Meanderings

Retirement. Again!

2012-05-24T23:02:00.002-04:00

Ken loves to watch the TV series The Big Bang Theory, even the re-runs, several times over. Big Bang is on now as I begin this writing, and the episode is about Sheldon Cooper, the adult physicist child prodigy, finding a lost parrot on the window ledge of his apartment. Sheldon has orniphobia, and it takes him a long time to be able even to touch the bird that he ultimately bonds with and names “Lovey Dovey.” When he opens the window to bring the bird’s nest inside, the bird escapes. Sheldon stands at the open window, devastated by the loss of his “Lovey Dovey” and pleading with it to come back. In total frustration, he finally yells, “Come back you stupid bird, so I can love you.”

As my second, and hopefully final, retirement from West Danville United Methodist Church draws near, I can understand Sheldon’s feelings. In fact, in my own way, I found myself sharing Sheldon’s feelings – and his frustration and devastation. Perhaps my phobia is a fear of retirement, and at its latest dawning, I find myself standing at the open window yelling, “Come back you stupid job, so I can love you.”

I did a Google search for a phobia meaning “fear of retirement.” There is no word for it. Each time I tried a differently worded search, a little yellow box popped up that said:

Not ready for change?

You can temporarily switch back to the old iGoogle. Simply click

the gear icon and choose “Revert to the old look temporarily.”

Reading that, it struck me that perhaps I am not ready for the change that comes with retirement (even though I’ve tried it twice before – if you count my Interim at Orleans). But in real life there is no gear icon that allows me to choose to “Revert to the old look temporarily.” In 1994, when I first met many of you, I was blond, reasonably wrinkle-free and abounding with energy. But that ship has sailed! 1994 is a far cry from today’s new look and my second round as your pastor. So, part of my primal scream at Sheldon’s window also has to do with the dawning knowledge of aging. As a former Junior High student of mine (now 40 years old) recently posted on Facebook, “I feel like I'm standing still age wise but everyone else is still moving!” Or as Isaac Watts wrote in one of his well-known hymns, “Time, like an every rolling stream, bears all who breathe away, they fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.” And there are all those things I still want to accomplish and . . . it is time to retire! OK. I can do that - after I finish this article, a graveside funeral, New England Annual Conference, two weddings, one more Church Council meeting, one more UMW meeting, three more Sunday services, organize the Charge Conference files, and then . . . and then, I am retired!

But not without a statement of my belief in you as a congregation with a new pastor coming to serve with you on July 1st. These things I believe (or at least hope) you will do:

You will welcome her and accept her as your pastor and help her in the work of the church
You will support her as you and she work through your identity in relation to each other
You will be faithful in your attendance at worship, in your prayers for her ministry, and in your giving of time, talents, and financial resources
You will reach out to invite friends, neighbors and complete strangers to “Come and see” that you are indeed a “Welcoming Congregation”
You will continue your strong emphasis on doing missions
You will be willing to try out new ways of doing ministry
You will start sitting closer to the front of the sanctuary!

I close my last Meanderings with the words of Julian of Norwich: “All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well.” Or as Reuben Job re-translated Julian’s thoughts: “Shalom, shalom – All will be well!” [Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants, 1991]

Shalom!

Ascension Sunday Reflections. . . Up, Down, or All Around?

2012-05-24T22:56:00.000-04:00

June 5, 2011

Ascension Sunday, Year A

Lessons:

Acts 1:1-11

Psalm 47

Ephesians 1:15-23

Luke 24:44-53

Today is Ascension Sunday the last Sunday of the Easter season. The Ascension is a difficult topic to understand much less try to share Reflections on it.

The only New Testament writer to record the Ascension is Luke, and he tells the story at the end of his first book, the Gospel of Luke, and at the beginning of his second book, Acts. The Gospel according to Mark refers to the Ascension, IF you accept that the longer version of the ending of Mark is part of his original account and not a later added addition, as most biblical scholars believe. In that later version, Mark as we now have it, simply says: “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” [Mark16:19] Luke is just as terse. In his Gospel he writes: “While he was blessing them (the disciples), he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.”[Luke 24:51] And in the Book of Acts, he says: “When he had said this, as they (the disciples) were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” [Acts 1:9] John’s Gospel tells of the Risen Jesus speaking of his own ascension when he tells Mary in the garden near the tomb where he had been lain, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” [John 20:17] So in John, it is a reference made by Jesus on Easter, the day of his Resurrection. In Mark – perhaps - and especially in Luke, the eleven remaining disciples witness Jesus’ going – off into the wild blue yonder – up to heaven, carried on a cloud.

These accounts are part of our difficulty. They come from a different culture from almost two millennia ago. At the same time, today we still use the same kind of language that makes this story so difficult for us. So I’ve spent some time trying to deal with these accounts in a way that might make some sense.

Way back when I was in seminary at Wesley Theological, people had problems with the hymn we just sang. We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations was written in 1896 by H. Ernest Nichol, an English evangelist, missionary and hymn writer. But even back in the mid to late 1960s, at Wesley Seminary, it was considered politically incorrect, although we were not yet into using that particular term. Instead we were just told it was “theologically unsound.” One of our professors was among the hundreds of missionaries expelled from Communist China in 1954 because the newly established Communist party did not want their culture to continue to be westernized. He would often speak of what he called “the great sin of westernization” – and he often referred to Ernest Nichol’s hymn as an example of the mindset that corrupted the missionary movement, confusing teaching our western cultural ways with teaching about God’s love for all humankind.

I read an account this past week written by a pastor in South Africa. He wrote of the “theological conundrum” that missionaries faced when they came to Africa – and the difficulty we face as we confront the accounts of the Ascension. To get at the point he was making, I’d like to show you some slides of Christian artwork that depict the Ascension of Jesus. [SHOW SLIDES]

So - what is the one thing that is the same in all these pictures? [COMMENTS]

Jesus is ascending – UP! Heaven is UP! We still speak of it that way. We heard Nikita Khrushchev quote the first Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin as saying, “I flew into space, but didn’t see any god there.” We laughed among ourselves at the naiveté of this statement as a proof for the non-existence of God. And yet we still speak of going up to heaven. Or Jesus “ascending” to heaven to sit beside God’s throne. And we wonder why secular people snicker – or maybe outright belly laugh - at our own naiveté.

African Pastor, Peter Woods, says that several indigenous African peoples believe that God, whom they call “The Biggest One” or “The Way Opener” lived in the ground. Thus, caves and holes were considered sacred places that the people adorned with cave paintings and illuminated with fires.

Even to this day, Africans honor this old belief in some of their rituals.

But European and American missionaries taught that God lived in the sky, and that there was a place called hell deep in the earth – a concept that was totally foreign to the Africans. In their preaching, the missionaries turned the psyche of the Africans around from the God of the deep to the God of the sky – and by doing so they created a deep wound in the soul of a people who were already, by their very nature, profoundly theistic.

What the missionaries didn’t have the insight to examine in their time was how they, as Westerners, had come to believe in the God of the sky. Their thinking came from the very primitive belief that the earth was a flat disk standing on pillars in the midst of water. Above the earth was a dome that held back chaos and destruction. On a flat earth, it was easy to point to where God lived. God lived up beyond the dome. In fact, God was even believed to be part of that dome, holding back the chaos that seemed so close in that early world. Or someone of this middle-eastern cosmology mindset, it was easy to understand Jesus’ resurrection and re-assimilation into God as having “ascended” – gone back UP to God. Back beyond the dome. But in 2011, it is not so easy to think or speak in those terms.

Coming with this middle-eastern cosmology to the events of Jesus’ death, resurrection and re-assimilation into God, it was easy to speak of Jesus as having “ascended” back to God. Back beyond the dome.1 But do we really believe that? Literally believe that?

Recently, grandson Reese ( Second Grade) casually asked me about how we knew the North Pole was up and the South Pole was down. It made no sense to him. How could there be an up or down in space? he wanted to know. He’s just finishing second grade, by the way.

On the front of your bulletin I quoted William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1942-1944. He wrote: “The Ascension of Christ is his liberation from all restrictions of time and space. It does not represent his removal from earth, but his constant presence everywhere on earth.”2

In agreement with William Temple is Marcus Borg, a contemporary theologian, who wrote: “The Luke-Acts narrative isn’t a ‘beam me up’ story. Rather, it conveys Jesus’ lordship and freedom from space-time limitations.”3

Peter Woods raises an interesting question in his article about African spirituality. He asks, “What if Africans are correct and Jesus came from God who lives in the earth? He would then have descended on this Feast day, back into the earth from which he came. I wonder how that simple change of orientation would have changed our world history? What if the Africans had sent missionaries with this message to Europe and her industrialized siblings instead of the other way around? Would the earth be groaning as she is now? Would we have raped and pillaged the abode of God as we have, all the while believing that God was “up there” blessing our “taming and subduing” of our island home in space?”4

Woods seems to be reflecting the thoughts of eco-theologian, Sallie McFague, who suggests that if we view the earth (indeed, the whole universe) as the Body of God, then we will be live our lives as more ecologically responsible beings. McFague is also know as a metaphorical theologian – and it seems to me that our real “theological conundrum” or problem is how we put into language things that language cannot possibly describe adequately.

That’s why I like what Marcia Morrissey has to say about the Ascension. “Jesus may have ascended, but the mission is down here, where you are and suited to your skills, your gifts and even your limitations. The mission is your responsibility to all around you.”5

I’d like to end these Reflections by sharing a short video with you produced by the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries and the United Methodist Women.6 It speaks of our mission as being with one another – the people and situation all around us.

EndNotes

1 Woods, Peter, “Up, up and IN SIDE!” I am listening . . . http://thelisteninghermit.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/up-up-and-inside/ I have adapted Peter Wood’s ideas in this section of my Reflections.

2 Temple, William, http://www.mccmanchester.co.uk/sermons/sermon_20may07.htm

3 Borg, Marcus, http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2000/05/The-Ascension-Of-Jesus.aspx

4 Woods, Op.Cit.

⁵Morrissey, Marcia, Source unknown. Quoted on Worship-WRCL-List

6 Ministry With, produced by the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries and the United Methodist Women. Posted on Facebook by the Rev. Brigid Farrell, District Superintendent, VT District, NEC.

JUNE NEWSLETTER ARTICLE

2011-05-28T22:55:00.000-04:00

I wrote this article for the June Newsletter for the West Danville United Methodist Church. You can find the whole newsletter posted on the church website at www.westdanvilleumc.org

The black flies are out in force these days, thanks to the continuing wet weather. Plus, it’s the season for the little buggers, who love to bite us around the hairline – or anywhere they can find skin – and leave little round puncture wounds that can itch or swell or even become infected. And DEET doesn’t even faze them! I think they like the smell! How I hate black fly season! The good news is that eventually they go away with the advent of the warmer, drier weather of summer.

Anopheles mosquito

Not so with the female mosquito of the genus Anopheles – the one that spreads the parasite Plasmodium, which causes the dreadful disease Malaria. Malaria was eliminated in the United States in the 1950s, but it remains a serious health problem across the globe, particularly in the developing African countries. In tropical climates, the Anopheles mosquito is always a threat. There is no cure for malaria, and it poses a threat to 200 to 300 million people worldwide. Infants and children are the most susceptible. One child dies every 45 seconds from Malaria, more than one million annually in Africa.

The United Methodist Church is collaborating with the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the global Fund, the Lutheran Church of America and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to rid the world of Malaria by 2015. The Gates Foundation has contributed $17 million to underwrite this effort. Their gift is to pay for administration, development, staffing and public information for this initiative. The goal is to raise an additional $75 million to use in four areas to eradicate malaria.

(1) PREVENTION by distributing bed nets through the Nothing But Nets program.

(2) EDUCATION to train community health workers and teach people how to protect themselves from malaria, and to disseminate information in countries without the luxury of TV and newspapers

(3) TREATMENT of those who have already contracted the disease.

(4) ERADICATION of the sources of the mosquitoes by draining stagnant pools of water.

JUST IMAGINE what 11.5 million compassionate United Methodists (and their friends!) can do to empower an entire continent to achieve a sustainable victory over malaria!

JULY IS IMAGINE NO MALARIA MONTH AT THE WEST DANVILLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH!

The only good Anopheles mosquito!

In July we will have lots of opportunities to learn more about malaria and the initiative to eradicate it by 2015. We will have opportunities to explore and decide how we will support this program, as individuals and as a church. Ten dollars buys a bed net and saves a life; $1,000 (or a pledge of $28/month for 3 years) would IMPACT 100 lives. We will have a community concert featuring singer Mark Shelton on July 22, from 7-9 p.m. We will have devotional materials to use, and special prayers of support for this important mission. Watch for updates, bulletin announcements, posters of events, and be sure to visit www.ImagineNoMalaria.com and www.westdanvilleumc.org for on-going information about Imagine No Malaria.

REFLECTIONS . . . Teh sheep d00d an shep

2011-05-20T00:30:00.007-04:00

“The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same.”

~Marie-Henri Beyle, a.k.a. Stendhal, French writer 1783-1842

4^th Sunday of Easter, Year A

Good Shepherd Sunday

April 15, 2011

Acts 2:42-47

Psalm 23

1 Peter 2:19-25

John 10:1-10

Today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. It is celebrated every year on the 4^th Sunday of Easter, and it always includes a reading of Psalm 23 and a portion of John, Chapter 10. I would like to share one simple thought with you about the Good Shepherd and the sheep, or as my title says, Teh sheep d00d an shepz. My thoughts have to do with the shepherd’s VOICE. The Gospel of John tells us that “the sheep follow him (the gatekeeper or shepherd) because they know his voice.”[John 10:4] The shepherd’s VOICE is extremely important to the shepherd – and sometimes it is not his spoken voice, but a special way of whistling. Over time, the sheep get to know the shepherd’s voice, be it a vocalization or a whistle.

