18. Life's List

Learn sign language. Reach proficiency in Spanish. Reach proficiency in many languages--French, Japanese, Russian, German, Chinese, Hebrew, Greek, Korean, Polish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, etc! Use them. Learn to play the piano. Read anything and everything I can get my hands on, at least once. Run. Get a gym membership and use it. Donate 10 feet to Locks of Love (multiple donations, of course! I think I'm at about 3 right now). Bake amazingly. Cook well. Sky dive (or bungee jump). Write a book. Maybe publish it. Teach English as a second language. Travel the world, or travel a small part of it. See absolute poverty. Be changed by it. Work to change it. Live in some place I never thought I'd live. Love. Be loved. Get married. Have children. Study the Bible. Go on a road trip. Sleep on the beach. Take a ballroom dancing lesson. Make pottery. Write a letter to the editor. Do yoga. Be on retreat for thirty days. Vote. Walk ten miles (or more). Sew a quilt. Plant a garden. Go white-water rafting. Learn to knit. Be crafty. Set up a computer by myself. Stop biting my nails. Work with an adult literacy program. Sing without caring how it sounds. Dance without caring how I dance. Take an African dance class. Sew an outfit. Work for a non-profit. Be organized, if only for a day. Learn to ride a bike. Learn to ski. Go to France and eat nothing but bread, cheese and pastries. Drink nothing but champagne. Fall in love with a cause, or several. Be changed by loving it and being active in it. Host another exchange student, or several. Give up shopping for a year. Realize how many blessings I have. Keep my friends and family close. Graduate from school, college and seminary. Seek ordination. Live, laugh, love and eat a good deal of dark chocolate and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

17. Sharing Memories

My grandpa passed away last Monday. The funeral preparations have been made and done with. Family has arrived and gone. Countless food dishes have come and been eaten. Sympathy cards have piled in. Our answering machine has been full. I feel surrounded by love and support; I really do, and it has been an utterly amazing blessing. I know he is at peace, but to be honest, I'm still struggling with his death, and think I will be for a while. He was such a large part of our lives, of my life, especially over these past months, and this is the longest I've ever gone without seeing him, talking to him, or writing to him. I miss his presence. I miss his voice. I miss the twinkle in his eye when he winked.

My grandpa was a teacher--by profession as a woodshop teacher, but foremost as one who was always learning and wanted to spread it to everyone around him. Every new thing he learned was something everyone got to hear at least twice. His causes--collecting pop can tabs for the local chapter of American legion, St. Jude's Children's Hospital, Saginaw Valley State University--were dear to his heart and always on the tip of his tongue. His passions for history and other cultures spread too. He got a black belt at age 66. He took physical fitness and computer classes at the local university. His daily question for me was, "What did you learn today?" It didn't matter whether it was a school day or not.

My grandpa was one of the first who taught me to question. I remember once when I asked him why the "p" in raspberry was silent. After looking it up, he decided it wasn't silent after all--we'd all been wrong! He had me tell everyone I knew, and he spread the word too. Eventually, of course, our supposition was proved false, but I will always remember what it felt like one of the first times I felt like I had been part of making a discovery that no one else had made.

He was stubborn, but so am I (and at least I know I have a legitimate source for it!) He swore, yelled, lashed out, but taught me patience. I think I will always know that I learned how to nurture from him first.

I'm sure there's more to come...

In closing, the words of "You are Mine" that played with Grandpa's pictures during visitation (Italics are mine):

I will come to you in the silence,
I will lift you from all your fear.
You will hear my voice,
I claim you as my choice,
Be still and know I am here.

Do not be afraid, I am with you.
I have called you each by name.
Come and follow me
I will bring you home;
I love you and you are mine.

I am hope for all who are hopeless,
I am eyes for all who long to see.
In the shadows of the night,
I will be your light,
Come and rest in me.

Do not be afraid, I am with you.
I have called you each by name.
Come and follow me
I will bring you home;
I love you and you are mine.

I am strength for all the despairing,
Healing for the ones who dwell in shame
All the blind will see,
The lame will run free,
And all will know my name.

Do not be afraid, I am with you.
I have called you each by name.
Come and follow me
I will bring you home;
I love you and you are mine.

I am the Word that leads all to freedom,
I am the peace the world cannot give.
I will call your name,
Embracing all your pain,
Stand up, now walk, and live!

Do not be afraid, I am with you.
I have called you each by name.
Come and follow me
I will bring you home;
I love you and you are mine.

