Presby-Musings

For a lot of people, the idea of a loving God, who has our best interests at heart, is an idea that is foreign and hard to fathom.  This is a sad fact that has been compounded by the inability of our culturally dominant forms of Christianity to adequately speak of God in ways that are hopeful and life-giving.   Within much of Christianity, God is relegated to the role of harsh critic and steely-eyed judge--the kind of judge who exacts a high price from those who step out of line.   Philosopher Alan Watts once wrote:  "When I first learned to play the piano, my teacher hit my fingers with a pencil every time I played a wrong note.  Consequently, I never learned to read music--I was afraid of that pencil, so I hesitated too long."  Far too many of us have narrowed our view of God and denied ourselves the pleasure of learning to read music, so to speak because we insist on God being something that God isn't.  Our images of God as j...

Nearly twenty-five years ago, DC Comics published one of the highest selling comic books in it's history: Superman #75, entitled "The Death Of Superman."  The idea that DC would kill off such an iconic character was unfathomable, and a little hokey.  It also didn't last.  I used to collect comic books back then, and I got swept up in the hype.   It was kind of a forgone conclusion that Superman wasn't really dead. No one believed it.   And, of course, DC brought Superman back--three months later through a convoluted storyline that made absolutely no sense at all to me at the time.   The whole thing was a gimmick to be sure, but it definitely made Superman more accessible.  Despite his powers, he wasn't indestructible, after all.   I got to thinking about all of this today because of a conversation Merideth and I were having this morning about the way that most people view God.  I think most of us view God in much the same way we ima...

I was reading from Psalm 13 today during my quiet time and I read these words that stuck with me: "How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?  How long must I wrestle with my thoughts, and day after day have sorrow in my heart?"  I remember the moment when I first doubted the existence of God. I was 19 years old and I had grown weary of the images of God that I had been living with my whole life.  God as judge.  God as jury.  God as executioner.  God as Zeus, hand trembling on his lightning bolt, ready to toss it at me if I stepped out of line.   I remember saying, "There is no God," out loud.  And then I waited for something to happen.  I had been taught from the writings of Paul that "The fool says in his heart there is no God," and I figured that if the God I had always imagined actually did exist, he wouldn't abide my foolishness.  I waited, but nothing happened.  There was no li...

Today is Palm Sunday --the Sunday before Easter, the day when we celebrate the beginning of Holy Week with the waving of palms, singing of songs, and other assorted awesomeness. This is the Sunday--before the  Sunday.  The moment before the moment. Did you know that the moment before the moment is the most important moment? When I say the moment before the moment, I mean the moment before the great moment --the moment of decision, the moment of destiny, the moment that always seems to get all the attention But it's the moment before the moment that's actually the most important---moment. Think about it. Remember the first time you went on the high dive at the pool?  You climbed up that ladder that seemed like it went to heaven.  Then you stood there at the end of that diving board, barely able to walk.  But you did--you stepped forward and then stood there at the end of it looking down.  And then you took a breath. That moment--the moment...

I This week we are continuing our sermon series entitled, "In The Beginning," a study on the Creation account in Genesis that is meant to help us prepare for the possibilities and potential of this brand new year. As we've discovered, making and keeping resolutions for a new year can be a tricky proposition.  Very few of us actually keep the resolutions that we make.  In fact, I would venture to guess that several of you---other people--have already broken resolutions that you made so hopefully on January 1st! To that end, we've identified a theme to this series that we've been coming back to each week:  This year isn't just a chance to make a new resolution, it's a chance to be a new creation." Last week we left the story of Creation at the conclusion of Genesis chapter 2 and the introduction of two trees and a choice.  Genesis chapter 2 tells us that God placed two trees in the Garden of Eden , the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge...

It's almost here.   Christmas that is. It feels like we've been waiting for a while, doesn't it? Some of us have been waiting in expectation--the kind of expectation that we used to feel when we were small.  For whatever reason, this year seems different, this year feels--special. Some of us have been waiting in deep grief.  It's the first year without the loved ones we lost last year.  Or maybe it's the tenth.  This season brings none of the expectations and excitement that it used to.  We might feel snatches of joy, and perhaps a smile or two.  But our grief is always there, like a familiar unwelcome burden that aches our shoulders to carry, but we can't set it down. Some of us have been waiting with dread.  Nothing has worked out like we planned.  Families are at odds, perhaps and we're dreading that dinner or that get together.  Maybe we plodded through everything we experienced so far checking things off of our list--jus...

I recently read about a new trend that is starting to gain some traction in our culture--it's not a huge, widespread movement by any means, but it's still out there, still happening. It's called sologamy or same-self marriage. Nadine Schweigert, a thirty-six-year-old-woman from Fargo, North Dakota , who was interviewed by Anderson Cooper after marrying herself in front of some forty of her closest friends. “I, Nadine,” she said to herself, “promise to enjoy inhabiting my own life and to relish a lifelong love affair with my beautiful self." Then, in the words of the immortal James Brown, she jumped back and kissed herself. I'm not sure why anyone gathered here today would be surprised by this kind of thing, to be honest.  It's the logical extension of a culture that is immersed in the self.  No one in our culture wants anyone to take credit for whatever success they might enjoy. Seriously, when have you ever heard a brand new CEO of a huge corporat...

We have this Christmas decoration at my house that counts down the days until Christmas.  My little kids love this thing.  They look at it every day in anticipation of the the coming of Christmas.  You can almost feel the excitement that emanates off of them as the Day approaches. I remember feeling that intense feeling of anticipation when I was a kid.  I think it happens more when you're a kid, honestly.  It's not that I am not excited about the coming of Christmas now--I am.  In fact the stretch between the end of October and New Year's Day is easily my favorite time of the year.   But you know how it is... when you get older you start associating this time of year with the sorts of things that leave you decidedly less than excited.  You think about how busy you are going to be... with family obligations, church obligations, work stuff, parties, dinners...  Then there is the shopping, the crazy busy stores... the credit card b...

U All good things must come to an end. Have you ever heard that before?  Maybe you've even repeated it on occasion. Probably when something good was coming to an end. Recently, my wife and I had the opportunity to get a way for a couple of days--just the two of us.  We relaxed, sat by the beach, wandered around Key West, watched the sunset, ate unbelievable meals, slept in, read some books, laid in a hammock... What? I should tell you everything? At any rate, as we came to the end of our time away we both found ourselves saying over and over again---"just one more day... if we had just one more day..." I remember the last football game of my oldest son's high school career.  He re-injured his surgically repaired shoulder throwing a forty yard touchdown pass, and then a few plays later got concussed on a running play.  We all knew that it was over.  His season had ended, and a promising football career with it.  I remember my wife and I sitting...