Love of God and Neighbor

“You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart, and with all your soul,

and with all your strength, 

and with all your mind;

and your neighbor as yourself.”

( from Luke 10:25-37)

I wasn't expecting it, but I wasn't surprised when it happened.

In the sharing of joys and concerns during worship someone said, "I thank God for the Supreme Court's decision."

You could feel the tension as some people braced for what might come next.

The pastor handled the situation gracefully reminding people we are a congregation where love for one another comes before politics.

Several thoughts struck me about the incident.

First is the idea of God and the Supreme Court being connected. In my quick search of the Scriptures I could not find the words "Supreme Court".  

Second, my understanding of a core belief of the Christian faith lies in the answer given to Jesus when asked about the most important law.

Above all else, love God and your neighbor. 

Third are my thoughts about prayer. 

God answers prayer, but not necessarily when we pray or what we pray for. 

God changes things, which could mean God may change the person praying.

God is Mystery, so we may not recognize an answer to prayer.

Fourth, my thoughts about the church. Based on my readings of Paul's letters and the pastoral letters, the church is a witness. It demonstrates God's love as shown through Jesus' life, death, resurrection and teachings.

Last, I am assured of this in the liturgy we use each Sunday as we hear the scriptures, pray the prayers, sing the hymns, and offer ourselves as people of praise and thanksgiving.

We live in difficult times, but I am certain God is with us!

The Time Being

"And not only that,

but we also boast in our sufferings,

knowing that suffering produces endurance,

and endurance produces character,

and character produces hope"

(from Romans 5:1-5)

"It will never last" is what the cynics said.

The cynics didn't know either Elaine and me well enough to make that prediction, but they made it anyway.

Were there sufferings? Of course. Deaths, disappointments, moving from one church to another, stresses in pastoral ministry are sufferings.

Like any married couple, we had our peaks and valleys.

There wasn't a tear shed, a frustration, hurt or loss which God didn't notice.

But let me be clear, we didn't boast because we had sufferings. 

Instead, we knew God was present in the midst of the sufferings which gave us a reason to rejoice.

We also rejoiced in the midst of suffering because we knew they were temporary.

Another chapter in our lives would begin and the future we hoped for was already changing the way we lived.

For example, from the time I knew I was changing churches, there was the "suffering" of packing up and moving. 

That was followed by hope for the future which had already begun by imagining life in the new church.

W. H. Auden once wrote, “The time being,” is often “the hardest time of all.” 

It seems to me the hardest time is in the back and forth between what was and what is going to be; between the farewells and the welcomes.

Into this "time being", this endurance time, we can become grounded as we meet Jesus through gathering to hear the Word and breaking bread with Holy Communion.

For parents at Uvalde elementary school, the endurance time can seem impossibly long.

But wasn't Jesus there comforting the grieving through others?

For Ukrainian soldiers, the displaced, the grieving, isn't Jesus encouraging them? 

And in our daily lives, isn't Jesus encouraging us in our peaks and valleys as we love God's people around us?

Preaching the Gospel

Wesley Preaching to the poor

"Love the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind."

(From Matthew 22:34-40)

After a worship service in a church of another denomination, I was chatting with the pastor. The conversation included pastor's talk about church life.

Then, casually, the pastor said, "In my experience, I don't know any Methodist pastors who preach the Gospel."

He meant, "I don't know any Methodist pastors who preach the Gospel-according to my definition of preaching the gospel."

At that moment that Holy Spirit filled me with peace and self-control as I refrained from any snarky comment about his denomination or my preaching. 

So, you may ask, "What does "preaching the Gospel" mean to me?

First, I consider Jesus' Great Commandment to be core of my thoughts. Notice, its about actions, not about words.

These actions are about relief for the suffering of another human being such as feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, caring for the sick.

Second, I consider baptism as responding to God's call to carry out these actions. Jesus' baptism is a model for this. After his baptism, he was empowered by the Holy Spirit to love God and neighbor, no matter what the cost. 

Third, I consider acts of justice as "preaching the Gospel". Micah and Amos, for example, were both clear about this.

Finally, I consider living a Christian lifestyle through prayer, worship, Bible study, and Holy Communion as God's gifts to strengthen and sustain us.

Wind, Fire, Words

"Peace I leave with you;

my peace I give to you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled,

and do not let them be afraid."

(from John 14)

PENTECOST!!!

Wind! 

Tongues of Fire on people! 

Speaking and understanding foreign languages!

Preaching to thousands of people!

Pentecost Sunday, one of the most important celebrations for Christians, is the birthday of the church.

It's no wonder Pentecost Sunday is marked with images of red as Sunday School children create red crafts; as people wear red; and red banners and streamers hang around the church.

What a day that must have been!

That was then, this is now.

John's Gospel is very different from all this energy and action. 

Here Jesus talks about peace "not as the world gives". 

Jesus' peace is an inner peace keeping our hearts from being troubled and afraid.

Being in touch with inner peace during our troubled, fearful times is essential.

However, I believe Jesus means more than an inner peace to calm our souls so he says he doesn't give as the world gives.

If Pentecost is the birthday of the church, we are to be communities of peace which requires strength. 

The Holy Spirit inspires us in being the church reaching as an alternative society. 

For example, The Holy Spirit inspired a much larger church near ours to donate diapers, monthly, to our "Baby Blessings" ministry. 

Or, a woman in another church was inspired by the Spirit to begin a Thrift Shop designed for the low-income people in the neighborhood.

Another person, inspired by the Spirit, began a ministry to people with AIDS in the community.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the gathered crowd.

Today, the Holy Spirit continues inspiring us to become communities of peace living as an alternative to the powers of injustice and domination.

There are no tongues of fire, no wind, no foreign languages.

Instead, the Holy Spirit inspires ordinary Christians to acts of compassion.