Dogs are Well-liked Because They Wag Their Tails Far More Than They Wag Their Tongues!

"There's Nothing in the Decalogue That Says a Man Can't Love A Dog!" -- John Piper in The Innkeeper

Styrofoam Airplanes and Cardboard Boxes

Christmas 2006 has come and gone. For us it was a sweet day, beginning with the traditional prayer and thanksgiving, and then the opening of the gifts. I got a new shirt and some new jeans and a CD called "Three Wooden Crosses," which features country music songs of faith like the title song by Randy Travis and "Long Black Train" by Josh Turner. There have been a number of fine songs of faith and inspiration that have topped the country charts in recent years. And country is not necessarily what it used to be, as many of the songs seem like the music of pop and light rock that I was raised on in the sixties and seventies. I will enjoy this album of songs.

We had a pleasant day spent around the house, listening to music and watching some television as a family. We had a big noon meal of country ham and green beans and mashed potatoes. And later we watched Philadelphia defeat Dallas in holiday football. We topped it off by watching the movie "Cars." an animated Pixar/Disney tale of being lost and finding redemption. Even our cat and dog came close for a total family experience.

The only sour note of the day came when I was assigned the task of putting together a remote controlled plane for my son, one that been given him by a generous relative. The instructions were written FIRST in Chinese, then in English, which was my first warning. The necessary guidance they contained was written in lingusitically acrobatic sentences by an interpretion deficient writer, with such gems as "Place tail section place in so tape with paper transparent tape double to strong in place where you need."

Decoding the instructions was a bit of a struggle for me, but I boldly went where no plain thinking, linguistically impaired Midwestern American has any business going. Finally, after what seemed like several hours, the plane was ready to launch. We journeyed to an empty field outside of town, all of our family ready to become the second coming of the Wright Brothers, and prepared for a legendary lift off.

But it never came. There did not seem to be any power, no matter how many times I changed the AA batteries, no matter how many little prayers for guidance I prayed for something that was only significant to us. The Kitty Hawk success was not to be duplicated on this Christmas day. So we came home, styrofoam plane and plastic (disguised as aluminum) controller in hand, vowing to search the instructions for a clue as to the problem.

And, if I am lucky, I will help my boy fly that plane by next Christmas. If not, we will still be fine, for he has been blessed with many toys to play with this year and in the past.

As we drove home I was reminded of a Christmas when I received several nice toys, including a remote control tank and a bunch of toy soldiers. But that was the same Christmas my mother got a new washing machine, and the gift my sister and I were obsessed with was the big cardboard box it came in. Simple things and imagination are all a child really needs.

We could probably make a lot of money selling big cardboard boxes as children's toys -- just color the cardboard and come up with a fancy name. If you do it someday, send a big donation to your church, since I gave you the idea!

For now, at the end of the day, I go to rest tonight with a thankful heart for the abundant blessings of our God. I thank the Lord for my wife and children, for my friends and co-workers, for the churches that God has given me to serve. God is so good -- all the time!

I pray for those less fortunate, for those who are hurting, and sick. and hungry, and lonely, and broken hearted. May they find better days and better ways in the coming year. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Merry Christmas to You All! The Inspiring Nativity Movie Reminds Us That He is the Reason!

The Praise Song of Mary, Bearer of The Light

I have always been amazed by the story of Mary in Luke 1:26-55. That this young woman, most likely a teenaged girl, would be given such a sacred responsibility stretches my mind. It challenges my spirit. She is a role model for women, teenagers, and for any person (woman, man, youth, child) who wishes to serve God and to be a person of faith and faithfulness.

The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) makes my heart leap for joy everytime I read it. It is Mary’s song of praise for what God had done through her. Praise is a marvelous, empowering gift to the one who praises -- and it is pure worship for the God who is worthy of all such adoration and praise. And here Mary puts words to the blessing she was living.

God found favor in her, because of her humility and her purity of heart, and had Gabriel and her cousin Elizabeth announce that Mary was to be the Theotokis—the God bearer. What a shock that must have been to her! Mary reacted with real humanity --"How can this be? I am a virgin!" But after the angel told her the foundational truth -- "All things are possible with God", she made a great statement of faith -- "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."

Her soul overflowed with praise because the Mighty One had done a great thing in her. Mary’s song declares God to be majestic, holy, abundantly good, and rich in mercy and kindness. It is laced with faith in the Word, as Mary extols the greatness of the God who keeps His promises --"He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

And so it is that God will fulfill the Messianic prophecies in the One whose Heart beats in her womb. He will bring salvation to His people. For this beginning realization of the hope of the ages, Mary sings praises.

It seems that no matter what our circumstance in life, we each have something to sing about. Christmas Eve reminds us that God works miracles in ordinary lives to bless ordinary people. Because of Mary’s blessing, we too can experience the music of life. God gave us, through Mary, the greatest gift of all in the person of his Son, who died for our sins.

At Christmas we should rejoice in the birth --and life and death and resurrection and ascension -- of the King of King and the Lord of Lords,the Prince of Peace, who is Wonderful, and our Savior. Now that is something to sing about! God's great amazing love and the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God!

The Gift of Marriage -- May It Light Your World

We rejoiced in the wedding of two wonderful people this past weekend in one of our churches, a young woman and young man of untold potential. It was our privilige to pronounce them husband and wife. It was such a glorious ceremony, with strirring music and heartfelt words. After the pronouncement of marriage there was an outburst of praise choruses and then a commissioning service with everyone lighting candles to the music of "Light Your World."

As the lights went off and the church was lit by the warm glow of over 200 candles, it was a sight I will never forget. The truth of the Scriptures was writ plain in the people: God is love, and those who abide in love, abide in God, and God abides in them. This was a day that God had made, and we rejoiced together in the couple's love and faith. God has great plans for them!

We asked God to bless them so that they may be strengthened for their life together. We praised God for their happiness, and we found in their love a reason to renew our own commitments to those whom are near and dear to each of us. They were called together by God for the purpose of their union. Praise God that He cares enough for us to do such a great thing.

The Gift of Marriage does not unite a man and a woman. Rather, it is the Church's recognition of a union that God has already begun to work in their lives. As long as the union remains within the reality of this world, it will be subject to sin, pain, and death. But, through marriage, the union enters at the same time into a new reality: that of God's Kingdom. In Christ, marriage is restored to its initial perfection and in the holy vows, this union is made open to the possibility of what God intended marriage to be from the beginning: an eternal life of joy in union with Him. Below is an essay I read at the wedding, that many have asked me to give them a copy. It crystalizes many of our thoughts about marriage.

The Gift of Marriage from the Presbyterian Church USA Book of Common Worship

Marriage is a gift of God in creation through which husband and wife may know the grace of God. It is gift that as man and woman grow together in love and trust,
they shall more and more be united with one another in heart, body and mind, as Christ is united with his bride, the Church.

Marriage is a way of life made holy by God, and blessed by the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ with those celebrating a wedding at Cana in Galilee. It was part of God’s great plan that He performed his first miracle there, turning water into wine for the wedding feast. Marriage is a sign of unity and loyalty which enriches society and strengthens community.

God created us male and female, and gave us marriage so that husband and wife may help and comfort each other, living faithfully together in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, throughout all of their days.

God gave us marriage for the full expression of the love between a man and a woman. In marriage a woman and a man belong to each other, and with affection and tenderness, they freely give of themselves to each other.

God gave us marriage for the well-being of human society, for the ordering of family life, and for the birth and nurture of children.

God gave us marriage as a holy mystery in which a man and a woman are joined together and become one, just as Christ is one with the church. In marriage, husband an wife are called to a new way of life, created, ordered and blessed by God. This way of life must not be entered into carelessly, or from selfish motives, but responsibly and prayerfully. We rejoice that marriage is given by God, blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, and sustained by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, let marriage be held in honor by all.

Dogs Pray, Too!

Praying for Serenity

I came across the Serenity Prayer tonight, as I was looking through some old files. Written by famed theologian and professor of Christian ethics Reinhold Niebuhr, it is a sermon in itself:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can;and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.

Neihbuhr is said to have written the prayer on July 1, 1943 for the Union Church of Heath, Massachusetts. It is still used in Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonaymous and other Twelve-step programs. The short version that most people are familiar with goes as follows:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

This little prayer touches on common universal human experiences of life—anxiety and acceptance in the face of inevitable tragic events—fear of change and difficulties in bringing about constructive changes in self and society—the struggle to achieve serenity, courage and wisdom in all that we do or happens to us. Niebuhr’s prayer pulled it all together in a few simple sentences, which everyone could understand and relate to. It was the kind of prayer that A.A. could easily adopt and apply to the life experiences of alcoholics.

