embracing grace

Scot McKnight is one of my favorite teacher/authors. We are going to explore his book "The Jesus Creed", paraclete press, 2001, for Lent in 2009. That book is about the Jewish Shema and Jesus' summation of the torah that includes the addition of "Love your neighbor as yourself" from Leviticus. McKnight fleshes out the way of Jesus as it pertains to this creed, which is how he understands the use of the Shema in Judaism and in Jesus' spirituality and teachings.
I am now reading McKnight's book "Embracing Grace:A Gospel for all of us" for the Sunday disciple group who asked to spend some time and energy talking about grace. he writes this by way of introduction, "This generation wants an authentic gospel, one that is both proclamation and performance, a gospel that deals with the world they live in: a world that is full of images of people dying and starving and being put to death by goons, a world where there is a profusion of tensions, a world where the Christian faith isn't the only faith in town, a world where one particular deonomination doesn't own the market on everything, a world where neighborhoods don't look like the one in the waltons .
A good question to ask is what sort of gospel story do we need, what sort of news is good news? What story is honest enough about who we are and brave enough about who we are not that it shocks our hearts and at the same time invites us into the truth about life, God, the world, everything? Is the story of Jesus that kind of a story? Does it shock and confront us, does it also welcome us? I think Scot McKnight is right that this generation is not satisfied with sentiments about life after death or with a gospel told from the perspective of the rich, the fortunate, the powerful, the secure. Joel Osteen's gospel just doesn't resonate with a world that is akin to suffering, injustice, abuse, and all manner of sin.
Grace is shocking too. Because it is given freely but comes with a great cost to the giver. Relationally, God's grace includes the betrayal, suffering, and death of Jesus-the anointed son. So, God is exceedingly generous. We are recipients. Hopefully grateful, willing, obedient, and honest recipients who may become an offering in response to such grace.

Kindergarten

So my oldest son will be five in March. He has been attending preschool at a local Lutheran church for two school years. That has been good for him, for my wife, and for our second son. He goes three mornings each week.
Last night my wife and I went to our school district's Kindergarten Expo! We learned everything there is to know about kindergarten. We are not unawares. My wife is an elementary school teacher on extended parenting leave. She does not have a permanent position with a district, but will eventually return to full-time teaching. We get it. We know the drill.
And yet, I was a little freaked out. Its hard to adapt to the idea that our firstborn is old enough already for school buses and math and recess and tests and homework and friends and desks and school supplies and peer pressure and science and reading and writing and teacher conferences and gym class...I may be ahead of myself a little, but h's going to be five. I remember five. not four so much,but five. I remember my bus driver for God's sake! And Paul and Amanda and Amy and sidewalk recess on wet spring days and chalk boards and erasers and standing agains the wall at lunch after being accused unjustly. And the Principal's office and the nurse's office and Mrs.Boyer-Yardley the art lady and Mrs. Franklin--my teacher. And If I can remember these things, then he will too someday. More than anything else, the idea that we are now making memories for him is significant. That's not to say that you get a free pass on bad behavior as a parent of kids below the age of 3 or 4. But now the stakes are higher.What will he remember about his childhood? About his school? His teachers? his friends? his first bus ride? Bullies? Math? Books? The reality that he is increasingly aware of his own past is an integral part of the human experience. isn't it? And we take it for granted. Our deep memory potential. And science tells us we only tap the surface of our mental recall capacity.
There have been stories on the news about people whose brains are wired to remember everyhing that ever happened in their lives. Dates, times, days, faces, names, hurts, etc...all available all the time.
I think forgetting is also a gift sometimes. Even as memory holds great power, for within it lies the possibility of real change. To remember may mean to repeat or to reject what was before. Just as to forget is to allow for the possibility of the same.
WhenJeremiah says that God promises to blot out our transgressions and remember our sins no more, this is no small thing. For God to promise to forget how we act is necessary, isn't it? Were it not so, God would be full of regret. Instead, God chooses not to look at the past but to see us in the present and to move us toward His future; a future I believe that holds more promise for us than does our human past of destruction, chaos, cruelty and the rest of the forgettable stuff of humanity's ugliness. God forgets and God forgives. A free gift for both God and us. Without these things we might all be stuck.
I know this: I will not forget the day Jonah gets on that bus. It will be a sad day and a happy one. And it will be an end and a beginning as so many changes are in life. Inherent in it is the gift of public education, the gift of friendships and community so often found there, and the gift of memories to be collected as part of the journey of life. I will remember and so will he.
Do you remember kindergarten?

emergence in our place

Some respected religious scholars are calling the current redefinition of church or ecclesial reformation 'emergence'. It is an opening up, an unfolding or arising of something new within the ancient form of Christian community. A reframing of the church's story that considers the deep rootedness of the kerygma, both in the 1st century church and in 1st century Judaism; as that kerygma addresses the situation we find ourselves in today. It is a recontextualization of the significant matters of our faith through engagement with 21st century postmodern culture. We seek to hear and live this good news, but through the framing narrative of postmodernity. Churches are still trying to embody a gospel for a situation that no longer exists. Its like we're still trying to feed people food high in saturated fats and cholesterol when we know the health risks inherent in such a diet.

