What a wonderful visioning weekend experienced by all who participated in “On the Road to Glory” mission and vision event that culminated on August 12 after worship. The week’s discussions in our small groups and Sunday Schools were affirmations of God working through his people at Wylie UMC. The sharing of thoughts, ideas, and dreams by people in not only these small groups but especially during the group sessions on Sunday afternoon, are valuable to the development of God’s vision for Wylie UMC and the fulfillment of her God-given mission “we are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ.”
Our leadership is collating the information and consolidating the insights over the next few weeks into a working plan for mission and vision. Our leadership hopes to provide initial feedback to the congregation in a handout. Our ushers will distribute the handout at worship on Bring ‘em Back Sunday (Back- to-School), August 26.
May we remember, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18 and the visioning process is always morphing. Therefore, the work of vision is a never-ending process. God asks us to take the visioning process seriously, a process that requires time and energy. May we also remember, this visioning is a process that helps us answer the question Rev. Pat Beghtel-Mahle shared with us, “What does Wylie UMC want to be known for in the community.”
The mission and vision event the past week may have ended, but our visioning process never ends. My friends, we are always On the Road to Glory, so may we encourage one another as we travel on the road together. Remember, Jeremiah 29:11 “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’.”
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Letting down the nets
I re-read the story of Jesus calling Peter and his fellow fisherman to let down their nets after an all night fishing venture in Luke 5:1-11. I can really relate to Peter in his moment with Jesus concerning fishing skills.
When Marlane and I traveled to Pagosa Springs, Colorado last summer our intent was to fish for at least three of five days. The three days we trout fished comprise the waters of the Piedra River, San Juan River, East Fork of the San Juan River, and the best fishing hole, the headwaters of the South Fork of the Rio Grande River on the east side of Wolf Creek Pass. What a glorious time whether or not catching any fish.
However, it was until I did some investigation of the proper fly patterns and techniques and the best times to fish that I was successful in the catch. Matching the hatch and fly presentation were the most important parts of this type of fishing for brown, rainbow, and native cutthroat trout. After the instruction and insights from various area experts and observation of the different stretchs of water, I became more successful in catching fish (of course there were times they weren't feeding or I spooked the fish). Listening to the indigent fisherman though was very beneficial to catching some beautiful fish (yes, I released them all back to the waters).
It is the same for us as Christians. We must listen to Jesus on where to fish and on what to use for bait and how to present the bait to attract and make the catch. Jesus called Peter and his fishin' buddies to be fishers of people...the same call for each of us as disciples. May we listen to Jesus the master fisherman, learn from him, and go fishin' his way with determination, passion, presentation, and patience. Oh, and by the way, may we catch and release the "fish" for fishing for others and not catch and consume the fish.
Fishin' together,
Pastor Jack
When Marlane and I traveled to Pagosa Springs, Colorado last summer our intent was to fish for at least three of five days. The three days we trout fished comprise the waters of the Piedra River, San Juan River, East Fork of the San Juan River, and the best fishing hole, the headwaters of the South Fork of the Rio Grande River on the east side of Wolf Creek Pass. What a glorious time whether or not catching any fish.
However, it was until I did some investigation of the proper fly patterns and techniques and the best times to fish that I was successful in the catch. Matching the hatch and fly presentation were the most important parts of this type of fishing for brown, rainbow, and native cutthroat trout. After the instruction and insights from various area experts and observation of the different stretchs of water, I became more successful in catching fish (of course there were times they weren't feeding or I spooked the fish). Listening to the indigent fisherman though was very beneficial to catching some beautiful fish (yes, I released them all back to the waters).
It is the same for us as Christians. We must listen to Jesus on where to fish and on what to use for bait and how to present the bait to attract and make the catch. Jesus called Peter and his fishin' buddies to be fishers of people...the same call for each of us as disciples. May we listen to Jesus the master fisherman, learn from him, and go fishin' his way with determination, passion, presentation, and patience. Oh, and by the way, may we catch and release the "fish" for fishing for others and not catch and consume the fish.
