Bah humbug-December 2011

“This is the first time in years that I am actually looking forward to Christmas”, my friend wrote. He used to dread Christmas and make fun of it and deride it as "Bah! Humbug!" And when possible, he traveled to a tropical island to get away from it all.

So what changed? He moved to a small town in New England and became involved in the local church choir. And as they began rehearsing hymns and anthems for the Christmas concert, the music stayed with him throughout the week, echoing in little phrases of joy, wonder, and mystery. And it wasn’t long before he found himself humming the songs and thinking about the lyrics, and along with that looking forward to the celebration of Christ’s Birth.

When we were children, most of us looked forward to Christmas with eager anticipation. In fact, we couldn’t wait for the holidays to come. Advent calendars and other rituals helped us count down the days towards Christmas. It was a time of mystery, magic, sparkle, and joy.

Some of us have never lost this spirit of joyful anticipation. But for others the joy of the holidays has become overshadowed by a variety of circumstances. For those who have recently suffered the loss of a beloved family member, the first Christmas without that family member can be particularly difficult. Those who are unemployed, or separated from their families, or challenged by illness might feel down or “blue” around the holidays. Depression likewise can worsen around the holidays. And stressful family dynamics, misunderstandings, discord, and estrangements, which are painful at any time of the year, can become more troubling when the holidays approach. And finally, there are those who are simply “not in the mood”.

And yet, observing times and season is healthy and helpful. The yearly round of rituals and observations grounds us in the cycle of life. It gives our soul a home with many rooms. But if we wait until we are “in the mood” some of us might never celebrate.

So, rather than letting circumstances dictate our mood, we can set the mood: We can begin to sing, whether we feel like it or not, and then discover, like my friend, that through the singing our mood has lifted. We can light a candle, set out a pretty cloth, and place a small ornament in a corner where it catches our eye. We can invite friends, and it doesn’t have to be a lavish party. We can surprise a neighbor with a little gift. In all these ways we can lift up the mystery of Christmas: God has made a home among us so that we could see God’s glory – full of grace and truth!

Wishing you a bright and grace-filled Christmas and a blessed New Year.

"You have unused icons on your desktop"-November 2011

My computer reminds me in regular intervals that I have “unused icons” on my desk top. Meaning I have a number of small pictures or symbols which could serve as a shortcut to a software tool or a data file and which I either do not need or do not use.

“Icon” is Greek for “image” and long before the word “icon” became associated with computers, it referred to the religious images of Saints which feature so prominently in Eastern Orthodox tradition. You might think those two uses of icons have little or nothing in common: one belongs to the modern world of graphical user interface, and the other belongs to the ancient world of Byzantine Christianity. Yet both of them are there to help us make connections.

In the Eastern tradition Icons are often called “windows to heaven”. They are windows to a world of beauty and delight, a world which is our birthright, but from which we feel often far away. David J. Goa writes: “While the Biblical hymns beautifully declare the glory and wonder of creation, most, if not all human beings often experience the world as a place of struggle, if not battle, and, all too often, a place of agony and alienation. Yet, deep within the human spirit, and often in the story and song of human cultures, we hear the distant echoes of another way of knowing the world.”

Icons are meant to help us to remember and connect with that grace-filled world which is our true home. This connection can also be made in private prayer and especially in communal worship when our liturgy calls us out of alienation and into loving communion with God and with each other. Worship invites us participate in the mystery of a little bit of “heaven on earth” right here, right now. And as the faithful enter into this mystery and then begin to work together on behalf of all creation, a congregation can become an icon for the neighborhood.

But will our neighbors know that such an icon exists in their midst? Or will we be to them as useless as some of the computer icons on my desk top

Consider serving worms for Halloween-October 2011

Consider serving worms for Halloween this year. I don’t mean actual worms, but those colorful candy ones which taste like gummy bears. It would not only add to your Halloween decor, but help you celebrate Reformation history as well. Because October 31 is not just Halloween, but also Reformation Day. And this is no accident: Martin Luther picked this popular medieval feast day to post his “95 Theses” on the church doors to give them maximum exposure to the crowds who usually showed up for Halloween (which in medieval times was not a trick or treat event, but a sacred worship time in preparation of the Feast of All Hallows/All Saints).

