Planning or worrying?

Scripture: Matthew 6:24-34

"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"

This passage goes on to suggest that God, who "dresses" lilies, will surely clothe God's human followers.  These can be beautiful words, full of hope and confidence, but they can also seem very naive and foolhardy. Perhaps it seems most foolish to those of us who ask that question while trying to choose from a full closet.  No, God will not pick out your Tuesday outfit for you.  The question is, when the closet is empty and the cupboards are bare, how can we not worry?

Most of us have encountered the advice to live in the moment. Don't worry about what tomorrow will bring, now is what counts.  There is some truth to this.  Too often we spend our time in either future or past and miss the present, we miss the smiles of friends and family, the flowers blooming along a familiar way, the perfume of lilacs in the air.  We may also miss opportunities to make a friend or choose a different path because we hurried on by to some predetermined goal, or because our memories or regrets about what once was or could have been keep us from seeing what is.  

Ecclesiastes is right: to everything there is a season.  There are times to reflect on the past, and times to plan for the future.  And there are times to savor the present moment - maybe even to savor the experience of remembering or of dreaming of a new future.  But I do not really think there is a time to worry.  Most worrying is rehashing worst-case fears rather than applying creativity to find solutions.  Worrying also tends to be about things that cannot be changed.  

Last weekend, my mother and I went up to northern Wisconsin to open Mom's cabin for the summer.  Basically that just meant turning on the water and checking for winter damage.  On the way up, we were wondering what we would find since the year before we'd had a break-in. I don't remember what we were talking about when Mom said, "That's something I forgot to worry about."  We laughed about her wording, but it carried a load of truth.  Thinking about something, or wondering about it is one thing, but chewing on it and imagining the awful possibilities is another.  Most things we should forget to worry about.  The truth is, many of the things that worry us are things that we failed to plan for.  We worried about a boat motor because we had not gotten the lock bar on it with a new padlock.  

Worst case situations are worthy of consideration to help us be prepared, but then they need to be let go.  God really does have a better option at each turning, and we need to be most focused in the now if we are to identify and take advantage of it.  

What causes you to worry? Is it the big stuff like climate change or the economy?  Or about daily concerns?  When someone close to you is ill, or the cupboard really is bare, is Jesus' call to avoid worrying helpful to you?  

Comments encouraged!

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Thoughts on Wednesday

Greetings all!

I have had a few folks comment to me about the remarks of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the news items and opinion pieces that have been on TV and in the paper.  I have to admit that I have not listened to or read  all of Rev. Wrights' remarks.  Still, it seems clear to me that he has gone from misunderstood - most of the original sound bites were taken out of their original context - to embarrassing.  Rev. Wright is a preacher who uses direct and often confronting language to make his points.  His goal is to stir people to action, to live their faith in every aspect of their lives, including in their politics.  I doubt he ever expected all his listeners to agree.  He is also a preacher who has gone from a relatively limited, and mostly friendly, stage, to a hostile, national spotlight.  It appears he is not suited for such a position.

I recommend to you the comments of John Thomas, our UCC President.  In addition, Bill Moyers has written, and broadcast, an essay in response to Rev. Wrights' National Press Club appearance that is definitely worth your attention. (Both are on the www.ucc.org website if the links do not work.) The leaders of the UCC have suggested that these events give us an opportunity to have a nuanced and thoughtful conversation on racial issues.  Barack Obama's speech on race, "A More Perfect Union," is on YouTube. The text is also available in various places.  I will brush up a bit on these issues, but I will leave it to you all to let me know how you would like to approach them.

Although I am not preaching this Sunday, and Zion's services will be based on very different scriptures, let me encourage the reading of the creation story beginning with Genesis 1:1.  At the end when everything was done, we are told that God rested.  Something I have just read suggested that God did not rest out of tiredness, but to take time to reflect on all that had been done and to enjoy it.  We all need a rhythm of work and rest in order to be in balance, to develop a healthy perspective on our lives  Constant busyness with sports, events, yard work, shopping, housework - whatever fills your hours but does not slow you down - leads us to emptiness and exhaustion.  (All of these things can be relaxing and reflective - well, shopping? - but are often just more work and energy expended.) 

Have a blessed weekend!

Addendum

Anybody watch the National Geographic show on PBS last night (Wednesday)?  I was shocked by the plastic count in the ocean between the West Coast and Hawaii. A waste dump the size of Texas!  Now I'm seeing plastic everywhere and thinking there has to be a better way to package and distribute goods.  I ate yogurt from a non-recyclable cup.  And opened a package of cookies with two layers of what I assume is plastic wrapping and a plastic tray inside.  If albatross' are eating it, so are the tuna and whales and everything else.

God, our gifts of creativity and ingenuity have gotten us into this mess.  Guide us to equally creative ways of living in harmony with you and this earth.  Amen.

Loving God and one another: not as simple as it sounds!

Scriptures for this week:  Acts 17:22-31, Psalm 66:8-20, 1 Peter 3: 13-22, and John 14:15-21

To my loyal reader, have you noticed that the scripture link takes you to the readings online? Thanks, Vanderbilt.edu.

