Sermon Notes July 1 Mk. 5:21-43

Let’s start with a fifty cent Bible word: intercalcation. It is when the writer makes a literary sandwich of a story by splitting the first story into two pieces of bread, one story is inserted in the middle of another... Here the raising of Jairus’s daughter has its filling in the healing of a desperate woman. The meat of the story may well lie in the interrupted sequence. When does something important get pushed to the side or sandwiched? When do we attend to the whole? Lately, people have renewed interest in using spiritual resources as guides to making decisions. We will introduce these bit by bit in session meetings. One assertion I’ve heard by people interested in spiritual discernment is to pay attention to the interruptions of one’s plans. Once we get through the frustration and annoyance, something could be percolating there. God seems to like to whisper new ideas in the course of an interruption. Maybe the meat of the life sandwich isn’t the framing bread but the interruption itself. Troubles interrupt our lives whoever we are, or as David would put it, “how the mighty have fallen.” The good or the rich, the evil or the poor have no monopoly or special immunity from troubles.We carry a picture in our minds about how our lives should go, but we rarely include the interruptions, the eruptions of trouble that often form a parenthesis in a life. One of the ways we measure the quality of our walk in faith is how we respond to the inevitable disruptions of our well-laid plans. Here Jesus is going to the bedside of the desperately ill child of a religious official. the poor man has to wait helplessly while Jesus deals with a case that is not an emergency. the woman has suffered indeed, but Jesus can return to her. Her life is not yet in danger after all of these years.I get frustrated with this account as I suspect something is going on with the emphasis on 12 years, but have not arrived at anything that strikes me as definitive. at the same time, I feel so much sympathy for the woman. Granted, medical care was not advanced, but to try everything, and all for nothing is a singularly dispiriting experience.We are tempted to do it now, to go to specialist after specialist and then to try the potions or possibly effective promises of alternative medicine, perhaps the same treatments that the woman received 2,000 years ago.Pain or the prospect of death casts off our pride, and we can get quite desperate for relief. Jesus here demonstrates utter calm. He is able to focus on the claim of the moment without getting fixated on a schedule, even a vital schedule. He is a classic example of a presence that can face down anxiety. He is not living into the future of arriving at the house of Jairus, but he is with this woman at the present moment. Jesus is not distracted from the present moment. He shows an egalitarian spirit, as surely the religious official is of higher status than this desperate woman. Jesus is dealing with two types of anxiety, the anxiety of crisis for jairus, and the anxiety of years of frustration on the part of the unnamed woman.The woman has been suffering for the lifetime of the daughter of Jairus. Suffering’s perspective is so related to our own struggle with it, and it is so difficult to try to grasp it from another’s point of view. In both places, healing occurs when it seems beyond hope for someone who suffered 12 years or a 12 year old young woman.

First Week July Devotions

July 1-Ps. 130 is a reading for the day. Anderson, in his study of the psalms, used it for his title, our of the depths. Usually, we reserve the depths for valley times, of anguish, pain, or despair. For what measure of God does “your soul wait?” what have been times when your own self, your deepest self, has found you in the depths? When have you been lifted from that dark place and how? Monday-We just had a local reformed roundtable on the book of the 12 (prophets), the minor prophets, due to their shorter length. It was dispiriting as we did not get ot many texts themselves, but at least we read many sections in worship. the minor prophets have been consigned to minor status, I fear. For me they promote deep consideration of the nature of the divine and other vital spiritual facets such as understanding theodicy. Please consider reading some of the book of the twelve, the last books of the OT as a spiritual exercise. Tuesday-Grief intrudes in our lives in surprising ways. I did not expect to feel the pang of absence of my brother’s death, 20 years later, at his niece’s wedding. She wasn’t a year old when he died. Grief may work in phases, but it often arrives in sharp form unannounced and unexpected. grief can be sneaky. Its sudden appearance is a pointer not at pathology, but at the continuing bonds we share with the departed. In that sense, it is a mark of continuing love. Wednesday the 4th of July is a marvel. John Adams predicted that it would be a celebration with fireworks. Jefferson spoke of unalienable/inalienable rights. they are rights that we cannot give up and remain citizens, not rights that can be taken away from us. They constitute our political being. I try to read at least the beginning and end of the Declaration every year. It is a civic ritual for me, just as the ritual of worship feeds my soul. Thursday-Recently in a Bible Study, I asked those gathered what word hit them in the reading, and a number had a focus on kindness. It could be a good spiritual check-up to note how often one says a kind word or performs an act of kindness during a given week. What acts and words of kindness have touched you over the years? Does familiarity affect your words and acts of kindness? Friday-Rudeness is a social sin. It infects the social body as surely as an invading microbe. it lowers the level of civility and raises the level of frustration. it lowers the bar for decent social behavior and expectations. Some rudeness is a declaration of individual choice against convention, but I am more concerned about it being a declaration of personal immunity from social norms that allow us to live together. Saturday-the Presbyterian General Assembly ends today. It is a heartening spectacle to see people willing to give a large portion of time to the work of the larger church, to act as representatives for around 2.5 million people. Of course we cannot expect to agree or disagree with every decision made by this council of elders and pastors. This day I pray for travelling mercies for all of the delegates and marvel at their commitment to our common life of faith, as they leave Pittsburgh.

