Jane here, continuing my guest stint as Nancy's fill in.
I have another friend named Nancy and I enjoy each one so much they sometimes get intertwined in my conversations of wisdom. So I think of them as Nancy1 (Nancy Gray) and Nancy2 (Nancy Greenfield.) I had lunch with Nancy2 last week and wanted to talk to her about Passover since she is Jewish.
But she sent me an open letter to all Christians, which was convenient for me since that meant I didn't have to write anything for my own blog yesterday. It's always interesting to talk to Nancy2 because there are so many basic ways her thinking is very different from mine but, at the same time, so much alike. I think the fundamental difference is that she was born Jewish and I was born Christian. We are each saying the same thing about the universe but using different languages to say it.
Nancy2 and her family went to Israel last summer. When I asked her what the experience was like she told me it was the most comfortable feeling; it was like going home.
In her open letter to Christians I noticed she referred to the United States as a "safe haven." But she didn't call it home. The ties to her ancestral home are so strong that it is more home to her than the country where she was born.
I'm going to a funeral today for one of the most beloved members of our church. And I know somewhere in there will be a reference to Alfred "going home."
My prayer for the congregation:
Keep us safe while we are here on earth, dear Creator. Help us to find a safe haven during our life and help us to understand people who don't feel safe and to help provide safe haven for them. When it is your time for us to leave, may we go home to eternal rest. Amen.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Curiosity Killed the Cat
OK, it’s Tuesday. Can I stop now? This Tuesday? Next Tuesday? Which Tuesday?
Until Nancy comes home I promised to produce something for her blog. When I started my own blog I had enough sense to only promise weekly offerings. But your Nancy, dear readers, told you she would pray every day.
While I was sitting here trying to think of something to write about, the cat climbed into the file cabinet and couldn’t get out. Let me say this about Murphy, our cat: he is very curious. He loves heights and climbs trees with ease. He especially loves to climb up to the highest book shelf in our office and peer down on us. We, in turn, love to watch him outside our kitchen window while he sits by the creek bank watching “things” in the creek. He can spend hours like this. He is the first cat I’ve ever seen who likes water and will jump up onto the bathroom sink to play with the water as it comes out the faucet. So we know that he is the cat they spoke of when they invented the phrase, “curiosity killed the cat.”
He’s also fairly clumsy for a cat. He has fallen from the bookshelf more times than we can count, bringing books and papers down with him. He disappeared for a week a while back and when he finally showed up his tail was more than just “dragging”, it was broken and partially paralyzed and, ultimately, had to be amputated. He’s a cat who gets himself into a lot of jams that he can’t get himself out of.
So we weren’t surprised when he climbed into the file cabinet when he saw the opened drawer. Then he jumped down behind the drawer to the floor inside the cabinet behind and under the drawer. I’m not sure that explains it so I’ll just say that once he got in there he couldn’t get himself out. We had to take all the files out and take the cabinet apart to get him out.
And, once out, I knew there was no assurance that it wouldn’t happen again. But he’s our cat and we love him. We love to watch him enjoy his freedom. Is this how God feels about us?
My prayer for the congregation?
God, we know you pull us out of a lot of jams we get ourselves into. And then we run right out and do the same stupid thing again. Thank you for your immense love and patience. There’s no way we can repay you. All we can do is try to learn from our mistakes but we can’t guarantee that we will. Ask Jesus. Maybe He can explain. It’s just very hard to be a human. Thank you for loving us even when it's a lot of trouble. amen.
Until Nancy comes home I promised to produce something for her blog. When I started my own blog I had enough sense to only promise weekly offerings. But your Nancy, dear readers, told you she would pray every day.
While I was sitting here trying to think of something to write about, the cat climbed into the file cabinet and couldn’t get out. Let me say this about Murphy, our cat: he is very curious. He loves heights and climbs trees with ease. He especially loves to climb up to the highest book shelf in our office and peer down on us. We, in turn, love to watch him outside our kitchen window while he sits by the creek bank watching “things” in the creek. He can spend hours like this. He is the first cat I’ve ever seen who likes water and will jump up onto the bathroom sink to play with the water as it comes out the faucet. So we know that he is the cat they spoke of when they invented the phrase, “curiosity killed the cat.”
