Words matter.

One week ago, a shooting rampage in Tuscon shocked our nation. As our continued prayers are with Representative Gifford and the families of those who were harmed or killed, the commentators and politicians have spent most of the week arguing about whether or not the vicious political tenor of our nation contributed to the shooting. Yes, some say. No, say others. The argument has filled the airwaves and newpapers and conversations. And the whole argument is beside the point.
The vicious political rhetoric in our nations should stop whether a shooting ever took place or not.
The extreme language should stop because Jesus taught us to love one another as He loved us. Describing people who differ as enemies should stop because Jesus taught we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Lambasting others, distorting their words or actions and labeling people should stop because one of God's first major commandments is that we not bear false witness against our neighbors. The vicious attacks should stop because, even when people are enemies, the teaching of Jesus is to love our enemies.
Despite overwhelming, consistent biblical witness to the importance of love, politicians -- and many others in our society--join in condemnation, labeling and accusations without batting an eye. And then, when a tragedy like the shooting takes place, they are quick to say that the words had no effect on what happened.
Indeed, in regard to the Gifford shooting, maybe the violent rhetoric of the political climate was not the cause. That's not the point.
As a pastor, I am in a profession that passionately affirms that words matter. And I say the violence of words is wrong whether there had ever been a shooting or not. The incendiary use of language is wrong because it violates the central Christian principles of love for others. And, whether or not the Tuscon shooter was affected by extremist political language, our nation has become affected by the steady stream of invective. Maybe I should say our nation has become infected.
I urge people not to spend their time arguing about whether or not the political words caused Representative Gifford's shooting. Let us spend our time speaking the truth in love and lifting up the value of words. And don't let anyone tell you that hateful words don't matter. They matter to anyone who follows Christ.

Christmas is not over

Sometimes there is a writer who says just exactly what you want to say. That's what Ann Weems has done for me in her "January's Song"...

There's a rumor on the streets that Christmas is over.

Lights and ornaments are packed away,

Trees dragged to the curb,

people back to business as usual.

We're no longer in the party mood;

the humbugging is back in vogue.

This is January...

How can Christmas be OVER?!

The Child is just newborn,

the song of Peace and Goodwill

still rings in our ears.

The shepherds and sages still kneel to this One who is born to us...

just born to us!

How can Christmas be over?

The story of the gospel is just beginning.

We who saw the Star now live in its Light.

We who saw and heard now believe.

Christmas is not over.

We're just beginning to follow this One
who calls us now to live in the Light of Love.

Christmas is not over.

It's just beginning!

This is January's song!!

STOP the Fight Over "Merry Christmas"

It is mind-boggling to me that Christians think they are doing Jesus a favor by picking a fight with retailers who say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". I know one situation where people who tell retailers that they -- and their church--won't shop there unless they say "Merry Christmas". That gives a witness. But it doesn't seem to me to have the characteristics of a Christlike witness.
First of all, "Merry Christmas" does not convey a religious message. "May Christ be born in your heart" is a religious message. "May God bless you" is a religious message. But "Merry Christmas" is not a greeting that gives a testimony to faith. That, alone, is a clue that this is not a holy battle to fight.
Secondly, I don't think it is the responsibility of retailers to proclaim the good news of Christ's birth. That is the message--and responsibility-- of the CHURCH. Why should a Lowe's or a Belk's or a Target be pressured--overtly or subtly--to give ALL its customers the message of Christ's birth. The job of retailers is to sell things. Aren't Christians uncomfortable with the purpose of retail sales getting mixed with the message of our Savior? Shouldn't the church first and foremost remember -- and remind others that our Savior was born into poverty and warned us about the spiritual seduction of things. Shouldn't the message of Christians be that the joy of Christmas is NOT in things--the opposite of what retailers are trying to promote?
Third, so Christians think there is some kind of seasonal exception to the Golden Rule? Maybe, for some, because it is the season of Jesus' birth, somehow, it is all right to ignore the teachings of Jesus? I don't think so. Jesus explicitly taught that we were to love our neighbors the same way we want to be loved. So how about this: This year, everyone in the community would say "Merry Christmas!" (which, as I have already mentioned, is not really a religious phrase). Then, next year, because we want to live out the Golden Rule, everyone in the community would say, "Happy Hannukah!" How much Golden Rule obedience do you think that would bring? And remember, when we are talking about respect for our neighbors of Jewish faith, we should remember that our Savior, Jesus, was a Jew.
We are living in a contentious, belligerent society. While it may be natural to want to fight about anything and everything, that is not the way of Christ...and I don't see that we can have a Christlike influence in the world by abandoning His teaching. "Inasmuch as it depends on you", Paul wrote in Romans 12, "live at peace with all." Don't think anyone does Jesus a favor by insisting that everyone say, "Merry Christmas." A much more powerful Christian witness would be loving others the way He loved us.
I believe in being a witness for Jesus during Advent (and every season). During Advent, you will find me wearing Chritmas sweaters that show Christ's birth. You will find me wearing jewelry that says "Peace on earth" and "Joy to the world". You will find me going out of my way to be patient and courteous and kind when I am shopping. You will find me offering a blessing to people who work the checkout lines -- not a lecture from the Pharisee language police about why they should say "Merry Christmas" if they want my business. You will find me tipping generously and writing a blessing on the restaurant checks and doing unexpected, anonymous gifts for others.
The witness of Christ-followers should be consistent with the example and teaching of the Christ we are following. We can be creative. We can be kind. We can be thoughtful. We can win people to Jesus with the love they see in words and actions.
I'm all for keeping Christ in Christmas. I just don't believe that picking a fight with people who are trying to practice the Golden Rule is much of a Christian witness. Keep Christ in Christmas is not a matter of certain words. Keeping Christ first and foremost has to do with prayer and devotional reading in a busy season. Keep Christ in Christmas is doing good deeds and generosity toward those less fortunate. Keeping Christ in Christmas takes place when we extend Christlike grace and kindness to those we meet each day. Keeping Christ in Christmas is something that we show by the way we live.
More than a "Merry Christmas", my prayer is for a Christ-filled season. I pray that our actions will be characterized by the humility, kindness, grace and love that will show that Jesus has come into our hearts That's where the real Christian witness will be found.

