The Journey

There are some things I think I do pretty well. There are others that need improvement and still others that are probably beyond anything I can help. I tried playing golf for a few years. How hard could it be, I wondered? I soon learned. It didn’t take long before I was consistently shooting in the lower seventies. If it was any colder, I didn’t play. I liked to play, just wasn’t all that good.

I gave up playing golf after my heart attack and by-pass surgery. But this is okay – I gave me more time for doing things less frustrating, like solving the problem of world peace. 

I heard of a hotel that has a water fountain in the lobby that is operated by an infra-red beam of light. When a thirsty person wants a drink, she simply bends down and the water automatically turns on. There is a sign above the water cooler that reads, “Stoop and drink.”

What an interesting metaphor for a life attitude. Stoop and drink. Especially when we have something to learn, when we want to drink from the fountain of knowledge, we may need to stoop and drink. 

Like Albert Einstein. He once arrived in London carrying his violin case. After greeting him, an old friend asked, “You still play the violin, Albert?” The mathematical genius nodded and said, “Yes, but not very well. My teacher says, ‘The trouble with you, Mr. Einstein, is that you can’t count.’”

He knew that he had much to learn if he were to play the violin well. And he was wise enough to know that he would learn better if could approach it with a sense of humility; he had to stoop in order to drink. 

Have you ever skied? Even if you’re an adult, if you’ve never attempted downhill skiing you would do well to begin by taking a lesson on the beginner’s slope. Yes, you may be the only person in the group over four feet tall, and  you may also be the only one to slide down the slope backward while little people are whizzing by. Believe me, I know. But you’ll never get the hang of it unless you learn the fundamentals. If you stoop to take a lesson or two, you can leave the bunny slope behind forever. 

Author Barbara Sher says something interesting about this approach to learning new things. She says that you “can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you.” 

I think she’s right. It takes some stooping to approach something new like a beginner. But that is the way we learn best — at any age.

Over the years I’ve come to realize that anybody can teach me, if I let them. Young people and old people, the uneducated and the learned — anyone can be a teacher. But not anyone can be a learner. It takes the right kind of attitude to learn. But if I’m able to stoop, I’ll have plenty to drink. 

And so, we pray: Lord, I have learned that the eye of a needle is about a small gate – a low gate which we have to stoop to enter. I have to stoop to be taught. Help me to never stop learning from all people who are ready to teach me whatever I need to learn. Amen.

Grace and Peace
Steve

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The “Wailing Wall,” believed to be a remnant of the great Temple in Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., is where the Jewish people go to recall their traditions and to pray … 

A CBS news team was taping at Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall. Every day they saw the same older man praying, morning, noon, and night. On their last day, one of the reporters asks him, “What is it you pray for so fervently?” The old man thinks for a moment and says, “I pray for health, for happiness, and peace in my land.” “I see,” says the reporter. “You don’t look very healthy. Are you happy?” “Not really,” says the man. “And your homeland is in turmoil,” the reporter says. “Do you believe your prayers are heard?” The man nods and says, “Sometimes it’s like talking to a wall.” 

Plagues, earthquakes, wars, famines, hatreds, persecutions, killings — we live right amid it all on our planet earth. And, like Job, we want to know “Why?” And there are times when it seems like we’re talking to a wall. Like Job, we need to become good listeners. Like Job, our “Why?” of rebellion needs to become the “Why?” of wisdom. Like Job, we need to understand that even though we still don’t have the answer to the “Why?” of suffering, nevertheless a caring God is in charge and, somehow, it works for good. Like Job, we need to listen and learn that apart from trust in a loving God, life is absurd. 

“Your endurance will win you your lives,” says the Lord. With patient endurance, hold onto a simple, old-fashioned faith in God and His loving kindness, and you will become a force in your relationships. There are persons all around you who need your gifts. 

With patient endurance, hold onto a simple old-fashioned faith in God and His loving kindness, and you will be empowered to give of the gentleness of your heart. 