As some of us in our synod begin to explore what it means to belong to church in the 21st century, we might seek some inspiration from the above web community. Emergent village has been at this for about a decade. Click on their link to "cohorts" to watch a youtube video about these local, missional/theological conversations being generated around the country by people who are seeking a deeper intentionality about their spiritual formation as people of GOD. I think we are leaning toward this new social, public spiritual conversation as we foster local cluster group formation among Lutheran Christians,our friends, and neighbors. If you are wondering how you might connect with others who are searching for a safe place to talk about God, Jesus, church, ministry and vocation in the world, faith and relationships, etc...then comment on this blog entry. We are trying to get people connected. There is a social networking component to this at a Facebook group called "koinonia 21c."
Church is becoming something other than it has been in the modern,Constantinian, institutional model. It is being redefined and reshaped. And it is sparking interest where interest in these things had lost momentum or priority. Church is shedding its buiding, budgets, and boards business model and realigning with a simpler way---a way characterized primarily by authentic relationships held together by the mystery/presence and story of Jesus the Christ, the Son of GOD.

Baptism of Our Lord

What is Baptism?
She was surprised at first. Almost next expecting what she had been expecting for months when it happened. Water broke! Time to go! Oh my God! grab the bags, wake him up, call someone. Call everyone. Check the...ouch, never mind. Get in the car. And it hits her, like that. As she dries off wet legs (yuck). She was born for this...to be a mom. It was a God-given gift and her calling in life and in less than 24 hours she wuold be living it for the rest of her life. And then another contraction hits.
It surpristed him at first, those words from the doctor. Cold words in the dim hallway outside the busy intensive care unit in the too familiar hospital. "Less than 24 hours now". With her. Afte r59 years in the same house, the same bed. And now it was coming to an end or changing. The first tear rolled down his cheek. It was cold. And then hey came out like an uncontrollable flood---weeping, sadness, pain in the gut, in the heart. And he sat on the floor clutching his 80 year old knees. He wasn't thinking any particular thought. Just her. Flashes of a life. Their wedding day, that trip to California, their first new Buick, the kids, the house, the grandkids, the cancer she beat, her smile, her voice, her hands. And the tears fell. He would live without her for the rest of his life.
It was no surprise and she shouted and laughed and jumped and kicked the couch and grabbed the dog and threw her wet coat on the kitchen floor. The rain had made the envelope damp and her hair dripped from the four minutes she stood holding it at the mailbox with the butterflies dancing in her stomach. Open it. Read it. YES! I'm in! Accepted. Med. School. In 2 months. As water droplets stained the letter that told her future, she sat on the floor and remembered her daddy said, "You can be whatever you want to be, baby, because we love you." She was 9 then. 15 years later , she was on her way to becoming a doctor. Call dad. Now. On this rainy summer night fter a long shift in the restaurant, she is wet and happy and ready to start the one thing she has always wanted to be---a healer of sick people.
As the sun emerged behind gray clouds, he sat alone on the one dry bench under the canopy of green and watched the cars splash through the flooded streets spraying water to his shoeless feet. Will he eat today? Sleep inside? See a friend? Wlll he survive? A storm had passsed but the one he livs in keeps raging in his head. Are the clouds ever going away? How did he let them gather over him, consume him, wash his life away? How did this happen? His disease, job loss, wife leaving, foreclosure. No job, no money, no car. Nothing. No one. Just himself. His better days now were either drunk or in jail. He walks, then. Crosses against the light, bare feet wading through four inches of runoff. he;d sat on the steps of that building before. Never daring to go up, open the door, go in. See. But somethign aboutt he sun peeking under the clouds said, "its time." As he took the first step up, the door opened. A young man sees him and smilies. They are both surprised for a few seconds. And then he says, "Hi I've seen you here before. Is your name Tom? I'm Peter. Come on in. Coffee's hot. Join us. Supper is in 20 minutes, if you like. Welcome to St. Paul's."
Baptism--it happens once and it happens over and over and over again. Moments when God comes ot us, calls to us, inspires us to our next best selves. Rescues us from our worst selves.
Baptism is not fire insurance or a guarantee. It is divine adoption and life vocation rolled into one. I was adopted at the age of two at Our Saviour Lutheran in Rockford, Illinois. And God has called me to this life ever since, the life of the Son, the life of Jesus. The one who teaches us how to live washed and wet and willing to be who God wants Him, needs Him, loves Him to be. Who does God love you to be? What does God love you to do? What makes God say, "This is my boy, this is my girl. I love you so much. Your life pleases me." Jesus' baptism is a sign of his identity and an anointing into a vocation. His life is an authorized mission from God to the world, a single man devoted to live the perfect life, die a humble and sacrificial death,and rise as a sign of the timeless, transcendent, eternal,power of God with us.
My you be drenched in the love of God. May you soak up God's grace and compassion. May you pour it out in holy, gracious, sarificial living and giving. You are baptized.Like him. You are children. Born for God's love and born for God's world. May love be our gift,Jesus our way, and baptism our delight. Amen. ---Sermon for Baptism of Our Lord, 2009

What's a missional?