But why worms? That idea originated after years of teaching confirmation class where each fall would lead to the following exchange: “A Diet of Worms? That’s disgusting!” And the kids would make faces and giggle until I explained that I was not talking about food. “Diet”, I would say, is a fancy word for assembly, and “Worms” is the name of a city in Germany where this assembly took place. The Diet of Worms was held in the spring of 1521and lasted four months. (Imagine those imperial princes serving on jury duty for four months!) The purpose of the Diet was to deal with the controversial writings of Martin Luther. Luther had to appear twice before the Emperor, and each time he was told to take back his teachings. Luther responded: "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen." In response the Emperor declared Martin Luther an outlaw. That meant anyone could kill him without threat of punishment. Fortunately, on the way home from Worms Friedrich the Wise, a defender of the Reformation, arranged to have Martin Luther “kidnapped” and taken to the safety of the Wartburg Castle. During his time in hiding, Martin Luther was able to deepen and strengthen his theology while the Reformation spread throughout the country. Eventually the number of followers became large enough and the political situation favorable enough for the Reformation to stabilize. And the rest, as they say, is history.

These days there are no confirmation age kids at our congregation, and so I don’t get to talk about the “Diet of Worms.” Or about any other aspects of the Reformation history which I find so fascinating. Yet, reformation happens all the time - often in small ways and through ordinary people: “Wisdom renews all things, and in every age she enters into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets.” (Wisdom of Solomon 7:27). And so, in recognition of the many ways in which the Spirit renews the church, you might a) share a bowl of candy worms, b) raise a stein of beer as Martin Luther did, or c) offer prayer of thanksgiving. So—Happy Halloween/Reformation Day—however you celebrate!

Do you remember the 21st night of September?
-Julia Tranchina

September 2011 Good News

Not so long ago September meant back to school, a great time to head over the hill to Santa Cruz and the month magazine issues got ginourmous. A time according to Earth Wind and Fire when; “there never was a cloudy day”. This changed after the events of September 11, 2001.

For me looking back a decade later, things have begun to blur a bit. The grief and anger, confusion and fear has become less raw. Yet something forever changed I think, in our national consciousness on that September day, when we realized random and dreadful things could happen to us at anytime.

It is human nature when one is fearful to become suspicious of the unfamiliar. Which is why I think ten years after 9/11 there is still a tendency to blame an entire group of people for the violent acts of a delusional individual. This is easy to do when the terrorist is different from us and becomes them. If you have never meet them or laughed with them you might assume that Arabs are the same as Muslims who seem like South Asians who are identical to Middle Easterners who could pass as Sikhs. This would be like mistaking a Minnesotan for an Iowan or a Northern Californian with a Southern Californian or a Lutheran for a Catholic.

I work at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, which our website will tell you is a collaboration between the City of San José and San José State University. This collaboration includes a combined computer network which is maintained and supported on the public library side by me and on the university library side by Altaful—my friend and counterpart. Altaful is Muslim; he was born in Bangladesh and moved to the US in the 1980s. He once ate nothing but French fries for six months working at Wendy’s during his undergrad at Iowa. His wife works at IBM and won’t let him eat French fries anymore. He loves the 49ers, the Giants and Seinfeld. He has two daughters who made it through the Disney princess phase, Harry Potter, Jonas Brothers and now are physically attached to their smart phones. Altaful and I quiz each other on obscure TV shows from the late 80s/early 90s. We both have aging parents and this worries us. I have known Altaful before and after the 9/11 attacks. We have spoken at length about our fears and frustrations, our differences and similarities. Mostly we get up everyday and come to work and fix things and back each other up and support one other and laugh. He will never be a them to me. He is an American. He is us.

