Tag Archives: faith

The Irrational Christian

Posted on by
Reply

Second Sunday in Lent (Mark 8:31-38)  03/01/2015

Earlier this week I was attending a gathering with my clergy colleagues. We met at a church located close to a college campus and the topic of young adults and faith came up in our conversation. Someone shared the observation that a number of college students who regularly attend worship services and claim that the practice of their Christian faith is important in their lives had been questioned by their peers for their faith in God; often challenged for their faith and devotion…behavior deemed to be irrational. Irrational…meaning one exhibiting behavior that lacks normal mental clarity, reason or understanding. As I listened to my clergy colleague tell this story that placed such a great value on reason and understanding, I was reminded of a recent interview on an Irish TV show called, “The Meaning of Life,” hosted by Gay Byrne. The guest of the show was Stephen Fry, (well-known actor, author, and atheist), and Byrne asked him, “[I know that you do not believe in God, but] suppose it’s all true, and you walk up to the pearly gates, and are confronted by God. What will you say?” Fry responded, “I would say this: How dare you? How dare you create a world to which there is such misery that is not our fault. It’s not right, it’s utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world that is so full of injustice and pain. That’s what I would say.” Fry’s words are quite strong and perhaps a bit unedited toward the One we believe is holy and almighty, and perhaps like the host of the show your jaw has dropped a bit from its normal resting place. Continue reading →

Advent Reflections: make straight the way

Posted on by
Reply

Advent reflection: this week during Advent we encounter John the Baptist, proclaiming the coming of the Lord as he courageously stands in the wilderness, clothed in camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. Make straight the paths for the coming of the Lord. In the reflection offered below from Stan Purdum’s Advent study book, we consider the paths of our lives, the obstacles, roundabouts, and narrow ways of those paths; and, finally, reflect on how we might begin to uncover our obstacles to God and smooth the way for the coming of the Lord. Continue reading →

A lively and “perfect” faith

Posted on by
Reply

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (1 Cor 3:1-9)  2/16/2014

Listen to an audio recording <select here>

We hear in our lesson from the Book of Deuteronomy this morning, “If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today…then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you…But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are lead astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish.” (Deut 30:16-18a) And speaking from Psalm 119, the Psalmist tells us, “Happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Who never do any wrong, but always walk in his ways.” (Psalm 119:1,3) And Matthew warns us this morning that “if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matt 5:29) The challenge of perfection seems to have been set before us this morning in our Scripture lessons. In the spirit of the Olympic Games, it seems we have been challenged to perfectly land an “acrobatic triple cork” jump as we rush down the slope style ski range of life…our lessons seem to be telling us, go for the heavenly gold medal or go home! That approach to life would certainly create a fair bit of anxiety and restless nights. Continue reading →

“Into the darkness there appeared a great Light”

Posted on by
Reply

Christmas Eve (Luke 2:1-20)  12/24/2012

Listen to an audio recording <select here>

After living for several years in the Chicago suburbs, my family and I moved to the Washington D.C. area as I became a student at Virginia Seminary. Moving from one place to another is never easy; moving is hard work for many reasons: packing countless boxes, wondering if something will get broken (yes, something always gets broken), and saying goodbye to good friends. Leaving a community of people is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of moving. Among the many friends we said goodbye to as we left Chicago, I found it especially difficult to say goodbye to a good friend and colleague of mine; someone who shared similar family and work experiences with me for years. I kept in touch with my friend and nearly two years after we had moved he informed me that they too were leaving Chicago and moving to CT. He had taken a job in Middlebury and they were moving to a little town named Sandy Hook. My friend and his family have lived in CT for nearly six years and I rarely heard the name of his new town during that time, but a week ago this past Friday things became very different; Sandy Hook was known around the globe and the world changed. As reports came in from the media that morning, Carol and I became very worried for our friends. The rational part of my brain understood that their girls were certainly in high school, but we sat down and counted the years just to be sure (there didn’t seem to be too many rational things happening on that day). In the midst of incredible difficulty and unexplainable sorrow I wanted to be sure that those closest to me were OK. I was searching and hoping for some distance from this unbelievable story so I might be comforted in some small way. Often times we search for places of comfort, places of safety to weather the storms of life. My friend and his family were safe on that horrible morning, but even this comfort was not enough. The reality of that morning brought sorrow so great that it seemed there was no escape, regardless of how much distance you seemed to have from Sandy Hook. The opening words of our first reading from the prophet Isaiah ring in my ears, “The people walked in darkness.” (Isaiah 9:2) The sorrow of these past 10 days has felt pretty dark indeed. And for those of us who live in this “land of deep darkness,” we wonder, “where are we to go?” Continue reading →

