Winter's Joy

I love winter because it is so different from summer. The sun dances on the new snow in a way no artist can replicate. And, how about this word: SNOWBOUND. Now there is a word of pure joy.  You wake up in the morning and the snow drifts are so high that you cannot even think about going to work. So you stay in your soft clothes, make some coffee (or hot chocolate!), and spend a day doing nothing, except maybe playing in the snow, and then having more hot chocolate!

Speaking of soft clothes, are these not the world’s greatest fashion discovery? Soft clothes are wonderful because they are so, well, soft, and warm and generous. After a big meal of comfort food (two helpings of meat loaf and potatoes and corn covered with butter), you take off the working day clothes, especially that belt, and you put on your warm, expandable soft clothes and read a book or watch a movie and take a nap before it’s time to go to bed. Did I mention I love winter?

As a friend mentioned to me this week, which has been a particularly brutal one with snow and sleet and something they all “wintry mix”, she loves winter because her life slows down. Life forces her to stay inside enjoying the fire burning from the firewood she collected from the outside.  The slower pace of winter is just what the soul needs a few months of ever year. You can find joy in slowness, and sometimes it takes a “wintry mix” to force us to discover the joy of a slower pace.

Which all reminds me of Pablo Picasso’s words: “Without great solitude no serious work is possible.” (discovered at “inward/outward”)  The joy of winter is that it offers opportunities for solitude, which can only happen when we “slow down, you move to fast…”.  Great work doesn’t happen necessarily happen during solitude, but it is the fertilizer of the mind and heart which produces great work.  If you want to really talk with God this week, try first slowing down, seek solitude, and, if necessary, pray for a snow storm. I will enjoy every moment of it with you.

Oh, and for our warm weather readers, you will need to find solitude on a hot day as you sit by the pool, sipping one of those drinks with little umbrellas, dreaming of snow. We will pray for you.

Death, Birth and Epiphany

I was deep in the middle of thinking about the death of Stephen.  I did not know Stephen well. But I knew that he was a kind and compassionate soul, whose thirty years on this earth were complex. I was trying to figure out how to say well, “But, while death is the final battle in this life, for those who die in God’s merciful arms, we have the promise that death has been defeated.”  It is an easy message to write; it is a hard message to deliver to the grieving.  Either way, honestly, their young son and brother is gone, absent from them. For now.

In the middle of that thought the phone rang and it was another mother I had been praying for earlier that day. The mother announced, “Our baby was born today!”  And so we talked about the birth process, and all that went with it, and how, in the end, when Evelyn was revealed, the room was filled with joy.

As we talked, I told Mom, “I am so excited that Evelyn is an Epiphany baby.” That didn’t get a big reaction. I explained that Evelyn was born on January 6, the day the Church celebrates Epiphany, the revealing of Jesus to the world as the long-awaited Messiah; the day when the Wise Men show up with gifts. Evelyn will be celebrating as long as she lives Epiphany as it should be, with the exchange of gifts to celebrate birth.

As I turned back to my funeral message I was still thinking about Evelyn, how exciting it will be to baptize her, to tell her that Jesus is her brother, and that God has marked her as his own forever. Which led me to think about Stephen’s baptism, some thirty years ago.  God gave a sign then too, to Steven and his parents: “this child is my own forever.”  It is good to remember baptism’s meaning. Perhaps this is why, on the first Sunday after Epiphany, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, because baptism is a time of revelation, of discovery. Baptism is an epiphany.

Epiphany is a season of discovery. Discoveries made as baby Evelyn cascaded through the canal into the light; as Stephen was drawn from the darkness of his own hospital room into the Light of the presence of God-With-Us.  Discoveries are still to be made, by you, as you look for God’s revealing light through the “thin places” that separate earth from heaven.  Jesus is still being revealed and discovered. The wise set out on a journey of discovery in this season, praying for eyes to see Light and Hope revealed in dark places.  Let the journey begin, o wise ones.

Jews and Christians Both Light Candles

One of my good friends, who was Jewish, died this year.  I did not get to say good-bye.  Tonight, while I am celebrating Christmas Eve, I am going to light candles. Tonight, if he were here, he would be lighting a candle too, on a menorah, to mark the beginning of Hanukkah. Tonight, I will light one for you.

