Lincoln Legacies

Today marks the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. On the first Saturday of each month, C-Span will air an original program investigating the life of the 16th president. The Civil War began one month after his inauguration and he was assasinated one week after the end of the Civil War. His entire presidency was in response to the unrest and difficult questions of the day. Following are some excerpts from speeches that formed his heritage.
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Let us re-adopt the Declaration of Independence, and with it, the practices, and policy, which harmonize with it. Let north and south---let all Americans---let all lovers of liberty everywhere---join in the great and good work. If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union; but we shall have so saved it, as to make, and to keep it, forever worthy of the saving. We shall have so saved it, that the succeeding millions of free happy people, the world over, shall rise up, and call us blessed, to the latest generations. – A Lincoln,
Speech in Peoria, Illinois 1854

The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail---if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise councils may accelerate or mistakes delay it, but, sooner or later the victory is sure to come.
“A House Divided Speech” 1858

I have often inquired of myself, what great principle or idea it was that kept this Confederacy so long together. It was not the mere matter of the separation of the Colonies from the motherland; but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but, I hope, to the world, for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weight would be lifted from the shoulders of all men. This is a sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence. Now, my friends, can this country be saved upon that basis? If it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest men in the world, if I can help to save it.
Address at Independence Hall , 1861

My prayer for the congregation?

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." - -- A. Lincoln

And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. ... We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. (National Day of Fasting proclamation 1863)

On Good Authority

I am shamelessly borrowing thoughts this week or I may never get sleep. The following is a passage taken from a recent talk by Tony Campolo on “30 Good Minutes.” He explains how he views the difference between power and authority. His mother had authority even though he towered over her. Jesus spoke with authority. Power may intimidate obedience, but it doesn’t build trust.

Whenever the Church speaks with authority, people listen. But the Church has to be sacrificial. And I’m afraid that the Church has not been sacrificial enough. In these days of an economic downturn there is a tendency in the Church to say, well, we’ve got to keep our own building intact, we’ve got to take care of our own staff, we have our own needs. And I’m telling you that the church that forgets itself and sacrifices for the needs of the poor and the oppressed—not only in their own neighborhood but around the world—that’s the church that will speak with authority. The church that speaks with authority doesn’t have to resort to power. People will listen.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, All dominion and authority are yours. It seems the more apparent power we gain only fuels the appetite for a larger increase in control and influence. We dislike being told what to do and work aggressively to claim our perceived rights and entitlements. Let us remember that our true freedom is supplied by the authority of the resurrection. Let us humbly stand down in rank. Let us be voices of camaraderie instead of coercion, encourage self-sacrifice rather than self-centeredness, and center our consciousness globally instead of isolationism. Let us be a congregation that has the authority to change lives. Amen.

Todays No

It’s our busiest week of the year at work and I used to look forward to the note we would put on the counter top letting our customers know that we would not be able to accommodate special orders with short deadlines. It was about the only time of the year when we felt vindicated in our refusal to accept rush orders. Usually we are known as a service that will bend over backwards if it will help our customers, and our service has a good reputation among our peers. There was something a little rewarding though about not being placed in a position of having to juggle priorities. Our workload has changed, and we no longer place on a sign on the desk, in part because we have fewer orders placed in person. But another change is in our response to our customers. If the answer has to be “no”, we then do our best to offer alternatives. They still have the need, which ultimately serves our system’s primary mission, so if we want to stay viable and pertinent, then we have to update our approach and our ability to resolve deadlines.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You are a changeling with permanent virtues. You minister to the needs of your people and craft alternatives when our choices are desperate. You set clear boundaries, and we find loopholes. You set limits, and we are thankful as long as they apply to the next person and not ourselves. You set expectations, and we find a different approach to evade your pronouncements. Let us use the same energy that we extend for equivocation and set up a balance of action and planning. Give us patience to see your answers unfold, and let us recognize that the answer may not come packaged as we imagined our needs would be met. Amen.

Go With God

Music stays with me throughout the week and I find myself humming, singing or merging songs that I’ve heard recently. Since I live with men-folk, I listen to quite a bit of sports talk, or books on tape rather than Top 40 or other music stations. As I watch the Grammys tonight I find that I haven’t heard 80-90% of the songs or the artists. So the music that carries me through the week is usually what I hear on Sunday morning, songs that come out of the memory banks, or made up songs. Today was an especially good day for music during worship and I’ve already been singing around the house as if I was on microphone because it’s a song that I can honor and sing as if the words had been written by me. I can’t think of a better blessing for the week to offer to the congregation.