2 Sam. 5

2 Sam. 5-I really don’t have much to say here. 1) Why Hebron? Why Jerusalem? What import do they still have in the contemporary scene? If you are of the inclination, this could be a good time to look at some of the newer evidence of digs in the Jerusalem area for items that confirm or oppose the biblical accounts. 2) If Jerusalem was unconquered what do you make of the lightning conquest story in Joshua? (see though 15:63) 3) Obviously this is a good place to consider how achieving one’s goals is a mountaintop experience but also filled with danger. 4) Notice that David appears to win through finding a weak spot in the defenses instead of a frontal assault.Compare to the Goliath story or his work as a vassal of the Philistines. 5) One could go a way with the city of God/ city of mortals a la Augustine. Could compare Jerusalem to say Washington or New York or L.A. 6) As a stronghold, I think of the battle of Helm’s Deep in Lord of the Rings. 7) What penetrates our best defenses? 8) What are other examples of defenses being breached such as the Maginot Line?

Notes 2 WSam. 1

2 Sam. 1 1) What is some wonderful rhetoric that moved you in your lifetime? 2) I don’t trust this as sincere material. I hear a lot of political machination here, as David is setting the stage for greater legitimacy.On the other hand, it is an instance of remarkable literary self-possession to be able to compose a lament that works on so many levels. 3) One could have some fun “discovering” the book of Jashar and reading from it in a sermon, perhaps. 4) David is a eulogist here as well. What lines do you try to draw with eulogies and balance of traits, along with facts? when can and should they stretch the accuracy of a life a bit? 5) We are in the middle of rhetorical power here, “how the mighty ones have fallen.’ Did David hear echoes of his words haunting him as his career progressed? 6) the anointed Saul has no anointing of his shield any longer. 7) as a dirge, it also mentions mourning rituals. What do you appreciate and dislike aobut our current rituals of mourning?

Column on civil political speech

It seems to me that a number of the loudest voices for wanting the Ten Commandments posted seem to be more than happy to violate the command against false witness, at least in politics. Perhaps, they feel that lying is permissible, even expected, in politics. Perhaps, their hatred of the very idea of a President Obama blinds them to accuracy. They are pre-disposed to see things in a negative light and are pleased to believe any negative account of his presidency and want others to share it. I have been influenced by old fashioned political reform movements. They hold to a notion of a world of ideas where accuracy matters. They said that truth was the best disinfectant for political corruption. They believed that if the people were well-informed, then the cream would rise to the top, and truth would triumph. One of my great disappointments in the age of new media is the race to the bottom. We have a wealth of facts at our fingertips, and we do not lift a finger to find them. Instead, the news programs have devolved into shouting talking heads who look for punch lines and labels. The shrillest voices broadcast their venom on the internet and talk radio 24 hours a day. I continue to shake my head at ideas that were out of the popular imagination a generation ago that would cause someone’s sanity to be questioned, are now part of political parlance routinely. I was afraid that this new age would threaten to drown us in a deluge of facts, but instead, facts have been thrown to the back of the media bus in favor of the phrase-making of sophistry, or in current parlance, advertising. Instead of gathering good data, instead of carefully analyzing it, we pass along lies right and left over the communications superhighway. Fund raising letters raise blood pressure as art form, all to get us to contribute, not on the basis of policy, experience, or history, but wild accusation. The Supreme Court opened this Pandora’s Box even wider with its decision to make sure that such speech is well-funded, under the ridiculous notion that “money talks.” Go on that great time vacuum, Facebook, and look a the political bile poured out in almost every posting. Rarely does it contain good information, but every new ways of calling one’s opponent nasty names. This new landscape of information is being constantly hyped, but at what cost are we throwing away literacy skills for propaganda. Art invites us to think, but propaganda tells us what to think and to feel. it cannot brook disagreement, since it is incapable of engaging in rational discourse. Over and over we see the terrible truth of a dictum of propaganda, say the same big lie over and over, and it will be accepted. Propaganda turns data into mere opinion, so it reduces political thought to mere preferences. A generation ago, we feared advertising political campaigns as if they were marketable products like soap. That fear of manipulation was not well-placed, as we seem to be more than willing to accept views that comport with our prejudices without any manipulation or pre-conscious chicanery. Where so many things claim or time, we appear to have given up on the time and work involved in making clear policy decisions. Slogans and labels are so much easier. For those few who claim moralistic grounds for their political misbehavior, I would remind us that slander is still a sin, as an outgrowth of the command against false witness. It is a deeper sin when it undercuts the needs of the public and not the reputation of a single individual. For people who claim to follow the way, the truth, and the life, it is a social crime to so devalue the truth.

