Thursday, January 1

Today’s Readings: Psalm 21; Ecclesiastes 3:1-13; Matthew 9:14-17; Colossians 2:1-7; Psalm 92

I’m someone who generally enjoys learning in a classroom environment. I love the opportunity to explore possibilities and try things on for size. In the 25 years I spent in the classroom (13 as a student in the K-12 system, 4 as an undergraduate, 3 as a graduate student, and 5 as a teacher), there was really only one activity I came to despise. It was an activity that we did at the end of my formal studies in seminary; that activity was called a verbatim. Let me tell you what a verbatim is. In our pastoral care classes we would have to select an incident that had happened to us in a church setting; we would then write out the flow of the encounter as if it were a script of the incident. Other students in the class would then read through the verbatim and tear it apart – analyzing what you could/should have said/done better in the encounter. While I understood the purpose of the activity, I hated the way verbatims often got played out. People in the classroom who knew nothing of the individuals involved got to sit back in judgment and conclude what should have happened. The individuals who sat in judgment usually had no clue about the larger context of the encounter. Everything seemed so easy when you removed the context for the situation and treated the pastoral encounter as if it were a mathematical equation (i.e. if Person A says this, then Person B should say that). If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life in parish ministry, it’s that each and every pastoral care encounter is different – even if two people are dealing with the same issue. So what got me on my anti-verbatim soapbox? Today’s reading from Colossians. The author of today’s passage wrote: “You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it!” (Colossians 2:7 from The Message). That verse reminded me that while it’s easy to sit around in a classroom setting and talk about how one’s faith ought to get lived out, it’s absolutely essential to move out of the theoretical mode and into the practical mode where you finally get the opportunity to put your beliefs into action - for it’s ultimately through the realm of action where most folks really encounter the Gospel in life-changing ways. As you start your New Year today, I would encourage you to look for more ways to put your beliefs into action this year. You just might be surprised at what happens in 2009 if you do that. Til next year…

Wednesday, December 31

Today’s Readings: Psalm 8; Ecclesiastes 3:1-13; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 21:1-6a

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is that you cannot make someone do something until they are truly ready to do it. They might do what you ask initially, but in order to make a lasting change the individual involved has got to be ready to commit to the action him/herself before that change can become lasting. Two examples of this come to mind. I’ve been involved with countless friends and parishioners who smoke. I’ve begged and pleaded with them to stop smoking (especially ones that have serious illnesses that are complicated by their smoking). In not one instance have my pleas for change worked. The smokers had to be ready to quit before they could actually quit. Same thing goes with individuals involved in abusive relationships. I’ve encouraged folks in these relationships to leave their abusive spouses/partners. Once again, the individuals were unable/unwilling to leave their spouse/partner until they were ready. I was reminded of this basic truth as I read today’s passage from Ecclesiastes that talks about there being a time for everything. That passage is a huge challenge for me because it suggests two things that I hate to hear: (1) the time tables involved aren’t mine, and (2) there is a time for things that I wish wouldn’t happen (i.e. “a time to destroy”, “a time to part”, “a time to let go”, and “a time for war”). All of these statements are brutal reminders that life isn’t about me. Today, many of you might be tempted to sit down and create a long list of resolutions for the New Year in hopes that you can force it to be a time to make some of these long-delayed behavioral changes. In a few days or weeks, however, you might become frustrated by how many of these resolutions have already fallen by the wayside. If that’s been your pattern over the years, instead of putting all of your energy into creating the list of resolutions; spend some of that time in prayer and discernment asking, “Is this the time for me to … [and you can fill in the blank here for youself].” Til next time…

Tuesday, December 30

Today’s Readings: Psalm 118; Isaiah 25:1-9; John 7:53-8:11; Revelation 1:9-20; Psalm 51

I’m generally not a huge fan of the Gospel of John. I’m not a fan of John’s Gospel for a variety of reasons. The anti-Semitic tone of the Gospel is difficult for me to digest (i.e. John’s Gospel frequently shifts the offenses that Matthew and Mark associated with the religious leaders of Jesus’ time onto the whole of the Jewish people). I also tend to better relate to those Gospels that do a better job of developing a sense of Jesus’ humanity. Given my concerns about the Gospel, I find it ironic that one of my very favorite moral teachings in all of the Gospels is contained in John. In fact, it just so happens that that teaching is contained in today’s reading from John. In speaking to the religious authorities who were ready to stone a woman who had been caught in adultery, Jesus directed the actions of the group by saying: “The sinless one among you, go first: throw the stone” (John 8:7 from The Message). What a powerful moral precedent that is for us to follow! I’ve been in faith communities, for instance, where they have railed against the irresponsible environmental practices of our government - and yet that same faith community ignored the fact that they had no recycling programs in place themselves. I’ve been in faith communities where they have marched on behalf of the rights of undocumented residents – and then they turned around and exploited this segment of the community by hiring undocumented residents for manual tasks around the church at rates that were below the prevailing wages of their community. I’ve been in faith communities that regularly decry the presence of racism in their city – and yet that same faith community ignores the fact that the racial composition of their own worshippers looks nothing like the demographics of the neighborhood around them. It is so much easier to try to “stone” others who fail to live up to the standards you profess – all the while ignoring your own shortcomings. Imagine how differently the world would look if we all started living by the values to which we try to hold others accountable! Today, when you find yourself getting all worked up about some injustice in the world – stop for a moment and take your own moral inventory and see if you are living up to those same standards before you start throwing stones at others. Til next time…

Monday, December 29

Today’s Readings: Psalm 147; Isaiah 12:1-6; John 7:37-52; Revelation 1:1-8; Psalm 65

When I was in seminary, I had a wonderful instructor who helped us explore various dimensions of our spiritual lives. Her name was Jane Vennard. Jane had many areas of expertise – two of which included retreat ministry and prayer. I never had an opportunity to benefit from Jane’s guidance on how to organize spiritual retreats. I did, however, have a chance to take a class of hers title “The Life of Prayer”. In that class she radically expanded my understanding of what constituted prayer. Prior to the class, I had been very traditional in terms of what I considered prayer. Basically I thought prayer was those times you sat still with your head bowed and your eyes closed as you asked (& thanked!) God for stuff. That was it. I had no idea that there were other forms of prayer to explore beside that one type called intercessory prayer. During that class, however, we explored a variety of other ways to pray ranging from centering prayer to the Jesus prayer to the use of Lectio Divina. I was reminded of the importance of broadening one’s understanding of prayer by the psalmist’s opening words in today’s second psalm. In Psalm 65: 1, the psalmist began by saying: “Silence is praise to you, Zion-dwelling God, and also obedience. You hear the prayer in it all” (from The Message). The psalmist’s closing words in that verse reminded me of the most important learning of my seminary in Jane’s class on prayer: prayer isn’t an activity that we do at one moment in time – prayer is an attitude that we carry with us all the time. When we approach life that way, we have the potential of turning nearly everything we do into prayer. Today, if you aren’t already in the habit of thinking about prayer as an attitude rather than an activity, I would invite you to try that mindset on. If you do, you’ll be surprised at the many new places you'll find God present in your life. Til next time…