My prayer for the congregation?

Farther than lands you have ever imagined
Deeper than even the oceans of blue
An open horizon is waiting like morning
Waking the dreamer who's living in you

So now go with the wind at your back
and the sun on your face
With a song in your heart and the promise of grace
Go in peace and in truth and let love lead your way
Go with God
Go with God

Stronger than will in the soul of a fighter
Higher than hope in the heart of a child
There is a longing, a yearning inside us
That's reaching for heaven and won't be denied

So now go with the wind at your back
and the sun on your face
With a song in your heart and the promise of grace
Go in peace and in truth and let love lead your way
Go with God
Go with God

“Go with God” by Carolyn Arend

Tell Tale Signs

You can tell one thing I did this weekend by looking at my arms and my hands. I helped my sister paint a bathroom, and whenever I paint a room one might guess that I had accomplished the task by finger painting if you saw me afterwards. I have no idea how to paint neatly. Luckily for her, I tend to pay more attention to cleaning up the floor than I do my arms. There are still traces of primer on my hands 24 hours later. Even in gardening I have to get my hands into the dirt and then I spend the next few days trying to free all the dirt beneath my nails. The only gloves I care about are the ones that keep me warm. I never minded the days of photographic darkrooms when I used my hands to turn the film over and over in the bath of developer. My husband might say from time to time that my hands smelled of chemicals, but I had to feel the film with my fingertips. The fix stains on my clothes, like the paint, again gave clues to the work I was doing, and that I wasn’t necessarily the neatest kid on the block. On the way home from painting I wondered if there were any external clues, like the paint or dirty fingernails, that might allow someone to guess that I try to follow Christ. On Ash Wednesday I usually go straight home instead of making a stop to get groceries. What kind of hints do I leave? How often do I get my hands dirty and engaged in the work of the church and the community?

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You are the first to engage and create. I imagine you in the center of the chaos, dirt flying, hammers pounding, impulsively singing, and making the work more joyful and complete for those you have drafted to complete the task. There is evidence of your hands at work. Let us answer your call, willing to get our hands dirty, to sweat and to learn so that there may be evidence of our bodies at work. Give us opportunities to jump boldly into the pit alongside you, and listen quietly as a confidant; to launch daringly a new program and pray earnestly for peace; to challenge ardently the world’s teachings and to live faithfully to your call. Let us be aware of the hints and the clues that follow us, and whether they are clues of a life following selfishness or a life following Christ. Let us be marked by your love. Amen.

Just Say Yes

I have to admit I’m intrigued, but I also know the consequences are likely to be great. Imbedded in an e-mail posting was a reference to New Monasticisms and Just Faith groups as examples of new cultures within the Christian religion which are working within the historical tradition. Shane Claiborne is one of the more recognizable faces of New Monasticism, but I had never heard of Just Faith groups. Before I left for work I sent a homework assignment to my friend Jane because she loves researching new ideas and I thought this would be something about which she could get excited. Saying yes to God seems to have been easier for her. She has always been a mentor to the youth, and the not so young, but since she has discovered disaster relief work, she feels like she has really found her niche. And that’s probably what she was doing today, because I didn’t find a three page essay on the subject and what other places that had led her to investigate. So I went back this evening to read a bit more. Just Faith is an organization with Catholic foundations, but which also hosts an ecumenical program to make themselves as accessible as the needs are that needs to be met. It is not a small program in content or in scope providing multiple layers of support. “J Walking” is the program designed for youth, but it is not abbreviated or diluted, encouraging youth to “walk against the flow, choosing unconventional paths." Both programs are a thirty-week justice formation process involving study, speakers, hands-on experience, and community building. A thirty-week commitment, why would I read any further??? I stopped singing in the choir because of existing time constraints. It’s hard to plan a weekend trip out of town because I already have several existing obligations. And big idealist that I can be, I have never followed through on mission trips, never seeming to find a compatible time with workload and family needs. My actions defy my inclinations. I know my history. What would be the point in pursuing this?

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You are relentless. You never rest in meeting the needs of those who call upon your name, and for those who don’t even know that you are a possibility of relief. You persist in calling those who can help be your hands and keep offering new avenues of labor for the sake of justice, for the sake of charity and for the sake of spiritual growth. In order that I may be your hands, I have to abandon my former excuses and rationalizations. In order that I may be your servant, I have to remove my name as lord. Let us say yes when you present another way to follow more closely in the dust of the rabbi’s feet. The consequences may be great, as may be our return. Ultimately, may we return to you in humble submission and adoration. Amen.