The sheep of the Bible were not raised for their meat. Primarily they were raised for their wool ¾ and a few for animal sacrifices. But mostly the sheep lived as part of the family for their life-span of twenty to twenty-five years. The sheep were treated like pets. The sheep all had names - like Ken’s cows all had to have names. The sheep had identities and were known by the shepherd. And they, in turn, knew their shepherd by his voice.

Now that’s a hard concept to get — knowing the Shepherd’s voice, meaning God’s voice. How do we hear and ultimately get to know God’s voice in today’s world? It seems to me that this is the number one most difficult question facing the Church today. How do we hear and ultimately get to know God’s voice in today’s world? This question is often asked in different words, however. It might be the question of “How do we attract our young people?” or “How do we reach the unchurched?” or “Why do some people come for awhile and drop out never to return?” or “Why don’t people think the church is important anymore?” I think these questions are really questions about how people come to know, hear and listen to God’s voice in their lives — and to differentiate God’s voice from the other voices that lay claim to their lives — and then come to respond to that voice in an active and faithful way.

A while ago I was privileged to come in contact with a very strange website that, for me at least, illustrates this issue. The site is LOLCatBible.com. It is a blog site, which means that, with the blog-owner’s permission, other people can comment, help edit, or add to the site. The purpose of this site is to translate the entire Bible into what the site calls LOLSpeak, or CatSpeak. The site has a grammar and spelling section to teach people how to write in LOLSpeak, which is a combination of how people might sort of “baby talk” to their cats or kittens joined with how the creators of this “cat language” think cats might speak among themselves. The site also has a page of very sound classical theology — written in LOLSpeak, of course. The site was created by a young man in high school, and most of the participating translators seem to be high school or college young people along with some college or university professors. It is an interesting site. If you look on the back of your bulletin, you will see the translation of the gospel lesson for this Sunday. Let me read it for you in my best CatSpeak dialect. Keep in mind that Jesus is speaking to some Pharisees as well as his own disciples.

¹ Jebus say "k gais i is for srs, if ur in shepfold and u no goes thru dor, u is r0bbr.² but if u can goez in thru shepfold door, is ur shepfold.³ cuz that means shepfold dorman see u and all ur sheepz hearz u. cuz u give shepz names and takez them from shepfold⁴ and so the shepz hearz name and folowz cuz is shepfold gai an hear liek teh shepfold gai.⁵ but if iz no shepfold gai, sheepz no folow cos is no shepfold gai and no sowndz like shepfold guy so shepz are like: run awai! is no shepfold gai!"⁶ Teh gaiz wer liek "WAT?! Wat u talkin bout sheepz 4? We is has NO KLU wat u meanz!!"
⁷ Jebus sez agn "k, lsn srsly gais, i iz shep door.⁸ Erleer peepz was r0bberz, n sheepz was like: i no lisn 2 u.⁹ I iz door. (I iz opn door, so u no need 2 compln, k?) U goes thru me, u iz ok, n u go in n u com out n u getz nice gras n stuf.¹⁰ R0bberz d00dz steelz ur stuff n kilz u. I iz here so u can has lots of lif, an it can has abunden... ubund... lotza gudniss.1

Perhaps that seems silly to you — or a waste of time. One critic who commented on the site agrees with that. David Mikkelson of snopes.com wrote:

“Sure, the Internet has more than proven itself as an invaluable tool for research, communication and business. Still, sometimes the best features of the Web are the most banal — namely those that let you kill time online while at work or school. Perhaps no other online project of the moment is greater testament to this than the Lolcat Bible Translation Project.”2

Perhaps to David Mikkelson it is a time-waster. But it occurs to me that if high school and college kids and even college professors are willing to spend their time translating Bible passages into LOLCatspeak, they would first have to very carefully read that passage and understand it well to be able to do that. They are, then, actually participating in one of the most clever Bible studies I’ve seen in a long time. What better way to learn the Bible than to have to paraphrase it into other words — even “catspeak” words! And what better way to learn the sound of God’s voice than through the study of God’s word! And here are young people from all over, adding to this project every day — learning the sound of God’s voice through the words of the Bible.

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” [John 10:27] Jesus guarantees us that we have a name and that he knows our name. He is the good shepherd. Over time, with the deepening of the relationship, the sheep and the shepherd know the voice of one another. We understand this because the closer we are to people, the more we know the sound of their voice. They don’t have to tell us their name on the telephone; we know their name because we know the tone of their voice. And so it is with God; God hears our voice and knows our voice by its very sound. And we know the sound of God’s voice: the voice of God in the Bible, the voice of God in prayer, the voice of God speaking through those who live by God’s love and share that love with others. By experience, we learn to know the sound of our LORD’s voice.

Jennie Gordon, a member of the worship-revised common lectionary list, has written a poem entitled “how will we know your voice?” that I would like to share with you in closing my Reflections:

how will we know your voice?

amidst the din of a thousand others
drumming their droll into our ears
jumping fences, crashing parties
sneaking in when the gate’s ajar
here; just try this, it’s what you need,
with this, success is guaranteed …
and then leaving us, fox-quick
hungrier than before
somehow sold-out, depleted
flattened, fleeced and cheated,

how will we know your voice?

it holds the breath of all beginnings
fills the cup with love outpouring
binds the broken, finds the lost
feeds the hungry, pays the cost
a still, small voice that dampens storms
ageless and timeless, since life’s dawn,
your tone the same

you are the one who speaks our name
© Jennie Gordon 2011 [used with permission]

EndNotes:

1 Jon 10:1-10 LOL Ca Bibl Translation Project. http://www.lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=John_10

2 Mikkelson, David, http://www.lolcatbible.com/index.php?title=Press

________________________

© Carol J. Borland, Interim Pastor, West Danville United Methodist Church, West Danville, Vermont. April 15, 2011 Good Shepherd Sunday, Easter 4A

REFLECTIONS . . . On Coming Into Belief

2011-05-19T23:59:00.001-04:00

Second Sunday of Easter, Year A
May 1, 2011

Acts 2:14a, 22-32

Psalm 16:5-11

1 Peter 1:3-9

John 20:19-31

"I am never sure how, or why,

Jesus has come to me and stood

in that sequestered place of fear and forgetfulness,

but he has again and again."

~Peter Woods, "Is It Really You? I am listening

In our Gospel lesson for this morning we hear about the disciples’ first encounter with the risen Christ. It is Easter Sunday evening, and the disciples are hiding behind locked doors because they are afraid of the authorities. Suddenly, and quite supernaturally - and John emphasizes this by mentioning the locked doors - quite supernaturally, Jesus stands among them, and he greets them. “Peace be with you,” he says, and then he breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

This passage from John provides a different perspective on the gift of the Holy Spirit and the beginnings of the church than the story in Acts. In Acts, the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples and those gathered on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after Christ’s resurrection - and it comes like a violent wind from heaven and dancing tongues of fire, and it fills the house where the disciples are sitting. The reading from Acts for this morning is the message that Peter preached to the Israelites gathered there right after the Holy Spirit rushed upon them. John, however, doesn’t mention the Pentecost experience. John sees the establishment of the church as inseparably linked with Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. For John, the Holy Spirit comes as a breath from the Risen Lord - after a greeting of “Peace.” And it happens on that first Easter Sunday.

The second half of this particular account in John’s gospel has Jesus appearing to the disciples a week later, and there are some notable differences in this encounter. First, there is no mention of the disciples being afraid. Second, this time Thomas is present. And Thomas, remember, does not believe the story of Christ’s resurrection. He’s been told about it. He’s heard sincere and valid testimony from people he trusts. But none of this makes a difference. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails, and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” [NRSV] That’s what Thomas says. And suddenly Jesus just appears, this time through shut doors - no mention of locks, though - and he confronts Thomas with his unbelief. Jesus says “Hey Thomas! How about this? Here I am. If you need to see and touch, then go right ahead!” Thomas responds with the most powerful and complete confession in the John’s gospel: “My Lord and My God!”

I think everyone has heard the expression “doubting Thomas” - usually accompanied by the admonition not to be one. The usual way of looking at this passage is from the perspective of Thomas and with the emphasis on his “doubt.” We view Thomas, the one who doubted, with a judgmental eye. After all, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” [NRSV] Jesus expresses this blessing in a verse that seems to contrast the believers - the blessed ones - with Thomas who, by inference, is not as blessed because he needed to see Jesus in order to believe. We see Thomas as a kind of second-class believer.

This is how we traditionally have read this passage - from a perspective that casts a negative tone on doubt. “Why do you doubt, Thomas? The rest of us don’t need to put our fingers in his side. We believe on the basis of the testimony of others, and we’re blessed. Why don’t you?” From that perspective, Thomas becomes a model of discipleship that isn’t quite up to par with the rest of the disciples.

Most translations of this passage use the word doubt. Jesus tells Thomas, “Do not DOUBT, but believe.”[NRSV] I found it extremely interesting to learn that the word ‘doubt’ does not appear in the Greek. A literal translation from the Greek would read more like “do not be without faith, but with faith.” Eugene Peterson translates it, “Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.”[Peterson]

I think that changes things a bit. For one thing, the negative connotation to Jesus’ words to Thomas is gone. Besides, even though Mary Magdelene told the other disciples about her encounter with the risen Lord at the garden tomb, they did not believe. But they don’t get labeled doubters. And they don’t know what to make of her account, so they cower in fear behind locked doors. Incidentally, an archaic definition of “doubt” is “fear.” It isn’t until Jesus appears before them and breathes the Holy Spirit into them that they abandon their own fear. So it isn’t hard to follow that Thomas also fails to believe on the basis of the testimony of others as well. No. Thomas is quite clear about what he needs in order to believe: “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.” [Peterson] I talked about this a little last week - our very human need to have permanent, concrete, physical evidence, and how that need keeps us from seeing anything beyond that need.

But look at the way Jesus handles Thomas’s request and needs. He turns to Thomas, greets him and says, “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.” [Peterson] “Stop being without faith, and be with faith.” There is no judgment or condemnation in Jesus’ words. Instead, Jesus is meeting Thomas’s needs. I’m sure Thomas would like to be faithful, to believe without seeing, but he can’t. So Jesus gives Thomas what he needs for faith. He not only appears to him, but he offers to meet every condition that Thomas has made. Touch me, feel my wounds and then - have faith.

For many of the people hearing John’s gospel for the first time, these words of the risen Christ are words of comfort and assurance. Living years after the last disciple saw Jesus with his or her own eyes, they are faced with the same circumstance as Thomas. They are challenged to believe, to have faith in Jesus Christ, without ever seeing for themselves. But this passage assures them that Jesus will offer them what they need to have faith - to go from unbelieving to believing.

And so it is for us. We do not see Jesus face to face in the flesh. We won’t ever have the opportunity to examine and feel his wounded hands and side. But that doesn’t matter. This story of the unbelieving Thomas tells us that Jesus also offers us what we need in order that we may believe, that we may have faith. God meets us on our terms, on our turf, so that we too, can be blessed.

Peter preached about Jesus’ resurrection at that first sermon to the Israelites on the Day of Pentecost. And when he wrote his first letter to encourage the Christians of the early church in the midst of severe persecution by the Romans by the Emperor Nero, he had this to say to them:

“Although you’ve never seen him, you love him. Even though you don’t see him now, you trust him and so rejoice with a glorious joy that is too much for words. You are receiving the goal of your faith, your salvation.” [1 Peter 1:8-9, Common English Bible]

RESOURCES:

____________________________

Peterson, Eugene H. The Message-The Bible in Contemporary Language. NavPress, 2002.

The Student Bible – New Revised Standard Version. Zondervan Publishing:Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1994.

Common English Bible, New Testament. Abingdon:Nashville, 2011.

EASTER REFLECTIONS . . . Close Encounters on the Third Day

2011-04-28T11:44:00.001-04:00

EASTER SUNDAY, Year A

April 24, 2011

Acts 10:34-43

Psalm 118:1-124

Colossians 3:1-4

John 20:1-18

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Alleluia!

We say that every year on Easter Sunday when we gather to worship. And every year, before we gather to worship, I try to figure out what to say about what that might mean to me and to you – or rather, what might make it more meaningful, more sensible, more useable for me and for you. I think about it all through Lent and through Holy Week. And on Monday morning of this week, I woke from sleep early with a tune on my mind. A tune that gave me an idea of what to reflect with you on this Easter Sunday morning. Listen. (Play ringtone of theme of Close Encounters of a Third Kind)

The Resurrection! What is it all about? It’s about a “close encounter on the third day!”

All four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - give an account of the empty tomb. Of course, none of them agree who had the first close encounter, and none of them agree on the details of the encounter. But it was, in fact a very close encounter, because it changed the course of history and of millions and millions of lives since – and continues to transform people’s lives every day. That’s the good news of the Easter stories, conflicting in details though they may be.

This year’s reading of that first Easter morning is from the gospel according to John. John says: “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.” [20:1] So she runs to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved (and scholars have pretty much decided that was John), and she tells them: “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” [20:2b] Stop there for a second: Why would she say “we?” “We do not know where they have laid him?”

Perhaps John had read Matthew, where Mary Magdalene is accompanied by “the other Mary.” [see Matthew 28] Or Mark who speaks of three women who went to the tomb: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. [see Mark 16] Or Luke, who speaks of “the women” who went, among them Mary Magdalene, Johanna, Mary the mother of James, and the “other women.” [see Luke 24] I would encourage you to read all four of these interesting accounts of a close encounter on the third day – take the time to do a comparison of the details in the stories. I think you will be amazed at what you find!