Sadness and peace

This has been a week of death. Some weeks are like that.
Actually, every week is like that, but some weeks, the sadness gangs up in personal ways. This has been one of those weeks. Deaths in the families of several clergy, the death of a young clergywoman after a 20 month fight with brain cancer, sad clergy at the death of beloved members. In the context of all that, Elizabeth Edwards' death left me dissolved in tears.
I don't know Elizabeth Edwards any better than anyone else in the public. But every single day I thank God for the gift of books. And her books, Saving Graces and Resilience touched me deeply. After reading her books, I, like thousands of others, felt very close to her.
Several things I already knew.
My pastoral experience already taught me that the death of a child is life's most devastating grief. I am grateful I haven't experienced that horror. But, too many times, I have walked with parents as their pastor during this particular nightmare. There are many things in life that hurts. But the death of a child cuts to the core with a different vengeance. Her book Saving Graces is exquisite, poignant, wrenching and inspiring. There is no pain like the loss of a child.
But the infidelity of a marriage partner -- especially infidelity in the public eye--has got to rank right up there with the most agonizing and humiliating of life's setbacks. I don't underestimate the depth of grief that comes from the death of a husband. But there is a finality of death that doesn't include having to constantly re-live rejection, self-doubt, speculation and criticism of others and the emotional ravages of betrayal.
Then there's cancer. Especially cancer that is beyond cure. Just the diagnosis and fight of cancer is the challenge of a lifetime. The combination of those overwhelming life challenges is monstrous. Her determination to make a positive impact under the weight of all that adversity is stunning. No wonder the title of her book is Resilience. She certainly exemplified the topic.
Her death at such a young age broke my heart. And then, as I lived into the news of her death, I realized that, in death, she receives a peace and wholeness that she could never have had in this life. Her faith, her love for life and her passionate love for her children was as persistent and unrelenting as her optimism. But the glare of the public eye honed in on her pain, vulnerabilities and liabilities made it unlikely/impossible for her to ever have had peace. May you be in perfect and complete peace and wholeness, Elizabeth. Enjoy in fullness that you are God's beloved daughter and that you made an impact for the good in overwhelmingly difficult circumstances.
A friend of a friend (Holly Stencil) wrote this stunning tribute: "They will be able to say that she stood in the storm and, when the wind did not go her way -- and surely it has not--she adjusted her sails. Thank you for your gracefulness, Elizabeth Edwards." Maybe that is the best of all definitions of success: to be able to be graceful in the face of adversity.

Living what we believe

The way people fuss, one would think that people in the church are being asked to do some strange new thing. Rarely a week goes by that I don't get some forwarded email decrying "P.C."--as if that is some secular term and nobody has ever heard of doing unto others the way we would want others to do to us. Along with the denunciations of political correctness come a barrage of political hot button issues -- all of which beg the simple scrutiny of the question: Does the content of this email/conversation/attitude reflect the love that Jesus showed to others?
The simple clarifying question of Christianity is not "Is this the way we have done things before?" The simple clarifying question is: "Is this Christ-like?"
And the heart-wrenching, maddening reality is that, more often than not, people are raising a fuss over something that is nothing more than a call to Christianity 101: love your neighbor as yourself and Christ's new commandment to love others the way Christ loved us.
When people get mad about this call to apply the Christian faith, they are only showing that Christianity has been a superficial tip-of-the-hat instead of a holy lifestyle. Whether the subject is immigration, or fiscal issues or social issues, the heart of the question is not what any of us are comfortable with...not what we are used to...not our hot-headed opinions. The heart of every question before us can be centralized in the foundational question: "Is my attitude/conversation/action Christ-like?"
Too many times, the actions/conversations/attitudes of church people is not Christlike. That's the sad and simple truth. The voice of John the Baptist intrudes on our lives again in this Advent season saying: "Prepare the way of the Lord! Get your hearts right!"
I am grateful for the Christian year which reminds us that Christ's coming is much more than a sentimental memory of a baby born in a manger. Advent is a season that challenges us to take stock of our lives and, when we look at our conversations/actions/attitudes, we will see if Christ has really come yet or not. Do our lives bear the characteristics of the Beatitudes? Would the characteristics of 1st Corinthians 13 be a good description of the lives we lead? Does the fruit of the Spirit mark our attitudes and actions?
Wherever our lives do not measure up to the high calling of the Christian life, that is where we need to be praying for Christ to come into our lives. John the Baptist is calling us this Advent...reminding us that the most important ways we will be ready this season will have nothing to do with what is on our "to do" lists. The most important way to be ready for Christmas has to do with hearts open to and shaped by Christ.