Fishin' together,
Pastor Jack
Monday, June 25, 2007
As I was preaching Sunday
My friends:
As I was preaching on Sunday morning at the early service, I declaring how God calls us to be a means of God's grace to those who are ill or imprisoned. I also suggested that Jesus was not only thinking of the physically ill or actual prisoners for crimes, but also those who are ill and imprisoned in their spiritual lives. That we would have empowered living and be set. I reminded each of us that Jesus declared that he is the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8).
Then as the sermon was coming to a close, the story of Lazarus rising from the tomb, came to my mind (and it was not written in my notes). I shared how after Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave, Jesus commanded the people to unbind him from his grave clothes...we should do the same for the people who are resurrected by the grace of Jesus Christ, help unbind them.
Well, I had a few details mixed up about the number of days in the grave and I couldn't remember where the story was located yesterday...forgive me. Here it is now in NIV. Enjoy, learn and be transformed by Jesus who called you out of your grave and had people help unbind you and me.
As I was preaching on Sunday morning at the early service, I declaring how God calls us to be a means of God's grace to those who are ill or imprisoned. I also suggested that Jesus was not only thinking of the physically ill or actual prisoners for crimes, but also those who are ill and imprisoned in their spiritual lives. That we would have empowered living and be set. I reminded each of us that Jesus declared that he is the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8).
Then as the sermon was coming to a close, the story of Lazarus rising from the tomb, came to my mind (and it was not written in my notes). I shared how after Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave, Jesus commanded the people to unbind him from his grave clothes...we should do the same for the people who are resurrected by the grace of Jesus Christ, help unbind them.
Well, I had a few details mixed up about the number of days in the grave and I couldn't remember where the story was located yesterday...forgive me. Here it is now in NIV. Enjoy, learn and be transformed by Jesus who called you out of your grave and had people help unbind you and me.
John 11
The Death of Lazarus1Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."
4When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." 5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed
where he was two more days.7Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go
back to Judea." 8"But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews
tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"
9Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. 10It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."
11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."
12His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."
16Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."Jesus Comforts the Sisters
17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles[a] from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."28And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where
Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house,
comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her,
supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35Jesus wept.
36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a
stone laid across the entrance. 39"Take away the stone," he said.
"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
40Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would
see the glory of God?"
41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
Friday, June 22, 2007
The Devil Made Me Do It!
Just before being ordained as an elder in the United Methodist Church I had the opportunity to spend and seventy-two-hour retreat with Bishop Bruce Blake, our bishop for the North Texas Conference at that time. In one of our discussions our expressed how when good things were happening for the Kingdom of God here on this earth, in our communities, in our churches, that Satan works overtime to destroy and sabotage the plans for the growth of the Kingdom. Bishop Blake confronted me on that position and stated that even though Satan was a real, he did not want to give him top billing or lots of press time, or credit. He stated that it was people’s actions that were contrary to God’s will and commandments that was more the problem to emphasize.
Now I did take Bishop Blake’s wisdom to heart and understand his position. However, sometimes we need to some tangible blame on why we have acted a certain way; some of us have said in the past, “the devil made me do it.” Well, I don’t believe that either. I do believe, that Satan does work overtime to seek and destroy and to sabotage, yet, it is our actions or inaction, giving in to temptation and sinning against God that is the real problem.
I have said and observed in the past that Jesus gives us a blueprint for life within God’s will and commandments...whether it is the Greatest Commandment in Matthew 22: 37-39, or Matthew 25:34-40 “done it unto the least of these,” or the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, especially the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. These are just some of the viable components of God’s blueprint of behavior for us all as disciples of Jesus Christ.
However, the other day I received a very provocative email that cut to my heart approaching the Beatitudes from not God’s blueprint but from Satan’s blueprint (not to give Satan top billing). These statements challenge all of us and verify what Bishop Blake declared, “people’s action contrary to God’s will and commandments. Please read these statements with an open heart to God’s transforming Spirit in each of our lives:
If Satan were to write his beatitudes, they would probably go something like this:
Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Believers -- they are my best workers.Blessed are those Believers who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked -- I can use them.
