Saturday is sports day--- the Athlete had a wrestling meet and LPCoolJ had a basketball game. Mamma Deacon and I split duties on days like this. Each of us follows a kid. The Athlete was in a double elimination bout. He lost the first one to a very quick, very experienced wrestler. Then came the second match; he was wrestling a kid of equal ability. My favorite wrestler was ahead on points going into the second round, victory was in his grasp (so to speak). Then something went wrong...he was pinned for a loss. Needless to say, he was crushed.
On the other side of town, LPCoolJ and his church basketball league cohorts were playing. I made it just in time for the start of the game. CoolJ's team only had five players show up. The other team had eight or nine. I thought for sure they would not have the steam to make the whole game and win, but LPCoolJ's team won by 14 points. CoolJ scored a bucket or two. His source of pride was that everybody on his team scored. I agree!
I am not writing this to give the Sacramental Dude's sports report, but to reflect on this day. As the Athlete and I drove to his brother's game, I tried to console him. I can remember my dad doing the same thing when I played centerfield and the baseball went sailing over my head in little league. My team lost. Boy, did that loss sting. At some point, my son will discover that the only way to get through losing and/or failure is to learn from it. Perhaps that is a skill we learn as we get older. Those reflections and lessons are for future days; for now, today, the sting is enough.
On the other hand, LPCoolJ is on cloud nine. Victory suits him well. He has not always been on winning teams when it comes to organized sports, so today is very special. He has recounted his made shots and forgotten about the times he missed. He has taken pride in his team's success. At some point, my son will discover that the only way to keep winning and/or succeeding is to learn from it. Perhaps that is a skill we learn as we get older. Those reflections and lessons are for future days; for now, today, the sweetness is enough.
At various times of life, we deal with loss and failure; then there are those times of success and victory. We cannot escape the bitterness or the sweetness of those moments. Nor can we dwell on them. We take our contests of life with us, hopefully learning and growing from each one, always claiming more than the moment, trapped in a memory. Hopefully, that is not true just of sports, but of fatherhood, and work, and church, and life.
The only way to go through life well is to learn from it. Perhaps that is a skill we learn as we get older. Those reflections and lessons are for future days; for now, today, the experience of this day is enough.
May there be many more days of wrestling and basketball and life from which to learn.
Peace.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Simeon, Anna and the Business of Waiting
As part of some of my post-Christmas reflections, I have been pondering the passages about Simeon and Anna in the Gospel of Luke. Many preachers skip from the birth stories straight to the visit of the Magi and the Baptism of the Lord. But hidden in the middle verses of Luke's second chapter, we read about the Holy Family's visit to the Temple. In those brief verses, we read about a man named Simeon and how he "looked forward to the consolation of Israel." When he finally sees the Christ child headed to the Temple, he takes the child in his arms and blesses him. In a separate but similar episode, Anna blesses the child within the walls of the Holy Temple.
These short verses do no justice to the long wait of Simeon and Anna. They spent a lifetime waiting and watching for the Messiah. How many times did they get their hopes up, only to have them smashed by reality? We will never know. I imagine Simeon searched the faces of those he met in the street, hoping that the Holy Spirit would reveal to him the One who would bring consolation to his people. Anna, prayed and fasted, waited and watched in the Temple. Would she know the One when He came, after waiting for so long? Finally the blessed event came, the Holy Presence was made known to both of them. Their joy was complete; their presence and purpose in the Gospel passes and we are left to learn from them and apply the lessons to our own lives.
Waiting and watching are never easy things for us. Humans tend to be impatient, searching for distractions as we try to rush our waiting to an early end. I doubt that is the way that Simeon and Anna learned to wait and watch. I believe that as they waited, they made the most of the time they had as they drew closer to God, the source of our true consolation. Perhaps in the waiting they understood that as moments pass, divine fruition draws closer.
Waiting for the Holy in each moment also frees us from the tyranny of the next big thing. For the next big thing rarely meets our expectations and it never brings us true consolation or salvation. That is true of the latest gizmos or the next blockbuster movie that will supposedly entertain us or the latest CNN Presidential Preference Poll that will inform us. If our hope is in the passing of time or in the unrealistic expectations of what we think should happen next, the only thing we will gain is wasted time and an empty reality. Our salvation cannot be found after the next commercial, the next job, or whatever the next "It" is.
