Yesterday was my Sunday to not preach, part of my part-time covenant with this congregation. Instead we enjoyed a wonderful skit on the gospel lectionary passage, Luke 11: 1-13, on prayer, written, produced, and acted by members of the congregation.
Many folks at the church where I work are going through a rough time right now and prayer can often be a difficult thing when one is in the midst of a struggle or when one is in pain. This video is for those of you who are in that place right now. It's a song about how God accepts us and loves us as we are, mess and all.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Under the radar
(I decided it was time for this church to 'come out of the closet' on this blog, especially since they are celebrating their 125th anniversary this year.)
"You'll never get blacklisted
if you live like this."
I would bet that both Martha and Mary lived this way. They were more than, as my grandmother would have said, ‘good people’. They were the best sort of friends. In the gospel lesson from Luke, Martha opens her home to Jesus, making him feel welcome. Her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to what he is saying. So far, so good. Both women demonstrate their intent to be disciples of Jesus, each in their own way. Clear eyes, full hearts. Both have an enthusiasm for Jesus and his presence in their home and what that means to them.
Washington Gladden
Toward the end of the 19th century and into the 20th, the social gospel movement was born. There was an urgent demand to match the church’s enthusiasm for Jesus with action and justice in human lives. Here it was that the study of scripture and the transformative experience of faith joined hands. Congregationalist Washington Gladden was one of the first leaders of the social gospel movement, which took seriously the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. He and others witnessed the effects of unbridled capitalism on the urban poor and brought the message of Jesus to bear on injustice and poverty. And in this we see the beginnings of the present-day mission of this church.
When I researched the narrative of this church, in a published history of Milford for its 350th anniversary, there is only one mention of this church. “The Woodmont Union Chapel, non-denominational, was built in 1886 to provide a house of worship for people of all faiths.” There are small and varied mentions of the other three UCC churches in town: building additions, the calling of pastors, the old bell ringing in the steeple of First Church after years of silence, the Trade Show sponsored by the Plymouth Men’s Club. There was no mention of when the land on New Haven Avenue was purchased, when you broke ground, or any of the pastors you called.
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Jan Vermeer, 1645-1655
Fifty years ago at the 75th anniversary of this church, the following words were shared. They sound as though they could have been written for today:
“Nowhere in the record of these years is there any earth-shaking event to which one can point and say ‘THIS was the important moment—the great decision—the finest hour.’ On the contrary, the records are prosaic and in a sense even a little dull—as the diary of the average housewife or business man would be prosaic and dull. Yet when the days are added up and the years are catalogued, we find that the total is one to make us both proud and humble.
“We can be proud indeed that we have come so far. We must be humble in our awareness that there is a long road ahead, one which we shall walk for a little way ourselves, while others will succeed us and go on beyond us.
Martha and Mary, He Qi, China
Psalm 15; Luke 10: 38-42
Woodmont United Church of Christ, Milford, CT
July 18, 2010 - Heritage Sunday
The shortest paraphrase of Psalm 15 that I ever heard was in the movie “Friday Night Lights”, of all places: “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” The movie is the story of the Odessa-Permian High School football team in 1988, the year they made it to the Texas state championships but lost by the closest, most agonizing margin I have ever seen.
It’s a story that doesn’t make it into the headlines very often—about almost winning, about losing by this much. More importantly it’s a story about having clear eyes and full hearts, and when you do, you can’t lose no matter what the scoreboard says.
Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase The Message, gives us Psalm 15 in this way:
1 GOD, who gets invited to dinner at your place?
How do we get on your guest list?
2 "Walk straight, [or move through life without blame]
act right,
tell the truth.
3-4 "Don't hurt your friend,
don't blame your neighbor;
despise the despicable.
5 "Keep your word even when it costs you,
make an honest living,
never take a bribe.
Woodmont United Church of Christ, Milford, CT
July 18, 2010 - Heritage Sunday
The shortest paraphrase of Psalm 15 that I ever heard was in the movie “Friday Night Lights”, of all places: “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.” The movie is the story of the Odessa-Permian High School football team in 1988, the year they made it to the Texas state championships but lost by the closest, most agonizing margin I have ever seen.
It’s a story that doesn’t make it into the headlines very often—about almost winning, about losing by this much. More importantly it’s a story about having clear eyes and full hearts, and when you do, you can’t lose no matter what the scoreboard says.
Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase The Message, gives us Psalm 15 in this way:
1 GOD, who gets invited to dinner at your place?
How do we get on your guest list?
2 "Walk straight, [or move through life without blame]
act right,
tell the truth.
3-4 "Don't hurt your friend,
don't blame your neighbor;
despise the despicable.
5 "Keep your word even when it costs you,
make an honest living,
never take a bribe.
"You'll never get blacklisted
if you live like this."
You’ll probably also not be written up in the paper or in a history book, make it into a who’s who or the nightly news. Most folks who live this way go largely unnoticed yet we’re always extremely thankful that we know one or more persons like this, even more so if we call them friends.
I would bet that both Martha and Mary lived this way. They were more than, as my grandmother would have said, ‘good people’. They were the best sort of friends. In the gospel lesson from Luke, Martha opens her home to Jesus, making him feel welcome. Her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to what he is saying. So far, so good. Both women demonstrate their intent to be disciples of Jesus, each in their own way. Clear eyes, full hearts. Both have an enthusiasm for Jesus and his presence in their home and what that means to them.
Back in the latter part of the 19th century, when this church was formed, there was great debate as to how one’s enthusiasm for Jesus should be displayed. There were rationalists, born of the Enlightenment, who thought that faith was an expression of the mind and one approached God through the study of scripture or through the hearing of an expository sermon, with clear eyes. Others in the Protestant faith, of the Pietist tradition, believed that faith was a personal, transformative experience, a living reality known in a living God—full hearts. Both of these expressions of faith are present in the United Church of Christ, stemming from our forebears. The Congregationalists of Boston focused more on rational aspects of faith, called “Old Light” Puritans, in contrast to the “New Light” Congregationalists, during the revivals of the 1800’s. The Evangelical and Reformed church, from our German heritage, was more pietistic in practice and theology.
Granted, these are broad strokes of our religious history, but in it we can witness a similar tension in today’s church. How is faith to be experienced and expressed? What is to be the focus of our faith and of the church?
Washington Gladden
Toward the end of the 19th century and into the 20th, the social gospel movement was born. There was an urgent demand to match the church’s enthusiasm for Jesus with action and justice in human lives. Here it was that the study of scripture and the transformative experience of faith joined hands. Congregationalist Washington Gladden was one of the first leaders of the social gospel movement, which took seriously the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. He and others witnessed the effects of unbridled capitalism on the urban poor and brought the message of Jesus to bear on injustice and poverty. And in this we see the beginnings of the present-day mission of this church.
On May 5, 1885 twenty-one souls gathered in an old schoolhouse to form an ecclesiastical society, a community church for the purpose of worship for families who summered in Woodmont. Before that auspicious meeting, there had been the Sunday School and evening gatherings. Charles Merwin and George W. Smith each donated the hefty sum of $5.00 toward the building of the chapel. The Treat and Bryan families donated the land and in the fall of 1886 the main part of the chapel was built and then completed in 1888. When all the bills had been paid, there was a balance of $115 in the church treasury—they said they had “gone over the top!”
When I researched the narrative of this church, in a published history of Milford for its 350th anniversary, there is only one mention of this church. “The Woodmont Union Chapel, non-denominational, was built in 1886 to provide a house of worship for people of all faiths.” There are small and varied mentions of the other three UCC churches in town: building additions, the calling of pastors, the old bell ringing in the steeple of First Church after years of silence, the Trade Show sponsored by the Plymouth Men’s Club. There was no mention of when the land on New Haven Avenue was purchased, when you broke ground, or any of the pastors you called.
But in a self-published booklet for this church’s 50th anniversary I found these words: [“…our community church here in Woodmont]…began, as most great movements begin, in a small, insignificant way, much like a snowball rolling down hill, gathering momentum, adding material, weight and size…as it progressed.”
You folks fly under the radar. Though no one would doubt your enthusiasm for Jesus, you do not attract a lot of attention for the sake of attention. When you do, it’s for a very good reason—as when this church, with the leadership of your former pastor Paige Besse-Rankin, established the Milford Anti-Hate Task Force in 1999 in response to KKK recruitment and a racial incident between two neighbors. You were one of the first churches in the 1960’s to have people of different colors worship together and took some heat for it. When you became Open and Affirming, the prevailing sentiment was “Didn’t we do this already?”
