move, long in process (or, it felt long in process to me)…full of mixed emotions for them and for all of us, at various levels (the high school I went to was in that small town, as was the church that was so foundational to my understanding of faith/Jesus/pastor-ing); but also, so welcomed.

They got here a week ago today (or tonight).

 

My brother and his wife; my nephew (my brother’s son) and his wife; my sister; and my own family were all awaiting their arrival.

Cliff (my husband and the household chef) had prepared a wonderful pot roast for dinner. It started cooking at noon. The house smelled WONDERFUL (I can’t think of a better “family together” meal!). We had hoped to gather at 6:00 or 6:30 for dinner either at our place or theirs (we were ready to pack up and head to their “temporary” apartment at a moment’s notice…whatever would be easiest for them!).

 

My sister was traveling with them from Tennessee – following in her car. She had been with them for the final couple weeks of packing, house-closing, and “good-bye-ing.”

We called her at about 4:30 or 5:00 to check on their progress. “We are stuck on I-40. There was apparently a terrible accident. We’re looking at a couple hours delay – at least.”

 

The accident ended up being the one in which 8 people were killed – most of them members of Front Street Baptist Church. Many of them my parents’ age. I think we knew details of the accident before my parents and sister did.

My father and sister took two different detours and got separated.

Leslie, my sister, got to our house first.

When she got there, we called to check on Mom and Dad. My father had taken a detour that put him on two-lane roads (he was driving his truck and towing another car). He sounded so exhausted and stressed.

We all just looked around at each other. It would probably be more like 8:30 or 9:00 or 9:30 before they arrived.

Their coming to our house was “off the table.”

 

We determined that we would go meet them at their new place. “No.”

“Okay…Then let’s…hmmm….let’s…hmmm…what should we do?”

“Okay…let’s time it so that Ken (my brother) can meet them at the gate, so that he can help Dad get the car off of the towing thing. Donna (Ken’s wife) can take them some food. The rest of us will wait till tomorrow to see them.”

“I don’t know…it will look kind of creepy if Donna and Ken just sit outside the gate in their  truck and wait for them!”

 

We ended up letting Dad be Dad – we asked him…So wise, so good, so loving and compassionate. So focused on “first things”…what is best for mom. That night…Rest...No company.

 

So there we were – a houseful of siblings waiting for our mission to start – nothing to do…our plans all shot.

So, we sat around and talked about Mom and Dad and how blessed we are.

We sat and cried and laughed and told stories about each other and lessons learned and life and models of love and courage and faithfulness.

Don’t get me wrong…we have, in our family, known death and divorce and tragedy.

Inevitably we have said things we wish we could take back. And not been as patient with each other as times sometimes called for.

We don’t all agree on politics or even religion.

But, we have learned to recognize blessings when we see them!

 

Last year at Christmas, we were – almost all of us – grandkids, too – at my folks’ house in Tennessee (the one they just sold)…We were all sitting on top of each other watching a football game or something, when Mom came in and told us that “she had some things to say…And who knew whether or not she’d be around for another year to tell us (she, right now…today, is on the “outer limit” of her prognosed (?) length of survival for the type of cancer she has…Apparently, no one has told her, though!)”. She proceeded to tell us how thankful and blessed she has been with the love that has surrounded her, that each of us is a gift to her life, and that what we do and who we are matters, and that she is proud of us.

We were all silent and tear-filled in our throats and eyes. She put into words what none of the rest of us could – but which we all wanted to.

 

It was one of the most “whole” moments of my life. I see them everywhere now. Whole moments.

 

It used to drive my sister and me crazy…We’d be traveling somewhere (just about anywhere) and Mom would say, “Make this a memory!” And then she’d start singing (which is a HOOT) the old Seals & Crofts song “We may never pass this way again.” I doubt that she knew that she was doing so – but she taught us to see blessings…To notice…To be aware.

 

I saw them that night, a week ago, as we (all of us minus Mom and Dad) put into words the blessings of love and life and lessons learned.

 

The gospel lesson for this week (Luke 17:11-19) is the story of the 10 lepers.