This week, despite the bad news you will read or hear remember always: God is still God. He is acting in history. He will not abandon us. When the going gets rough, we must hang in there, and let the love we bring into the situation be a clear and convincing sign of the God of Love. As Christians, when we do this, we will set a shining example of the people God intends us to be. And that I pray, exemplifies “the people we are.” 

And so, we pray: Lord, Sometimes my prayers do seem like I am talking to a wall… from the temple or just and old rock. Help me to know that you are with me in and through all circumstances and situations, and you know what I need even before I offer my uninformed prayer. Amen.

Grace and Peace
Steve

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Jesus reminds His disciples of the difficulties they will encounter along the bumpy road of life. He speaks of “wars and tumults,” of “nation rising against nation,” of “great earthquakes,” of “famines and pestilences,” of “terrors,” of “betrayals and persecutions.” In Jesus’ own words… 

“Not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance, you will gain your lives” (Lk. 21:18-19). 

The beautiful Good News of the Gospel is that while God loves us in an infinite number of ways, He never loves us more clearly, more beautifully, than when we’re hurting. We can’t explain it, but it’s part of the Gospel — part of the Good News. 

In Albert Camus’ novel, “The Fall,” there is a devastating scene in which a respected lawyer, walking in the streets of Amsterdam, hears a cry in the night. He realizes a woman has fallen or been pushed into the canal and is crying for help. Then the thoughts come rushing through his mind: “Of course I must help, but a respected lawyer getting involved in this way? What would the implications be? And what about personal danger? After all, who knows what has been going on over there.” By the time he has thought it through, it is too late. He moves on, making all kinds of excuses to justify his failure to act. But, Camus, in one devastating line, says, “He did not answer the cry for help because that is the man he was.” 

As Christians, we are not listening to Jesus if we cannot answer another’s cry for help. We are not listening to Jesus if we are worried about the implications of getting involved. We are not listening to Jesus if our first impulse is to say, how will this affect me, rather than how can I help you? And if we are not listening, won’t that speak volumes about the people we are?” 

And so, we pray: Lord, I need your help always to not think about me but to think more about my neighbor… anyone in need. Help me not think about myself but think more about those I could… and should help. In Your name. Amen.

Grace and Peace
Steve

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“Dear Abby,” wrote a woman asking advice, “I’m forty-four years old and would like to meet a man my age with no bad habits.” To which Abby replied, “So would I!” 

Of course, neither Dear Abby nor the woman who sought her advice will ever meet a man with “no bad habits.” Mr. or Mrs. Perfect simply does not exist. We’re all flawed human beings — no exceptions. In Biblical language, we’re all sinners. 

As the story goes, two old childhood friends meet at a reunion. “Why is it that you never got married?” one friend asks the other. “To tell you the truth,” the man replies, “I spent my entire youth looking for the perfect woman. 

“In my 20s, I met a beautiful and intelligent woman, but she was unkind. In my 30s, I met a very kind woman, but we had no common interests. And over the years, I met one woman after another who seemed just right — but there was always something missing. Then just recently I met her! She was intelligent. She was generous. She was kind. We had everything in common. In fact, she was perfect.” The other man was puzzled. “What happened? Why didn’t you marry her?” he asks. “Sad to say,” the other replies, “it seems she was looking for the perfect man!” 

“Be perfect, even as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. That’s our goal. That’s our ultimate destiny. That’s what we’re moving toward and growing into when we follow Jesus’ direction. We’re in the process of realizing our full human potential. But none of us has arrived yet. No one is blameless — not your best friend, nor your worst enemy — and most assuredly, not me. 

We are all called to grow in the grace of Christ everyday. Some moments we will feel we are doing great, and the very next moment we feel that we have fallen from grace. There are many ups and down in our journey of growing in grace… but keep at it knowing that the love of God surrounds us every moment of every day. We know that we are growing in grace when wee realize that we love God more and love our neighbor without judging or consequence

Here and now, if the question of who you are and what we ought to be doing with our life has you “up a tree,” so to speak, pray to Jesus and then listen to hear Him whisper tenderly, “Salvation has come to this child of God!” 

