My wife and I have a bird feeder outside a dining room window. Various birds from the common house sparrow to more exotic song birds visit so often that I need to refill it several times a day. Our house cats, Eleanor and Lucy, enjoy sitting on the window sill watching with rapt attention the birds’ coming and going . Occasionally they’ll call to the birds with a wobbly throaty cat imitation.

We also have squirrels visit the feeder at the end of they day. They are largely scavengers, cleaningup “ the left-overs.”. I don’t mind. All of God’s creatures have gotta eat. 

Over the past few months I have been impressed by the squirrels tenacity and dexterity. They continually find new ways to get that last seed. In their creativity I find a glimpse of grace. 

We are living in a Covid era. I am hesitant to call it “post-Covid” because Covid is simply the latest virus to emerge from “Pandora’s Box”. I believe that it will be with us for the foreseeable future. We will learn to live with it. This is our generation’s new reality. We will never be able to return to a pre-Covid time. And I believe that Covid pushed existing trends ahead 10 to 20 years. The Church as well as local congregations will need to adjust to this new reality. Like “my” squirrels we will need all of the dexterity, creativity, strength, and skill to continue fulfilling our true mission: to go and make disciples of all people, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spiridt; teaching them to observe all that Christ commanded and to remember that, the Risen Lord is with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28)

I believe that this new reality is not a sacary time, but an exciting one. We get to shed old ways of doing things that longer meet current opportunities and be creative in revitalizing still relevant ministries while giving birth to new ones in this emerging time.

Today is my mother‘s 95th birthday. There may be some difference of opinion on this. She died in 2006. But be that as it may, it’s still her birthday. A pastoral colleague of mine once wrote:

“Sometimes loved ones who have journeyed beyond the veil
Come back unexpectedly
Bursting through the doors of our hearts without knocking.
Their sudden presence can be invoked by
An image,
A word,
A scent,
A taste,
A calendar date,
Or the simple randomness of the universe”.
(Kevin Buchanan, 2023/04/18)

I know what he means. A daughter’s flaky pie crust made with my mother’s recipe (her secret was Crisco) brings her to life again. I remember how she used to say that if you have to brag on yourself you can’t be very good. She always encouraged me to look gif the good in everyone and that if I don’t like someone it’s probably because I see a reflection myself in them. Her tongue could get all twisted up as she mispronounced words. She loved fried green tomatoes, sweet tea, and my father. Most of all, she loved me.

A Jewish friend of mine introduced me to a custom of their faith. A small stone is placed on the marker that proclaims to the living and to the universe the loved are not forgotten.

Today my was my mother’s 95th birthday. I left her a rose.

What do with Joseph?

That is something that preachers have wrestled with over the years. 

He’s not the main character–at least not in church Christmas pageants. That’s Mary.  Little girls, or maybe it’s their mothers who want their daughters to play Mary in church Christmas pageants. Joseph doesn’t really have a speaking part.  As a matter of fact, in the gospels he never utters a single word. Did you know that?

So, what do you do with Joseph?

Matthew tells us that Joseph was a righteous man, a good man, a man of faith who will not put Mary to shame. He sticks by her. No matter what. 

So what do you do with Joseph?

Fred Craddock saw something in Joseph that few others see. He wrote:

He reads his Bible through a certain kind of lens, the lens of character and the nature of a God who is loving and kind. Therefore, he says, “I will not harm her (Mary), abuse her, expose her, shame her, ridicule her, or demean her value, her dignity, or her worth. I will protect her“

Where does it say that? … I’ll tell you where…it says that in the very nature and character of God. 

Christmas for me has already started because I know that when Jesus is born, the man who will teach him, raise him, care for him, show him how to be a carpenter, take him to the synagogue, teach him his bible, and teach him lessons. He is a good man and he will do right. 

When you have somebody like that, it is already Christmas, and Christmas will last as long as God can find in every community one person who says, “I will do what is right.” 

What is right is to read the Scripture and to read the human condition in the light of the love and grace and the kindness of God.

As long as there is one in every community, it will be Christmas.The question, of course, is whether or not you will be that person.

Seven sentences. Six hours.

That is all the gospel of Mark wrote about the crucifixion.

Seven sentences. Six hours.

A darkness that fell over the land; a darkness like the Chaos before Creation.

Seven sentences. Six hours.

The cry of an anguished soul, the prayer of the forsaken— “My God, my God why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22)

Seven sentences. Six hours.

“It is finished.”

Seven sentences. Six hours.

The darkness was broken by a Light of Hope.

Seven sentences. Six hours.

The prayer of the forsaken was heard by God.

It is finished so that we might have a new beginning.

The disciples, those who walked with him for three years, were not there. Only a lone Roman centurion, who watching the man die on a cross, said to no one and to everyone, “This is , the son of God.“

Seven sentences. Six hours.

Scripture Reading GENESIS 3: 17-19

Sermon

17 And to the man he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,

    and have eaten of the tree

about which I commanded you,

    ‘You shall not eat of it,’

cursed is the ground because of you;

    in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

    and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your face

    you shall eat bread

until you return to the ground,

    for out of it you were taken;

you are dust,

Two Virtues–an Ash Wednesday sermon

For you are dust and unto dust you shall return. (Genesis 3:19b, NKJV)

In his book The Road to Character David Brooks wrote that there are two kinds of virtues in life; Résumé Virtues and Eulogy Virtues. 

Résumé Virtues are those virtues that are valued by the world—degrees, titles, awards, and the like. They often appear in an obituary, but they do not really define a person’s character. 

I remember doing the funeral for a well-known political figure.  As I met with the family they were strangely evasive when I asked them about the man. Finally someone broke the awkward silence. “I know that you have to say nice things because he was well known and respected in the community. But he was not a nice man at home.”

