I had the privilege of finishing our series on the Apostles’ Creed.
Weekend Wanderings
It’s the weekend before Thanksgiving and the leaves are mostly on the ground now. That’s the only way you can tell it’s fall here in the sunny South as the temperatures reached 70 today. The election controversy continues and continues. Jesus is still King. The college basketball season begins soon, and hopefully there will be March Madness in 2021. Plans are to create a bubble for the tournament in Indianapolis.
Well, the links aren’t going to share themselves, so..
Interesting post on wine and eschatology.
Keith Giles doesn’t want the status quo.
Fred Smith on a small god.
Robert Farrar Capon on heaven.
Funny post from The New Yorker.
Good post from Jonathan Aigner.
Chaplain Mike is thankful.
Stay safe and have a blessed week!
Weekend Wanderings
It’s the middle of November, and we still don’t know officially who won the election. The hurricane season is still producing storms. 2020 just keeps on giving. There is some good news. It looks like there may be at least one effective vaccine coming in the next few months. Maybe our lives will get back to normal, whatever that is.
On to the good stuff:
Good words in these times.
We said goodbye to a television legend.
The research continues.
Finding your identity can be tough.
Rare poems from Edgar Allan Poe.
Good post from Scott Sauls.
For the love of the game.
Daniel Jepsen on the last days.
Stay safe and have a blessed week!
A Prayer
Father in heaven, I pray that the people of this land are gracious in victory or defeat. I pray that our representatives in government work together for the good of this nation and that you heal the deep divide that separates us.
Let those of us who claim Jesus as our Lord lead the way as peacemakers.
Amen
Weekend Wanderings
This weekend has had a couple of momentous happenings. Alex Trebek passed away this morning at 80 after battling pancreatic cancer since last year. It’s a sad day for those of us who would arrange our schedule as much as possible to watch Jeopardy over the years. He will be missed. In other news, we evidently have a new President. I hope all the silliness is settled soon so the country can get on with the process of healing. I guess we’ll see. It was nice not having to mute political ads for the last few days.
On to the good stuff:
Canceling Christmas? Not necessarily.
Chad Bird with a possibly different take on 2020.
This is interesting.
Not exactly part of an idyllic childhood.
Good post from Fred Smith.
On distraction.
I think this post‘s author is on to something.
Stay safe and have a blessed week!
Weekend Wanderigs
It has been a while, but here is another installment in the on and off-going saga of the weekend links post. Enjoy.
I definitely don’t agree with this.
This is better.
This may not be too far off from how some Americans feel.
Thoughtful article from Luke Kjolhaug.
When it just isn’t happening.
How to deal with an existential crisis.
This is a good thing.
Good advice for all of us.
The bond of love.
Stay safe and have a good week!
A Plea to Christians
In the next few days, we here in the United States will elect a President. It seems to be a close race, and because of circumstances we may not know the winner by the end of the day on Tuesday. There is a lot of talk in print media and the internet about unrest and possible violence in the next week or so. Some of that is nothing but fear mongering, but some it has credible evidence behind it. Our nation seems to be divided as badly as it has ever been. There is even talk in some circles about civil war. I am not a prophet, nor do I play one on TV, but I do believe that violence is possible after Tuesday because of the emotions that have been raging in the last few months. I hope I am wrong. I also hope that what I have seen and heard out of some who call themselves followers of Jesus is an aberration.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, in the days and weeks to come, if this country falls into the division and unrest that many foresee, remember to whom we belong. We are followers of the True King, and ambassadors for his Kingdom. While we may be citizens of the United States, it is not our true home. Like Abraham, we are strangers in a strange land. Our identity is not found in our ethnic make up, our lineage, our nationality, or our political beliefs. We are not Christian Americans or American Christians. We are Christians who live in America. This nation, as good as it is, is a temporary dwelling place for us.
I love America. My father and other ancestors fought for this country, going back to the War for Independence. Our system of government is unique in the history of the world. In spite of its flaws (yes, America is not perfect) it is a great nation. But, America is still a kingdom of this world. It, like every other nation, is still Babylon. The ancient Jews who were captive in Babylon were told to seek the peace and prosperity of that city, but their allegiance was to be to the God of Israel. We also are to seek the peace and prosperity of the nation we sojourn in, but our allegiance is to the King of Kings and we are to seek first his Kingdom.
