Called, gathered, enlightened and sustained

It's the season of family reunions.  All those relatives, many who live at great distances, some whose names are lost in memory, gather in one spot to drink coffee (and most times beer) and to eat 4 kinds of potato salad and try to catch up.  "My Lord how the children have grown!"  is a favorite refrain to each greeting.

It's all a bit awkward at the beginning....there are new in-laws to introduce and that search for a safe topic of mutual interest.  There's a lot of talk about sports teams and children's graduations, the weather and golf games, and if you happen to be related to me, Tim Hortons.  But if the stars align just right, and God smiles on your gathering, you will begin to share family stories....the buried treasure of every family.

There is the story about mom chasing the kids with water pistols on the first really hot day of the year.....in the house!  Then there is dad's love for anything plaid.  Great-grandma's sour cherry pie and Uncle Carl's crankiness.  There will be the detailed re-telling of someone's birth, and the sadness ladden story of where each one was when they heard of Great Grandpa's death. There are happy stories, funny stories, scary stories, and of course, sad stories as well.

It takes about 4 hours to get comfortable enough with one another to begin to tell the sad stories, and just possibly if everyone hangs in there long enough, you can get to those stories of conflict and crisis. If you get that far, you will have managed what many never do - to speak the truth about your lives together, your shared history, and have gained some insight into how meaning has been formed in you.

You might just take a moment, quietly, off to yourself, to realize that managing this life is beyond challenging; that the road is twisted and rocky and often dangerous; that having someone else know your story gives you strength and resilience; and in the end, there is so much for which to be grateful.

My daughter is taking the lead to plan our family's small reunion this summer.  I doubt that she has given a moment's thought to Martin Luther's explanation to the work of the Holy Spirit in his Small Catechism who 'calls, gathers, enlightens and sustains' the church.

Would we not paint our family reunions with a different color if we saw the Spirit moving among and through us to bring others to life.....to abundant life.......in the midst of joy and sorrow and evil and anger.........this Spirit works to sustain us.....in this frail collection of flawed human beings.......where we can practice being life for one another?

It is in the back yard, eating hamburgers and cole slaw, playing horseshoes or corn hole and waiting for the fireworks to start that the Spirit is working to call and gather God's holy people into one body...in Jesus' name, out of love, for the sake of each one.

Perhaps I need to re-think my approach to this year's hot dog extravaganza; it's a lot more holy than I realized.

He is not here! He is risen!

Alleluia!

Remember when?  I'll bet your family has some great stories which start with 'Remember when.........' and get told again and again. These are the memories which get us laughing or leave us pensive or taste a little bittersweet.  They are our stories; they make us one.  Family members know the story and those who know the story are considered family.

Children love these kinds of stories, especially when Mom or Dad are the main characters and were young and did something silly .....you know, they acted like the children they were.  My children always loved to hear about adventures from 'when they were a baby' including all the ways they managed to fracture the English language as they learned to talk.  I only get nervous when my children are telling stories to one another and I have absolutely no recollection of the 'incidents' being described.

Sharing stories after the death of a loved one helps us place this moment in the context of an entire life lived.  The stories connect us and give us a sense of belonging while at the same time carrying us along the current of inexorable time.

When we read the stories about Jesus, we get to listen in on the disciples' story telling.  Remember when.....he fed all those people on the hillside?  Remember when.....he made that terrible storm go away?   Remember when.....he ate that last supper with us?

Remember when.....we thought he was dead.........but he wasn't?  The earthquake!  The angel!  I couldn't believe it.  I wanted to, but it was too incredible.  I told Mary and Peter told me and then I spoke to Thomas and then......it was amazing.

He is not here!  He is risen!  Who could imagine that?  What can I say?

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Faith: witness

Have you ever been a witness in a courtroom?  The closest I've come was testimony before a Grand Jury.  It was a bit intimidating.  I knew that there would be consequences to my testimony; not only a trial but a jail sentence was a real possibility.

So what we say when we give testimony....what kind of witness we bring to the proceedings is very important.  We must be clear about what we know and clear about what we do not know.  We can't say Yes just because we want it to be that way.  We must stick to the truth and trust the system to work it all out.

Our witness to our faith is equally important.  Each person of faith is a reflection of the God s/he calls on.  We witness with both our words and our deeds.  Let's start with words.

Tell your story.  Tell us how God found you.  Tell us about all the questions you have had, all the situations when you turned towards God and insisted on a better explanation.  Tell us about the Aha! moments and those moments when your breath was taken away.  Witness to what you know, what you have experienced with this God of creation.