Sermon Notes June 24 Mark 4:35-41, I Sam. 17

I love the story of the stilling of the storm. I particularly like the detail in Mark that Jesus speaks along with the healing of the treacherous weather, “peace be still.” In the movie Good Will Hunting, the genius who has become of patient of a widowed teacher and therapist, played by Robin Williams, latches on to a paint by numbers picture of a fisherman struggling through a storm.(It seems to be a combination of different Winslow Homer pictures, the Gulf Stream and Fog Warning and maybe some impressionist work on fisherman).Few things make us feels so powerless as a desperate struggle on the water. The disciples are frightened. Jesus is asleep, like Jonah during the storm. Jesus acts as a classic calm presence in the crisis. It appears that Jesus can sleep through anything, or maybe he had just witnessed an early version of golf. He does not respond to their anxious blaming in kind, but does the work that needs to be done. (Of course, I would think that is easier for Jesus as he can actually do something about the storm).We are in mythic territory here, as God is a god of storm, and ancient gods of ancient Canaan, such as Baal were storm gods as well.In those- Neptune quiets a storm in the Aeneid. My mind almost immediately moves toward the internal storms we all face. It coudl be the sudden storm of a bad diagnosis.It oculd be the daily sailing through a stormy relationship. Sturm und drang the Germans say. about emotive, romantic art that reflects the turbulent inner seas of us all. In the Big Book of AA we read:’as we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves that we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day,”thy will be done.” We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions...We do not tire so easily for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves.” One of the oldest symbols for the church was a little boat.The waves sometimes seem so big and our boat seem so small, like the fishing vessel in the George Clooney movie, the Perfect Storm. We were already swamped in the waters of baptism.David did not have such an advantage in facing Goliath. He too shows the calmness of Jesus as he selects five smooth stones as the taunts echo in the valley. He seems defenseless as he could not move in the heavy armor offered him. In 12 step programs, detachment is one of the tools.It can take much practice and personal power to learn that, to be able to disentangle one’s mood from circumstance or the attutdes of others. I was not prepared for the welter of emotions that accompanied our daughter's wedding. some I expected: overweening pride in our daughter, a wistful turning of the page as her back turned toward me as she faced her soon to be spouse, I was in an emotional storm surge. We all face storms, internal and external; we all face Goliaths at some point. Ethan is given spiritual weapons to fight the good fight today, as we too have been granted. In baptism, we are all given five smooth stones as warriors in the spiritual realms. the god of all, the god of creation has pledged to be a loyal companion to Ethan, and to us, all of our lives. Deep in the valley of Elah, in a storm, or on the heights, God has pledged eternal loyalty to the cause of kindness.

Devotions Week of June 24

Sunday June 24-P. 9 is one of our selections for today. What strikes me is the concern for the troubled. “the Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed…for the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.” To what extent do you permit this psalm to influence political positions? Monday-I saw the movie Prometheus and was most disappointed in its insipid plotting, even though it was a visual delight at times. A friend told me that I have too high a standard for movies. Part of me thinks that a high standard does doom one to disappointment. On the other hand, when that aspiration is reached, it is a marvel. This is especially significant when a movie addresses a basic question: from where do we come? Tuesday-My appointment with the radiologist was rescheduled for today. It will be routine, but a soupcon of anxiety appears as I made the appointment. Facing a fear often drains some of its power away. My mother feared check-ups as “they will find something if they look for something.” Sometimes fear prevents us from having needed check-ups. What would result from your spiritual check-up this year? Wednesday-I grow uncomfortable with a new excuse I hear for not attending church: uncomfortable. What does comfort level have to do with worshipping god? What does comfort level have to do with keeping the Sabbath holy? Where do we use that as a socially acceptable excuse for any other form of human interaction. let alone divine and human interaction? Thursday-Is God’s forgiveness like a delete action on a computer? When scripture speaks of sins being washed away or blotted out, it may be a good image. Certainly, we hold that punishment of sin is so touched. Still, certainly the ripples of sin radiate outward. Perhaps, a better image is that of healing a wound, only to a relationship. Forgiveness allows a wound to heal to a scar. Forgiveness permits reconciliation. it exists in spite of not being deleted, but forgiveness does not permit the wound to define a relationship. Friday-I never learned to dance a ballroom step, but our daughter had me learn the basic waltz steps for her wedding. Being unrhythmic and self-conscious does not help. Part of life is learning the steps to our own particular dance and finding the freedom to vary the steps a bit when we know the style and steps that suit us best. Practice may not make perfect, but in time, the steps become our own. I don’t think I will ever be comfortable on a dance floor, but in G od’s grace, I do learn some of the steps to a better life. Saturday-Our Presbyterian General Assembly convenes today. Our denomination certainly needs prayer for discernment and wisdom. Still, it is a noteworthy act that pastors and elders gather in equal numbers to help chart a course for the church in the years to come. I love the idea that church assemblies are sings of representative democracy. In the Presbyterian system hierarchy, if it does exist, is temporary. it is a shining example that God’s spirit rests on all of us in due course. That too is god’s choice, not our achievement or even aspiration.