Blessed are the touchy who stop going to church -- they are my missionaries.
Blessed are the trouble makers -- they shall be called my children.
Blessed are the complainers -- I'm all ears to them.
Blessed are those who are bored with the minister's mannerisms and mistakes -- for they get nothing out of his sermons --ALRIGHT!!!!
Blessed is the congregation member who expects to be invited to his own congregation -- for he is a part of the problem instead of the solution.
Blessed are those who gossip -- for they shall cause strife and divisions that
please me.Blessed are those who are easily offended -- for they will soon get angry and quit.
Blessed are those who do not give their offering to carry on God's work -- for they are my helpers.
Blessed is he who professes to love God but hates his brother and sister -- for he
shall be with me forever.Blessed are you who, when you read this think it is about other people and not self -- I've got you too! YES!!!
Now this is not pointing fingers at you who read this, but rather a challenge for each of us. I do know that I am able to point at myself in these statements. May God give each of us the strength to not give Satan a foothold and become part of the saboteur’s plan to shrink the Kingdom of God. God please help us to live up to Your blueprint as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jack
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
who is your idol
My friends in Christ:
Each of us have our favorite TV shows. The list may be long...Oprah, Dancing with the Stars, anything CSI, Survivor, Heroes, Law and Order, and the like. However, one show I have never watch full length was American Idol. As far as I'm concerned American Idol represents a false meaning of what should be an idol. In fact, American Idol is just what it sounds to me, false placement of dedication and devotion.
I though it important to share with permission, an article from a brother in Christ, Bob Ess wrote on this issue during a time of reflection that challenged me and will challenge all of us concerning idols. Read on.
Who is your ‘American Idol’?
The most popular show on television today is ‘American Idol’. I’m sure you’re familiar with it. Singing auditions are held, some go to Hollywood, then there is the final 24, then the final 12 and all the while we vote for our favorite singer until there is just one left standing. The winner receives a recording contract and finds the doors of the music world swung wide open for them.
The winner from season four, Carrie Underwood, has won dozens of awards since winning in 2005, including three Grammys in 2007. Say what you will about the show, but it’s ability to skyrocket an unknown’s career is without question. It can take a shy, unknown 19 year old girl from Oklahoma and make her a star of the highest caliber in just months.
One aspect I find interesting about ‘American Idol’ is the lengths people will go just to get their face on television. You’ve seen them; the kid who roller skates in the audition room in a clown suit who can’t carry a tune in a bucket, the angry young lady, usually dressed in next to nothing, who is convinced she is the next Idol and then is shocked to learn that the judges don’t agree. And then the heartwarming stories of those who have had rough upbringings or are suffering under tough circumstances – these are the underdogs we pull for, although they likely have little chance as well.
But what I find most fascinating is that the word ‘Idol’ is right there in our face, and we likely don’t even give it a second thought. ‘American Idol’. Hmmm. Let’s look at that from a little bit different perspective.
I can think of dozens of American Idols, and none of them are singers. There’s the pursuit of money, a job with more power, the Mercedes, Lexus or Infiniti, the bigger home, the brighter jewelry, the sexier mate, pornography. Even church. Church? How can church be an idol?
Church can become an idol when we let what WE think is best or right for the church overtake our priority (and the commandment!) to be a Christ follower. Too often our concern is what the preacher is preaching on, the number of services, the time slot for the services, when Sunday School will be held, how we spend our finances, how the pastors spend their time among their flock. Are those things really and truly the end goal of following Christ?
Shouldn’t we, instead, use our time to find and feed the poor instead of complaining about who said what in Sunday School this morning? Shouldn’t we, instead, use our time to house the homeless instead of complaining about what the pastor did or did not wear in service this morning? And shouldn’t we, instead, do all that we can to discover God’s will for our lives, instead of bickering and fighting over those things that are of this world and are temporary? Five years from now, is it really going to matter what you thought about what should be the correct size of a church committee? Five years from now, and for eternity, it is truly going to matter if we helped ‘the least of these’.
