"One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying." MLK Jr.
There are some people who do not see strangers, only potential friends, only children of God. Surely they are the angels in our midst.
This past Sunday there was a slightly unkempt homeless man sitting on the steps of the Sanctuary building looking rather forlorn. Most people walked on by. He was bearded and wearing a jumpsuit reminiscent of a superman costume. We who work downtown have become accustomed to people like him.
But an angel of the Lord came and sat beside this man. She introduced herself and asked him his name. She wanted to know if there was anything she could do for him. He said he was hungry and started to cry. The angel took him by the hand, led him into the church and fed him coffee, juice and donuts. She sat with him in worship and put her arm around him so that others would know that he was with her. They wept together as the preacher talked about suffering and grace and God’s love.
After the service she took him to her home. She let him take a shower, fed him a big lunch, and gave him new clothes. She listened to him and prayed with him. Then her sweet husband drove the man back downtown, clean and refreshed.
This act of faith humbles me. This act of faith disturbs me. How can I ever live up to that?
Do angels come to live among us to shake us out of our complacency? Was Jesus serious when he said, “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple?”
God, help me practice what I preach. Amen.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Jesus on Death Row
The death penalty is a funny thing.
Not funny ha ha. Just funny. In a state where hundreds of folks will come out to the state capitol to protest against abortion, taxes, and the licensing of interior designers… we can only get 24 to show up to talk about the death penalty at this church right across the street.
Professor Mark Osler of Baylor Law School came to talk about his book “Jesus on Death Row”. He is a graduate of Yale Law and a former prosecutor. He now teaches classes on sentencing and professional ethics. He pointed out some very interesting parallels between the Texas justice system and the process that Jesus went through to be put to death.
My friend Sara did a concert series across the state last year trying to raise awareness about the death penalty. The crowds were less than overwhelming.
Texans don’t want to talk about the death penalty. By and large we buy into the idea of retributive justice. If you take a life, you will lose your life. I understand that. The myth of retributive violence is all around us.
Our non-violent heroes are few. Jesus, Ghandi, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr are all I can think of. Our heroes who fix the world by doing violence to the offender? That list goes on and on.
Jesus taught another way. That way is a hard thing to keep in mind when a loved one has died a terrible death.
People do horrible things to each other. I’m sure that in the heat of the moment I would take a life to defend my own or another’s.
It’s just that if I follow the words of the one who started this whole Christianity thing, I should have a hard time judging others. I should have a harder time condemning them to death. Things get complicated. Osler pointed out that when Jesus came across a legal execution he challenged the moral authority of the crowd, “Let you who are without sin cast the first stone.” No one did.
Do you know why we use lethal injection? Professor Osler said that it is because it’s the most palatable to watch for the families of the victims. Generally speaking, most people don’t want to watch someone being shot or hung to death, unless it’s in a video game. Too violent and bloody. Death is funny like that.
By the way, we just killed our 439th prisoner on death row. We are first in something. We are the state that has legally killed the most people. Something to be proud of. Ha ha.
The UM General Board of Church and Society invites you to learn more at www.deathpenaltyinfo.org .
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
10 Things I Learned at Annual Conference - stimulating title I know
Well folks,
I went to my first BIG meeting of the Methodists. Yes, my first Southwest Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church! This is where all the Methodists in our conference come together to worship, hash things out, update each other on what’s going on in the global church, and look for ideas to improve our own church homes. It wasn’t as bad as I was led to believe! I’d heard tales of food poisoning, jelly fish and endless meetings, but only experienced one of those. Corpus Christi was beautiful, had a constant breeze and the people were so friendly. So here is my top 10 list of things I learned at my first Annual Conference
#10 Our conference is going to spend the next 6 months raising money for Nothing but Nets. This is our first big push working together to further one of our stated goals “Stamping out the killer disease of poverty by improving health globally.” We can end Malaria if we pull together and help developing nations. We will be starting in Sierra Leone, but that is just the beginning…
#9 Eating a delicious, greasy, fried hamburger and fries at Hurbs might sound like a good idea. It’s not.