Notes i Sam. 17

I Samuel 1717 1)the valley of elah (oak) was a movie of recent vintage –see 2 Sam. 21:19 for Elhanan as the victor over Goliath. 1) One way to go this familiar story is to link Goliath to the powers and principalities. 2) When in your experience has the small won an unexpected victory. 3) What ways can we regard the 5 smooth stones, as resources at hand that we often pass by? 4) Goliath and David are both champions for their respective sides. who are such champions in our time, in a less martial context? see the movie Troy for champions. 5) Do you have a bit of Goliath and David within you? 6) Notice David runs toward Goliath. what does that tell us about facing fears or challenges sometimes? 7) I love that the armor does not fit. What does that tells us about appropriate gear? 8) some think that the God of hosts (that is a heavenly army) was a most ancient name. 9) What are the goliaths in society, in economics, and in your relationships?

Devotions Week of June 17

Sunday June 17- Ps. 20:3 fits a father’s Day blessing: “may the Lord grant your heart’s desire, and fulfill all of your plans.” Contemporary fathers seem to me to be making up their role on the fly, as the old roles have fallen in respect and as models. That is a tough task. May discernment and clarity become part of the daily outfit of being a father, along with the ties and BBQ aprons that seem to sprout as presents.. Please consider praying for fathers this week. Monday-VBS is this week. I like how we try to engage different aspects of learning to be centered on our biblical themes. I love how we utilize the nature Institute as a setting for considering God as Creator and our responsibilities toward that creation. w eget so much help; it is a real community commitment. Do you have memories of VBS as a child? What impresses you about it at this stage in your life? Tuesday-2 Cor 5:17 was one of the readings on Sunday, “so if anyone is in Christ, new creation is here; everything old has passed away, see everything has become new.” Paul gets so excited the grammar breaks down a bit in this hymn to a new chapter in human life. In baptism, every day holds new spiritual promise. We need not be burdened by the guilt of the past. Where do you crave newness in your life right now? Wednesday- Preparing for my trip last week, I tried to be efficient and load a lot of work into a short space. If you go too far with that, it becomes an enemy and actually decreases effectiveness and efficiency. Jesus does not seem to be in a hurry in the gospel narratives. His time was so short in his ministry, yet, he goes about with supreme attention to the moment at hand. He takes time to pray throughout the narrative flow. Thursday- I go back to the radiation specialist today. I have healed fairly well after the radiation, but am a bit disappointed that I am not all better yet. We want thing sot be instant in general, especially when in pain. One of the reasons I grew a garden when the girls were younger was to show them that some things take time and cannot be rushed. Not only physical healing, but spiritual healing may well be of the same character. Sanctification is a lifelong process. Friday-The days are already now growing shorter, as the solstice has past. Will you look at daylight as more vital, as the days grow shorter? Does it have an impact on your mood, as the sands run out of the hourglass of our own lives? Does less daylight push you toward making more of the light? Consider reflecting on the image of light’s duration in terms of one’s spiritual life. Saturday-We have a memorial service today. Memory is one of our most precious gifts. It comes close to bringing an image back to life. The grief literature has been emphasizing continuing bonds with our loved ones. Some emotional wounds may be closed, but memory helps a relationship persist. We look at pictures and images come storing back into our lives. it is often a bittersweet experience, those memories, but one well worth taking in our own inner journeys.