“The discerning Blind Man sees clearly”

Posted on by
Reply

Pentecost 22 (Mark 10:46-52)  10/28/2012

Listen to an audio recording <select here>

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine and he mentioned that he hoped to soon walk the Camino de Santiago. The Camino de Santiago (or the “Way of St. James” in English) is a walking pilgrimage that has been popular for centuries. I found my friend’s story very interesting, but not because of his desire to take up a pilgrimage (we all know many pilgrims in this very place of St. John’s Church – our J2A youth just recently returning from Belize). I found my friend’s story interesting because his interest in walking the Camino de Santiago is the third or fourth mention of this pilgrimage I have heard in the past few weeks. Over these weeks, as I have heard the name of this pilgrimage repeated time and again, I have taken notice because repetition holds a particular meaning all to itself. The Bible regularly uses repetition, with stories of great significance being told over and over again. Repetition brings the story to the forefront of one’s mind, calling for special attention in the midst of the vast amount of information we encounter daily. This process of sifting is called “discernment” and discernment is a practice for everyone, not just pilgrims or people with a special concern. My friend’s story prompted me to think about the significance of this ancient walking pilgrimage. The Camino de Santiago started more than one thousand years ago and remains popular today. The earliest pilgrims started their journey from their homes and walked several hundred miles to the legendary burial place of St. James the Apostle, located in northwest Spain. Whether St. James is actually buried where legend says he is buried is not of the greatest significance, for the sacred way of this pilgrimage has long transcended any historical truth. During the many days of walking the Way of St. James, pilgrims meet others on their journey and they experience things they have never known before, and come to know themselves in new and unknown ways. Many share their stories in books, or blogs, or travel guides in an effort to help future discerning people come to know themselves in new and unknown ways. The process of sorting through all their experiences, this process called discernment, is an important element of dealing with so many stories, so many experiences. Discernment is the key to unlocking the mystery of all the stories and messages we receive; messages that urge us to stretch beyond the limits of our current understandings and expectations. Continue reading →

“In the midst of change You are there with me”

Posted on by
Reply

Seventh Sunday of Easter (John 17:6-19)  5/20/2012

Listen to an audio recording <select here>

As the days get longer and the sun shines a bit warmer, I become more aware that the time is nearly here for school to take its summer recess. The thoughts of lazy summer days and relaxing trips to the beach instill great joy in the hearts of many students; while for those students who will be graduating, the coming end of the school year begins a time of great transition. The transition of those leaving school marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new chapter in one’s life; a transition to a world only previously imagined but never fully experienced. In fact, on this very day 25 years ago, I tossed my hat high into the air with my classmates as we marked the end of our college days and nervously imagined what was to follow. Transitions are life events that are often full of personal emotions and excitement, but transitions are also events that remind us that we are not alone, we rely on those we love for guidance and support. J. Philip Newell, author and spiritual director, quotes a wonderful story by George MacLeod in his book, Listening for the heartbeat of God. George MacLeod was a Scottish clergyman and founder of the modern day Christian community of Iona. MacLeod tells a story of a great day of transition for his young daughter, her first day of school. He writes, “I was busy. I was writing letters. I was self-important. My little daughter was going to school that morning for the first time. She came into my room, in her first school uniform. I said, ‘Your tie is not quite straight.’ Then I looked at her eyes. She wasn’t crying. She was unutterably disappointed. She hadn’t come for tie inspection. She had come to show she was going to school for the first time. A terrific day, and I had let her down. What is that bit in the Gospel? Whosoever shall offend against one of these little ones…better for a millstone to be tied around his neck and that he be cast into the sea. I ran downstairs. I said all the right things. I crossed the road with her. I went to school with her. I had missed the moment, missed the point. I will always see these eyes. Sometimes when I am very busy. Sometimes when I am writing letters. I am forgiven, but I won’t forget.”[i] MacLeod’s reflection on his daughter’s great day of transition insightfully paints a vivid picture of both the emotional excitement and the fragile nature of transitions, and the human need for the love and support of others as we navigate through these unfamiliar times. Continue reading →

“The difficult pilgrim road – from where is our help to come?”