I can also see how it can be applied to my own life. In the life of pastor I see many things that I can pray about, and I try to always do it. Many of them are other people's problems, but they become mine. too, as I try to serve God and His people. Some are situations that I have inherited, things in place long before I came to the place I live and serve. Sadly, many of the things I pray about I cannot change, but I can only hope for it, and so I put the situations into God's hands. I need to rest in that act, and not try to take the weight of all the hurts and pains and problems onto my very human shoulders.

“God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change.” There are so many things we cannot change in our lives. We waste vast amounts of physical, psychic and spiritual energy with useless regrets, failed fantasies, or embittered recollections. We cannot change many of the afflictions we are born with -- we may be blind, deaf or lame -- or afflictions brought on by accidents. And our skin color and ethnic background is something we cannot change either, no matter how hard we may try. Body types, physical beauty or lack thereof, and levels of intelligence are things that resist change big time. There are other things -- the list is too long for us to go into it fully. But you can get the general truth of it all.

And certain situations seem to be like mighty walls we cannot crack. We may have loved ones sick and dying, and sadly no amount of prayer or medicine seems to make the difference we wish for. There are some things about myself I cannot change or can only change within certain very well defined limits, new year’s resolutions or not.

I can’t change—you can’t change—the mistakes in human relationships made in the past year or years of our lives. We can make amends to a degree, say we’re sorry, ask for forgiveness, forgive others, and forgive ourselves (much harder to do). But we cannot change the fact that we have been (and will be) at times less loving and caring and compassionate than we should be in following Christ. That’s the human condition. There are few saints among us, and even the saints have their flaws. We can’t change the past. What we can change is our relationship to it and our attitudes and actions stemming from it. But we need to have the courage to change the things we can change -- and, with God's help, with prayer and patience, many things can change for the better.

And that brings us to the prayerful plea for wisdom to know the difference between what we cannot change and what we can change. May God grant that to us. It is the key to serenity.

Love One Another

Mustard Seed Moments -- Small Acts Grow Big

We have church on Sunday nights. Praise nights we call them. We read Scriptures and say prayers and sing choruses and hymns of praise and thanksgiving. One part that ministers to my heart is when members of the congregation give praise reports and testimonies, or share with us a favorite scripture or Bible passage, or talk about something that God seems to have been teaching them. Mutual respect and the Golden Rule hold sway. These are holy times together.

Last night a dear friend shared some things that were on her heart. She talked of a mighty oak of a man who is very sick, currently at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is ready to go home to be with God, but he will leave many family and friends who have been touched by his gentle, loving ways and numerous acts of kindness and concern. Things like giving a family a gift certificate to a seed catalog so that they might have a garden in the summer, or hugging a child in church and telling them that he saw in the paper that the child was doing well in school. As we love each other in small, but faithful ways, things happen for our mutual good and according to God's great plan. Small acts of kindness reap big dividends in our lives.

My friend's loving remarks reminded me how precious such moments are. Another friend, in seminary, called such moments "mustard seed moments" -- acts that start small but can grow big in the good that they do for all concerned. These kinds of exchanges occur every day, over and over again, in the lives of those who are committed to the Christian walk. We only need to awaken and see that they exist. To take notice, to smile, to see the sacred connections in the simplest of things. It isn't hard to do. It just requires you to get out of your own way, get out of your own mind and look around at the world outside of yourself. To embrace each moment and each person as if they are the child of God that they are --to really love our neighbors as ourselves.

When you take time each day to reflect on your day, you can see them in all their beauty. Did someone offer laughter, kindness, and support to you when you needed it today? Were you thankful? Did you get a surprise email or regular mail card from someone? Or did you send one to someone else? In the act of giving, you, too, are receiving. Were there moments that you offered kindness and compassion without expectations and without reward? Perhaps, your gesture or thought was a sacrifice so that another person could enjoy their day more fully. Take time to reflect and renew and be reminded of small acts of kindness in these kinds of every day Christian exchanges.

And, most importantly, be grateful for all that you are given and shown. Be grateful for the reminders of love and compassion that surround us each and every day. Look behind the veneer and bless those who suffer and need your prayers the most.

These, it seems to me, are mustard seeds of a sort. These may seem tiny, almost insignificant, but their goodness can be the starting point of something great. Some of the deep thinkers of the past have found significance in the apparently tiny. For William Blake it was the grain of sand in which he saw infinity. For Julian of Norwich it was the small thing in the palm of the hand, like a hazelnut, which was remarkable simply for its existence. From the small acorn grows the great tree. From the single kernel of corn grows a large stalk with numerous ears and thousands of kernels. God's miracle of small things reaping big benefits goes on and on.

Recently, my children and I discovered the modern day miracle of Google Earth, a website where you can see images of earth from satellites in outer space. It is truly amazing and gives you a remarkable perspective. As I looked at various images of places where I have lived, I could not help but hum the Bette Midler song "From a Distance." These photographs of the earth taken from space have an effect similar to the meditations of Blake and Julian. Once we had glimpsed the earth from that point of view our self-understanding changes. Once we had seen the earth as small, and ourselves as grains of sand, then our sense of stewardship and thankfulness became greater.

Consider the words of Jesus: "Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; Which indeed is one of the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches." (Matthew 13:31-32)

Jesus, in His parable of the mustard seed, teaches us about potential and great expectations. Jesus sees a mustard seed he not only seems something tiny, but He also sees its potential to unfold into something great. Thus he sees not only what is small but also what is not visible at all. He sees a detail of creation and perceives the full flourishing of new creation.

It is the ancient Biblical truth of the Now and the Not Yet. We live in the Now, but we are pulled into a new reality by the Not Yet. We are living as Christians on this earth, but we are already citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20-21) If we are followers of Jesus we both rejoice in the "as it is now' of things, and in the "what it might become' of things. For the kingdom of God is both.

So it is that the mustard seed moments are of great personal and spiritual significance. As we do, and as we receive, the small acts of kindness and love that are the Christian's calling card, we take part in the Spirit's continual teaching on renewal and of hope: and each small act of kindness becomes a new parable of the kingdom.

Happy Thanksgiving -- Give Thanks to God with a Grateful Heart! We are so blessed by our Lord!

Things You Can Learn from a Cat, Part II

No sooner had I posted my piece on Mister Kitty Cat Kit, than I recieved another list of things that you can learn from a cat by another cat loving parishioner. So, in the interest of equal time and equal good humor, here it is:

20 Rules to Live By: Things You Can Learn From a Cat

Our pets can teach us many things - if we're willing to listen. They teach us how to love unconditionally, how to look at each day as a new one, to embrace all the good things and why we need to cherish the simple things in life.Here are some basic lessons our pets endeavor to teach us:
1. Rest and relaxation are the keys to happiness, so relax any chance you get. And don't work too hard. Just sitting in a soft chair can be a very good thing.
2. There is always time for a cat nap. Sleep is God's restoration time for your body. Use it.
3. The family that sleeps together stays together. Don't be afraid to curl up really close behind your person's knees or in the crook of the neck and purr.
4. Nighttime is the time to party, and it's more fun if you can share it with your family. Howl, meow, play with their ankles, or leap across the bed to wake them up.
5. Spend time with the people you love, especially when they are working. Sit near the computer and purr, walk across the keyboard occasionally, or better still, knock things off the desk one at a time so your person doesn't get bored.
6. Show your favorite people that you love them. Sit on their lap, pet or rub a leg, or run your tail across their faces to get your message across.
7. Get excited and come running every time a special treat or food is available. Showing a little appreciation and enthusiasm will always get you treats.
8. Don't settle for bland, tasteless food; refuse it and you will be fed fancy and expensive food.
9. Stretch and yawn before you get up, no matter what time it is.
10. Enjoy the sun – lie down, roll around and just appreciate the warmth.
11. Purr when you are happy. Purring is just a feline way of praising the Lord.
12. Cleanliness is next to godliness, so keep yourself clean and pristine.
13. Appreciate a clean litter box. Whoever God brings to clean up our mess must be our friend!
14. Enjoy the solace of a view from a nice window.
15. Washing your face is good for the soul.
16. Be independent. God made you to be a unique and wonderful creature.
17. Don't always do what people want you to do. Please yourself once in awhile.
18. Keep cool. If you don't want to do something, no need to argue – just don't do it.
19. Don't be afraid to look at things from a different perspective occasionally. Sit high on a bookshelf or peek out from under a chair.
20. Expect to be pampered and treated like a prince or princess, and you will be. After all, you were created by the Living God, weren't you? That makes all of us very special creatures!