Let us not idolize those things which are of this world. That does not honor God. Let’s honor God by making Him our number one priority.
Matthew 25:34-40 is a good read for us at this point. Thanks, Bob, for your thoughts and for helping remember the importance of honoring God our number one.
Grace and peace,
Jack
Each of us have our favorite TV shows. The list may be long...Oprah, Dancing with the Stars, anything CSI, Survivor, Heroes, Law and Order, and the like. However, one show I have never watch full length was American Idol. As far as I'm concerned American Idol represents a false meaning of what should be an idol. In fact, American Idol is just what it sounds to me, false placement of dedication and devotion.
I though it important to share with permission, an article from a brother in Christ, Bob Ess wrote on this issue during a time of reflection that challenged me and will challenge all of us concerning idols. Read on.
Who is your ‘American Idol’?
The most popular show on television today is ‘American Idol’. I’m sure you’re familiar with it. Singing auditions are held, some go to Hollywood, then there is the final 24, then the final 12 and all the while we vote for our favorite singer until there is just one left standing. The winner receives a recording contract and finds the doors of the music world swung wide open for them.
The winner from season four, Carrie Underwood, has won dozens of awards since winning in 2005, including three Grammys in 2007. Say what you will about the show, but it’s ability to skyrocket an unknown’s career is without question. It can take a shy, unknown 19 year old girl from Oklahoma and make her a star of the highest caliber in just months.
One aspect I find interesting about ‘American Idol’ is the lengths people will go just to get their face on television. You’ve seen them; the kid who roller skates in the audition room in a clown suit who can’t carry a tune in a bucket, the angry young lady, usually dressed in next to nothing, who is convinced she is the next Idol and then is shocked to learn that the judges don’t agree. And then the heartwarming stories of those who have had rough upbringings or are suffering under tough circumstances – these are the underdogs we pull for, although they likely have little chance as well.
But what I find most fascinating is that the word ‘Idol’ is right there in our face, and we likely don’t even give it a second thought. ‘American Idol’. Hmmm. Let’s look at that from a little bit different perspective.
I can think of dozens of American Idols, and none of them are singers. There’s the pursuit of money, a job with more power, the Mercedes, Lexus or Infiniti, the bigger home, the brighter jewelry, the sexier mate, pornography. Even church. Church? How can church be an idol?
Church can become an idol when we let what WE think is best or right for the church overtake our priority (and the commandment!) to be a Christ follower. Too often our concern is what the preacher is preaching on, the number of services, the time slot for the services, when Sunday School will be held, how we spend our finances, how the pastors spend their time among their flock. Are those things really and truly the end goal of following Christ?
Shouldn’t we, instead, use our time to find and feed the poor instead of complaining about who said what in Sunday School this morning? Shouldn’t we, instead, use our time to house the homeless instead of complaining about what the pastor did or did not wear in service this morning? And shouldn’t we, instead, do all that we can to discover God’s will for our lives, instead of bickering and fighting over those things that are of this world and are temporary? Five years from now, is it really going to matter what you thought about what should be the correct size of a church committee? Five years from now, and for eternity, it is truly going to matter if we helped ‘the least of these’.
Let us not idolize those things which are of this world. That does not honor God. Let’s honor God by making Him our number one priority.
Matthew 25:34-40 is a good read for us at this point. Thanks, Bob, for your thoughts and for helping remember the importance of honoring God our number one.
Grace and peace,
Jack
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Praise You in the Storm
My friends in Christ,
I am sitting in Zale Lipshy Hospital with Marlane, my wife (so far three days during this stay), awaiting a healing of her neck pain and arm numbness that she has suffered for the past five weeks. It’s been a tough ordeal for her especially since she has a high threshold of pain. I know that I would be curled up in the fetal position, whimpering, and wanting to be sedated to the maximum possible, but not the case for Marlane.
