Comparing Generations

Matthew 11:16

"To what do I compare this generation?"

Did you live through the Great Depression? You are part of the Greatest Generation if you were born in 1924 or earlier and lived through the Great Depression and fought in WWII.  The Silent Generation was born 1925-1945; Baby Boomers were born between 1946-1964; Generation X was born between 1965-1980; a Millennial was born between 1981-1996; Gen Z was born after 1997. (ref., Generation Fast Facts )

After his baptism Jesus tells John's disciples to tell John what they have heard and seen -- the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, the lepers cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead raised, and the poor receiving good news. These must be signs of God's kingdom drawing near.

The problem with his generation was that people weren't listening. John's lifestyle is offensive, so he is accused of having a demon. Jesus' habit of eating and drinking with sinners is scandalous. Actually, these reasons are excuses to evade John and Jesus call to become part of the coming kingdom. That's why Jesus compares them to children in the marketplace who can't decide if they want to play wedding games or funeral games so they don't play either.

When I was a teenager my pastor took me and another youth to D.C. on an anti-war demonstration. I went because I liked my pastor and felt war was wrong. On June 21st I went on a Black Lives Matter protest in Milford, but for far different reasons. I attended because I am more aware of systemic injustice and the resulting suffering. I went because Micah 6:8 is my central theology and Jesus called me to build God's kingdom.

I believe we are in a generation of social upheaval. But I also believe God is opening the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf to bring so Good News is brought to those caught in systemic injustice situations.

How do you compare this current generation's response to systemic injustice?

A Sure Foundation

Morro Rock, Morro, CA

Matthew 7:24

Everyone then who hears these words of

 mine and acts on them will be like a 

wise man who built his house on rock. 

 Morro Rock is a remnant of an extinct volcano which the Salinan people consider a sacred site.  They climb it for their biannual solstice ceremonies celebrating the time in legend when Hawk and Raven destroyed a two-headed serpent-monster, Taliyekatapelta. Thus Morro Rock is a sacred rock in their religious faith.

Like everyone else, I have had a time of inner struggle. With the loss of my father I went through an inner struggle on the journey of grief. I dealt with denial and isolation,  anger, bargaining, and  depression. Finally I accepted that this is life. Some people will show these emotions outwardly. Others, like me, will experience their grief more internally. 

Shortly after my father's death, I received a sympathy card from my D.S. on which she wrote, "losing a father is like the shaking of our foundations."

So searching for hope in time of need,  "I called upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and so I was saved from the challenges" in the grieving process. (psalm 18:3 paraphrased)

  

I heard the Word of the Lord God, saying

"See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone,

    a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation" Isaiah 28:16

For me, and I am sure for you, hearing Jesus words is like standing on "a sure foundation". 

How do you see Jesus being "a sure foundation"?

Spiritual Crisis

How long, Lord? 

Will you forget me forever?

Psalm 13:1

A spiritual crisis for me is missing our weekly communion. I miss the breaking of the bread and pouring of the cup. I I miss gathering as one body and hearing the liturgy reminding me: "We pray for all who are in sorrow or in pain, all who are ill or alone . . ."

The untold spiritual crisis is that more than 416,000 Americans have died from Covid 19, and they often die alone. 

There is powerful image of an elderly woman in a nursing home placing her hand on a window and a young relative placing her hand on the other side of it. This image, for me, raises questions about our living and dying. Will we live separated, isolated lives? Will we die alone? 

It is part of being human to face a spiritual crisis. It may be anxiety about personal finances, the uncertainty of our times, dismay for lack of human dignity, and fears related to the Covid 19. 

For me, Psalm 13 is source of strength in a spiritual crisis.  The psalm asks, "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?  How long must I bear pain in my soul?" 

Verse 3 prays for relief from pain, "Look on me and answer, Lord my God." 

Verse 5 says "But I trust in your unfailing love".

Verse 6 concludes, "But I trusted in your steadfast love;  I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me."

