Christmas/New Year 2016 Letter

           

Turning 65 is a marker, in many ways. One begins thinking about the next phase of life. One also begins to look back. I am thankful for the churches of which I have had a privilege to be part. I am thankful for the bishops and superintendents under whom I have served. It has not all been good, of course, but as I look back, I see the hand of God.

            On a personal note, as I look over the 55 years of being a Christian, I keep learning what it means to live with Jesus and to view the world with Jesus.

Jesus keeps teaching me about love. Love means that something matters, moving against our nagging suspicion that nothing matters. In fact, a moral sickness or malady is to move toward apathy and isolation. Love heals that sickness. When we love, we are in tune with, for God is love. Love binds Father, Son, and Spirit, with the Spirit inviting us to participate in this love. Prayer is an expression of love to God and neighbor. Yes, God loves this world, and we join God in that love.

However, today, I focus on sharing a bit about this year.

            I maintain a few blogs. I will mention them and the ones that received the most views. One is on Karl Barth (all), another with Wolfhart Pannenberg (Moltmann & Pannenberg dialogues and Chapter 15), another on my sermons (Colossians 1:1-14, Luke 15, Luke 19:28-40), and another that simply contains my ponderings (Presidential election, Star Trek). I invite you to become a member and make comments.

            One of the studies done at Cross~Wind that was particularly meaningful to me was the Jesus Creed. People still refer to the powerful quality of that congregational study. It has re-focused my understanding of the heart of the teaching of Jesus.

            I note that much of my preaching was from Luke-Acts, plus a series on Galatians, Colossians, and Pastoral Epistles.

            The Wesleyan Covenant Association was a wonderful event. I felt myself at home in this classic expression of Christian belief and life.

            I enjoyed the Advent and Christmas season at Cross~Wind, as we focused on the traditional words of Hope, peace, joy, and love with the Advent Prayer Tree. It was particularly powerful for me to share my prayer this year regarding each of these words. The spirit of our Christmas Eve service and even Christmas Day was a wonderful celebration of the birth of Jesus.

            Triple S has continued to be a joy. We studied the Old Testament history through the lens of the Ten Commandments. We then studied the General Epistles, minus the letters of John, which we studied the previous year. This group has been such a blessing in my life at Cross~Wind. Unfortunately, the Fall has seen a reduction in numbers due to the health of many of its members. These are such dear persons to the group and to the church.

            Upward Soccer was wonderful this year, as always. Our carnival at the end was a rousing success.

            I officiated at five funerals this year and one wedding.

            I have continued my involvement in the Annual Conference by Our Life Together, Annual Conference, Clergy Covenant Renewal, and the District Committee on Ministry.

            I have continued my reading of Presidential biography. I have gotten up to half way through Lincoln. I found out why the period leading up to the Civil War is the “Jackson Era.” Every president had a direct connection to Andrew Jackson, and that connection is largely why America could not resolve the slavery issue peacefully. I am writing my reflections on these presidents as I read the biography.

            In other reading, Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, had an interesting way of presenting options while maintaining freedom. Philip Clayton, Transforming Christian Theology. For Church and Society was good on worldviews. David Brooks, The Road t Character, had some good insights.

            My reading groups this year have been on my two favorite theologians, Karl Barth and Wolfhart Pannenberg. It has been like heaven. These two groups have also brought me to reflect upon Moltmann and Bultmann in a new way. It has led to refining my two major documents, on Karl Barth and Church Dogmatics and the other that I presently call George World View. David Congdon, The Mission of Demythologizing, has been particularly helpful in giving a re-appraisal of the thought of Bultmann. He also wrote The God Who Saves, which is a sketch of a dialectical theology rooted in Bultmann rather than Barth. It was helpful to read a young theologian trying to recover a form of theology that most of us put behind us.

            Suzanne and I had the best vacation ever at Sebring, FL, which became home base for trips to Siesta Key, Port St. Lucy, and Dunedin. Randy, Suzanne’s son, had a heart attack this year. This led to him and his wife staying with us a few months. Tim, Suzanne’s other son, continues to live with us. Both young men are truckers. Lynn and Cindy came for a few days. It was a joy to have them with us! Michael and David are in Indianapolis. David and Kari, with children Nia, Henry Owen, and Edith Annalyn, seem to be doing well. We had a nice time celebrating birthdays at the beginning of December.