Praying Over Breakfast

During the Great Depression, the leaders in Seattle, Washington, turned to prayer after having taken care of as many people as possible, but not quite ready to surrender to hopelessness. They simply gathered one morning as brothers and sisters to share a meal and talk with God. These prayer breakfasts started emerging all over the city, the state and the nation. The Prayer Breakfast gained national prominence when President Eisenhower asked if he could join a group of Senators, and since that time president’s have led a national prayer breakfast each February. This morning, President Obama addressed the gathering:

“In a world that grows smaller by the day, perhaps we can begin to crowd out the destructive forces of zealotry and make room for the healing power of understanding. This is my hope. This is my prayer....I believe this good is possible because my faith teaches me that all is possible, but I also believe because of what I have seen and what I have lived.... So let us pray together on this February morning, but let us also work together in all the days and months ahead. For it is only through common struggle and common effort, as brothers and sisters, that we fulfill our highest purpose as beloved children of God. I ask you to join me in that effort and I also ask that you pray for me, for my family, and for the continued perfection of our union. Thank you.”

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You hear all prayers and answer with hope and strength. Let us reach across the aisle, across the street, across the nation, lowering our particular barriers so that we can reach out to a brother and sister who likewise set aside their hesitations in interest of praying as one. Let us find common bonds that unite all religions, so that each tenet of love may be fulfilled. Each day we seem to realize through grim awakenings that we are not the champions of our daily bread, and that more and more, prayer is supplying our nourishment. We feel that we may be the next generation to have a close understanding of the Depression, and our faith will be called to carry us, as faith was relied upon by our forbearers. Let us join our president in prayer for the world and that his leadership may be inspired by your word. Amen.

Parking Lot Blues

Last Friday I walked out to my car after work and discovered the rear bumper was askew, scratch marks on the side of the car and an empty parking space next to my car. My first guess was that the person parked next to my car had done this and left without leaving any information. Parking is horrible and people park in many unapproved areas because there are no options left. I’m pretty careful where I park, and if it is too tight I’ll choose another space. I just could not believe this had happened. Then I stepped back to re-evaluate the situation, there are so many other silver sedans in the parking lot, maybe I had the wrong car. No, this was the dirty silver Hybrid Camry parked at an odd angle, on the right row - all of my trademarks. I still could not understand how it happened. The angle of my parked car did not make complete sense that the damaged bumper was done by the missing vehicle, but it was obviously true that something had happened. It was not damaged when I parked at the beginning of the day and now there were dents and scratches. I started making an inventory of the steps and actions needed before the car could be repaired. I reached to make the first phone call and stepped back one more time to assess the damage. What a way to start the weekend! I started dialing my co-worker so that someone could commensurate with my pain. After the first few numbers I looked up again and looked at the back of the car with a license plate… that was… not mine! There IS one other Hybrid that is silver, and there IS a strange phenomenon that this model doesn’t park squarely, and after the icy weather, 95% of the other cars were dirty. Actually, I had walked right past my own car, which was parked a little bit closer because the parking is lighter on Fridays. I still called my co-worker, because she has a running joke on which of the parked silver cars is mine and how can anyone pick their correct car in a sea of silver sedans.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You know us better than we know ourselves. When we see vagueness, you see explicitness. When we see repetition, you see originality. When we are lost, you know our circumstances. Like the hairs on our head, you account for all (Luke 12:7), overlooking no one. If we attempt to take census we try to apply rules for accuracy and precision but we find exceptions, questions, and confusion. Let us realize the rules are not open for our interpretation, the accounting is not ours to qualify, nor is the challenge within our ability. Help us to recognize our own mission, the acts which we can contribute. We are apt to walk right past the truth, looking for something or someone that we think is meant for us. Help us to recognize and honor our authentic calling. Amen

Super Bowl of Ideas

As the analysis begins to die down about the Super Bowl, perhaps it’s because the networks have sent their correspondents to the next world exposition, TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design). It sounds like it could be a new reality show of mixed heritage (The Apprentice meets American Idol meets Top Design), but TED actually has a 25 year history of sharing ideas, cultivating networks and sponsorship, imagining solutions, and showcasing the brawn of the brain. It’s unlikely that the networks will spend more than five minutes on this west coast symposium, even though some of the biggest political headliners will work hand-in-hand with some of the brightest scientists in a forum with stricter time monitors than the presidential debates. There are simply too many ideas to present for someone to monopolize the stage. I felt like I had found an unexpected compatriot in the Dallas Morning News Editorial section as the author, Virginia Heffernan, declared her passion as a TED enthusiast.