Bill Daws helped me focus on the forest instead of the trees this morning, finding a connecting link between all the passages.  I'll try to present it accurately.  

John reminds us of his theme: If you love me, you will keep my commandments, and because you know me, you know the Father.  Although Jesus will be leaving the disciples, they will receive a new Advocate who is one with Christ and and the Creator and will never leave.  In all of John the only commandments are to believe in Jesus Christ as one with God, and to love one another as God has loved you.  In the psalm, we are urged to offer our praise to God who is on our side, who listens to us and acts for us.  1 Peter urges us to do good (i.e. to love our neighbors and our enemies) and that mostly that will encourage others to treat us with good, but even if it doesn't and we suffer, we must not return evil for evil, but keep doing good.  It is better to suffer for doing what is right than for doing what is wrong.  Acts points out that God is near now and has always been near.  We are not far from God, who guides us.  In other words, it all comes down to loving one another and all those whom God loves.

Amen.  But then we need to figure out what that means for us on a deep level of action. I mean, it is easy enough to say we should love one another, and think that we have done our part if we go through our day and are reasonably nice to the people we meet and don't do anything to immediately cause hurt.  We draw a small circle around our lives and the people and pets and perhaps a few precious things we really love.  But we know that there is far more around us than our small circle, and it is that wider realm that is most challenging for us as Christians.  

Jesus collected a band of friends, disciples, and followers, and then addressed large crowds of people.  He interacted with a wide range of folks, noticing people we often try to ignore, serving the people on the margins, rejected by the social elites of his time. He criticized the cultural leaders of his time and talked about freedom that went beyond not being slaves to others, to living completely and wholly with God.

In Acts, Paul carefully studied the gods of the Athenians and identified the one true God as the one they called unknown.  I suspect we have a lot of gods as well, whether we want to admit it or not, and that for many of us the one true God is among the least well known.  What does God have to say to our prison system?  To our economy?  To the amount of trash we throw away every day?  To the balance between food crops and ethanol production?  To high debt loads among farmers and young families?  To our dependence on automobiles and our perceived need to do everything on our own schedules, each in our own vehicle?  I am convinced God does have a position and calls upon us to address each of these issues and many others in line with God's commandments.

Brian McLaren has written a book based in his deep re-reading of the Gospels.  It is called, "Everything Must Change." There is a very good little film online called The Story of Stuff that is an amazing analysis of our economic situation.  The Monday Bible Study is looking into the disease of "Affluenza" (the drive to consumerism in our culture), its symptoms and its possible cure. Many people are seeking to simplify their lives to make them more meaningful. And a couple of culture/history watchers predicted 15 years ago that about now our American society would enter a time of crisis on the scale of the Great Depression & WWII.  It may be that this is the time in history when much of the work of the last 30 years on sustainability will coalesce into a dramatically different way of understanding ourselves in relation to one another and our earth.  That is both good news and terrible news.  We want to live in such a way that we have a good life to hand on to our children and grandchildren, but I am afraid that it will not come without major disruption.  Can we be faithful and hopeful in the face of dramatic change?  Can we reach into our hearts to love all people, to offer good in the midst of suffering?  

We can and we will.  It will help if we prepare, but the real Good News is that Christ has not left us orphaned, to struggle alone.  Whatever may come, the one true God of love, the cornerstone of our spiritual house, and the Wisdom of all ages will be with us.  We may be apprehensive, because we do not know exactly what is coming, but we have no cause for fear. 

Stones for death and life

Scripture: Acts 7:55-60, 1 Peter 2:1-10, John 14:1-14, Psalm 31: 1-5, 15-16

Stephen is among the first Christian martyrs. When accused, he reviewed sacred history, the story of Moses and the Exodus, and then declared Jesus to be a greater successor to Moses. For this, he is dragged outside the city and beaten with stones. Stephen cries out only to declare his faith and to ask forgiveness for his attackers. The commentators describe him as innocent. Innocent of crime in the eyes of God, yes. Innocent of the knowledge of the consequences of his actions, I don’t think so. He is direct and without guile and perhaps without the skill that Jesus had to ask questions as he spoke that deflected the anger and action of his opponents. But Stephen faced his fate with courage and faith.

The reason we hear so much from our evangelical brothers and sisters in faith to try to bring faith into the public realm is that they are perhaps more aware than we of the distinction between the secular world and the Christian message. We tend to accommodate more of secular thought and scientific discovery in our faith, holding to the tenets and principles of belief more than to the details of ancient interpretation. We affirm that God is still speaking, addressing our contemporary world. This is good and right, but we need to be careful to draw some boundaries. The world around us may have mostly Christian roots, but by any standards, there are cultural values that we cannot endorse and must counter.

The author of 1 Peter begins by listing some qualities inconsistent with Christian faith: malice and guile, insincerity, envy and slander. What other things should we put aside? Greed? Self-centeredness? Defensiveness? Promiscuity both in sexuality and in personal life (revealing clothing and excessive telling of personal details)? What qualities make for good interactions and relationships and which contribute to dysfunction? Where are the boundaries?