He’s also fairly clumsy for a cat. He has fallen from the bookshelf more times than we can count, bringing books and papers down with him. He disappeared for a week a while back and when he finally showed up his tail was more than just “dragging”, it was broken and partially paralyzed and, ultimately, had to be amputated. He’s a cat who gets himself into a lot of jams that he can’t get himself out of.
So we weren’t surprised when he climbed into the file cabinet when he saw the opened drawer. Then he jumped down behind the drawer to the floor inside the cabinet behind and under the drawer. I’m not sure that explains it so I’ll just say that once he got in there he couldn’t get himself out. We had to take all the files out and take the cabinet apart to get him out.
And, once out, I knew there was no assurance that it wouldn’t happen again. But he’s our cat and we love him. We love to watch him enjoy his freedom. Is this how God feels about us?
My prayer for the congregation?
God, we know you pull us out of a lot of jams we get ourselves into. And then we run right out and do the same stupid thing again. Thank you for your immense love and patience. There’s no way we can repay you. All we can do is try to learn from our mistakes but we can’t guarantee that we will. Ask Jesus. Maybe He can explain. It’s just very hard to be a human. Thank you for loving us even when it's a lot of trouble. amen.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Positively Substituted but Still Sure of Grace
Jane Els here. I am being punished for remarks I made that Nancy had fallen into bad habits and wasn't posting on a daily basis anymore. She came up to me in the middle of the Passing of the Peace yesterday and said something about did I want to be Positively Indecisive while she went out of town.
To start with, a person should never agree to anything presented to you in church. You are far too full of the Holy Spirit and agreeable in the house of the Lord. But it's always so hectic at church that I wasn't really sure what I had agreed to until she emailed me the password to this blog. Apparently I am to start immediately and continue until "Tuesday." This Tuesday? Next Tuesday? Tuesday Weld?
I can do the writing part in a half-assed way. I do that all the time. It's the Praying part that Nancy does here that will be new to me. Maybe that's the first prayer: Lord, give me words.
The sermon yesterday was a great one to comment on. I had the added benefit of hearing it twice at two different services. And I DO mean different. We have an alternative/experiential worship at 8:30 and traditional at 11. (Except it's not really 11, it's 10:50. Who on earth came up with that time, anyway? It makes no sense. But I digress.)
Anne set the stage very vividly for Christ's entrance to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. As he entered on a donkey through the East gate, Pontius Pilate's army entered by the West gate. Anne's question at the end of the sermon was "Which procession did we want to be part of?"
The humble, meek and non-violent procession or the powerful military procession? But then she also threw a bunch of facts out to confuse us. The truth is that the world's future is changing and the people who used to be in charge won't be much longer. The minority will soon be the majority. The last will soon be first and the first, last. Does that change which procession I march in? Where do I line up and what if I get in the wrong line?
Dear God,
Put us in the line you want us in. Help our congregation grow the way you want us to grow. When we get confused help us to understand that we don't really have to understand as much as love. And, please, dear God, give me some words to use until Nancy gets home.
Amen.
To start with, a person should never agree to anything presented to you in church. You are far too full of the Holy Spirit and agreeable in the house of the Lord. But it's always so hectic at church that I wasn't really sure what I had agreed to until she emailed me the password to this blog. Apparently I am to start immediately and continue until "Tuesday." This Tuesday? Next Tuesday? Tuesday Weld?
I can do the writing part in a half-assed way. I do that all the time. It's the Praying part that Nancy does here that will be new to me. Maybe that's the first prayer: Lord, give me words.
The sermon yesterday was a great one to comment on. I had the added benefit of hearing it twice at two different services. And I DO mean different. We have an alternative/experiential worship at 8:30 and traditional at 11. (Except it's not really 11, it's 10:50. Who on earth came up with that time, anyway? It makes no sense. But I digress.)