But this is the year for John’s account. And in that story, Mary Magdalene follows Peter and the other disciple, whom I will assume is John, back to the tomb. John gets there first and bends to look in. When Peter arrives he goes right in. Then John follows, and they see the linen wrappings lying there and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head rolled up in a place by itself. And the gospel of John says that when the other disciple (a.k.a. John) saw this, “he believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.” [v8b-10]

So what is it that the other disciple believed? I’m not so sure he believed that Jesus was risen! The one thing they all knew was that Jesus was not in the tomb. That was believable. So Peter and John go home.

But Mary Magdalene stayed there outside the tomb, weeping. Finally she bent over to look inside, and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they asked her why she was weeping. “They have taken away my Lord,” she said, “and I do not know where they have laid him.” And then, when she turned around, she saw Jesus. Except she didn’t know it was Jesus. She thought it was the gardener. And he asked her why she was weeping and who she was looking for. She begs him to tell her where Jesus’ body was so she could take him away. And then Jesus calls her by name. “Mary!” And at that point, Mary finally recognizes him. I wonder (from this account that takes lots of wondering) if she tried to hug him, put her arms around him – because he tells her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father.” And then he tells her to go tell the others. And she does.

That’s John’s account of Mary’s close encounter with her risen Lord.

Back in 2001, twelve of us from this church traveled to the Holy Land with Bishop Morrison’s Conference trip. We visited many historic biblical sites, among them the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is a large church built in 1810 by the Greek and Russian Orthodox. Not only does it claim to be the site of Jesus’ tomb, but also the site of his crucifixion on Golgotha, the Rock of the Skull. Here’s a few pictures I took of this place.


The domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem

The alleged location of the Rock of the Skull, a.k.a. Golgotha


The top of the rock is encased in glass


Jesus' tomb at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

A marble slab placed over the stone slab upon which Jesus' body was lain

In 1883, the British General Charles Gordon, noticed a rock outside the old wall of Jerusalem where prisoners would have been crucified. It looked like the face of a skull, and so he began carefully excavating the site, finding some ancient stone tombs nearby – enough to convince him and many others that this could be the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection.


The Rock of the Skull, located outside the old city wall of Jerusalem, discovered in 1883


A garden tomb in the garden near the Rock of the Skull, unearthed by General Gordon

So why is it so important to people, like the Christians who built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and like General Charles Gordon who excavated a long-buried archaeological site, to do those things. What are they doing? It seems to me they are doing what we humans do best. They are trying to bring something physical, something solid, something permanent to something that is like a wisp of fog or smoke that we see and then it’s gone. We humans have a hard time accepting things that have no hard physical evidence – things that are too mystical or ethereal.

I‘d like to show you a video I saved from YouTube. Your assignment, as you watch this video, is to count how many basketball passes the team with the black shirts make. Watch closely for the team makes their passes rapidly.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bioyh7Gnskg)

How many of you saw the Storm Trooper the first time?

We don’t always see Jesus right away either. But he is present – he lives – he lives among us and within us. He lives in our hearts and in our thoughts and in our souls. Sometimes we are so busy with our lives – like counting the passes in the basketball passing test video - so busy that we do not see where Jesus is present in our lives. But he’s there. Sometimes we try to deny his presence. But, deny him or not, he’s there. And that, to me, is what the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ is all about. He’s always with us, whether we know it or not, whether we want him or not. He’s there. And once we do "see" him - sense his presence in our lives - well, then it's harder NOT to see him - just like the storm trooper in the video.

We really know he is there when we love one another as he loves us. Running through John’s Resurrection story is a common thread of love. “Due to her love for Jesus, Mary Magdalene was able to see things that others did not, and I think the same can be said of us. Love is what makes truly seeing and knowing other people possible, and it is through the lens of our love for Jesus and his love for us that we are to look upon the world and those who live in it.”1 It is through the eyes of love that we see Jesus the Resurrected Christ present and active in our lives.

Christ is risen

He is risen indeed!

Alleluia! Amen!

1 adapted from Koontz, Lee A. First Look, a commentary for Easter, Year A, published on-line on April 18, 2011.

____________________________

PALM-PASSION SUNDAY

2011-04-25T10:01:00.001-04:00

This is the total script of readings and speaking part that I used for Palm-Passion Sunday. I'm a late in putting this up, but we have been sugaring as well as my participation in our ecumenical Holy Week services, so time has been short.

WEST DANVILLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Palm-Passion Sunday
April 17, 2011

GREETING

L: May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

P: And also with you. Amen!

* CALL TO WORSHIP

L: Here in this place, with these people, we begin that week we call Holy.

P: We crane our necks to see the parade, we will bow our heads as

the funeral procession winds through the streets.

L: We have been with Jesus on this journey; we long for courage to go to the end.

P: In one hand, we clutch the palm branches; in the other, we cradle our broken

hearts.

L: As the crowd dances excitedly around him, Jesus humbly enters our lives.

All: Hosanna! We welcome the kingdom-bearer into our midst. Hosanna!

*GATHERING PRAYER (Unison)

Almighty and ever-living God, You have given the human race Jesus Christ our Savior as a model of perfect love. As we gather today to worship, open our hearts that we may hear your Word afresh, and respond as willing disciples to serve you in the world that you loved so much. Make us worthy to share in Christ’s resurrection life. In His name we pray. Amen.

A READING FROM PSALM 118:1-2, 19-29 (Responsively)

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!

Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks

to the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.

I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the

Lord.

The Lord is God, and he has given us light.

Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

*HYMN OF RESPONSE 657 This Is the Day

A READING FROM MATTHEW 21:1-11 Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem

Symbol: Donkey and palms

¹When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” ⁴This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, ⁵“Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” ⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” ¹⁰When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” ¹¹The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

A Disciple speaks: “A king should ride a magnificent white horse. That would be the way a king should come into Jerusalem. But there is no horse, just a donkey. A donkey will do!” (Place donkey and some palms at the foot of the large cross)

*HYMN The Day of Palms Is Come Again
Words by Paul Sheppy [Tune: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear]

The day of palms is come again,
a day of triumphant praise,

when crowds excited ran to sing
the song the psalmist raised.

“Blessed the one who comes,” they cry,
“to set his people free.”

Gladly we join our song with theirs
who yearn for liberty.

How soon the gladness disappears
and darkness stalks the streets!

The King who rides a donkey’s colt
with coats beneath its feet.

will soon a crown of thorns endure,
a throne of rough-hewn wood.

A day of agony draws near
when evil strikes at good.

‘Hosanna!’ turns to ‘Crucify!’
rejoicing turns to scorn.

If this were all there were to tell,
how deeply we should mourn.

Yet death is not the final step
that Christ our Savior trod.

Onward he marches, leading home
the world he won for God.

A READING FROM ISAIAH 53:1-5

¹Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? ²For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. ³He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.

⁴Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. ⁵But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.

A READING FROM PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11

⁵Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, ⁷but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, ⁸he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. ⁹Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

HYMN 2017 Jesus, Name Above All Names

THE OFFERING

*OFFERTORY ANTHEM

*PRESENTATION OF OUR OFFERINGS (unison)
Come bless the gifts our hands have brought.
Come bless the work our hearts have planned.
Ours is the faith, the will, the thought;
the rest, O God, is in your hands.

A READING FROM MATTHEW 26:31-32 Scattered like sheep

Symbol: Shepherd’s Staff

³¹Then Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ ³²But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.”

Reader 1: (Holding the shepherd’s staff) “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.”

Reader 2: “Well, not this time. You heard the man. He quoted scripture, too, and he said we would be scattered like a flock of sheep whose shepherd has been stricken. The Lord’s staff isn’t going to rescue us this time!” (Take staff from hand of Reader 1 and lean it against the cross)

A READING FROM MATTHEW 26:14-16

Betrayal Money

Symbol: 30 pieces of silver

¹⁴Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

Judas speaks: “30 pieces of silver. It’s not a lot of money, but perhaps if I hand Jesus over to the authorities, it will jump-start this “revolution” – this new day, this new way of life – he’s was always talking about. After all, the ride into Jerusalem was a triumph, even if it was on a donkey! Such cheering! Such adoration! With that many passionate followers, the day has come for Jesus to claim his crown and establish his Kingdom for God. That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? Bringing in the Kingdom? (lay bag of coins on the Communion Table)

A READING FROM MATTHEW 26:17-30

Keeping the Passover Meal

Symbols: Communion Chalice & Paton (Place them on the Communion Table)

¹⁷On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” ¹⁹So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. ²⁰When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; ²¹and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” ²²And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” ²³He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. ²⁴The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” ²⁵Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” ²⁷Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” ³⁰When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

(Place Communion cup and plate on Communion Table)

HYMN [Tune: The Faith We Sing 2141]

Beneath the Cross I Lay Down My Sin

Beneath the cross I lay down my sin;
sin that keeps me from Jesus.
From the cross pours forth Jesus’ love;
Grace is a gift of God.
Al-le-lu-ia! Grace in my heart is singing praises.
Al-le-lu-ia! Love is a gift from God.

A READING FROM MATTHEW 26:33-35

Before the Cock Crows

Symbol: Rooster

³³Peter said to him, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.” ³⁴Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” ³⁵Peter said to him, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And so said all the disciples.

HYMN 290, verse 1 Go to Dark Gethsemene

A READING FROM MATTHEW 26:36-46

At the Garden of Gethsemane

Symbol: a bed pillow

³⁶Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. ³⁸Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” ³⁹And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” ⁴⁰Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? ⁴¹Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴²Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” ⁴³Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

Peter speaks: “I tried to stay awake. But it was late, we’d had the Passover supper and some wine, and with the cool night air – well, I was gone – asleep before I knew it. I fought it as best I could, but I could not keep my eyes open. I didn’t mean to let Jesus down, but what could I do? It was a long day, and we all were exhausted. I wish I had done as he asked and prayed with him.” (place pillow at foot of cross)

A READING FROM MATTHEW 26:47-56

Jesus’ Arrest in Garden

Symbol: sword

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.” ⁴⁹At once he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. ⁵⁰Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. ⁵²Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. ⁵³Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?” ⁵⁵At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. ⁵⁶But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

A Disciple speaks: “All who live by the sword will die by the sword.” That’s what Jesus said to me when I cut off the ear of the high priest’s slave. I was only trying to help. I knew they were up to no good and would harm Jesus. Then I remembered that Jesus once told us when someone strikes us on the cheek, we should turn the other cheek. So, reluctantly, I put up my sword like he said.” (place the sword at the foot of the cross)

A READING FROM MATTHEW 26: 57-68

Jesus Before Caiaphas the High Priest

⁵⁷Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. ⁵⁸But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. ⁵⁹Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, ⁶⁰but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward ⁶¹and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’” ⁶²The high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” ⁶³But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” ⁶⁴Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” ⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶What is your verdict?” They answered, “He deserves death.” ⁶⁷Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, ⁶⁸saying, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?”

A READING FROM MATTHEW 26:69-75

Peter’s Betrayal

Symbol: Rooster

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰But he denied it before all of them, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” ⁷¹When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁷²Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” ⁷³After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.” ⁷⁴Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment the cock crowed. ⁷⁵Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Peter speaks: “Jesus warned me that I would betray him – and I did. How did he know? Did he know how scared I was? But I had pledged my loyalty to him. How could I deny him, not once but 3 times? I am so ashamed – and sorry. But I can’t take it back or make it right. I betrayed him.” (Place Rooster at the foot of cross)

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND ASSURANCE OF PARDON (On screen)

A READING FROM MATTHEW 27:1-10

Suicide of Judas Iscariot

Symbol: Bag of silver coins

¹When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. ²They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor. ³When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴He said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” ⁵Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. ⁶But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.” ⁷After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter’s field as a place to bury foreigners. ⁸For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, ¹⁰and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

Judas speaks: “I begged them to take the money back. But it was blood money, they said. Not fit for Temple use. So they used it to buy the Potter’s Field – a place to bury sinners like me. How I wish I were already there!” (Take bag of coins from the Table and scatter them at the foot of the cross)

*HYMN 289 (verses 1 & 2) Ah, Holy Jesus

A READING FROM MATTHEW 27:11-26

Jesus’ Trial Before Pilate

Symbol: Pitcher and basin

¹¹Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” ¹²But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. ¹³Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?” ¹⁴But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

¹⁵Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. ¹⁶At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. ¹⁷So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. ¹⁹While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” ²⁰Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. ²¹The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²²Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

²⁴So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” ²⁵Then the people as a whole answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Pilate speaks: “I said I was innocent of this Jewish Rabbi’s blood. But I know I’m not. How did I ever let it get this far? I tried to satisfy their need for blood by offering them a choice: Barabbas or Jesus. They chose the wrong man. They let a murdering criminal go so they could demand an innocent man’s death – by crucifixion, no less. Ahhhh – why didn’t I listen to my wife? She tried to warn me.” (Place pitcher and basin at the foot of the cross)

A READING FROM MATTHEW 27:27-21

The Crown of Thorns

Symbol: Crown of Thorns banner (Hang the banner)

²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. ²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

*HYMN 285 To Mock Your Reign, O Dearest Lord

A READING FROM MATTHEW 27:32

Simon of Cyrene Carries Jesus’ Cross

³²As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross.