I Sam 15:34-16:13

I Sam. 15:34-16:13 1) Saul fails to honor the hideous herem of mass destruction and total war. Why would Samuel grieve? After all, he has just hacked Agag to death. We do well to examine and admit the violence in our own Scriptures as well as those of other faiths, such as Islam. At the same time, merely mentioning violence does not condone it, and some criticism of the biblical text may tend in this insipid direction. 2) What does it say about God’s being sorry over the selection of Saul. (recall that we have conflicting views on Saul’s selection in I Sam. 9 Note good excursus on ambivalence toward government at 407 of New Interpreter's bible. ). 3) Apparently God acts from a sense of closure. he wants Samuel to act and stop being paralyzed by his grief over Saul. (Whenever Hebrew narrative repeats something, pay attention.) 4) What do you think of god’s cover story for Samuel? Why are the villagers afraid? 5) The comments on appearance are priceless. As the youngest, David (beloved, but by whom?) continues the theme of reversal of oldest first that flow through the bible. Look at the names of the brothers. How do we judge by appearances, but God judges from the heart? Eliab=God is my father Abinadab-father is noble/generous Shammah=astonishment but could also be related to loss or could be short for God is there as in Ezekiel 6) Israel struggled with being a chosen people. To what degree did David struggle with being a chosen one? 7) was this a private anointing? 8) Eiab=God is my father Abinadab-father is noble/generous Shammah=astonishment but could also be related to loss or could be short for god is there as in Ezekiel

Sermon Notes June 10 Mark 3:20-35

June 10 Mk. 3:2--35, 2 Cor. 4:13-5:1 At the end of the week, I go into Indianapolis and help out for our eldest daughter’s wedding. Not only will that mean that I will feel even more a fossil than usual when I see all of the friends of the couple, but it means dealing with family, including her father-in law to be whom I’ve not met.. Family gatherings are usually a mixture of enjoyment and annoyance. It is heartening then to have Mark’s gospel indicate some dissonance in what i would picture as the harmonious family of Jesus. This would seem to add credence to the suspicion that Jesus lived a relatively normal life until his baptism by John at the Jordan propelled him into a new role as a travelling rabbi. What caused the confusion? first, the townspeople have called them in as they fear that jesus has lost his mind. Maybe, the family expected Jesus to be a craftsman, like his father Joseph. Maybe they could not wrap their minds around a sudden move into becoming a religious figure. Maybe they were trying to protect him from fear of what could happen to a religious figure on the rise in restive Galilee. We do not get a hint of them acclaiming this apparently new-found decision into the itinerant ministry of teaching and healing. We have a lot of work to do in considering church leadership and political leadership 3,000 years aftersaul.. Usually we import our understandings of other leadership models from other parts of our lives. Usually, we tend to see leadership as being in control, exercising power over others. Part of leadership is empathy and loyalty. Yet, Paul speaks of suffering as a slight momentary affliction.It is a matter of perspective isn’t it? It is especially poignant when it is our suffering or someone else’s. The Thornberrys spoke a while ago of watching the old NBC miniseries on the Holocaust. They praised its decision to follow a family's connections to that horror because it could be more easily grasped. Otherwise, the sheer enormity of the issue renders us mute, numb, and powerless. When it directly strikes us, we feel its full weight. Jack is being born into a new extended church family this morning. His name comes from John, God is gracious.He shares a biblical name with the one who baptized jesus and one of the three of the inner circle of disciples who witnessed the transfiguration and accompanied him to the garden to pray before his death. I would think it also emerged by way of the french name, Jacques, from the names Jacob and James.I only bring that up because the book of Acts indicates that james, the brother of the Jesus, led a church group in Jerusalem. James is listed in two gospels as a brother, or relative, of Jesus. He was part of the immense struggle in deciding if converts to christianity should follow all of the requirements of Judaism of the time. while Jack’ family of origin may be well-nigh perfect, he is being welcomed into a most imperfect institution, the church. We speak casually about church family. It is clear that we carry some of our family good points and less desirable traits and actions into the function or dysfunction of church.People who see power as control at home try to control elsewhere. All families are imperfect;In the nuclear family, or extended family church family: we are called to practice forbearance toward each other.