You offer the hospitality of Martha but you also sit at the feet of Jesus to learn what your mission, your focus, your expression of faith will be. You are a church that takes seriously the words “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It hasn’t gotten you into the history books or a recent newspaper, but I know that this church has a hold on your affection and on your lives like none other.
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Jan Vermeer, 1645-1655
Fifty years ago at the 75th anniversary of this church, the following words were shared. They sound as though they could have been written for today:
“Nowhere in the record of these years is there any earth-shaking event to which one can point and say ‘THIS was the important moment—the great decision—the finest hour.’ On the contrary, the records are prosaic and in a sense even a little dull—as the diary of the average housewife or business man would be prosaic and dull. Yet when the days are added up and the years are catalogued, we find that the total is one to make us both proud and humble.
“We can be proud indeed that we have come so far. We must be humble in our awareness that there is a long road ahead, one which we shall walk for a little way ourselves, while others will succeed us and go on beyond us.
“Of one thing we can feel fairly sure: the Chapel is burgeoning with new enthusiasms, new ideas, new hopes. With the guidance of our new minister—with the close cooperation of our members—with God’s blessing on our efforts—the future of Woodmont Union Chapel is bright.”
May Jesus continue to claim the better part of your time, your attention and your lives. May the enthusiasm of your minds and hearts be sustained and renewed by both study and service. May you keep your eyes clear and your hearts full, and if you do, you can’t lose no matter what the balance sheet or the membership numbers say. And whether you fly under the radar of history or not, I urge you to persist at the feet of Jesus that you may learn what your next mission, focus, expression of faith will be.
Amen.
May Jesus continue to claim the better part of your time, your attention and your lives. May the enthusiasm of your minds and hearts be sustained and renewed by both study and service. May you keep your eyes clear and your hearts full, and if you do, you can’t lose no matter what the balance sheet or the membership numbers say. And whether you fly under the radar of history or not, I urge you to persist at the feet of Jesus that you may learn what your next mission, focus, expression of faith will be.
Amen.
Monday, July 12, 2010
The heart of God
Mercy, Lina Scarfi
Psalm 82; Luke 10: 25-37
******** United Church of Christ
July 11, 2010
Often when we hear the parable of the good Samaritan, we hear the word neighbor and think of the stranger, the outcast, the other we don’t know. Ironically, our neighbor can also be those closest to us, even within our own family; even they can need us, we can need them, in ways that can transform our relationship.
Indeed, this parable is really about a family, about the children of God who were separated and grew up with different traditions and culture. The Samaritans were Jews who had escaped capture by the Assyrians when the Assyrian Empire overran the Northern Kingdom, Israel, in 722 BCE. Some of the Jewish population was carried off as spoils of war but some remained with the Assyrians who resettled in Israel. This area became separate from the Northern Kingdom of Israel and became known as Samaria, the mountainous northern region what would today be called the West Bank. There is dispute about the influences of the Assyrian religion on the Judaism practiced in this region but it would explain the antagonism between Jews of Israel and Judea and the Samaritan Jews.
How far down into history must bloodlines go for descendants not to be called family? And so Jesus uses the word ‘neighbor’ to expand our limited notions of what constitutes family and how we behave toward family members.
In Exodus 20:12 we read: “Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” and in that verse we can see why our family is also our neighbor. In Biblical times and even not so long ago, children didn’t move away from their parents when they grew into adulthood; they were usually close neighbors, like Israel and Judea and Samaria. A few years ago I wrote a story entitled “The Heart of God” based on a dream I had after having read a book of short stories by Leo Tolstoy. It is a story about how even a family outcast can be a catalyst for transformation and mercy.
She had come home to die. Not very original, she thought, but it was all she had left. No explanations that would satisfy. No hope that would sustain. I just want to pass from this world in the same house I was born in, she prayed silently, and to be buried next to my mother. No recriminations against her father, no desire for reconciliation. She wanted only to collapse upon the old man’s doorstep, never to open her eyes again.
The winter night was bitter: frozen ground, frozen stars, frozen urine on her thighs and icicles on her cheeks. The wind whipped viciously about her, threatening more than once to knock her over and leave her there. How many more steps, she wondered. What did it matter? She couldn’t feel her feet anyway. Then a familiar crooked tree, the smell of a wood fire, a small plain in the midst of jagged hills--home. Even on a moonless night, she knew she was home.
Five years ago she had come home under very different circumstances. She was pregnant and not married, but the father of the child wanted to marry her and make a home near his own mother and father. So the young couple came to her parents’ village to ask the old man if they might borrow a small sum of money to purchase some land and build a home so that they might start a farm. The old man could not believe that having openly sinned in such a shocking manner that they would be so arrogant as to ask for such a thing. He turned them out of the house, ordering that they never return. He then took all the money he had, put it into a metal box, and buried it in the earthen floor of his home. From then on he lived off whatever food he could find on his own property, selling whatever he could to pay for his existence.
His own father had left him his fields and home. But the old man’s fields had lain fallow since his father’s death. Or rather, since he buried the last part of his legacy: a large rock, nearly as tall as the old man, with the words “The Heart of God” chiseled on it. He had no idea what to do with the rock. It stood at the corner of one his father’s most productive fields. He thought, maybe if I plant it in the ground, I will be blessed with even more. Truthfully, he was embarrassed by such a public, yet cryptic display of his father’s faith. So, with the help of some field hands, he dug a deep hole at the corner of the field and with a large, solid staff for a lever, he put the enormous rock in the ground. Interestingly, the side of the rock with the words faced the opening of the hole. The old man kept reading them as he covered up the rock with dirt. He thought about it afterward for a while, but then soon forgot the words and what his father might have intended for him. The field soon went barren after that and so did the old man’s heart.
But when he saw his daughter unconscious and near death on his doorstep, his cold heart softened and he carried her inside, placing her near the oven on a pallet covered with blankets. He could see that she was half-starved and dehydrated. He vowed he would devote the next three months to her care and restoration, spending all the money he had, if necessary. He knelt before her and wept as he prayed to God and made his confession, offering his own life for hers as penitence. Then he unearthed the tin of money and took it with him in his search for someone who could help him cure his daughter.
In three months’ time, his daughter was well again. When she had arrived, she had been unable to keep any food inside her. She had been unwell since the birth of her child. She did not rest long enough and soon suffered from an infection. She never fully recovered from it, yet she still looked for work to help support her new family. She left her husband and son with his parents while she wandered from town to town, looking for work that anyone might give her. One look at her drawn face and sunken eyes and they turned her away, not wanting to hire a weak, broken woman. She was ashamed to return home empty-handed, ashamed of the condition of her life, so she begged what she could and lived on the grace of God. But her body continued to weaken to the degree that her body rejected whatever food she put into it. So, she thought, death will bring me rest. And coming near to death, she did find the peace she thought had eluded her.
Her father sent for her husband and son, and they rejoiced to see her healthy and well again. The old man welcomed them as he wished he had welcomed the young couple five years ago. The baby was now a child, who cried with joy in his mother’s arms and rejoiced to know his grandfather. The daughter’s husband offered to help the old man with the fields, to see if they could get something to grow in them.
The next day they went to the corner of the field, where the old man had buried the large rock. With the help of some neighbors they were able to remove the dirt until they could read the words, “The Heart of God”. But the rock was so large they could not get it out of the ground. Many days went by while the old man, his son-in-law and the neighbors chiseled away at the rock, bringing it out of the hole piece by piece. During an unseasonably hot day, many large segments of the rock were removed. Then a surprise: water started bubbling up from the riven rock. As more fragments were removed they could see that there was a natural spring. Quickly they worked to dig out the rest of the rock. The water was clear and cold. The neighbors went to their homes to get containers, convinced the water was a miracle.
The old man was grateful for a rest. He had been sweating profusely, and his heart seemed to beat outside of his chest with a raging spasm. His son-in-law helped him to a shade tree while his grandson brought him some water from the spring. The old man drank from the cup, the water spilling down the sides of his mouth, a sigh spilling out from his soul as if it had been buried with the rock. Then his eyes looked toward the leaves as they cut ribbons of sunlight that wove their magic in the curly hair of his grandson. The old man said, “My eyes are opened. I see God!” and then passed his last breath.
They buried the old man next to his wife, and for the headstone they carved out a small slab of the rock. It was the rock that had caused the field to go barren, for it had blocked the underground water supply that had nurtured the field when there had been drought. Now the field was again bountiful, and from it came the tallest wheat anyone had ever seen. The neighboring fields also did well, for the daughter and the son-in-law shared the water as a source of irrigation. The chiseled rocks were used to build a cistern around the spring. The daughter, her husband, and their son lived long and well on the farm, and it passed through many generations. They called the place Serdze Boga, the heart of God, for their eyes had been opened and they had seen God.