We are brothers and sisters in the family of God. We are the body of Christ. Because we are family, we are to be united. Because we are one body, we are to be together. How many times has your big toe told your left ear that it was not part of the body because it wasn’t a toe? How many times has your left eye trie to prove its superiority over your right elbow because the elbow couldn’t see? Ridiculous, right? It is just as ridiculous for one Christian to denigrate another Christian because of their political ideas, in particular who they vote for. It is just as ridiculous for a group of Christians to pull apart and form churches that are “Christian Nationalist,” or “Patriot Churches,” as if those churches were somehow more pleasing to God. As Christians, we are looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. That is our nation.
Please do not let the voices that are trying to divde this nation do the same to we who call ourselves Christians. Particpate in the process, vote, be passionate. Do not, however, let your passion for a candidate or party overwhelm your passion for Jesus Christ. All of the parties, candidates, and groups will fade fade away. All of the energy put into all of the campaigns will be gone. Those who let their rage and hostility rule will cause harm and suffer harm.
We have a more sure hope. We are children of the Father who sees the end from the beginning. We are called to make disciples, calling people to allegiance to the True King. We can only do that if we present an alternative to a world that thinks that conflict and hatred is the way to win, because we know that in the end, love wins.
Brothers and sisters, in the next few days and weeks, let us show the world the Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of Jesus in contrast to the ugliness around us.
What Can We Do?
In the October 15 issue of the New York Times, David Brooks writes an opinion piece titled, How to Actually Make America Great.” In the piece, he writes about a new book, The Upswing, written by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett, which chronicles the changes in American life from about 1870 to today. The book looks at a wide range of sectors of American life as a whole rather than as separate entities.
The authors find that American social trends improved from 1870 up to the late 1960s. All of the indicators of good life improved, from civic particpation to church attendance. Income inequality fell and the greatest improvements in the lives of African Americans happened duriing this period. All of that changed and began to reverse in the late 60s. Why? Was it economic inequality or political dysfunction?
According to Putnam and Garrett, the problems began when the word “I” began to take the place of “we” in the minds of Americans. America began to turn from solidarity to individualism. The frequency of the word “I” in American books doubled between 1965 and 2008. We began to be more self-centered, whether it was those on the left who celebrated the freedom to do their own thing socially, or those on the right who celebrated the freedom to do their own thing economically. Everyone began to look after their own self interests while forgetting the interests of others.
Obviously, this was not a total change. Their were, and are, folks who spend their lives looking out and caring for others. Non-profits and other groups that help others have not disappeared. However, the culture as a whole has become much more self-centered. All you have to do is look at the advertising on television or radio. It’s geared toward those who want more for themselves. Even much of the political ads are pointed at the interests of the voter. “Candidate X will raise your taxes, while candidate Z will let you keep more of your money.” “Vote for this person, because if they are elected, the economy will soar and your stocks will increase in value.”
I see a lot of this in the wider Church in America. A gospel is preached that tells the person to ask Jesus into their heart to be their “personal Savior,” so that they can go to heaven when they die. The emphasis is on the individual. Much of what passes for “discipleship” in many churches is focused on the individual’s walk with God. I don’t see a lot about an individual walk with God in the Scriptures. although it is true that I personally am called to follow Jesus. All through the Bible, those who are called are called to be part of a family, whether it’s the family of Israel in the Old Testament, or the new family of God which includes Jew and Gentile in the New Testament. Christians are described as members of a family with God as our Father, as members of the body of Christ, and as fellow citizens of a Kingdom ruled by sacrficial love for others. It is in community that discipleship happens, as we learn and grow together.
The emphasis in the Bible is on the interconnectedness of those who follow Jesus, and the command to love others and put their interests ahead of our own. That is countercultural in a world that puts self first. But then, we are called to show a better way of being truly human. The early Christians lived in a world that was very self absorbed, much like our world today. Rather than buying the bill of goods the world was offering, they threw their lot in with the true King who gave his life for others. In doing so, they gave their lives for others and turned the world upside down.
May God grant us the desire to live as ambassadors of the Kingdom that conquers through sacrificial love and not selfish power.
Blast From the Past: Mary’s Song
This was first posted on December 4, 2008. It seems like a good time to repost it.
The other day, I was thinking about the song of Mary in Luke 1. It was actually a pretty subversive thing to say in that day. I was wondering what Mary’s song would sound like in the 21st Century.
Who would be the rulers in today’s world? Who would be the proud? Who are the rich? Who are the humble and the hungry?
What in our consumer driven culture could the song speak to? What would Mary have to say to the Church?
What does it mean today that the King has come and is coming again? What would happen if those of us who say we follow this King lived as if we really did?
Just some questions rolling around in my head.
Any thoughts?
Apostles’ Creed: To Judge the Quick and the Dead
In our gathering this week, we continued our study of the Apostles’ Creed.