Stick with your story with God and leave out all the grander explanations and churchy sounding pronouncements.  Resist the temptation to pontificate on matters.  Try not to speak for God unless you are using God's own words, and even then, a great deal of humility is called for since we have amazing skills at twisting what God is saying to our own ends.

No two of us experience God exactly the same way - and yet your experience will help me find my experience.  I understand the power of a sunset; the relief of being healed; the fear of losing a loved one.  I understand the terror of the night and the arrows that fly by day.  I understand that sometimes the pain is so great that I will not be able to hear or see God, and God will wait alongside of me until I am able.

Find a passage of scripture that helps explain what you have experienced.  The Psalms are the perfect locale, but many of the stories of the Bible are equally powerful.  Hannah, childless and yet faithful, cried out to God for the gift of a son.....and her prayer was answered, and her answer was to dedicate that child to the Lord's work.  (1 Samuel)  Moses was in trouble with the law and couldn't speak effectively in front of others....and yet God called him to head his people out of slavery and into relationship with this God. (Exodus)  Dorcas was so dedicated to serving others through the beautiful garments she made that when she died, her companions held up those same beautiful garments as examples of God's love flowing through her.  (Acts 5)

Tell your story.  God is at work through your story; through you others see and come to know God.

Now that God has found you, let everyone else in on the story.

Let's talk about story....'You is kind. You is smart. You is important.'

Once upon a time......the beginning of fairy tales of every stripe....and the first indicator that what you are reading is not intended to be taken literally.  Fairy tales of princesses and wicked witches and gremlins in the forest are not factual and in fact, are sometimes mythical. They often capture something primal, like our fear of the dark and the unknown that awaits us in the deep dark forest.  They are cautionary tales (like Hansel and Gretel) and heroic tales (the boy with his finger in the dike) and tales that reassure us (such as the rescue of Rapunzel).

Fairy tales are limited in their usefulness.  At some point we need to realize that we are not Cinderella, that no handsome prince is coming to make us happy ever after, and wolves cannot eat grandma and then spit her out again alive.  If our expectations of this life are based on fairy tale endings a lot of us are going to be disappointed.  If our self-image is built around fairy tale descriptions then a lot of us are going to be unhappy. If we sit around waiting for a handsome prince to rescue us, we will wait in vain.

Motivational speakers have had a handle on this forever.  When you use a mantra like "I am capable of great things" you are simply shortening your story and using it to shape your perspective and attitude from day to day.  Remember how the maid in The Help continually told the toddler she cared for "You is kind.  You is smart.  You is important."  She knew that the family surrounding that little girl was writing an entirely different story for her; she was not going to have that story of failure be the only story in this little girl's life.

This is what God is saying to you, "You are beloved.  You can be a part of changing the world."  Hold on to that today - 'I am beloved of God'   and see what it brings for you.   More tomorrow.

Finding a balance

As a society, we are 'out of kilter, broken down, scared and unable to believe that

our ideals are feasible.'*

Wow!  That might cause you to lose what little balance you have, or for you, it might finally describe the fractured disconnect of your world.  Either that perspective causes you to run for the security blanket of 'How Things Ought to Be' or possibly it reflects the trepidation you have about where we are going as a society and how we are going to get there.  Somehow you know there is no stopping it.

At the same time, you are trying to raise a family (i.e. socially acceptable children who will one day be independent) and hold on to a job that is shifting from year to year.  Your life looks a great deal like your parent's life must have, and yet you know it is a whole new world out there.  The word 'pension' will soon have as little meaning as an old 'hi-fi.'  If you think about it all too much you get a headache; motion sick from the merry go round going around much too fast.

'Finding a balance' may be the primary source of spiritual seeking in our times.  Finding our place in the world; a place that fosters life and growth and joy; finding a place where our desire to be compassionate and kind can be expressed; finding a place where others share this same perspective.....finding a balance for ourselves and our families where our values can be expressed in a world that makes people dizzy with its spinning....often looks just out of reach.

How does your faith help you find a balance between now and the unknown?  Trust in the future?  Make it through the 'valley of the shadow of death'?  Bring life and live life?  Teach your children how to love?

These are tough questions.  We can tell the story of Jesus to everyone, but it will remain but a story if we cannot help our neighbors figure out how Jesus intersects with the craziness of their lives.  Folks want to know about you - your story, the realities of your life, and where Jesus walks with you.  They don't expect you to have answers - they just want to know about your journey. 

Tell your story.  Don't flinch - just tell it.  Don't ask for anything in return.  Offer up your story and invite the Spirit to be at work.