An Elder Pilgrim's Reflections

But take care so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life;  make them known to your children and your children’s children— Deuteronomy 4:9 Teaching Confirmation to 12-15 year old's is challenging.  Confirmation class isn't cool, its an expectation, spoken or implied. If you ask a confirmand from a previous year about something remembered, you are likely to get a blank stare or an answer they think you want to hear. The teachings have "slipped from their mind". Moses the Mentor was parked on the edge of the promised land. He has led Israel through the wilderness where God provided food, water, smoke by day and fire by night. Moses instructs the people to hear and follow the God's decrees and laws and teach them to your children and grandchildren. Hold fast to the Lord, Moses says.  Remember and do what you have been taught. Survival in the Promised Land depends on this knowledge. We are p...

Finally, be strong in the Lord  and in the strength of his power.  Put on the whole armor of God,  so that you may be able to stand  against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:10-11 Here's Ephesians 6:10-20 I think it is an understatement to say we live in violent times.  I believe that's especially true for groups experiencing the evils of the systemic powers of racism, sexism, nationalism, and classism. We live with the increasing potential for demonizing enemies and even average folks who simply disagree with us on politics and religion.  Righteous people, I believe, are  attempting to live a life worthy of the Lord  within the evils of these systemic powers.  John Wesley would urges us to, "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can and as long as you can." What, then, is it that empowers the righteous people to "do a...

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood  abide in me, and I in them.   John 6:56 As a former Scoutmaster, one responsibility was teaching scouts how to tie knots. This meant teaching a scout a knot, then having him tie it. If he didn't get it, I showed him how again. If he still didn’t get it, I showed him again. Teach, reteach, and reteach again. That's the principle in this passage. Jesus teaches he is manna, the "true bread of life". Just as manna gave life in the wilderness, so Jesus gives life. Jesus then teaches he is the bread from heaven.  Now he says abide in me. "Abide," from the Greek word “meno”, meaning "to continue, to dwell, or to endure."  Jesus is saying, stick with it guys. Learn that discipleship is a long process, a long road. Stick with my teachings and you'll understand them. The disciples get it. They stick with Jesus because they see that his words are life giving. They show us what it means that God will provide manna...

Bread of Heaven "I am the living bread that  came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread  will live forever; and the bread that I will give  for the life of the world is my flesh." John 6:51 There's a story about a bishop asking an ordination candidate Wesley's historic question, "Are you going onto perfection?" The candidate wanting to test the system said, "No!" Without hesitating the bishop asked, "Then where are you going?" Where are you going?   The Israelites were going through the desert. Manna, the Bible says, is something edible God provided during their journey through the desert after the Exodus. For them, manna was God's life-giving power to sustain them as they traveled. God was caring for them. The disciples were going wherever Jesus went.  They need manna, so Jesus tells them "I am the living bread."  Jesus claims to be God's manna, life-giving power extending forever. That's not just a future he...

Our Pandemic Chapel Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:31 I am looking forward to gathering at the Lord's Table again. I miss Holy Communion. I miss the pastor taking the bread, blessing it and giving it. Sure, during the pandemic, communion is served in wafer/juice cups. The Great Thanksgiving is said with appropriate responses and prayers. But this is like a slim-fast communion.  In attending a memorial service recently, the altar was set, the bread broken into small pieces, and the cup present for dipping. The next day, a Sunday, I attended worship at a church where the congregation came forward to receive the wafer/juice cups. After both services I was able to catch up with friends from each church.  I felt a strong presence of the Holy Spirit as we gathered at the Lord’s Table. The pastor saying, "pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gi...