And so, we pray: Lord, boy do I know I have not arrived… not even close. But I do realize most moments that Your Grace and Love covers me and my every move. Thank you for walking with me and loving me… yes, even me. Amen.

Grace and Peace
Steve

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The great philosopher, “Charlie Brown,” once made a profound observation that touches on what we call “salvation”… 

Charlie is leaning against a tree, talking to Lucy. She asks, “What do you think security is, Charlie Brown?” Charlie answers, “Security is sleeping in the back seat of a car when you’re a little kid, and you’ve been somewhere with your Mom and Dad, and it’s night. You don’t have to worry about anything. Your Mom and Dad are in the front seat, and they’re doing all the worrying. They take care of everything.” 

Lucy smiles and says, “That’s really neat.” Charlie Brown, who never seems to know when to stop, gets a serious look on his face and says, “But it doesn’t last. Suddenly you’re grown up, and it can never be that way again. Suddenly, it’s all over, and you’ll never get to sleep in the back seat again. Never!” Lucy gets a frightened look on her face and asks, “Never?” And Charlie Brown replies, “Never!” 

As they stand there, sensing the terrible loneliness that goes with being an adult, Lucy reaches out and says, “Hold my hand,” Charlie Brown. 

Let us reach out and say to one another, “Hold my hand.” And, in holding one another’s hands — in placing ourselves in one another’s service — we will experience the Presence of Christ’s hand in ours. We will be secure in the knowledge that salvation has come to our house in the form of the Love of Almighty God. And the loneliness will pass away. And the insecurity will pass away. And, no longer will we feel like we’re “up a tree.” 

And so, we pray: Lord, I do feel alone at times… as a child… as an adult… as an older adult. And I need to know that you are holding my hand… and have been holding it all my life. Embrace me in your grace so that I may know the security of your love. Amen

Grace and Peace
Steve

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“There will be a new tomorrow. There will be a brighter day. There will be a new tomorrow. Love will find a way.”

These lines are from a popular song of the 60s. This concern for tomorrow is also expressed in a Broadway Play of the time. In it, a young man drops out of school and is estranged from his parents as he struggles with addiction. Out of the depths of what he sees as a hopeless situation, he cries out, “How I wish life were like a notebook so you could tear out the part where you’ve made all the mistakes and start over with a page that is fresh and clean.” 

Today, young people the world over are beginning to express real concern for this new tomorrow, this new chance, this new opportunity. From the plague of gun violence to the existential threat of global warming, the ever-growing awareness and activism of today’s youth should provide a ray of hope for the rest of us. Indeed, for all of us, there comes a time when we long for a new start, a new page, a new opportunity, a new tomorrow. The question is: Will Love find a way? 

One of the fantastic things about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God’s Love does find a way. Nothing we have done in life prevents God from giving us a new tomorrow. No mistake, no wrong decision, no wrongful act of any kind can defeat God’s Will to forgive. Nothing we do can bind us irrevocably to the past because God is always here to show us the way to a new life in a new tomorrow — sometimes in the most surprising and wondrous ways. 

So the beginning of that new tomorrow is to know that our tomorrow is in God’s hands… however it may work out. I have often thought the world is going to hell in a hand basket…but God says this is a new day. And the Gospels all tell us that The love of Christ will find a way. Hold on to that promise no matter what you are thinking or facing. Love will, indeed, find a way.

And so, we pray: Lord, I admit that I often wonder about today and tomorrow… how will it be? Will it be? Help me to realize that the cross of Christ Jesus is the promise… “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Amen.

Grace and Peace
Steve

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Imagine a church with such beautiful architecture that you can look up and see the clouds gently painting their pictures of angels and saints we use to know. The sunlight streams in at just the right angles that you can almost touch heaven. There seems to be a gentle breeze that brings a refreshing lift to your spirit. The music was majestically sweet and soul warming. The sainted preacher stands in the grand pulpit to deliver a sermon with the voice of thunder and the power of God strong enough to reach even the darkest soul. We sit in our pews stilled and awed by this powerful personification of God’s Word.