In the face of the ten–year anniversary of 9/11, I wish the world peace. The Apostle Peter wrote: “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:8-10)

Making it real.-August 2011

She stands tall, with a very straight back. Her head is held high and her eyes look into the distance. Her features are noble, her face shows resolve, her jaw line suggests determination. There is no smile, but she does not look unkind. She wears a long, pleated robe: simple, elegant, timeless. At her feet lies a broken chain and her head is crowned with seven rays. One of her hands holds a tablet; the other is raised high and bears a torch. Can you guess who this is? … It is the Statue of Liberty - Lady Liberty, the neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. By choosing certain features rather than others, the creator of the sculpture, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, managed to convey strength, dignity, and greatness. If you had to design a statue that stands for “liberty” how would you do it?

However, it is one thing to look at a statue and perceive the concept of liberty. It is quite something else to experience liberation. Jesus offered such an experience to people. And many other experiences as well: Justice. Hope. Compassion. Truthfulness. Kindness. Love. Humility. All these things became real through the way Jesus conducted himself; how he lived and how he died. The way he touched people, blessed them, fed them, healed them, consoled them - or even the way he confronted, challenged, and resisted them. We call this incarnation/embodiment. Embodiment is hugely important, because we human creatures are created not just with souls and spirits and minds but also with bodies.

And just as Jesus was the embodiment of love and justice, etc, so the church is now the embodiment of Jesus. If people want to know Jesus, who he was, how he lived; if people want to see Jesus, experience him, and discover him, they are meant to experience him in their interaction with the church. For us who are members of a Christian community this is a tall order and a daunting task: are we really meant to give ourselves away as Jesus gave himself away? To be broken for the sake the healing of the world? To speak the truth in love, to console, but also to confront? Can we even do it? It seems impossible when we look at the motley crew that we are. How in the world can people see Jesus when they look at us? The embodiment of Jesus? Really? How can this be?

Mary – whom we will remember on August 15 - asked the same question when she was told she would bear a son who would be the embodiment of God. How can this be? And in both cases the same answer is given: by the power of the Holy Spirit! With or without our efforts, and perhaps many times despite them, Christ is embodied in the church. What a strange and wonderful miracle!

Travelling without leaving home-July 2011

People often tell me they wished they could travel to another country or learn another language. And I agree - it is delightful and enriching to expand one’s horizons and be exposed to different cultures. Yet, travelling and language lessons are not always possible or affordable. But what is available to most of us is the travel across time and history within one’s own culture.

Sometimes it happens by accident: we stumble upon an old expression (“fetching”, “slugabed”, “beckon”) and suddenly a whole new room opens up to us. Or rather an old room which has been there all along waiting to be rediscovered. A room full of delightful words – and not just words, but concepts that come with the words.

Take for example the hymn Soul, Adorn Thyself with Gladness. In contemporary English we could say: Dress yourself up with joy, my heart. Which sounds kind of strange. “Heart” just does not have the same ring as “soul” and “dress up” does not have the same ring as “adorn”. But even more interesting is the whole idea that the soul can and should “adorn” itself with gladness! Who among us contemporary Christians would think of joy as something we can deliberately “put on”?

Most people think that joy is beyond our control: we tend to think that joy comes and goes like sunshine and clouds, or that joy is the result of favorable circumstances, or that joy comes when we find a soul-mate, or make money, or achieve certain goals. But what if our ancestors were on to something? But what if joy really is something we can choose? Something we can put on the way we pick out a shirt or a dress or a tie or a necklace in the morning? What if we could be joyful, simply because we make up our mind to be joyful?

Such discoveries can be made in many places and in many ways, but it strikes me how easily they are made in and around worship. Many worship texts, hymns, and liturgies are a treasure-trove of old words, and even more so the concepts that are represented by these words. Think: “abiding”, “rejoicing”, “beseeching”.

Of course it can be a bit unsettling to leave the familiar territory of contemporary language and encounter some of the older words, just like encountering other cultures can sometimes be a stretch for us. But these encounters can also be delightful adventures and discoveries; they can leave us richer, with an expanded horizon and a few new insights. And who knows, we might just get up one morning and decide on the blue shirt, the black pants plus a good measure of “gladness” to compliment our outfit.

Justice. Spirituality. Food. Music.

