An Elder Pilgrim's Reflections

“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 thou...

"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. F...

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 f...

"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 t...