"Do not be afraid I am with you" played with the pictures of me as a child smiling and laughing with Grandpa.

For someone so active before the rapid onset of dementia, these words seem so fitting, "I will call your name/embracing all your pain/stand up, now walk, and live!"

All cliche aside, God has called Harry E. Martin, Jr. back to life.

Grace & Peace

16. What privileges have you had?

As found at Mary Beth's place. Here is a game developed by Jeanne of Social Class and Quakers, based on the copyrighted exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University.

If you play and post, please acknowledge their copyright.

Bold items are privileges I have had.

Father went to college
Father finished college
Mother went to college
Mother finished college
Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.
Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home
Were read children's books by a parent
Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
Went to a private high school
Went to summer camp (sports and church camps)
Had a private tutor before you turned 18
Family vacations involved staying at hotels
Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
There was original art in your house when you were a child it was done by family friends
Had a phone in your room before you turned 18
You and your family lived in a single family house
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
You had your own room as a child
Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
Had your own TV in your room in High School
Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
Went on a cruise with your family
Went on more than one cruise with your family
Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family

15. A Generous Orthodoxy

In this diagram, my largest concern is me, my soul, my personal destiny in heaven, my maturity, and my rewards. Occasionally, after 'winning' people based on personal self-interest, churches can entice people to care a little about the church--but is it any surprise that people 'won to Christ' by self-interst come to the church asking, 'What's in it for me?'

"Is it any surprise that with this understanding of salvation, churches tend to become gatherings of self-interested people who gather for mutual self-interest--constantly treating the church as a purveyor of religious goods and services, constantly shopping and 'trading up' for churches that can 'meet my needs' better? Is it any surprise that they have a mission to the world when most Christians equate 'personal salvation' of individual 'souls' with the ultimate aim of Jesus? Is it any wonder that people feel like victims of a bait and switch when they're lured with personal salvation and then hooked with church commitment and world mission?


"The following diagram shows a radically different alternative:

"In this diagram, Jesus comes with saving love for the world. He creates the church as a missional community to join him in his mission of saving the world. He invites me to be part of this community to experience his saving love and participate in it.

"This missional approach changes everything. In fact, I don't think I realize how much it changes yet because I'm still getting used to it.

"Among other things, it eliminates old dichotomies like 'evangelism' and 'social action.' Both are integrated in expressing saving love for the world. Those who want to become Christians (whether through our proclamation or demonstration), we welcome. Those who don't, we love and serve, joining God in seeking their good, their blessing, their shalom.

"This approach gets rid of distinctions like ministry (what we do in the church) and mission (what we do outside it), since ministry is for mission from the start. For example, I seek to develop virtues not just for my own benefit, but so I can inflict less damage and more blessing on the world. I seek to better understand Scripture not just for my own sake, but so I'll be better equipped to serve God and my neighbors.

"It also gets rid of terms like missionary and mission field, since now every Christian is a missionary and every place is a mission field.

"Perhaps most profound and yet most troublesome, it gets us beyond the us-them thinking and in-grouping and out-grouping that lead to prejudice, exclusion, and ultimately to religious wars. It opens up a third alternative beyond exclusive and universalist religion. Exclusive religion says, 'We're in, and you're out.' Good news for us, bad news for you. Understandably, universalist religion reacts and says, 'Everybody's in!' That's good news for everyone at first blush until you ask, 'Why is there so much injustice then? Why are so many sad, cruel, harassed, and helpless? If everybody's in--is this as good as it gets?' Saying that 'everybody's in' can too easily lead to complacency about injustice here and now and can create a kind of nice, relaxed, magnanimous apathy. This magnanimous apathy may be better than the narrow antipathy often associated with exclusive religion, but I think we need a better alternative.

"Missional Christian faith asserts that Jesus did not come to make some peope saved and others condemned. Jesus did not come to help some people be right while leaving everyone else to be wrong. Jesus did not come to create another exclusive religion--Judaism having been exclusive based on genetics, and Christianity being exclusive based on belief (which can be a tougher requirement than genetics!).

"Missional faith asserts that Jesus came to preach the good news to the kingdom of God to everyone, especially the poor. He came to seek and save the lost. He came on behalf of the sick. He came to save the world. His gospel and therefore the Christian message, is good news for the whole world.

"The idea that the Christian message is universally good news for Christians and non-Christians alike is, to some, unheard of, strange, and perhaps heretical. To me, it has become natural and obvious. Let me explain..."