It is an ordinary workday, a Wednesday afternoon to be precise, and yet the atmosphere is festive and everyone seems to be relaxed and in a good mood. It helps that the sun is shining. This is an outdoor event and rain would have put a damper on it. Today, however, is a perfect day in late spring, not too hot and not too cold. All kinds of people and families have shown up and there are lots of children in the mix. It is very multi-cultural, and people of all ages and backgrounds are enjoying themselves, sampling slices of fresh fruit, munching on buttery cobs of corn, engaging in conversations. “Have you tried this before?” – “No, but I have an open mind…”

Someone plays the guitar and sings folksongs; he plays all my favorite songs. I take a seat on a low stone wall under a shady tree and sing along - in my head only, I don’t want to scare anyone off. A young mother lifts her little girl out of the stroller and into her arms and dances along to the music. I close my eyes and enjoy the sun on my face. A while ago I had a headache, but now it is completely gone.

Where is all this taking place, you ask? At our local farmer’s market! Unlike shopping at the supermarket which at times leaves me a bit stressed, I find shopping at the farmer’s market fun and relaxing. The sights and sounds are so joyful: fruits, vegetables, flowers, crafts, homemade food, music, and sense of community which is both local and global. I learn about the food, what it is, where it is grown, and by whom. One stall sells Bolanis made by an Afghan family. The son tells me about his mother making the food.

Church could be like this, right? Joyful, festive, colorful, multicultural, fun, relaxing, child friendly, earth friendly, intimate …and building a community that is both local and global. A place where justice and spirituality and earth care and art and music all come together. In fact, I think we are already headed there, and have always been headed there. From the earliest beginning on the day of Pentecost, and throughout the ages, when people planted gardens and cooked and ate together and “spent much time together in the temple, and broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.” (Luke 2:46-47) In this season of Pentecost, the season of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, may you sense God’s presence anew through sight, sound, touch, justice and community.

Dear Friends-

A bout of bronchitis has upset my schedule and I have no article to share this month. Instead I am offering you the words from a hymn called “I Am forever who I Am.” I heard this hymn sung recently by the Schola Choir of the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary under the direction of Pr. Joel Wudel, and I was deeply moved.

I Am forever who I Am,
Above you, beneath you, around you and within you.
Be still and know that I AM GOD

Though mountains slide into the sea,
and waters rush where fields should be,
Though monuments and nations fall,
Your Holy City stands through all.
When nothing seems to stay the same,
You teach us Your Eternal Name.

I Am forever who I Am,
Above you, beneath you, around you and within you.
Be still and know that I AM GOD

We buy and sell, we lose or gain;
our fortunes shift like sun and rain.
Sustain our lives, reward our toil
with bread and honey, wine and oil.
Save us and others from our greed;
You always give us what we need.

I Am forever who I Am,
Above you, beneath you, around you and within you.
Be still and know that I AM GOD

Our lust for power, wealth and land
diminishes the earth You planned.
Prevent our crimes and futile wars;
convince us that all things are yours.
We rage and burn and kill and steal,
but You redeem, restore and heal.

I Am forever who I Am,
Above you, beneath you, around you and within you.
Be still and know that I AM GOD

Like shepherds watching for the light,
aware of dangers in the night,
We hear the angel: “Do not fear,
the Savior of the world is near.”
We run, we see, we touch, we laugh.
You come to earth on our behalf.

I Am forever who I Am,
Above you, beneath you, around you and within you.
Be still and know that I AM GOD

Each generation looks for truth,
and doubt can trouble age or youth.
If other gods would take Your place,
remember us with love and grace.
Reclaim us if we go astray;
You are the Truth, the Life, the Way.

I Am forever who I Am,
Above you, beneath you, around you and within you.
Be still and know that I AM GOD

Some days seem long, though life is brief,
and death is waiting like a thief.
When vision fades and dreams go dry,
we will on Unseen things rely.
Our stories take but a page,
but Yours goes on from age to age.

I Am forever who I Am,
Above you, beneath you, around you and within you.
Be still and know that I AM GOD

If you could change...

A Meditation on Easter

April 2011

In our household we have a little joke. When I come home from work, I often announce that I am going to the bedroom “to change”. And whenever I make this announcement we jokingly speculate: change how? my gender? my temper? my personality? my looks? Will I still be recognizable when I emerge from the bedroom? But then I always reappear as the same old me, only with sweatpants and a sweatshirt instead of slacks and a blouse.