SONG Watch the Lamb by Ray Boltz

(The Crucifixion through the eyes of Simon of Cyrene, the man who was ordered to carry Jesus’ cross - done in Keynotes on Mac))

A READING FROM JOHN 15:1-8

I am the vine you are the branches

Symbol: Vine and Branches banner

¹”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

Reader: Old Testament prophets referred to the Israelites as God’s “vine” or “vineyard.” But as Jesus often pointed out, the Jews had failed to bear fruit. Here, to his disciples at their last Passover meal together, Jesus claims the image for himself: “I am the true vine.” John frequently records Jesus’ use of the words I am: “I am the bread of life.” “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The phrase I am stood out sharply to Jewish leaders, because in Exodus 3:14, God told Moses, “I Am Who I Am” – in Hebrew, Yahweh. Jewish unbelievers, believing that Jesus was claiming to be God, reacted with shock and rage. In speaking this way to his disciples, he was calling them, as his branches, to “bear fruit and to become his disciples.”
[Adapted from The Student Bible NRSV, Zondervan Publishing, 1996. p. 11120]

(Hang the banner)

*HYMN 297 Beneath the Cross of Jesus

*DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING

*CHORAL RESPONSE 488 Jesus, Remember Me

Jesus, remember me

when you come into your kingdom.

Jesus, remember me

when you come into your kingdom.

REFLECTIONS . . . . . On Earth Day

2011-04-11T00:02:00.002-04:00

Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year A April 10, 2011

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Psalm 130

Romans 8:6-11

John 11:1-45

Our Lord has written
the promise of resurrection,
not in books alone,
but in every leaf in springtime.

~ Martin Luther

The readings for today are probably among the better known in the Bible, and as lectionary readings go, connect better with each other than most of the readings do. They all have to do with being called back to new life by God, our Creator and Redeemer. In Ezekiel’s vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, that great Prophet speaks to the people of Israel, a people who had lost their hope and were, in their minds, as good as dead. And Ezekiel calls them back to new hope and new life, as he has been instructed to do by the LORD. The Psalm for today responds to the words of Ezekiel. “O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.” [Psalm 130:7]

And then there is John’s account of Jesus calling his friend Lazarus, dead and entombed for four days, to come out of the tomb. It is in this passage that John reports one of Jesus’ great “I Am” sayings: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

I’ve spoken on these passages here in this church at least 5 times, because the three year lectionary turned to Year A in Advent of 1995 and continuing through 1996, not long after I began serving here the first time around. So, today I thought I would challenge you to look at them in a little different way. I want you to look at them from a metaphorical point of view. Does anyone here know what a metaphor is? [Wait for answers] A metaphor is a figure of speech – a way of saying things in a different way. We use analogies a lot. An analogy says something is LIKE something else. But a metaphor says it IS something else. For example, if I speak of my little dog Nixie and say, “My dog Nixie is like a real little person” - that would be an analogy. But if I say, “My dog Nixie is a real little person” – that’s a metaphor. Metaphors are stronger statements than analogies. But enough on the English lesson! Back to the lessons for today.

To treat Ezekiel’s vision of the Valley of Dry Bones and John’s account of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus as a metaphor means we have to speak about them in a totally different way – they have to “be” – they have to “re-present” – something they are not.

April 22 is Earth Day, a day set aside to celebrate Creation in all its grandeur and in all its pain. And the earth has certainly been suffering a great deal of upheaval and pain these past few years: hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, ice storms, intense snow storms, flooding, mud slides, and the obviously human-caused catastrophes, things like the Gulf oil spill and many of the raging forest fires on the West Coast in the past few years.

We usually celebrate Earth Day on the Sunday closest to April 22 – and this year, that would be Easter. But I was struck this week by the lessons for today, and how – metaphorically – they speak to us of the meaning of Earth Day and our role in God’s Creation.

Think, for example, of Ezekiel’s vision. He sees a valley filled with dried bones, and they were very dry. And he hears God asking him if these dried bones can live. And Ezekiel, not so sure of himself, answers, “O LORD God, you know.” Meaning maybe something like this: “Not me, Lord, I don’t know – but you must know. Only you know – you are the One who creates and re-creates. The One who redeems. Not me.” And God says, “That’s right – but I need you to help me. You’re a Prophet, so prophesy! They’ll listen to you – these as-good-as-dead-dried-bone-Israelites! Tell them about my breath - that I will “breathe” on them. Now, we have to remember that the Hebrew word for breath is ruach, which in Greek becomes pneuma, which in English becomes spirit – and it actually meant “spirit” all along. So God needs Ezekiel to tell these hopeless, as-good-as-dead, spiritually dried up Israelites that they need to reclaim God’s Holy Spirit. Then, and only then, do they rise up again in hope and believe that they will return from Exile to their own land, and they will know that their LORD God is One who speaks and acts. Ezekiel was being called to speak and act on behalf of God. And he did. He said, “I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.”

The Valley of Dry Bones story is a group version – a national version - of the Lazarus story in John’s gospel – the only gospel, by the way, to tell this story. Lazarus, Jesus’ friend, is dead and in the stone cave tomb. And Jesus commands some of the people to “take away the stone.” And after praying, he cries out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” And he does, still fully bound in burial wrappings. And Jesus again commands some of the people, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

What happens if we use these stories as metaphors about our relationship with the Earth? The metaphorical point of these stories is that God needs people to help bring what seems hopeless and dead back to new life. And when it comes to caring for the Earth, it means us. We are the ones who must challenge dried bones to get some spirit – some life – into them and get up and get going. We are the ones who must open up the cave tomb to let new life come into what we have given up on. We are the ones who must unbind whatever it is that binds the lifeless and the hopeless and set them free to live again – and this includes what seems lifeless and hopeless about Earth.
PLAY THE VIDEO 2011-change-the-world-promo.mp4 (1:18)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a72mVgoROzI&feature=player_embedded

I have one other video I would like to share with you in celebration of Earth Day. It is a contemporary Christian song, written and performed by Brian Doerksen. It’s on YouTube and on our own church website YouTube channel. It’s named Creation Calls.

PLAY THE VIDEO CREATION CALLS (6:22)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwGvfdtI2c0&feature=related

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The 23rd Psalm from a kid's point of view

2011-04-03T16:52:00.000-04:00

This morning, after singing Psalm 23 as written in the Scottish Psalter of 1650 (Hymn 136 in The United Methodist Hymnal), I was reminded of a story I had heard some time ago. Of course, I had to tell it, even though time was of an essence today in our service. I really do not remember who told me or sent me this story or anything of its origin - and I have taken my own poetic license in the telling of it. Oh - and I did make it through the service in the standard unit of time for Sunday morning worship in mainline Protestant churches where people wear watches and there is a clock on the wall!

_______________________________________________

A young mother was extremely nervous about her son beginning Kindergarten. He had to walk a couple of blocks to school, and to assure his safety, his mother would walk with him to school and then meet him after school to walk him home. The boy allowed this for the first few weeks until he began to make some friends who would walk with him. He informed his mother that he was a big boy and did not need her to walk him to and from school. He could walk with his friends. Reluctantly, his mother agreed.

However, having agreed, she began to panic about him walking without adult supervision, so she asked her neighbor lady if she would follow along behind him to make sure he was safe. The neighbor had a young daughter who liked to go for stroller rides, so she agreed to follow her son to and from school while taking her daughter in her stroller.

One day, on the way home from school, one of the boy's friends asked him, "Have you noticed that there is a lady who has been following us to and from school for the past two weeks? Who is she and what is she doing?"

The boy replied, "Oh, she's just our neighbor. Her name is Shirley Goodnest, and the little kid is her daughter, Marcy. Don't worry about it."

"But why is she following us?" his friend wanted to know. "And how long is this going to go on?"

"Well," said the boy, "probably for a long time, and I think it's because of that Bible verse we learned in Sunday School. You know, the one that says, "Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life."

REFLECTIONS . . . . On Living as Children of the Light

2011-04-02T21:15:00.003-04:00

These Reflections are based on the Epistle reading for the day. The other quite lengthy readings from 1 Samuel and the Gospel of John were shortened from the suggested Revised Common Lectionary readings do accommodate for a longer than usual service including the Confirmation of two new members and Holy Communion.

April 3, 2011

Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A

1 Samuel 16:7

Psalm 23

Ephesians 5:8-14

John 9:1-15

“….the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” ~Albert Schweitzer

This is a busy Sunday morning. We are celebrating the reception of two new members, the Sacrament of Holy Communion, one of our Six Sunday offerings, “One Great Hour of Sharing” and, in addition, the lectionary readings as they should have been, are extremely long. Given all that, I have had a difficult time deciding what to speak about in my Reflections. And then I ran across the quote from Albert Schweitzer that I put on the top of your bulletin. It caused me to look up its original source. It comes from a speech that Dr. Albert Schweitzer delivered to the students of Silcoates School in Yorkshire, England, on “The Meaning of Ideals in Life” on December 3, 1935. In his address, he told the students of the many letters he received from people seeking his advice on how to live good lives. He said he often tells those who ask such a question that they can live good lives by doing good for humanity. And then he went on to say:

Albert Schweitzer in Aspen
“And when I answer such letters I add something else: ‘Seek a humble sort of thing.’ Our hearts often look for something very big, something wanting a lot of sacrifice, and often our heart does not see the humble things. At first you must learn to do the humble things and often they are the most difficult to do. In those humble things, be busy about helping someone who has need of you. You see somebody alone—try to be with him, try to give him some of the hours which you might take for yourself and in that way learn to serve: and then only will you begin to find true happiness. I don’t know what your destiny will be. Some of you will perhaps occupy remarkable positions. Perhaps some of you will become famous by your pens, or as artists. But I know one thing: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”1

The Apostle Paul says much the same thing when he writes to the Ephesians about how they are to live as Christians. He writes:

“For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." [Ephesians 5:8-11 NRSV]

Verse 16 of chapter 5 of Ephesians sums up this passage for today with some excellent advice. From Eugene H. Peterson’s translation/paraphrase in The Message, Paul warns the Ephesian Christians: “So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!”

And indeed they are desperate times in which we live. And in desperate times, people either pull together or pull apart. They either choose the good or the evil. As we view the events on the world scene, it often seems like we can do little or nothing to affect them – to change them. What we can do is what Paul commended to the Ephesians – to live as children of the light, doing what is good and right and true in the places where we are. We can do what John Wesley commended to the people who responded to his teachings, the people disparagingly called “Methodists” – we can “do all the good we can in all the ways we can to all the people we can as often as ever we can.” As we are reminded by the words of Albert Schweitzer, “the only ones among us [sic] who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” Schweitzer also wrote:

“Our greatest mistake, as individuals, is that we walk through out life with closed eyes and do not notice our chances. As soon as we open our eyes and deliberately search we see many who need help, not in big things but in the littlest things. Wherever we turn we can find someone who needs us.”2

That is what we are called to be and to do as Christians in this desperate world: people who do good where we can and who find ways to be of service to others. People who live as children of the Light.

So may we be and do.

Amen!

Endnotes:

1 “Visit of Dr. Albert Schweitzer"” (as translated from the French of the address by Dr. Schweitzer’s interpreter), The Silcoatian, New Series No. 25 (December, 1935): 784-785 (781-786 with 771-772 -“Things in General”)

2 http://home.pcisys.net/~jnf/servicearticles.html

Photo of Albert Schweitzer in Aspen from http://home.pcisys.net/~jnf/

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REFLECTIONS . . . . ON SURVIVING AND THRIVING

2011-03-27T21:23:00.034-04:00

March 27, 2011

Third Sunday in Lent, Year A

Exodus 17:1-7

Psalm 95

Romans 5:1-11

John 4:5-4

"It is not the strongest of

the species that survives,

nor the most intelligent.

It is the one that is most

adaptable or responsive

to change."

~ Charles Darwin

Probably it is a little surprising to read a quote on the top of the bulletin for today from British naturalist Charles Darwin. But you are an open-minded group, and I think you will see the wisdom in Darwin’s statement about survival. Ever since he first set forth his theory of the Origin of Species, published in1859, poor Darwin has been getting a bad rap by some “religious folks.” Forty-three years after Darwin died, the famous Scopes trial took place, a result of religious fundamentalist rigidity and fanaticism attempting to prove that Darwin’s theory was blasphemous.¹ I find it interesting that now, in our day, most theologians accept that belief in God as Creator of the universe and all that is and belief in evolutionary change and adaptation are NOT mutually exclusive. One can be a person of faith and embrace both positions. For example, my favorite ecological-environmental theologian, Sallie McFague, refers to the Big Bang Theory and evolution as the “commonly accepted Creation story.” So Darwin had a point when he wrote these words: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, or the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable or responsive to change.”² It’s that point I want to reflect on today: survival and adaptability - or responsiveness - to change.

In the story of the Exodus from Egypt back to the Promised Land, Moses had his share of problems with the Israelite people. They were grumblers and complainers and at times, unbelievers. In the passage for today [Exodus 17:107] we find them quarreling with Moses again, this time because where they are camped, at a place called Rephidim, there is no water to drink, and they are thirsty. The text is careful to say, “no water to drink” - which makes me wonder if there were water, just not clean or good water. Anyway, they are thirsty. And they blame Moses, accusing him of bringing them out of Egypt into the wilderness to kill them and their children and livestock with thirst. Such gratitude!

So Moses asks the LORD what to do, and we have the story of Moses striking a rock with his staff and drinking water coming out of the rock. Moses named the place Massah, meaning testing, and Meribah, meaning quarreling – because that is what the Israelite people did in that place. They had forgotten that their God had led them there in the first place. They were not willing - or able - to respond or adapt to their situation, nor to accept in faith that God would see them through it. Nope. They just grumbled and quarreled with Moses and tested their God saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” The Israelite people were not even sure they would survive; much less did they carry the remote thought that they could even thrive. They had not yet heard the saying, “BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED!” They certainly were not blooming in that desert wilderness. They were wilting. They were unwilling - or unable - to open their minds and hearts to their God and respond to God’s many blessings already bestowed upon them. They could not or would not respond to their less fortunate circumstances as they journeyed on to what they believed would be a land of “milk and honey.” And did they ever have a surprise ahead of them when they reached that land! But that’s another story for another time.