"We haven't really been interested or involved in missions before, Pastor." I've been around the church long enough to have heard this a few times from a few faitfhul parishioners. Missions has characteristically been viewed as a subset or a committee in a congregation. Tihs committee oversaw some projects or some designated funds for mission work. Mission work was done by others somewhere else for some other people. Missionaries were rare breeds, willing and courageous enough (read crazy) to go in the name of the LORD to a distant land and a heathen people. This was the heart of foreign missions in the 19th and 20th century and retained a kind of late-medieval colonial dominance culture. Most church people were not involved in missions. Many congregations were not involved in missions, save the occasional project; the food or clothing drive, the charity-of-the month "mission giving" opportunity, etc...for the most part mission was left to the broader church as an enterprise disassociated with local congregational life. The local congregation was a house of worship, Sunday School, and fellowship among a relatively homogeneous group of members.
This has changed as the culture of North America has changed. Evangelists are coming from Tanzania to share the gospel here! And churches are beginning to reimagine their identity and purpose vis a vis the language and activity of mission. Missional churches are arising with a newfound energy for gospel-driven action in the world; especially in local context.
The gist is, many people are moved today by a desire or passion to live the compassionate justice of Jesus in and for neighbors. churches are beginning to seek ways of expressing their faith in GOD through intentional interaction within thier communities. not only are congregations sending people on short-term mission trips to Haiti and Biloxi and Appalachia, but congregations are beginning to see thier neighborhoods as the context for mission.
What is the mission or a missional life? It is to interpret the message and ministry of the gospel in terms of a present day, incarnational way of living a more just and compassionate life. It is practicing the sermon on the Mount and the Good Samaritan and the feeding of the multitudes as signs of the promised Kingdom that is somehow present in and through the gathered and sent communinty of believers. Mission is a way of seeing GOD---the GOD whose will, hopes, dreams, desires, and purposes for creation are made known to us in Scripture. God is on a mission to love humanity with a holy and perfect love that transforms us into divine children, whose own purposes and wills are shaped and formed by the one who embodies a perfect humanity---Jesus. To be missional is to conform ones life to the life of Jesus and to submit ones will to the will of GOD.
A missional church lives to love the neighbor i all the ways we are able to do so. A missional church love sthe neighbor because we have recognized God's eternal love for us. We have received grace upon grace; so we respond in worship and in serving others.
A Missional church has an outward focus, an apostolic character, and Jesus at the center of everything. A missional church boldly asks, "What is God calling us to do and be in this place for our neighbors?" A missional church knows its context, is in relationship with neighbors, non-members, and the secular resources that are already doing God's work in the world. The church in Acts announced the resurrection of Jesus and the Kingdom of GOD in words and actions. They cared for the widows and the poor. They welcomed outcasts, gentiles, and marginalized households. They served the needs of the least in their communities. They were actively engaged in an economy of sharing and giving that benefitted all kinds of people. They were willing to stand before powers and authorities as witnesses of injustice, cruelty, and sin. They were advocates who accompanied the voiceless and the oppressed.
Are we a missional church? is the focus of our message and ministry the other?

ELCA Bishop Hansen's remarks on the Gaza conflict

January 7, 2009

ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Gaza Situation at Amman News Conference
09-004-JB

AMMAN, Jordan (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding
bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said
the United States government needs to take a more active role in
stopping the conflict in Gaza. Stopping the conflict needs to be
a top priority, and it must be accomplished as soon as possible,
he said.
Hanson, who also serves as president of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF), said Israeli troops must withdraw from Gaza,
Hamas must stop rocket attacks on civilians in Israel, and
negotiations must be restarted for "a permanent peace with
justice and a two-state solution." The LWF is a global communion
of 141 churches in 79 countries, representing 68.3 million of the
world's Lutherans.
Humanitarian conditions for the people of Gaza must be
improved immediately, Hanson said. "We are deeply concerned that
food, medicine and other basic necessities are not getting to the
people in Gaza. We ask that borders be opened for humanitarian
aid to reach Gaza. This must be a long-term, sustained effort,"
he said.
Hanson, the Rev. Susan C. Johnson, national bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), and the Rev. Munib
A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan
and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), addressed a news conference here
Jan. 5.
In response to a reporter's question, Hanson said he was
disappointed that the Bush administration vetoed a cease-fire
resolution in the U.N. Security Council and hoped that new
proposals would succeed. Israel needs to comply with U.N.
actions, he added.
Hanson, Johnson and Younan are leading more than 40 bishops
from the ELCA and ELCIC who arrived Jan. 6 in Jerusalem for a
week-long series of meetings with religious, political and
community leaders in Israel and the West Bank. A smaller group
of bishops from both churches arrived here Jan. 3 for similar
meetings in Jordan.
The Canadian government is deeply concerned about the
violence and loss of life in Gaza, and it wants humanitarian aid
to be available to people living there, Johnson said. "The
Canadian churches have stated that all attacks on civilians,
whether in pursuit of political ends or as a part of military
operations are unacceptable and must be deplored," she said.
Months ago the North American bishops made plans to travel
together to Israel, Jordan and the West Bank to demonstrate
support and encouragement for the ELCJHL, to learn about the
political and social situation in the region, and to advocate for
peace. The visit is the 2009 Bishops' Academy, an annual event
for study and reflection.
It is significant that the bishops are arriving at a time of
serious conflict in Gaza, Younan said. "It makes their visit more
significant and more important as they ... dare to come to stand
with the peoples of this (region), to stand with Arab
Christianity, and to tell the world that the voice of the manger
in Bethlehem is much stronger than the voices of cannons and
F-16s and bombs wherever they are in the world," he said.
Lutheran bishops met Jan. 5 with Zeid Al Rifai, president of
the Jordanian Senate, who said Israel's incursion into Gaza is
"mind boggling" and "inexcusable." He said "indiscriminate
killing ... will achieve absolutely nothing." The Gaza conflict
must serve as an incentive to revive the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process, Al Rifai added.
The bishops also met with leaders of the Jordanian
Interfaith Coexistence Research Center, and Jordan's Minister of
Islamic Affairs, Abdul Fatah Salah. The Lutheran bishops added
their signatures to a document addressing "Islamic-Christian
Interfaith Coexistence," which calls on both faith traditions to
cooperate, continue dialogue, and promote peace and justice in
the world. The bishops concluded activities Jan. 5 with an
evening reception for religious, political and community leaders.
Hanson, Johnson and Younan said they would meet Jan. 6 with
Jordan's King Abdullah II to talk about Gaza and other concerns
before traveling to Jerusalem.

