June 24, 2022 – Words of Wisdom, An Unknown Judge

The World Does Not Owe You Anything — You Owe the World Something.

“Always we hear the cry from teenagers, ‘what can we do, where can we go?’  “My answer is this: Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons and after you’ve finished, read a book. Your town does not owe you recreational facilities and your parents do not owe you fun. “The world does not owe you a living, you owe the world something. You owe it your time, energy and talent so that no one will be at war, in sickness and lonely again. In other words, grow up, stop being a cry baby, get out of your dream world and develop a backbone not a wishbone. You are important and you are needed.” (“Words for Teenagers”, Northland College principal John Tapene quoting a judge who regularly deals with youth.)

“At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”  Luke 13:31-35

The World Does Not Owe You Anything — You Owe the World Something.

I have coached my daughter’s soccer team for the last eleven years.  One of the themes that I have repeatedly tried to teach them is the concept of moving without the ball. I tell them that they should never be just standing still on a soccer field. I try to teach them to move into empty space, so that the person with the ball can pass it to them. And I try to teach the girls that when someone passes the ball to them, they cannot stand there and wait for the ball to come to them – they must move toward the ball. Standing still is not an option.

Jesus seemed to always be on the move. He often kept moving to keep ahead of those who wanted to arrest him – or to escape the hometown people who wanted to toss him over a cliff. Other times he moved on quickly because the people wanted to rally around him and make him their king. But most importantly Jesus kept moving because he had a lot to teach and a lot of people to heal – and to sit at home and wait for people to come to him would not have worked. Jesus knew that if he was to make his ministry the most effective that it could be, he must keep moving. This is also a lesson he was teaching his disciples – once he had ascended into heaven, they would be expected to go out to the people – to serve the people – to heal and to teach and to love them. 

We have raised a generation of people who often believe that resources and assistance must come to their place, to their community, and to their personal space because they somehow deserve it. Someone, the church, the political structures, the national government, or other social services owe them services because they have been denied. I often want to say what the above judge tells young people who come in front of his court – “put away the wishbone, grow a backbone, and find a way to become part of the solution, not part of the whining.” 

We can’t wait for people to come to the church, because many people expect that things will always come to them. As such, we need to be on the sidewalks of our communities taking the good news of Jesus Christ to them.  And that does not have to mean we need to go door to door to tell people about Jesus – although that is a system that has proven to be effective. One of the best ways to take Jesus into the community is for the church to be offering ministries to the community – to always be a presence in the community – to remind people that the church is still relevant, and that Jesus is still on the move.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, you were always seeking the lost, the last and the least of your community. Help me today to do the same – to look for those in need and then to find a way to fill that need, if only to give them a smile and remind them that G-d loves them and that they are worthy of that love. Amen.

Pastor Dave

June 23, 2022 – Words of Wisdom, Dolly Parton

Adjusting Our Sails

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”  Dolly Parton

“On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”  And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.  A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.  He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”   And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Mark 4:35-41

Adjusting Our Sails

The disciples had been on the sea for some time, fighting against the wind to the point that they believed the ship may sink at any moment. Jesus was with them, but he was asleep in the stern. That is an image that just seems to be out of place. A group of painters were once asked to paint a scene that depicted peace. Several of them painted the usual scenes we would associate with peace: quiet meadows, sleeping animals or babies, a pond without any ripples. But one painter approached the task differently. He painted a scene that showed the winds howling, trees bent over and darkness enveloping the landscape. And in one small corner, there was a bird sitting in the protection of the nest, feeding her babies and protecting them from the wind. And the nest has this soft glow as if they are protected by some divine source. That scene is the same as the scene of Jesus asleep on a boat as it is about to be swamped in a storm – and the implication is clear: Jesus is our source of peace when the storms of life rage around us.

The winds of trials, tribulations and challenges will continually blow in and through our lives – it is the saga of being human. And we may not always find peace within the storms of life, but as Dolly Parton writes, we can adjust our sails, to help us steer toward calmer waters. Very rarely will we be able to encounter peace for an extended period of time – unless we have the opportunity to find a place that is tucked away from the everyday hustle and bustle of life. But generally that kind of peace is short lived – fleeting for most of us in this world. So, because we know we will continue to face the storms of life, knowing that Jesus is the peace that surpasses all understanding will always remind us that there is peace on the horizon.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, you are the peace that surpasses all understanding because you are our ultimate hope and help in life. Give me peace today – and if not today, bring me peace tomorrow. This is my hope. Amen.

Pastor Dave