Thankful for Our Cat -- Mr. Kitty Cat Kit

We got a cat in early October from the humane society. He was 6 months old at the time. His official name is Eclipse, but we call him "Cat" and "Mister Kitty Cat Kit" and "Kitty, Kitty". He is fixed, but he does not like to talk about it. Ouida, the 8-year-old Alaskan dog, has grudgingly let him come into the house, as long as he stays out of her food bowl.

When I work at the computer, the cat is always in the chair behind me, or looking out the glass doors near my desk. He has become a pretty good companion. my ten year old daughter and eleven year old son both love him, because he dearly loves for anyone to pet him. He purrs very loudly, like he has speakers inside.

One of my parishioners sent me a funny little anonymous thought piece, called "THINGS YOU CAN LEARN FROM YOUR CAT." Here it is:

*Make the world your playground.
*Whenever you miss the sandbox, cover it up. Dragging a sock over it helps.
*If you can't get your way, lay across the keyboard until you do.
*When you are hungry, meow loudly so they feed you just to shut you up.
*Always find a good patch of sun to nap in.
*Nap often.
*When in trouble, just purr and look cute.
*Life is hard, and then you nap.
*Curiosity never really killed anything except maybe a few hours.
*When in doubt, cop an attitude. Learn how to hiss and show your fangs, even to much larger adversaries. Bluffing often works!
*Variety is the spice of Life. One day, ignore people; the next day, annoy them.
*Climb your way to the top, that's why the curtains are there.
*Make your mark in the world, or at least spray in the corner.
*Always give generously; a bird or rodent left on the step or bed tells them, "I care."
*When you have something important to say, try to say it in the dead of night when you're SURE everyone's sleeping. There's no better way to get the attention you deserve.

Being Matthew 25 Christians

Well, the great election day of 2006 has come and gone. The Democrats had a landslide change in the Congress. And one of my dear Republican friends (I am an independent), was very sad yesterday. But I assured him that God is still on the throne. The sun will come up tomorrow!

What some of my good Christian friends need to realize is that there are many good Christians who are Democrats -- and many others how vote Democratic at times. Just look at American history -- one of our most ethical Presidents was Woodrow Wilson, a good Democrat and a good Presbyterian. And his secretary of state, William Jennings Bryan, was three times the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, although he never won. Yet he was also the Vice-Moderator of the national Presbyterian Church. And the list can go on. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John Kennedy were all church-going Christians. Even Lyndon Baines Johnson, as earthy as he sometimes was, definitely espoused a belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Certainly, more was done for the poor and disenfranchised in his administration than in almost any other.

There is no question about Jimmy Carter's allegiance to Christ. Just look at the good deeds he has done after leaving office. And Bill Clinton, for all the notoriety of his greatly publicized sins, expressed remorse, repented, and is a regular church goer. Pastor Bill Hybels of Willow Creek and Pastor Tony Campolo, author of many wonderful books, both served a spiritual counselors to Clinton and attest to his asking God for forgiveness, as well asking forgiveness from his wife and child.

So we cannot be so judgmental as to think that God is only aligned with one political party, as some would have had us believe during the last few years. Abortion is murder of the unborn and biblically wrong, and gay marriage is decidedly unscriptural, but those are just two issues affecting our country. I hope we can make some progress in other areas, too. May God bless America with healing and hope.

If you want to see the heart of Christ for the poor and the outcasts, read Matthew 25, v. 31-46:"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." NIV

Pastors need to be true prophets and echo this command to help the weak and in need, so clearly stated by the Lord. The greatest work of the prophet was,and is, articulating moral truth. Future telling is a much smaller part of what God calls prophets to do. Just look closely at the prophetic books and you will see this fact.

Interestingly, last December, a debate on Matthew 25 broke out on the floor of the House of Representatives. In debating federal budget cuts in areas that he thought were unduly hurting the poor, U.S. Congressman Rep. Charles Rangel, NY, member of the Congressional Black Caucus, began to list the call of Matthew 25:35-40 to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Rep. Jim Nussle, IA, chair of the House Budget Committee, (and recent loser of the Iowa governor's race), returned to the podium to claim that nowhere in Matthew 25 does it say that the government should help those in need, but rather that individuals alone should take responsibility for helping the least of these that Jesus refers to.

Sometimes we allow our political idealogy to frame how we see the Scriptures, instead of vice versa. In fact, it seems to me that Jesus is very clear about our responsibility to the poor and oppressed, whether it is on a collective or an individual basis, in Matthew 25, when he commands us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the prisoners. He also gives us the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12 and speaks of love as the Christian's signature attribute in John 15. And there are many other scriptures in the gospels and the epistles, and even back in the Old Testament, that point to Christians working for support of the weak, community responsibility, and social justice.

Look back in the Old Testament, and you will see a set of specific guidelines (laws, not individual charity) for the NATION of Israel to follow in taking care of the those who do not have enough, - - -a command so specific that it instructs that farmers that the corners of fields are not to be reaped so that something will be left for the needy and the landless to eat (in Leviticus. 19:9-10).

But what is really striking in Matthew 25 is when Jesus says in Matthew 25, verse 41, that the king of heaven will say to those at his left hand, "You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire." Best not to be on the left hand side when your treatment of the poor comes before God.

I dearly love America, but sometimes we get the American frontier ideas of individualism, manifest destiny (i.e., empire), and unfettered capitalism mixed up with the Scriptures in such a way that our view gets skewed. But a close look at the Word sees connectionalism, cooperation, collectivism, shared responsibility and unfettered compassion are things the Word really emphasizes. With Christ, love and caring are paramount, and greed and selfishness are not good.

We need to be Matthew 25 Christians. Even before we started voting this week, Newsweek had a story called "A New Faith-Based Agenda". The latter is authored by Michael Gerson, a former Bush administration speechwriter, who wrote eloquently, "The goal is not only to stand for Christianity's moral teachings, but to emulate the manner of its Founder, who showed that kindness is not weakness, and had more tenderness for moral outcasts than for moral hypocrites."

Amen, Amen!

Christian Elder Care -- And Care for Mother Mary

Caring for aging parents and family members is a growing and diffiuclt situation for millions of Americans. While we have always had the very elderly among us, there are more now, for longer periods of time, due to modern medical science and nutrition. But even as our technology has evolved, our culture has become more scattered, making elder care more difficult and expensive. It is an area in which churches may be able to do more in helping families fulfill their sacred obligations to each other. We must seek new ways to be supportive.

In the old days of multi-generational homes, which you still see in some societies in other countries, (but less and less here), the entire family would care for the very elderly in their own homes. But now the nursing home seems to be the standard answer, even though it can cost $3000 or more a month and quickly evaporate an estate that took years to accumulate. What is more devastating is the emotional toll on many of the elderly, who are so sad to leave their living in their own homes, with their own possessions, in order to exist in tiny rooms with institutional beds and with roommates they do not know.

My mother still lives by herself, well into her seventies, and each day of independence is a blessing to her. But she lives a long way away in Florida, and so phone calls are the main contact I have with her. When, I call, she is always cheerful, in the wry and whimsical way I remember from childhood, and her voice is strong and clear. But the years have taken a toll on her body and she is a fragile reminder of the strong farm wife she always was. Regretfully, I must rely on my sister, who lives near her, to help her with most of her daily needs.

But I am blessed at this time, for many people have to give greater care for their aging parents, and that is when the very hard choices about care and housing and lifestyle must be made. As a pastor, it is one of the hardest things I witness and pray about.

Care of elderly parents has been a societal burden throughout human history. Elder neglect or abuse happens more than we might think. Little children are demanding, non-productive, and need much care, but you expect a return on your labor some day. Elderly parents are sometimes just as troublesome, but they're not going to get better. They're larger and heavier and sometimes oh so difficult. While interacting with a baby gives a mom or dad satisfaction and joy, emotions aren't as unclouded when all parties are older and care moves in the other direction. A son or daughter may feel a complex net of resentments and fears toward the parent they must now tend, wipe, and feed. It is hard to be faithful, but we are called to be just that, to help complete the interlocking circles of life that we are a part of with our parents. Faithfulness is our calling as Christians.

A professor friend of mine once gave me a the example of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a Biblical lesson in elder care. We always think of her as young, but she must have grown old after Christ's death, resurrection and ascenscion. Paintings and icons always show her young. But she must have been about fifty when she gathered with the Apostles on the day of the first Pentecost. After that, the Bible is silent on her works, but according to Orthodox Christian legend, she volunteered to be a traveling evangelist, and drew lots along with the others to see which nation each should go to and preach. She told the world about her Savior and son!