Now which of these was a neighbor, was family to the one in pain, to the one who had been robbed of what was precious? The one who showed mercy. Who in your family or in this family needs your mercy? From whom in your family or in this family do you need mercy? Go and do likewise. Amen.
The Good Samaritan, Vincent Van Gogh, May 1890
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Gone to the dogs
Have you ever had this experience? Have you been in a bookstore and seen your name on the cover of a book? Happened today in Barnes and Noble. What was so disappointing was that it wasn't even something I would read, let alone write.
Monday, July 05, 2010
Coming clean
Naaman Washes in the Jordan River, Andreas Heidrich
2 Kings 5: 1-14; Psalm 30
******** United Church of Christ
July 4, 2010
In the United States between 1976 and 2006 there were 7,166 cases of Hansen’s disease or as it is more commonly known—leprosy. In 2006 the majority of new cases reported in the U.S. were from California, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York and Texas, with the largest proportion declaring itself as white and male. Globally, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and Brazil have the highest outbreaks. In 2006 the World Health Organization registered a total of 259,017 new cases worldwide but this represents a drastic reduction from the 500,000 to 700,000 cases reported each year for the previous 13 years. However, there are millions of people that, though they have been cured, still suffer from physical disabilities and social injustice.
Of course it is the shame attached to Hansen’s that keeps the disease from being eradicated, among other factors. There is still the belief that one’s bad behavior is somehow responsible, especially in third-world countries. Many do not seek treatment because of fear, ignorance or social stigma. Those with Hansen’s are still shunned from community not only because of fear of contracting the disease but also because of the victim’s supposed lack of morals, very much akin to the misconceptions about AIDS. Despite our post-modern world, sickness and sin still walk very much hand in hand on this earth.
But we all know from experience that when it comes to sickness, it doesn’t matter who you are. The greatest and least and everyone in between will get sick at some point in their lifetime. It’s the last thing we want to think about: the weakness of our bodies and our dependence on them. And Naaman is no exception.
We read that Naaman is the commander of the army of the king of Aram, what would be Syria, that he was a great man, in high favor with his master, that the Lord had given him victory. Yes, it reads that the Lord had given Aram, a foreign nation, victory over Israel. Recall that Israel worshipped a foreign god, other than the God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah and Rachel. And for this reason sin and defeat in battle also went hand in hand.
So we have this mighty warrior, this great man. Yet we can hear the “but…” coming: he suffered from leprosy. The word ‘leprosy’ is used in the Bible to convey any number of skin diseases. It was thought that any imperfection in the body was due to one’s sin and thus, one was considered unclean by the Levitical code of purity. In truth, having a skin disease was the equivalent of saying that one was covered by one’s sin. In the psalms we read “my face is covered in shame” and “my sin is ever before me”. Though Naaman was a great man, he had been brought low by this leprosy and needed help in his suffering.
He receives help from the unlikeliest source: his wife’s servant girl, who was taken from Israel in a military raid. Naaman is to go the prophet Elisha who will heal him. To his credit, Naaman heeds this advice, even though it comes from a girl who is a servant and a foreigner. Status and station in society are observed in this communication: the servant girls tells Naaman’s wife, she in turn speaks with her husband; Naaman then goes to the king of Aram who then writes a letter of introduction to the king of Israel.
Now here’s where everyone’s egos start getting involved. First, Naaman brings a treasure trove of gifts, presumably not only for the king of Israel but also for the prophet Elisha, as a sign of power. Second, assuming that he is expected to cure Naaman, the king of Israel thinks this foreign king is trying to pick a fight with him. And third, none of this transpires the way Naaman thought it would, that he, being a great man, arriving with his chariot and horses, would be greeted by this great prophet, who would then show forth the great power of God in this great healing. Instead he receives a message from Elisha via a messenger, another servant, to wash in the Jordan, which was like a creek compared to the great rivers of Damascus. All of these unrealistic expectations are a recipe for conflict. Naaman just wanted to be healed; now everyone is ready for a fight.
Then the voice of reason and wisdom enters in from yet another unlikely source, from Naaman’s own servant. Notice that it is the servants, those in a weak position, the “little people” that bring wise counsel and the key to salvation and healing. Naaman then washes and his skin becomes like that of a young child.
This story could have turned out to be a foreign policy nightmare. Whenever there is arrogance, power, ego and large sums of money involved, conflict usually follows. Yet it was those who serve who move the story along, who know it is God who is acting, who have a simple faith in what is right and true. Without “the little people”, Naaman would still be waiting to become clean and whole.
Today as our nation commemorates its independence, we too need to come clean. Like Naaman, we have behaved arrogantly with other nations, entering in with great expectations. Like the king of Israel, we have received the expectations of other countries as though they were fighting words. Just as one person can be self-absorbed and addicted to their own way, so can a nation. Deep down we know our sin is ever before us, covering our face in shame.
But how do we correct this, how do we come clean? It is so very easy to point our finger at those in government, in multi-national corporations, at those who seemingly have more power than we do. Ironically, BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg was not far from the truth when he said that “small people matter to us”. No great healing change in this world has ever come about from government or corporations having a great idea. Abolition, peace movements, civil rights for everyone regardless of gender or color or sexual orientation have come about because of groups of individuals. If anything is going to change in our country, if the American story is going to keep moving, if God is going to act, it begins with us ‘small people’ knowing and living what is right and true.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
So I’ve got one word for you…plastics. If we really want to come clean and reduce our dependence on oil, we also need to reduce the amount of plastic we use on a daily basis. Think of all the containers you use for food, from milk to peanut butter to juice and soda and water, not mention plastic bags for things like rice, bread, veggies and snack foods. Your clothing, if it contains nylon, Lycra, acrylic or polyester, is made from oil. Oil has become the very fabric of our lives. It has become our leprosy, it has brought us low, and we are covered in it.
As we come to this table and eat this sacred meal as the Body of Christ, let us be mindful of the ways we need to be healed from this system of self-absorption, dependence and sin. Let us confess to ourselves and ask God, how do we participate in this and what can we do to change? As we consume elements of the earth, we say that this is the body of Christ, broken and shed for us, that we might be healed and begin anew. May God give us the strength to choose what is right rather than what is easy. Amen.
******** United Church of Christ
July 4, 2010
In the United States between 1976 and 2006 there were 7,166 cases of Hansen’s disease or as it is more commonly known—leprosy. In 2006 the majority of new cases reported in the U.S. were from California, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York and Texas, with the largest proportion declaring itself as white and male. Globally, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and Brazil have the highest outbreaks. In 2006 the World Health Organization registered a total of 259,017 new cases worldwide but this represents a drastic reduction from the 500,000 to 700,000 cases reported each year for the previous 13 years. However, there are millions of people that, though they have been cured, still suffer from physical disabilities and social injustice.
Of course it is the shame attached to Hansen’s that keeps the disease from being eradicated, among other factors. There is still the belief that one’s bad behavior is somehow responsible, especially in third-world countries. Many do not seek treatment because of fear, ignorance or social stigma. Those with Hansen’s are still shunned from community not only because of fear of contracting the disease but also because of the victim’s supposed lack of morals, very much akin to the misconceptions about AIDS. Despite our post-modern world, sickness and sin still walk very much hand in hand on this earth.
But we all know from experience that when it comes to sickness, it doesn’t matter who you are. The greatest and least and everyone in between will get sick at some point in their lifetime. It’s the last thing we want to think about: the weakness of our bodies and our dependence on them. And Naaman is no exception.
We read that Naaman is the commander of the army of the king of Aram, what would be Syria, that he was a great man, in high favor with his master, that the Lord had given him victory. Yes, it reads that the Lord had given Aram, a foreign nation, victory over Israel. Recall that Israel worshipped a foreign god, other than the God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah and Rachel. And for this reason sin and defeat in battle also went hand in hand.
So we have this mighty warrior, this great man. Yet we can hear the “but…” coming: he suffered from leprosy. The word ‘leprosy’ is used in the Bible to convey any number of skin diseases. It was thought that any imperfection in the body was due to one’s sin and thus, one was considered unclean by the Levitical code of purity. In truth, having a skin disease was the equivalent of saying that one was covered by one’s sin. In the psalms we read “my face is covered in shame” and “my sin is ever before me”. Though Naaman was a great man, he had been brought low by this leprosy and needed help in his suffering.
He receives help from the unlikeliest source: his wife’s servant girl, who was taken from Israel in a military raid. Naaman is to go the prophet Elisha who will heal him. To his credit, Naaman heeds this advice, even though it comes from a girl who is a servant and a foreigner. Status and station in society are observed in this communication: the servant girls tells Naaman’s wife, she in turn speaks with her husband; Naaman then goes to the king of Aram who then writes a letter of introduction to the king of Israel.