A few weeks ago, Allan spoke on the Gospel story for today – quite by accident because he looked up the texts for the day by looking at lessons from Year A in the past by date, forgetting that in this particular year, the Season of Epiphany had 8 Sundays. So Allan landed on the Third Sunday in Lent. I’m glad he did, actually, because he had an excellent message on Matthew’s account of the encounter between the Samaritan woman and Jesus at Jacob’s well. He spoke of the importance of “meeting” – meeting other people or circumstances, and how such a meeting can totally change a person’s life, as it did the life of the Samaritan woman when she met Jesus and then chose to go back to the village and proclaim to all the people that she had met the Messiah and they should come and see for themselves. They did, and they believed in Jesus. And their lives, like the woman’s, were forever changed. I would suggest that they became Thrivers instead of just Survivors. I say that, having run across a quote this week in an advertisement for a study called Thrive, part of the Imagine No Malaria campaign. The ad said: “When you thrive the world around you is more alive.” Hear that again: “When you thrive the world around you is more alive.”

Children in countries where Malaria still exists in epidemic proportions are fortunate if they survive. One statistic states that in Africa, every 45 seconds a child dies from Malaria.³ If you do the math, that's 1,920 children a day. Our United Methodist Church has made their survival a top priority so that they and the world around them can begin to live and to thrive. A special program called Imagine No Malaria is an attempt to provide mosquito netting for children in Malaria-ridden countries. The sickness and death rate drops dramatically when infants and children are protected by netting over their beds while they sleep to keep them safe from the biting mosquitoes that carry the Malaria parasite, plasmodium. A life-saving mosquito net costs $10.00. If you visit the church website and click on the “Imagine No Malaria” in the lower left-hand corner, you can learn more about this dreaded disease and the initiative to get rid of it. If you click on the logo above the URL, you can sign up to receive daily Lenten devotionals based on the Imagine No Malaria initiative. They are wonderfully written and inspiring devotionals.

Meanwhile, along the lines of Allan’s thoughts from a few weeks ago, I’d like to tell you about a “meeting” I had this week that has had an effect on my own life. I‘ve been interested in the “Imagine No Malaria” program, and I noticed on their site a link to sign up for a Lenten daily devotional based on this initiative. So I signed up and received my first emailed devotional. I was so impressed and moved by it that I emailed the unnamed contact person to ask if we could somehow put a link to the daily devotional on our church website. I signed it with my name and title as Pastor of the West Danville United Methodist Church. An almost immediate response came back telling me how we could link to their Lenten devotional. And then a personal note that said:

“On a side-note, believe it or not my father is actually from West Danville! We still have a house on Joes Pond right on Clubhouse Drive that we come to every summer. I will be back up there in July, in fact. I about fell out of my chair when I saw your email earlier today! Thank you for supporting this ministry. Blessings, Margo Jacobs, Associate Executive Director, Imagine No Malaria”

I emailed Margo back, asking if she were related to Marge Jacobs and describing how I knew Marge and her granddaughter Jennifer and about our Holy Land trip in 2001. She replied:

“How fantastic - Marge Jacobs is my grandmother and Jen is my cousin! I am Dan’s daughter – you may also know his sister/my aunt Sukie Benoit…..I remember when Gram went to the Holy Land – she had a wonderful time, and Jennifer too! I believe Gram’s last summer in Vermont was in 2007 or 2008, when it just got to be too hard to travel. Jen is now her caretaker down in Tampa. Gram does not have much short-term memory left, but she gets very misty-eyed when we talk about Joe’s Pond. I will absolutely have to swing in this summer when we are up there – I believe we will be coming through the week after the Fourth of July, from July 10-17.”

And then she invited me to be part of a team of representatives from churches in the New England Conference that were interested in Imagine No Malaria. I plan to go to the groups’ first meeting on April 5th in Lawrence, Massachusetts, at the New England Conference office.

How cool is that? – to email an unnamed person at the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church and have the recipient be a summer visitor to Joes Pond and granddaughter of a former faithful worshiper and supporter of this church. What an awesome “meeting” through cyberspace!

It might seem like I have wandered a bit from the theme I put in the bulletin for my Reflections today about Surviving and Thriving. But perhaps not, for it seems to me that real thriving happens when we make connections with others. The woman at the well connected with Jesus and she began, then, to do more than just survive. She began to thrive – to find real life – to have her metaphorical thirst quenched by the Living Water that is Jesus Christ, our Lord. And, in keeping with Darwin’s quote, she, who was a Samaritan, an enemy of Jews, let go of that old way of being. She was adaptable – responsive – to the change to which Jesus was calling her. She was willing to put her own self aside to speak to this Jewish man who asked her for a drink of water. And the things which were once important to her, like her daily work of drawing a jar of water, and the things which frightened her or intimidated her, like the citizens of the city who knew her history and judged her by it - those things no longer mattered. They no longer held her captive. She was free. Already the Living Water had begun to flow through her as she headed back into her hometown to tell others about Jesus. [Just an aside – did you notice that according to the gospel story, she never did give Jesus a drink of water?]

I will close with that Imagine No Malaria quote one more time: “When you thrive the world around you is more alive.”

So let’s not just survive.

Let’s thrive!

1 See this website for information on Darwin and his work: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/darwin.htm

2 http://ask.metafilter.com/7586/Source-of-Darwin-quote

3 http://www.imaginenomalaria.org/2011/03/24/a-letter-from-the-lamoine-river-district-rev-randy-robinson-district-superintendent/ [This article is available on the www.westdanvilleumc.org website if you click on the URL for Imagine No Malaria]

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APRIL NEWSLETTER ARTICLE

2011-03-23T10:23:00.005-04:00

I wrote this article for the April Newsletter for the West Danville United Methodist Church. You can find the whole newsletter posted on the church website at www.westdanvilleumc.org

Meanderings of the Pastor

Extreme Supermoon of 3-29-2011

An Extreme Supermoon! What a way to welcome Spring 2011! It was an awesome sight on its rising to see the moon at its closest to the earth in its orbit on March 19^th. Wikipedia tells us that there are approximately four to six supermoons annually - not really a rare occurrence. For a supermoon to be called “extreme” means that the moon must be at its closest and also be aligned with the Earth and the Sun. There have only been 14 “extreme supermoons” from 1900 to the present date.

And here we are in Lent. The word Lent comes from the Old English word “Lencten” and means “spring.” Christians use the word to designate the 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon (on April 18, 2011) after the Vernal Equinox (the first day of spring, March 21, 2011). Thus, Easter in 2011 is about as late as it comes: April 24^th. Perhaps this year on Easter we will witness a full spring (“lencten”) actually springing forth. Meanwhile, in these 40 days of Lent, we prepare for the heart wrenching events of Holy Week and the joy of the Resurrection of our Lord on Easter morning. Be sure to check out the times and places for our special times to gather to worship during Holy Week and on Easter Sunday. They are listed in this bulletin. If you like to sing, plan to practice and sing with the Ecumenical Choir. And be sure to attend our Easter Breakfast at the West Danville United Methodist Church, graciously prepared by the Fleurie family and their helpers.

Spring reminds us of new life and growth. And that reminds me of the many new ministries we are planning and growing. Perhaps you have already visited our new website. However, one visit is not enough. The site is constantly changing, growing, adding new things. The latest is our own store or stores. We now have a bookstore affiliated with Cokesbury, the United Methodist bookstore. It you purchase books or other items through this site, Cokesbury will donate 5% of the sale to support our church. The same is true of the personalized items available on Cafépress. Very soon we will have other shopping places as well. What a totally innovative way to help finance the work and mission of the church!

Another new thing in the planning is Church School for children and adults. More on this later, as plans develop.

And in late May or early June we will celebrate with United Methodists around the world in the Change the World Event. One of our mission projects for this event will be to see how many malaria nets we can buy (at a cost of $10 each) to donate to countries where malaria is the leading cause of death among children.

Also coming in May is a “coffee house.” Our coffeehouse - known as “HeBrews” - will be open one night a month for all who wish to come for fun and fellowship. Each month there will be a different program of interest – music, comedy, game night, open mic night, movie night – and always coffee, food, fun and fellowship.

Continue to have a Holy Lent. Worship with us on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. And try out some of the new things that are springing into being at the West Danville United Methodist Church.

God’s Shalom (peace, health and well-being) be with you!

REFLECTIONS . . . . Transfiguration ~ a "mysterium tremendum"

2011-03-05T21:15:00.003-05:00

March 6, 2011

Epiphany 9A ~ Transfiguration Sunday, Year A

Exodus 24:12-18

Psalm 99

2 Peter 1:16-21

Matthew 17:1-9

Friday night I found myself in the emergency room at North Country Hospital. It is because we have this wonderful son, Nathan, who is also a paramedic (well, almost – he still has some clinical time to put in and his national test to take). Anyway, I called Nathan Friday evening to tell him I was not feeling “right” – that I had a “vacant feeling” in my chest and was a bit short of breath and had puffy legs and feet. He already knew I had been experiencing some problems with a medicine I was taking and had been instructed to stop it for awhile to see what happened. Nathan, as an EMTI, always takes the path of caution. So he talked me into getting checked out at the ER – not something I especially like. There, the tests they ran were all negative – that’s a GOOD thing! And the one puzzling thing was that my always steady, pacemaker-created resting pulse was not the usual 60. And what the EEG showed was that my own Sinus node, and NOT the pacemaker, was firing the electrical impulses to make my heart beat. So all I had to do was move an arm or wiggle a little or take a deep breath, or laugh, or even think an anxious thought and my pulse rate would go up – and it never went down to the programmed 60. Keep in mind that my heart’s own electrical system working all on its own with only an occasional assist from the pacemaker had not happened to me before. That’s why I needed a pacemaker – to get my heart rate at least up to 60 beats per minute. No one could tell me why this was happening, but they assured me I was “doing just fine.” So we, my pacemaker and I, were an emergency room enigma! On Saturday morning, my pulse was back to its usual 60 beats per minute at rest.

It reminded me of a Peanuts cartoon where Linus, in complete frustration with Lucy, cries out, “Lucy, you are a total enigma!” And Lucy goes around asking, “What’s an enigma? What’s an enigma? What’s an enigma?” And getting no answer to her question.

Well, it seems to me that the story of the Transfiguration is a total enigma – a puzzle – something we do not easily understand. Nor can we. It happened in another time and another place, to other people and totally outside of our range of personal experience. To see Jesus standing on a mountain with face shining like the sun and clothing dazzling white and then a sudden appearance of Moses and Elijah, considered the two greatest prophets in the Old Testament – well, that’s more than a little out of our range!

This is a text about a world we don’t have all figured out. And we like to have things figured out. But with this story there are no easy answers to its meaning. The text itself isn’t even clear what kind of event this is, for in one moment we seem to be reading about an event that is happening in time and space, and in the next moment, Jesus is referring to this event as a “vision” when he orders Peter, James and John as they are coming down the mountain, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” [Matthew 17:9 NRSV] Truly an enigma! A Mystery.

The thought occurred to me some time this past week that a sermon that is faithful to this text should leave its hearers scratching their heads and proclaiming, “What was that all about?” So I could stop here and have accomplished that goal. HOWEVER, it also occurred to me that we cannot just walk away from this text declaring it merely irrelevant and inapplicable to our lives.

When theologian Rudolf Otto considered the incomprehensible yet magnetic pull of mystery and holiness in our lives, he coined a term from Latin: mysterium tremendum – a tremendous mystery - a standing over against something “wholly Other,” overwhelmed, awe-filled and yet strangely attracting. This mysterium tremendum, says Otto,

“may come sweeping like a gentle tide, pervading the mind with a tranquil mood of deepest worship It may pass over into a more set and lasting attitude of the soul, continuing, as it were, thrillingly vibrant and resonant, until at last it dies away and the soul resumes its everyday experience. It may burst in sudden eruption up from the depths of the soul with spasms and convulsions, or lead to the strangest excitements, to intoxicated frenzy, to ecstasy. It may become the hushed, trembling and speechless humility of the creature in the presence of – whom or what? In the presence of that which is a mystery inexpressible and above all creatures.”1

It is not of any ultimate importance that we say eloquent words or develop exquisite theologies, or worship in proper forms, or even that we sing music of majesty and grandeur. Theologies and words and symbols and creeds are transient and pass away and take on new and different forms. WHAT MATTERS is that, in the doing of all this, the love of God sweeps through our souls and makes us new creatures. WHAT MATTERS is that here and there, now and then, the life of Christ glistens in bright whiteness in our lives, leaving us speechless. WHAT MATTERS is that somewhere, somehow we stand on holy ground and see the face of Jesus, and even for some brief moment in our hearts, we see his face shine and know beyond any shadow of doubt that he is the Christ, our Savior.

It seems to me we are very much like Peter and the other disciples, who stand dumbly, not knowing what to say or do. I find that a comforting thought. They are muddling through, trying to understand in the midst of their own amazement and confusion. And there is God, giving them the invitation, calling them to the Center: “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” [v.5b]

Maybe it is not so important that we come away from the mountain with answers, and maybe there is a time when even our questions are frivolous. Maybe this story is one of those times, as Frederick Buechner puts it, “where [we] are left to suspect the reality of splendors [we] cannot name.”2

The story of the Transfiguration is placed at the end of Epiphany and before the beginning of Lent for a reason. It gives us a taste of the mystery that is to come - the Resurrection - and it summons us to enter upon the pilgrimage we call Lent. A pilgrimage or journey that leads us “to suspect" and perhaps even, in some small measure, to experience "the reality of splendors we cannot name.”