Perhaps it took Simeon and Anna a long time to discover this. Maybe it takes us years of experience as well. For as my family gets older and the community and the church I serve change, I find myself at times lost in the looking for the next thing, the next stage, the next important date on the calendar, the next event. Yet, thanks to Simeon and Anna, I realize waiting and watching in this time of my life cannot be about what happens next. It has to be about making the most of each moment--- of searching faces and places as Simeon and Anna did---for the presence of God in the here and the now even as we hope for the future. Salvation and the abundance of life happen more often in the now rather than in the later. For our unrealistic expectations of later rarely match the reality that will come. Even as we wait, watch, and hope for tomorrow, we cannot overlook today.
These short verses do no justice to the long wait of Simeon and Anna. They spent a lifetime waiting and watching for the Messiah. How many times did they get their hopes up, only to have them smashed by reality? We will never know. I imagine Simeon searched the faces of those he met in the street, hoping that the Holy Spirit would reveal to him the One who would bring consolation to his people. Anna, prayed and fasted, waited and watched in the Temple. Would she know the One when He came, after waiting for so long? Finally the blessed event came, the Holy Presence was made known to both of them. Their joy was complete; their presence and purpose in the Gospel passes and we are left to learn from them and apply the lessons to our own lives.
Waiting and watching are never easy things for us. Humans tend to be impatient, searching for distractions as we try to rush our waiting to an early end. I doubt that is the way that Simeon and Anna learned to wait and watch. I believe that as they waited, they made the most of the time they had as they drew closer to God, the source of our true consolation. Perhaps in the waiting they understood that as moments pass, divine fruition draws closer.
Waiting for the Holy in each moment also frees us from the tyranny of the next big thing. For the next big thing rarely meets our expectations and it never brings us true consolation or salvation. That is true of the latest gizmos or the next blockbuster movie that will supposedly entertain us or the latest CNN Presidential Preference Poll that will inform us. If our hope is in the passing of time or in the unrealistic expectations of what we think should happen next, the only thing we will gain is wasted time and an empty reality. Our salvation cannot be found after the next commercial, the next job, or whatever the next "It" is.
Perhaps it took Simeon and Anna a long time to discover this. Maybe it takes us years of experience as well. For as my family gets older and the community and the church I serve change, I find myself at times lost in the looking for the next thing, the next stage, the next important date on the calendar, the next event. Yet, thanks to Simeon and Anna, I realize waiting and watching in this time of my life cannot be about what happens next. It has to be about making the most of each moment--- of searching faces and places as Simeon and Anna did---for the presence of God in the here and the now even as we hope for the future. Salvation and the abundance of life happen more often in the now rather than in the later. For our unrealistic expectations of later rarely match the reality that will come. Even as we wait, watch, and hope for tomorrow, we cannot overlook today.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Christmas Eve--Between Services
The noon Christmas Eve Service is finished, and the next service is at 7pm. I am always surprised by how many people come to the service at noon. During my planning time in November, I wonder if we should have it. This year we had 55 there, including our oldest member and families with evening plans. The Handbell Choir played and we enjoyed our time together. I expect everything will be wonderful tonight. We have one of our young children leading us in "Silent Night" plus we will have other folks singing solos from the congregation.
We are trying to enjoy some quite moments around the house until the next service. Making sausage balls and last minute gift wrapping seems to be the order of the day.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
We are trying to enjoy some quite moments around the house until the next service. Making sausage balls and last minute gift wrapping seems to be the order of the day.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Friday, December 21, 2007
A Step Toward Independence
This morning I took my oldest son, the Staff Sgt. (he got a JROTC promotion recently), to get his driver's permit. I had all of the documentation with me and watched as he took the multiple choice test. He got 27 out of 30 right; he passed! Mamma Deacon and I will be taking the passenger seat next to him for a while.