Peace in Gaza

I invite my readers to respond to the situation in Gaza by going to the Churches for Middle East Peace website, learning all you can about the issues surrounding the ongoing fighting, and advocating with our government to broker a cease fire. The Bush administration offered an international summit in 2007 in Anapolis, MD to move closer to a two-state solution. They never reached agreement.
Today, civillian Palestinian casualties in Gaza have overloaded the medical community's ability to assist. A an attack near a UN school left 40 dead and many more wounded.
I wonder how the excessive nature of Israel's vengeful assault on Gaza can go unchecked by the U.S. The random act of terror that disrupts Israeli community and kills, injures, and maims Israelis is often met with excessive military retaliation. Rather than a police action that punishes the people groups responsible for terrorist attacks, a general war offensive is launched that impacts civillians and essental infrastructure. This, I believe, only fuels the malcontented extremists.
This is a religious matter. it cannot be separated form politics and economics. Christians, Jews and Muslims must find a way to live peaceably without comprising core beliefs. I see no core belief within Christianity that calls us to exclude, hate, villify, demonize, or destroy the other. They are created in the image of God. Jews are God's chosen people, from whom and for whom Jesus came. Islam cannot exist to become the only religion on the planet. Extremists in all three camps must now be marginalized and silenced by thoughtful and faithful moderates, who might see an alternative that is neither secular/pluralist, nor fundamentalist/extremist. Brian McLaren's blog and some articles on Sojourners offer some compelling thoughts.
I have always believed that moderate Christians, perhaps even Lutherans and anabaptists together, are essential to the brokering of a truce because we are called by Jesus to a radical turning away from vengeance and retaliation to a willful act of submission as a servant of the neighbor. When a people group surrenders their will to power and claims of authority, while also providing for the needs of the enemy, then we might begin to see a way forward.
Today, we cannot resolve the entrenched conflict expressed by Arabs and Israeli's toward the other. But we can be people of peace, offering in some way to create the capacity for peace among neighbors and we can support those with power to seek a peaceful solution. So, write to President-Elect Obama and compel him to get in the game in order to broker a lasting truce through real conversation.
Also, please pray for the 90 + Lutheran Bishops and their spouses who are travelling to the region this week. May the Prince of Peace guide their steps and give them words of hope to share.

Epiphany prayer

O God, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only begotten Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know thee by faith, to thy presence, where we may behold thy glory face to face. Amen.

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: grant that thy people, illumined by thy Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be know, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth. Amen.

Epiphany

Today the church celebrates the feast of the Epiphany. History and tradition has marked this date as the arrival of the Gentile magi to offer gifts at the feet of the new King of Judea born in Bethlehem, whose birth was astronomical, cosmically foretold by a bright star. Some believe that they saw a rare and brilliant planetary alignment. Others, a comet. Mo matter, it is told by St. Matthew that magi from the East come seeking this King. And they logically begin their search in the palace of the King of Judea--Herod of Jerusalem. They are mistaken. So they travel south to Bethlehem and find the family there. In the city of David. Beth-lehem, The "house of bread or meat", transliterated. There they worship Him, bringing gifts of incense for the gods, gold for a king, and myrrh for one who will die. Odd combination of gifts. No rattles. No baby blankets. No toys. They bring gifts symbolic of His identity and mission. A King whose life will rise like a fragrant offering before god, an offering even in death.
This day has marked Jesus' baptism by John and His first miracle at the wedding in Cana, where he turns water to wine.
For us this day means many things: We are those who have been invited supernaturally to believe in the divinely anointed Kingship of Jesus, the Savior of all people. We are invited as were all the gentiles, beginning with the Magi. Our posture toward this invitation is to be one of worship, ofering ourselves in devotion and service to Jesus. Also, we are called to the waters of baptism, whereby we are made one with Him and heirs of life. We remember our own baptisms on this day, when God reoriented our souls and broke the bonds of sin.
Finally, this is a day of joyful miracles. The mundane and ordianry is made extraordinary in the hands of the Lord Jesus. Look for the miraculous on this day. See God's hands at work in the ordinariness of your day.
May God be made manifest to you on this day in the flesh of Jesus, who died for us and gave His body for our eatiing and drinking.