            The big news of the year was the election of Donald Trump. I will not extend my political thoughts here. I tuned out of politics on TV or radio. I kept up with some articles that I receive. Suzanne was excited about Trump. I have not been. As a political conservative, his personal offensiveness, my personal dislike of him, and my concern for the liberal quality of his policies, meant I was not enthusiastic about this election. I was an observer rather than participant. I am glad for the depth of the GOP victory, not only at the national level, but also at the state level. In fact, the focus on Hillary and Donald has masked the depth of Democrat defeat. I am not tolerant of people who think of either America or conservatives as racist. I have such persons in my immediate family, and the hatred exhibited toward America and Trump voters is simply not acceptable behavior in a republic. As for me, given the cabinet choices thus far, I remain hopeful. For some of my friends, the opposite is the case. In either case, I hope we can pray for the political leadership of this country, the state, and local government.

            On the self-care side of things, I continue to exercise faithfully, mostly with P90x2 exercises, the total gym, and an occasional visit to Anytime Fitness. I continue to have a vegie/fruit drink of my concoction for breakfast. Of course, the two reading groups, preparation for sermons and Bible study, keep my mind active.

            For entertainment, we went to Mary Poppins production at McHale. We made our yearly pilgrimage to the fair. We have a theater a couple blocks away that has been very good for this community. We support it well. We also watch Netflix. To give an idea of some of the things we have liked this year, hear is a list.

The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials                                 Cinderella

Uncanny                                                                      Ant-Man

The Martian                                                                 The Returned Season 1

Game of Thrones                                                        Alive

Bridge of Spies                                                           Room

Agatha Christie’s Poirot                                             S.W.A.T.

Elizabeth                                                                     Fear the Walking Dead Season 1

Freedom                                                                      Spotlight

The Big Short                                                              The Messengers Season 1

Begin Again                                                                Ashby

Captain America: Civil War                                        Nikita Season 4

Falling Skies                                                                Stranger Things

Joy                                                                              Limitless Season 1

Deepwater Horizon                                                     The Jungle Book

Batman vs Superman                                                  Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

Marcella Season 1                                                       Scream Season 2

Unexpected                                                                 Central Intelligence

Containment   Season 2                                              Glitch

Arrow  Season 3                                                          Zootopia

Allied                                                                          Hacksaw Ridge

Arrival                                                                        iZombie

The 100 Season 3                                                        Lucky Number Slevin

Compulsion                                                                 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Passengers                                                                   Borgia, Season One

Medici Season 1                                                         The Crown Season 1

The Flash, Season 2                                                    Good Witch Season 1

Intruder                                                                       Nanny McPhee

Gotham, Season 2                                                       Dark Matter Season 2

Longmire Season 5                                                    Supernatural Season 11

Bones Season 11                                                         The Walking Dead Season 6

The Ranch Part 2                                                        Beauty & the Beast Season 4

The Blacklist Season 3                                              Midsomer Murders Series 18

Once Upon a Time Season 5                                       Criminal Minds Season 11

Between Season 2                                                       Revenge Season 4

ZNation season 2                                                        Bloodline Season 2

Daredevil Season 2                                                     Flashpoint Season 5

Bates Motel Season 3                                                 The Following Season 3

Helix season 2                                                             Person of Interest Season

Moana                                                                         Deadpool

Pondering Love

I trust that your preparations for Christmas have gone well. In fact, it would please me greatly if this article becomes part of that preparation.

The four traditional words for Advent are hope, peace, joy, and love. I have been considering each word in succession at Cross~Wind.

I want to share just a bit around the theme of love. We sing songs about it. Many think of it largely as romance. Yet, when we think of love coming down at Christmas, we are thinking of something quite different.

If we step back for a moment, and remember that the original language of our New Testament is Greek, we might receive some help. “Love” has several Greek words that have differing nuances. The most obvious is that one of the words refers to the affection we might find between friends. However, I want to focus on agape, which refers to a conscious evaluation and choice that result in concern and interest in the other. It suggests sincere appreciation and high regard for the other.