But what if I could really change? What if I could change more than the clothes I wear? In what ways would I want to change? What about you? If you could change, how would you want to change? And is it even possible? Can human beings ever really change? This seems to be an ongoing debate among the helping professions.

Sometimes people change if there is enough motivation, or if they have a good support system, or if the pain of staying with the old patterns becomes unbearable. Sometimes people grow and evolve as they encounter great challenges and overcome them. Sometimes people seek out therapy and counseling or learn behavior modification techniques. Sometimes people acquire new skills which help them overcome limitations. And moving into a new environment can bring about change as well. In all these many ways people sometimes move – by luck or intention – from an old self to a new one.

And in the midst of all of this the Gospel holds a strange and mysterious promise: That our future selves have already been created! They are ready for us to grow into, like a child eventually grows into that beautiful new outfit which is still several sizes too big.

This strange and mysterious promise is the promise of Easter. On Easter we celebrate not only the resurrection of Jesus, but also our own resurrection into a new life in Christ. In the scriptures we read that Christ died and rose again so that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who for our sake died and was raised. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, s/he is a new creation (or rather a new creature as the text says literally). Old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new (2. Cor. 5).

This new creation is not something magical or supernatural. It is a new way of living based on the teachings of Christ: A way of justice and compassion and forgiving. Already we can live this new way of life in the midst of our old. Sometimes we can manage it only a minute, and then the old ways take over. But as we help each other to stay more and more with the new way of living we become transformed over time. Slowly we become what we have already been created to be! That is the mystery and gift of Easter!

Spring Fever

March 2011

 

“It's spring fever.... You don't quite know what it is you DO want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” – Mark Twain.

A look out of the window confirms it: Spring has sprung. Trees which just yesterday were bare have burst into blossoms almost overnight. Some trees and shrubs take their time and daintily unfold petal after petal, but the majority just rushes forth in a pink or white flurry. If they could make a noise, these trees, I imagine them going: boing, boing, boing. Spring fever! I perceive such spring fever within myself as well - even here in our mild-weathered California, where harsh winters are distant events.

And in the midst of this outbreak of life we get Lent. 40 solemn days of preparation between Ash Wednesday and Easter. “Lent is like putting on shoes that are too tight, and then on Easter we get to take them off again, and it feels like such a relief….” This is how one church member once described her experience of Lent, and I have thought about her comment often.

My experience is different. For me Lent is a checking in with myself: As nature bursts forth with new life, I too feel a call to bring my faith to bloom, but there is much that is holding me back. And just like tight shoes can restrict movement, so too can bad habits restrict our faith from being fully alive. Lent is an opportunity to discover what exactly it is that is restricting. It is therefore not so much a matter of putting on tight shoes but rather checking in with myself whether my shoes are, in fact, too tight, and whether my life is too hectic (it usually is), whether my prayers are too shallow (they usually are), whether my compassion is too superficial, etc.

Such self-assessment cannot be made on the run. Tradition advocates that during Lent we take extra time for repentance, prayer, fasting, and for alms giving. These four disciplines can be great tools, but they can also be used for the wrong reason. (Which will then feel like putting on shoes that are too tight). But when the Lenten disciplines are used in the right way, they are life giving. They can help us break through bad habits so that the new life can blossom in us. I invite you to make use of these disciplines this Lent.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, March 9, with two services, one at noon and one at 7:00 p.m. Consider attending one of them. I wish you a holy Lent - a journey to spring.

The Courage to Love

February 2011

 

February brings us Valentine’s Day and with it the annual commemoration of affection and love. Love! We all need it desperately, we all seek to give it to others, and yet, for far too many of us it remains an elusive gift, both difficult to give and difficult to get. And it doesn’t help that the images which typically are served up on Valentine’s Day such as hearts and roses, candies, pink sweets, fluffy ornaments and glittery cards, have little to do with love. They might reflect the sweetness of romance, but not the grit and courage required by love. We know better than to think that love is pink and fluffy. But what exactly is it?