Winterfest, Lutheranhands and church

The annual event! Whether its a cool mission trip to Biloxi or a revivalistic, high octane weekend youth event, the annual event has been the hallmark of youth ministry. Now there are regular experiences with youth groups in congregations and maybe even conferences. But they are usually stop gaps between the big events. The events are powerful, transformative experiences. Kids are shaped by the faith of their peers and generational elders. I know, because I grew up in a congregation where the annual event was the thing that kept me engaged in the mundane experiences of the rest of the year. The rest of the year was, well, unspectacular. And if your congregation is one that is not too enaged in youth culture and youth ministry, then you might feel like you've gone from the mountaintop to the cemetery. The natural high of the experience itself gives people an event hangover which can last awhile. Often a few weeks. But the enthusiasm often wanes and the ordinary, mundane reality of life settles us. There is a spiritual deflation that occurs post-event in our church's culture. ELCA national gatherings can have this feel too. They happen only once every three years, so a lot of preparation goes into that one experience. Then it happens. Its awesome. And then we go home. Not so awesome. Sometimes lame. Church for my parents or grandparents, but not me. God was encountered at the event. Not in the weekly gathering or the monthly youth group meeting.
Some youth workers will take offense. I know there is a lot of good youth ministry happening in weekly and monthly experiences too. But what if there are aspects of the annual event that we ought to replicate in more regular ways? What if some aspects of "Winterfest" or the national gathering became part of our dna as church; in worship, learning, and mission? These events are so well done. Like so many continuing ed. events I have attended over the years. Then we leave these best practices behind to return to an untransformed, unspectacular church. What if we began to interpret these annual practices as a way of life? What if we lived like everything post-Easter is an event? What if we lived like this is the new age of the kingdom? What if we lived like the eucharist was the big event? Like the neighborhood meal, the clothing distribution, the after school club, the prisoner-release ministry, and the bowling fellowship was an event? What if we were a non-event, non-prgram church---whom simply lived like everything matters, like evrything counts, like everything is new?
I'd like to gather a team of people who might be ready to be the church offering the best of itself to our world evrey time we gather. I think daily life is the event! Every moment is an event. Every hour is an opportunity to experience the wonder of God, creation, and the gifts found in our relatioships. Let's become a non-event fovcused, non-program driven church. Lets be the church that is driven by the story of Jesus. Lets be the church that is oriented to a way of life, situated in a 21st century context that is ahaped by a first century, biblical worldview. Lts do it now.

"Gracie and me": the book and film that will never be

I'm not usually a fan of oversentimentalized biopics, but Cherie insisted that we go see "Marley and me". Its the film adaptation of the book by the same name authored by journalist John Groghan. My wife read the book. I didn't. We have our own yellow labrador with her own idosyncresies. I don't feel the need to read about someone else's. But the book was well received and I had heard good things about his writing. Witty. Charming. Like a columnist for a major newspaper. He is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
So we went on New Years day. Left the boys at Grammie and PapPap's, headed off to MoviE town for the matinee. Very few people there. Thought that more people would be out on New Year's day catching one of the many decent new releases in the theatres right now. I want to see "Frost/Nixon" about the 1978 interview of former President Nixon by UK reporter David Frost. Nixon was seeking vindication and redemption for Watergate. Frost was seeking a confession of criminality. I also would like to see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," adapted from an F. Scot Fitzgerald short story, about a man who lives life in reverse. Born elderly he grows younger every year. I'd like to see Seven Pounds starring Will Smith, though I know very little about the film. I've rarely disliked a film in which he has acted. Clint Eastwood has an oscar worthy film out, as does Tom Cruise. Sometimes I'd like to be a film critic for a local paper because I enjoy many different kinds of stories told on screen.
But now to "Marley and Me." I laughed through most of the film. I cried for the last twenty minutes. The story is actually good. Young journalist couple get a dog to try out the nurturing genes. Marley is a male lab. He eats everything. He runs everywhere. He breaks things. He's untrainable. Marley trains them. Interestingly, Marley's behavior is not the center of the plot, like some Disney farce. This is not "Turner and Hooch"or "Beethoven: The Big pain in the neck". This is the story of a man and his wife, his career, his family, and his dog. And it is true. Not so much in its historical truth, although the film follows the book closer than many films based on books do. It is true because it is the story of life as a man with a wife and a career and three kids and a yellow lab. It is the story of his own failures, his own unfulfilled longings, and the surprising ways in which life gives more than we deserve.
I found myself drawn in, because so much of that story is my story too. (Jen Aniston, who plays his wife Jenny in the film, has nothing on my Cherie...smarter, sexier, real-er--is that a word?). I have felt his angst. I have sat in the car in my driveway wondering what the hell I'm doing. I've wondered if I've made the right choices. I have regretted the way I have handled relationships, my career.
And then there is the dog. I could write a book about Gracie May, the lab we love. I could write a chapter on staring. And a chapter on eating things. And a chapter on sleeping. I could write a book about the messes she's made and I've cleaned up. And I could write about her eagerness to be near us.
Gracie has an inoperable lump on her right shoulder that is beginning to impede her ability to walk comfortably. Inevitably we will have a choice about Gracie. As the Groghan's do in their story. Watching the kids and his wife say goodbye to Marley is a forecast of our future with Gracie,a future we typically deny and certainly despise. The death of a beloved pet is no small thing. And "marley and me" tells the tale with a simple beauty and affection that is honest and infectious.
But I am no movie reviewer or film critic. I am no journalist. But I am a storyteller. I write to share a little of the beauty and affection of life with my family,especially with my dog. She is a great dog, despite her often grouchy parents. I am only a husband, a father, and the lover of my own yellow lab. I love takng her for walks. I love watching her sleep. I love the way her fur smells. These are the unforgettable things about your dog. But more than anything else is the truth of the kind of love and affection we receive from her. She is devoted to us like no human can ever be. Its an undeserved devotion. I wonder if God sees our worship of Him as a kind of devotion likened to that of a pet yellow lab.
By the way, John Groghan and his wife and three kids live in eastern PA with their dog Gracie!