These same Othodox Christian sources in Turkey say that in her old age Mary went with St. John the Evangelist, (who Jesus had asked to look after her as if her were here son), to the city of Ephesus, which was in what we call Turkey in our day. It was John who was standing with Mary at the foot of the Cross when Jesus spoke. "Woman, behold your son!" he said to her, and to John, "Behold your mother!"

"And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home" (John 19:27). This was more than just hospitality. In undertaking the duty of a son to Mary, John assumed a burden as well as a blessing. While some cultures have permitted adult children to abandon or even end the life of an elderly parent, the Hebrew Scriptures, (our Old Testament), insist that the elderly are to be treated with respect, protected, and cared for, to the very end. It takes a great commitment to another person, and one's own selfishness must be pushed down. The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) must be alllowed to come forth and the works of the flesh must be put under control. Our own fleshly ambitions must be set aside for higher purposes.

When John took Mary to his own home, he accepted a solemn obligation. So it is for anyone who is responsible for aging parents. It is a holy thing one does, the completion of a sacred trust that began with their own births and ends with the natural death of their parents. As Christian churches, we need to look for new ways to help Christians with this special obligation that requires an abundance of faithfulness, patience, gentleness, and love.

The Bible -- Good Medicine 365 Days a Year!

It's not a calendar of pithy sayings. Nor is it a self-help book full of pop psychology. No, it's an ancient book written by a timeless God that's full of daily wisdom that still changes lives - today. If you are tired of trying to figure out life on your own - join in the adventure of Bible reading and study. Discover the joy of living God's way. Read it and weep for joy! God's Words are health to us (Prov. 4:22)

Maybe Our Best Seasons Are Yet to Come!

Sometimes sports stories are tremendously inspiring and we can see life truths in their performances. Such seems the case with the American League champion Detroit Tigers, a team that lost 119 games, (out of a 162 game schedule), just three years ago. Now this team is at the top of its game, ready to play in the World Series.

A big part of their story is 61-year old manager Jim Leyland, who came out of retirement to manage the Tigers. Although Leyland has had some successes, most notably with the Barry Bonds led Pittsburgh Pirates of the early nineties (three division championships, two manager of the year awards), and a World Series victory with the Florida Marlins in 1997, he entered 2006 after two losing seasons and six years in retirement.

But now he is hailed as a miracle worker, with just the right motivation for his mostly young team. Along with star 41-year-old pitcher Kenny Rogers, Leyland is a great comeback story.
Here he is with a lifetime losing record (1164-1198), but regarded by many at the manager with the Midas touch in 2006.

Baseball is an intrinsically hopeful sport. Hope springs eternal every spring. Jim Leyland adds to that legendary truth. And he teaches us a life lesson.

Be patient. Wait on the Lord. Be gentle with ourselves.

Maybe our best seasons are yet to come!

Clint Eastwood and Dwight Eisenhower -- Voices That Need to Be Considered Today

There is an excellent article on Clint Eastwood in the Friday, October 13, USA Today. The legendary actor and Oscar winning director says he has lost interest in the fantasy of war. Now, he is consumed by the tragedy of it.

The director's new film, Flags of Our Fathers, opens Oct. 20 and tells the stories of the Marines who were famously photographed raising the American flag during the battle of Iwo Jima. That iconic photo came to represent the unflagging nature of the American spirit, but Eastwood's film raises questions about how the men and their heroic actions were co-opted by the U.S. government to raise money for the last stage of World War II.

"World War I was there, and that was going to be the one to end all wars," says Eastwood, 76. "And then World War II came along and that was going to be the war to end all wars. Then, five years later, Korea. Not too many years after that, Vietnam. And all the little skirmishes, Yugoslavia, Gulf War I, Gulf War II ...It doesn't speak well for mankind. It seems like it's just inevitable that they'll go on forever. Is that the way it's supposed to be? Is man most creative when he's at war? I don't know. We're always hoping every one is the last one."

Flags celebrates the sacrifices of the thousands who died capturing the island of Iwo Jima, while simultaneously scorning what Eastwood calls "the futility of war." Eastwood honors the soldiers involved, and all soldiers by implication, for their courage and sense of duty. But he questions the manipulation of facts by the governmental war machine, even in the so-called greatest war, WWII.

Over the years our country and others have witnessed the sad reality of old men sending young men to die and be maimed in wars for questionable reasons. Yet, sadly, it keeps happening. The same mistakes are repeated again.

The lifelong Republican, (a former mayor of Carmel, California), was drawn to that party by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eastwood said he hoped that such a distinguished veteran of the horrors of war could lead the United States away from wars in the future.

Eisenhower surely tried, ending the Korean War, and giving a famous farewell speech in 1961, at the end of his two presidential terms, where he warned, "We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations. This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. "

The great general and successful President went on to raise this challenge: "The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. "

The decorated war hero prayed for peace: "You and I -- my fellow citizens -- need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under God, will reach the goal of peace with justice. May we be ever unswerving in devotion to principle, confident but humble with power, diligent in pursuit of the Nation's great goals."

He expressed ideals that we need to hold fast to today. He proclaimed: "To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America's prayerful and continuing aspiration:
We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love."

Both Eastwood and Eisenhower should be carefully considered today. The toll of any war, including the current one in Iraq, is huge, and the influence of the military industrial complex remains strong. Military expense, for current defense and past military service, continues to dominate the national budget.

Over $500 billion has been spent or pledged on a war half a world away, and for the rebuilding of what our bombs destroyed. Add to that monetary total the immeasurable price of the over 2500 young Americans dead, and over 20,000 Americans injured (one fifth with serious spinal and brain injuries), plus over 50,000 Iraqui soldiers and civilians killed. The numbers do not come near expressing the suffering that war causes innocent men, women and children, much less our young American soldiers who signed up to defend our country and have a good future for themselves.

Real people in real lives yearn for peace all over the world. When will leaders reflect that truth? All of this has happened since the war began in 2003. All of that taxpayer money has gone overseas, while our battered educational system is under funded, while forty million Americans are without health insurance and our health care system costs are spiraling out of control, while we live with a debilitated bridge and highway system, while our children atttempt to cope with an environment that is becoming more poisoned and polluted each day. These issues are seldom discussed and almost never mentioned by our increasingly tabloid news outlets. Yet how might that $500 billion have been spent here at home, on these very real American needs, as well as invested in true homeland security like comprehensive port and truck cargo inspections?

We need to listen closely to one of our greatest artists and one of our greatest generals on these issues that affect us so importantly in such a time as this. Our children and grandchildren are depending on us.

Lady Liberty -- the Welcoming Image of America

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-- Emma Lazarus, 1883

Greed Conquers All When Priorities are Misplaced -- But Jesus Showed that the Bottom LIne is Love!

Way back at the beginning of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt uttered the famous words, “We have nothing to fear bur fear itself.” He was very right, for while it is right to fear and respect God, earthly fear is not a virtue. In fact, a close examination of the Bible will see that fear is a debilitating emotion that is the opposite of faith, just as hate (often fueled by fear) is the opposite of love. Fear is the basis of prejudice, which spawns violence, abuse and war.

Yet many supposedly well-meaning Christians get caught in fear traps when it comes to the deceitfulness of much of election season politics. Red flag, hot button issues are often sent up the pole to distract the voters from the real issues that actually affect them in much greater ways.

Issues like gay marriage and flag burning draw much ire and discussion, while issues that actually affect get little reflection. Really crucial issues like many jobs and industries moving to other countries, a spiraling national debt, a costly war with seemingly no end in sight (the army is preparing for troop levels to remain the same through 2010), a terrible trade deficit, and a decimated environment that spawns such evils as global warming and acid rain, are seldom discussed.

But this year you can add immigration to the hot button talking point issues that seem designed to raise the blood pressure and voter turnout of certain groups, but not the level of intelligent discussion. In a country whose enduring symbol is the Statue of Liberty, a shining reminder of our immigrant beginnings, the current strident remarks against immigrants seem sadly out of place. May we all remember that only Native Americans are not immigrants or from immigrant stock. The rest of us come from visitors who decided to stay.

The recent decision to spend $1.2 billion for a high-tech fence along the Arizona border will solve very little, disrupt wildlife migration routes, and cause more consternation to the long-ignored Native American Tohono O'odham Nation, whose land straddles the border and whose citizens oppose the fence. But, as usual, no one seems to care what the first people think, even though they have original rights to this land.

