Presby-Musings

"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10
I like to keep moving--if not physically, then mentally.  It's actual work to shut down my thoughts and my desires to do more, read more, learn more, accomplish more.  

I also tend to overbook my calendar--partly because I have a hard time saying "No" to things, and partly because I want to believe I always have the bandwidth to do whatever needs doing. 

And I can usually pull it off--whatever "it" is.  Even if it crowds my schedule, leaving me with razor-thin margin and not a lot of peace, I'll find a way to make it happen.  

But being still... that's a skill I have not developed all that well.  

Maybe you resonate with what I'm saying.  Perhaps you feel like your margins are thin, and you're finding yourself attempting the impossible each and every day as you try to keep all of your plates spinning.  

It could be that even though you don't believe that you have the bandwidth to figure it…

I don't do a lot of marriage counseling in my pastoral ministry--mostly by choice.  

I'll happily work with couples on spiritual matters and offer what guidance I can when they're in need of help, but I will almost always refer them to a professional. 
You see, even though I've got two advanced "divinity" degrees, twenty years of pastoral experience, countless hours of training, continuing education and personal reading and development in pastoral counseling... I am not ashamed to admit that I am not a trained counselor. 
But, I have learned some things along the way--both in my life as a pastor and in my own nearly 27 years of wonderful marriage, and I will gladly share that with any couple I do counsel.  
In fact, the one lesson that I unequivocally say was the most difficult yet helpful lesson I've learned is this:  Relationships require effort.
If you aren't working at the keystone relationships in your life (marriage, kids, close friends, family, co-w…

Today, I find myself reflecting on how you don't have to be a genius to know that the world is not as it should be.  But you do have to be a genius to skillfully avoid seeing/hearing about all the ways things are messed up and broken.  

These days, the constant stream of bad news seems to find us, no matter what barriers we erect to shield ourselves from it.  

And it can make you feel sick inside--weary and overwhelmed.  If you are not careful (and even when you are) you can quickly and easily begin to see the world solely through the distorted lens of a half-empty glass.  

This morning, I got to thinking about all the ways I've allowed myself to define my view of the world (and some of the people in it) in negative terms.  

I also felt a surge of passion and desire for something better--for the world and for myself.  It filled me like a huge deep breath--the kind you take when you're about to jump off a high dive.  

Today in my morning reading, I was struck by a wonderful poem…

"I prayed for freedom twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs." 
- Fredrick Douglas

"Prayer changes things." 
"I'm sure they felt the prayers." 
"They could really use our prayers right now." 
"Our thoughts and prayers are with you." 
"We all need to say a prayer right about now."  

People of faith have all kinds of ideas about prayer, and all manner of platitudes to describe them.  

The above list includes just a few of the platitudes that I've used on occasion when I'm responding to a need, a tragedy or simply to comfort and encourage someone.   

I think if we're being truly honest with ourselves, there have been more than a few times in our lives when we have simply said that we "would be praying" for someone or something when we didn't really know what else to say.  

Meanwhile, we are secretly still asking questions about prayer like: "So what happens when we pray?"  …

When Bishop Michael Curry delivered his sixteen-minute sermon this past week at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, he didn't hold back.  

His sermon, which was unabashedly Jesus-centered and love-focused quickly became the most memorable moment of the ceremony.  

He preached with a passion and power that had hitherto been unseen or heard in the hallowed halls of St. George's chapel.  Millions upon millions of people heard his stirring and inspiring words on the power of love to overcome injustice and heal all wounds.  

The British newspaper, The Guardian put it like this:  "The American bishops did it black. And he shocked the congregation by refusing to tone down his passionate message on power and love."  

I've been thinking a great deal about why Curry's sermon caused such a stir.  Those words written in The Guardian speak volumes.  People were shocked that he didn't tone down "his passionate message on power and love."  Shocked…

Today is Pentecost Sunday--the day that we celebrate the birth of the Church. 

It's also the day that the early Christian believers experienced the power of the Holy Spirit of God in a brand new, incredible way that changed everything for all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus. 

Christians believe that even though Jesus isn't physically with us, the Holy Spirit of God reveals Jesus to us... guides us to more fully be like Jesus,, and empowers us to be like Jesus to the world.

After Jesus was raised from the dead, he appeared to his followers and promised them that even though he physically wouldn't be with them any longer, he would be with them spiritually and that they would have a Spirit--the Holy Spirit of God---to guide them. 

He said to them:  "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Let me tell you a bit about the full meaning of the Day…