Psalm 13 describes a spiritual crisis and the hope in trusting in the Lord. It seems to me that this is how we travel the spiritual crisis of our time. 

Ask. 

Pray. 

Trust.

 

New Heaven, New Earth

The Seawall, Acadia, NP

Revelation 21:1 

"Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,

for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away."

"The Times They Are a-Changin'" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released in 1964.  The song is a conscious effort to verbalize the changes of the 60's. For me its release influenced my views on society because the lyrics are general yet universal giving the song a lasting message of change similar to Mark 10:31 where the last verse says:

The slow one now will later be fast

As the present now will later be past

The order is rapidly fading

And the first one now will later be last

For the times they are a-changin'

The times seem to be changing to a "new normal". New Normal? What does that mean? Perhaps more working at home, continued social distancing, or more frequently wearing masks? Does it mean an increase in overt violence or a more subtle violence such as suspicion, mistrust and humiliation?

John's Revelation is set in a time of random persecution in Rome and Asia Minor. It's intent was to provide hope to the seven churches of Asia. So it is about more than our reality of earth and our image of heaven as a place in the afterlife. John clearly says this New Heaven and New Earth is about God dwelling among people. It is about God "wiping every tear from their eyes." And that "mourning and crying and pain will be no more."

For me, this vision of God dwelling among us gives us hope in these troubled times of violence, disease, and poverty. Our hope lies in God's presence as we journey through the now to the unfolding "new normal". This unfolding of the "New Heaven and New Earth" is nothing less than God's Peace of Christ among us.

  

Sacred Symbols

1 Corinthians 10:16

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?  

I held these sacred symbols throughout my ministry. The Bible is particularly sacred to me because it is my "preaching bible". For over 50 years I stood before a congregation and read and interpreted God's Word.

The cross is especially sacred to me because I brought it home after visiting Wesley's chapel in London. It stands before me as a symbol of my Christian and Methodist heritage. 

The chalice is truly sacred to me  because it is a gift from a good friend upon his return from Taize', France.  It reminds me that blessing the cup and loaf brings us together as one in Christ.

To me the opposite of sacred is profane. To take any of these sacred symbols and use them for something other than their sacred purpose is sacrilegious. To desecrate them is nothing less than the powers of darkness at work.

Therefore, for me a lifted Bible by an irreligious elected official in our highest office, is the power of darkness at work. It is a diabolical, profoundly immoral and wicked act.

I give thanks to God for the "light that shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it." (John 1:5)

Prayin' Time

Psalm 46:10 

"Be still, and know that I am God"

Wonderland, Acadia, NP

In these trying times there is much noise around us. There is noise from armed protesters, school shootings, and the desecration of Jewish synagogues and Muslim mosques. There is the noise of people being in food lines for the first time. There are the disturbing cries from the weak being abused  and the vulnerable being neglected. There is alarming noise from violent protesters and deeply unsettling scenes of destruction.

It makes me feel like Elijah hiding in a cave as God passes by in wind, fire and earthquake. It makes me ask, What's coming next? Will it be some sort of social upheaval? Will it be a further fracturing of our world? Will it be a new source of fear?

So I turn to God in prayer. I ask God to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and heal the sick. I ask God to bring peace in our troubled times. I ask God to "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an everflowing stream" (Amos 5:24).

I ask.

God says, "Be still and know that I am God."

To "Be still and know that I am God." seems nearly impossible in the midst of all this noise. How in our prayin' time do we find stillness and listen for God?

One way of finding stillness in our prayin' time is to meditate daily.  It is to set aside any invasive noise of worry or fear. Let anxiety float away in the "river whose streams make glad the city of God." It is this time of stillness that helps regain ones confidence in the strength of God.

Then, after this time of stillness, we are strengthened to move back into the world and do what we can to still the noise of worry, fear and anxiety in others.

It's prayin" time. Be still and listen for God's voice in these trying times.