EndNotes:

1 Otto, Rudolf, The Idea of the Holy, pp 12-13 in the standard English version. (Born September 25, 1869, Peine, Prussia—died March 6, 1937, Marburg, Germany) eminent German theologian, philosopher, and historian of religion.

2 Frederick Buechner, The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days, HarperCollins Publishers, NY, 1982. 439.

West Danville United Methodist Church, West Danville, Vermont.

March 6, 2011 – Transfiguration Sunday

March Newsletter Article

2011-02-24T13:57:00.002-05:00

I wrote this article for the March Newsletter for the West Danville United Methodist Church. You can find the whole newsletter posted on the church website at www.westdanville.org

Meanderings around Lent

Greetings to you all as we near the end of winter, begin the season of sugaring here in Vermont, and the Season of Lent in churches around the world. Each season has its own flavor - no pun intended, for those of you who know and love the flavor of newly made maple syrup! The “flavor" of Lent is one of prayer, study, reflection and preparation for the celebration of Easter and the new life that comes to us in the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

You might be wondering how we can even think of the word “celebration” in light of the events of our past several weeks: the shootings in Arizona, kidnappings and killings by seafaring pirates near Somalia, the bloody suppressing of the uprising in Libya by Colonel Qaddafi, and the struggles for freedom of other peoples, some successful as in Egypt, some not so much. Add to that the earthquake centered in Christchurch, New Zealand, and we have to wonder how people ever survive, much less thrive and celebrate, in the midst of such suffering. It is an age-old question, raised each time some new catastrophe strikes somewhere in our world. Perhaps, in light of this, entering this Season of Lent is a timely thing. Prayer – study – reflection – preparation – as we try to confront the suffering in the world around us.

I ran across a new website this week, quite by accident. Someone had posted a pencil drawing on an email I received. It led me to a site at www.zetousa.com, put together by a man named Tom Anson who lives in Lincoln, NE. If you visit his site (and I would encourage you to visit his site), you will learn that he is seeking authenticity in Christian life as it is found – or not found- in the church. He writes of his journey:

“…. every church we've seen effectually quenches the Spirit. Everything is sacrificed to the need to perpetuate the programming. That system always seems to swallow up good, sincere people; it looks — and acts — more like the world than the Lord, and never seems to produce mature believers who can function together without the presence of the pastor. Its members never seem to have the substance of faith in their own hearts, always living vicariously through a religious professional.”

I wish Tom lived a little closer to West Danville because he might discover that you all function together quite well without the presence of a pastor and have done so numerous times in your history.

Anyway – back to discovering Tom and his work on the web. On his site he has a number of pencil drawings with scriptural verses on them (they are for sale). He has given me permission to share one with you. It is called “Inscribed” and has on the bottom of it this verse from Isaiah 49:15 - "Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands … I will not forget you."


Tom Anson Zetousa.com

What a stark reminder of the Christian’s cause for celebration. Eugene H. Peterson translates the very familiar passage from John 3:16-17 this way:

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need to be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it is. He came to help, to put the world right again.” [The Message]

And that is why, in a world of suffering, we can celebrate. Because God loves us THAT MUCH! So let’s really CELEBRATE during this Season called Lent, Let’s prepare through prayer, study and reflection, and especially through sharing this God News with the people around us as we reach out to a hurting world and people in need of knowing more about God-Who-is-Love and loves us. We truly are inscribed on the palms of His hands . . . and He will not forget us!

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Part 4: You want me to do what?

2011-02-19T22:33:00.020-05:00

February 20, 2011

Seventh Sunday after Epiphany, Year A

Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
Palm 119:33-40
1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
Matthew 5:38-48

I have to admit that I have always been somewhat of a perfectionist. Generally I like things to be done well and correctly. I have applied this drive for perfection to some very strange areas of my life. For example, when we were farming, I was often the one who raked hay. I loved to rake hay. What I loved most about it was how neat and even the windrows of hay were as I drove around the field. There was a problem, though: we had some pretty strangely shaped fields. In a perfect world of my design, hay fields would be perfectly square. Then raking could and would be perfect on the first attempt because you’d just go around that perfectly square field and not have to accommodate for its misshapenness. But our farm did not have the hay fields of a perfect world, so I would spend much time and planning and going back over the windrows and raking out the corners and stopping to get off the tractor to straighten out a row or to pick up some hay on a turn that I could not get with the rake. I really didn’t mind because I loved the look of a perfectly raked field. It made me feel satisfied and happy and proud that I had accomplished such perfection. I did not stop to think back then at the fuel I must have wasted going back over areas that needed a little spiffing up if they were to be perfect. Or the extra time it took me to accomplish the task – important especially when Ken was trying to bale or chop the hay to beat a threatened rainstorm or the dew of nightfall.

Another area of my life where my perfectionist tendencies show up is in my towel cupboard. The rest of my house can be an absolute mess, but not my towel cupboard. I have a particular way I fold the towels and washcloths and place them in the cupboard. They have to be that way, and if someone messes them up, I have to fix them so they are “right.” Well, not exactly have to – but close enough!

Am I obsessive-compulsive, or what? Not really. Well, maybe a little, but only in a few things, though – I guess I’d have to include the bulletin among them, considering that it drives me nuts when it’s not perfect. Like today’s bulletin that says my Reflections are “Part 3” when they are actually “Part 4.” (And I'm the one who designs and formats the bulletin!) But I’m not as bad off as the humorous tee shirt that says, “I have CDO – it’s the same as OCD, but with the letters in the right order as they should be.” And I’m not as bad off as Lucy in the Peanuts cartoon when she tells Charlie Brown, “I have examined my life and found it to be without flaw. Therefore, I’m going to hold a ceremony and present myself with a medal. I will then give a moving acceptance speech. After that, I’ll greet myself in the receiving line.” And then she concludes somewhat sadly, “When you’re perfect, you have to do everything yourself.”

I am telling you this about myself because I like to think that I do know first-hand a little something about perfection. Well, that is, I thought I knew about it until I began to prepare for this week’s Reflections and Part 4 of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. If you thought last week’s gospel lesson [Matthew 5:21-37] contained some difficult teachings, then, as the saying goes, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Today’s reading from Matthew tops them.

The gospel lesson for today is a continuation of last week’s teachings about our behavior in the kingdom of God - primarily about how we treat others. Today’s lesson uses the same formula: “You have heard that it was said” followed by “But I say to you.” Where it differs is in the instruction that follows. Very difficult instructions that sound very much like commands. “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.” “If anyone demands your coat, give him your cloak as well.” “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” And the final biggie: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” And at that point you might be wanting to respond with a big “You want me to do what?” “No one can do the things you are telling us to do when someone wrongs us – much less be perfect like God.”

So, here’s what I ended up focusing on this week – on this question: what does this “be perfect” thing mean? And especially to be perfect as God is perfect.

Part of the problem is with how we interpret the word PERFECT. We think of things being perfect like Lucy does. Flawless. I’m not sure where, but I read recently that "in Scripture the word PERFECT has less to do with being “flawless” than it does with being “used for a purpose.” For example, a spoon is the “perfect” utensil to use for eating soup. The spoon might be dented, a little bent, and what have you – but in being used to scoop soup – as opposed to being used as a weapon or a garden tool – the spoon is PERFECT."

I looked up the Greek word for perfect used in this verse. It is teleioi. According to my Greek Lexicon, that word can mean many things: brought to completion, fully accomplished, fully developed and specifically as used in Mathew 5:48 it means perfect [in some point of character] or without shortcoming [in respect of a certain standard]. And it has a sense of being progressive in nature – a sense of becoming – becoming perfect, fully developed.1 So basically it means, becoming mature, becoming more like God – God who is Love.

I also looked up what John Wesley had to say about perfection. Wesley did not believe in or preach “sinless perfection.” Rather he taught that a Christian could become “perfect in love.” This love would mean, first of all, that a believer’s motives, instead of being self-centered, would be guided by the deep desire to please God. And second, to be made perfect in love also meant that a Christian could live with a primary regard for others and their welfare. He based this on Christ’s quote that the second great command is “to love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

In a sermon on Christian Perfection, Wesley wrote:

“Christian perfection, therefore, does not imply . . . an exemption either from ignorance or mistake, or infirmities or temptations. Indeed, it is only another term for holiness. They are two names for the same thing. Thus every one that is perfect is holy, and every one that is holy is, in the Scripture sense, perfect. Yet we may, lastly, observe, that neither in this respect is there any absolute perfection on earth. There is no perfection of degrees, as it is termed; none which does not admit of a continual increase. So that how much soever any man hath attained, or in how high a degree soever he is perfect, he hath still need to “grow in grace,” [2 Pet. 3:18] and daily to advance in the knowledge and love of God his Saviour. [see Phil. 1:9]”2

Wesley was echoing the words we heard this morning from Leviticus, words spoken to Moses by the LORD: “You shall be holy, for I the LORD am holy. [Leviticus 19:2b] That’s another scary term: holy. You want me to do what? Be perfect? Be holy?

The answer is a resounding “Yes!” In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is saying, “That is exactly what I want you to work at becoming. Holy. Perfect. And I have given you many examples of how you can go about choosing to behave in such a way as to become holy and perfect. And, yes, it will take time to become holy and perfect. But you have a lifetime to get it right!”

I like the way Eugene Peterson sums it all up in the last verse of our gospel lesson for today. Jesus, speaking to his disciples and others in the crowd who had gathered to hear him teach, said:

“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you." [Matthew 5:48 The Message]

Let's do that! Let's work at becoming perfect

in our love of God and of others.

It is possible, you know. It's a matter of choice.

So may we choose!

Amen!

EndNotes

1 The Analytical Greek Lexicon, Samuel Bagster & Sons Limited: London.

2 The Sermons of John Wesley, Christian Perfection, Sermon 40. Text from the 1872 edition, Thomas Jackson, editor. On-line at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/40/

________________________

Copyright: Carol J. Borland, Retired, Pastor Emeritus, Interim Pastor, West Danville United Methodist Church, West Danville, Vermont. Preached on Epiphany 7, Year A. February 20, 2011

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Part 3: Big ifs and Buts

2011-02-12T23:17:00.005-05:00

February 13, 2011
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, Year A

                     Deuteronomy 30:15-20
              Psalm 119:1-8
              1 Corinthians 3:1-9
              Matthew 5:21-37

Two weeks ago we heard Jesus’ Beatitudes. The focus of these promises about the kingdom of God has to do with our relationship with ourselves — with our own souls.

Last Sunday, we heard Jesus’ metaphors about being salt and light for the world from Matthew 5:13-20. In psychological terms, Jesus was using positive reinforcement by telling his followers that they already are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The focus of this teaching has to do with our relationship with the world. These were encouraging and uplifting words — well, until we get to verses 17-20. Then Jesus tells them he has not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. And that is Matthew’s segue into the portion of Jesus’ teachings that we have before us today.

The passage we heard this morning from Matthew 5:21-37 contains some very tough or strong teachings of Jesus. They are based on two of the Ten Commandments, murder and adultery, and on the tradition of swearing falsely. This passage is a difficult passage to read, and an even more difficult one to live. The focus of this teaching has to do with our relationship with each other and with God.

Jesus' teaching has an interesting construction from a grammatical point of view. No more affirming statements. Instead he draws sharp contrasts. Each teaching begins with a reminder of what everyone listening already knows: “You have heard that it was said . . .” And he tells them the law or tradition they have been taught from childhood. “You shall not murder.” “You shall not commit adultery.” “You shall not swear falsely.” And having quoted the law and the tradition, he then says, “But I say to you . . .”

Perhaps you are familiar with Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), which is basically the study of how best to say things — even challenging things — without causing waves or making enemies. If Jesus spoke in NLP words, he would have said, “You have heard it was said”. . .“AND I say to you . .” From a Neuro-Linguistic point of view, using “and” instead of “but” takes away the sharpness of a contrasting statement. However — Jesus says “BUT.” Jesus is creating a very sharp contrast indeed - one that had not yet been drawn in the history of their religious teaching. “But I say to you . . .” and in the use of this one word — BUT — Jesus establishes his authority as the One who has come to be the fulfillment of God’s Law and of the prophets. “But I say to you...”

And does he ever! He tells them that murder is way more than the physical killing of another person. Murder is also our anger, our insults, our name-calling, our ill treatment of our neighbors, and our failure to admit our guilt when and if we have committed some harm to another.

And adultery is more than cheating on your spouse. It is also looking upon another with lust in your heart. Do you remember the hot water that former President Jimmy Carter got himself into when he admitted that he had been guilty of the sin of lusting in his heart? I always thought it was courageous of him to admit that. But the press and his critics had a field day with it!

And then there’s the swearing falsely thing. Peterson summarizes that whole discussion with these words: “When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.” 1

So what do we do with this part of Jesus’ teachings? How do we handle these sharp contrasts between what folks have been taught about what the Law and their tradition says and what Jesus teaches them through the literary method of contrast — using big ifs and buts.