#8 Our new Bishop is really funny and seems like a guy you’d want to hang out with. Plus he moved the meetings right along. Good job Bishop Dorff.
#7 As in the rest of society, the churches for the most part, were divided by race. I hate that. How do we fix that?
#6 I’m bringing fruit for the FUMC Austin table next time. Sitting for hours with a big fat bowl of candy in front of you does not make you feel sleek when you go down to the pool later in the day after all the meetings.
#5 Methodists really do like to sing. I love that. And it wasn’t all songs from 1782. We can rock the house!
#4 It was great to see people who disagreed on matters of polity do so with respect and cordiality. Thank you to all who expressed their views in that manner. I wish we could be like that all the time.
#3 If you see jelly fish on the beach why would you get into the water? There is no good reason unless you are just into pain. I am not into pain. I really wish I hadn’t gotten into the water.
#2 This church is very lucky to have Beverly Silas representing us. She serves on the Board of Church and Society. She knows the in’s and out’s of all the policy, people and places that are discussed. Go talk to Beverly if you have questions about the church. She’ll know the answer.
#1 NEVER let your husband exit the house for a long car trip with a RUSH CD hidden on his person. It was bad enough in the early 1980’s but to listen to it now is pure torture.
I went to my first BIG meeting of the Methodists. Yes, my first Southwest Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church! This is where all the Methodists in our conference come together to worship, hash things out, update each other on what’s going on in the global church, and look for ideas to improve our own church homes. It wasn’t as bad as I was led to believe! I’d heard tales of food poisoning, jelly fish and endless meetings, but only experienced one of those. Corpus Christi was beautiful, had a constant breeze and the people were so friendly. So here is my top 10 list of things I learned at my first Annual Conference
#10 Our conference is going to spend the next 6 months raising money for Nothing but Nets. This is our first big push working together to further one of our stated goals “Stamping out the killer disease of poverty by improving health globally.” We can end Malaria if we pull together and help developing nations. We will be starting in Sierra Leone, but that is just the beginning…
#9 Eating a delicious, greasy, fried hamburger and fries at Hurbs might sound like a good idea. It’s not.
#8 Our new Bishop is really funny and seems like a guy you’d want to hang out with. Plus he moved the meetings right along. Good job Bishop Dorff.
#7 As in the rest of society, the churches for the most part, were divided by race. I hate that. How do we fix that?
#6 I’m bringing fruit for the FUMC Austin table next time. Sitting for hours with a big fat bowl of candy in front of you does not make you feel sleek when you go down to the pool later in the day after all the meetings.
#5 Methodists really do like to sing. I love that. And it wasn’t all songs from 1782. We can rock the house!
#4 It was great to see people who disagreed on matters of polity do so with respect and cordiality. Thank you to all who expressed their views in that manner. I wish we could be like that all the time.
#3 If you see jelly fish on the beach why would you get into the water? There is no good reason unless you are just into pain. I am not into pain. I really wish I hadn’t gotten into the water.
#2 This church is very lucky to have Beverly Silas representing us. She serves on the Board of Church and Society. She knows the in’s and out’s of all the policy, people and places that are discussed. Go talk to Beverly if you have questions about the church. She’ll know the answer.
#1 NEVER let your husband exit the house for a long car trip with a RUSH CD hidden on his person. It was bad enough in the early 1980’s but to listen to it now is pure torture.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Conversations
My prayer life is a running conversation with God. Something irritating happens, I talk to God, try not to blame, feel myself blaming, give it up to God and go on with my day.
Or maybe I see something amazing and thank God for putting me in this place to see this amazing thing.
That is my day, continually trying to give things up to God, knowing in my heart, that I cannot fix things by myself. Although, I do keep trying.
