Presby-Musings

It’s Eastertide (Season of Easter) We will study from the Book of Acts to learn more about those first witnesses of the Resurrection and what we can apply to our own time and place. When You Don’t Understand Why People Do What They Do "Stole over 1,000 wafers from church because I really liked the Communion wafers and didn’t know where else to get them. I felt really blessed and cursed for a long time." "I smell my headphones after wearing them." "I  go to the next town over which is about 20 minutes from where I live to buy groceries or pick up stuff at Wal Mart. I could easily do it in the town I live in but then I run into everyone that I don't want to see." "If I'm a passenger in a long car ride, I stare at people and don't look away. I'm never gonna see them again so I might as well get a good look." "I  pull my nose hairs out when I'm bored." "When I walk, I always count the number of steps for each foot a

Recently, I read a reflection from author, speaker, and visionary Bob Goff that drew inspiration from the Wright brother's extraordinary first flight on December 17, 1903, at 10:35 AM on the beaches of Kitty Hawk, NC.  They'd had more than a few failed attempts before that date, including a crash on December 14, but it worked on that fateful day.   Goff reflected on the flight this way:  But I always wonder: What were they thinking at 10:34? None of us live at 10:35.  We don't know if what we attempt will work or not.    He's absolutely right. The Wright brothers didn't know whether the changes they'd made three days earlier would work. So, at 10:34 AM, they were living in a moment of uncertainty but pushed forward anyway.  Goff is also right that none of us live at 10:35, which means even when we find the strength to push forward and succeed, we never stay there.  The goals we reach aren't our real home; we just pause there for a moment, visiting, and then

  The phrase "Use your head!" is one that I have employed more than once with all three of my boys.  Usually, I've uttered it after they did something monumentally idiotic, which boys tend to do on occasion.   I've also told them, "That's using the ole noodle!" when they did something brilliant, lest you think my platitudes only tend toward the negative.  Most of us have had people say similar things to us at one point or another.  We've been told to "put on our thinking caps," "sleep on it" when making decisions, and a host of other exhortations aimed at getting us to employ our brains.  All of this is good advice, mind you. We must employ our heads from time to time to think before we act, jump, or speak to prevent ourselves from offending or harming others or damaging ourselves, for that matter.   However, when we live too much in our heads, it can become a problem.  Suppose our default is to overthink, fret, worry, and resort

When I was a kid, my grandmother took me to a shop in Manitou Springs, CO, to watch glass-blowing.   I was warned ahead of time and then repeatedly throughout the visit not to touch anything , which made me want to feel the glass products even more, but I resisted, mainly because of the "you-break-it-you-bought-it" warning signs everywhere.  It was amazing to watch the glassblowers. Seeing them take the melted glass from the furnace and then blow it into a long pole while shaping and stretching it with tongs was fascinating.  I remember wondering how they didn't burn the living daylights out of their mouths. I also wondered what would happen if you touched the glass and it hardened around your hand.  These are the things I would still wonder about.   Interestingly, all of these memories came to me this morning when I read this fantastic quote from author John Koenig:  There's a certain art to becoming who you are.  There's no standard kit you can use to assemble y

I fell asleep recently while sitting on the couch watching ESPN's Sportscenter.   One moment, I was happily getting recaps on all of the day's sporting news, and the next, I awakened to find my youngest son sitting next to me on the couch, playing video games.  "You were snoring," he told me.  I asked him how long he'd been home from school, and he replied that he'd been home for an hour, gotten a snack, and started playing video games while I slept.  Also, my legs didn't want to work, and making them took me a bit.   After I shared the story with a friend and made some self-critical comments about how I'd wasted so much time, they declared I obviously needed the rest and not to beat myself up.   I'm an Enneagram type 3, which means I am highly task-oriented and focused on ensuring that I appear confident and remain productive even when I'm not feeling either.  So, back to the whole nap thing.  Who beats themselves up for taking a nap when they