Now here’s where everyone’s egos start getting involved. First, Naaman brings a treasure trove of gifts, presumably not only for the king of Israel but also for the prophet Elisha, as a sign of power. Second, assuming that he is expected to cure Naaman, the king of Israel thinks this foreign king is trying to pick a fight with him. And third, none of this transpires the way Naaman thought it would, that he, being a great man, arriving with his chariot and horses, would be greeted by this great prophet, who would then show forth the great power of God in this great healing. Instead he receives a message from Elisha via a messenger, another servant, to wash in the Jordan, which was like a creek compared to the great rivers of Damascus. All of these unrealistic expectations are a recipe for conflict. Naaman just wanted to be healed; now everyone is ready for a fight.
Then the voice of reason and wisdom enters in from yet another unlikely source, from Naaman’s own servant. Notice that it is the servants, those in a weak position, the “little people” that bring wise counsel and the key to salvation and healing. Naaman then washes and his skin becomes like that of a young child.
This story could have turned out to be a foreign policy nightmare. Whenever there is arrogance, power, ego and large sums of money involved, conflict usually follows. Yet it was those who serve who move the story along, who know it is God who is acting, who have a simple faith in what is right and true. Without “the little people”, Naaman would still be waiting to become clean and whole.
Today as our nation commemorates its independence, we too need to come clean. Like Naaman, we have behaved arrogantly with other nations, entering in with great expectations. Like the king of Israel, we have received the expectations of other countries as though they were fighting words. Just as one person can be self-absorbed and addicted to their own way, so can a nation. Deep down we know our sin is ever before us, covering our face in shame.
But how do we correct this, how do we come clean? It is so very easy to point our finger at those in government, in multi-national corporations, at those who seemingly have more power than we do. Ironically, BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg was not far from the truth when he said that “small people matter to us”. No great healing change in this world has ever come about from government or corporations having a great idea. Abolition, peace movements, civil rights for everyone regardless of gender or color or sexual orientation have come about because of groups of individuals. If anything is going to change in our country, if the American story is going to keep moving, if God is going to act, it begins with us ‘small people’ knowing and living what is right and true.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
So I’ve got one word for you…plastics. If we really want to come clean and reduce our dependence on oil, we also need to reduce the amount of plastic we use on a daily basis. Think of all the containers you use for food, from milk to peanut butter to juice and soda and water, not mention plastic bags for things like rice, bread, veggies and snack foods. Your clothing, if it contains nylon, Lycra, acrylic or polyester, is made from oil. Oil has become the very fabric of our lives. It has become our leprosy, it has brought us low, and we are covered in it.
As we come to this table and eat this sacred meal as the Body of Christ, let us be mindful of the ways we need to be healed from this system of self-absorption, dependence and sin. Let us confess to ourselves and ask God, how do we participate in this and what can we do to change? As we consume elements of the earth, we say that this is the body of Christ, broken and shed for us, that we might be healed and begin anew. May God give us the strength to choose what is right rather than what is easy. Amen.
Go to Facebook to hear my friends Boys in Hats sing their original song "Petroleum Communion".
Monday, June 28, 2010
The graduate
The Prophet Elijah and the Fiery Chariot, Russian icon, 14th c.
2 Kings 2: 1-18; Psalm 19
Elijah Taken Up to Heaven, He Qi, China
Elijah Taken Up in a Chariot of Fire, Giuseppe Angeli, c. 1740/1755
******** United Church of Christ
June 27, 2010
Last week I spoke directly to the whole congregation. Today I want to speak directly to our high school graduates—to you, D. and R. You may have already heard a commencement speaker and a valedictory address, with some remembrances from the past four years and some advice about your future. Though we never really graduate from church (many of us have been here quite a while and we’re still figuring it out), I would like to give you some spiritual guidance to take with you, whatever bits of it may be helpful to you.
Have you ever seen the movie “The Graduate”? In the opening credits Benjamin Braddock returns home after graduating from college, and we hear the beginning of the Simon and Garfunkel song “The Sound of Silence”: “Hello darkness my old friend”. We don’t know what kind of a degree Ben has or which school he went to. His parents want to show him off to their friends, but Ben just wants to be left alone with his doubts and fears about his future. For his 21st birthday they give him scuba gear, complete with a full-body wet suit, flippers, mask and oxygen tank. At his parents’ insistent urging he demonstrates this overly extravagant, ill-suited gift in front of his parents’ friends by jumping in the pool and hanging out in the deep end. As the camera slowly backs away from Ben standing alone in 10 feet of clear blue water we understand all too clearly how Ben is feeling about being a graduate.
June 27, 2010
Last week I spoke directly to the whole congregation. Today I want to speak directly to our high school graduates—to you, D. and R. You may have already heard a commencement speaker and a valedictory address, with some remembrances from the past four years and some advice about your future. Though we never really graduate from church (many of us have been here quite a while and we’re still figuring it out), I would like to give you some spiritual guidance to take with you, whatever bits of it may be helpful to you.
Have you ever seen the movie “The Graduate”? In the opening credits Benjamin Braddock returns home after graduating from college, and we hear the beginning of the Simon and Garfunkel song “The Sound of Silence”: “Hello darkness my old friend”. We don’t know what kind of a degree Ben has or which school he went to. His parents want to show him off to their friends, but Ben just wants to be left alone with his doubts and fears about his future. For his 21st birthday they give him scuba gear, complete with a full-body wet suit, flippers, mask and oxygen tank. At his parents’ insistent urging he demonstrates this overly extravagant, ill-suited gift in front of his parents’ friends by jumping in the pool and hanging out in the deep end. As the camera slowly backs away from Ben standing alone in 10 feet of clear blue water we understand all too clearly how Ben is feeling about being a graduate.
In the reading from 2 Kings, Elisha, the successor to the great prophet Elijah, seems to be feeling like he’s in a bit over his head as well. Every time Elisha comes to another city with Elijah, the prophets there remind him that his teacher and mentor is to be taken away from him, that he will soon be graduating himself and on his own. We can hear his unease and his reluctance in his response to them: “Yes, I know. Keep silent.”
The similarity of their names probably doesn’t help him either. Elijah means “Yahweh is my God”, in direct opposition to the false god Baal being worshipped in Israel at the time. Elisha means “God is my salvation”—kind of like saying “God’s prophet” and “God’s prophet, Jr.”. We can hear in their names God’s implicit determination that there will be only one God for God’s people and no other. We can also hear the continuity of leadership and ministry, the expectations that will be squarely placed on Elisha’s shoulders.
Today we honor you, the graduates in our midst. As you wonder about your future, at times you too may feel like you’re in over your head. You probably have some family expectations, hopes and dreams alighting on your shoulders. And when you heard your name called out at your graduation, you may have heard it in a way you never heard it before—as a call to whoever it is you’re going to be in this world. Within you resides your own voice and vision and verve for what is important to you, and though the world craves fresh inspiration, it doesn’t always listen, does it?
The similarity of their names probably doesn’t help him either. Elijah means “Yahweh is my God”, in direct opposition to the false god Baal being worshipped in Israel at the time. Elisha means “God is my salvation”—kind of like saying “God’s prophet” and “God’s prophet, Jr.”. We can hear in their names God’s implicit determination that there will be only one God for God’s people and no other. We can also hear the continuity of leadership and ministry, the expectations that will be squarely placed on Elisha’s shoulders.
Today we honor you, the graduates in our midst. As you wonder about your future, at times you too may feel like you’re in over your head. You probably have some family expectations, hopes and dreams alighting on your shoulders. And when you heard your name called out at your graduation, you may have heard it in a way you never heard it before—as a call to whoever it is you’re going to be in this world. Within you resides your own voice and vision and verve for what is important to you, and though the world craves fresh inspiration, it doesn’t always listen, does it?
Elijah Taken Up to Heaven, He Qi, China
Let’s skip to the end of the story. Elisha has witnessed Elijah ascending to heaven in the whirlwind and collected Elijah’s mantle. He’s feeling a little lost, wondering where is God, now that Elijah has been taken up by God. Nevertheless, Elisha separates the waters of the Jordan just as Elijah had done and walks back to where the company of prophets is waiting for him to return. They acknowledge that the spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha, that all the rights and privileges of his education have been conferred on him. They even go so far as to bow to the ground before him. Not bad for a newly-minted prophet.