Posted on by
Reply

Second Sunday in Lent (Psalm 121)  03/20/2011

Several weeks ago, the rising protests in many countries of the Middle East and North Africa captured our attention; and our attention deserves to remain focused on these important events because the results of these protests will shape world history for many years to come. The protests of the people, although surprising in their rapid escalation, were not altogether surprising after years of suffering from poverty and many forms of government abuses. Farther to the East, well beyond this region of political turmoil, we have recently seen events unfolding in Japan that the word “surprising” does not do justice to describe the situation. The earthquake, tsunami, fires, nuclear accidents, and the biting chill of winter weather have all visited destruction upon the people of Japan so completely that the human language is unable to adequately capture the scene. Archbishop Nathaniel Uematsu, Anglican Primate of Japan, recently made this observation in a letter he released: the Archbishop wrote, “The stories and images constantly broadcast by the media have left people lost for words, unable to describe the sheer scale of the unbelievable destruction caused by the earthquake, tsunami, and fires.”[i] As I read the Archbishop’s letter and watched the dramatic images of the events unfolding in Northern Japan throughout this past week, I was reminded of the story of Job, one of the earliest biblical stories of complete and unexplainable loss. Continue reading →

“Reflection of the Daily Office: The power of Faith”

Posted on by
Reply

Daily Office for 10/04/2010:  Gospel – Luke 5:12-26

Today’s Gospel reading presents us with many lessons…and a rich complexity of issues woven together throughout the story. Among the lessons offered in Luke 5:12-26, the power of faith seems to jump off the page. Jesus is in the midst of a busy crowd and has just healed a leaper and the crowds persist to surround Jesus. The crowds are so great that a paralyzed man cannot come close enough to Jesus to have his healing touch change the man’s life.

“Just then some men came, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. When he saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”” (Luke 5:18-20)  Illustration by Graham Kennedy

The Scripture tells us that Jesus saw “their” faith and healed the man. The power of faith has certainly healed the paralyzed man: faith in Christ’s ability to heal body, mind and spirit; and faith in his friends’ ability to get the man to Jesus regardless of the obstacles. The power of faith brings us closer to Christ and places us in the center of the community of believers – only through community are we known as the Body of Christ. Who has carried you to the feet of Christ and who relies on you to break down the barriers that separate them from the healing powers of Jesus?

“The gift of Faith – renewed and rekindled by our actions”

Posted on by
Reply

Proper 22C (2 Tim 1:1-14 and Luke 17:5-10)  10/03/2010

John Westerhoff, an Episcopal priest and theologian, shared his understanding of faith development in his book, Will Our Children Have Faith? Westerhoff opens his book by stating, “It is a truism that Christian faith and education are inevitable companions. Wherever living faith exists, there is a community endeavoring to know, understand, live and witness to that faith.”[i] Throughout the remainder of Westerhoff’s book, he clearly explains that his definition of education is not limited to the classroom. The companionship of faith and education is most profoundly experienced as we learn in the fullness of our journey through life. Last Sunday morning at our forum, the St. John’s J2A pilgrims shared highlights from their trip to Scotland and those in attendance heard their profound experiences – experiences that will shape and inform their journey through life. Throughout the forum, each pilgrim came forward and shared some concerns they had before the trip (the potential difficulty of living without electronic gadgets, the discomfort of living on a vegetarian diet, and the unease of traveling with people that you barely know); and they also shared their understanding of life after the trip (garden grown vegetables are not so bad, traveling without electronic gadgets fosters conversation and friendship, and the beauty of the Scottish landscape revealed to them the presence of the holy). The pilgrimage was a profound experience for those who made the trip, but as members of this community, as people who witness the pilgrims’ journey, we encounter the holy and we are profoundly changed as well. Profoundly changed in our understanding of life and profoundly changed in our understanding of faith. The gift of faith, freely given to us from God, but a gift that is ours to grow through our discovery; our determination; our wonder of the holy. Our faith must be “rekindled” as the author of Paul’s letter to Timothy tells us this morning. Continue reading →