As we await the new procedure – injection of steroid into her spine, and the known associated risks of internal bleeding, infection, and paralysis – I am reminded of Psalm 46:1-5 in The Message:
God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in sea storm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains. Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, GOD of angel armies protects us.
River fountains splash joy, cooling God's city, this sacred haunt of the Most High.
God lives here, the streets are safe, God at your service from crack of dawn.
Oh how important it is to know and remember and proclaim that God is ever present within our storms. As the song “Praise You in the Storm” recorded by Casting Crowns states:
Praise You in This Storm
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms
I was sure by now, God,
You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain, "I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God
who gives and takes away.
Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
Marlane and I have shed many tears in this storm and we are saying our Amens. It is my hope that you can do the same. Also, even in the moments when we seem to not be able to praise Him in the storm, we know we have the rest of the Body of Christ to do the praising for us. Lord, thanks for catching our tears and being a safe place to hide. Amen…again, again, and again!!!!
I am sitting in Zale Lipshy Hospital with Marlane, my wife (so far three days during this stay), awaiting a healing of her neck pain and arm numbness that she has suffered for the past five weeks. It’s been a tough ordeal for her especially since she has a high threshold of pain. I know that I would be curled up in the fetal position, whimpering, and wanting to be sedated to the maximum possible, but not the case for Marlane.
As we await the new procedure – injection of steroid into her spine, and the known associated risks of internal bleeding, infection, and paralysis – I am reminded of Psalm 46:1-5 in The Message:
God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in sea storm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains. Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, GOD of angel armies protects us.
River fountains splash joy, cooling God's city, this sacred haunt of the Most High.
God lives here, the streets are safe, God at your service from crack of dawn.
Oh how important it is to know and remember and proclaim that God is ever present within our storms. As the song “Praise You in the Storm” recorded by Casting Crowns states:
Praise You in This Storm
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms
I was sure by now, God,
You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain, "I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God
who gives and takes away.
Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
Marlane and I have shed many tears in this storm and we are saying our Amens. It is my hope that you can do the same. Also, even in the moments when we seem to not be able to praise Him in the storm, we know we have the rest of the Body of Christ to do the praising for us. Lord, thanks for catching our tears and being a safe place to hide. Amen…again, again, and again!!!!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
what do we make of it
My friends:
It's been some time since I wrote in this blog. And here it is the week of the masaccre at Virginia Tech. Listening to the testimony of Mr. Ryan Clark of his giving heart and smile that could make everyone smile. Ryan was a senior with a 4.0 GPA, three majors, and pursuing a PhD. He gave his life to his fellow students and gave to children at Camp Big Heart, reaching out to those special needs campers. Ryan gave his life when he encountered the gunman in his dorm. He gave his life but it is so raw and so hard to deal with such a tragedy.
I know that many of us are affected by such an incident and we all want to go into lockdown. I am especially aware of those of you who have you children away at college, hoping it is a safe environment, wanting to bring them home, and yet, know they need to remain at school. I am keenly aware of those of you from my generation who are having flashbacks concerning similar incidents on our college campuses. It just doesn't make sense and we are all crying out in some way, "WHY?"
I believe it appropriate to share some encouraging thoughts from Timothy Merrill, executive editor of Homiletics.
GOD LEFT THIS PLACE A LONG TIME AGO
What happened at Virginia Tech was very technical, methodical, very precise.
But the aftermath was anything but. It was very human, very non-technical, very passionate.
Henry Brinton, Senior Minister at Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Virginia, and past Senior Writer for Homiletics and still a regular contributor, says that his congregation has seven VT students-all unharmed-and a number of VT grads among their members. They are shocked.
And so are we.
T.S. Eliot said in The Wasteland that "April is the cruelest month, breeding/ lilacs out of the dead land."
It would appear he's right. This incident occurs within days of the 8th anniversary of Columbine. We couldn't have imagined that after Columbine we'd be pulling dead bodies out of the dead Blacksburg ground yet again and in such awful numbers.