The message is for generosity...

One of my clergy was sharing a conversation with me. One of his laypersons was angry about the health care reform legislation passed by the congress. The pastor, rightly, said that the United Methodist Church has long been an advocate of health care coverage for all. But the layperson persisted: "But doesn't the Bible teach the importance of being frugal?"
I am not sure what the rest of the conversation was. But it was a teaching moment.
I've been thinking a lot about the layperson's question and -- let me say this respectfully--the message running through the Bible is not the importance of being frugal. I say that respectfully--almost wondering if lightning will strike me-- because I was raised by the most frugal -- and most saintly--mother in the world. She would never have considered using aluminum foil or wrapping paper just once. That would have been extravagant. We were more responsible than that! My parents were raised in the Depression and they didn't believe in wasting anything. I value their example.
However wise and prudent the virtue of frugality is, the Bible -- as I understand it--teaches the importance of generosity. I think we have the frugal virtue down pat.
The anxiety and fear generated (or accentuated) by the economic downturn seems to have given Christians amnesia about the importance of generosity...as if generosity (of spirit and money) is an acceptable option for times of abundance but not applicable for times of financial struggle. Where did we get the idea that we were called to be generous only in prosperity? That's not what the Bible teaches.
Jesus explicitly praises sacrificial giving. The widow who gave her mite was, obviously, not living in a time of prosperity. Yet she had a heart for giving to God and she found favor with Jesus in her giving.
It hardly seems fair to me that we would go into Thanksgiving week counting our blessings and then pride our selves on our frugality. Advent begins next week -- where God gave a generous and sacrificial gift of His Son--where Jesus gave up the glories of heaven to be born in Bethlehem. Against that backdrop, our complaining and our fears seem very small indeed.
The virtue of the Christian life is generosity. The time to be generous is all times. The call to be generous is for everyone. This season, as we count our blessings, let us show our gratitude by the generosity of our giving.

Getting tuned to the right source...

I love to gain an hour.
I am certainly consistent about this. I hate losing an hour in the spring.
But gaining an hour feels like heaven.
So many days I (foolishly) think "If I had just one more hour"...and so many mornings, when I wake up, I think "If it was just an hour earlier....". Sunday was the day to gain an hour. I loved it.
I've had two problems with the time change through the years. One is my attitude about having the time change on a Sunday. People who would always remember to make the change to be at work on time forget about getting to church on time. The time change is always a reality check that we live in a world where people -- including people in the church--think that worship is not nearly as important as a number of other things they do.
The other problem is more practical: getting the clocks set. Do I set them ahead the night before? When I do that and the clock doesn't seem right in the morning, there's the inevitable time of double-check: have I already changed the clocks? So, for years, I would change ONE clock -- the alarm clock by my bed and leave the others so I could see the difference.
Now, I no longer have to do that. It's amazing, really.
I have a clock that is tuned into satellites. So it automatically gives the right time. No fuss, no muss, no bother. When power is restored after the electricity goes out, the clock automatically shows the correct time. I love it.
And this year, I learned that my GPS is the same way. It has the correct time with no resetting. And my Iphone is the same. Wonderful!
Basically, I learned that anything that is set to a signal beyond itself is going to be right no matter what happens. Everything that is not set to a signal beyond itself is going to need re-setting.
I love that life-snapshot.
The same thing is true for individual Christians and for churches: when we get our energy from a source beyond ourselves, we have peace no matter what else happens. How easy it is for people to get the fuel for their lives by schedules, family relationships and whatever the day brings. Like clocks that depend on batteries or electrical connections, re-setting is required. Tuning life to the life-source beyond ourselves in God is a major turn that makes all the difference.
The time I most need the "true time" is when the power has gone out at my house. And, all around us, people are living in circumstances where the power has gone out due to all kinds. When we are completely dependent on our own sources and life's storms and difficulties come, we recognize how inadequate the base has been. For those who are focused on a life source beyond themselves, life has a different quality, a different dependability, a different security no matter how big the storm or how severe the crisis. If I had one observation to make about the economic struggles of our nation, it is that we have learned that people have trusted money--not God-- for their security.
The true source of life: energy, wisdom, love, peace is beyond ourselves. The true source of life is found in Jesus and in serving others. "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you...not like the world's peace. So do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid." John 14:27