14. Thoughts

It takes 21 days to make a habit.

It only takes three to break one.

Oasis tonight:

Also, Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 --

-perhaps not so much a literal rending as an opening up to God's will
-Lent is the season of God "wooing" us and seeking to be in relationship with us

G & P!

13. Something to Chew On

I was able to preach this sermon for my final preaching class (I believe it's more formally called "Lay Speakers Deliver Effective Sermons) as well as for the closing commitment service. I felt it went fairly well, but as always with speaking, it's a learning experience--learning myself and my own comfort zones (and how to get out of them) and learning how to be more in tune with God and the message He wants me to speak. I felt I was doing exactly what God wanted me to be doing at that moment, though, and speaking the words He wanted me to speak -- an emotional high to carry through the early week. I hope I never stop feeling this way after preaching.

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE: Paul writes these words to the people at Corinth. In a flourishing city of approximately 500,000 merchants, sailors, professional gamblers, athletes and freed slaves, the Corinthian Church became a melting pot of the microcosm of which it was a part. Paul writes to encourage them to continue to try to live in harmony and build on their common foundation, although their national, social, economic and religious backgrounds were very different. (paraphrased from Compact Bible Dictionary, written and compiled by Ronald F. Youngblood, F.F. Bruce & R.K. Harrison)

[Read 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10]

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, you who is our rock and our redeemer. Amen

MEDITATION:


“Something to Chew On”

I.

I am the daughter of an amazing cook and baker. Just about anything my mother sets out to make turns out delicious. So, it’s only natural that I’ve grown up to countless questions of my own cooking abilities.

“Have you learned how to make your mom’s macaroni and cheese yet?”

“Oh, that pie was just delicious. What kind do you make?”

“Did you help your mother make this amazing soup?”

Well, I can tell you that I’ve set out more times than one to imitate her style—to create that rich, chocolate pudding or achieve the perfect consistency of broth in soup—but I look at her recipes and I see these cryptic directions (they may sound familiar to you)—“a pinch of salt,” “a sprinkle each of cinnamon and allspice”, “a few shakes of this and that.”

I stare transfixed at the page, wondering just how to measure a sprinkle or a shake. What if my “pinch” is bigger than my mom’s? What if it’s too small? I turn to my mother for clarification and usually receive another response you may find familiar, “Just do what feels right.”

Friends, I can tell you that I’ve had more flat cookies, crusty brownies, dry macaroni and cheese dishes, overcooked noodles and soupy rice than the rest. I’ve missed more cups of flour and sugar, more eggs. I’ve neglected to let my biscuits rise all the way. I’ve left the eggs out of pumpkin pie.

But, I can tell you that each time I have forgotten these things, I have learned how important it is that these ingredients are there. Each time I’ve overcooked pasta, I’ve learned just how to know when it’s the right time to take the heat off.

I still have this example I’m following, but I’m learning that in the absence of set recipes, I’m beginning to learn for myself how to create something new rather than simply follow what has already been done.

II.

Paul says, speaking to the Corinthians, “Here we are, then, speaking for Christ, as though God himself were making his appeal through us.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) We have this message to share, this “treasure in clay jars”, as we’ve heard before. ( 2 Corinthians 4:7). But God didn’t hand down the message typed in MLA format with 1-inch margins. God sent the commandments, yes. God sent the prophets. God even sent his son. We believe that God continues to speak through the Holy Spirit.

And yet, when Paul says again in the text, “This is the hour to receive God’s favor; today is the day to be saved!” I know that I begin to wonder, “Where is this message we’re supposed to give? What role do we have in all of this?”

I am just another speaker, another voice in the cacophony of others, but I believe that God is calling us to this: to stop waiting for an exact recipe, perhaps to stop trying to pass on a recipe of leadership to the next leaders following us. If God was our mothers, he would tell us to stop trying so hard to determine what the right sized sprinkle or pinch is and just do what feels right.

Just do what feels right? I can hear it now, “But that would be too hard. We need guidelines. We need order. We can’t just have chaos...and if we just do what “feels right” ...we might just come up with something NEW.”

Are you hearing what I’m hearing?

Friends, we will never be without guidelines and order. The last time I checked, we still had this book. (hold up Bible) I’m going to guess that those of you seated here today have seen this before.

Our challenge is to make this book come alive for those around us. Are we up to the challenge?

III.