I read a cute story late this week as I contemplated this question. Here’s the story:

A mysterious building had been erected on the outskirts of a small town. It was shrouded in mystery. All that was known about it was that it was a chemical laboratory. An old farmer, driving past the place around noontime, and seeing a man in the doorway, called to him: “What are you doin’ in this place?”
“We are searching for a universal solvent — something that will dissolve all things,” said the chemist.
“What good will thet be?” asked the old farmer.
“Imagine, sir! It will dissolve all things. If we want a solution of iron, glass, gold — anything — all that we have to do is to drop it in this solution.”
“Fine,” said the farmer, “fine! But I have to wonder, what are you goin’ to keep it in?”2

Common sense. The old farmer had it; the chemists did not. And so it finally occurred to me that common sense is a part of what Jesus’ tough teaching is all about. In this portion of his teachings, Jesus is focusing on our relationship with others. And to maintain good relationships with others requires the use of what we know as common sense. It’s common sense to recognize that when we are angry, or insulting, or we demean people in the names we call them, or we mistreat or harm others in some way, we are ruining our relationship with them. It’s common sense to figure that we’d better reconcile our differences with someone who has a good case against us before it goes to court. It’s common sense to recognize that if we let ourselves think lustfully, then eventually our lusts will control us — and that this will ultimately get us in big trouble. Just ask a few of our Congressmen and Senators how that goes. It’s common sense to say what we mean and to mean what we say. Then we don’t get all messed up in trying to keep track of our falsehoods. It’s the use of common sense in how we think about and talk to and about others that keeps our relationships on the right track — that keeps our relationships on solid moral ground. And beyond that, it is what keeps us right with God.

EndNotes

1 Peterson, Eugene H. The Message Remix. NavPress, 2003. Matthew 5:37 on p.1774.

2 From: http://moreillustrations.com/Illustrations/common%20sense.html

Copyright: Carol J. Borland, Retired pastor, Pastor Emeritus, Interim Pastor, West Danville United Methodist Church, West Danville, Vermont. Preached on February 13, 2011. Epiphany 6A

Long overdue pictures of our new house

2011-02-10T13:45:00.002-05:00

Way back at the beginning of this Blog, I said I'd post some pictures of our new house when it was finished. We moved in on July 19, 2010, finishing up about an hour before our daughter and her family arrived from Nebraska to spend a week with us. We didn't finish moving everything from the farm house until November 19, 2010, our due date to be out. Moving after living there for 40 years (and Ken living there his whole life) was quite a task. "STUFF" - what do you do with it all? My advice to anyone reading this is, don't collect it to begin with. I still have my library/office to sort through and organize. That means tons of books and files and magazines and hobby things. Once that is done, I can tackle our cold storage room which, for now, is packed full of "STUFF." I think I feel a YARD SALE coming in the Spring!

I've preached a few Reflections (a.k.a. sermons) on "Stuff." Such wise advice! You'd think I would have listened.

Anyway, here some pictures.

This is the back of our house, viewed from up on the hill toward what was our back pasture. It shows the upper and lower pond. The smaller upper pond flows into the large one over a rock waterfall.

This is the front view of our house from Borland Road.

The small waterfall flowing from the upper pond to the lower pond.

Waterfall viewed from the other side.

The rock wall along our driveway. The lower large pond is to the left.

A groundhog view of the two ponds! (newly seeded)

Nixie the Rat Terrier enjoying a Fall outing down by the brook.

That's all for now. I will have to take some snow scenes since this has been a very snowing winter these past few weeks. Right now I am not so sure I want to wade or try to wade on snowshoes up the hill to get another picture. Later.

Reflections . . . Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Part 2: Salt and Light

2011-02-10T11:21:00.019-05:00

February 6, 2011
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Year A

Isaiah 58:1-12
Psalm 112:1-10
1 Corinthians 2:1-12
Matthew 5:13-20

I have promised to keep the Reflections short today, since we have a church council meeting following the service. I’ll try!

I want to share some reflections with you about what I’m calling Part 2 of Jesus Sermon on the Mount. Last week we heard the Beatitudes - promises of the kingdom of God. They are also descriptions of those who receive the promises - people who have a particular attitude, a particular kind of character. They are people of humility and love and trust and faith and courage. They are not yet perfect people, but they are transformed in their hearts and minds. Their interests and desires are turned in the direction of the kingdom of God.

In this week’s reading from Jesus’ teachings according to Matthew, the focus has to do with the disciples’ relationship to the world. Jesus names his disciples the salt of the earth. That is what they are. And they are the light of the world. The Greek is quite clear that these are statements made in the indicative mood (if you remember your English grammar about moods: imperatives are commands, interrogatives are questions, and indicatives are statements of fact. “You are the salt of the earth,” Jesus said. “You are the light of the world.” Not “you ought to be” or “you might be” or “you will be” or even “Please won’t you be?” Nope. Jesus didn’t say that. Jesus said, “You ARE.”

Psychologists have long emphasized the importance of accenting the positive with children. Studies have shown that if a child is told enough that he or she is bad, or stupid, or irresponsible, or any of those negative things, they will live down to that expectation. Dr. Phil McGraw of TV fame is found of saying that it takes 10 “atta boys” to make up for one put-down.

I think that is true for adults as well. Just this week I had a phone call from our daughter Anne. She was sharing her frustration with her job as a nursing home administrator, which she actually loves - except for the attitude of the owner-boss, who never seems to have anything positive to say, either to her or to any of her employees. She said, “I’m giving it my best, and I know I’m doing a good job, but she never seems to see how well things are going or how happy and well-cared for our residents are or how capable my staff is, or how supportive and complimentary the residents and families are. She just criticizes everybody and everything. And I go home everyday feeling worthless – until I remind myself that I am a good administrator and doing a good job.” Then she told me she had accepted an interview next week for a new administrative position with a different corporation. “Because,” she said, “if I stay there much longer I might begin to believe I am worthless.”

So, how are we to live up to being the salt of the earth and the light of the world? Two stories. The first from Rebecca Pippert, who wrote a book some years ago called Out of the Salt Shaker, Into the World. She makes the point that salt doesn’t do anyone much good if it’s kept on the shelf or just stays in the shaker. To do any good, it has to come out. Salt isn’t meant for the shaker. It’s meant for the world.1

The same is true of light. Halford Luccock, one of the great preachers of all time, tells a story about one Christmas when his two granddaughters were coming to stay with him, and he asked them, “What do you want for Christmas this year?" And both little girls answered, “We want the world!” He said, “You want the world?” And they explained they wanted the world, on a stand, that spins around.” And then he understood that they wanted a globe.

So he went shopping and bought a globe. On Christmas Day, he gave it to the girls. They unwrapped the package, and looked at the globe for a little while, but he sensed they were not very pleased with the gift. He said to them, “I want you to level with me. Is there something wrong with the present I gave you? You said you wanted the world and I gave you one.” They said, “Grandpa, we wanted a lighted world and you gave us a dark world.”

So the next day Dr. Luccock went back to the store and stood in a long line to exchange the globe he’d purchased for a lighted one. The store didn’t have one and gave him a refund. He went from one store to another, trying to find one with a light inside. Finally he found one and bought it and took it home. He gave it to the girls and they were delighted. They loved it!

When he told one of his friends about the incident, the friend said, Well, what did you learn from all that?" And Dr. Luccock said, "I Learned one thing I will never, ever forget. A lighted worlds costs more.2

And so it does. It costs us our total commitment and our total lives. It means we have to get off the shelf and out of ourselves and, as Isaiah wrote, "Break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts, share our food with the hungry, invite the homeless poor into our houses, put clothes on the shivering ill-clad, be available to our own families." [Isaiah 58:6-7 The Message] Then we are salt and light for a world that has lost its flavor and is disoriented in its darkness. As Isaiah puts it, "Do this and the lights will go on!" [Isaiah 58:8 The Message]

Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world."

You are! Keep at it!

Amen!

ENDNOTES:

1 Anders, Dr. Mickey, “Salt, Light, a City on a Hill.” First Christian Church, Pikeville, Kentucky. 2/7/99

2 Ibid.

_________________________

West Danville, Vermont. Preached on Epiphany 5A. February 6, 2011.

REFLECTIONS . . . . Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Part 1: The Beatitudes

2011-02-10T10:21:00.015-05:00

Readings for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Micah 6:1-8
Psalm 15
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Matthew 5:1-12

This Sunday is the first of five Sundays in the Season after Epiphany in Year A in which the gospel lesson is from Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This might be a clue for us that the church scholars who put together the lectionary readings firmly believed in the importance of these teachings of Jesus as gathered together by Matthew from several sources. Matthew places the Sermon of the Mount very close to the beginning of Jesus’ preaching and teaching ministry. In chapters 3 and 4, Matthew tells of Jesus’ baptism by John, and of Jesus’ Temptation in the Wilderness, and a few verses on Jesus’ spending some time in Capernaum and calling his disciples, and teaching about God’s kingdom in the synagogues in Galilee and doing some healing. He was already pretty popular with the folks in the vicinity, and great crowds came from around the area to hear him. And Matthew says, “When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them.

Eugene Peterson, in The Message, translates it a little differently ⎯ more clearly, I think. He says: “When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions.”

I’ve had a couple of Sundays off from preaching, thanks to Allan Michaud, our Lay Leader and a lay speaker, and Curtis Larrabee, a lay speaker. During this time I’ve been looking again at the Sermon on the Mount ⎯ and especially this week, the Beatitudes, Jesus’ Introduction to his teachings, directed to his disciples who had “climbed with him.” It was an “Insider’s lesson” ⎯ and then when the crowd caught up, they were included. But that’s for another time!

What gave me pause for much thought was an illustration that Curtis used in his Reflections last week. He told of an interview that appeared on Oprah with a woman who admitted to having an affair with a married man. She said she was a Christian, and her rationale for making the whole “affair” OK with her Christian faith was that she believes that God wants us to be happy, and if having an affair with this man makes her happy, then it’s OK with God. That’s a second-hand quote from what I scribbled down as Curtis spoke. But I think it covers it. It seems to me ⎯ and hopefully to you ⎯ that she’s playing way out on the edge with both scriptures and Christian teachings!

Well, the reason this story struck me is because the Common English Bible New Testament we ordered had arrived the week before, and I was excited to read it and see how those many biblical scholars had translated and worded things. So I read Matthew 5. And even before I heard Curtis’s illustration last Sunday, I was surprised that the translators had chosen to use the word “happy” instead of “blessed.” My first thought was it was a bad choice of words because our society or culture does not understand “happy” in the biblical sense of “blessed.” “Happy” is what the woman on Oprah was all about ⎯ and what we are all about when we seek happiness in any place other than in God. You and I know those other places – money, possessions, prestige, worldly passions ⎯ “stuff” (to use my favorite term)! The word “happiness” is used so frequently, in so many different contexts, for so many different reasons, that it’s lost all definite meaning. Everyone wants to be happy, and this desire has been used to promote everything from products to politics to religious beliefs. This is sad, and more than a bit confusing. No wonder many people have trouble deciding if they are happy or not.

But it drove me to do some biblical translation research. First I discovered that of the 15 English translations of the Bible I could access on-line at Bible Gateway, only 3 of them used the word “happy.” The other 12 used “blessed are those . . .” or “God blesses those . . .” Bible Gateway did not have one of my favorite “modern” translations from back in 1958, The New Testament in Modern English by a man named J.B. Phillips. I bought it in the 60s when I was in seminary. It was quite controversial back then, but I loved his work. I’ve put a copy of his translation/paraphrase in your bulletin. (DON’T read it now, but study it later and compare it to Peterson’s Message and to the New Revised Standard Version) It seems to me that Phillip’s use of the word “happy” seems appropriate because of the way he paraphrases the rest of the context.

This problem we have with the words “happy” or “happiness” also drove me to do some research in that area ⎯ trying to answer the question What is true happiness? John Wesley was noted for his emphasis on strong belief in Christian happiness. Wesleyan scholar, Rebekah Miles writes:

"The elderly John Wesley, just a few months shy of his eighty-sixth birthday, asked a crowd of Irish Methodists gathered in Dublin a classic question from an unlikely source - the Calvinist Westminster Confession: “For what end did God create man?” One simple answer, Wesley insisted, should be “inculcated upon every human creature: “You are made to be happy in God.” . . ."Wesley then tendered advice to parents. Even when a child first begins to speak or to run alone, a good parent follows behind saying, many times each day, “He made you; and he made you to be happy in him; and nothing else can make you happy.”

"What is the happiness for which humans were made? Wesley insisted that just “as there is one God, so there is one religion and one happiness.” This one human happiness and true religion is the love of God and the love of neighbor. It is, “in two words, gratitude and benevolence; gratitude to our Creator and supreme Benefactor, and benevolence to our fellow creatures.” The active benevolence toward others that is born of our gratitude to God is for Christians the wellspring of the moral life and of human happiness. Happiness is impossible without this grateful love of God and benevolent, active love toward others. And the moral life is one with this happiness."1

Wesley makes a striking comment at the very beginning of his Explanatory Notes on the Sermon of the Mount. In Matthew 5:1-2 the translation Wesley uses reads, “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he was sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them…” Here is Wesley’s comment on the phrase “and taught them:”

"To bless men, to make men happy, was the great business for which our Lord came into the world. And accordingly He here pronounces eight blessings together, annexing them to so many steps in Christianity. Knowing that happiness is our common aim, and that an innate instinct continually urges us to the pursuit of it, He in the kindest manner applies to that instinct, and directs it to its proper object.Though all men desire, yet few attain, happiness because they seek it where it is not to be found. Our Lord therefore begins His divine institution, which is the complete art of happiness, by laying down, before all that have ears to hear, the true, and only true,method of acquiring it."2

Wesley seems to be arguing that Jesus gives the Beatitudes in order to map out for us the way to happiness. Wesley’s understanding here is so relevant to today. Many people are seeking happiness. . . Wesley invites us to read the words of Christ in Scripture as a model and a guide to finding happiness. He writes, “Though all men desire, yet few attain, happiness, because they seek it where it is not to be found.”3

In response to Wesley’s words, I would define happiness as “Joy that comes from deep in the soul.” It’s what allows us to sing with honesty, the old hymn, “It is well with my soul.” A poet by the name of Sri Chinmoy desribes it very well in these words:

The mind chases happiness.
The heart creates happiness.
The soul is happiness
And it spreads happiness
All-where.
~Sri Chinmoy

I love his word "All-where."