Anne set the stage very vividly for Christ's entrance to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. As he entered on a donkey through the East gate, Pontius Pilate's army entered by the West gate. Anne's question at the end of the sermon was "Which procession did we want to be part of?"
The humble, meek and non-violent procession or the powerful military procession? But then she also threw a bunch of facts out to confuse us. The truth is that the world's future is changing and the people who used to be in charge won't be much longer. The minority will soon be the majority. The last will soon be first and the first, last. Does that change which procession I march in? Where do I line up and what if I get in the wrong line?
Dear God,
Put us in the line you want us in. Help our congregation grow the way you want us to grow. When we get confused help us to understand that we don't really have to understand as much as love. And, please, dear God, give me some words to use until Nancy gets home.
Amen.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Poetic License
“To be a poet is a condition, not a profession” - Robert Frost
I watched both Dr. Zhivago and Man of LaMancha within the past week. Dr. Zhivago, I’ve watched too many times to count, but this was the first time I saw Man of La Mancha. I had heard of Don Quixote, knew he fought windmills, and was well aware of “The Impossible Dream,” one of the main songs from the musical, but I didn’t know the plot of the story. Cervantes is jailed during the Inquisition for the crime of being a poet and uses his talents as a storyteller to win over the other inmates and save his manuscript. Dr. Zhivago is closely watched by his government because of the poems he writes, and I had to question, what makes a poet so dangerous? Both men arrested for subversion of words next to words, not swords next to swords. The Frost quote explains the threat of the poet, not that one makes a living as a poet, but that one thinks like a poet at all. There are some experiences in which poetry is the involuntary response – love, beauty, and grace. A poet sees the world with new eyes and writes to capture the moment.
My prayer for the congregation?
Dear God, You are the author of life. You fill our days with prose and song and fill our minds with promises and possibilities. When we are most finely tuned to your presence, we are engulfed by emotion and strength. Let us see as a poet, and consider the world anew.
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
I watched both Dr. Zhivago and Man of LaMancha within the past week. Dr. Zhivago, I’ve watched too many times to count, but this was the first time I saw Man of La Mancha. I had heard of Don Quixote, knew he fought windmills, and was well aware of “The Impossible Dream,” one of the main songs from the musical, but I didn’t know the plot of the story. Cervantes is jailed during the Inquisition for the crime of being a poet and uses his talents as a storyteller to win over the other inmates and save his manuscript. Dr. Zhivago is closely watched by his government because of the poems he writes, and I had to question, what makes a poet so dangerous? Both men arrested for subversion of words next to words, not swords next to swords. The Frost quote explains the threat of the poet, not that one makes a living as a poet, but that one thinks like a poet at all. There are some experiences in which poetry is the involuntary response – love, beauty, and grace. A poet sees the world with new eyes and writes to capture the moment.
My prayer for the congregation?
Dear God, You are the author of life. You fill our days with prose and song and fill our minds with promises and possibilities. When we are most finely tuned to your presence, we are engulfed by emotion and strength. Let us see as a poet, and consider the world anew.
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
Friday, April 3, 2009
Limited Supplies
The health and beauty manufacturers have made me who I am today. I look better with makeup than without, but that’s not who I am.
It’s getting harder and harder to find the same product when it's time to replenish. It doesn’t seem to matter if it is foundation, shampoo, eye shadow, or toothpaste the one I used and liked is no longer available and I’m left to guess about the color of the new merchandise, how it applies, or the way it interacts with my body. I wouldn’t mind as much if they weren’t so costly, but indeed they are and it makes the decision of which new product to try that much harder. I have gone on-line to try and order a favored item that may be in someone’s warehouse, but manufacturers must have the approach of limited production as a way to increase sales. Consumers are bullied into trying different goods, each knowing that some may find improvements, but others will be a waste of money and the shopper may return to buy something else even though it was not depleted. To add to the offense, it is not healthy to pass along many health and beauty products to other people. Shoppers aren’t forced to buy anything, it is their option, but you’re not going to find many people willing to give up shampoo for the cause.