Devotions Week of June 10

June 10-Ps. 138 is today’s selection for worship. In v. 3, God has “increased my strength of soul.” What constitutes strength of soul do you think? What spiritual attributes would it include? Surely it moves beyond the spiritual alone. How would strength of soul fit strength of character, or a sense of self? What would weakness of soul appear to be? Monday These words come from Kent Ira Groff, a pastor and spiritual writer. “People are literally dying of loneliness. We can do something now to name this demon that makes orphans out of bright beautiful people in lonely office parties, community events and congregations… look for the isolated person in a social gathering, leave the ninety-nine to find the one; do task-talk elsewhere. Treat the newcomer as if they were dying tomorrow and may need a word with you today.” Tuesday-Scott Russell Sanders writes wonderful essays. In Hunting for Hope, he writes: ‘beauty feeds us from the same source that created us. It reminds us of the shaping power that reaches through the flower stem and through our own hands…by giving us a taste of the kinship between our own small minds and the great Mind of the Cosmos, beauty reassures us that we are exactly and wonderfully made.” Wednesday-Rita Nakashima Brock has started a project for veterans called the Soul Repair Center. I love the name and its goals. It sickens me that we send people off to war so willingly and somehow worry about pennies when they come home and need services. War damages the whole person, and it can warp the very self of a soldier. I pray for every imaginable blessing for her project and the recent decision of the VA to provide a lot more treatment possibilities’ for our exhausted soldiers returning home when they don’t recognize themselves any longer. Thursday-I am scheduled to be on the road today. Summer is a time for travels. I love the phrase travelling mercies, recently made more popular by the writer Anne Lamott. What trips do you have for your “bucket list?” what were some of your best trips? What were moments of travelling mercies? What protections do you find yourself praying for? What elements of travelling do you require mercies for most assuredly? Friday-I’m doing a speech on a Supreme Court case that involved the Alton RR in the 1930s and connecting it to the health care case before the SCOTUS right now. It led me to thinking about healing in the New Testament. Sometimes the word emerges as therapy, to make well. Sometimes, it is the same word as save. In both cases, I am drawn to their wide ambit. They include physical healing of course, but they seem to point to us as totalities, mind, heart, body and soul together. Saturday-Our daughter’s wedding is scheduled for today. I am trying to write her a proper, formal letter. Already, I have flashed back to some of the letting go moments of parenthood, first babysitter, first day in pre-school, riding a bike. I wonder if god looks at us in a similar fashion. For liberty, Christ has set us free says Paul. That is the liberty of love, but at times, it can be a painful freedom. For the church isn’t baptism, not only a sacrament of rebirth, but the first of many times we say, ‘off you go into the world?”

To our daughter as she marries

Our eldest daughter marries the 16th. Here is a version of a note I sent to her. As I said, I drew inspiration for this note from the IU writer, Scott Russell Sanders. Actually they come from pieces in The Force of Spirit and another collection, Hunting for Hope, as they merged in my mind. I have said before that being a parent means existing in a time tunnel, when moments from the distant past merge not the present, with the future only an occasional daydream.The same girl who at four thought herself the wedding co-ordinator in Lagrange rehearsals, now has planned and acts on a wedding of her own. As I am sure you mother has mentioned, she was in labor a long time with you. With a drug, pitocin, to induce labor, you came into the world in the post-midnight morning after a presidential debate. It was a chilly October day, and I insisted that we take a picture of you from outside the car in your car seat, so you wouldn’t get chilled at something like 12 hours old. On the rare times you slept, i would sneak a peek at you to make sure you were breathing in your sudden quiet, barely breathing myself to catch sight of your chest moving.. One woman in the married student housing complex at Princeton said that she had never seen a father look so proud. She meant it sourly, but I took it as a profound empirical truth. That has never changed, at least on the inside. I look at you and continue to marvel. Being a parent is to fight the desire to enclose a child in an external womb and to let go, bit by bit. I cried when I took you to the babysitter for the first time. I cried when I took you to Montessori pre-school and your small legs could barely make each tall step on the way inside. Our legs are too small to take the steps we climb as adults, but we climb them, nevertheless. I knew you were smart right away, saying baby at around nine months in the mall and noticing the open-mouthed stares of the mothers in the store. You can see a tape when you were not yet four of saying your ABCs while bouncing on the bed. Sanders writes:’No star outshines my daughter.” Justice Jackson once wrote “if there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation...” If there is any fixed star in my family constellation, you are there, our firstborn. I was so taken by how you got so wrapped up in your reading, how the world seem to fall away from you within the orbit of the world you were now inhabiting. At times, I would swear that you shared some literary interests with your mother, but at times, I could catch a glimpse of your mental processes that reminded me of my own. I’ve told you how I felt on a tightrope with you, as your mind and language was so far advanced, but your heart was at the stage of your age. Part of me wants to give some advice, and part of me fears to. After all, I have given counsel on marriages and try to observe good ones, even as I felt a spectator to the dissolution of my own. I have long been fascinated by the work of John Gottman. Placed in a positive frame, he would say to seek to treat Aren with respect. I sense the presence of god in a happy home, and that is my prayer for you. In a way, a marriage has a third party within its bounds already, the relationship itself. As the relationship is nurtured and prized, so shall you both be as well. We rarely come to grips with the depths of our own being, let alone that of another, so keep your eyes open for the surprises and the insights that will come your way over the years. Maybe you were able to witness the transit of Venus recently. I get to escort a different Venus to be presented to an impatient public at the church soon. that too is an event of cosmic importance. I was privileged to be able to witness your birth, cut the umbilical cord, and wash and weigh you at birth. Now I have the chance to witness the birth of a new family. that will be another holy moment in my l

