When I was a child, Christmas Eve was that wondrous night of nights when Santa Claus came to my house. We usually attended Mass on Christmas Eve and then we returned home to find gifts under the tree. We would open our presents and then go to bed reluctantly. On Christmas morning we awoke to play with all our new toys while the adults fussed over a huge meal to be prepared all day and consumed in a matter of minutes. Today is a very different kind of Christmas Eve.
First, this is the last "work day" of the year for me. I will finish up a few tasks around the office and then prepare for our candlelight communion service this evening. After worship, we will get in the car and drive to Tulsa to spend Christmas with our children and grandchildren. No Santa at my house this year; no midnight mass, no toys to unwrap. Instead, I will enjoy the presence of family and the joy of watching children unwrap home made gifts and Christmas candy. We will celebrate the love God sent us this night and listen to stories of how God has blessed us in the past year. Then we will share a meal with friends and family as we ponder what lies ahead in the coming year.
Second, this is different because now I know so much more about what Christmas is all about than I did 40 years ago; even more than I knew just 10 years ago. Christmas is about hope, peace, love, and joy. Christmas is about God being here with us every moment of every day. Christmas is about how we respond to God's love as we do our best to live our lives according to Christ's example.
One thing I know for sure is that we have not done a great job over the last 2,000 years at representing the love of God to the world. We have taken the gospel and made it all about us instead of all about God. This Christmas, I pray that more of us can come to understand that our relationship with God isn't about us at all...It's all about God. We urgently need to recognize that God's plan is far superior to ours and we need to get out of God's way. We can't force God's hand or predict God's action. What we can do is love God and God's every move. We can share our abundance with God's Creation and we can wait in joyful hope for that day when we join God in eternal joy. That's the best we can do and the hardest task we have...Letting God truly lead us and allowing ourselves to follow. Gosh, that's a tall order!
I pray for you and your what I pray for my family, that you will appreciate the wonder of Christmas and anticipate God's action in the coming year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May the blessings and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
Pastor Don
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wonderful Time of the Year
"It's the most wonderful time of the year..." How many of us are old enough to remember this familiar song by Andy Williams?! Truly, this is one of the most wonderful times of the year.
I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I pray that the blessings of the Christ child will fill your homes and your churches as we celebrate the Greatest Story Ever Told – the birth of our Savior, Christ the Lord. During this Christmas season I’ve been preaching a series of sermons on the topics of “Hope,” “Peace,” “Love,” and “Joy.” These are themes that resonate for me as we prepare to greet our newborn King once again. These themes help me to remember how truly blessed we are to be Christians and to share with one another as we minister in Christ’s Name. Christmas reminds us all of the message Jesus brings to all humanity; the message that real hope, everlasting peace, true love, and indescribable joy are found only in the Body of Christ.
I know that there are a lot of reasons to look at our world and feel pessimistic. I see the news every night and I get frustrated and angry with our politicians and Wall Street CEOs. But, I also recognize that this world is not the place for the realization of God's promises; this world is just a limited and very short stopping off place before we join Creation in eternity. That is where the real hope, peace, love, and joy abide. We're looking for gratification in all the wrong places if we think we're going to find it here. We are here only to help others develop a relationship with God; we are not here to enjoy a life of leisure (as is promised in the "prosperity gospel").
Don't listen to the tele-charlatans who tell us that God intends for us all to live the high life in this life - it just ain't so and it ain't what's in the Bible. Christmas tells us the true story of a servant King who gives up everything to come to earth in the humblest of circumstances to offer us salvation. This King never becomes rich and he never lives the good life on this earth. Rather, this King shows us how to deny ourselves and be servants to others. This King shows us the way that God intends us to live.
This really is the most wonderful time of the year because it reminds us again of who we are and who God is and why we're here in the first place. Read the real Christmas story with your family this week. Take away the lessons of humility and service that are found in these sacred words. God bless you and yours this Christmas.
Shalom!
Pastor Don
I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I pray that the blessings of the Christ child will fill your homes and your churches as we celebrate the Greatest Story Ever Told – the birth of our Savior, Christ the Lord. During this Christmas season I’ve been preaching a series of sermons on the topics of “Hope,” “Peace,” “Love,” and “Joy.” These are themes that resonate for me as we prepare to greet our newborn King once again. These themes help me to remember how truly blessed we are to be Christians and to share with one another as we minister in Christ’s Name. Christmas reminds us all of the message Jesus brings to all humanity; the message that real hope, everlasting peace, true love, and indescribable joy are found only in the Body of Christ.
I know that there are a lot of reasons to look at our world and feel pessimistic. I see the news every night and I get frustrated and angry with our politicians and Wall Street CEOs. But, I also recognize that this world is not the place for the realization of God's promises; this world is just a limited and very short stopping off place before we join Creation in eternity. That is where the real hope, peace, love, and joy abide. We're looking for gratification in all the wrong places if we think we're going to find it here. We are here only to help others develop a relationship with God; we are not here to enjoy a life of leisure (as is promised in the "prosperity gospel").
Don't listen to the tele-charlatans who tell us that God intends for us all to live the high life in this life - it just ain't so and it ain't what's in the Bible. Christmas tells us the true story of a servant King who gives up everything to come to earth in the humblest of circumstances to offer us salvation. This King never becomes rich and he never lives the good life on this earth. Rather, this King shows us how to deny ourselves and be servants to others. This King shows us the way that God intends us to live.
This really is the most wonderful time of the year because it reminds us again of who we are and who God is and why we're here in the first place. Read the real Christmas story with your family this week. Take away the lessons of humility and service that are found in these sacred words. God bless you and yours this Christmas.