In pondering this question I came across the story of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish. Dr. Abuelaish was raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He trained to be a medical doctor and infertility specialist and treated patients in Israel and Palestine. Besides practicing medicine on both sides of the border he also pursued his other passion, namely the reconciliation between Palestine and Israel. This pursuit - which was challenging to begin with - became infinitely more challenging on January 16, 2009 when Israeli shells hit his home in the Gaza Strip and killed three of his daughters and a niece.

Many might have given up at this point; many might have given in to despair or bitterness. Others might have sought revenge, or given in to hatred. Dr. Abuelaish however was able to break through to a different response. “I shall not hate” he said, and this became the title of an amazing book in which he reflects on his loss and also on the hope that keeps him moving forward. "I know that what I have lost, what was taken from me, will never come back”, he writes. “But as a physician and a Muslim of deep faith, I need to move forward to the light…”

Thus, it is appears that love is what we DO, rather than what we FEEL. Parents of newborns know this. Changing a poopy diaper in the middle of the night when you haven’t slept for several nights does not inspire sweet feelings. All you want to do is sleep. But out of love you make yourself do the thing you don’t want to do. Often love is a choice over against other options. Of course, the cute smile of a baby makes the middle of the night demands easier to bear, but what if there is no smile? Or worse, what if you have been hurt or violated or let down or betrayed?

Perhaps that’s why St. Paul calls love a ‘spiritual gift’. By which he means that is not at our disposal, but it is something that God gives us. Oh, well, then we are off the hook, right? Next time I find it difficult to love, I can simply say: I don’t have that kind of gift. I have other gifts. I can bake pies. Wait, no not quite. Yes, love is a gift, but: St. Paul also says it is the one gift, the “most excellent” gift which we must “earnestly desire”, (1 Cor 12:31) because if we do not have this one gift, then no matter what other gifts we have, we are nothing. But if we have love, we have everything that matters; all the commandments find their fulfillment in love. So, love is not fluffy, love is not pink, love is often heartbreaking and painful and requires all kinds of resolve, but if we desire it earnestly, the ability to love is available to each one of us. And if someone like Dr. Abuelaish who has suffered such unspeakable heartbreak can respond with love rather than hatred, what excuse to I have not to love? Besides… my pies are not much to write home about.

Faith and Learning

January 2011

 

People who want to join our congregation often ask whether they need to take any classes. Our answer is Yes and No. Jesus and the early church have given us a double legacy here: on the one hand, Jesus and his followers made it their practice to accept everyone on the spot. When people turned to Jesus trustingly - or even desperately - he often praised them and said “Your faith has made you well.” When Philip was asked by a travelling God-seeker “Look, here is water – what prevents me from being baptized?” Philip simply baptized him. He barely knew him, and he would never see him again, but apparently that was no reason to deny this stranger the gift of baptism. The examples of these spontaneous forms of acceptance inspire our congregation in our own acceptance of all people.

The other half of the legacy of Jesus and the early church is that they clearly valued learning and teaching and instruction in the faith. But what, exactly, should a Christian learn? Where to start? What is most important? The Catechism? Lutheran Doctrine?

The temptation for teachers and learners alike is to turn to doctrine right away and struggle with concepts such as Law and Gospel, Salvation, the Trinity. That is where I have often started in my new member classes, and there are good reasons for this practice.

But if we understand the doctrine of the Trinity, but can’t find ways to reconcile with a loved one after a fight, then we are of little use to the world. The Apostle Paul once wrote: “If I understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Cor 13:2).

Studying our doctrines is fine, but it’s more important to learn how to forgive from the heart – not just once but again, and again, and again. How to love those who are not especially lovable; how to love our enemies; how to welcome the stranger; how to care for the sick; how to be kind and compassionate; how to pray; how to best work towards peace and justice in the world; how to be patient in difficult circumstances; how to resist evil and false paths; how to hold on to hope when all seems hopeless; how to walk in beauty and joy; how to act with courage. We are not born knowing all these things automatically. And sometimes they are really hard to do. We need to help each other with figuring these things out. It will take a life time and we will never become perfect in the art of Christian living, but we can start learning today.

Are we there yet?