June 3 Devotions

Trinity Sunday-Ps. 29 may well be lifted directly from the worship of the people of Canaan, as we have found some evidence of hymns that sound similar at places such as Ras Shamra in present day Lebanon. Go through some prayers of other faiths and adapt them to Christian usage. We are followers of the Truth, so we need have no fear of contamination but may feel free to explore meaningful approaches to God from different streams of faith. Monday-When our children graduated high school, I did breathe a sigh of real relief. Even as they are adults, though, I still worry. I wonder if God’s concern for us mutates into worry? We use the parental image of God routinely. Too often, we have used it as an image of correction. Is not the struggle sometimes similar? As parents we are caught between guidance and encouraging freedom and self-awareness and responsibility. Being a parent is always a difficult task. Tuesday-Janet Riley is being kind enough to let me use a piece of her yard for a vegetable garden. Recently, I thinned out some plants, always a difficult thing for me to do, to weed, always an annoying thing to do, and to reseed. I don't know why some patches of ground seem more resistant to seed than others. Where in your life does the Christian message take root and gorw easily? Where have you needed to reseed the message? Wednesday-In my new Christian Century, Craig Barnes has a nice piece on the presence of God extending from formal worship to the annual chili banquet in the church hall. He means that God is as fully present in the shared comforts and concerns in the fellowship hall meal as in the sanctuary. As he says, “we yearn to find jesus the Savior on laundry day.” Christianity is an incarnational faith as it sees the hand of God, the presence of god in the everyday. Indeed, when we call ourselves temple of the Spirit, our bodies, our everyday lives, are sanctuaries. Thursday-At Reformed Roundtable, we spoke a bit about God intervening in natural life. Part of me resists it, as arbitrary and intrusive, but part of me welcomes it as part of God's constant but not discrete acts of providence. I made the long drive to Indianapolis and had some narrow misses.Some of those were not averted by my skill or alertness, but more like an intuition.Think about times you have escaped narrowly, where it seems an accident was avoided, when the pieces fell into place. Friday-I am considering doing a book on the book of the twelves, the minor prophets. Of course, they are called minor due to their length compared to the three major prophetic books. In part their name has consigned them to be considered of minor scriptural importance, and that is a loss for the community of faith. For example, the image of thge divine in Hosea 11 and Jonah 4 are important elements of the character of divinity. Saturday-Yard Sales/Garage Sales seem popular at this time of year. Sometimes they are fundraisers, but I wonder if we should use the idea internally and have a yard sale of the clutter we keep inside. What crowds out our growth in other areas may well require that we create some space. What are some spiritual keepsakes that you could not part with? What would be baggage that you need to lose?

I Sam. 8 notes

I Sam. 8 is a marvelous subversive reading against monarchy. Perhaps one could extend it to power, political, economic social. The urge to be like other nations seems to be the opposite of the call to be a holy nation. Yet, it emerges from Samuel’s failure as a parent that matches Eli’s. The search for a successor shows that the faith in a charismatic leader appearing has faded. At the same time, God works within their decision but David is god’s choice after all, and the people learn to ratify it. 2) Note the people want a king for fighting their battles. One could point to our volunteer military that has permitted us to wage seemingly endless was in Iraq and Afghanistan. 3) What do you think of God’ s response to the people at v.22? 4) Dig into God’s feelings at v. 7 5) When do we blithely march into situations we have been warned about? 6) Should America prance about with its sense of divine favor after reading this passage? 7) How should Israel be and not be like other nations with its vocation as a blessing Gen. 12, and the claim to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19)? 8) Notice that the verb take dominates the warnings v. 18 has cry out, as with the king of Egypt? Notice God will not answer.