At this point in my existence I’m finding it hard to just sit down and pray. I’d much rather go for a walk, and feel the wind and the sun, work off some calories, and know that God is with me. A walking prayer.
At different times I’ve beaten myself up for not being Thomas Merton and meditating for hours, but for now I’m doing alright.
I disagree with opening up the bible and just praying on the text you come across. I know it works for some people, but I inevitably open up to some horrible text in Judges. Have you ever read Judges? There are some truly nasty stories in there. Really, awful stuff. Seems to me, that there is a whole lot of the bible that needs context to open it up. Certainly before I can meditate on it. That could just be me, but I offer that up to you.
Here are my prayers for the last hour.
Thank you God for my children, even though they can be really whiny and selfish- they make me laugh and wonder
Thank you for my sister - she is so funny and kind
Thank you for not striking me down when I cuss on occasion - I’m working on it.
Amen
Or maybe I see something amazing and thank God for putting me in this place to see this amazing thing.
That is my day, continually trying to give things up to God, knowing in my heart, that I cannot fix things by myself. Although, I do keep trying.
At this point in my existence I’m finding it hard to just sit down and pray. I’d much rather go for a walk, and feel the wind and the sun, work off some calories, and know that God is with me. A walking prayer.
At different times I’ve beaten myself up for not being Thomas Merton and meditating for hours, but for now I’m doing alright.
I disagree with opening up the bible and just praying on the text you come across. I know it works for some people, but I inevitably open up to some horrible text in Judges. Have you ever read Judges? There are some truly nasty stories in there. Really, awful stuff. Seems to me, that there is a whole lot of the bible that needs context to open it up. Certainly before I can meditate on it. That could just be me, but I offer that up to you.
Here are my prayers for the last hour.
Thank you God for my children, even though they can be really whiny and selfish- they make me laugh and wonder
Thank you for my sister - she is so funny and kind
Thank you for not striking me down when I cuss on occasion - I’m working on it.
Amen
Monday, April 27, 2009
Invisible Children
What did you do on a Saturday night when you were in college? Watch the game? Try to find a ride to your boyfriend’s house? Drink beer? Or was that just me? Well not these kids. Saturday afternoon hundred’s of college students and friends from across the state camped out on the Capitol lawn to bring attention to the plight of child soldiers in Uganda.
People, I don’t think I could’ve found Uganda on a map in my undergraduate years! Yet here these students are camped out, taking a stand for children halfway across the world.
Heather Chestnut, one of our newest members and UT student, gave me the lowdown. The event is called “The Rescue”. It happened in 10 countries in 100 cities. The idea was that the people camping out at the Capitol had to wait to be “rescued” by a celebrity of some sort who would bring media attention to the subject. They need to be rescued just as the children of Uganda need to be rescued. In Uganda the army led by Joseph Kony abducts children in the night and forces them to fight in the army. Stealing their childhoods and introducing these children to a nightmare of violence.
“Unlike any generation before, we are a generation that does not differentiate a person’s worth by geography. Rather, we possess a global outlook. We grew up online with technology at our fingertips and pen pals in New Delhi and New Zealand. Therefore, we have a greater sense of connectedness that compels us to fight for our friends’ freedom.” This comes from the brochure they were handing out. You can learn more at www.invisiblechildren.com.
When I went out to check on them yesterday afternoon the tents were mostly down and the kids were hopeful that someone would show up to save them.
I hope someone showed up to rescue them today. The rain is fairly ugly out there. Maya Angelou … Governor… Lance… anyone?
Monday, March 16, 2009
Art
This Lenten season we have two of our resident artists working on banners for us. Danette Ward is painting the Sanctuary banner and Jan Morris is working on the Chapel banner. Over these seven weeks they are both adding to their paintings as a representation of the journey through Lent to Easter. We Methodists are exceedingly good at words, but not always at feelings too deep for words. This is what art is for. Often a painting can get at a feeling that you yourself cannot voice. I share weeks one and two with you to deepen your journey.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Prayer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