But of course it’s not as easy as all that. This group of prophets then suggests that perhaps God caught Elijah in the whirlwind only to throw him down into some valley or on top of a mountain. They are not quite ready to grant Elisha the same status as Elijah, that Elisha is now the master and not the servant. They urge Elisha to send 50 strong men to search for Elijah, and after badgering him into shame, Elisha finally relents and orders the search. When the searchers return after three days and do not find Elijah, Elisha says to them, perhaps quite wearily, “Did I not say to you, do not go?”
R. and D., you now have an authority which previously you did not have. You have a high school education, which, including all the education leading up to high school, has required the majority of your life. You may now have some idea of how you’d like to shape your life and your corner of the world. Though you may not have mastered an area of knowledge, you do have a more educated opinion about the world around you. If you are 18, you can now vote, adding your voice to countless others as to how different levels of government should conduct themselves.
But as you have probably become aware of, not everyone listens to your voice or opinions or your truth, mostly because of your age and experience. Do not take it to heart. Ironically, this does not change, even when you get older and you have more experience. There’s always someone with more knowledge, a louder voice, a more strident opinion. We all wish we could be taken more seriously or appreciated or have our viewpoint count for something. Even those of us who have a regular opportunity to speak and to influence the hearts and minds of others try not to kid ourselves by thinking that what we say makes all the difference in the world.
But of course it’s not as easy as all that. This group of prophets then suggests that perhaps God caught Elijah in the whirlwind only to throw him down into some valley or on top of a mountain. They are not quite ready to grant Elisha the same status as Elijah, that Elisha is now the master and not the servant. They urge Elisha to send 50 strong men to search for Elijah, and after badgering him into shame, Elisha finally relents and orders the search. When the searchers return after three days and do not find Elijah, Elisha says to them, perhaps quite wearily, “Did I not say to you, do not go?”
R. and D., you now have an authority which previously you did not have. You have a high school education, which, including all the education leading up to high school, has required the majority of your life. You may now have some idea of how you’d like to shape your life and your corner of the world. Though you may not have mastered an area of knowledge, you do have a more educated opinion about the world around you. If you are 18, you can now vote, adding your voice to countless others as to how different levels of government should conduct themselves.
But as you have probably become aware of, not everyone listens to your voice or opinions or your truth, mostly because of your age and experience. Do not take it to heart. Ironically, this does not change, even when you get older and you have more experience. There’s always someone with more knowledge, a louder voice, a more strident opinion. We all wish we could be taken more seriously or appreciated or have our viewpoint count for something. Even those of us who have a regular opportunity to speak and to influence the hearts and minds of others try not to kid ourselves by thinking that what we say makes all the difference in the world.
Elijah Taken Up in a Chariot of Fire, Giuseppe Angeli, c. 1740/1755
Elisha asked for a double portion of strength from Elijah because he knew he would need it. However it was not up to Elijah to grant this but God. It was God who would bestow what is necessary to be a prophet, a truth-teller. And often it requires more strength and self-control to listen well before we can speak truth well.
I’d like everyone to open up a Bible to Psalm 19. In this psalm the author speaks the truth of the glory of God and that it can be found in the heavens. Even though the beauty of the skies pours forth speech, there are no words, nor is their voice heard, yet it goes out through all the earth to the end of the world.
If you want to know how to tell the truth, how to speak, how to know who you are, listen to the world around you. Listen to what God is saying to you through the creation. God’s wisdom is written in the tides of the ocean, in the passing of the seasons, in the ways of the fox and the deer and the wild turkey that visit these church grounds.
God’s law is true in the ways of life and loss and in human relationships. We see how we break God’s law when greed causes an oil spill and wildlife suffers, when loss of human life begins to outweigh whatever reason we had for going to war, when our right to defend our way of life inspires others to join the ways of violence and death. We know we have broken God’s law when we have hurt someone. We know God’s law of love when we experience the release of forgiveness, the piercing light of compassion.
So the best spiritual guidance I can give you about feeling overwhelmed, wondering who you are and what God is calling you to do, and whether or not you will be heard is to listen. Spend time each day outside in the grass, on the beach, in the woods, in daylight and in the dark of night listening. Eat some raw vegetables from a local garden and listen to the sunlight and rain in the crunch. Watch the birds. Pay attention to that ant crawling across the ground. Follow the deer tracks. Plant a tree or some seeds. Learn of the hawk by day and the owl at night. Observe the path of the sun, the cycle of the moon. All around us there is life and there is loss, and underneath it all God’s law and wisdom can be heard.
All your life you’ve been told to listen, pay attention, asked did you hear me. So why should you heed these words now? Because now you’re listening for your own life and how it intertwines with God and every other life around you. Now you’re listening for what can be heard in the silence of loss and in the clamor of living. Now you’re listening for the path your life will take and the strength to keep to that path. You’re listening for the right time to pick up that mantle of leadership that comes to all of us at some point.
Other voices will vie for your attention. You will decide what deserves your awareness and interest. But always leave room what is true, what is real, what is authentic, for in that way will you be able to perceive that indeed, God is still speaking. To you.
Amen.
I’d like everyone to open up a Bible to Psalm 19. In this psalm the author speaks the truth of the glory of God and that it can be found in the heavens. Even though the beauty of the skies pours forth speech, there are no words, nor is their voice heard, yet it goes out through all the earth to the end of the world.
If you want to know how to tell the truth, how to speak, how to know who you are, listen to the world around you. Listen to what God is saying to you through the creation. God’s wisdom is written in the tides of the ocean, in the passing of the seasons, in the ways of the fox and the deer and the wild turkey that visit these church grounds.
God’s law is true in the ways of life and loss and in human relationships. We see how we break God’s law when greed causes an oil spill and wildlife suffers, when loss of human life begins to outweigh whatever reason we had for going to war, when our right to defend our way of life inspires others to join the ways of violence and death. We know we have broken God’s law when we have hurt someone. We know God’s law of love when we experience the release of forgiveness, the piercing light of compassion.
So the best spiritual guidance I can give you about feeling overwhelmed, wondering who you are and what God is calling you to do, and whether or not you will be heard is to listen. Spend time each day outside in the grass, on the beach, in the woods, in daylight and in the dark of night listening. Eat some raw vegetables from a local garden and listen to the sunlight and rain in the crunch. Watch the birds. Pay attention to that ant crawling across the ground. Follow the deer tracks. Plant a tree or some seeds. Learn of the hawk by day and the owl at night. Observe the path of the sun, the cycle of the moon. All around us there is life and there is loss, and underneath it all God’s law and wisdom can be heard.
All your life you’ve been told to listen, pay attention, asked did you hear me. So why should you heed these words now? Because now you’re listening for your own life and how it intertwines with God and every other life around you. Now you’re listening for what can be heard in the silence of loss and in the clamor of living. Now you’re listening for the path your life will take and the strength to keep to that path. You’re listening for the right time to pick up that mantle of leadership that comes to all of us at some point.
Other voices will vie for your attention. You will decide what deserves your awareness and interest. But always leave room what is true, what is real, what is authentic, for in that way will you be able to perceive that indeed, God is still speaking. To you.
Amen.
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Prophet Glenn Beck - Father Guido Sarducci | ||||
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Thinking outside the paradox
1 Kings 19: 1-18; Galatians 3: 23-29
******** United Church of Christ
June 20, 2010
This morning I want to talk to you directly as a congregation. Usually in a sermon a pastor will talk about a spiritual issue in the scripture and invite the congregation into the conversation she or he is having with the biblical text. Instead I want to begin the conversation with you, about what I’ve observed about you in the little over a year since I’ve been your interim pastor. And I want to begin by telling you a story.
The story is from pastor and author Max Lucado. It’s the tale of a parakeet named Chippie. Chippie was like any other parakeet: she sang, she preened her beautiful green and yellow feathers, and she brought much joy to her owner. One day all that changed, when Chippie’s owner decided to clean out her cage ....
With a vacuum cleaner.
She was almost finished when the phone rang, so she turned around to answer it. With a thwup, Chippie was gone. Frantically she ripped open the vacuum bag. There was Chippie, stunned, her bright feathers coated with thick dust, but still alive. She carried the poor bird to the bathroom and gently rinsed her off under the faucet. Poor Chippie was wet and shivering, so, trying to be merciful, her owner took hold of the hair dryer and blew Chippie away with a gust of hot air. A few days later, a friend asked her how the little parakeet was recovering. “Well”, she replied, “Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore.”
