February 27, 2019

What's love got to do with it? – Tina Turner

As I write this, our brothers and sisters over at the United Methodist Church are on the verge of imploding. They are currently holding their General Conference meeting in St. Louis (their version of our General Convention) and debating whether or not to allow LGBT people to hold leadership roles within the church (specifically whether or not they should be allowed to become ordained pastors) and whether or not to allow for same sex marriages to take place within their church.

There are two plans being debated. One, called the Traditional Plan, would more stringently enforce UMC rules against LGBT people, further marginalizing them within the church and more vigorously pursuing ecclesiastical charges against those clergy who are pro-equality. The second, called the One Church Plan, would allow each individual congregation to determine whether to include or ban LGBT people and to support, or not, LGBT clergy.

This debate in the UMC is similar to the debates over these issues that the Episcopal church (TEC) faced several years ago. It is also similar in that the majority of those pursuing the Traditional Plan, as I understand it, are from African nations; much like those putting forth anti-LGBT proposals and demands in TEC and the Anglican Communion come from African nations supported by money from conservative US groups.

Right now it appears that the Traditional Plan has the upper hand. This debate, vote, and ultimate decision will have far-reaching consequences for our friends in the UMC. Of course, I don't know what those results will be; but I've heard they could entail everything from a new pro-equality, pro-LGBT denomination being created, to a mass exodus of pro-equality, pro-LGBT parishioners from the UMC.

What's love got to do with it? Everything.

God created out of love. Love your enemies. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. This is the message we have heard from the beginning: Love one another. Love one another, for love comes from God. Faith, Hope, and Love: and the greatest of these is Love. God shows no partiality.

Right now the UMC is debating and plotting their course for the future: Will they opt for a course that continues to see LGBT people as less than and as unworthy to receive love and acceptance in the church? Or will they opt for a course that allows for LGBT people to be welcomed, affirmed, and appreciated? I have an idea on which course they will choose. As they make that choice, I would make two points: 1) Bigotry wrapped in prayer is still bigotry; and 2) God is love.

Pray for the UMC. If you have friends in that denomination, let them know you are praying for them. Let them know that God is love, and that love has everything to do with it.

Blessings,

February 20, 2019

In many places in Scripture, vines and vineyards are often seen as being planted by God or of having some special relationship to God. Isaiah gives us an image of the beloved, God, planting a vineyard (Israel). Jesus talks about being the vine and we are the branches. And in Genesis, Joseph is referred to as a fruitful bough or vine whose branches run over the wall. All of these images are of God reaching beyond our own imposed boundaries to bless people beyond our own walls and to welcome outsiders.

In Joshua, the walls of Jericho came tumbling down because the people of that city were afraid of the people of God and wanted to keep them out.

In Proverbs 18:10, God is described as a strong tower that protects the righteous. And in verse 11, the rich are described as foolishly seeing their wealth as a high wall; but it is a wall built on their own conceit which offers them no protection.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul talks about the unification of all people in Christ: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.”

In Revelation 21 John sees a new heaven and a new earth, and he sees the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. This new Jerusalem is a walled city, glorious in splendor, so large that each side of the wall contains three gates, for a total of twelve. And as the nations and kings of the earth come to that great walled city, the new Jerusalem, they will see that the twelve gates of the city will never be shut.

This is how God deals with walls.

Blessings,

February 13, 2019

This Place

We had our annual Vestry retreat this past weekend where all but one were present (and our prayers go out for Will Godwin and and a full recovery from knee surgery). We spent some time getting our new members up to speed, getting to know a little more about each other, and assigning positions for the various commissions. All in all it was a good day.

One of the things that was brought up was how, even when we disagree, we have respectful discussions. We are all different. We all may have different priorities and different understandings. But those differences don't preclude us from continuing to respect each other and work for the overall benefit of this place.

This past Sunday was a full day. Besides the usual worship schedule, we had the J2A bake sale and lunch, a meeting of the EYC (for all youth 6^th grade and older), and the first scheduled meeting for TEC 101 (a class I hold for people new to the church and/or faith, and anyone else who wants to know a little more about those). During the 10:15 service, one of our acolytes took ill and virtually passed out. Luckily it was into the arms of another parishioner who noticed she wasn't looking too good. She was attended to, her parents were notified, and another acolyte made a quick change to cover for her. All of this shows me that we are active and caring in this place.

Monday evening as I walked through the church before Evening Prayer, I was again reminded of how beautiful this place is. And as I read the Office, I was reminded of how holy this place is.

This place isn't perfect. We have building issues. We have budget issues. It is made up of fallible human beings. But this place is beautiful. This place is doing relatively well when it comes to the budget. This place is made up of people who care for its well-being and work hard to proclaim the Good News of God's kingdom.

This is a good place, and I hope you are as happy and excited to be a part of it as I am.

Blessings,

February 6, 2019

Super Bowl?

This was the Super Bowl? This was the ultimate game of the season? A game that featured two teams that probably shouldn't have been in the game? The Patriots managed to make it to their ninth title game in eighteen years by ripping the Chiefs defense to shreds in overtime. The Rams managed to make it to their fourth title game since 1979 aided both by a missed pass interference call and their defense stopping the Saints from scoring in overtime. There were 49 points scored in the Rams/Saints game, and 68 scored in the Patriots/Chiefs game.

And we got this for the Super Bowl? A game that was 3-0 at halftime? A game that only had one touchdown? A game with only one snap inside the opponents 20 yard line? A game where punts were the most exciting things to happen? A game with 13 total points and no good commercials?

This was the Super Bowl?

Yes . . . yes it was. It was a game nobody expected.

With the way teams were scoring points this year, most people expected a high-scoring affair. Most people expected to see an offensive display not seen since the St. Louis Rams' “Greatest Show on Turf” days. I think I anticipated a score of 31-28. Nobody saw this coming.

This is how life goes sometimes. We don't actually live in a world of constant excitement, car chases, and derring-do. We live in a world of ups and downs, fast times and slow times, excitement and boredom. But somewhere along the line we seem to have gotten the idea that those things in which we participate or to which we pay attention have to always be exciting, they have to keep us entertained; and when they don't do that, when they don't meet our expectations, we complain about how bad, boring, dreary, or what a waste of time it all was.

If you watched the Super Bowl, did you do it with friends? Did you and your friends have a good time? Did you have enough food to keep you satisfied?

And this may be the most important thing we learn from this year's Super Bowl: we may not always be entertained, we may not always have our expectations met, some days aren't as exciting as others, but being able to participate in the event is more important than whether or not the event meets our expectations.

Blessings