A driver's license is an important thing in American culture. Yesterday, I sat with a 93 year old church member who recently gave up her driver's license because of diminished ability behind the wheel. She grieved the loss of getting around, of seeing friends, of going places on her own rather than depending on others. For my son on the other end of life, it is a step toward independence. It is a step away from depending on parents to get you around (a step away from asking your parents to drop you off two blocks from the party so your friends don't see the "parental drop off").
Now, if only he would get a job to pay for the car insurance that would be a huge step toward independence!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
A New Christmas Tradition
Human beings are creatures of habit. The holiday season experience reveals this. We have certain things we do with certain people at certain times. Getting together with family has always been an important and memorable tradition for me. I remember going to my grandparent's home and seeing all of my cousins. Married life brought a whole new set of traditions as we visit the in-laws as well as my family of origin. Squeezing everyone and everything in over the holidays is never easy, especially when "complications" arise.
This Christmas season will have its share of complications as the traditional Christmas with certain people will not happen. This will be the first Christmas after the death of my brother, Eric, in May. I know this is an adjustment for all who loved him. I guess I could get stuck in that loss of not only of Eric, but the disappointment at not having my Christmas in my traditional way with him.
Yet, Christmas is more than our habits and traditions. Christmas is a celebration of the way God became flesh and dwelt among us. It is an old, old story (of Jesus and his love), for a new day. Maybe its time for a new tradition---not just of a celebration of what was done a certain way, in a certain place, at a certain time--- but of a new tradition of open eyes claiming and searching for the Incarnation here and now, with whom we are with, even in less than ideal circumstances. For Christ comes to us each day in new ways. We are like those Israelites of old, Simeon and Anna, in the Temple. We celebrate the traditions of our past and look to new ways in which God reveals God's self.
Eric will not be at the table this Christmas. I grieve that. But this Christmas I hope to search for new traditions, new connections, new ways of claiming and being family as all of us who grieve live through the gift of God's love anew. May God bless all who grieve and hurt this holiday season.
This Christmas season will have its share of complications as the traditional Christmas with certain people will not happen. This will be the first Christmas after the death of my brother, Eric, in May. I know this is an adjustment for all who loved him. I guess I could get stuck in that loss of not only of Eric, but the disappointment at not having my Christmas in my traditional way with him.
Yet, Christmas is more than our habits and traditions. Christmas is a celebration of the way God became flesh and dwelt among us. It is an old, old story (of Jesus and his love), for a new day. Maybe its time for a new tradition---not just of a celebration of what was done a certain way, in a certain place, at a certain time--- but of a new tradition of open eyes claiming and searching for the Incarnation here and now, with whom we are with, even in less than ideal circumstances. For Christ comes to us each day in new ways. We are like those Israelites of old, Simeon and Anna, in the Temple. We celebrate the traditions of our past and look to new ways in which God reveals God's self.
Eric will not be at the table this Christmas. I grieve that. But this Christmas I hope to search for new traditions, new connections, new ways of claiming and being family as all of us who grieve live through the gift of God's love anew. May God bless all who grieve and hurt this holiday season.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Beyond the doors
Each Sunday, I challenge the church in the dismissal with benediction "to go into the world, living lives worthy of the Gospel, so that others might see the love of God." We leave the comfort of the sanctuary for work, school, home, and life. Sometimes, we leave behind the challenge on a pew in the church; other times, it hits us in the world beyond the doors when we least expect.
I am accustomed to that challenge in the "real" world of sight and sound, flesh and blood. Increasingly, I am finding the challenge in the "virtual" world of the internet. As a football fan, I frequent several football message boards--- which are an anonymous world unto themselves. Occasionally, the topics wander to other things than football. My identity as a pastor is not a secret on these boards (it is not something I revealed from the start, but came out as the discussions revolved around faith issues). I have gotten in many discussions with all kinds of people about the bible, creation, the church, just to name a few. These discussions have been with atheists, fundamentalists, and even self-described pagans as well as "regular" Christian folk. People ask all kinds of questions about faith, sin, and God. I find that many have had a bad experience with the institution of the church, even though they are still searching like the rest of us. Because of their experience, they have abandoned the church; even with that, some want only to find someone in the church who will not judge or cajole them. My hope in these conversations is to always be civil, even if we disagree...to be caring, even if there is no common ground. On some occasions, relationship and respect grow as conversation continues.