Have you ever felt like Chippie? Have you ever felt like life sucked you in, left you washed up and blown away? I know I have. We can’t always see what’s up ahead of us. And no matter how hard we try to eat right, live right, do the right thing, say the right thing, be the right person, our lives can change in a heartbeat. It only takes one phone call from the police about one of our children or our partner, one messenger delivering the divorce papers, one pink slip from work, one meeting with our boss or supervisor, one bad test result or mammogram or biopsy, one misplaced footstep or turn of the steering wheel, to leave us feeling like poor little Chippie. Some of us have survived one Chippie episode only long enough to be hit by another.
This is where we find the prophet Elijah in the reading from 1 Kings. Did you hear the desperation, the fear? Could you feel his loneliness, his emptiness? Do you know the wind and the earthquake and the fire of life and loss? Have you sat in the silence of God, waited and, like Chippie, could not sing? And yet have you also known God in the midst of all that? Did you realize you were being fed at God’s table by God’s messengers? Have you suddenly realized that there were other souls and saints about you, that you weren’t as alone as you thought you were? Can you hear the paradox in Elijah’s story and in your own?
You are like no other congregation in my experience, and I’ve experienced quite a few—between growing up in a few, serving in a few, and preaching in quite a number of churches. You really meant it when you say you welcome and accept everyone who comes here. Each of you is either dealing with a current Chippie/Elijah episode or you’ve been through one at some point or it’s an on-going theme in your life. You welcome and accept folks other churches open the door to but have difficulty incorporating into the whole life of the church. You don’t require that people have their act together before they serve on a committee or lead worship or teach Sunday school or help with a mission project. Your criteria for “having your act together” are that you show up, you witness to your faith by giving as best as you are able each day, and you love each other.
Now here’s the paradox: you seem to expect that you should be like other churches—well-organized, always well-behaved, everything on track and accounted for, financially secure with a steeple on top. The irony is that then you wouldn’t be you. You wouldn’t know God in the silence. You wouldn’t be able to tolerate the paradoxes of faith as well as you do.
Many of you are familiar with the twelve steps of recovery: admitted we were powerless—that our lives had become unmanageable, came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity, made a decision to turn our lives over to God as we understood God, and so on. Another principle of 12 step programs is these three words known as the 3 A’s: awareness, acceptance, and action. First, we become aware of an emotion, a void, a loss, a mistake, a betrayal, an annoyance, a problem—we become aware of a source of pain. Second, we accept our reality, in all its dimensions, as it is, and we sit with our acceptance until we intuitively come to a course of action or it comes to us.
The reason why the 3 A’s are part of a 12 step program is because most of the time we move from awareness straight to action, bypassing the gift of acceptance. We see this in the story of Elijah. In order to establish her cult to the god Baal Jezebel had given orders that the prophets of Israel be killed; Elijah thinks he is the sole survivor of that holocaust. In retaliation Elijah defeats the prophets of the false god Baal in a contest and then incites the people to kill the false prophets. He has incurred the wrath of this pretender queen Jezebel. He thinks his goose is cooked, assuming he’s going to wind up dead like the rest of the prophets of Israel.
******** United Church of Christ
June 20, 2010
This morning I want to talk to you directly as a congregation. Usually in a sermon a pastor will talk about a spiritual issue in the scripture and invite the congregation into the conversation she or he is having with the biblical text. Instead I want to begin the conversation with you, about what I’ve observed about you in the little over a year since I’ve been your interim pastor. And I want to begin by telling you a story.
The story is from pastor and author Max Lucado. It’s the tale of a parakeet named Chippie. Chippie was like any other parakeet: she sang, she preened her beautiful green and yellow feathers, and she brought much joy to her owner. One day all that changed, when Chippie’s owner decided to clean out her cage ....
With a vacuum cleaner.
She was almost finished when the phone rang, so she turned around to answer it. With a thwup, Chippie was gone. Frantically she ripped open the vacuum bag. There was Chippie, stunned, her bright feathers coated with thick dust, but still alive. She carried the poor bird to the bathroom and gently rinsed her off under the faucet. Poor Chippie was wet and shivering, so, trying to be merciful, her owner took hold of the hair dryer and blew Chippie away with a gust of hot air. A few days later, a friend asked her how the little parakeet was recovering. “Well”, she replied, “Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore.”
Have you ever felt like Chippie? Have you ever felt like life sucked you in, left you washed up and blown away? I know I have. We can’t always see what’s up ahead of us. And no matter how hard we try to eat right, live right, do the right thing, say the right thing, be the right person, our lives can change in a heartbeat. It only takes one phone call from the police about one of our children or our partner, one messenger delivering the divorce papers, one pink slip from work, one meeting with our boss or supervisor, one bad test result or mammogram or biopsy, one misplaced footstep or turn of the steering wheel, to leave us feeling like poor little Chippie. Some of us have survived one Chippie episode only long enough to be hit by another.
This is where we find the prophet Elijah in the reading from 1 Kings. Did you hear the desperation, the fear? Could you feel his loneliness, his emptiness? Do you know the wind and the earthquake and the fire of life and loss? Have you sat in the silence of God, waited and, like Chippie, could not sing? And yet have you also known God in the midst of all that? Did you realize you were being fed at God’s table by God’s messengers? Have you suddenly realized that there were other souls and saints about you, that you weren’t as alone as you thought you were? Can you hear the paradox in Elijah’s story and in your own?
You are like no other congregation in my experience, and I’ve experienced quite a few—between growing up in a few, serving in a few, and preaching in quite a number of churches. You really meant it when you say you welcome and accept everyone who comes here. Each of you is either dealing with a current Chippie/Elijah episode or you’ve been through one at some point or it’s an on-going theme in your life. You welcome and accept folks other churches open the door to but have difficulty incorporating into the whole life of the church. You don’t require that people have their act together before they serve on a committee or lead worship or teach Sunday school or help with a mission project. Your criteria for “having your act together” are that you show up, you witness to your faith by giving as best as you are able each day, and you love each other.
Now here’s the paradox: you seem to expect that you should be like other churches—well-organized, always well-behaved, everything on track and accounted for, financially secure with a steeple on top. The irony is that then you wouldn’t be you. You wouldn’t know God in the silence. You wouldn’t be able to tolerate the paradoxes of faith as well as you do.
Many of you are familiar with the twelve steps of recovery: admitted we were powerless—that our lives had become unmanageable, came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity, made a decision to turn our lives over to God as we understood God, and so on. Another principle of 12 step programs is these three words known as the 3 A’s: awareness, acceptance, and action. First, we become aware of an emotion, a void, a loss, a mistake, a betrayal, an annoyance, a problem—we become aware of a source of pain. Second, we accept our reality, in all its dimensions, as it is, and we sit with our acceptance until we intuitively come to a course of action or it comes to us.
The reason why the 3 A’s are part of a 12 step program is because most of the time we move from awareness straight to action, bypassing the gift of acceptance. We see this in the story of Elijah. In order to establish her cult to the god Baal Jezebel had given orders that the prophets of Israel be killed; Elijah thinks he is the sole survivor of that holocaust. In retaliation Elijah defeats the prophets of the false god Baal in a contest and then incites the people to kill the false prophets. He has incurred the wrath of this pretender queen Jezebel. He thinks his goose is cooked, assuming he’s going to wind up dead like the rest of the prophets of Israel.
He’s aware of his very painful situation, so what does he do? He gets as far away as he can from Jezebel, into the wilderness. He finds a single broom tree, lies down under it and asks God to take his life. He goes straight to action; he gives in to his fear rather than surrendering to God and waiting for instruction.
But God is the ultimate teacher of acceptance. God sends a messenger, an angel to feed him not once but twice that Elijah might have enough strength for the journey to Mt. Horeb, God’s holy mountain.
Elijah thinks he’s taken all the action he can. It looks like he’s accepted his circumstances, but not quite. He’s left God out of the equation—God who has a much wider view of reality than we do. But still God accepts the situation—and Elijah—even to the point of bringing God’s presence near to pass by Elijah.
But God is the ultimate teacher of acceptance. God sends a messenger, an angel to feed him not once but twice that Elijah might have enough strength for the journey to Mt. Horeb, God’s holy mountain.
Elijah thinks he’s taken all the action he can. It looks like he’s accepted his circumstances, but not quite. He’s left God out of the equation—God who has a much wider view of reality than we do. But still God accepts the situation—and Elijah—even to the point of bringing God’s presence near to pass by Elijah.
But God is not in the special effects of wind and earthquake and fire. Instead God arrives in the silence and Elijah hears it. He repeats his little speech but now we hear it wrapped in the silence of God. Elijah accepts his circumstances in the presence of God and God’s mighty silence. Now God has action for Elijah to take, defensive strategy that will keep him safe, a brother prophet—Elisha—who will one day take over his ministry, and 7000 souls who still call upon the name of Yahweh. Elijah now knows he is not alone.