Can you name a time that you experienced undeserved love?

            Think of it this way. To love, agape, is to begin reflecting upon our moral relationship to the other. Love embraces the other. Love means that something matters, moving against our nagging suspicion that nothing matters. In fact, a moral sickness or malady is to move toward apathy and isolation. Love heals that sickness. It suggests knowledge of the other. It helps the other. Love points the way toward that which we hope. Love is joyful acceptance of the other. To love is to suggest that what is truly valuable is beyond or outside me. To love is to move beyond what the law requires. We become loving people. Our capacity to love is the affirmation of our own life, happiness, growth, and freedom. The Old Testament Law found its reaffirmation in the second of the two great commandments Jesus identified: Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus defined this love in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:29ff. Such love involves caring and thoughtful action toward the other; not just warm feelings you may or may not have toward the other.

            Let us apply such reflections to the Christmas story. How much love did Mary and Joseph display?

Carlo Carretto tells of visiting a village among the Arab people.  It was not long until he became acquainted with the Tuaregs, who lived in tents along a rocky basin where water surfaced.  A girl in the camp where he stayed had been betrothed to a boy in another camp.  She had not gone to live with him because he was too young.  Joseph, he remembered, was betrothed to Mary, but they were not living together.  Two years later, he came back to the camp.  During conversation around the campfire, he asked if the marriage had taken place yet.  There was awkward silence.  He did not pursue the subject.  Later, he asked a friend from the camp what the silence meant.  He looked cautiously around.  Because he trusted Carlo Carretto as a man of God, he made a sign, passing his hand under his chin.  It meant that she had her throat cut.  The reason?  Before, the wedding it was discovered that the girl was pregnant.  In what sociologists call an honor and shame culture, she betrayed her family. It required her sacrifice. For Carlo Carretto, a shiver went through him as he thought of a girl being killed because she had not been faithful to her future husband (Blessed are you who Believed).

The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out of love, and to let it come in. When we love, we are in tune with, for God is love. Love binds Father, Son, and Spirit, with the Spirit inviting us to participate in this love. Prayer is an expression of love to God and neighbor. Yes, God loves this world, and we join God in that love.

We in the church have this wonderful opportunity to share the love God has for this world. The hearts of people will never be as open as they are now.

Praying for Joy

           

Today, I want you to consider your deepest prayer related to joy for this Christmas. Why is joy important in your life?

            Joy is the name of a person. Almond Joy is the name of a candy bar. “Joy” is a movie, a very nice one, I might add. You have heard the sayings. Joy is an inside job. Choose joy every day. I choose joy.

          Mary (Luke 1) said that she rejoices because of what we celebrate during Advent.

          This season seems to focus on that … or does it? Is there a difference between rejoicing, having joy, and the forced seasonal happiness so many expect us to have during this time of year? Too many people experience too stark of a contrast between their lives at this season and the rest of the year. Yet, if we are in touch with the joy that Mary had, a joy received from God, it can restore to us a sense of wholeness and community.

I am not a person who tends to display to others the things that give me joy. Yet, joy may not always show itself in smiles and laughter. It at least suggests the things in which you have inner happiness and delight. Such joy is not simply on the surface. Therefore, that in which we have joy reveals the things that matter to us.  One way to reflect prayerfully upon your spiritual gift or your gifts and graces for ministry is to consider the things that give you your deepest joy. “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10). That in which you have joy does strengthen you for the journey of life. Joy reveals your life aim. When we have joy, we know something better exists. Joy can surprise us. Something outside us has stimulated our inner joy. It will unleash our imagination and stimulate us to consider new possibilities. Joy unites us to the world and people around us. What we say with our lives is what gives our lives its meaning. Now is the time to have joy for the time we have and the people who have made it meaningful and joyful. We repeatedly know the original joy in life, joy in the richness, breadth, and beauty of creation and in each new day, joy in the illuminations of the life of the spirit, power from action within the order of community life, and a turning to others and participation in their joys and sorrows.[1]

          Note how Mary's song, the Magnificat, highlights various contrasts.  – that in opposition to brokenness, wrongs, sorrows and sighs, God will prevail, and one day all shall be well. We could also list many wrongs. In naming what is wrong, we can give it power over us. The more we focus on the wrongs, the more power we give them, for they seem even larger than they are. We must not forget what is right. We need to look for places where the reign of God is evident in our personal lives, in our community, and in the world. As you praise God, you will draw strength knowing that no matter the issue, joy truly “comes with the morning” (Psalm 30).