So more and more I am becoming a hoarder, buying larger quantities of the items that I like, knowing that two months later the same product could easily be discontinued.
My prayer for the congregation?
Dear God, You are steadfast and resolute. In a world that changes second by second, we are worn by constant disorder. Let us rejoice in the knowledge that your love remains unwavering, your care is continuous, and your conviction is firm. There is no guessing, no wondering, no testing needed to realize that you remain unchanged, offer the same grace, and bless without qualifications. You are the same God that directed Moses, the same Savior that healed the sick, the same Spirit that moved through Pentecost, and the same Lord working through my life. It is not possible to hoard the blessings and gifts we are given, they are too numerous to restrain. Let us become the creation you readied, the congregation you dreamed, and the neighbors you demand. Amen.
It’s getting harder and harder to find the same product when it's time to replenish. It doesn’t seem to matter if it is foundation, shampoo, eye shadow, or toothpaste the one I used and liked is no longer available and I’m left to guess about the color of the new merchandise, how it applies, or the way it interacts with my body. I wouldn’t mind as much if they weren’t so costly, but indeed they are and it makes the decision of which new product to try that much harder. I have gone on-line to try and order a favored item that may be in someone’s warehouse, but manufacturers must have the approach of limited production as a way to increase sales. Consumers are bullied into trying different goods, each knowing that some may find improvements, but others will be a waste of money and the shopper may return to buy something else even though it was not depleted. To add to the offense, it is not healthy to pass along many health and beauty products to other people. Shoppers aren’t forced to buy anything, it is their option, but you’re not going to find many people willing to give up shampoo for the cause.
So more and more I am becoming a hoarder, buying larger quantities of the items that I like, knowing that two months later the same product could easily be discontinued.
My prayer for the congregation?
Dear God, You are steadfast and resolute. In a world that changes second by second, we are worn by constant disorder. Let us rejoice in the knowledge that your love remains unwavering, your care is continuous, and your conviction is firm. There is no guessing, no wondering, no testing needed to realize that you remain unchanged, offer the same grace, and bless without qualifications. You are the same God that directed Moses, the same Savior that healed the sick, the same Spirit that moved through Pentecost, and the same Lord working through my life. It is not possible to hoard the blessings and gifts we are given, they are too numerous to restrain. Let us become the creation you readied, the congregation you dreamed, and the neighbors you demand. Amen.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Leave of Mind
One indication that it’s time for me to take a few days of leave is when I have to make deliberate choices to bypass the first exit towards Houston and Galveston and instead steer towards the second exit which leads north, to work. I can’t say that Houston would be listed within my top ten getaways, but the sign acts as a siren, calling me to remote locations that don’t include a desk, a computer or deadlines. And a few times my equilibrium has been confused by mistakenly taking the higher ramp because of fog or distraction, but each time I turn around at the first exit and realign myself to the appropriate direction. I might not consider the sign so inviting if I was reminded of the work involved prior to vacation: creating lists, detailing directions, tying up loose ends, and communicating unresolved questions and orders. That’s at work! Another set of actions takes flight at home with washing, packing and cleaning. It’s a wonder we even look forward to vacation! Even though I normally have a difficult time releasing work duties, once I leave the gate for vacation, poor work is like a forgotten toy that one has outgrown, left in the corner, unattended and disregarded.
My prayer for the congregation?
Dear God, We retreat to your arms and find peace. We often make lists of exclusions and complexities that postpone our response to your call. We may be drawn to leave our daily routine, but then we allow our habits to supersede and we return by mote. Let us grow past our adolescent behavior and leave behind our childish ways. Once we step into your realm and leave our will behind, let us find that we do not miss the restrictions that once held us captive. Those ideas won’t have the same hold or allure; pushed aside by the desire to focus on our new life. Amen.
My prayer for the congregation?