“TED supplies its speakers with strict guidelines. ‘Start strong’ is the most obvious one, and there is virtually no throat clearing or contrived thanking. Instead, speakers blaze onto the stage like stand-up comics, hellbent on room domination. Some consult notes and stay close by their audiovisual equipment, while others pace, spread their arms wide and take up space. No one apologizes for himself. No one fails to make jokes. The appreciative room roars at humor, when they're not literally oohing and aahing at insight…. But it's unlikely that a plan to disarm Iran or treat autism will surface; there's too much razzle-dazzle for brass tacks and that's what I've come to be addicted to: the exposure to vigorous minds whirring as they work hard.”

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You create galaxies and raindrops, atoms and mountain ranges, and yet we are uncommonly proud when we assign a new formula to a spreadsheet. All that we have, we owe to you. We marvel at the mystery of the mind, the possibility for creativity, problem-solving, calculations, planning, engaging, and building. Let us use a similar ecstatic abandonment of impossibilities as we share our undiluted, unfettered dreams, connecting them together like magnets of attraction. We may not resolve every financial burden of the church, or serve every family affected by a health crisis, but let us become captivated by a congregation of vigorous minds coupled with strong backs, observant eyes matched with tradesman hands, and a gentle presence united with a zeal for mission. Let us go forth in a blaze of devotion and trust. Amen.

Sweet Charity

C.S. Lewis used a weekly radio broadcast to present a reasonable case for the truth of Christianity to England soon after World War II. “Mere Christianity” is a collection of these broadcasts in which he builds, much like a mathematician, a base for common understanding and then expands the ideas each week. In one program Lewis shared his views on charity as a theological virtue. Today charity is often used as a synonym for donations, but Lewis suggests that charity is much more than that. Charity means “love, in the Christian sense.” It is not an emotion, but an act of will. “Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did.” It includes wishing the best for someone else, forgiveness, and practicing the act of treating others favorably. He suggests reading I Corinthians 13 using the King James Version. Through this translation we may find a deeper understanding of the virtue of charity.

1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body tobe burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies,
they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away….13And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

My prayer for the congregation?

God of Charity, you rejoice in the truth of love. May we be more charitable with our neighbors, practicing courtesies and open communication until the actions become rote and habitual. May we become more charitable towards our enemies, knowing that our honest efforts of reconciliation will at least lessen the burden of entrenchment in our own lives, and may reduce the bitterness of all those involved. Let us also remember to be charitable with ourselves. We cannot fully learn to connect with others until we have learned to regain our own worth. Let us explore charity in the streets, in the classroom, in our cars, in the pews, in our pockets, and in our hearts. Amen.

With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the night, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds. – Abraham Lincoln

Super Song

I watched the Super Bowl, but as much for the commercials as for the competition between the two teams (although after the roughing the kicker call I was firmly on the side of the Cardinals). And I was more interested in the half-time show this year after Bruce Springstein was featured on almost every music-centered channel the night before. Springstein has some of the same characteristics of a revival-tent evangelist and next month Faith on Tap is going to match scriptures alongside Springstein’s music as a new way to listen to popular music. The “Land of Hope and Dreams” seems like a spiritual, a song that could have been sung by slaves escaping through their minds if not their bodies. This song will preach.

Land of Hope and Dreams - Bruce Springstein

…I will provide for you
And I'll stand by your side
You'll need a good companion for
This part of the ride
Leave behind your sorrows
Let this day be the last
Tomorrow there'll be sunshine
And all this darkness past

Big wheels roll through fields
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams

This train -Carries saints and sinners
This train - Carries losers and winners
This Train - Carries whores and gamblers
This Train - Carries lost souls
This Train - Dreams will not be thwarted
This Train - Faith will be rewarded
This Train - Hear the steel wheels singin
'This Train - Bells of freedom ringin
'This Train - Carries broken-hearted
This Train - Thieves and sweet souls departed
This Train - Carries fools and kings
This Train - All aboard

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, you are impartially partial to your people. You bestow blessings on the great and the small, the fools and the kings, the saints and the sinners. We cannot always understand your judgment, but are grateful when the ruling is in our favor. Let us find new psalmists in our age that tell of your righteousness and grace. Let us increase our desire to live in a land of hope and dreams, riding the train of glory, and making room for all those who jump on board. Amen