Column on New Harriet Lerner book on marriage

One of the privileges of ministry is officiating at weddings. One of the chores of ministry is struggling to do pre-marital work with couples. Over time, I wish to speak about conflict, role expectations, personality style, money, time, and family background. I try to underscore all of the resources available for couples and that their pitfalls in relationships are shared by most of us. I scan resource books at times. I have long admired the work of Harriet Lerner, especially her books Dance of anger and Dance of Intimacy. She just released a very easy to read book called Marriage Rules. One of the things I appreciate is her willingness to use the work of John Gottman. he has analyzed thousands of interactions between couples. Over time, he has identified for major trouble signs in a relationship. First, he notices that good relationships have a ratio of 5:1 levels of praise to criticism or complaint. Just that piece of data is enough to send chills along the spine of most of us in relationship. Along the same line, when one feel compelled to criticize, we should take aim at the behavior and not label the whole person. It is preferable to say: “it annoys me when you leave your gym socks on the floor to: “you are such a slob,” or “what is wrong with you?” Quite simply she asks us to cut down the amount and volume of our criticism. She recalls working with a couple who had vicious fights in their marriage. they then were hosts for a well-mannered, important British visitor for two months in their home. It was a great time for their marriage. she suggested that they continue to imagine they had a respected guest in their home more often, to tone down their fights. After all, the relationship itself should always be viewed as a respected guest in the home. Second, contempt- is corrosive to relationship. It undermines the sense of loyalty and togetherness. It assumes a superior/inferior role that may well doom a healthy, growing relationship. This is often signalled by facial expression, tone of voice, and body postures as much as words or deeds. Third, in response to barrage of criticism, most of us get defensive. At other times, we figure the best defense is a good offense and we go on the attack-. Complaints about us get translated into assaults on the partner in the relationship in hopes that they will be put on the defensive and let us alone. In either case, the issues and behavior don’t get resolved. “Well, what about you” can be a real deterrent to any meaningful work toward resolving an issue. Defensiveness is often a sure way to get a small point escalating into a full-blown confrontation or fight in no time. Finally, when things get out of whack, and the push and pull of a relationship gets strained, one or both folks in the relationship start to distance from each other: sexually, emotionally, or mentally. A difficult point is when one partner stonewalls any attempt at communication. Lerner offers some well-hone wisdom when she asks couple to honor and respect repair attempts, even if they are clumsy or not what we would want or do. If we reject them or criticize them, we fall into real danger of creating a chasm that no bridge can cross. I dislike the phrase, working on a marriage, as it sounds mechanical. I prefer organic images such as tending its garden. It is heightened if we consider each other precious plants within that garden. The blessing on a marriage require respect for each partner within it. To learn to use the right approach and attitudes respects that blessed relationship and allows it to blossom and flourish.

Trinity Sunday 2012 Is. 6, Ps. 29, John 3:1-17

Really, every Sunday is Trinity Sunday. At the same time, I think we could classify churches by their frequent reference to the Creator God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. Our liturgical prayers teach us about the Trinitarian God, but I find myself usually gravitating to God the Creator in an disproportionate degree. Our reading from Isaiah is one of being awestruck in a vision of the divine. It is a good reminder for preachers and those in religious teaching that we can never, as mortals, attempt to put God in a box of our own construction. Seraphim could be fearsome creatures, not the attractive angels of romantic artists. This vision of God is a temple vision after all. We dwell within the hem of God’s robe. god gives us space, gives us room to live. The words about the freedom of the spirit is a sterling reminder for us not to get too hung up on doctrinal niceties for all human attempts to describe the divine are approximations at best. The divine bursts all categories and boundaries, including our attempts at describing Trinity. Isaiah sees God’s glory in a temple vision, but a vision nonetheless. At the same time, Isaiah’s religious imagination is enriched by temple worship and a full engagement with Scripture. This day points us to our continuing quest to love god in our hearts, but with our minds and imaginations as well. Ps.29 is a hymn to creation and seems to be a mixture of other faiths and other cultures. It appropriates the words of other faiths with all of its riches and dangers since they are confident in their faith. The presence of God, the gravitas, the weightiness of the Holy One is kabod. Our worship, our formal worship, is an attempt to honor that kabod., to take real care for word and music to develop a theme each sunday.That accommodating God suffuses the world of nature as nature’s God-The previous generation of biblical scholars saw Israel’s faith in God. With our environmental awareness, we have recovered much of the biblical material of God’s continuing care for the creation of all nature, not just human beings. Again, the world is God’s not ours. Again, we live within the folds of God’s robes filling the earth. Jim Sinclair has spoken of his view that emphasis on the Spirit is our task for 21st Century. We learn who God is by God’s actions. For Christians, we see God decisively in Jesus Christ. The work of god that binds together past, present, and future is the work of the Spirit of Christ. The loving bonds that propel us into a new future is the work of the Spirit. Instead of falling head over heels in abstract speculation, we look to the life of Jesus. Once again the story of Nicodemus shows up in our readings. We see that creation and new creation is the work of the God of the three, the god of the One. When it moves into the commentary or narration we get a great glimpse of the eternal divine vision.The Trinity is no detached god, but one intimately connected and involved with us. It is a picture of a restless God, always on the lookout for sparking new life, new growth, in ways that fit the needs of those whom God so loves. Without struggling with unfamiliar philosophical language, we do well to approach the Trinity this way: aspect of divine love in action. Those acts of love are always connected, born of the same impulse. A number of us here are offspring, parents, and spouses, three dimensions of human love.God is a god of interconnections, of relationships, all aspects of love.