Strands are woven around my body, through my mind, inside the very marrow of my soul.
Woven by me?
By others?
By demands?
Woven by God.
Woven, yes. But not a trap.
Always, always an opportunity.
Time.
Category: Just part of the journey home
Peace
Yes… It is late.
Yes… I literally laid on the floor under our Chrismon tree for this photo.
I can’t help but think of the hours of work someone put into this symbol that you really have to want to see to find it.
But I’m happy it’s there.
My anchor holds… And there is Peace!
Bound
These little guys have been hanging around my desk for quite some time now. “Word” (the little guy with the book), “Sacrament” (yeah, with the wine bottle and bread) and “Order”, (the guy in the dark brown robe and the puzzled look toward the sky) were all given to me on the occasion of my ordination by one of my sponsors, Rev. Judy Fisher. She is even responsible for naming these Friar Folk for me and explaining that the best thing she could think of for ordering the life of the church was a whole lot of prayer. That’s probably why I have, through the years, purchased the other two praying Friars, appropriately named “Uh-Oh” and “What-do-I-do-now, God?”
Whenever I look at any of my Friar Folk – and yes, there are more of them – I am reminded that I am connected not only to God through my ordination but to many other sisters and brothers in this “order” we call Elders. I am bound to them by something more than mere words that I said in my vows. I am bound to them by more than just words that appear on any page.
I am bound by God to be in covenant with these brothers and sisters by the very Word of God.
Our denomination has been going through a whole lot of upheaval lately. I could describe it in detail but that’s not necessary and it really isn’t helpful. The fact of the matter is that those of us who are “bound” together find ourselves disagreeing with one another. Some think one way…some think another. Some are even willing to call the others “wrong”. (As an aside, I do not have a Friar Folk name “Wrong” or “Right” for that matter.)
I think about my ordination often and I think about the problems we as Elders are having with one another. I am glad I have these three guys and their friends around to remind me that I am bound to others. I also have a great group of Elders that I am in a Covenant Group with that are always there to remind me of the tie we have. And yeah, sometimes it even gags us!
I don’t have all the answers to what we are facing together but this much I know…I do not have to be “right” about anything. And you, my sister or brother, do not have to be “wrong.”
There is something bigger than what we can know, understand and figure out that holds us together. We are bound…Thank God…we are bound to one another.
Go!
“Baptizing a baby is the most dangerous and reckless act a set of parents can do with a child. If this child is one that you want, you need to stay as far away from the baptismal font as possible.”
I have said these words a couple dozen times in the last twenty some years of being a pastor. I said them with all seriousness because I truly believe them. We think as parents that we can look out for our children, do what is best for our children, and perhaps even plan and work towards a good future for our children.
And then, in Baptism, we go and give them to God!
Sure, we promise to do all we can to bring them up in the faith. (Yet another dangerous act!) Yes, we do this partially out of cultural significance – at least in the church culture. But sometimes we don’t think completely about what we are doing. That’s why I make the statement that I do.
This hammock is “resting” in our garage for the winter. It had spent the summer in our backyard on a stand that I had to move about 37 times when I was mowing the grass. (Our house does not have a “lawn”. I don’t do lawns. I am lucky to say that most of the yard is grass, thank you, very much.) It did get used quite a bit by different members of the household, but truth be told, I probably used it more than it’s owner – my daughter.
I spent many an afternoon laying in the hammock and just thinking. I don’t sleep well in it so I rest…and when I rest, I think. And some of my thoughts were about the very strings that were holding me up off the ground and giving me the rest that I needed at the moment.
Most would not think of a hammock as something associated with the word “Go.” Stranger still might be the connection between “go,” “hammock” and “baptism.” But because some words leave a lasting sticky residue in your mouth, I have no trouble at all with the connection.
This hammock from Nicaragua returned with my now senior in high school daughter when she returned from a mission trip in December and January of 2012. I worried a lot while she was gone. I marked the passing of her sixteenth birthday without her while she was away. I prayed a lot while she was gone. She turned off her phone when she arrived in Managua because she wanted to totally immerse herself in her work and I didn’t here from her directly for over two weeks. Like I said, I prayed a lot while she was gone.
She did come home and she brought this great “‘restful” gift with her.
But the fact of the matter is that whenever I see that hammock…whenever I am attempting to rest in its web of strings, I remember that my wife and I stood before a congregation, let our District Superintendent sprinkle water on her head and let God claim her as one of God’s own. Even then I knew how dangerous an act that was but I thought I could control things better.
Alas, God said, “Go.”
And I am blessed because my daughter listened. Grayer…but blessed.
Looking Around
In the Fall of 1989, I was headed back to college after a break of a couple of years. I was a new student pastor – in Kincaid, WV – and a new student at what is now West Virginia University of Technology. (It was just known as WV Tech when I was there.) I had spent the summer getting to know my two new churches, was enjoying the “newness” of ministry and really looking forward to getting back and finishing my education.
The first day of classes arrived and I found myself running late to make the trip across the mountain that separated Kincaid and Montgomery. I rushed out of the house and then back into it to get my book bag and then hurried toward my car a second time. I got in, started it up and backed up in my parking area (yes, the parsonage actually had a space where you could park four or five cars – the down side of that was that you had a steep driveway to get onto Johnson Branch Rd.) and within a second or two found myself stopping abruptly and unexpectedly as I smashed into another vehicle parked behind me.
Now, if I back up a couple of days I can explain how the vehicle got there… My neighbors across the street were have a lot of company visiting them from time to time and graciously I invited them to park in this nice parking area since there home had very limited parking. Well, obviously my neighbor took me up on the offer and her brother from Ohio paid the price. I tore the tailgate right off of his truck as I backed up in a rush that morning not even checking my rearview mirror simply because I had become so accustomed to driving there that I didn’t think I needed to pay attention.
Oh, they were gracious in accepting my apologies and were even good enough to work out a reduced price for me to pay for the damages. However, no one from that family ever parked in the area again!
Sometimes, I fear that we are so accustomed to seeing certain things around us – or not seeing them – that we fail to notice when something changes. (How many people have seen the new signs for Princeton? Has anyone noticed that the dead tree in the fountain area across from the church has been removed?)
My reason for telling all this is pretty simple: If we desire to be the church in the heart of Princeton then one of the main things we will have to do is keep our eyes open no matter how many times we are around our community. There are countless ways that we can show our love (be the heart) for this community – if we aren’t to busy getting to our destination that we fail to notice what is really happening around us.
Jesus is ready to come back to this community and we can pave the way by spending our treasures – time, talents and resources – where we see the needs. That is, as long as we aren’t so busy that we back into them and cause damage instead.
The church in the heart of Princeton! I know we love this place and we love this community. I just pray that we are ready to be Jesus as each and every opportunity arises!
Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…You must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. (Luke 12:32-34, 40 NRSV)
Not Quite Home 