December 2010

 

Is it Christmas yet? Oh yes! says our contemporary culture. Look at all the decorations in the streets, look at all the lights in the trees, listen to all the songs on the radio! No, not quite! says our Lutheran tradition. It is still Advent.

What is Advent? Advent is a season all its own, with its own mood and purpose and with many wonderful gifts which we might easily miss. It is a season of waiting, watching, and joyful expectation.

I am fortunate to have been raised in a home where Advent was embraced and observed as a special time of the year, a time of mystery, magic, and suspense. During Advent we children were taught about waiting. Waiting does not come easily. We live in a very impatient culture, and waiting has to be taught and learned. Fortunately, there were many activities which made the waiting interesting and fun. We had an Advent-Calendar which helped us count down the days to Christmas. Beginning with the first day of December, each morning we could open a small gift from the Advent Calendar - a tiny celebration that we had come one day closer to Christmas. Then there was the Advent wreath with its four candles, one for each Sunday in Advent: “First one, then two, then three, then four… and then the Christ-Child at the door” we learned to recite. Then there were the many beautiful Advent Songs, expressing our longing to welcome the birth of the Savior. We also spent some of the long, gray winter afternoons making ornaments, baking cookies, and making homemade gifts. Advent also meant reaching out to neighbors. Our church provided a list of homebound people and then groups of children went to visit them and to sing carols and bring a small gift. And so, in all these many ways we children learned that waiting was more than passing time, or even “killing” time. It was an engaged time, a holy time, filled with meaningful activities.

Finally, on Christmas Eve, the Christmas Tree appeared - as if by magic. At least this is how it seemed to us children. My parents had some secret tricks to hide the tree from us until the last minute. Finally we were allowed to enter the dark room in which the candles (yes real candles!) of the Christmas tree shone their magic light. And then - and only then! - it was Christmas: The holy night when we celebrate the birth of the Savior, the most special night of the year , a night which was surely worth waiting for.

I wish all of you a very blessed and holy Christmas in whatever tradition you and yours celebrate Christ’s birth.

On beliefs and politics

 

  About the time this “guest column” appears, most of us will once again have undergone that time-honored custom of voting – or if not, at the very least we will be enjoying the end of those horrible political commercials on television.  When I agreed to write something for this issue of the Good News and then began to wonder what I was going to write about, the topic of politics was suggested. Since we are all instructed never to talk about politics or religion, I figured, goodness, who could possibly be offended?

  So what is the relationship between our religious beliefs and our politics?  Or should there be one? Should we let our religious faith get in the way of our politics? It certainly is not difficult to find those whose political ideas and activities are totally dominated by what they hear from the pulpit (or from God as some politicians claim). These people often cite the Bible to promote their side of an issue.  While most of us are probably too young to remember how the Bible was used to defend slavery in the years leading up to our civil war, perhaps we remember its use to promote Proposition 8 not so long ago.

  On the other hand, there is also a large number of people who believe we should not let our religion inform our politics, a continuation of the idea of separation of Church and state in the electoral arena.  Luther’s theology of the Two Kingdoms (one spiritual and the other secular) is often cited as an example of this kind of thinking, although many disagree that was precisely what he meant. Either way, it is argued we are all better off in our democracy to keep the two quite separate.

  So which is it? I feel that my political leanings, as with most other things in my life, are indeed based on the Gospel, on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. I don’t mean to say that I pick out a quotation from the Bible to justify my vote for a candidate or stance on an issue, but I do try to frame the way in which I approach politics generally through what I think the Gospel teaches us. In that way I believe I am in accord with our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s statement, The Church in Society: a Lutheran Perspective.   It reads, in part, “In witnessing to Jesus Christ, the church announces that the God who justifies expects all people to do justice. God's good and just demands address people in the obligations of their relationships and the challenges of the world. Through the divine activity of the law, God preserves creation, orders society, and promotes justice in a broken world.  God works through the family, education, the economy, the state, and other structures necessary for life in the present age. God institutes governing authorities, for example, to serve the good of society.” (my emphases)

  If this is so, if we are asked to do justice, to serve the good of society, then I wonder about those churches that recently threatened to burn copies of the Qur’an or that rail against the building of mosques in their communities. I wonder about the motives of the politicians who did their best to block the provision of health care for all. How do they compare to Hubert Humphrey who said “Compassion is not weakness, and concern for the unfortunate is not socialism”? And I wonder about the large, powerful corporations that are spending huge amounts on politicians they feel will work to help maintain their quarterly earnings. What do they think of Bishop Desmond Tutu’s quote, “Injustice and oppression will never prevail. Those who are powerful have to remember the litmus test that God gives to the powerful: what is your treatment of the poor, the hungry, the voiceless? And on the basis of that, God passes judgment.”