President Bush, for his part, has had a more reasoned approach than many of the ones who rally round this red flag issue. "The funds that Congress has appropriated are critical for our efforts to secure this border and enforce our laws, yet we must also recognize that enforcement alone is not going to work," the AP quoted Bush as saying at the bill-signing ceremony. "We need comprehensive reform that provides a legal way for people to work here on a temporary basis." In the past he has called for guest worker permits and paths to citizenship for the 12 million illegal workers who are already here.

The interesting thing is that the illegal workers come here and do jobs that most Americans do not want to do, yet the jobs we like are all moving to Mexico and other countries, so that corporations can make more money by paying people in those countries far less with no benefits. And many of our businesses, like Walmart, purchase goods from other countries, like the communist and still oppressive China, a nation with forced abortion and underground and endangered Christianity.

Greed conquers all when the bottom line is profit. Yet our Savior preached love, not greed. And so should we.

And while we are yammering to keep the illegal Mexicans out, foreigners are buying up our real estate and our companies at record rates, and much of our national debt is owed to foreign banks. Greater foreign ownership of U.S. assets is an inevitable consequence of the reckless tax-cutting, deficit-ballooning fiscal policies that Congress and the White House have pursued. By encouraging the United States to consume more than it produces, these fiscal policies have sucked in imports so fast that the nation is nearing a trillion-dollar annual trade deficit. Those are IOUs on America's future, issued by a spendthrift Congress.

The best quick analysis I've seen of the fiscal squeeze comes from New York University professor Nouriel Roubini, in his useful online survey of economic information, rgemonitor.com. He notes that with the U.S. current account deficit running at about $900 billion in 2006, "in a matter of a few years foreigners may end up owning most of the U.S. capital stocks: ports, factories, corporations, land, real estate and even our national parks." Until recently, he writes, the United States has been financing its trade deficit through debt -- namely, by selling U.S. Treasury securities to foreign central banks. That's scary enough -- as it has given big T-bill holders such as China and Saudi Arabia the ability to punish the U.S. dollar if they decide to unload their reserves.

But as Roubini says, foreigners may decide they would rather hold their dollars in equity investments than in U.S. Treasury debt. "If we continue with our current patterns of spending above our incomes, by 2013 the U.S. foreign liabilities could be as high as 75 percent of GDP and an increasing fraction of such liabilities will be in the form of equity," he explains. So it would seem that the greater threat to our national well being is not from foreign workers, but from foreign ownership of our country.

This is a real issue, but instead we debate illegal workers and whether English should be our official language. All the while, we are losing a grip on our country and our blessed way of life -- and the illegal workers have very little to do with it.

But now we will have a wall along 700 miles of our southern border. Outgoing Mexico President Fox compared the fence to the Berlin Wall. While the Berlin wall was built to keep people in, not out, I must admit that the American wall will be sending quite a different message than our beautiful Statue of Liberty. As for me, I prefer Lady Liberty over the wall of fear.

Negative Political Ads and the Father of Lies

It is that most despised of seasons again. It happens every other year in our country. Yes, it is political advertising season, and it makes many of us sick. The ads often are designed to trick the voters, not to inform them. By distracting the voters with trumped up issues, many of them do not actually vote considering the policies that might be for their, (and the country's), best interest. Instead, they vote for a smokescreen issue about "character", based on an ad that actually shows that the candidate that approved the ad has bad character -- for approving such a distasteful ad. What are these nasty attack ads teaching our children?

It is the negative, half-truth, attack stuff that disgusts me most of all, and there is way too much of it. How can you feel good about some candidate when he or she runs a TV spot that runs roughshod over an opponent? I realize that some of this has been going on for a long time, dating back to the days of Adams and Jefferson, but that was before we came up with the technology to hammer it home in new and devastating ways. I believe things are reaching new lows with some of the attack ads we're seeing nowadays. It is often all napalm and no civility.

Many of these ads are based on half truths and shameless propaganda techniques, put on the air and on the internet in behalf of candidates that claim to be Christian. These same candidates that hack up their opponents with hacksaw ads, also wrap themselves in the flag and hold tight to the Bible if it seems to help their campaign. These supposedly Christian candidates must have never heard of the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12), or the Great Commandments, or the rule of love. In fact, I wonder if they ever read the Bible at all.

The ads put up smoke screens about so-called "Christian" issues that affect only a handful of people, while disregarding a most basic message of Jesus Christ (John 15) and the Epistles, that we love one another and treat other humans with respect. Unfettered greed and intentional lies are among the worst sins of all in this country, because they affect the basic lives of the most people.

What does it say about a candidate when he or she authorizes brutal TV commercials? What does it say about an electorate which goes ahead and votes for the pit bull candidate anyway? Maybe we really do get the candidates we deserve. And, maybe offensive advertising is one of the many reasons so many Americans have abandoned voting completely.

It seems that the winners are often almost as damaged by the ads as the losers, and this, in turn, makes it difficult to goern effectively. Candidates who are elected with a great deal of negative advertising end up being hated by the supporters of the losing candidate. The politics of division has accomplished what it set out to do -- elect certain candidates at any cost, while definitely dividing America. It has raped democracy and stifled meaningful, reasoned debate. And negative advertising is the main engine of this divisive strategy.

Thank God for the remote control that allows me to switch to another channel, and/or mute the ads. If only more people would do the same. I hate to admit it, but the brutally nasty political ads make me ashamed of the candidates and parties that approve them. There is nothing remotely Christian about political ads that lie, kill and destroy. A look at John 10:10 will show that their father is the father of lies, the real thief who is slowly stealing our democracy.

The Reformation -- and the Reformed Tradition

Today I was asked what it meant to be part of a Reformed Tradition. The woman who asked it had been part of the Presbyterian Church for over thirty years, but she had never had that term explained, even though she had heard it in a number of sermons over the decades. So this little column is for her, and all of those who might have a similar question.

Our history goes back to the beginning of the church in Acts, but gets new emphasis and meaning in 1517. The Reformation was started by Martin Luther with his 95 Theses on the practice of indulgences. In October 31st of 1517 he posted these theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg (Germany), commonly used to post notices to the University community. In November he mailed them to various religious authorities of the day. Luther wanted the church to reform to its basics of faith in God and grounding in Scripture. This great reformation led to heated debate and resulted in division, and the eventual establishment of new institutions. We all owe Dr. Luther a hearty handshake when we get to heaven. His courage and intellect were used mightily by God.

The four most important traditions of the Reformation, all with much more in common than differences. That emerged directly from the reformation were the Lutheran tradition, the Reformed (Presbyterian) tradition, the Anabaptist tradition, and the Anglican tradition. Subsequent protestant traditions generally trace their roots back to these initial four schools of the reformation. The Reformed Tradition spawned many of the Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Reformed Churches we know today.

At the heart of the Reformed tradition is a commitment to the Word, the sacraments, and discipline. To be Presbyterian is to be part of a "Reformed" heritage associated with the Swiss Reformers of the 16th century. The most notable of these Reformers was John Calvin (1509-1564), who came to Geneva as an immigrant Frenchman fleeing religious persecution. We continue to be influenced through Calvin's rich legacy of writings that illuminate Scripture.

He was the leader of the Swiss Reformed Movement from which the Presbyterian Church was eventually formed. As a young man he was trained in Paris, France, to become a lawyer. But at the University of Paris he became deeply involved in some of the intellectual groups gathering to discuss writings of Luther and other "protestant" or reform movement leaders in the church. Influenced by Luther's teachings. Calvin became a strong believer in the importance of church reform and soon became quite outspoken in the matter--a very courageous thing to do in those times. He was even so bold as to think that he himself might convince the French king, Francis 1st, to give some kind of support to the protestant reform movement. Thus, in 1536, he published a work, Institutes of the Christian Religion, dedicated to convincing Francis of the truth and critical importance of this movement of church reform.

He did not convince the king, but this masterpiece has become one of the great books on theology in the history of the world, still well worth reading today. Under pressure and criticism, Calvin left France for Switzerland, and continued to write and teach and preach. Out of his writings on Scriptures came the heart of the Reformed tradition -- an essential commitment to God's grace witnessed in Scripture, encountered in Christ,and experienced in daily life.

Presbyterians gained an emphasis on "always being reformed" according to the Word of God. The Latin slogan, "Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda" ("The church reformed and always to be reformed") places importance on the church's need to seek constant renewal. The church is a living organism, subject to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The church is always in need of growth and strengthening; we must never cease learning with relevance and sensitivity in response to changing realities. Trusting in the sufficiency of God's grace enables Reformed believers to rejoice in the limitless power of God. Yet in the same breath we are faced with the mystery of God that lies beyond human comprehension. We experience God's mysterious power as Trinity, a triune nature interceding in our lives, nurturing and transforming us, but exceeding our full understanding.