In her book, Mudhouse Sabbath, Lauren F. Winner captures the words of a sixth century theologian, Julianus Pomerius, encouraging readers to break a fast and “unbend one’s self” in order to practice hospitality. She shares later, “I understand why he had spoken of hospitality as unbending one’s self. The irony is that the unbending requires inviting my neighbors into the very places where I am most bent.” (pp. 46 and 53)

IV.

I know that if I wait until any place I live is “clean enough” for visitors, I’m going to be waiting a long time. I know too, and perhaps more importantly, that if I’m waiting for perfection before I allow people into the “bent” and just plain rusted areas of my life, I’m going to be waiting a long while. In fact, I just might not have to do it at all!

In allowing people into the imperfect areas of our lives, we allow two things. First, we allow that they may see that leadership and ministry is not about perfection. And, seeing imperfect leaders, they may see where they are able to lead too.

Second, when we allow people to see our faults, we are opening ourselves up to those same areas that need change. Where do we need reconciliation? Where might we need comfort?

When we allow this honesty, we open ourselves up for God’s help.

V.

A pastor tells of his own encounter with the need for this reconciliation. In preparing for Ash Wednesday, his church had entered into a rigorous debate regarding the imposition of ashes at the Ash Wednesday service.

“Some people in the congregation argued against the practice claiming that it could promote holier-than-thou attitudes amongst the faithfully smudged. Others worried that the aftermath of the ritual would look a bit too much like a public display of piety the kind that the Gospel of Matthew cautions us about. Objecting, still others claimed that they found it to be a powerful way to grapple with mortality, to participate in a sign of humility, to mark the beginning of Lent.

“What was Ash Wednesday, after all, without some soot on one's brow? Attempting to mediate, the pastor suggested a compromise. Set it up, he declared, so that individuals could decide. If people wanted ashes, they could mark themselves.

“So when it came time for the service, a liturgy which also included the Lord's Supper, the pastor stood and explained that worshippers were to come forward for the sacrament. First they would receive the wafer—‘Body of Christ.’ Next they would receive the wine—‘Blood of Christ.’ Then, the pastor gestured to an elder who was standing there holding a small saucer of ashes. If the worshippers so desired, they could self-impose ashes. So, the people stood and came. . . Decently and in order, except for one small problem, the pastor had failed to explain the meaning of a key liturgical term ‘impose.’

“He came to this realization when the first man to approach received a wafer, dipped it in wine, then turned, and dunked his sodden disk in the plate of ashes, before eating it.

“So startled was the congregation by this strange act of penitence that they were compelled to rethink their liturgy. . . Never again, remarked the pastor, will I suggest that people ‘self-impose.’ But, I wonder, as unpalatable as it might seem, if this man in tasting and swallowing ashes might actually be telling us something important about this day and this season.

“So many of us, still think of Lent as a time to give something up, a season to deny ourselves chocolate for forty days. . . as if that will somehow cultivate spiritual maturity. In eating ashes, this man may provide us with a different perspective on Lent. . . Perhaps it is not a season to give up common pleasures. Perhaps it is a time for us chew on our mortality.” (http://home.netcom.com/~jealsup/ash6e.html)

VI.

The reteller of the story continues with an explanation that “For Paul, righteousness is a human possibility.” Though we may be faced with denial and a knowledge that “we will all, eventually, fall down,” the apostle Paul “pushes us to attempt reconciling acts and rest affirmed in the integrity of God. All this because we have been marked. Not by a sign that we can put on ourselves, for really we cannot self-impose our identity.”

“So we mark each other here not merely with a thumbprint of grit hoping to commemorate our mortality, but we smear a cross on each other's foreheads to remind us that we are marked by another.

“The one who marks us all that we might no longer be slaves to mortality, but free to be God's righteousness in this world.” (see above source)

VII.

So marked, where does our hesitation lie? The wall has been beaten down. If we are no longer bound by our mortality and sin, then we have free reign to answer God’s calling on our lives.

VIII.

I would like to share The Message translation of this passage with you which shares a direct plea from Paul to the church at Corinth. Perhaps it will help to have it in contemporary language.

He writes,

“Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us, “I heard your call in the nick of time; The day you needed me, I was there to help.” Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t frustrate God’s work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we’re doing. Our work as God’s servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly...in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing his power; when we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised, and when we’re blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many, having nothing, having it all.

“Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!”

IX.

Are we ready?
Are we ready to open up our lives and live fully in “this wide-open, spacious life”?
God is calling, “Are we ready?”
I know I am.
Are you?

Amen