I have witnessed in many situations over the course of the past year a tendency for you to become aware and then to take action, bypassing the gift of acceptance and God’s mighty silence. Though you accept and welcome everyone, you seem to have difficulty accepting who you are, a wonderful mix of foibles and blessings, and perhaps that is because you’re still becoming acquainted with who you are. In the past you had been referred to as the “Island of Misfit Toys”. I have called you “a diamond in the rough”. But you are even more than that.
In Christ you are outside the paradox of conventionalities. In Christ there is no longer black or white, believer or seeker, gay or straight, elder or younger, rich or poor, able-bodied or challenged, organized or disorganized, fledgling leader or on top of your game servant, longtime member or brand-new to the UCC, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. You are all these things and more and you are none of these things any longer. You are ******** United Church of Christ— a workshop for the kingdom of God, God’s own beautiful creation, continually co-created with each and every one of you.
I have witnessed in many situations over the course of the past year a tendency for you to become aware and then to take action, bypassing the gift of acceptance and God’s mighty silence. Though you accept and welcome everyone, you seem to have difficulty accepting who you are, a wonderful mix of foibles and blessings, and perhaps that is because you’re still becoming acquainted with who you are. In the past you had been referred to as the “Island of Misfit Toys”. I have called you “a diamond in the rough”. But you are even more than that.
In Christ you are outside the paradox of conventionalities. In Christ there is no longer black or white, believer or seeker, gay or straight, elder or younger, rich or poor, able-bodied or challenged, organized or disorganized, fledgling leader or on top of your game servant, longtime member or brand-new to the UCC, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. You are all these things and more and you are none of these things any longer. You are ******** United Church of Christ— a workshop for the kingdom of God, God’s own beautiful creation, continually co-created with each and every one of you.
Accept who you are—imperfect yet good, a cup half empty but it’s half full too, human yet forgiving, intolerant of hate yet compassionate for the hateful, struggling with life yet witnessing for the living God, poor in things yet rich in soul. Surrender to this beauty that is uniquely yours.
I’ll close with these words from a source of twelve step wisdom:
“If we willingly surrender ourselves … our lives will be transformed. We will become mature, responsible individuals with a greater capacity for joy fulfillment, and wonder. Though we may never be perfect, continued spiritual progress will reveal to us our enormous potential. We will discover that we are both worthy of love and loving. We will love others without losing ourselves, and will learn to accept love in return. Our sight, once clouded and confused, will clear and we will be able to perceive reality and recognize truth. Courage and fellowship will replace fear. We will be able to risk failure in order to develop new, hidden talents. Our lives, no matter how battered and degraded, will yield hope to share with others. We will begin to feel and will come to know the vastness of our emotions, but we will not be slaves to them. Our secrets will no longer bind us in shame. As we gain the ability to forgive ourselves, our families, and the world, our choices will expand. With dignity we will stand for ourselves, but not against our [sisters and brothers]. Serenity and peace will have meaning for us, as we allow our lives and the lives of those we love to flow day by day with God's ease, balance, and grace. No longer terrified, we will discover we are free to delight in life's paradox, mystery, and awe. We will laugh more. Fear will be replaced by faith, and gratitude will come naturally as we realize that our Higher Power is doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
“Can we really grow to such proportions? Only if we accept life as a continuing process of maturation and evolution toward wholeness. Then we suddenly begin to notice these gifts appearing. We see them in those who walk beside us. Sometimes slowly or haltingly, occasionally in great bursts of brilliance, those who work [on their spiritual lives] change and grow toward light, toward health, and toward their Higher Power. Watching others, we realize this is also possible for us.
“Will we ever arrive? Feel joyful all the time? Have no cruelty, tragedy, or injustice to face? Probably not, but we will acquire a growing acceptance of our human fallibility, as well as greater love and tolerance for each other. Self-pity, resentment, martyrdom, rage, and depression will fade into memory. Community rather than loneliness will define our lives. We will know that we belong, we are welcome, we have something to contribute - and that this is enough.” [1]
Amen.
1. From Survival to Recovery: Growing Up in an Alcoholic Home, Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters Inc., .pp. 269-270
Friday, June 18, 2010
Sermon procrastination
99 Things About Me (Everything that I have accomplished is in bold)
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (marching)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to DisneyWorld
8. Climbed a mountain (more like hiking in the mountains)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (never!)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (crocheting wire with beads)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (well, my husband grows them, I pick them)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch-hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language - Spanish on a mission trip.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - does indoor count?
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - with my daughter.
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving (jamais!)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp - Dachau
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - with friends.
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - two authors, Brian McLaren & Octavia Butler.
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit - my stepmother and I disagreed as to who should inherit my paternal grandfather's bequest to my late father. We had lawyers but never went to court.
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (marching)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to DisneyWorld
8. Climbed a mountain (more like hiking in the mountains)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (never!)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (crocheting wire with beads)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (well, my husband grows them, I pick them)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch-hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language - Spanish on a mission trip.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing - does indoor count?
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - with my daughter.
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving (jamais!)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp - Dachau
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - with friends.
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - two authors, Brian McLaren & Octavia Butler.
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit - my stepmother and I disagreed as to who should inherit my paternal grandfather's bequest to my late father. We had lawyers but never went to court.
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Choked up
I know all of us are greatly troubled by the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico and have seen enough footage to haunt us for a lifetime. Please watch this video produced by the Environmental Defense Fund, and contribute whatever you can, wherever you can, to the efforts to get this nation off its addiction to fossil fuels and headed toward cleaner energy alternatives.
Monday, June 07, 2010
At the table of my enemy
1 Kings 17: 8-16; Galatians 1: 11-24
******** United Church of Christ
June 6, 2010
Did you know that we are in the midst of a famine? With supermarkets stocked with thousands of food items and what seem like many choices within each food category, stating that there is a famine would put me in the same class as Chicken Little. But I wonder if you know that within about the past fifty years or so, the number of corporations that generate the bulk of our food has shrunk from many to a few.
******** United Church of Christ
June 6, 2010
Did you know that we are in the midst of a famine? With supermarkets stocked with thousands of food items and what seem like many choices within each food category, stating that there is a famine would put me in the same class as Chicken Little. But I wonder if you know that within about the past fifty years or so, the number of corporations that generate the bulk of our food has shrunk from many to a few.
CAFO, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation
For instance, in 1970 the top five meat packers for beef controlled about 25% of the market, with thousands of slaughterhouses. Today the top four control over 80% of the market, with only 13 slaughterhouses. The same is true with pork, not to mention chicken. Tyson is the largest meat packing company in the world. The way food is grown and produced has moved from agriculture to mass production, skewing our food economy to the bad calories, reducing the nutrition in the food we eat, hence, a famine. Overall, as an American society, we are gaining weight but we are also starving to death. Ironically, we have a surplus of food with 36 million people (11% of the US population) who can’t afford to buy it without assistance.
A middle class couple in Ohio applies for assistance/Food pantry in Lebanon, OH
100 years ago a farmer could produce 20 bushels of corn per acre. Now 200 bushels of corn per acre is not a problem. Of course that pushes down the price of corn and the cost to produce it. In fact, farmers are paid to over-produce their corn crop.
100 years ago a farmer could produce 20 bushels of corn per acre. Now 200 bushels of corn per acre is not a problem. Of course that pushes down the price of corn and the cost to produce it. In fact, farmers are paid to over-produce their corn crop.
Many of the illegal immigrants who come to this country from Mexico used to be corn farmers. But because of NAFTA, the US has overflowed the market with cheap corn, putting 1.5 million Mexican farmers out of work. Beef companies in the US began actively advertising for workers in Mexico, setting up busing services to bring them into the US. But when the anti-immigration mind-set is on the rise, the government doesn’t crack down on these companies but on the workers, some who have been in this country for 10-15 years. We end up demonizing and criminalizing the citizens of one of our closest neighbors.
Food and neighbors and how we behave toward each other are all closely intertwined in our relationship with God. We see this in this morning’s Hebrew scripture reading. The prophet Elijah is on the run from King Ahab of Israel and his queen, Jezebel. Jezebel is from the neighboring country of Sidon whose people worship Baal, a fertility god. She convinces her husband to set up shrines to Baal, which in turn, angers God more than any king before him. Elijah tells the king that because he has chosen to worship another god there will be no rain except by the word of the prophet. God then sends Elijah to the Wadi Cherith, a stream with water only when there is rain, and there Elijah is brought food by ravens and drinks from the wadi. But soon even the wadi dries up because of the drought.