Tonight, in a rare alignment of calendars, marks the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah and the Christian celebration of Christmas Eve.  While Hanukkah is a celebration of a different miracle of light (the mysteriously un-ending supply of oil that supplied eight days of light during battle by the Maccabees which led to the rededication of the Temple in 166 BC), it is an annual reminder that God sends light into the dark places of our world and our lives.  We can celebrate this other truth as well: Jews and Christians alike await the coming of the promised messiah. As the noted theologian, Martin Buber suggested, “Let’s all pray for the messiah-Christians and Jews alike. When he arrives, we’ll ask if he’s been here before.”  As Rabbi Michael Gottlieb puts it, “Christianity dispels a lot of darkness…. In its glow, it challenges Christians and non-Christians alike to consider that which his transcendent, eternal and greater than all of us.” (WSJ 12.23.16)

Tonight, Jews and Christians around the world will celebrate the miracle of light which sustains us during the battles of life. Tonight, Jews and Christians alike will rededicate themselves to worship God and God alone.  Tonight, we will all draw closer to God by lighting a candle which carries the hope that God still is doing miracles.  Tonight, Jews and Christians alike will think about the messiah, the one who, on the last day, we will have the joy of knowing “he’s been here before.”

I never made one effort to convert my Jewish friend to Christianity. I saw no need to do so. God already saved him. As a recent resolution by a German church organization puts it, “The secret of God’s revelation includes both the expectation of the return of Christ in splendor and the confidence that God will save his first-called people.” (Christian Century, 12.21.16) I believe this beautiful statement of faith expresses precisely the sentiment of Paul’s words: “…all Israel will be saved…for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:26,29).

Tonight, I will be thinking of my friend. While I did not get to say good-bye, one day he and I will together say, “Hello. Hallelujah. He is here.” 

Happy Hanukkah, friend. Merry Christmas.

What I Saw at Grant School

Smiles. Possibly because it was Friday; or because the teachers wore Christmas sweaters, or a Mrs. Claus’ dress. I told her she must be Mrs. Claus’ daughter because she looked too young to be the “Mrs.” More smiles. It made me happy that my first impression was of teachers and staff who were happy to be there.  I saw children’s smiles too, on the playground where the kids in snow pants and boots slid down little “hills” of snow, making noises of glee only elementary kids can.  I saw the faces of children from nearly every background. I could see why God would make a rainbow of skin colors, because when they play together in the snow they paint a masterpiece.  No skin color is supreme on the playground, just as God intended.

Great books.  The Kids Hope USA (“KHUSA”) lunch was in the Media Center (what we used to call a “Library”), where I could not help myself from looking at the books. I found one which the Librarian let me borrow called “Need It or Want It?”(C. Herd, Rouke Publishing 2012) “A need is something you must have to live a safe and healthy life. Food, clothing, and shelter…” for example.  “A want is something you would like to have, but do not need to survive. A new video game is an example… .”  Now, isn’t that a perfect Christmas story?

Adults loving the kids.  The KHUSA participants from our church ate lunch with their students, some parents and some teachers.  The reason KHUSA can be in a public school is that the program forbids any speaking of religion or church.  The purpose of the program is to show the love of Jesus to children in need without ever saying Jesus’ name. You spend one hour a week to build a relationship with one child.  You spend time helping with homework, but mostly it is time learning to love each other. Can there be a more profound sermon these children hear each week?

I stopped in the Principal’s office to say “thank you”.  In the midst of the organized chaos of the end of the lunch hour and recess, the Principal, in his fun “Packers” sweater, was kind enough to chat for a few moments. I told him how his school gave me hope for our city’s future. This school was forming a future society which could work. What I saw at Grant School was an Advent song of love, peace, even joy: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. (All their faces bear his light), they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”  Hope is here.

Disappointment, Doubt and Jesus

...the mother who feels like she is at her last thread of hope with a "problem" child; the spouse who stares at the wall wondering what happened to the marriage;

…the sick person who wonders when, if ever, healing is coming; the child who struggles to find some way to understand that Mom won’t be here this Christmas;

...the survivors of the storms of life, who wonder why the fire happened, why their loved ones were there.

December, the church’s season of Advent, highlights the disappointments of life in a stark way.  The month in which we are supposed to celebrate Hope, Peace, Joy and Love seems to instead be filled with news or memories of just the opposite. And when disappointments persist to those locked into prisons of despair the mind moves to doubt. Is this Jesus really the Messiah we seek?

We can relate, just a little, to John the Baptist who was so fired up to announce the coming of the Messiah, but who finished his days in prison, waiting for the end of his life which ended with a decapitation. How exactly was Jesus being the Messiah for his prophet, John?  Are you the One we have been waiting for, or is there someone else?  John’s inquiry of Jesus becomes our question.

The mission of Jesus then and now, and the concurrent mission of the Church, is to encounter life’s disappointments and doubts with pictures and stories that people with eyes of faith can see. The child who was to die but now is scheduled to graduate from college.  The men and women with “incurable” cancer who instead become cancer “survivors.”  The poor being fed and clothed. The unjustly punished receiving justice.