Retired newscaster, Hugh Downs, says, “A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.”

A Sunday School teacher asked her young scholars if anyone could tell the class what the Beatitudes are. While the rest of the class thought about the possible answer, little Suzy raised her hand excitedly, fairly bursting with the answer. "Oh, teacher, I know, I know, I know! The Beatitudes are the attitudes we ought to be at!"4

Amen! So may we be at them!

_____________________
ENDNOTES:

1 Miles, Rebekah L. “Happiness, holiness, and the moral life in John Wesley.” The Cambridge Companion to John Wesley. Eds. Randy L. Maddox and Jason E. Vickers. Cambridge University Press, 2009. Cambridge. Collections Online. Cambridge University Press. 29 January 2011 DOI:10.1017/CCOL9780521886536.013

2 Watson, Kevin, "The Sermon on the Mount as the Key to Happiness." Posted on August 1, 2008 on-line. htp://deeplycommitted.com/2008/08/13-the-sermon-on-the-mount-as-the-key-to-happiness/

3 IBID

4 Galvan, Silverius F.,"Inner Peace," in "Preach!" On-line. Retrieved on 1/29/2011.

___________________________

West Danville, VT. Epiphany 4, Year A. January 30, 2011

Reflections . . . On the Baptism of the Lord

2011-01-24T00:41:00.018-05:00

January 9, 2011
Readings for the Baptism of the Lord, Year A

Isaiah 42:1-9
Psalm 29 (UMH 761)
Acts 10:34-43
Matthew 3:3-17

Back in the mid 1970s, I served as pastor of the Sheffield Federated Church, a union of United Methodists and American Baptists. I conducted a Confirmation class for some youth in the church, and discovered that five of them had not been baptized. Three were from Baptist families, so they had waited until they were old enough to take their own vows and, as their tradition requires, to be baptized by immersion. The other two were from Methodist families, but they also decided they wanted to be baptized by immersion ⎯ which Methodists sometimes do. So on a warm summer Sunday morning, we held our service at a small glacial pond known as Holbrook Pond, at the top of Sheffield Heights.

I had never done a baptism by immersion ⎯ didn’t have a clue how to go about it ⎯ so I spoke to a Baptist pastor and learned the technique, which works like this. Once waist deep in the water, the person to be baptized holds onto the pastor’s outstretched arm. The baptizer/pastor then places the other hand on the upper back of the person to be baptized and gently lowers him/her over backwards and under the water. Simple enough!

Now, this pond, being glacial, was very deep in the middle ⎯ deep enough that the water was very dark. There was a shallow water ledge along one side of the pond that extended about 10 feet out before it dropped off into the dark watery abyss. The plan was to wade out a short distance on this ledge for the baptism.

The first four baptisms went well. The fifth was a 14-year-old girl who was worried about getting water up her nose. And the water was quite cold. So, instead of allowing me to gently lower her into the water, she kept backing up. And I kept following her ⎯ I really had no choice since she was clinging tightly to my arm. I kept saying, “Are you ready?” and she’d say, “Yes.” But she would not go under. She just kept backing up. I noticed that we were getting very close to the drop-off, so I whispered, “Lisa, we are almost to the drop-off.” Immediately ⎯ and I do mean immediately ⎯ she let go of my arm, grabbed her nose, and dunked herself under the water.

The scriptures for the first Sunday after the Epiphany always deal with the Baptism of the Lord. This being Year A, we hear the story from Matthew’s perspective. In Year B, we hear Mark’s account, and in Year C, we hear Luke’s account. All three of these gospels, known as the synoptic gospels (because they all provide a synopsis of Jesus’ life), pretty much agree on the details. The Gospel of John, however, does not report on the baptism itself, or even if there were a baptism. Instead the focus is on what John the Baptist saw and heard. You can read John the Baptist’s testimony in the Gospel of John 1:19-34. That story is part of next week’s lectionary readings, and perhaps our Lay Speaker, Allan Michaud, will deal with this.

Since all four gospels tell of Jesus’ baptism, and since the first three gospels pretty much agree on the details, biblical scholars readily accept that the event is actual historical fact. And the church views the Baptism of the Lord as a significant event, for it tells of God’s affirmation of Jesus as God’s beloved Son, with whom God is well pleased. And it marks the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It is also the basis of our Sacrament of Baptism, which most churches celebrate in some form or other, either by immersion, or by sprinkling or by pouring water over the head.

Some denominations, like the Baptists, for example, insist on “believer baptism” when the person is old enough to understand the significance of baptism and to take their own vows. Other denominations, like Methodists, for example, will baptize in any of those ways, and practice infant baptism, letting the parents take vows on the child’s behalf. Controversy arises when the groups that insist on “believer baptism” will not accept an infant baptism as being “efficacious” ⎯ that is, legitimate according to their beliefs ⎯ and so they will re-baptize by immersion to satisfy the belief of their tradition. Until the 1960s and the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church would not recognize a Protestant baptism of any kind as legitimate. And so they also re-baptized. But the Second Vatican Council decreed that Protestant baptism is a legitimate Sacrament, and anyone receiving it did not need to be re-baptized to be confirmed a Catholic.

That’s why the quote I put in the bulletin from Pope Benedict XVI came as a shock to me when I first read it. He recently decreed:

"The ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid Episcopate and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery, are not Churches in the proper sense; however, those who are baptized in these communities are, by Baptism, incorporated in Christ and thus are in a certain communion, albeit imperfect, with the Church."1

Well, as Methodists, at least we believe we are moving on to perfection!

I placed two other quotes in your bulletin as well, to counter the words of the pope with words from Scripture ⎯ these from the Apostle Paul. They speak to the unity of the body of Christ ⎯ something that was under constant threat in Paul’s time as well.

To the troubled and conflicted church at Corinth, Paul wrote:

“For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greek, slaves or free – and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”[1 Corinthians 12:13]

And to the church at Ephesus, a well-grounded, open and loving community, he wrote:

“There is one body, and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all.” [Ephesians 4:4]

The church reminds us every year at this time about Jesus’ baptism. That should be a clue that our own baptism is vitally important. Our baptism should be life changing. Imagine what the church might look like if each baptized member grasped hold of and used the power that is freely given us by God in our baptism. In Isaiah today we heard these words of the Lord: “I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” We know these words were used in Isaiah’s time for his community, and we now use them to talk about the Messiah, but we must understand that they are meant for us too. Doesn’t Jesus constantly tell his followers, and us, that we must take up his ministry and continue spreading the good news? Aren’t we supposed to care for the poor, build up the weak, and spread peace? Can we change the world or should we just give up in despair?

The church gives us this celebration of Jesus’ baptism every year, maybe in the hope that it will make us think again about our own baptism. Maybe that re-calling or re-collecting or re-membering our baptism will ignite the fire that smolders in our souls. That fire is there. Baptism gives it to us, and it never goes out. It sends us out to do what good we can in the places where we are.2

I read a poem this week that I like ⎯ it’s about doing what we are capable of doing. It’s entitled “Famous” and was written by Naomi Nye.

The river is famous to the fish.

"The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.

The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.

The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.

The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.

The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.

The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.

I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do."3

We are not required to do the spectacular ⎯ although if we manage to do so, that’s wonderful! But we are called to never ever forget what we can do! And then to do it!

So may we be! Amen!

Endnotes:
__________________________

1 Pope Benedict XVI (b.1927) baptized Joseph Alois Ratzinger.Elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in 2005
2 Acknowledging ideas in the last 2 paragraphs from a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Susanna Metz, January 9, 2011 – First Sunday After Epiphany/Baptism of Our Lord, Year A. Online at www.episcopalchurch.org/sermons_that_work_126349_ENG_HTM.htm
3 Naomi Shihab Nye, “Famous” from Words Under the Words: Selected Poems (Portland, OR:Far Corner Books,1995).
___________________________

© Carol J. Borland, Pastor Emeritus & Interim Pastor, West Danville United Methodist Church, West Danville, VT. Preached on the first Sunday after Epiphany [Year A]. January 9, 2011.

I'm Back!

2011-01-24T00:04:00.008-05:00

This is my first blog entry since October 13, 2009. Since that time we have sold two-thirds of our farm, built our new retirement home (a most peaceful and beautiful place, I might add) with the help of our nephew Jason and his two co-workers, Kevin and Andrew, and Ken has built his shop/garage to house his two tractors, his truck, the crawler tractor, our boat, and his workshop. He did most of that work by himself. We have two lovely ponds behind out new house, and lots of wild life that come to the ponds in the evening and early morning.

I have also returned as a one-third time pastor to West Danville United Methodist Church. It is good to be back home among the folks I had served with and grown to love deeply in the 12 years I was appointed there before retiring in 2006.

One of my main reasons for reactivating this blog is for our extended church family. I would like to post my "Reflections" (my word for sermons) from time to time so they and other folks can access them through our church website at WestDanvilleumv.org. Curtis Larrabee has done a great job in getting a website up and going and we share the opinion that blogging "Reflections" could add to that site and to the cohesiveness of the congregation. So, I look forward to doing that. I may start with some past tense Advent Reflections, or some Epiphany season Reflections - and then try to stay as current as possible. Of course, I am still trying to sort through boxes of "stuff" we had to move out of the farmhouse. This includes organizing my office/library - HUGE job!

Wish me well - I will need it! Anyone want some books?

Shalom,

Carol

Pacemaker

2009-10-13T20:07:00.009-04:00

Pacemaker! No, it's not the name of a race horse. It's what I received today just below my left collarbone. After a year of struggling with a very low heart rate and the accompanying fatigue and incapacity, I got one. It is an awesome thing to have a resting heart rate of 60 and know that it will go no lower, and that it will respond to demands for a higher rate without making my chest pound and causing shortness of breath and dizziness. I face a 12 week "take care with the left arm" thing, but after that, I'm good to go! Meanwhile I will be able to walk up the hill from our new house site and not wonder if I will end up in an ambulance! It has been quite a wonderful day! And it snowed today. First one of the season. "Squaw Winter" some call it. Followed, we both hope this year as we try to get the new house under roof, by a very very long and lovely "Indian Summer."

Meandering Toward a New House and Retirement Life Together

2009-10-09T16:49:00.006-04:00

I have been absent from Blogging for quite a while, and a lot has happened in that time, the biggest event being the Borland Farm Auction on August 5, 2009. We have some wonderful buyers (who sought us out) and soon we will close on the sale of some of our farm property. We kept about 20 acres at the foot of our hill, where we are trying to get our new house under roof before winter sets in here in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Anyway, I would like to use this blog to try to keep track of our progress in the building of our retirement home, and to be able to send to friends so they can also keep track of us keeping track of us.

To all of you who have been so supportive of our decision to "sell the family farm" - a heart-felt THANKS! Some have not seemed to understand that we could not continue to sell milk at a price way below what it costs to produce it, and why, at our ages, it was necessary to not use up all our equity trying to wait for a glimmer of light at the end of a long dark tunnel of increasing debt load and work load. Perhaps someday, if they watch enough news and read enough articles on the topic, they will figure it out. Meanwhile, we journey on, glad to have family and friends who do understand and offer their words and actions of support. Again, THANKS!

When our new house is done, I will post some pictures.

Next Tuesday, October 13th, I will spend two days as a patient at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital getting a pacemaker installed. Hopefully I will have some time and feel up to working on this project wile I am there. Optimistic! They do have high-speed, which I don't have at home - so I spend time typing away at the drug store in Barton or Wendy's in Newport or the library in Glover.

Halloween in Papillion, Nebraska

2007-10-31T22:03:00.001-04:00

This afternoon we attended our fifth grade granddaughter's school Halloween party. Several parents were helping out, including our daughter and son-in-law. I was totally impressed with how well-behaved and well-mannered the fifth grade class was. They were not "off the wall" like so many kids I have observed in various schools and other situations.
Tonight was Trick or Treat night. Several neighbors gathered at one neighbor's house for chili and goodies, and then we hit the streets - two anyway - of the neighborhood at Summit Ridge, one of the new developments. Lots of kids in costumes, all accompanied by parents/adults. Many of the houses were decorated - almost like Christmas - with lights and big displays of pumpkins and other Halloween things. The houses that welcomed Trick or Treaters had their outside lights on. The houses that were dark were off-limits. The amazing thing is that everyone followed that understood "rule." Once again, the kids were well-behaved, respectful and always remembered to say "Thank-you" and "Happy Halloween" - except for those who responded to our son-in-law's "Merry Christmas" by saying "Merry Christmas to you, too!" A fun day!

Omaha

2007-10-29T23:24:00.003-04:00

I am writing this on our daughter's computer on my first visit to their new home in Papillion, Nebraska, a part of the greater Omaha area. This area brings a bit of culture shock to me. It is flat - at least to a Northeast Kingdom Vermonter. It is non-stop new housing developments - cookie cutter homes, way over-priced and under-built - with an occasional corn field, most with For Sale signs on them, awaiting the perfect bid from a developer with plans to turn it into more housing. It is inconceivable to me that there are enough (or more than enough) people to fill all these new houses. And it is non-stop shopping malls, most of them strip malls or outdoor malls - collections of stores on a kind of pavement "campus."

We visited the zoo on Sunday. It is a nice attempt, but a zoo nevertheless - and most likely the only wildlife to be seen around here.

I have not yet seen Offutt Air Force base where our son-in-law is stationed.

Sunday morning we attended a United Methodist Church in Bellevue. It was a very traditional service, hymns sung slowly, and not a very welcoming congregation. In fact, except for the ushers who gave us our bulletins, hardly anyone spoke to us - not even at the coffee "fellowship" time after worship. Come on, Nebraska Methodists! You can do better than that!