An Elder Pilgrim's Reflections

Bass Harbor, ME "I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good. You have delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes." Psalm 54:6-7 Harry is a sternman on a lobster boat. His job is baiting traps, measuring each catch and throwing back undersized lobsters. Like all sternmen, he wears oil coveralls, oil jacket, and muck boots. To get to the boat he's working on, he rows his dingy out and climbs aboard. One Spring morning, he slipped from the dingy into the icy, bitter water. His boots and oiled overalls filling quickly so he was facing death by drowning or hyperthermia. As a very heavy man rescue is a difficult task Try as he might, pulling himself into the boat became impossible and he began sinking. It's not hard to imagine the fear he's experiencing in the icy Spring Atlantic waters.  Several other captains and sternmen see his situation and rescue him by dragging him through the w...

Cocoa Farmers “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Mark 8:34 Chocolate. Really, really good chocolate is one of my weaknesses. I'm talking about Godiva, Lunt, and from the Equal Exchange Co-op. I'm also talking about Snowflake Chocolates , Jericho, VT, and Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Ice Cream.  When I announced to my congregations I was giving up chocolate for Lent, it seemed like a significant sacrifice.  However, Jesus never meant denying something as trivial as chocolate.  Deny Yourself Jesus is laying out what's needed to fully grasp ones identity as a disciple. Jesus says denying ourselves is separation from what defines us and embracing a new understanding of our identity.  For example, when  the disciples followed Jesus they became a community defined by association with Jesus. Self-denial means you have completely redefined your identity. Take up your cross. Taking up your cross implies rejection. I...

What shall I return to the Lord  for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation  and call on the name of the Lord. PS 116: 12-13 Lifting the Cup of Salvation during Holy Communion is, for me, a way of giving thanks to the Lord. It is a sign to me of the Lord's saving activity both in the Exodus story and the cross-resurrection story.    When I hear the "Great Thanksgiving" in holy communion, I am reminded of the Lord's saving activity, not just for me, but for all humanity.  Read the story of the psalmist's  story of salvation  which gives the reason for lifting the Cup of Salvation. In  my 30 years of pastoring, I have had many people ask for prayers for friends, family, or neighbors during the Joys and Concerns in worship. I don't recall anyone saying, “Let me tell you all how my prayers were answered." Prayer Changes Things . Don't give up on  prayer. It seems to me the poet is telling folks to not give up on prayer. ...

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...