God is sovereign and His awesomeness is greater than our grasp; at the same time, but God allows us to draw closer to God through our experiences of His grace. This in turn enables us to celebrate the Divine presence in our midst, nurtured as we are from grace to grace, from mercy to mercy every moment of our lives. The reality of God's grace is key to our understanding. It is all about grace -- God's grace. In the Reformed tradition all experiences of genuine forgiveness and love are attributed to Divine grace and mercy.

One of the Reformed emphases is that human nature is not perfect, nor are human achievements self-sufficient. Since Calvinists were and are devoted to shaping society as well as individuals on the Biblical foundations, we realize that we need to be involved in our communities and be guided by the Scriptures and the Spirit in all aspects of our lives. The Bible is seen as the Word of God revealing God's orderly, exciting plan for all of life. The name Presbyterian (from the Greek presbuteros, meaning elder) describes the form of church government (connected on four levels with checks and balances), but the beliefs are decidedly Christian with a big C. As the Book of Order begins, "Jesus Christ is the head of the church."

A locally organized "presbytery" reflects the idea that Christ is the head of the church and all members are equal under Christ. Presbyterians are a connectional church, and these connections help reflect the Scriptural truths of unity in Christ. The Reformed tradition stands on a foundational principle of the priesthood of all believers. God calls us out of GodÂ’s amazing love and abundant grace. In Baptism, we are claimed by the Spirit into covenant with God. Each of us is called to a purpose and are given meaning in our lives.

We do not earn salvation, for it is a gift of grace through the work and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. On the cross, He did all that needed to be done for humanity, once and for all. Salvation as a free gift! Praise God! In response, we live lives ofcelebrationn and obedience, of humility and service. We respond to GodÂ’s gift of grace with the spiritual sacrifice of our lives. The good works we are moved to do flow out as a response to God.

As children of God and ambassadors of Christ, we use and develop our talents to love and serve God in the world in a variety of ways. The Holy Spirit works to give each believer unique gifts. These gifts are used as we join in Christ's work and live in love for God and our neighbor.

The Reformed Tradition is rooted in the Word. Another Latin phrase often used is sola scriptura, "scripture alone." The Reformed Tradition is rooted in the authority of the Bible and the quest to apply scripture to our lives in our times. We see the Bible as the unique and authoritative witness to God in Jesus Christ, an authority without parallel and the basis for decision making in matters of faith and life.

One other Latin phrase which marks the Reformed tradition is sola fidei, "faith alone." The Reformed Tradition holds that is a person's individual faith that justifies them before God. This is made possible by the free gift of God's grace which accepts aforgives, TheThe Protestant Church, including Reformed churches, celebrates two sacraments, both grounded in grace and faith, which are baptism and communion (also called the Lord's Supper or Eucharist). These two sacraments are both rooted in the command of Christ as opposed to the tradition of the church. Baptism is a sign and seal of our inclusion in the household of faith. The sacrament of communion is a means both of remembrance and renewal. In it we remember the sacrifice of Christ by which the new covenant is formed and are renewed by the spiritual fellowship of the meal.

The Reformed Tradition asserts the sovereignty of God and Lordship of Jesus Christ. In that God is sovereign, God cannot be known entirely and cannot be controlled by our actions. God is free to act in whatever way satisfies the divine will, thus we are always reluctant to declare too boldly that our understanding of God is absolute. We only know what we can understand from Scripture by the Spirit's guidance. In the same way, The lordship of Christ focuses our attention on our relation to him as Lord and Master. We are a servant people of a servant Lord seeing ourselves as stewards of God's gifts.

We are all in need of repentance and forgiveness in that we all fall short of what God has created and intended us to be. Biblically, repentance means to change one's mind and to turn in a different direction. It is the act of acknowledging not only our sin, but also our inability to overcome sin on our own. Sin is seen as rebellion against God and the life God intends. It is therefore not only a matter of acts, but also of attitudes and desires. We must repent of our sins and turn to God. When we ask for forgiveness, the Spirit will help us in that area of our lives.

Life Sometimes Hurts -- But God Heals!

Thank God for our American Bill of Rights

An Itty Bitty Kitty Dies -- We Reflect on Death

A baby kitten died tonight of unknown causes. It was unexpected. It was sad. A tiny black cat of about 8 weeks old was left on our doorstep and for the last two days we lavished him with love and caring and tried to nurse it to health. It seemed quite thin and undernourished, but we tried to provide him with the means to survive. Our children, especially our 11-year-old boy, really took to the cause of caring for the kitty. The tiny cat seemed to like us, too, meowing with a unique, duck-like sound, and purring like a small, contented symphony.

But there must have been some fatal flaw in its fragile body, or some sickness we could not see. For Mr. Quackers, the itty bitty kitty, is no longer with us. He died in the night in his cage. My 10-year-old daughter noticed he was breathing funny and not moving much. I found him non-responsive, and before I could take him to the veternarian's office, he was gone.

I will bury the kitty in the morning in a special place near the back door. But his memory will live on. For in those two short days we saw a lot of life in that little cat, and he evoked a lot of love from my kids -- and my wife and I. Life is fragile -- and when you love anything, animals or people, there is a risk involved. But love is always worth it. These are lessons we hope our children learn. Anyone who has ever buried a pet knows the pain of saying goodbye to a little friend. My children are feeling that pain today.

Death always seems to come unexpectedly. Even when you expect it. Even when we are talking about people, not pets. Even when you know someone is better off to be in a better place, to be in the arms of God. As a pastor I have had the privilige to spend last days and moments with a number of people. It is always a sobering experience, sometimes joyful, usually sad at the same time, and often filled with a sense of the holy and the sacred.

But when it comes to the death of a Christian, I always take heart to what the Bible says about life after death through the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus allows His story to become our story. As he rose from the dead, so shall we. That is Good News for any day. Even for a day when the little kitty cat died and my children cried. No matter what happens -- even in tragedies far greater than the loss of a baby pet -- we take solace in the fact that our God is on His throne.

Harvest Time and the Parable of the Sower

It is getting near to harvest time in the great American Midwest. The heart of the country is bulging with corn and soybeans and wheat and other life-giving grains. As I drove today in Northwest Iowa, I saw field after field of corn that was near harvesting. The soybeans are also near their coming home time, and soon the combines will be criss-crossing the countryside. The fields are full of agricultural expectations. It is an exciting time of the year in farm country.

Farming has historically been a faith driven business, and it still is. Though large farms have forced many family farms out of business, the people running those big farms are still farmers, and many of them would be living on a smaller family farm if they could. So let us say a prayer for the farmers and their families. Harvest can be a dangerous time, as the machinery now required for the job to be done is often big and cumbersome and sometimes deadly. But it is a job that is necessary to our national security -- American farmers help feed our nation and a large part of the world. In some ways they are just as important to our national well being as the armed services or our diplomatic corps, for the American farmer produces the food that is crucial not only to us, but to many other nations.

Jesus honored farmers in one of his amazing parables, the story of the sower. He uses farming to tell a powerful spiritual truth. In Mark 4: 3-8 he said: "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."

He went on to comment on the story, saying, in Mark 4:13-20: "The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

May we all be good spiritual farmers, nurturing the seed sown in our hearts and lives, and, in turn, sowing the Word into the lives of others.

Unleash Your Imagination for the Glory of God!

The imagination is a wonderful gift that we have been given that connects us with the mind of God. The Spirit speaks to us in our imaginations. Children seem to naturally have active imaginations. As we grow older and become more "educated", we tend to use our imaginations less and less. Such a natural observation brings possible new meaning to Jesus’ proclamation, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Everyone has used their imagination negatively by worrying. But Jesus clearly declares in the Sermon on the Mount that we should not worry, but rather cast our cares upon God. Many people use their imaginations wrongly by fantasizing about physical pleasures, sometimes in adulterous ways. We must repent of the misuse of imagination, and instead do good with it! The Bible shows us that we should use the same process in a positive way, based on God's Word. Seeing something by the "eye of faith" is akin to imagining it. Paul asserts in 2 Corinthians 5:7: “We walk by faith, not by sight,” or, as Peterson paraphrases it, “It is the things that we do not see that keep us going.” He had hit on the theme earlier, in 2 Corinthians 4:18: “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen eternal.