They are all “made clean” or healed (17:14, 17) – it’s the same word in Greek. But only one of the lepers is “made well” or “made whole” (vs. 19) – which is an entirely different word from the one used for being healed or made clean (it’s the word for “saved,” “liberated,” “freed.” And that makes all the difference!

 

Mom’s cancer has been “in check” for a while (more than a year!). But there are so many other things going on physically with her right now.

Hard to tell whether the cancer is getting “squirrely” and causing problems, or if the new things are entirely different.

In any case, she most likely will not finally be “healed,” but already she is living in wholeness. And so am I – because even as death comes (for her or the folks from Front Street Baptist Church or any of us) we (or I) will walk into it in wholeness, having been “made well” - aware of how blessed I am and so, doubly blessed in gratitude and praise.

 

Thank you all for the way you bless me – I want you to know I appreciate you and thank God for you every day!

Faith, Mustard Seeds, and Barbara Eden

Some clergy girlfriends and I got together yesterday to talk about this coming Sunday's sermon (we do this just about every week. It's not intentionally all women. In fact, there is one fearlessly faithful man who is usually present - although he was absent this week...God love him. Hang in there Gus!).

 

Anyhow, we were looking at this upcoming Sunday's gospel lesson (Luke 17.5-10). It's the one that says, "If you had faith the size of of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey."

 

It's a verse that has always sounded like not-such-good-news to me. In fact, I usually leave it feeling convicted of not even having that much faith! OUCH!

 

This is just one of the many reasons that scripture is best opened when we "talk it out" with others. My sister pastors really helped me out.

 

First of all, they pointed out that there isn't anyone in our congregations, who is paying any attention (including all of us who were in the room), who doesn't also wish they had more faith...So maybe we can give ourselves a little break.

 

Then, they pointed out that Jesus never says that "if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can waive a magic wand (or blink your eyes ala Barbara Eden in "I Dream of Jeannie"), and the tree will instantly uproot itself and be thrown into the sea"!

 

Now, maybe you never read it that way...but I always did.

 

What Jesus says is that if the disciples have faith the size of a mustard seed, they can uproot and move the tree (which is totally passive in this verse)...which probably is going to take some sweat and swearing and maybe some tears (depending on how old or deeply rooted that tree is). And Lord knows, we all have "trees" in our lives that could stand to be uprooted and thrown into the sea and drowned. Again...maybe that's just me. But I doubt it!

 

And then, my sisters pointed out that Jesus says this to the apostleS (plural)...Right?! Sometimes it takes all of us working together to move that old tree! Remember the friends who carry the paralytic into the presence of Jesus (took four guys doing a lot of carrying and digging to get that "old tree" moved to where it needed to be!) And Jesus commends them on their collective faith! That's in the 2nd chapter of Mark, if you want to read it for yourself.

 

Here's the thing...Faith has to do with showing up and doing what needs to be done.

For example, a member of the congregation I serve drove up a little bit ago and had a big box of gifts to leave for the Drop In Center (our ministry to the mentally ill). "Faithful," is Archie (and whoever he ended up grabbing to help him) going out to help her unload it. Thing is...Archie wouldn't use the language of faith to describe what he did. 

 

Which, I think, points to an underlying problem we have. We tend to limit "faith talk" to great-super-human acts...feats, almost. You know (like a tree uprooting itself at my command!)?

 

We forget that faith is simple and every day. And we need to do something about that. We need to call faith "faith." We need to point out that being a good and honest friend, or working at jobs to keep food on the table or keep the world running, or paying your taxes and voting for people who spend those taxes well, or holding hands with someone as they go through grief and transition, or doing any number of ordinary, every day things is being faithful!

 

This is faith - heading out the door each day, looking for opportunities to be a co-worker with God in the world (whether that looks like sharing a prayer with someone or solving a conflict at work or writing a letter to your congressman or being a patient parent or carrying a heavy box for someone).

 

On the surface, it may not look like much...But added together and together and together, and then blessed by God - it is all quite extraordinary.

 

Thank you for your faithfulness.