There's a scene from the Oscar-nominated film of last year, Blood Diamond that's provocative. The movie is set in 1999 Sierra Leone while a civil war rages fueled by conflict diamonds which are sold to pay for weapons. Leonardo DeCaprio plays Danny Archer, the anti-hero, a mercenary with something of a conscience, who-along with good guys and bad guys-is hunting for this huge pink diamond. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) meanwhile, is leveling entire villages, chopping off the hands of some so they can't vote in elections, and snatching young boys to become soldiers in the rebel army.
In a quiet moment of reflection while mayhem explodes around them, Danny Archer chats with a journalist, Maddy Bowen, and reveals that his "Mum was raped and shot and . Dad was decapitated and hung from a hook in the barn. Sometimes I wonder . will God ever forgive us for what we've done to each other? Then I look around and I realize. God left this place a long time ago."
When events like the carnage at VT happen, it shatters our peace, it intrudes upon our consciousness, it interrupts and irritates and saddens and shocks, and we wonder if indeed God hasn't left this place a long time ago.
To get at this question, let's go over a few things:
1. WHY ARE WE SURPRISED?
One online media resource splashed the word WHY? over the web page pictures of the horror. The bigger question is "Why not?" Why wouldn't this sort of thing happen from time to time in our culture?
It's happened before: Columbine, which was followed by other schoolyard shootings in subsequent years around the country. Amish country last fall, postal shootings, workplace violence, the McDonalds massacre a number of years ago, the Texas clock tower murders of 16 passersby by Charles Whitman, the Manson murders, and more.
Judy Muller on NPR's "Morning Edition" (it will be on their web site later today once they have cycled through their West Coast broadcasts) recalled a remark made to her following the Columbine shootings. A woman at the 'makeshift memorial' of flowers and teddy bears that appeared almost immediately said, "The really sad thing is that we already know what to do." Muller went on to talk about all the public rituals and so forth that we now know must follow such events. We've done it before. We've buried our children.
2. IN THE AFTERMATH OF THIS VIOLENCE, WE CAN EMPATHIZE WITH OTHERS WHO LIVE WITH VIOLENCE EVERY DAY.
Not to minimize, but to place in perspective, consider those who live with violence that even exceeds what happened in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Monday. In Baghdad, the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, the West Bank, Darfur, the Sudan, and elsewhere, children of God suffer and die on a daily basis in human-generated violence.
3. WE CAN'T SHIELD OURSELVES IN ANY ABSOLUTE SENSE FROM RISK.
Americans, perhaps more than any other people in the world, are a risk-adverse people. We try to protect ourselves from EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING. You can review the examples-some ridiculous-here. This impulse tends to overlook the luxury of being able to protect ourselves from what are sometimes innocuous dangers-compared to the real horrors we too frequently ignore or to which we turn a blind eye-that our fellow human beings endure incessantly.
4. PARENTS ARE THE POWER.
We must remind our parents that they HAVE THE POWER. We must ask fathers to be men and develop a spine and backbone. We ask parents to love each other and to love their children, even if that means saying NO to them-and believe me, it does.
Granted, some psychos and cold-blooded killers come from good homes and loving parents. Some people are born without a conscience, and others, for reasons we don't really understand, manage to bury it, despite loving homes.
Yet nurture IS an important component. This is an opportunity, not to blame parents, but to empower parents to be: PARENTS. The Virginia Tech shooter was a student from Centreville, Virginia, just a few miles from Brinton's church. "It appears that he was the classic loner-a mystery to everyone," says Brinton. "Parents are not doing their jobs when they allow their children to withdraw from a community of support and accountability."
5. WHAT WOULD JESUS HAVE US DO NOW?
The answer to this question is in the Gospel [John 21:1-19] text for this Sunday.
It's Eastertide. If you're feeling like "God left this place a long time ago," you're right. It's Eastertide. The tomb is empty. He left THAT place, only to visit us in a NEW PLACE.