My New Year's resolution

I don't make new year's resolutions. Ever. I suck at keeping them anyway, like most of us. Undisciplined as I am, making a resolution is tantamount to making a promise I cannot keep. Why can't I keep simple promises, like to exercise or to pray or to read more or watch less tv, or eat less junk food or make less waste? These are simple things. But I realize that I have not changed my habits in recent years. I am the same I was last year in so many ways. My bad habits have not been replaced by good ones. I have not ben faithful to my good habits. I'm a mess. "The good I want to do I do not do and the evil I do not want to do, I do." Paul had me pegged. Or us pegged. I'm stuck in a way of life that is not consistent with the way of GOD revealed to us by Jesus. I can't do it. I can talk about it. Invite others into it. But I can't practice it with real heart and guts. If God is the potter and I am the clay, God's got some work to do.
It reminds me of how unfair the God of the Old Testament prophets can be. Why didn't God get that he created people who would break covenant with HIM? God may have been relatively clear about His expectations for holiness, i.e., the whole book of the law thing. But I guess God's love for us clouded His ability to understand why we would continue to disappoint. I'm not blaming God for sin and its consequences. That's on us. But why didn't GOD know that we would break promises? If God did know, then God also knew that Jesus was going to redeem us. Jesus was God's rescue plan from the beginning. The entire biblical worldview rests on the claim of the incarnation, then. GOD dwelling in flesh to redeem humanity and save us from sin.
I can live in response to the incarnation. God is dwelling with us, in us, for us.

So, in response I would like to suggest that this blog become a source of connection between us and GOD's incarnate Word. Resolved, that this blog be a sign of God's Word manifest in human flesh.

So I will include several new features in 2009. I weekly reflection. A weekly spiritual reading from ancient texts. A weekly mission guide.

See you in 2009.

Peter's Porch in December

December 20th at 7:30 am we will open our doors again as "Peter's Porch" community center. Our clothing room is full again. Our food room has received a generous gift in order to restock the shelves. Our people are making ready for the simple breakfast.
We are making Chirst known simply by opening our doors and offering free gifts of food, clothing, and personal connection. In the last hour last month, Joanna met a young woman who came to Peter's porch for clothing. We actually took down her name and size information to share with the congregation. People went and bought new clothes for this family!
last month, three young adults of Asian descent came to Peter's Porch. I found out yesterday from Pastor Tom, of Akron Church of the Brethren, that they are refugees from Nepal living across the street! Tom said they need essentials, like linens and towels. And they would like a computer and a guitar.
I'm beginning to feel like Joseph from Genesis; a steward of resources for the mission of the gospel! And so many folks are responding faithfully by giving generously. I hope it continues in February and March. I may suggest that the church calendar and the life of Jesus inspire endless opportunity to give.
If you are interested in partnering with us, donating any gift, we will locate a family who might benefit from it.

