Presby-Musings

As I write this, I am sitting by mother's bedside as she slowly slips away.   She's fought hard these past few weeks, but this morning she was weary of fighting and slipped into a coma.   We were told that her time with us is measured in days. It's late and everyone else in the house is asleep--most of them exhausted from a long and emotional day.  I volunteered for this "shift."   Over the course of my pastoral career, I have done hundreds of funerals and counseled hundreds of families at the time of their grief.   I have lost count of the number of beds I've stood beside where a church member's loved one was in the last days (and in some cases, the last moments) of their life.   The view is a lot different from the other side.   I see so much more clearly how important it is to know that you are not alone. When the Apostle Paul wrote that those of us who follow Christ do not mourn as those who "have no...

A woman in one of my former churches was a master at appearing as though she was completely fine, even when she was facing some of the most difficult things a person could face.    I would often ask her how she was doing, and she would smile a tearful smile, and tell me that she was like a duck--on the surface she appeared calm and managed, but underneath the water, her feet were churning just to keep her going.   The imagery she used was striking.  It made me realize how easy it is for most of us to go about our life (especially within our faith communities) without ever letting on how we really feel, what we're really going through.  Shakespeare spoke into this when he wrote, " Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep." (Henry VI) That imagery definitely works for me when I'm feeling broken and vulnerable, afraid to share my struggles.   Most of us never really share how we really  feel, what we are really  going through.  P...

This past week we launched a brand new sermon series for the moth of May, entitled Jesus and We.   The basic idea behind this series is pretty simple.  We're wrestling with what it means to be a community of faith that lives into the hope of the Resurrection.  Christianity in America has become decidedly self-centered.  Christian book stores are filled with all kinds of self-help books on all of the things you can do to become a better Christian.  Far too many churches in America espouse a Jesus and Me kind of theology.   But what we know from Scripture, from the teachings of Jesus and from experience itself is that it's not all about Jesus and Me.  The Church is about Jesus and We.  Church is more than just a place you go, it's who we are.  When we fall prey to "me-centered" theology, its easy to begin to worship something that isn't Jesus at all.   Here's a quick video that gives us an idea of what singing praise songs in a "m...

For the remainder of this week we'll be reflecting on Gratitude--because it's Thanksgiving Week, brothers and sisters!   Tomorrow many of us will gather around tables with friends and loved ones, and we'll celebrate Thanksgiving.  We'll share a meal (or three), the many blessings we've been given and perhaps some laughter, too. More than a few of us will fall asleep on the couch afterward with football on the television, and the sounds of our family in the background.   While most Americans will enjoy Thanksgiving to the fullest, there are few of us who know the history of this great holiday.  It was, in fact, Abraham Lincoln who set aside the last Thursday of November as a national day of thanksgiving.  For the next 75 years each President would do the same--annually declaring Thanksgiving a national holiday.  In 1941, Congress finally acted to make Thanksgiving a permanent national holiday.  So why did Lincoln think it was so important to ...

Family Values Week Four:  "Hospitality"   This week I am continuing my sermon series entitled Family Values: Rediscovering What's Really Important with a sermon on Hospitality. I think the best illustration of hospitality in action within the Christian community is revealed in the time honored tradition of potluck dinners.   Potluck dinners are so named because everyone who attends brings a dish to share with the community.  The idea is that when everyone brings something, there's plenty to go around and everyone gets a chance to share and sample to their heart's content.  I have had some crazy good meals at church potluck dinners. I have a confession to make, though.  I am the guy that brings Kentucky Fried Chicken to the potluck.  I bring it, man.  Straight up in the box so everyone knows what it is.  I have NEVER taken home leftovers. Church potluck dinners are almost always unfair, though.  Someone generally forgets or br...