God then sends Elijah to Sidon, to the very homeland of Jezebel and her impotent rainmaking god Baal. The drought has affected Sidon as well. Where there is no water, there is famine. Elijah finds the widow that God sent him to ready to lay down and die with her son because there is no more food, save for the little left for their last supper.
Food and neighbors and how we behave toward each other are all closely intertwined in our relationship with God. We see this in this morning’s Hebrew scripture reading. The prophet Elijah is on the run from King Ahab of Israel and his queen, Jezebel. Jezebel is from the neighboring country of Sidon whose people worship Baal, a fertility god. She convinces her husband to set up shrines to Baal, which in turn, angers God more than any king before him. Elijah tells the king that because he has chosen to worship another god there will be no rain except by the word of the prophet. God then sends Elijah to the Wadi Cherith, a stream with water only when there is rain, and there Elijah is brought food by ravens and drinks from the wadi. But soon even the wadi dries up because of the drought.
God then sends Elijah to Sidon, to the very homeland of Jezebel and her impotent rainmaking god Baal. The drought has affected Sidon as well. Where there is no water, there is famine. Elijah finds the widow that God sent him to ready to lay down and die with her son because there is no more food, save for the little left for their last supper.
Charity Never Faileth, Elspeth Young
But Elijah tells her to not be afraid but to make a meal anyway and to feed him first, a foreigner in a foreign land in a poor woman’s home. Rather than just show off a miracle of unending flour and oil, Elijah gives the widow a chance to be faithful to God’s word of abundance by feeding a stranger, a man of another god at her table.
Can we imagine what it would mean for the people of Arizona to invite illegal Mexican immigrants to their tables? Or for these immigrants to invite angry, disillusioned Americans for a meal at their homes? There are days we all feel we are end of our rope, ready to take what is left of our strength and lay down to die. Or to kill the desperate hope in another. But God continues to give us the opportunity to be faithful to God’s word of abundance, abundance that can even be found at the table of our enemy, at the table of the one who has the least to give.
When Saul, who had breathed threats and murder, was transformed into the apostle Paul, I would bet that he and those early leaders of the Way he shared table with ate a lot of humble pie stuffed with crow. But look at the abundance of grace that comes from such sharing! Communities of changed lives abounded as a result of Paul’s ministry. Through his words Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians were reconciled into one Body of Christ.
Every month you know this sharing, this changing of lives, both when you gather about this Table and when you invite hungry neighbors to a home-cooked meal. And both meals are connected. Perhaps one could happen without the other, but then how would you hear God’s further invitation to be even more faithful to God’s word of abundance? What will be your next step toward justice at God’s table? How else might you help to transform the famine we have created into the abundance God intended?
Can we imagine what it would mean for the people of Arizona to invite illegal Mexican immigrants to their tables? Or for these immigrants to invite angry, disillusioned Americans for a meal at their homes? There are days we all feel we are end of our rope, ready to take what is left of our strength and lay down to die. Or to kill the desperate hope in another. But God continues to give us the opportunity to be faithful to God’s word of abundance, abundance that can even be found at the table of our enemy, at the table of the one who has the least to give.
When Saul, who had breathed threats and murder, was transformed into the apostle Paul, I would bet that he and those early leaders of the Way he shared table with ate a lot of humble pie stuffed with crow. But look at the abundance of grace that comes from such sharing! Communities of changed lives abounded as a result of Paul’s ministry. Through his words Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians were reconciled into one Body of Christ.
Every month you know this sharing, this changing of lives, both when you gather about this Table and when you invite hungry neighbors to a home-cooked meal. And both meals are connected. Perhaps one could happen without the other, but then how would you hear God’s further invitation to be even more faithful to God’s word of abundance? What will be your next step toward justice at God’s table? How else might you help to transform the famine we have created into the abundance God intended?
Many sources will say shop organic when you can, go to farmer’s markets, buy what is in season. But for many people, eating food that is not only good for us but good for the earth costs more and sometimes is cost prohibitive. I have seen pictures of this church that show a vegetable garden on the front lawn. I hear the White House has one too. Perhaps it’s time to revive that garden, one that could support not only the mission meal but also church folk and the guests that come to the dinners—God’s victory garden. A food co-op could be established here as well, one that is linked to local farms and growers. Those of you who shop the farmer’s market at Robert Treat Farm could ask if they accept food stamps, and if not, work to change that. The Whole Foods Supermarket could become a partner in providing food for the mission meal.
God is always offering us new opportunities to be faithful to God’s word of abundance, to sit at table with what looks like our worst enemy but turns out to be a transforming witness of grace. Whenever bread is broken, God is shared, and we become the work of God, the Body of Christ. At this table we bring our offerings and receive spiritual nourishment but we are also given a call to justice and to grace. Thanks be to God for holy food that does not leave us empty but always hungry for more. Amen.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/us/29foodstamps.html
http://www.foodincmovie.com/
God is always offering us new opportunities to be faithful to God’s word of abundance, to sit at table with what looks like our worst enemy but turns out to be a transforming witness of grace. Whenever bread is broken, God is shared, and we become the work of God, the Body of Christ. At this table we bring our offerings and receive spiritual nourishment but we are also given a call to justice and to grace. Thanks be to God for holy food that does not leave us empty but always hungry for more. Amen.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/us/29foodstamps.html
http://www.foodincmovie.com/
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Destination wedding
My good friend Mary from seminary days (and maid of honor in my wedding) was married for the first time May 15, 2010 in Christchurch, New Zealand to a wonderful Aussie, Christopher. So you can see how I had to be there, to complete the circle and be a part of the joy of their wedding day.
Before the wedding, outside the cathedral.
Women clergy of the wedding.
Christopher's sons and daughters-in-law
Before the wedding, outside the cathedral.Left to right: Jean Gibson (standing in for mother of the bride), Mary, Christopher, Lorain and Bill (Mary's brother and sister-in-law)
Women clergy of the wedding.Left to right: myself, Lorain, Peg Riley and Mary
Christopher's sons and daughters-in-lawLeft to right: Terry and Phil, Christopher, Eleanore and Tim
During the service a boy soprano sang--high, pure and beautiful.
Dare I say it--the happy couple.
The bride and her attendants: Robin, Mary and Cynthia.
The wedding party.
During the service a boy soprano sang--high, pure and beautiful.
Dare I say it--the happy couple.
The bride and her attendants: Robin, Mary and Cynthia.
The wedding party.Left to right: Phil, Robin, Christopher, Mary, Tim and Cynthia
...and a brief window of New Zealand
(These are the "tourist photos" of places I visited while I was in Aotearoa, the Maori name for New Zealand, which means "Land of the Long White Cloud".)
Mary and I travelled along the rim and then down switchbacks to the town of Akaroa.
Two old friends reunited. When Mary and I met we were 23 and 41.
Apparently some other Robinsons got to New Zealand before I did.
The sky got a bit moody on our way back.
Sunrise from the deck of the vicarage.
On the day of the wedding...a wonderful blessing.
An ornate fountain outside of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch.
Christchurch Cathedral
Even though Mary and Christopher did not have the bells rung for their wedding, as the bride and groom left the cathedral, the bells tolled noon!
The Millennium Chalice in Cathedral Square
On my last day we made a visit to the Antarctic Centre. This is inside the storm room where we experienced a 5-min. storm with a wind chill of -20 F. Temperatures in Antarctica can often reach -40 F or below, with winds reaching over 100 mph.
We also saw blue penguins at the Centre. All around New Zealand there are colonies of different breeds of penguins.
Waiting to be fed by the docent.
This is the inner portion of the Banks Peninsula, what is left of a enormous volcano from thousands of years ago. What you are looking at is the remains of the crater, now filled with water from the Pacific Ocean.
Mary and I travelled along the rim and then down switchbacks to the town of Akaroa.
Two old friends reunited. When Mary and I met we were 23 and 41.
Apparently some other Robinsons got to New Zealand before I did.
The sky got a bit moody on our way back.
Sunrise from the deck of the vicarage.
On the day of the wedding...a wonderful blessing.
An ornate fountain outside of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch.
Christchurch Cathedral
Even though Mary and Christopher did not have the bells rung for their wedding, as the bride and groom left the cathedral, the bells tolled noon!
The Millennium Chalice in Cathedral Square
On my last day we made a visit to the Antarctic Centre. This is inside the storm room where we experienced a 5-min. storm with a wind chill of -20 F. Temperatures in Antarctica can often reach -40 F or below, with winds reaching over 100 mph.
We also saw blue penguins at the Centre. All around New Zealand there are colonies of different breeds of penguins.
Waiting to be fed by the docent.It was a wonderful trip but much too brief--only seven days. I hope one day to take my family to see this beautiful country.
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