McLaren's Narrative reorientation

Mars Hill Which Story Do We Live In Brian Mclaren Pdf

From: markbradford,
3 months ago

Mars Hill Which Story Do We Live In Brian Mclaren Pdf

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Acts 10

Last week I was asked a question I could not answer. I was asked what changes I have resisted. I don't think of myself as a person who is resistant to change. I think of myself as a pretty open and flexible guy. But then I started wondering what changes have taken place in my life in recent weeks, months, and years. Three children in 5 years. The call to Zion. Visiting people in prison. These are significant changes. I think I have adapted, but mainly because they were welcome changes---changes that I embraced and even initiated. It is hard for me to think about a change or trnasition that occurred in my life that I have resisted because I have not faced much change that has forced me out of the comfort of my own embedded way of life. As I write I am beginning to hear an internal voice tell me the truth, though. I have been sent to people in this community who are struggling and i have only scratched the surface of that ministry. I should be in the homes of neighbors every week. And there are weeks that go by that I manage to avoid visiting strangers, visiting prisoners, visiting anyone. I avoid new encounters with people. I put people off in order to do safer things, like plan bible discussions, write sermons, or prepare for worship. These are important things, too, I tell myself. But we have neighbors who are suffering. I know it.
Peter's encounter with Cornelius is one of my favorite stories in the new testament. Cornelius is a soldier and a religious man. He is envisioning an encounter with an angel, perhaps as he recalls to mind a particular biblical story. The angel speaks and he listens and resonds obediently, without question and without full knowledge as to the meaning of the vision.
Peter is reluctant, on the fence, a little reticent about what God has been showing him. He has begun to conect with gentiles and is questioning in his heart whether or not it is safe, culturally and religiously, to be in relationship with them. He is confused. is he a devout Jew, obedient to the law, or is he a lover of all people in the manner of Jesus? His discipleship and his embedded socio-religious culture are in conflict.
Cornelius is a God-fearing gentile, a devout man. And he is open to receiving a word from a man sent by God. He is open to the possibility that God might speak to him through a meeting with a stranger. He is welcoming and eager to hear the words of the prophet apostle.
Peter does not understand the vision he receives that compels him to eat uncooked flesh of creatures he does not consider food. His religious sensibilities and his cultural ethnic sensitivities are challenged by this vision to eat snakes and birds. Three times he rejects this vision of food that is not edible. Three times he denied Jesus on the night of betrayal. Peter is resistant to this vision, even though he has fasted and is hungry. Yuck. Food becomes a great metaphor for things that repulse us that are actually acceptable to others. What is repulsive to me that is an embedded part of someone else's culture and life?
Peter is so on the fence about all of this that he doesn't obey the Spirit and go with the three soldiers sent to collect him. He becomes their host before he will become their prisoner. Now they come in peace, but they are Roman soldiers sent to take him to Caesarea, a Roman base. Peter invites them in partly out of a cultural requirement to provide hospitality, partly in response to the story of Abraham and the three strangers from Genesis 18. But perhaps he invites them in to ingratiate the men. They will be less likely to mistreat him if he has shown them respect and hospitality. He does not trust the word from the Spirit telling him that he is to go with them without hesitation.
When he does go and is received by Cornelius' household, Peter asks why he sent for him? It is not enough that the Spirit sent Peter. Peter wants to know what is in it for Cornelius. Peter tells them that he is breaking his own cultural and religious rules by being there; but he also tells them that God has shown him to call no one profane or unclean. Peter is living in a kind of ambiguity here. Is he a lawful Jew or is he obedient to God? Are the two mutually exclusive at this point? What does it mean to have God challenge your convictions about GOD? Is God contradicting God's law? Is God changing the rules?
What rules do we live by that God might be challenging? What is the "food" I am refusing to ingest,but God is inviting me to eat? Who is profane that God is sending me to meet?

Acts 9

Saul was not a bad man. He was blind. But he was not bad. He was dangerous. He was angry. He was serious. He was threatened. He was defending ancient territory. He was fighting the good fight. He was being faithful to what he knew to be the truth. He was unable to recognize the relationship between the faith-confessions and ministry of this emerging group and his own God-inspired hopes and dreams for the world and His people. He was ready to do whatever it took to shut down this emerging movement of "Christians" who were distorting prophecy and the law. He was eager to partner with other leaders in his religion who held a common interest. he even had orders from the High Priest on this matter.
Then he meets Jesus. Saul sees and hears Him, this crucified "messiah". And the movement,the group, the church he intended to destroy becomes personal. Jesus himself is being persecuted by Saul. There is a human face and voice of suffering attached to the work Saul was doing. Jesus. When people stand in opposition to the Holy Spirit's mysterious work in the lives of people and communities, they stand in opposition to Jesus. When people in the religious institution, seeking to maintain order and control, oppose the powerful and inspired mission of disciples, they oppose Jesus.
Saul is not a bad man. He just didn't see, he just dodn't know what he was doing. He had no idea that he was hurting the ones God loves. He didnt know that he was rejecting the Son of God.
Saul's conversion is a process that happens in people. This process is not prescriptive, but descriptive. And it describes the way to faith in Jesus for those who are religious and resistant. I know some church people who are like this.
1. Faith is a gift that allows one to see GOD for who GOd truly is--- and not as we make, think, or conjure a god of our own choosing and liking. 2. No one is beyond the capacity to receive faithful sight. But the gift of such sight is not something we have to give. We can live it, but not give it. Only Jesus gives the gift of faithful sight. 3. Faithful sight requires an ackowledgment of one's spiritual blindness. One has to recognize one's own blindness in order to receive the gift. Saul was "forced" to face his spiritual blindness by experiencing literal blindness. He was forced to depend on others in order to gain the faith perspective. 4. God's gifts come to us thorugh means--Word, Sacrament, communiion of the saints. For Saul, God sent Ananias to remove his blindness. Ananias trusts God despite his fear and the risk he associated with Saul. His willingness to go was a sign to Saul of this new faith that comes through Jesus. Followers of Jesus take risks in order to share their faith. The result is the bearing of unexpected fruit.
Disciple-making is a process. It is relational and requires self-examiniation, truth-telling, trust-building, and an radical openness to God and the other. Saul was an unlikely missionary, except that he was exactly the one Jesus needed to send to gentiles. More on that next week...

the homeless--

I was at a meeting yesterday with a couple of local clergy talking about expanding the winter emergency shelter program to Ephrata/Akron. The winter shelter program was initiated in the city last year. Churches, in connection with Lancaster Co. council of churches and the drop-in center located at Water St. rescue mission, host as many as forty people in their church building for a week. They provide overnight shelter, cots and blankets, for people who receive a voucher from the drop-in center. Most beds, most weeks are pretty full. But I've never been.
As we think about expanding this program to provcide shelter for unsheltered homeless people, we realized something significant. I don't know who these people are. I don't know any unsheltered homeless people. I know a couple of sheltered homeless---people living in someone else's house or apartment---domestic refugees, without their own home, living in the graces of some friend or family member temporarily. But I don't know any unsheltered homeless people. Where do they sleep? How do they eat? Before I help to initiate a "program" I should know a person. Because isn't homelessness another one of those issues that we treat objectively, rather than relationally? I believe it is so for a couple of reasons. People with homes do not concern themselves with people who do not. We live in different worlds and cultures for the most part. And we culturally isolate the poorest of the poor and the homeless. Also, if some of us knew homeless people, they wouldn't stay homeless. We would have to make room somehow. That is the real issue. Can we make room in our lives for someone who needs food, clothing, shelter, the basics? Can we make room in our hearts for such a one? I'll be accused of being a typical bleeding heart liberal. Home ownership is not a right, I know. This economy has taught us all that lesson. But dwelling in safety, especially in cold months when exposure becomes life threatening, is a human right. Some of us treat our pets better that that. And really the relational piece is about Jesus, isn't it? To know a homeless poor person is to know Jesus face-to-face. So, my next task is to seek out and meet an unsheltered homeless person. I may need some help to do this. I will also spend a night at one of the winter shelter churches in Lancaster city before Christmas. Anyone like to join me?