As the sermon reaches its climatic conclusion a young confirmand is brought forward for baptism. The sacrament is so real that it leaves blood dripping from the preacher’s hand. What a powerful day! What a beautiful church!

Ever been to a church like that? Ever been in a service like that? I have. As Paul Harvey would say: “Now the rest of the story.”

The church was the side yard of our parsonage in Bryson City, NC. Of course, the great architecture was God’s nature all around us on that Spring morning. The grand pulpit was the old tree stump and the old sainted preacher was my 6 year old brother. I (4 years old) was the song leader, the entire congregation and the one who helped to bring that young confirmand to the Baptismal Font: that is bring the scrawny neighborhood cat to the mud puddle in front of the tree stump. The blood came about because that cat must have been of some other faith since I am pretty sure he didn’t like the idea of baptism and fought tooth and claw not to receive this Wesleyan Sacrament. My brother preached with some sort of book in his left hand so he could used his right hand to point at the sins of the congregation. I would shout out amen at the appropriate times (I think he instructed me when to do that).

My brother and I grew up to be United Methodist pastors. We never saw that cat again. I guess he went as a missionary to China?

Isn’t it strange the games children play? I wonder, do surgeon’s children carve up the neighborhood cat with a “butter” knife and talk with the family afterwards? I do know that some teacher’s children play school. Do we do what we see others do, especially if they are people who are role models for us? When I was in college as a student pastor (serving a church and going to college at the same time) I would try to spend time with my son, Stephen. He liked baseball, so we would get out in the front yard and I would throw the wiffleball for him to hit. He had watched enough baseball to know what to do. He would rub dirt on his hands, take a few practice swings, and spit on the ground before I pitched each ball. I think he was in the first grade then. Later in life he turned out to be quite a short stop in slow pitch softball.

Once, when I was three or four, my dad noticed that I was watching him and doing everything he did. Later he told my mom that he prayed that he did only that which would lead his children to be good Christian men. I do thank my mom and dad for doing just that. This little story and many just like it are played out all over the world every day. Children are doing what they see adults of influence doing. Here is the question: If we continue to do what we are doing now, and our children continue to watch, what will we have contributed to the kind of people they will become? I believe, one way or another, we make a difference in the lives of others, especially our children.

Dear Lord, we are proud of our son, his wife, and our grandchildren. They are people of great character and solid faith. They are faithful to the church and devoted to you. If Shirley and I had some small part in that, we give you all the thanks and praise. We sought to love and be real, but your love taught the real lessons of life. Help us to continue to always live lives of courage and faith. In and through Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Peace
Steve

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Any of you who spend time on Facebook know you will endure . . . well, uh, let’s keep it decent and say a pre-edited version of “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.” And not just from . . . uh . . . the incredulous and socially-challenged who have too much time on their hands.

There are also memes from the seriously well-intentioned, like the one I saw recently proclaiming, in all caps and bold face type, “RACISM DESTROYED IN ONE MINUTE.” As if being able to state insight about a problem is equivalent to implementing the remedy.

Like many, I thoroughly enjoy stimulating conversations exploring seemingly intractable problems and coming to what feels like actual clarity about what might be done to at least nudge reality toward just and compassionate solutions.

The genetic flaw in this form of idealism is that it substitutes ideas for solutions, severs vision from strategic planning. There’s a difference from having a dream and dreaminess.

If having a good idea is like hearing the starter’s gun, the race has just begun. What comes next is sweat, persevering through frustration, maybe pain, coming to terms with the possibility that your best effort may not be enough, maybe even realizing you’ve marched up a dead-end street, or that you are but one participant in a relay that will stretch on for years, decades, maybe even millennia.

Having a dream is not the same as being had by a dream. The later may very well pick you up off the ground by your collar, toss you into a tornado, land you on a small boat in a very large storm—all without so much as a please-and-thank-you.

