Journeys
I love journey stories. Most of my favorite books are journey stories, like the Lord of the Rings, Walk Two Moons, and the Grapes of Wrath. I have always liked to travel, to move, to explore, to wander, to meander, and to just go. But I am not aimlessly moving about in space, I have a destination. Its just that I know I will get to my destination, but I am in no hurry.

Throughout my life, I have found that the journey is as important as the destination. I believe that I am on my way to heaven, and I am ready when I am called home, but while I am still on this earth, it is important to live it to the fullest.

The journey for me is the best way to fully explore and celebrate Creation. I not only want to smell the roses along the way, but taste the chocolate, hear the wind, feel the cool waters and see the rainbows. But the journey is more than just a trip through the natural world, it a visit with Grandma, a dance with my wife, a romp with my kids, a whirl with the grand kids and the struggle with my shortcomings.

Christ calls us all to be involved with our neighbors, both loving and helping, and being helped. We are accountable to God for our relationships with one another. This the real journey for me. Learning to be humble, helpful, grateful, loving and forgiving. Learning to live this way is the journey.

A Call to Personal Action

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”
The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25
Recently I was watching a news show in which commentators were giving unsolicited advice to our incoming president. Most of the advice was pretty forgettable, but one commentator suggested that the new president read Matthew 25 each day before beginning to work. That sent me to my Bible to reread this passage. It was a stunning suggestion. Jesus has a remarkable gift for cutting to the chase, for taking what seem to be huge problems and turning them in simple acts that speak to us on personal terms.
Jesus does not ask us to set up complicated government organizations to care for the homeless, or feed the hungry. He does not ask us to join in mass movements to end poverty or illness. He asks us to act personally. He asks us, not to deal with the issues in the abstract, but to visit, look after, clothe, invite, feed and shelter. No act is too small, no person too unworthy, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brother of mine, you did for me.
As I reread and reflected on this passage, I was struck by how personal this call to action is. Jesus speaks to each of us individually, he calls to personal action,” whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me”. It is also a call to awareness of the needs around us. In this economic climate many in our own families, congregation and community will be hurt and in need. We need to be listening, aware and ready to act.
While Jesus calls on us individually to act, that does not mean alone. In the last year as I worked with a local couple to support them in their struggle to move from homelessness to a home, they were supported by this congregation and community. It takes many individuals working in concert with one another to accomplish these tasks.
As we enter into the season celebrating the birth of our Savior, we should reflect on why we celebrate. Christ came into the world to save and to change it. If we are truly his followers then we need to follow his call to action.

Check out Bush Gone Countdown Clock

Hi,

I want you to take a look at : Bush Gone Countdown Clock

Whoever says, "I am in the light," while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light.
- 1 John 2:9-10

One of the most difficult challenges I face every day is now to deal with people who bring out feeling of anger, disgust, fear or hate. I would like to say that I don't experience those feelings, but that would be a lie. Even if I keep it bottled up, hidden in the far reaches of my consciousness, I still experience those feeling. I would also like to say, well I don't act on them, but I do, mostly by ignoring them, ignoring those I associate with them, and not dealing with the issues surrounding them.

My weakness is this area keeps me humble. I know I sin. Every day when I awake I am reminded of how I fall short. My constant need for forgiveness humbles me.

One of my main motivations for coming to know God and his vision for us it finding ways to act to overcome these short comings. I have a long way to go.

Moments of Unutterable fulfillment

Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.
- Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, Dec. 11, 1964.

Sometimes words don't even come close. Last night the most telling comments on the election were visual images. Jesse Jackson standing in a crowd in Chicago, tears streaming down his face. Juan Williams on Fox News, choking and fighting back tears, while trying to explain the significance of Obama's victory. The crowd in the Ebeneezer Baptist Church, hands in the air, screaming, leaping up and down. The crowd of students that spontaneously gathered in front of the White House waving signs.

These moments few and fleeting in our lives, where everyone know they are experiencing history, where they are part of history. Too many of these moments are painful, tragic moments like 9/11; so it a rare pleasure to share in this triumphal moment.

I want to savor this moment because I know that there are difficult, painful moment to come. I stayed up way too late, flipping channels, looking for the perfect analysis of the election. In the end, I realized that nothing could say it better than Jesse Jackson standing quietly in a noisy crowd with tears streaming down his face.

The Church as Real Community

The church as the community of the king must be a demonstration of the values of the kingdom. We must flesh out what it means to love one another, to do justice, to serve others. -Isabelo Magalit Filipina Theologian

This is the heart of what the Deacons, and to some extent the whole of our church community, are struggling with right now. What are those values that we should be demonstrating and what do they look like, feel like, smell like and taste like in the real world of our everyday existance. What does it mean to love one another?

In our Wednesday small group it is very easy because I am with people like myself; older middle class professionals. We share much in common and enjoy similar things. As I move out from this close circle of friends, it becomes more and more difficult for me to connect with people. We have fewer and fewer common interest to discuss, we find cultural and generational differences that are hard bridge. We begin to leave our zones of comfort and maybe even our safe zones. We begin to find real conflicts with our own self interest, wishes, and desires.

Yesterday, after church, one the ladies I drive to church, asked me if I would take her to Walmart. All I wanted to do is go home and rest. I hate shopping at Walmart, but for some reason I said yes. After Trudy and I followed her around on her shopping trip for an hour, we took her home. As she was getting out of the car she said,"It was nice to have someone to talk to so I would not be so lonely today”. How many of our friends are lonely and just need us to give a few hours of our time. It is especially hard with those in our community that we find the hardest to visit with, those with whom we we have the least amount of connection, the least amount of commonality and who because of this maybe the loneliest.

When I was teaching school the kids I worried the most about were the ones who were not the best or worst, but those who did not show up on anybody’s radar. The ones who were invisible. Often they were most needy in terms of friendship. We can fill our days with family, good friends, and interesting people and never meet Christ.

Changes

As this presidential campaign winds down, I have been thinking about change.

Both campaigns have been talking about change, what they want to change. The one thing I have come to believe in my sixty-two years is that Presidents rarely bring about change. Change most often comes to Presidents in ways unlooked for, unexpected, without reference to their priorities, philosophies, or campaign promises. Look at poor old George W. 9/11 changed everything for his Presidency.

As we look ahead, I wonder what changes will come that we are not prepared for.

In my own life, the huge changes that set me on the paths I have followed were not the ones I prepared for or anticipated. The death of my first wife, and the horrific accident that put my daughter into a four month coma are the two greatest changes I've had to deal with. Both were life changing events in which I had no choice but to deal with them. When they happened, every other facet of my life was affected. No matter what my wishes, I had to deal with them, often to the exclusion of what I had thought was important, a priority and necessary.

This is real change. Not the plans we make, but events that stop us in our tracks and demand our full attention. This is when we find out what our real values are, what our real strengths are and what our weakness are.