reading from the sermons of St. John Chrysostom

Do not adorn the temple while scorning your afflicted brothers and sisters.
"Do you want to honor Christ' body? Then do not scorn him naked now, honoring him here in church with silk vestments but neglecting him out there where he is cold and naked. He who said, "This is my body," also said, "You saw me hungry and did not feed me." The deed we do here in church requires a pure heart, not splendid vestments; but the deed we do out there requires great concern and effort.
Let us become wise, then, and honor Christ as he wishes. The sweetest honor for anyone is the honor he really wants, not the honor others may mistakenly choose to give him. Peter thought to honor Christ by refusing to let him wash his feet; yet to Chris the refusal was anything but an honor. Show him, then, the honor his commandment requires by giving your riches to the poor. God does not want gold vessels but gold hearts.
I am not trying to prevent you from using gorgeous vestments but only asking you also, and first, to give alms. The Lord accepts the ornaments, but he is much more eager for the alms. Only the offerer profits by the adornments; both the giver and the receiver profit by the alms.
What use is it for Christ to have golden cups on the table if he is dying of hunger? First fill the hungry person; then adorn the table with what is leftover. Will you provide a cup of gold and not give a cup of water? What good is it to Christ to have a gold tablecloth when he has no clothes by which to be covered? If you see a man hungry and you abandon him in order to deck the altar with gold for his sake, do you expect him to be grateful to you? If you see people freezing in rags and refuse them clothes but erect golden columns in their names what response do you expect/ Will they not think you are making fools of them?
Think, then, how Christ feels as he wanders homeless. You do not give him a roof, but you build a glorious temple for him! Once again, I am not attacking all these adornments; I am only bidding you to put first things first. No one who has failed to adorn churches has ever been accused by the Lord, but hell awaits those who scorn a brother or sister in need. A brother or sister is a far more precious temple that a church."

Obama elected president.

On November 4, the United States elected a new President, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. His inspiring grassrootscamapign, his thoughtful approach to American politics, and his connection with hurting Americans gave him the white house. This is a major change in American life. It is a signn of the change that has already come and is still coming. We are experiencing a season of revolutionary change in our culture, way of life,politics and economics. A new generation of Americans is coming of age and asking questions and seeking to lead. Does the election indicate that younger Americans are ready to be given a voice of authority in public matters and discourse?
I know some Americans are grieving as a result of this election.Obama's task is going to be to reach out to them and unify Americans with a common mission, a common vision, and some common tasks that will transcend party politics and the old labels of conservative or liberal. I suspect obama has the capacity to do these things, if he surrounds himself with the right people and he continues to cast a vision, to embody a dream or a hope for America.
from the perspective of the church, I believe this is a time in American life when we may be able to open dialogue for change that addresses the serious injustices of our society; everything from war to health care, poverty to environmental stewardship is on the table and part of political life right now. I hope we take the opportunity to advocate boldly and with compassion for those who have suffered and continue to suffer from the injustice of broken systems that oppress and kill the spirit of people. And I hope we as a church take a public stand to unite against the degradation of creation and the inhumane treatment of people, especially children in poverty. I believe that a church of integrity is needed today---one that speaks and acts in ways that are consistent with itself and its textual commitments. We are invited to live the way of Jesus and honor God in word and deed. That consistency has not been present in much of the institution. we talk a good talkbut fail to act. Or we act in accord with the mission but fail to speak or interpret that action vis a vis the reign of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit. We have to name the spiritual work as it is being done in and out of the church and we have to act in concert with those people who are embodying the very mission to which we are called.
Our local elementary school is asking us to increase our capacity to love our neighbors and to embrace local families who are in need of God;s compassionate justice. Will we be that church? or will we fix the roof? can we do both?
These questions transcend our tribaland institutional realities. This is a new day economically, politically, and spiritually in the U.S. I believe President Obama can navigate this unfamiliar terrain with the help of open-minded, postmodern thinkers, who are willing to transcend divisive dualisms to engage at a higher level of discourse on pertinent issuesin order to come to a new consensus and a new strategy for life in America.

Blessed be God
Blessed be God's holy name
Blessed be Jesus Christ true God and true man
Blessed be the name of Jesus
Blessed be his most sacred heart
Blessed be his precious blood
Blessed be Jesus in the most holy sacrament of the altar
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the consoler
Blessed be Mary the mother of God
Blessed be Joseph her most chaste spouse
Blessed be God in his angels and in his saints
Blessed be God in the hearts of his faithful people
--Anonymous