It All Started To Remember John

Decoration Day, circa 1927

   It was on a spring afternoon nearly 150 years ago that the family stepped off the wagon bench and made their way across the cemetery to find the crude marker erected for John. He would have been brother, son, maybe even husband and father. However he was related, on that afternoon, he was being remembered. John would have been one of the hundreds of thousands that were similarly remembered at cemeteries planted on the very soil of the battlefields of the Civil War. John, William, Robert, Levi, Archer, Josiah, Ralph, Lemuel. Just a few of the names of those memorialized in cemeteries after that war.

   One story is told of three women in Columbus, Mississippi in 1866 who decorated the graves marking fallen from both sides with flowers. The US Department of Veteran Affairs even gives our Columbus, Georgia a nod as possibly being one of the first cities to observe the day - a distinction that apparently is hotly debated. By 1868 the practice of decorating soldiers' graves had become widespread in the North, with the first official observance probably in upstate New York in May 1866.  It is noted that in both the North and South the earliest Memorial Day celebrations were simple, somber occasions for veterans and their families to honor the day and attend to local cemeteries.  It was known as Decoration Day for the first many decades of its observance.

   Regardless of the name of the day, or the soldier memorialized, the tradition that was started for one war has been extended to the wars and conflicts since. It has also been extended out from the families of fallen soldiers to families of thankful Americans everywhere. No longer can we leave the work of Memorial Day only to those most closely affected. My prayer is that the memorials we offer last longer than cut flowers.  My prayer is that we would be unfailing in our prayers of thanksgiving and efforts for peace.

   The church joins in this weekend to remember and say thanks. We say thanks to those who have served, to those who are serving, and we remember those who gave their lives in our nations efforts at establishing freedom. The Scriptures use the word Remember over 200 times. Apparently GOd knows that even the command to remember is something we will forget. It is a theme and an action we must continue to pick up and carry on. Grace and Peace to you.

What We Call Change Graduates Call Normal

   For this week’s graduates…email has always been the preferred form of sending a message. Michael Jordan is really only known for his line of Nike shoes and apparel. Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess in England. Wired telephones connected to the walls exist in case your cell phone battery goes dead. Czechoslovakia has never existed. American companies have always done business in Vietnam. Russians and Americans have always been living together in space. Cold War? A slide show involves a computer...Kodachrome what? Computers have always come with CD-ROM disk drives.  Gasoline has never sold for less than a $1.50...

   It is amazing how things change. The truth is, every one of us has a list of things that have always been normal that would have astonished previous generations. Considering how assuredly things do change, we should be more amazed that people are amazed at change in the first place.  
   The same is true for our church, of course.  The normal we know now was new and cutting-edge not too long ago. Bulletins on the website? Pews in the Sanctuary? Sunday School books people could take home? A Fellowship Hall large enough for everyone to fit into? 

   The same is true for worship, too.  Not very long ago, Methodist churches did not have organs, did not sing from hymnbooks, did not recite creeds, and certainly did not have sanctuaries.  All of those moderns changes have come about in the last 100 years for most Methodist Churches.  The normal we know would have been unheard of to the folks who came before us.
   Jesus included the need for change in his teaching when he said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3).

   The prayer for our church extends to those graduating from high school and college: that we stay current and true to ourselves by clinging to what matters most and letting the rest pass away.  Like acid-wash jeans or mullets as a hairstyle.  Grace and Peace, Scott

One Last Word Is Not Enough

Ben and Katie Gosden, Emory University 2011

   I was blessed and humbled to be present as Ben Gosden walked across the sanctuary on the campus of Emory University this week and receive his diploma from seminary.  I was blessed to return to a place that meant so much to me, and to so many before me, and to watch the joy on the faces of graduates and their loved ones as they experience the achievement of dreams, goals, and callings.  I was equally humbled to sit there as one who represents many: for our church rightly takes pride in Ben's ministry and the ways God is using him even now to advance the Kingdom.  Sitting alongside Ben's mom, his wife, and other family, it was a great day.

   Of course, graduation ceremonies entail more than just passing out diplomas.  At Emory that means prayers offered by Bishops, scripture read by professors, anthems sung by choirs, and...the proverbial keynote speaker.  We sit and listen to someone give their very best effort at summarizing what this day means.  It is no easy task.  How can you capture such an event in ten minutes.  Or even twenty?

   The truth is that one last word is not enough.  There is nothing profound enough to linger in our minds.  There is nothing witty enough to capture our attention, especially over the sound of fussing babies.  There is no one word or thought that can sum it all up.