Advent’s message is that if you look with eyes of faith, you will see just enough; just enough to see disappointment filtered through the lens of Joy; just enough to replace doubt with Hope. The almost hidden beauty of Advent is the promise that Christ is real, here still, and coming again.  Until then the faithful, today's prophets, can be excused expressions of doubt generated by cruel disappointments, for staring at the empty manger and wondering, Jesus, where are you?  Until then the prophets keep going to tell it on the mountain, Christ(mas) is coming. Just you wait...

Shalom,

Pastor Bill

The Real Meaning of Black Friday

I thought I was ready. I went through the store ads, carefully ripping out the pages which had items I “needed” to buy. I then circled each of the best deals I would head for in each store.  Since my wife, Jill, and I had decided to spend part of Friday doing some Black Friday shopping I was going to take an organized approach to this. So, when Friday morning came, I thought I was ready.

At my first stop I walked in and saw some people in line to check out, and then some more people, and then more and more and more people.  I got to where there was a lady in a red elf outfit wearing a cute little hat and holding a sign that said “The Line Starts Here”, and I took out my phone and called Jill. “I can’t do it! There are hundreds of people in line to check out. I don’t care how much I am going to save, I refuse to stand in this line.  I will come back in January for the Inventory Reduction sales.” As I left I saw it: “Advent Calendar.”  Now, this has promise, I thought. I picked up The Advent Calendar and saw it featured the Elf on a Shelf. Who else?  So this is the new meaning of Advent.

Then it was off to church to join in the decorating of the sanctuary for Advent.  Having no Elf on Shelf in the Liturgical Supplies closet, we got out the Advent Wreath, only to discover we were missing three of the five candles.  So, it was time to head back into Black Friday stores. At my next stop, I was greeted warmly by a young woman from our church. Maybe there was some hope for this day.  While shopping, I was greeted by a girl who attends our church, and we talked about her Black Friday working experience. I could feel peace coming over me. When Jill and I checked out our receipt told us we saved way more than we spent! Now this is joy! 

We headed back to church and finished placing the candles in the Advent Wreath. As I surveyed the sanctuary, now displaying the beautiful dark blues of hope and expectation, and the evergreens in a circle displaying God’s unending Love, I was struck by the starkness of the white candle in the center of the Advent Wreath. And then I understood.  We wait in darkness for the light. We wait in the world, together, in the busyness of life, frantically looking for the best deals.  It is in the world that we seek the signs of Hope and Peace and Joy and sometimes even Love.  But it is in the community that gathers from the world into worship that we experience the coming of the Light.  Millions of people spend (literally) four weeks getting ready, and it all starts on Black Friday.  May they all see the Light of Christmas Eve.

Revolution + 11 Field Report

In Michigan they still do not know who won the presidential election vote.  The rest of the nation knows, and now, eleven days later, while social media still buzzes with joy for the “winners” and despair for the “losers”, I thought I would give you a field report of how it’s going here in one of the states that could have decided the outcome.

The highways are open. Cars are running at 80 m.p.h. in the fast lane. No more road rage than usual. The airports is operating. Airplanes fly in and out carrying vacationers to Mexico and business travelers from Michigan. No hijackings. 5^th Grade Crossing Guards stand at their post before and after school each day and little children, from red and blue families both, make their way safely across the streets of Michigan.

I was able to attend an elementary talent show in which all thirty (30!) acts performed to the delight of their classmates and under the enduring eyes of parents and grandparents. All thirty acts went off without a hint of protest.  There was a girl in a red dress.  And then a large assembly of red-blooded 5^th Grade boys in blue clothing filling up the stage doing 5^th grade boy antics, full of life and not yet realizing that being “cool” requires them to slouch and frown in front of girls and adults. Maybe next year.  The crowd cheered for all of the acts, red and blue. Did I mention that there were thirty of them?

That’s how things are in this state where the tension over the election results plays out in the halls of political power. The people have spoken, although we don’t know what they said yet. But, there is a fine line between acceptance and resignation.  Both the “winners” and the “losers” have an obligation to give meaning to what “the people” said. 

I received an email from a friend who wanted to know how to give to a Michigan-based woman  our church supports as a missionary who is raising money to serve Muslim refugees in Greece.  His rationale for giving is that “Christian charity and compassion toward Muslim refugee families is of vital importance.” I suppose that he figured now is the time to act; to do something positive. 

Life goes on. Everything seems the same.  And everything is changing.  And that is what a modern American Revolution looks like in the field eleven days later.  What are you going to do about it?