I read recently that a United Methodist pastor had been commissioned to start a virtual church first, build a a local community there, then work on the bricks and mortar. When John Wesley said that the world was his parish, I am sure he did not dream of the internet. Perhaps living beyond the doors as Christians has taken on a whole new meaning in the 21st century. Just as Wesley went where people were to spread the Gospel in 18th century England, so too must we be willing to be witnesses for Christ in the infinity of cyberspace. In the easy answers of the internet, the love of God must be shown, especially to people who are searching, doubting, and even hurting.
I am accustomed to that challenge in the "real" world of sight and sound, flesh and blood. Increasingly, I am finding the challenge in the "virtual" world of the internet. As a football fan, I frequent several football message boards--- which are an anonymous world unto themselves. Occasionally, the topics wander to other things than football. My identity as a pastor is not a secret on these boards (it is not something I revealed from the start, but came out as the discussions revolved around faith issues). I have gotten in many discussions with all kinds of people about the bible, creation, the church, just to name a few. These discussions have been with atheists, fundamentalists, and even self-described pagans as well as "regular" Christian folk. People ask all kinds of questions about faith, sin, and God. I find that many have had a bad experience with the institution of the church, even though they are still searching like the rest of us. Because of their experience, they have abandoned the church; even with that, some want only to find someone in the church who will not judge or cajole them. My hope in these conversations is to always be civil, even if we disagree...to be caring, even if there is no common ground. On some occasions, relationship and respect grow as conversation continues.
I read recently that a United Methodist pastor had been commissioned to start a virtual church first, build a a local community there, then work on the bricks and mortar. When John Wesley said that the world was his parish, I am sure he did not dream of the internet. Perhaps living beyond the doors as Christians has taken on a whole new meaning in the 21st century. Just as Wesley went where people were to spread the Gospel in 18th century England, so too must we be willing to be witnesses for Christ in the infinity of cyberspace. In the easy answers of the internet, the love of God must be shown, especially to people who are searching, doubting, and even hurting.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Name That Tune
Music adds so much to life. A church member came to me one Sunday and asked me how many times music was used in the worship service. Think about it, can you imagine worship without music? I think life is the same way. There has always been a song playing in the back of my mind. A couple of years ago, after complaining for the 402nd time about how all of my favorite radio stations start playing Christmas music before Halloween, my wonderful wife gave me XM satellite radio for Christmas. This means that I can drive down the road cranking out whatever kind of music I want. Usually I can find music anything from classical to country to 80s rock to suit my mood. I still call her out of the blue as I drive down the road, thanking her for the gift of the XM satellite radio connection.
I can remember where I was when I first heard a song or a time when the song had a special meaning. Recently, I have gotten to the point where I can listen to Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" without being sad thinking about my brother's struggle with cancer. Now I just remember him fondly when I hear it play. When I hear Journey, I think of my friend Daniel's Z-28; the "Footloose" soundtrack brings back memories of my college friends and time at the beach.
Music is not only a connection to my past but also to my present. I have decided that satellite radio is an excellent tool in my quest to help my oldest son develop his dismissive eye-rolling ability. When I drove him to school this morning, I started singing along with the Talking Heads song "Once in A Lifetime"and doing the arm chop move the guy does in the video. Result: instant offspring eye-roll.
What song is playing in your mind right now?
I can remember where I was when I first heard a song or a time when the song had a special meaning. Recently, I have gotten to the point where I can listen to Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" without being sad thinking about my brother's struggle with cancer. Now I just remember him fondly when I hear it play. When I hear Journey, I think of my friend Daniel's Z-28; the "Footloose" soundtrack brings back memories of my college friends and time at the beach.
Music is not only a connection to my past but also to my present. I have decided that satellite radio is an excellent tool in my quest to help my oldest son develop his dismissive eye-rolling ability. When I drove him to school this morning, I started singing along with the Talking Heads song "Once in A Lifetime"and doing the arm chop move the guy does in the video. Result: instant offspring eye-roll.
What song is playing in your mind right now?
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