   Jesus, who was the very Word of God come to life with flesh and blood, knew this.  Each of the four Gospels offer something of Jesus' parting word to us. One last word is not enough. John's Gospel takes those last words and stretches them out over five chapters in John 13-17, but even that is not enough as Jesus picks teaching again on the lake shore in John 21. Which is why Jesus promises and delivers on the Holy Spirit, God present with us now that Jesus has ascended to heaven.  By the power of the the Holy Spirit, God is present with us tomorrow.  God is present with us after the party is over.  

   The last word I left Ben with on Monday was that we were proud of him.  But by the grace of God that is not the last word.  God's is still speaking to Ben, still speaking to the the churches he will serve, and still speaking to the church that helped to shape him.  May we listen for the new Word God has for us this day.

God's Truths Burst Through All Around Us

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.

Matthew 28:1-6

      
   We had a great group gather on Sunday evening to watch one of Disney's latest hit movies, Tangled. We invited the families from Allen Elementary to join us, and many of them did!  What a privilege to be host to our neighbors for a night of fun.

   Near the end of the movie, when things are still in doubt, there comes a moment when the only thing that will save the day is a miracle. Evil seems to be winning and the good guys need something divine to happen. Just then, when all hope seems lost, a ray of light begins to shine in the darkness.  Death is conquered, and light burst forth into the room and into the life of the hero who previously lay lifeless.  I turned to Lillian Woolridge, sitting next to me, and asked, "Have you ever wondered what the moment of Christ's Resurrection looked like?"  She looked back at me, thinking I was crazy, and we continued watching the movie.
   I cannot help it; the themes of God's Holy Scriptures seem to appear in the most random, and often most divine moments. Redemption, forgiveness, peace, creation, discipleship, faith, doubt, fear, plenty, sacrifice...these are the truths and concepts we read in the bible, and see lived out around us.  For a moment on Sunday night, sitting in a crowd watching an animated movie, I was drawn closer to God’s grace on that Easter Sunday morning that Matthew captured with the verses above.
   We claim that the Bible is the Living Word of God.  Maybe this is one part of it: the truths of the Bible are alive because they continue living on in our lives. I pray that as we move outward from Easter, we do so with eyes wide open to the amazing stories of redemption and triumph God is delivering around us, even now.

A (Slight) Majority of the World Believes in Supreme Being (or God)

   We stand in the bright light of Easter, as the move past Sunday and into the Season that is marked by celebrating the resurrection and what it means for all of Creation. A generous portion of attention is given, around Easter and Christmas, to topics of faith and religion in the press and amongst the people, and this year is no different.  

   Our new series, which started Sunday, Unwavering Faith in an Uncertain World, caused me to pay attention to a new poll released on the Monday after Easter that offers a snapshot of the faith and beliefs of 23 nations, including the US. I am sorry for the excessive use of parentheses in the title, but you will see that some headlines require some extra explanations to be accurate. Here is the raw data from the world's citizens surveyed:

• 51% definitely believe in a ‘divine entity’ (though 6% think there are multiple ones)
• 18% don’t believe in a god of any kind
• 17% just aren't sure about their belief in any god
• 41% believe in human evolution to explain how we got here 
• 28% believe in creationism; the universe is the work of a Creator

   These are stark figures, and my guess is that they are generally accurate. I am not sure exactly what to do with them. These numbers can be taken as a punch in the gut, or a firm slap on the behind pushing th Church back out into the world to witness to the love of God and the work of Christ. Donald Miller, a thinker and writer, drills down even deeper amongst tat first group at 45% when he says, "the very scary thing about religion, to me, is that people actually believe God is who they think He is.  By that I mean they have Him all figured out, mapped out..." and placed neatly on a shelf in a category (page 20).  This makes the poll results even more stark.  

   What can we say to all of this in light of the Easter we have just celebrated, again?  Lots! We believe in the miracle that has happened in our lives - we have been rescued from lives that were perishing to lives that are abundant and eternal.  We worship the One True God, who did create heaven and earth, and continues to work to redeem all of Creation for His amazing glory. Our gathering for worship is truly a counter-cultural practice; we are setting ourselves apart. 

   What we do as a matters. The way we talk about faith and about God, matters. The details matter.  Our lives as Christians in the world - literally taking the love and witness of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet - matters.  Christ is Risen...oh, that the world might know.

   Grace and Peace, Scott