Dear God, We retreat to your arms and find peace. We often make lists of exclusions and complexities that postpone our response to your call. We may be drawn to leave our daily routine, but then we allow our habits to supersede and we return by mote. Let us grow past our adolescent behavior and leave behind our childish ways. Once we step into your realm and leave our will behind, let us find that we do not miss the restrictions that once held us captive. Those ideas won’t have the same hold or allure; pushed aside by the desire to focus on our new life. Amen.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Foolishness
Of all the mornings to lie back down after my shower; I knew it was a bad idea but I did it anyway. Next I was awakened by my husband asking if I had the day off. NO! Then I had to make the phone call to my boss, “This is NOT an April Fool’s Joke. I am just now leaving the house when I am usually pulling into the parking lot at work!” When I finally got settled in my desk I glanced right away at the calendar. The calendar is designed to show three months at a time: the current month in the center, the past month at the top, and next month at the bottom. It’s all quite orderly and intentional. However, when I looked at the calendar this morning, March had been moved to the top, May was in the middle and June was at the bottom. There’s only one person who is as deliberate about changing calendars and I knew where to go for answers. “Well, with the kids gone I had no one to wake up saying ‘It’s snowing!’ so I had to spread my foolishness somewhere else!”
One of the books I have intended to read for several years is St. Francis and the Foolishness of God. I bought it, but I haven’t actually read it. Kind of like 100 other books on the shelf. There’s so much I want to read, and foolishly think I will, but you have to admit this title is catchy. Who could refuse? One doesn’t normally attach the adjective of foolish with God and it takes an entirely different mindset to even consider the question. God is wise, omnipotent, and powerful; not simple-minded and reckless. What would it mean to be foolish for God?
My prayer for the congregation?
Dear God, You honor child-like wonder, simple praise, and foolish acts of faith. It would be idiotic to resign a well-financed job to accept a volunteer position in the food pantry. It would be foolhardy to refuse favors until the rest of society was offered the same options. It would be ludicrous to forgo a vacation abroad to build houses in humid New Orleans. It would be comical to prepare an entire dinner only to ask your family to step aside for someone off the street. It would be preposterous to think that what we do makes a difference in the world. Let us be reckless, swift and faithful, relying on Your will to make sense of our abandonment of goals, treasures and careers. We know we are acting foolishly but have no recourse to act otherwise. You are wise, O Lord, and devoted to restoring peace. Living alongside your doctrines of justice anything less than reconciliation seems worthless. Teach us to care, to invite, and to anticipate moments of divine intervention, where we are to be instruments of your uncommon, unlikely, unfettered Grace. How foolish are we prepared to be in the discipline of loving our neighbors as ourselves? Let us be called fools for the love of You! Amen
One of the books I have intended to read for several years is St. Francis and the Foolishness of God. I bought it, but I haven’t actually read it. Kind of like 100 other books on the shelf. There’s so much I want to read, and foolishly think I will, but you have to admit this title is catchy. Who could refuse? One doesn’t normally attach the adjective of foolish with God and it takes an entirely different mindset to even consider the question. God is wise, omnipotent, and powerful; not simple-minded and reckless. What would it mean to be foolish for God?
My prayer for the congregation?
Dear God, You honor child-like wonder, simple praise, and foolish acts of faith. It would be idiotic to resign a well-financed job to accept a volunteer position in the food pantry. It would be foolhardy to refuse favors until the rest of society was offered the same options. It would be ludicrous to forgo a vacation abroad to build houses in humid New Orleans. It would be comical to prepare an entire dinner only to ask your family to step aside for someone off the street. It would be preposterous to think that what we do makes a difference in the world. Let us be reckless, swift and faithful, relying on Your will to make sense of our abandonment of goals, treasures and careers. We know we are acting foolishly but have no recourse to act otherwise. You are wise, O Lord, and devoted to restoring peace. Living alongside your doctrines of justice anything less than reconciliation seems worthless. Teach us to care, to invite, and to anticipate moments of divine intervention, where we are to be instruments of your uncommon, unlikely, unfettered Grace. How foolish are we prepared to be in the discipline of loving our neighbors as ourselves? Let us be called fools for the love of You! Amen
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