Any dream worthy of the name may be hazardous to your career, your reputation, surely your economic security, conceivably your health, possibly even your life.

The sharecropper turned civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer understand the risk. “Sometimes it seems like to tell the truth today is to run the risk of being killed. But if I fall, I’ll fall five feet four inches forward in the fight for freedom. I’m not backing off.”

The vast majority of those caught by a dream will never appear in anyone’s gun sight, or feel the weight of a billy club on your head, or hear a prison door close behind you. But there’s no warranty coverage.

Ideas that matter will almost certainly cause calluses, maybe blisters, likely emotional turmoil and spiritual vexation of every sort. Tired bodies, cluttered minds, lagging spirits—all these and other impairments will have to be endured.

A true and worthy hope, as Barbara Kingsolver wrote, requires more than admiration from a distance. You to take up residence under its roof.

New friends will most certainly come along; but you may lose a few, too. If you’re honest, you will recognize there is always a little slippage between your comprehension of how to reach the Beloved Community and the actual Way forward. Righteous intention is no guarantee that you’re right. Owning mistakes, false conclusions, premature judgment, your own capacity to wound as well as heal—in short, living a life of penitential readiness—all of these foibles can be turned to strength if the ground of your confidence is more than personal pride.

With any struggle worth the time, perseverance is more valuable than brilliance, in no small part because actual engagement is the best source of learning.

Grace and Peace
Steve

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Two boys on the school playground were discussing a classmate. One of them remarked, “He’s no good at sports.” The other quickly responded, “Yes, but he always plays fair.”

The critical boy tried a different tack: “He isn’t very smart in school either.” His friend answered, “That may be true, but he studies hard.”

The boy with the spiteful tongue was becoming exasperated with the way the conversation was going. “Well,” he sneered, “did you ever notice that he never wears clothes that are cool?”

The second lad kindly replied, “Yes, but did you ever notice, he doesn’t seem to need the newest and best to be cheerful? He seems happier than most of us.” The conversation went on for a while that way. Every negative observation was countered by a positive comment.

Now if this was a parable, and it is, I would ask which of the two boys on the playground is most like you?

* Are you the one who defends others, or are you the one who criticizes?

* Are you the one who builds people up, or the one who tears them down?

* Are you the one who puts the best construction on everything, or are you the person whose construction is pretty slipshod?

Now I know your mother told you, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” And I know we are also told to say “everything in the kindest way.” But do we do what has been suggested to us, or is our conversation filled with criticism and complaints about others?

I wish I could answer all those questions in a way which makes me look good. I can’t. Odds are you probably can’t either. Therefore, we need to, in the words of James, “bridle our tongues.” Tongue-bridling is a good thing for many reasons. First, it helps and builds up others. Second, it helps us see the world and each other in a positive light, and most of all it reflects positively on our Savior.

This is why today’s devotion encourages us to refrain from “evil speaking” and asks that we be “kind to one another” (see Ephesians 4:31-32). Rather than contributing to the spirit of criticism, let us be known as those who do their best to cancel it.

Dear Lord, it seems like my tongue is so small it ought to be easily controlled. That is the way it seems, but the reality is different. It is far too easy for me to shoot the verbal arrows, to unleash the thunderous tirade against others. For this forgive me. And now I ask that you will not just create a new heart in me, but you will also give me a new tongue, in and through Jesus.  Amen.

Grace and Peace
Steve

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The other day Southeast High School had a Library Fund Raiser at Barnes and Noble here in Greensboro. It was really nice, running from 5:00pm to 8:00pm with a percentage of all proceeds going toward SEHS Library Fund… to help them buy books for the school library. One of the choirs sang beautifully… while the Jazz Band really rocked the house.

I wandered throughout the store which Shirley and I shop at quite a bit. Up and down the aisles, retrieving, flipping, though, and replacing books on many shelves. I looked at all the little knickknacks on display and even purchased a few. All the latest and hottest books… ones they are trying their best to get you to purchase were on display near the entrance… almost tripped over them on the way in.