Karl Barth suggests that when Mary magnifies the Lord and rejoices in God, it is part of the notion of the beauty of the Lord attracting people to do so. God, who stoops down to humanity whose heart is “wicked,” becomes an object of desire, joy, pleasure, yearning and enjoyment. In a sense, the desperate condition of humanity is confuted and overcome by the fact that God must be the object of joy. To speak of the beauty of the Lord in this way is to speak of divine glory. When we speak of the beauty of the Lord, we are explaining divine glory. It is to say how God enlightens, convinces, and persuades us. It describes the shape that the revelation of God takes place. God has this superior force, the power of attraction, which speaks for itself, which wins and conquers, in the fact that God is beautiful.[2]

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[1] The Greek word for joy refers to having joy in something, having gladness and great happiness as well as the reason for it. It refers to inner happiness and delight. Joy is not a surface-level happy – it is deeply seated in one’s character. Joy may not always manifest itself in smiles and laughter, but rather in grace and assurance. Joy might be described as knowing something better exists, and holding onto that which is better. Joy surprises us. We contemplate something true, good, and beautiful and it brings enjoyment. We savor the experience, for to analyze it would be to stifle it. It would be difficult to think of something giving you joy as also something practical and useful. What brings joy is more than that. Most often, joy is something we share with another. That in which you have joy reveals your life aim. Something outside us stimulates us, but joy brings it within us. The orientation of a human life is toward what brings fullness of life. That which you love, in which you have joy, and in which  you hope, reveal that orientation. Feelings like this unleash our imagination and stimulate us to consider new possibilities. Such feelings unite us to the world and to the people around us. Negative feeling tends to isolate us from the world and from others. The choice of living life authentically and in freedom leads to genuine joy. Life is on loan, a loan that has a beginning and an end. We must take the loan seriously and joyfully. We need to receive the gift of life joyfully. Without the beginning and end, our lives would not be a story.

[2] (Church Dogmatics, II.1, [31])

Praying for Peace

Today, I want you to consider your deepest prayer related to peace for this Christmas. Why is peace important in your life?

Some students of human behavior suggest that the existence of language produces the possibility of peaceful relation with the other. The existence of language testifies to the previous reality of the welcome to the other. In that sense, language is the first ethical gesture. It invites us reasonable discourse. Through language, we cooperate with others in the use of power in order to bring about a proper ordering of life with nature and life together. If we still long for peace, it may be the continuing influence of this impulse toward the development of language.

            We long for peace, at some level. John Wesley had early Methodists in England ask each other, “How is it with your soul?” Your soul integrates mind and will on the one hand with bodily life on the other. A healthy soul moves toward wholeness, integrity, and authenticity. Faith, hope, and love will be present in a healthy soul. A damaged soul will show itself in being at war that leads to haste, envy, disappointment, and discouragement. In a healthy soul, peace will be present, even in chaotic times. A healthy soul has a hopeful approach to the future. A healthy soul is thankful. Yet, it seems so difficult for us to live it[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [Some of you might enjoy the footnotes!]

            Your prayer for peace may relate to something in your personal life, for the local church, for the community, for the nation, or for the world.

            As for me, my prayer related to peace is that any difficult circumstances I face next year will not draw me toward warring with myself or with others, but will rather bring me closer to peace. I pray for peace between the churches, so that we can genuinely offer the peace of Christ to others. I pray for peace in our nation so that voters can bless each other rather than stir up dissension between each other. I pray for peace between nations, and especially, the peace of Jerusalem.

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[1] All of us gathered here probably would like the world Isaiah describes in this passage. Yet, unlike that world, pesky lions lunch on Zebras, wolf packs still gang up on sheep, snakes keep after children. We do not seem wise enough or strong enough to figure this out.

           Peace is difficult, after all.