The opening verse of the Gospel reading says that "Jesus showed himself again to his disciples."
THAT'S what Jesus wants to do this Sunday morning with your congregation: To show himself again to his disciples. The text goes on to say, "And he showed himself in this way."
So WHAT WAY is Jesus going to show himself to us?
Peter's response in verse three is to say, "I'm going fishing."
That's often what we do in situations like this. We simply want to get back to what we were doing before: fishing or shopping.
Jesus says, "Feed my sheep."
That's all we can do right now. But is there anything else?
But we're called to be feeders. Henry Brinton is working with his staff to gather Virginia Tech students, along with their families and friends, for an evening of conversation and prayer. It's so important to respond to these events as a community and to look for where God is at work and to look for where God is at work in the aftermath of violence and death. "We need to affirm that God always gives the gift of new life," he says, "and that God can reclaim Virginia Tech as a place for kids to grow in knowledge and faith."
God has left the tomb already, and God is with us now. Amen.
There will be a special time of remembrance this Sunday for the victims of Virginia Tech and for our lives and society at all three worship services. Jesus is Resurrected!
Grace and peace,
Jack
It's been some time since I wrote in this blog. And here it is the week of the masaccre at Virginia Tech. Listening to the testimony of Mr. Ryan Clark of his giving heart and smile that could make everyone smile. Ryan was a senior with a 4.0 GPA, three majors, and pursuing a PhD. He gave his life to his fellow students and gave to children at Camp Big Heart, reaching out to those special needs campers. Ryan gave his life when he encountered the gunman in his dorm. He gave his life but it is so raw and so hard to deal with such a tragedy.
I know that many of us are affected by such an incident and we all want to go into lockdown. I am especially aware of those of you who have you children away at college, hoping it is a safe environment, wanting to bring them home, and yet, know they need to remain at school. I am keenly aware of those of you from my generation who are having flashbacks concerning similar incidents on our college campuses. It just doesn't make sense and we are all crying out in some way, "WHY?"
I believe it appropriate to share some encouraging thoughts from Timothy Merrill, executive editor of Homiletics.
GOD LEFT THIS PLACE A LONG TIME AGO
What happened at Virginia Tech was very technical, methodical, very precise.
But the aftermath was anything but. It was very human, very non-technical, very passionate.
Henry Brinton, Senior Minister at Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Virginia, and past Senior Writer for Homiletics and still a regular contributor, says that his congregation has seven VT students-all unharmed-and a number of VT grads among their members. They are shocked.
And so are we.
T.S. Eliot said in The Wasteland that "April is the cruelest month, breeding/ lilacs out of the dead land."
It would appear he's right. This incident occurs within days of the 8th anniversary of Columbine. We couldn't have imagined that after Columbine we'd be pulling dead bodies out of the dead Blacksburg ground yet again and in such awful numbers.
There's a scene from the Oscar-nominated film of last year, Blood Diamond that's provocative. The movie is set in 1999 Sierra Leone while a civil war rages fueled by conflict diamonds which are sold to pay for weapons. Leonardo DeCaprio plays Danny Archer, the anti-hero, a mercenary with something of a conscience, who-along with good guys and bad guys-is hunting for this huge pink diamond. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) meanwhile, is leveling entire villages, chopping off the hands of some so they can't vote in elections, and snatching young boys to become soldiers in the rebel army.
In a quiet moment of reflection while mayhem explodes around them, Danny Archer chats with a journalist, Maddy Bowen, and reveals that his "Mum was raped and shot and . Dad was decapitated and hung from a hook in the barn. Sometimes I wonder . will God ever forgive us for what we've done to each other? Then I look around and I realize. God left this place a long time ago."
When events like the carnage at VT happen, it shatters our peace, it intrudes upon our consciousness, it interrupts and irritates and saddens and shocks, and we wonder if indeed God hasn't left this place a long time ago.