In Acts, stones are the tools of murder. The author of 1 Peter goes on to describes us as living stones built upon Christ, our cornerstone, and forming a spiritual house. As living stones, we interact with our world, we grow in our faith (seeking spiritual milk and tasting that God is good). This spiritual house exists in the world, not in some future realm. It stands firm because we are built upon Christ, upon one another and upon our ancestors in faith. It may be a stumbling block to some, something that causes them to stop and change directions. Stumbling is not bad if the path one is walking is not a good one. It can cause one to seek a better path.

The spiritual house exists in the world, but it also manifests in some way the realm of God, which is both here with us and not yet fully present. By building our spiritual house, by creating bonds of love and mutual care, and standing firm for Christ and for values like compassion, justice, abundant hospitality, honesty and service, we bring the realm a bit closer, make it more real in the world.

We may not need to be martyrs like Stephen, but where should we take a stand?

Rocking the boat for good

Scripture: 1Peter 2:19-25

I am not likely to preach on 1 Peter, but it raises some interesting concerns. 

The paragraph break in my Bible begins at verse 18, which tells slaves to obey their masters with gentleness and deference whether the master is good or harsh.  The lectionary wants to distance the discussion from slavery and begins in the middle of the thought.  "For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly."  The author of the epistle (we will call him 1Peter because it is not likely to be Simon Peter, the apostle, but a member of his community of followers) goes on to tell people to avoid challenging the structures of the culture, whether slavery or emperor or one's spouse, but to live out the peace and love of Christ in all settings.  Let it be your goodness that unsettles people, not your rebellion.

In some settings, this may be advisable for a while - there are times to protest and times when a protest may not accomplish any good purpose - but I do not believe that this bending to secular authority was the message of Jesus.  Perhaps it is the difference between 1Peter's context and ours.  Our society may not be for us as Christians, but it does not violently persecute us quite the way 1Peter's readers may have experienced. In our democracy, we have a civil right and a civic duty to call our authorities into account.  We should not seek to establish Christian doctrine as a rule for public life, but to hold up virtues and values affirmed by Christianity for the benefit of secular life together.  That really is what the "founding fathers" did.  "We hold these truths to be self-evident... ," not founded in scripture or by the authority of God through and specific Christian tradition, but generally  true and universally applicable.

Even if we disagree with his "don't rock the boat against authority" approach, the author of 1 Peter reminds us of some important guidelines: "when he (Jesus) was abused, he did not abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten."  Our society needs to learn about peace.  We, followers of the Prince of Peace, should be leaders in teaching and modeling peace.  Not by meekly obeying authority when it is wrong and hurtful, but by defending the hurt and abused and calling attention to injustice without violence or hatred; by following in Jesus' way.

Bullying is much in the news and a concern in our schools.  J. Bennett Guess in the UCC News talks about the bullying of gay teens that leads to both homicide and suicide, but receives less attention or press.  What would Jesus call us to do to bring peace?

Guilt by Association

Easter Greetings!

Scripture:  Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Peter's Pentecost speech concludes by reminding his listeners of his main point, "Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified."

Ouch! The people listening to Peter that day came from many places, but Peter has aimed the last of his message at the Israelites.  He has quoted scripture to reinforce his declaration of Jesus' real resurrection. But he points his finger accusingly at them, "You crucified him."  From the distance of 20 centuries and a long way from our the Jewish roots of Christianity, we might hear that as the Jews crucified Jesus, but if we were standing there before him, wouldn't we say, "Wait a minute.  I had nothing to do with that.  I wasn't even there.  I didn't see Jesus or hear him speak, how could I have crucified him?" But, instead, Luke reports that the people are "cut to the heart" and want to know what they should do.  

Maybe it has to do with the far greater sense of being one people, united through oppression and history into a single group so that what one does, all participate in.  I suspect that is part, but not all of the response.  Maybe it is also because he has told them that the one crucified was the Lord, the Messiah, the anointed one for whom all Israel has been waiting for hundreds of years.  

The paper today and yesterday has reminded us of both Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination and the genocide of so many people even in very recent history.  If we had a Peter standing before us saying that King, the one we murdered, was the one anointed to end racial discord in our world, would we be willing to accept a portion of the responsibility?  Or would we join the chorus that claims ourselves not guilty?  

I certainly have felt outraged at King's death and distanced from the hand that pulled the trigger.  I feel sad at the inhumanity of those who mow down other people because they are a different ethnic group or religion.  Yet, these killers are not so different from ourselves.  We hope and pray that we have heard a word of peace, but Christians have been and continue to be as violent as any other group.  Even without weapons in hand, we cut one another down, slander and exchange ugly barbs in our political campaigns.  We turn to violence over peaceful reconciliation in schools, workplaces, and families.

Can we say with the crowd listening to Peter, "What should we do?" Can we repent in the name of our people and seek forgiveness?  Can we learn, through God's word and through fellowship and breaking bread, to be truly peaceful and spread that peace in our families, our communities, our world?  That is the hope that Christ offers, I think.  The hope that God's realm of justice and peace can come near to our lives and the lives of others.

Peace be with you,

Marlea