How can we look at things which are not seen? By using our imagination for God’s glory! Time and again, throughout the Bible, we see people who use their imagination; and they “see" what was not visible to others. Chapter eleven of Hebrews, the great Hall of Faith chapter, is filled with such stories of heroes of the faith. Faith is linked with imagination, and the accomplishment of God’s mission is dependent upon this combination again and again.

The Bible helps us, enables us, to understand, to re-appropriate, to celebrate the role of the imagination as part of our redeemed, renewed, image-bearing humanness. We need imagination to live in God's world. We need to encourage the good and right use of imagination. Like all things God gives us, it should be used for good, but it can be used for bad. Often imagination runs riot in the wrong direction, and folks start imagining the wrong things. But for every instance of imagination that has become inherently ugly, there are instances of the right use of our imaginations for God. It is a joyful thing to see the imagination unleashed for God’s glory!

Suffering comes -- But We Have the Victory!

A summer of shock and grief has continued for me, with word that a dear niece, only in her early twenties and with all the world before her, is wrestling with disease and the spectre of cancer. It brings me to my knees in prayer and to the Scripture for sustenance.

The Scriptures are full of hope in the face of pain and uncertainty. The cross of Jesus shows the love of God reaching into the brokenness of the world, living in the midst of darkness, humbly submitting, and taking on the pain and overcoming it. The Lord's dying cry in John, "It is finished" certainly refers to his life’s work on one level, but it also means that evil is defeated: sin and death are finished. The power that brings salvation strangles evil for good.

In life, we see suffering coming from many places at all of us at some time or another. And sometimes that suffering seems more than we can bear. That is when we need God and each other the most. Whether suffering comes by disease, or accident or human cruelty, there’s nothing that we will encounter that Jesus has not known. Christ lived and was tempted and wept just like us. He suffered immensely. He died intensely. He knows what we are going through, and He is with us each step of the way. Praise God that Christ, the sinless Son of God, died for our salvation! Sin cannot and will not remove us from his loving grasp.

The eternal truth is simply this -- evil can attack us and knock us against a very hard wall, even seeming to have an advantage. But that seeming advantage is just a temporary illusion. We know Who wins in the end. Through Christ, we have the victory!

That is the watchword of the Christian life. Let us live in faith and hope, and face life courageously, living in the sure confidence that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Risen Lord, has triumphed over sin and death and holds us close in His mighty hands. This guarantee rests secure in His spiritual bank. In Christ, we have the victory! Amen. Amen!

Homelands -- With a Great Chapter on Kake!

Remembering Special Friends -- Rick and David

The deaths of two good friends from my past, both leaving us within the last two weeks, has thrown me back emotionally to a morning in late 2003, when Elder Lois Berkeley of Kake, Alaska called me to tell me that Rick Mills was missing. Rick, 43, and his son David, 14, and his good friend Gery Davies, 28, left Kake on Tuesday morning, December 30, in a 16-foot skiff to hunt deer on the southern part of Admiralty Island. They were expected home that night.

Sadly they never made it back home. Bad weather and a dangerous sea claimed their lives, leaving the village of Kake devastated, especially Gery and Rick's families. What a blow it was to Rick's wife Judy, and his surviving children, Rae Ann, Johnny and Chelsea. It was also a major trauma for the Kake Memorial Presbyterian Church, where Rick was an elder and David was key member of the youth fellowship. They were both beloved bythe people of Kake.

When friends die it makes you take a strong stark look at your own mortality. It also makes you cherish the memories of times with the friends you lost. Without a doubt, Rick Mills made the world a better place with his strong commitment to family, to church, and to children and youth. Now, over two and a half years later, my family and I still feel a great loss. The world became lot worse off without Rick Mills in it. He was a very special person.

He was a great friend and teacher, a person who loved his family dearly, who was a pillar of his church, and a tower in his community. His life was a special blessing to all of us who knew him. He loved life and he loved people. He has been be sorely missed by his family and his village.

His passing seemed too quick – he was too young, too vibrant, he had so much to give, he was too important to his family and village – yet he was gone, and many folks were left with gaping holes where their hearts should be beating. His life light burned brightly and warmed us all for a while, and now the world was darker and the winter seemed colder.

But Rick would urge us to go on and do our best. Rick's faith was always steadfast. He was a pillar of the church and community, doing good deeds for many people. Only a few people knew about many of the special things he did, because Rick did not seek the limelight. He just tried to do what was right, day after day, year after year. He touched many with his acts of compassion.

He was a wise mentor, explaining Tlingit ways to me, and taking me on my first seaweed-gathering trip, when he kidded me about my looking much like a wounded walrus as I slid around the rocks as I grabbed the precious seaweed. We had a lot of fun gathering seaweed and fishing, and he taught me so much about the history of Kake and its people. I will forever be thankful for his kindness and his good advice and expert assistance.

I remember how much he loved his chosen profession of teaching and how dedicated he was to the school system and the children of Kake. I had thought he might become a pastor – he certainly had the gifts for it – but he saw teaching as his truest calling. He was an advocate for the youth. He helped many a young person to grow strong and to learn to make the right choices.

He lived to help the children, in any way that he could. They were the future of the village and he helped them prepare for their futures. But he was also a custodian of the past as a teacher of Tlingit history and he took that job very seriously. He respected the elders and the rich history of the people and the culture.

He loved the little church that we served together, and he and Judy helped it survive and grow with their faithful service and enthusiastic leadership. He was always there when you needed a hand, whether to say prayers, or visit the sick, or lead communion services, or clean up after a potluck. His gift of hospitality was abundant, and he helped four Village Youth Ministers feel at home in Kake as they loved and nurtured the children of the village. I know that John Schwartz, John White, Neris Bicunias and Kathy March will always be grateful for the love and care extended to them by Rick and Judy and their wonderful children.

The VYM program worked because of Rick and Judy. The same might also be said for the various Mission Groups that came in to lead Vacation Bible Schools in Kake. If Rick and Judy were in town, they were there helping us to teach the children and to make the groups from the lower 48 feel welcome. Rick had a knack for making people smile. He had a gift for sharing with others the things that God had given him. He opened his home and his heart to everyone he met, in Christian love.

Rick loved his family. He cherished the time with his wife and children as much as any man I have ever known. We went on some wonderful cookouts to beaches with another beloved family, the Kondros, and out to Point McCartney with the whole family and it was evident what a good and loving father he was to his children. And all of his children were special to us. David was such a good boy. He was smart and handsome and friendly and had so much promise.

One of the moments I will always remember with Rick was when he and I came across sports journalist Byron Ricks, while the author and his wife Maren were on an epic kayaking trip through the Inside Passage. They were resting on an island near one of Rick Mills' favorite seaweed gathring spots. Rick invited them back to Kake for shelter in the Presbyterian church. So we got to spend some time with the adventurous couple, and my wife's good cooking even made it into Byron's remarkable journal of their journey, all because of Rick's natural hospitality.

Rick Mills was always the gracious host. That little visit to Kake made it into a chapter in the wondrous book, "Homelands: Kayaking the Inside Passage", which is chock full of wisdom and adventure, and a good read that goes way beyond kayaking. (It is still available on the internet.) In those poetic pages you get a snapshot of the wisdom and depth of Rick Mills. Rick was a joy to know. He was unforgettable.

Kake, Alaska -- The Sweetest Place on Earth

Brother Stanley Shaquanie Is With Jesus

It happened again this week. One of my good friends of the past left this life in the present. And I am left sorrowful for his death, but joyful for his life. With the hope that Jesus gives to us, smiles eventually defeat the tears.

Stanley Shaquanie, my Tlingit brother in Kake, Alaska, said farewell to this terrestial plane earlier this week. He leaves a great family mourning for him, and an entire village in the double clutches of grief, since they had just lost another revered Elder, Lois Berkeley, early last week. Our prayers are with his dear wife Alberta, and with his entire family, and with all the Ravens and Eagles of Kake. May they help each other dry the tears on their faces.

Stanley was a strong man, physically and mentally, and he had been through a lot of tough times in his life, including his own recent battle with the difficult disease of cancer. I hate cancer. It devastates people and families like few other diseases do. It claimed the life of Stanley, of his young son before him, and has attacked two of his beautiful daughters and his own dear wife.

But through it all, Stanley was a man of strength and courage, and always had a smile and a kind word for others. He was always ready to cheer someone else up with his good humor and special ways. My daughter Joanna remembers him fondly, for his laughter and his kidding, and his words of encouragement. We knew him to be someone ready to lend a helping hand to anyone in need.