Where can we find true peace? Wolves still attack lambs. Living things still get sick and die. Why can we not eliminate conflict? We cannot, because peace in this world is unnatural. Wolves eat lambs. Lions eat antelopes. Human beings conduct violence and wars against each other. We will need a godly leader to bring peace, because peace requires our transformation.

[2] A favorite hymn of mine is “It is Well with my Soul,” written in 1873

 

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

Rivers can be peaceful. As Psalm 23 puts it so beautifully and memorably,  “He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.” Yet, life has another, darker dimension to it. The sea of life can indeed by rough, dangerous, and life-threatening. As I understand it, the waves of the sea can be relentless, if one is caught in them. Life can feel that way. Again, as Psalm 23 puts it, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley ...” Now, the Christian has the assurance of the presence of God even then: “you are with me. Your rod and your staff - they comfort me.” As Horatio G. Spafford penned the words, “It is well with my soul.” The companion he had in good times remains his companion when life is difficult.

                Yet, the writer of this hymn seems to know that this answer to human trials, as meaningful as it is, needs more. The final verse of this hymn becomes apocalyptic.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

 

Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus. I wonder if one can have genuine, vital faith, if that prayer is not in some way powerful. “Haste the day” when the times that seem so out of joint now, the times that are so ambiguous today, the times today when I can see no further than the nose on my face, yes, haste the day when it shall all become clear. I have pondered why it is that this hymn has affected me so powerfully for so many years. It may be the possibility and hope I find in it. My life has had its share of joys and sorrows, of everything moving easily and when life seems burdensome. Clouds rolling back, trumpets sounding, and the Lord descending, with all its “mythological” language, still speak to me. At times, when I contemplate whatever such images may mean, “it is well with my soul.” I am not sure that apocalyptic will make much sense to you, if some part of you does not have that hope.

                Peace refers to harmony. In terms of one’s relationship with God, it refers to inner rest, harmony, peace, and freedom from anxiety. It refers to a state of reconciliation with God. Such peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Hebrew shalom refers to health and welfare, a state of agreement between persons. Such peace exhibits love, gentleness, and forgiveness. Such peace will bring unity. Paul emphasizes peace because he longed for that which would bring Jew and Gentile together in one church.

[3] I came across a reference to a “human library.” It started in Denmark. The idea was to set up a station with 75 people with various types of stories to share. People of various religions, people struggling with various handicaps, and people from differing work backgrounds. The idea was that for a few days, you could “check out” a person for 30 minutes and talk with them. You could find out from a real person with a real story what it was like to be that person. It made me think, though, of what would happen if people outside of the Christian faith could check us out and “read” us. What would they find? Would they find a strain of this vision for peace that, regardless of how imperfectly, we might seek to write into our lives? To refer to politics, donkeys and elephants do not get along well. In economics, bulls and bears seem incompatible. We have many types of Christians today, leaning toward the progressive or the conservative. Yet, I ask this seriously, do we not all have a longing for peace? Isaiah is inviting us out of contentment with our divisiveness and to get lost in the thought of peace

[4] One of the blockages many people have with Christmas is that it just not make sense. Christmas invites us to think differently about our lives. It will take a stretch of our minds to think so differently. That God, who is Infinite and Eternal, would become human, is beyond anything our rationality could imagine. God has chosen the weak and foolish things of the world to confound the wise. We do not go to Washington DC or Wall Street to find our answer to the longing for peace. We go to Bethlehem, to the stable, and the manger where the babe lies. At some point, we may need to confess our ignorance, and come to the babe in the lap of Mary.

[5] Martin Luther gave a sermon in 1533 in which he said:

It is a ridiculous thing, that the one true God, the high Majesty, should be made human ... Reason opposes this with all its might.  Here those wise thoughts with which our reason soars up towards heaven to see God in His Majesty, and to probe how God reigns there on high, are stripped from us.  The goal is fixed elsewhere, so that I should run from all the corners of the world to Bethlehem, to that stable and that manger where the babe lies, ... Yes, that subdues reason ... there it comes down before my eyes, so that I can see the babe there in His Mother's lap ... Where, then, are the wise?  Who could ever have conceived this or thought it out?  Reason must bow, and must confess her ignorance in that she wants to climb to heaven to fathom the Divine, while she cannot see what lies before her eyes in the manger. - Martin Luther