In Chuang Tzu's writings, translated by Thomas Merton, there is this interesting poem/parable I read and re-read a few times, pondering its meaning. It resonated with me and reminded me of a parable that Jesus taught (more on that in a bit).   Here's the poem in its entirety:  The Yellow Emperor went wandering  To the north of the Red Water To the Kwun Lun mountain. He looked around Over the edge of the world.  On the way home He lost his night-colored pearl.  He sent out Science to seek his pearl, and got nothing.  He sent Analysis to look for his pearl, and got nothing.  He sent  out Logic to seek his pearl, and got nothing.  Then he asked Nothingness, and Nothingness had it! The Yellow Emperor said:  "Strange, indeed: Nothingness  Who was not sent  Who did no work to find it Had the night-colored pearl!"   You might wonder what this has to do with anything Devo-related, and I get that. Stick with me, though; there's so much good stuff in this.  First, you must

  It's Eastertide (Season of Easter) We’re going to study the Book of Acts to learn more about the first witnesses of the Resurrection and what we can apply to our own time and place.   Today, we're going to be reading a story from the Book of Acts in which Peter (you know him as the ringleader of the disciples and also the one who betrayed Jesus three times on the night he was put on trial) gets a chance to find restoration and a second chance to do the right thing.   But before we get into that, let me ask you a question:  What Do You Do When You Know You Messed Up? Let’s share some images of people with one job and the like.  What’s the worst thing you’ve ever messed up? Maybe it was something that cost you a job, relationship, money…  What would you have given in that moment to get another chance to do things right?  That’s what we’ll think about in today’s story from Acts.  WHEN YOU WITNESS RESURRECTION, IT RESTORES YOU  Let's provide some background on this passage

Wonder is the heaviest element on the periodic table. Even a tiny fleck of it stops time. - Diane Ackerman  There are days when the world seems inhospitable for some of us.  As if there weren't enough bad news to go around, we have plenty of our own to handle, both personal and professional.   We find ourselves overwhelmed by the things that must be done and weighted down with the expectations placed on us by others and ourselves.   In those days, we can feel hollow inside, unwilling or unable to tap into our feelings, weary from the regularness of life, and afraid of what might come next to assail us with difficulty.  The most significant loss we suffer when we succumb to the hollowness we are experiencing is our loss of wonder.   There are things to be amazed by all around us, but when we are in the depths of hollowness, it's nearly impossible to raise our heads and see them.  Instead, we just let our gazes dully pass over them without comprehending what life they could give

I was reading an article recently about the Stronger Men Conference in Springfield, MO, and how some controversy arose regarding a shirtless, sword-swallowing male acrobat who was part of the Christian conference's entertainment.   During one entertainment portion, a tank driven by Chuck Norris also crushed a couple of cars, but that's beside the point.  Apparently, to some of the dudes gathered at this conference designed to teach men about the subtle art of patriarchy and how to protect it, the acrobat touched a nerve, and their overt homophobia kicked in.  This led to some pretty awful diatribes about LGBTQ+ people and a doubling down on why it's essential to keep "those people" out of church and relegated to the margins of society.  The level of hatred, bigotry, and downright meanness that was put on display was pretty impressive, even for a bunch of fired-up, angry white Christian nationalist dudes.  [To paraphrase Shakespeare here, "Methinks they doth p

In his book Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, author John Koenig creates words and definitions for the feelings, emotions, and experiences that have never been truly defined.   A particular word and definition in the book caught my attention the other day, and I wanted to share them and explain why they resonated with me so profoundly.   malotype n. a certain person who embodies all the things you like the least about yourself--a seeming caricature of your worst tendencies--which leaves you feeling repulsed and fascinated in equal measure, having stumbled upon a role model of exactly the kind of person you never want to be. Koenig explains that he got the inspiration for his new word from the Latin word malus , which refers to a sculpture mold, essentially a negative image of the object you want to sculpt. There's something about the definition of this word that truly speaks to each of us because we've all had an experience or two in our life when we met someone who we find gives

I've always struggled to comprehend God's grace, mostly because I struggle to believe that God's grace extends to me.  To be fair, I have no problem sharing with others that God's amazing and never-ending grace is always for them.  I believe that with my whole heart.  But when it comes to believing that I am covered in that same grace, I have a hard time with it.  This is partly because it's hard to shake the notion of a judgemental and angry God at times, but it's mostly because I know too much about myself.  Many of us have the same kind of struggle.  We are quick to believe that God is all about showering other people with grace and that they should be filled with joy because of this fact.  But when it comes to ourselves, we don't experience it the same way most of the time.  Novelist and public theologian Marilynne Robinson once wrote:  I experience religious dread whenever I find myself thinking that I know the limits of God's grace, since I am utte