There is no doubt that we do not want the Church telling us how to vote or for whom to vote, but can the Gospel do so? Does the Gospel affect your decision-making when it comes time to vote or to be politically active? How does your faith affect how you see and react to the world around you?  What kind of connections do you make between your understanding of the Gospel and the politics of our society?  These are question I think we all need to wrestle with – and not just when it comes time to vote.

Paul Thomas

What will happen to our dreams?

October 2010

My brother-in-law has many fruit trees which produce bucketsful of peaches and pears each summer and fall. And each summer and fall he shares his bounty with us. At first we are always overjoyed to receive all the lovely fruit, but then – what to do with it all? We give some away to neighbors and friends, but in the end there is still a lot left. It is a scenario that is familiar to every gardener and grower: the sudden overflow of produce. Last year I conserved and preserved much of the fruit. This year I was too slow on the uptake. And to my great dismay I walked in the kitchen one day and discovered that the fruit had begun to rot. The rot had started at the bottom of the box, with the top layer still looking luscious, and so I didn’t catch on until it was too late. In my carelessness I had wasted these wonderful gifts!

Over the summer, while our gardens and fields produced their annual harvest, another crop has grown and ripened as well: the crop of the dreams we were given as congregation and as individuals. The last of the summer suppers has just taken place, and the last of the reports has just been turned in. Now it is time to “gather the hopes and dreams of all”. And then what? In many ways, the real work has only just begun! If we do not want to let all the great dreams go to waste, then we have to attend to these dreams, and we have to do it soon. The Natural Church Development Team (NCD Team) will take on this task on behalf of the congregation. As the team is reconvening this fall, new members are more than welcome. The harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few, so if you have time and energy, consider joining the NCD Team for this next chapter.

And then there are the personal dreams which many have shared with me. What will become of those? In the end, the dreams, like the harvest of the fields, are God’s generous gifts to us. And the best way to respond to them is with gratitude and faithfulness. And so we offer thanks and praise for all which God has given to us: dreams, visions, blessings, and the fruits of the field. And we offer ourselves to God’s service as we seek to be good and faithful stewards of these amazing gifts.

A breath of fresh air

September 2010

Have you ever encountered someone who was a breath of fresh air? In some ways it is hard to describe such a person, and yet we all recognize it immediately when we are in the presence of someone who is a breath of fresh air. There is a freshness that lets us breathe easier. There is a sense of welcome relief, a nice change that feels good. We feel invigorated and inspired, and at the same time relaxed and at ease.

How does this happen? How does someone become a breath of fresh air? After all, there are no job descriptions outlining the tasks of being a breath of fresh air; there are no courses that one can take to learn how to become a breath of fresh air. In fact, upon closer inspection, being a breath of fresh air has not so much to do with doing, but rather with being. Not just talking about fresh air, or improving one’s breath with a breath mint, or opening a window to let in fresh air – although in any given context all these activities can provide welcome relief – but simply being fresh air.

In the same way, Christians are meant to be Good News to others and to the world. Not just to talk about the Good News, but to actually be Good News, and to bring a welcome sense of relief so that in our presence others can feel hopeful and refreshed and somehow more free.

And no, there are no job descriptions for that either. No classes we can take, no programs we can study. But fortunately, we have the help of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Breath of God. This Holy Spirit breathes in us and through us. The word “inspiration” comes from the Latin inspirare which literally means “breathing in”. And once the Holy Spirit takes a hold of us, and we let the Holy Spirit fill us, we become transformed. We become Good News and a breath of fresh air.