To get at this question, let's go over a few things:
1. WHY ARE WE SURPRISED?
One online media resource splashed the word WHY? over the web page pictures of the horror. The bigger question is "Why not?" Why wouldn't this sort of thing happen from time to time in our culture?
It's happened before: Columbine, which was followed by other schoolyard shootings in subsequent years around the country. Amish country last fall, postal shootings, workplace violence, the McDonalds massacre a number of years ago, the Texas clock tower murders of 16 passersby by Charles Whitman, the Manson murders, and more.
Judy Muller on NPR's "Morning Edition" (it will be on their web site later today once they have cycled through their West Coast broadcasts) recalled a remark made to her following the Columbine shootings. A woman at the 'makeshift memorial' of flowers and teddy bears that appeared almost immediately said, "The really sad thing is that we already know what to do." Muller went on to talk about all the public rituals and so forth that we now know must follow such events. We've done it before. We've buried our children.
2. IN THE AFTERMATH OF THIS VIOLENCE, WE CAN EMPATHIZE WITH OTHERS WHO LIVE WITH VIOLENCE EVERY DAY.
Not to minimize, but to place in perspective, consider those who live with violence that even exceeds what happened in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Monday. In Baghdad, the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, the West Bank, Darfur, the Sudan, and elsewhere, children of God suffer and die on a daily basis in human-generated violence.
3. WE CAN'T SHIELD OURSELVES IN ANY ABSOLUTE SENSE FROM RISK.
Americans, perhaps more than any other people in the world, are a risk-adverse people. We try to protect ourselves from EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING. You can review the examples-some ridiculous-here. This impulse tends to overlook the luxury of being able to protect ourselves from what are sometimes innocuous dangers-compared to the real horrors we too frequently ignore or to which we turn a blind eye-that our fellow human beings endure incessantly.
4. PARENTS ARE THE POWER.
We must remind our parents that they HAVE THE POWER. We must ask fathers to be men and develop a spine and backbone. We ask parents to love each other and to love their children, even if that means saying NO to them-and believe me, it does.
Granted, some psychos and cold-blooded killers come from good homes and loving parents. Some people are born without a conscience, and others, for reasons we don't really understand, manage to bury it, despite loving homes.
Yet nurture IS an important component. This is an opportunity, not to blame parents, but to empower parents to be: PARENTS. The Virginia Tech shooter was a student from Centreville, Virginia, just a few miles from Brinton's church. "It appears that he was the classic loner-a mystery to everyone," says Brinton. "Parents are not doing their jobs when they allow their children to withdraw from a community of support and accountability."
5. WHAT WOULD JESUS HAVE US DO NOW?
The answer to this question is in the Gospel [John 21:1-19] text for this Sunday.
It's Eastertide. If you're feeling like "God left this place a long time ago," you're right. It's Eastertide. The tomb is empty. He left THAT place, only to visit us in a NEW PLACE.
The opening verse of the Gospel reading says that "Jesus showed himself again to his disciples."
THAT'S what Jesus wants to do this Sunday morning with your congregation: To show himself again to his disciples. The text goes on to say, "And he showed himself in this way."
So WHAT WAY is Jesus going to show himself to us?
Peter's response in verse three is to say, "I'm going fishing."
That's often what we do in situations like this. We simply want to get back to what we were doing before: fishing or shopping.
Jesus says, "Feed my sheep."
That's all we can do right now. But is there anything else?
But we're called to be feeders. Henry Brinton is working with his staff to gather Virginia Tech students, along with their families and friends, for an evening of conversation and prayer. It's so important to respond to these events as a community and to look for where God is at work and to look for where God is at work in the aftermath of violence and death. "We need to affirm that God always gives the gift of new life," he says, "and that God can reclaim Virginia Tech as a place for kids to grow in knowledge and faith."
God has left the tomb already, and God is with us now. Amen.
There will be a special time of remembrance this Sunday for the victims of Virginia Tech and for our lives and society at all three worship services. Jesus is Resurrected!
Grace and peace,
Jack
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