Shalom!
Pastor Don
Friday, July 11, 2008
VBS Reflections...
Today I learned that dunk tanks are for the younger-than-me! The truth is, I had a lot of fun letting our kids throw softballs at the target that released me into a large tank of water and they enjoyed it even more than I did. The only issue is that now my backside is more sore than I would like and I'm skeptical of how well I will be walking tomorrow morning. The best thing about it all is that it doesn't matter.
This week we had 47 youngsters in Vacation Bible School - "Beach Party-Surfin' Through the Scriptures" and they had a great time learning about such things as kindness, obedience, and forgiveness. They sang, danced, played, made crafts, and blew off lots of energy in a fun, safe environment. I couldn't be happier inspite of my minor aches. I am so grateful to our dedicated staff of volunteers who managed kids, made snacks, arranged for tonight's beach party, cooked hot dogs, cleaned up, and on and on, ad infinitum. Hooray for dedicated volunteers who love to see happy children having fun.
The great thing about VBS is that these kids really do get it. When you ask hard questions, they know the answers. When you ask them to tranfer knowledge into practice...they understand the connections. It's times like these that make ministry fun and help to make up for the time when we are frustrated by our own ineffective witness. God is good...All the time! Amen.
This week we had 47 youngsters in Vacation Bible School - "Beach Party-Surfin' Through the Scriptures" and they had a great time learning about such things as kindness, obedience, and forgiveness. They sang, danced, played, made crafts, and blew off lots of energy in a fun, safe environment. I couldn't be happier inspite of my minor aches. I am so grateful to our dedicated staff of volunteers who managed kids, made snacks, arranged for tonight's beach party, cooked hot dogs, cleaned up, and on and on, ad infinitum. Hooray for dedicated volunteers who love to see happy children having fun.
The great thing about VBS is that these kids really do get it. When you ask hard questions, they know the answers. When you ask them to tranfer knowledge into practice...they understand the connections. It's times like these that make ministry fun and help to make up for the time when we are frustrated by our own ineffective witness. God is good...All the time! Amen.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
For whom do you pray?
Recently, I heard someone say that they couldn't possibly pray for a particular individual because they knew that the other person had "stabbed them in the back." In other words, this person couldn't find a way to pray for an enemy. I was reminded of Matthew 5:43-48 where Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for them. I wonder if we have forgotten this mandate and its implications for our lives.
In a time when we are at war on several fronts around the globe, do we regularly pray for those with whom we are fighting? And, if we pray for them, do we pray for something other than their destruction?
In a culture that seems so focused on self-gratification, do we ever pray for those with whom we disagree or those who criticize us or those who cast us aside for the friend d'jour? And if we pray for these, do we pray for something other than revenge?
It seems to me that we Christians spend a lot of time praying for ourselves, our loved ones, and the causes we hold dear. We are often heard lifting up the concerns of our church members, praying for healing of family and friends, and even praying for rain to nourish the crops in our fields. We ask God to bless our troops and keep them safe; we ask for wisdom for our leaders; we ask for safe travel on busy holiday weekends. None of these are bad prayers.
Jesus says: "But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?" It's easy for us to love those who love us; it's a no-brainer to pray for our friends and relations; it's simply good sense to pray for ourselves. The question Jesus wants us to consider is this, So what? How hard is it to take the easy road?
It is much harder for us to pray for peace in the world when we also consider that our enemies are God's children who may receive God's grace. If we truly desire God's will in the world, our prayers must not exclude the well-being of ALL God's people. Remember, if we exclude others, in the end we may be the ones who are excluded. When we exclude others from our prayers we are, in effect, passing judgement on them and judgement is not our job - judgement is God's job.
We are called by Jesus Christ to pray for all people in all situations. Then we are commanded to leave transformation up to God. We do not have the power to transform another human being's heart...Only God can do that. Our job is to speak the truth in love and to pray that God's will may be realized.
So, the next time you go into your prayer closet be sure to ask yourself who you will pray for today. Amen.
In a time when we are at war on several fronts around the globe, do we regularly pray for those with whom we are fighting? And, if we pray for them, do we pray for something other than their destruction?
In a culture that seems so focused on self-gratification, do we ever pray for those with whom we disagree or those who criticize us or those who cast us aside for the friend d'jour? And if we pray for these, do we pray for something other than revenge?
It seems to me that we Christians spend a lot of time praying for ourselves, our loved ones, and the causes we hold dear. We are often heard lifting up the concerns of our church members, praying for healing of family and friends, and even praying for rain to nourish the crops in our fields. We ask God to bless our troops and keep them safe; we ask for wisdom for our leaders; we ask for safe travel on busy holiday weekends. None of these are bad prayers.
Jesus says: "But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?" It's easy for us to love those who love us; it's a no-brainer to pray for our friends and relations; it's simply good sense to pray for ourselves. The question Jesus wants us to consider is this, So what? How hard is it to take the easy road?
It is much harder for us to pray for peace in the world when we also consider that our enemies are God's children who may receive God's grace. If we truly desire God's will in the world, our prayers must not exclude the well-being of ALL God's people. Remember, if we exclude others, in the end we may be the ones who are excluded. When we exclude others from our prayers we are, in effect, passing judgement on them and judgement is not our job - judgement is God's job.
We are called by Jesus Christ to pray for all people in all situations. Then we are commanded to leave transformation up to God. We do not have the power to transform another human being's heart...Only God can do that. Our job is to speak the truth in love and to pray that God's will may be realized.
So, the next time you go into your prayer closet be sure to ask yourself who you will pray for today. Amen.
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