Friday, December 23, 2016

Peace Discovered, Hope Revealed, Joy Embraced, and Love Celebrated!

This has been our Advent theme leading us to this sacred time of Christmas!  On the verge of Christmas Eve I find myself humming carols and getting all things ready for worship.  What an honor it is to lead worship for such a time as this - a time of silence and singing, of light and darkness, and of promises fulfilled.  I love this time that friends and family gather for worship on Christmas Eve.  There is a silence in the air that you can almost feel;  we sing familiar songs that bring back childhood memories;  the sanctuary becomes dark and the light of Christ makes it's way through the worshippers; and the holy story of promise and hope is remembered.  We remember the love of God that was clothed in a tiny baby deep in a manger on the margins of the world.  And there on the margins came the true power of God - gentle and loving, humble and vulnerable.  May we remember this way of God this Christmas so that we will walk upon this earth possessing the true power and love of God on the margins gentle and loving, humble and vulnerable.  Merry Christmas!

Friday, November 4, 2016

Exile, Shalom, and Silence



"But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." Jeremiah 29:7


These words from the prophet Jeremiah still ring in my ears since preaching on them last Sunday. They ring in my ears as I listen to more media covering the political friction that surrounds us, as I watch out the train window on my way to Niagara Falls to visit my daughter, and as I engage God in a time of prayer each morning.

These prophetic words come to the people as they find themselves in exile in Babylon - a foreign land where things are just not the same. One would imagine that they were experiencing a loss of control and a sense of uncomfortable uncertainty in this new land. In the midst of it all the letter comes calling for the people to be a source of living hope in the place they find themselves in now. As I listen to the friction in our land and see the poverty as the train moves through the landscape I find it difficult to know how to pray. How do I pray for and work towards the welfare, the shalom of the city? How do I pray for shalom when my heart is tangled up in the political friction and torn by the poverty I encounter?

And then I realize that instead of having all the answers and being certain of what will happen next I am called like the people in Babylon to live with the uncertainty and try to listen a little more to the Spirit of God that has the power to bring about living hope even in the midst of uncertainty.


God, may I listen more and speak less, may I seek to be a sign of your living hope in this unfamiliar land of uncertainty.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

"A Place at the Table"


A Place at the Table …

The first time I heard this song it moved me. I was participating in a heart wrenching conversation.  I remember little of the conversation only that it was painful and my heart ached.  Words were hurtful and speech was divisive.  In the midst of it all the holy words of this melody rang through the air and the chorus echoed over and over again: “and God will delight when we are creators of justice and joy, compassion and peace: yes, God will delight when we are creators of justice, justice and joy!”

We chose this song for this upcoming Sunday for World Communion Sunday to accompany the reading from the Gospel of Luke.  Jesus speaks about coming to the table with humility as we invite the poor, the cripple, the lame and the blind. 

After watching the Presidential debate last evening these words again began to echo in my heart.   The speech was divisive and words were hurtful.  I was pained by the anger and angst that sought to silence the other two voices in the room.  There was little true listening and more accusations from one candidate.  This made the debate hostile and tense in ways that were not productive.  I was left saddened and my heartaches for the ways we use our power to exclude voices.  How often do I use my power in ways that does not give voice to the voiceless?  How often do I silence those who seek to be heard?  Who do I invite to the table to receive this incredible and extravagant grace that God offers to all?  So I struggle to be more like you Jesus.

May these words bring healing and direction to your heart -

For everyone born, a place at the table,
 for everyone born, clean water and bread,
a shelter, a space, a safe place for growing,
for everyone born, a star overhead.
Refrain:
And God will delight
when we are creators of justice and joy,
Yes, God will delight
when we are creators of justice and joy, justice and joy.