One thing I did think about was the real important question of the evening: “Why are my books only on line with Barnes and Noble and not on their physical shelves?” There are other authors who have several books on the shelves… little known authors like John Grissom, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, and some guy named Mark Twain… wow what a funny name? I guess these guys are ok to read but I am a local boy… shouldn’t that warrant some consideration?

I am sure you know that this is all in jest. I envy the talent and skill and imagination of these very famous and successful writers. If I keep working at improving my skills and techniques perhaps in about 30 or 40 years, I will be a famous, well-read writer?

As I walked around the computer book section looking for some written help for my ancestry work, I noticed that there is this series of books on everything you ever wanted to know about everything you wanted to know. The series is entitled “(Blank) for Dummies.” Some are funny. Some make you say what? While others you look at and say Really? Amazon Books online has 20 pages of listing the titles of Dummies book titles. Add the words “for Dummies” after each of these: the Bible, iPhone, Running a Bar, Auto Repair, Raising Chickens, Hacking, Facebook, Puppies, iPad, Music Theory, Pit Bulls, Football, Fishing, Christianity, U.S. History, Dad’s Guide to Pregnancy, Gardening, Wine, Bird Watching, etc. for many more pages.

There was one that caught my eye… even though I am a dummy at fishing and would love to be able to catch the big one… one book, in particular, stopped me dead in my tracks: “Mindfulness for Dummies.” It seems to run right along with the Bible for Dummies and Christianity for Dummies. I am afraid that what we are handing out today is the Cliff Notes version of things that really matter – things vital to life and faith – things that call us to a higher plane of living and understanding and loving. And in the process, we are losing the deeper meanings of that which is vital. An old college Philosophy professor who was dry as dust and even put a dog to sleep during a summer school class – that wise old professor gave us a quote that has stayed with me since 1977: “If you think you have your philosophy of life all figured out with that philosophical circle complete, watch out cause God is getting ready to let you know that your philosophical circle of life is not big enough to include all God wants to say or do or include”.

It seems these days that the world has gone mad trying to push people out of their circle for reasons that are simply beyond me… like they are immigrants, law breakers, not up to our standards, sick or different than we are. And a host of other reasons. I look at what we are doing and how we are acting, and I see the people of Jesus’ days on earth pointing fingers at Jesus because he was different. He healed people on the Sabbath (when they needed healing – didn’t wait for a more suitable or acceptable day). He ate with sinners – people we wouldn’t let in our house – he welcomed people he didn’t know – strangers. He touched the untouchables – the sick lepers – who were spiritually unclean.  He welcomed the Samaritans – the ones our priests and business men leave in the side ditch on the road to church… the office – the ones who worship differently than us. He welcomed the different, the outcast, the ungodly people from whom we would look away. In other words, he would welcome anyone, eat with anyone, pray with anyone, walk with anyone, invite anyone, love anyone, and die for anyone.

Several years ago, I spoke about the doors, hearts and minds of the church being wide open to welcome anyone and everyone. Someone in the congregation needed clarification and ran up to me after church and said: “Preacher, just how open are these doors?” (meaning, do we let in even those people with whom I don’t agree?) And I answered they are to be wide enough to welcome everyone God wants us to love. I don’t think he liked my answer, but it still is the truth… still today.

Our world today needs a crash course in “Mind-fullness for Dummies.” We need to be mindful of all the people God is calling us to love – to love with God’s love – to love with our love. God calls us to welcome the stranger not to send them away. He calls us to care for them – lift them up and not to bring them down and trample them under foot.

Do we really need a book on Christianity for Dummies? I guess we do if we think God has said the last word on Christian belief, faith and action… and that we know all we need to know about how God works and who God loves and welcomes into God’s own heart. How closed off are you? Is your circle complete…finished? If so, Dummy, you need to read: Open Hearts for Dummies. Open Minds for Dummies. Open Doors for Dummies. How to Be Compassionate to ALL People for Dummies. Read and learn. You’ll be glad you did… believe me you will be glad you did.

Grace and Peace
Steve

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