  There is a decided lack of civility in our culture these days that I find pretty disturbing.   By bringing this up, I probably sound like one of those "get-off-my-lawn" dudes, but people are just not as polite as they used to be.  Too many of us are just one annoyance away from flying off the handle or worse.   If you spend any time on the Internet, you will likely see some of the many videos of people absolutely losing their minds at restaurants, parking lots, road rage incidents, airlines, and the like.  If you haven't, don't.   If you have any left, it will chip away at your faith in humanity.  I have been mindful of my actions and reactions when I'm out in the world doing things because I desperately don't want to contribute to the negative energy that is so prevalent around us.  It comes down to being conscious of other people and curious about the situations you find yourself in.   Your slow service at a restaurant may not be the server's fault.  T

I t’s Eastertide (Season of Easter) We will study from the Book of Acts to learn more about those first witnesses of the Resurrection and what we can apply to our own time and place.   Today, we will be reading from the margins of the story we will explore in Acts. And this concept got me thinking this week about supporting characters in stories, particularly in films.  How The Supporting Cast Tells The Tale What are some characters in a film that played a supporting role, but the story depended upon them?   Val Kilmer - Tombstone Steve Buscemi - Big Lebowski Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder  Cameron Diaz - My Best Friend's Wedding  Maggie Gyllenhall - The Dark Knight  Christopher Waltz - Django Unchained, Inglorious B****rds There are countless examples, but we can also use literary references.  Imagine Shakespeare's Othello without Iago and Julius Caesar without Brutus. Or Melville's Moby Dick without Capt. Ahab, Calvin without Hobbes...  Sometimes, it’s important to re

I saw a quote from Bertrand Russell a few days ago that has me thinking.  Atheism is what happens to you when you read the Bible.  Christianity is what happens when somebody else reads it for you.   Russell was a philosopher, pacifist, author, activist, and public, outspoken advocate for atheism in the early half of the 20th century.   I've read some of his work in the past, but this particular quote piqued my interest, and I've pondered it for a while.   To begin with, I need to unpack his statement's first sentence: "Atheism is what happens when you read the Bible."   Russell meant that when you start reading the Bible, you discover many issues that can raise serious questions, leading to doubt, skepticism, and disbelief.  He would say that the stories seem fantastic, most mythological in form and function, created by the ancients to make meaning out of a world they did not understand.   Russell would criticize the concept of a biblical deity that condoned genoc

In the Buddhist tradition the belief that "life is suffering" is one of the foundational principles toward finding oneness, serenity and peace.    The idea that to live is to suffer, doesn't really feel like the kind of devotional reading that gets people all fired up for their day.  But stick with me because I'm going somewhere with this.  Somewere good, I promise.  We all know what it means to suffer.  We've all experienced it.  Maybe some of us are experiencing it right now.  It's one of the many things that we all have in common as human beings.  Mind you, each of suffers in our own way, and in varying degrees, but we all know what it feels like, and it's not something that we particularly enjoy.  So, this explains why there are so many verses in the Bible about enduring suffering, trusting God through suffering and petitioning God when we are suffering.  It seems that the Buddhists are on to something.  I think that the Christian tradition has lost to

So, on Monday, there was a total eclipse over Texas, which meant it happened right over my backyard a little after 1 p.m., and I must admit I was unexpectedly blown away.   You see, up until the actual eclipse, I was not a fan.   Too many people were overly excited about the whole thing, and the hype was ridiculous.  I'm jaded, so when there's too much hype, I get suspicious, skeptical, and snarky.   I didn't get why thousands of people would want to travel to see it—spending their hard-earned money to buy industrial-strength sunglasses, pay for flights, gas, and a hotel, and stand outside and stare at the sun.  It was funny to me that the day would be mostly overcast. I even hummed Alanis Morisette's song "Ironic" with some new lyrics:  "It's like an eeee--clipse on a cloudy day..."   But my dad gifted us some of the aforementioned industrial-strength sunglasses, so I reluctantly joined in when the whole thing started happening.   Even though th