Enough said. What a sad commentary. What a legacy to leave behind!

Success and fame are good up to a point. But as Jesus once asked, “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose their soul (Matthew 16:26 & Mark 8:36).  

Eulogy Virtues are virtues of character. They are things like humility, kindness, love, generosity, and bravery.  Brooks didn’t say it explicitly, they roughly parallel the spiritual virtues of I Corinthians 13, especially Love—a love with no strings attached, that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

At the core of our being, Brooks wrote, we know that what matters most in life are the Eulogy virtues.

For you are dust and unto dust you shall return. (3:19b, NKJV) 

Every day we write a page in a book called “Your Legacy”.  Lent is a time of self-reflection, examination, and prayer. In these 40 days let us reflect upon the legacy that we will leave behind.

Last Sunday I wore my Giant baseball jersey to worship (a Father’s Day custom in the congregation I’m serving as an interim/bridge/transitional pastor). I was asked how a boy from central Illinois became a Giant fan. I replied, “Two words; Willie Mays.” (Plus my best friend was a Dodger fan.)

Well, with a new bag packed Willie started on a new journey. Rest In Peace, Willie.

For you are dust and unto dust you shall return. (3:19b, NKJV)

In his book The Road to Character David Brooks wrote that in life there are Résumé and Eulogy Virtues. 

Résumé Virtues are those that the world values; high test scores, professional achievements, and titles. They don’t really define a person’s character, though.

I remember doing the funeral for a well-known political figure. As I met with the family they were strangely silent when I asked about their favorite memories. Finally the wife spoke up. “I know that you have to say nice things about him. He was well known and respected in the community. But he was not a nice man at home.” Enough said. What a sad legacy.

Success and fame are good up to a point. But as Jesus once asked, “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose their soul (Matthew 16:26 & Mark 8:36).  

Eulogy Virtues, on the other hand reflect a person’s character. They are things like humility, kindness, and bravery.  These virtues parallel the spiritual virtues, of love with no strings attached, a love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things along with joy, a peace that passes human understanding, patience, generosity, gentleness, self-control, and kindness.

Every day we are writing our legacy. 

“The mail must go through.”

A few days ago I received a surprise in the mail. A marked up roughed up envelope that was the loan piece of mail we received that day. I looked carefully at the envelope and saw that it was addressed to my “nickname” and sent to wrong city!

Looking more closely I read the postmark: October 2021! It took 21 months for the piece of mail to arrive in my mailbox!

I’ve seen the main post office in Chicago. It’s HUGE. The fact that the United States Postal Service would spend the time necessary to track down a “Frosty” in an unknown city is more than amazing…it borders on the miraculous!! Some unknown clerk or clerks took the USPS motto to heart—the mail MUST go through! They never gave up! They persisted through the dark of night and many many months! I’m still astounded.

The gospel of Luke records several parables of Jesus in rapid succession. They are about a persistent God who doesn’t quit and who never gives up . There is a shepherd who looks fir one lost sheep while leaving 99 behind; a woman tearing a house apart looking for one lost coin out of ten; a father who never turns the porch light off until a “lost” son “comes to himself” and returns home much humbler than before. Those stories or parables are about a God whose Love never ends and extends into eternity and beyond.

And to think that it took a “lost” letter to remind me of this truth…this glimpse of grace. Hod does speak to us more often than not in the small events of our lives…if only we have the eyes to see.

On a quiet moonless summer night gravity won. When I awoke the next day as the sun was rising, I pulled open the curtains and saw that my large deck was covered be green leaves!

Closer inspection revealed that a large limb snapped during the night. There were no winds, no storms, nor any other visible reason for the limb to come down, but it did. It silently and probably slowly fell simply because of weight and the steady pull of gravity.

As I assessed the damage, which was minimal, and began cleaning up the mess, I had a lot of time to think. The pull of gravity is merciless. So is the pull of homeostasis. And therein was a glimpse of grace.

Try to make a change in yourself or an organization and you will run smack dab into intentional and unintentional sabotage. Examples: “How many people does it take to change a lightbulb?” “Who said anything about change; my late grandmother put that bulb in!”

“I need to lose a few pounds…my pants are getting a bit snug” “That’s great honey. Oh, I made a batch of your favorite cookie; they’re just coming out of oven. Try one. One can’t hurt!”

You know how it goes. Yet, despite this sabotage, no matter how unintentional or well-meaning, change is an unavoidable and often necessary part of life. I have come believe that when Charles Darwin coined the phrase, “survival of the fittest” what he really meant was “survival of the most adaptable.”

Be adaptable.

Neighboring. It’s not something that is done much these days. Chances are, we don’t even know who our neighbors are, let alone do a little neighboring.

When I was a kid neighboring was a part of our life together. When someone new moved into the neighborhood they would often be welcomed with fresh cookies or a loaf of homemade bread. Neighbors often sat on porches or in backyards sipping lemonade or a “highball” on hot muggy summer evenings watching the neighborhood kids play tag or ghosts in the graveyard or catch lighting bugs and talking about nothing in particular or everything in general. Now there is better than a good chance that we know little about our neighbors as we nod or wave from a distance before ducking into our homes.

Years ago Robert Putnam wrote about how the demise of the once ubiquitous bowling leagues reflected the decline of civic engagement and the social threads that held our communities together. In other words, the demise of neighboring. Covid just exasperated this.

Our disconnectedness is not healthy. We were created in the Divine image to be a part of a community as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling, as the Apostle Paul wrote.

I think that I need to put a batch of toll house cookies in the oven to share with my neighbor a few doors down the street. I haven’t met them, yet. Maybe that be a glimpse of grace.