An Elder Pilgrim's Reflections

I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (from Philippians 3:7-14 ) Each Summer Elaine and I would load our car with food, outdoor gear and stuff and head to Southwest Harbor, ME. for a seaside, spiritual retreat. Sometimes we traveled scenic Route 2 through New Hampshire and Maine, other times Interstates 84, 495 and 95.  Each Route provided vistas of hills and valleys as well as urban buildings and traffic. Yet there was an "are we there yet?" sense to the journey. As a Pastor, Elaine and I had been on the move for many years knowing there would be another move to another church, so there really wasn't a sense of having arrived or finally getting there. The Apostle Paul describes his relationship with Christ as one of being "on the move" writing, "I press on toward the go...

Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. (from Psalm 25:1-9 ) A Certified Lay Speaker in my first appointment wanted to preach, so together we designed a worship service. The Lay Speaker said, "I'll do the Pastoiral Prayer." I replied, "Actually, it's pronounced "pastoral", there's no "i" in the word. "No", the Lay Speaker said with certainty, "it's Pastoiral.  It quickly became apparent this wasn't a teachable moment because the Lay Speaker was insisting on "pastoiral"  Jesus faces something like this going into the temple and begining to teach. The priests and chief elders want to know Jesus' source and authority to teach, and who gave Jesus permission. Jesus answers: "the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.”  Why this answer? Because these sinners experienced a teachable moment by believi...

Then Peter came and said to him,  “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me,  how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?”   Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but,  I tell you, seventy-seven times.  From Matthew 18:21-35   Twenty two years have passed since I watched the destruction of the Twin Towers and attempt of the Pentagon.  Instantly, the world and everything i knew was different and the world as was changed forever. September 11, 2001, feels like a lifetime ago. A calamity like that provides a major historical divider, but it's impossible to understand and use in my daily life. So, I find other opportunities to use as markers othat are evidence of God's sustaining grace my daily life.  Peter’s question here is one that may cause us to look in two directions. One direction is looking back at 9/11 trying to understand it and grieve the destruction and violence.  The other is looking forward by celebrating the cou...

"Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” From Matthew 20:1-16 By way of explanation, last Monday I ran into unexpected technical issues while trying to send "Reflections" from my phone.  Basically, Maine isn't necessarily the hub of hi-tech communications and I'm a novice at sending group emails from my phone. Thus when this sentence started my research, "Describe in a word or two what you think is the meaning of parable of the laborers in the vineyard about," I learned Jesus was teaching about the 9th commandment, thou shall not covet. Meaning, don't covet what God chooses to bless. For example, God chose to give Elaine and I the blessings of the scenes below. Notice the ships, lighthouse, pond. pond w.mountains Scenic Harbor  Lighthouse view on boat ride  After 5 days of fog views, we would have preferred different blessings. I ...