For woman and man, a place at the table,
revising the roles, deciding the share,
with wisdom and grace, dividing the power,
for woman and man, a system that’s fair. Refrain

For young and for old, a place at the table,
a voice to be heard, a part in the song,
the hands of a child in hands that are wrinkled,
for young and for old, the right to belong. Refrain
           

For just and unjust, a place at the table,           
abuser, abused, with need to forgive,
in anger, in hurt, a mindset of mercy,
for just and unjust, a new way to live. Refrain


For everyone born, a place at the table,
to live without fear, and simply to be,
to work, to speak out, to witness and worship,
for everyone born, the right to be free. Refrain
                                                                                  
(Worship and Song UMC)

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Family Drama

Family Drama
Genesis 37:11-26

The journey of Joseph continues this week with the unfolding family drama.  As I am working with these family dynamics that are woven throughout these several chapters in Genesis, I am in a group text conversation with my husband and two children over the use of our third car.  This third car I gave to my daughter as she suddenly found herself commuting from Saratoga Springs to Niagara Falls. I was struck by the reality of the roles we all play in the midst of family conflict.  As the continual peacemaker I need to try to make everyone happy and smooth out the wounded edges.  As Rueben and Judah tried with the rest of the brothers standing over a cistern trying to save Joseph's life.

What role do you play?  Some of us are instigators, some of us are bystanders, some of us are targets of family anger, some of us peacemakers ... What role do you play?

Whatever role you find yourself in may we seek to make good choices that lead to the Shalom of our family members.  Like Jacob sending Joseph to check on the Shalom of his family - let us follow his lead seeking the Shalom of our human family.  At times that is taking a step back and changing our roles and other times it is standing in the midst of it all speaking words of truth that can set others free.

  

By the way my children worked out the car situation without my assistance!

Shalom

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Dream Big

Genesis 37:1-11 "Dream Big"

As Drew and I prepared the study notes for this coming Sunday I was struck by the courage of Joseph to trust in the dream planted in his heart that he would dare speak it out loud.  I dream a lot and I am left wondering do I trust and do I share them. What is it that makes me stumble when it comes to dreaming big and trusting enough to share it?  While reading "Silence on Fire:  The Prayer of Awareness,"  by William H.  Shannon, I came across an interesting thought that may shed some insight on my fear and trepidation:  "Our imagination has been crippled by so much evil that we have lost the capacity of imagining what it would be like to live in peace and harmony, in a world where life is not threatened, where air and water are not polluted and where people are genuinely concerned for the true welfare of their sisters and brothers."

To have God sized dreams I need to hope beyond the reality I experience and into the hope of what God can see.  I need to trust in the power of God in the world, the ground of all love, and be open to the dreams that are planted in my heart.  I pray that I will be open enough, trusting enough and courageous enough to live into the big dreams God has for the world as God indeed calls each of us to dream big - just like Joseph.  May it be so.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

"O mortal, what is good?"


"O mortal, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8

For Youth Sunday this upcoming week (June 19th) the young people have chosen the words from the prophet Micah as the text of the day to describe the theme "Do Something."  I have been blessed to journey with these young people as they have explored their identities within the local church and the Annual Conference.   And when I think on their theme - "Do Something" - it truly describes their willingness to live out all these words.  They are humble in the way they care for one another; they are kind as they interact with multiple generations of the church family; and they seek to do justice in many different ways at SSUMC, their communities and in the world.  

As we look forward to our Sunday of celebration and live in the midst of today, reflecting on the events of days past - we are reminded that the Lord requires of us to do ... not just to pray but to do.  To act in ways that bring about justice, to be kind in ways that transform our world and to walk in humble ways that mirror our journeys with God.  


The Lord requires us to do and how will we respond?  The deadly attack in Orlando and the rhetoric of hate require us to follow God and do something.  I do not have all the answers but I do believe that God aches for us to truly love each other without conditions or boundaries.  I do believe that sitting in front of the screen of our choice watching the horror of human suffering and crying is not the only response we can have as people of faith.  My heart breaks and I am sure that God weeps for the ways we destroy each other over and over again.  May we find a better way, empowered to do something and to be faithful to the words from Micah - the Lord requires you to do ...