Stanley was a truly wonderful man who worked very hard, and who did a lot of good in his life. He was a family man of the highest degree, and in a native Alaskan village that is an extremely high compliment, because family matters greatly, and the whole village works together to help each other out. The rest of the world can learn a lot from the Native Alaskan people and their time-tested values and ways. Stanley believed in the old ways of respect and community values. He also was a strong believer in Jesus Christ, and he served ably as an elder of the Presbyterian Church. He saw how true Christianity and the ancient Native Alaskan values were often like hand in glove.

Stanley Shaquanie was not afraid to proclaim the faith he had in Jesus Christ and he would freely tell you how Jesus makes a difference in our lives here, and how the Lord makes possible our life to come. We say "see you later" to Stanley, because we are confident that he is even now in the arms and care of God, and that some glad morning, when this life is over for us, we will be reunited with Stanley again.

Stanley and his good wife and family seemed to have far more than their fair share of suffering in this life. Sometimes it seems that God calls on some people to carry a cross of greater suffering in this life, in order to teach the others of us good life lessons we need to learn. Stanley was willing to that, if God called on him to do it, and so it was that Stanley taught many of us about courage, dignity, and family, and about strength and grace under pressure.

John 3:16 plainly says that Jesus came that “all who believe in Him might have eternal life.” In the scriptures we see a pattern -- The Biblical call is to trust both the present and the future to God.

Jesus was the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world; He became our priest and sacrifice, all in one. Confronted by our hopelessness in sin and death, Christ interceded by offering himself -- His entire person and work -- in order to reconcile us to God. It has been said that when our Lord passed through the door of real human death, He showed us that there is no sorrow He has not known, no grief He has not borne, and no price He was unwilling to save us. Jesus died, his mother grieved, but death was conquered!

And on that fine day beyond the future, time will be no more, and the newest dawn will break upon us from on high, and we will be in the sweet by and by. Until then, may we all have a closer walk with our God on this earthly plane. One day, in that bright land the Scriptures talk about, through the grace of Jesus Christ, we will celebrate with families and friends, reunited in the Day of Resurrection! And I will give Stanley Shaquanie a big hug! What a day of rejoicing that will be!

Promoted to Glory! Grandma Lois Goes Home

Lois Berkeley went to see the Lord on Sunday. She had been seeking the Lord’s presence every Sunday for many, many years in her long, fruitful life. Each week, without fail, she would go to church. For many years in her home village of Kake, Alaska, Lois went twice on Sundays, first in the morning to the Memorial Presbyterian Church, where she was a member, and then in the evening to the Salvation Army Church, where she was an adherent and loyal supporter.

Sunday after Sunday she was faithful still, even when her body got older, and her joints ached with age, her youthful enthusiasm for Christ kept her going to spend time with Him in His houses each Sunday. She was over eighty in earthly years, but her love of the Lord and His people remained ever young and strong.

Last Sunday morning Lois got up early and got ready to go to church as she had done thousands of Sundays before. She could see the classic church building down by the shore, down a steep hill from her Senior Center apartment. So, as she had done so many times before, Lois dressed for her trip to the Presbyterian Church, and sat ready, with her purse in her lap. She was waiting for Pastor Eric Gebhart to come by and give her the customary ride to the church by the ocean. But on this Sunday, God had an even better destination for his faithful servant Lois. On Sunday morning, instead of going to the little white wooden church, Lois went home to be with the Lord.

When they found Lois body patiently sitting in her chair, a smile was on her face, and she had a look of peace that spoke richly of the peace that had been in her heart for a long time. Lois knew Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, as Elder Brother and Friend. She had responded to the gracious gift of salvation with a life of service to God and neighbor, acted out for many years in the Native Alaskan village of Kake, working as a part of two churches and as a part of the great Tlingit tribe that is Kake, Alaska. A white woman who married a revered Native man, a longtime resident who was twice adopted by the people of Kake, Lois dearly loved the beautiful village on Kupreanof Island. And the people loved her as much as she loved them. She was cherished by her family, churches and community.

She was a familiar face at every village event and every church gathering. As long as she had breath, she lived to be a helping presence in the place where God had planted her – Kake, Alaska. Often she made donations to help the needy, usually without anyone knowing the name of their gracious benefactor.

Lois was known as someone you could depend upon. He word was her bond, and you could trust her promise, which was as permanent as the mountains of the Alaska that she loved. God blessed Lois with a strong will, and it grew stronger over the years, as she worked building airplanes for her country in WWII, and as she learned to fish and hunt and trap as well as almost anyone in the Great Frontier, and as she served the Lord as a faithful Christian year after year. Lois was a rock because she knew the Rock of Ages. Lois was a good wife, a wonderful mother to her daughter Carol and son-in-law Greg, a matriarch to the great Berkeley family, a revered grandmother and great grandmother, and a genuine friend to many, many people.

Lois spent many years working as key assistant at the only store in the village, which belonged to the legendary Raymond and Florence “Ma” Bell. Florence was know as Kake’s Guardian Angel, best known for delivering more than 100 babies during 32 years in the picturesque Southeast Alaskan village. In her early years, “Ma” Bell worked as a nurse and nursing instructor in hospitals and schools on the East Coast and in the South. After her first husband died, Bell joined the U.S. Public Health Service which sent her to Alaska on the U.S.S. Hygiene. She soon settled in Kake, where she met and married Raymond Bell, proprietor of the town's only store, and became friends with Lois. With no doctor in Kake and no roads to other towns, Bell's role as nurse and midwife was critical to the community. Lois saw much of this good work first hand, and spent much time in prayer for it.

"She saved many people's lives, you bet she did," Lois told me, obviously proud of the work that Bell did. And Lois played a role in much of that good service, by helping free “Ma” from her duties at the store and being a constant prayer support for all that Ma Bell did.

After “Ma” Bell retired to Petersburg in 1978, Lois still continued in the work of guardian angel, but mostly as a prayer warrior for those in need of help in the village. Not a day went by when Lois was not praying for Kake and its people. One of my great privileges was praying many times with Lois. She always was thinking of others. She took their concerns to the Lord in prayer. Often Lois would call on us to agree in prayer for people who needed comfort and care.

In 1997, a grand Presbytery meeting was held in Kake, with over a hundred visitors coming to the island. Lois was at the top of her game, serving as a gracious host and helping with much of the behind the scenes work of the great event. She had served as treasurer and an elder of the Presbyterian Church for many years, so she was always in the middle of helping with projects and keeping the church strong.

To honor her many years of service, the session of the church had Lois be their Presbytery representative and she gave the speech reporting the progress at the little church, which had been very active in recent years. Lois looked physically like a grandmother from Norman Rockwell’s paintings, and sometimes she spoke slowly and often kept silent in a respectful way. But on that Friday night in October, Lois had the big crowd laughing and smiling with her quick wit and gentle humor. She closed with a story that said so much about her, and about the strong, frontier spirit of a little church that came close to closing in the 1980’s, but held on due to the strong faith and faithfulness of members like Lois Berekley.

Lois told of a big storm coming to the island one winter Sunday years before, dumping snow and ice in its wake. Somehow, as was her pattern, Lois made it to the church despite the bad weather. She made some coffee for others to warm themselves when she came, then she went from the Wilson-Dewitt fellowship hall into the main sanctuary of the historic church building and waited for the others to come. But no one came. Minutes turned to an hour and more, and all she heard was the wind howling outside.

But Lois was a good Presbyterian, so, since she was there, she decided to have church. She read some Scripture aloud, sang a favorite hymn (“Amazing Grace”), and said a prayer for the church and the village. Then she turned off the lights and went home. “But we still had church that day!” she proclaimed with a smile. And the Presbytery meeting said Amen with a thunder of applause and gales of laughter. Lois had a gift for speaking the truth with love and a smile.

We loved Lois as a one loves a favorite aunt or a mother. She was a dear friend who we will miss immensely until we see her again on that beautiful shore. Our children called her Grandma Lois. They cried on Sunday evening after hearing of her passing. So did my wife and I. But as long as we have church on this side of the veil, we will remember Lois. She was always faithful and true, trustworthy and strong. Until we meet again, Lois, we will cherish memories of you.

Life is Fragile -- Handle with Prayer!

No matter how you slice it, life is fragile and must be handled with care and prayer. Praying to God is a great privilege and a special responsibility. One of the best ways to use your time is to pray for others, for your family and for yourself. Prayer is a two-way conversation that works best when grounded in the Scriptures and in strong faith in Jesus Christ. Spend some time quietly listening. Take advantage of this great gift and pray often in the name of Jesus!