April Snows

On Sunday our church’s boiler malfunctioned and so we worshipped in frigid temperatures.  I am not nearly so affected by the discomfort of the cold since I am well outfitted by my vestments.  But as I greeted people at the end of the service, it was a shock to the system to shake so many chilly hands.

The forecasters were calling for snow on Monday.  It’s April.  What else is new?  If you live in Northern Ohio, you come to expect the weirdest weather.  A popular slogan around here is that if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes, it will change. 

Opening days of baseball season have been snowed out.  I recall one year in the late 1990’s, when I was working for the Cleveland Indians, walking around the ball park with an astonished wide-eyed minor league pitching prospect from Venezuela who had never before seen snow.  The Indians were playing an exhibition game in the less than two year old Jacobs Field amidst persistent flurries that approached near whiteout conditions.  He asked me if what he was seeing was typical.  I had to resist the urge to terrify him with a resounding, “Yes!”  So I simply explained to him that it does happen sometime. 

I remember seeing him the next year in Spring Training at Winter Haven, bathed in a pool of sweat in the humid Florida heat, and reminding him of what he had to look forward to in a few weeks.  Sadly, he never made it to the Major Leagues.

As I grow older I understand why people move to warmer climates later in life.  I was born in Puerto Rico, but have spent the bulk of my life in Pennsylvania and Ohio.  Though I’ve grown to love the change in seasons, I yearn for milder winters that don’t linger into early May.  Where is global warming when you really need it?

With one exception, Scripture always portrays snow in a positive light.  In most cases, is symbolizes purity, the outcome of the forgiveness of sins.  Leprosy is the lone negative.

So where am I going with this seemingly aimless rambling?  I really don’t know.  I simply felt like taking a page out of Mark Twain and talk about the weather.  After all, we can do nothing about it.  If I’ve stolen valuable time out of your day to read this post, I apologize.  But do me one favor – read Isaiah 55, especially verses 10 and 11, part of which appears below. 

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth…
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty…

May God’s word provide you with comforting thoughts for an otherwise gloomy weather day.

The Power of Words

As a person who does a lot of talking for a living, there are a couple of aphorisms that I learned a long time ago that are helpful to me yet today.

Words, like eggs, are tender things.

They should be handled with care.

Because words once spoken,

like eggs once broken,

are difficult to repair.

Be careful of the words you say,

keep them nice and sweet.

You never know from day to day

Which ones you’ll have to eat.

Ozzie Guillen

These rhymes came to mind as I watched the uproar over the comments made by Miami Marlins’ manager Ozzie Guillén that landed him in hot water with that city’s Cuban-American community.  For those who aren’t aware, Guillén made a comment to a Time Magazine reporter expressing his admiration for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.  The mere mention of the name is explosive enough, but to express admiration for the despot is suicidal.

Guillén spent nearly an entire day remorsefully apologizing to Miami’s Cuban-Americans both in Spanish and English.  He has been suspended for five games by the Marlins.

I happen to be a huge baseball fan, which explains somewhat my interest in this story.  But more than that, I am more a firm believer in thinking before you speak.  Scripture has a lot to tell us on that topic.  What follows are a couple examples.

In Ephesians 4:29 we read:  “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.”

The third chapter of the Letter of James spends several verses on the topic of taming the tongue.  “With [the tongue] we bless the Lord and Father,” James writes, “and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God.” [James 3:9]

Of course, what Guillén said pales by comparison to what passes for political discourse these days.  If you watch television for a mere five minutes you’re bound to see a political ad that points out the failures of an opposing candidate in the vilest of terms.  It always fascinates me that the majority of those ads say little if anything about the virtues of the candidates they support.

Add to that the radio industry that has made millionaires out of loudmouths who spend several hours a day demeaning and degrading others in the most negative language conceivable.

A colleague of mine posted the adjoining photo on Facebook which best summarizes the best course of action one should take before opening his or her mouth to speak.  The ideas expressed are not new, but it is amazing how few of us consider them before speaking.

Imagine what would be if we all took this advice and held others accountable for doing the same!

Holy Week, Hoodies, and Health Care

As we enter the holiest week of the church year, our country has witnessed two controversial dramas unfold that demonstrate how divided we are and continue to be as a nation and as a society.

Trayvon Martin

On February 26, 2012, an unarmed 17-year old African-American male wearing a hooded sweatshirt was shot to death in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, a suburb of Orlando.  The shooter, an Hispanic self-appointed neighborhood watch captain, claimed self-defense.  He was not arrested.  The police investigation seemed careless.  The shooter’s testimony appeared inconsistent with the evidence.  The parents of the dead teen have demanded explanations and the case has become an international cause célèbre that is being played out daily in both print and electronic media.  There is no shortage of opinion both in support of the victim and of the shooter.  Search the name, Trayvon Martin, and you’ll find more than 700,000 articles relating to everything you ever wanted to know about the case, so there’s no need to rehash the details here.

U.S. Supreme Court

Beginning Monday, March 26, in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Supreme Court heard three days of arguments on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as the Health Care Reform Law or by its pejorative, “Obamacare.”  The law, passed by Congress two years ago, proposes that every American be covered by health insurance.  At stake is whether Congress has the constitutional right to require that every American buy health insurance or face a financial penalty.  The case has become a flashpoint referendum on the Obama administration and on the President himself, since it was his signature bill.

One may suppose it a curious twist of fate that these two events have taken center stage as Christians prepare to observe the events that took place nearly 2,000 years ago on the final week of our Lord Jesus Christ here on earth.  Controversy was Jesus’ constant companion during his earthly ministry because, as prophets before him, he spoke truth to power, advocating for justice against oppressive governments and systems that victimized the very people they were entrusted to protect.

Jesus preached compassion for the poor; healed the sick, made the crippled walk again, gave sight to the blind.  He put himself at risk by touching lepers and reinstating them into society.  He violated social custom by dining with prostitutes and sinners, thereby restoring dignity to people whom society considered disreputable.   In so doing, he went against the grain of the establishment, rejecting their laws, discarding their customs, angering the privileged ones who favored preservation of the status quo and ultimately, paying a dear price – death by crucifixion.

As we enter this so called Holy Week, consider the death of Trayvon Martin and the Health Care Reform law against the backdrop of the events of Holy Week.  Ask yourself the following questions.  How much have we advanced as a society?  Do we treat people of color or anyone different from us with respect or disdain?  Are we a society that cares for its poor, its ill, its aged, with compassion and concern or indifference and apathy?

Jesus modeled for us a life under God’s reign, a life of equality, unity, harmony and peace.  A life in the Kingdom of God is governed by the commandment to love God and love our neighbor.  That can only come about by asking God to forgive our hardheartedness, heal our blindness and grant us the grace and ability to see God in our neighbor, even if he or she is wearing a “hoodie.”

 

Reflections on Chardon

By the time a child reaches the age of 18, he or she will witness 200,000 acts of violence, including 40,000 murders.  That is the cumulative result of watching an average 25 hours of television a week.  Is it any wonder then, that aggressive and violent behavior is a more characteristic trait in today’s teens?

When a youngster pulls out a gun in a high school cafeteria and senselessly opens fire on a group of his unsuspecting peers, the immediate reaction is shock, horror, outrage, and grief.  All week the community of Chardon, Ohio, has mourned openly in view of a sympathetic worldwide television audience that shares in its struggle to make sense of this dreadful act that claimed three young lives and injured two others.

The statistics cited at the outset were gleaned from a study done by the Parents Television Council nearly ten years ago.[1] 

The study is titled, TV Bloodbath: Violence on Prime Time Broadcast TV, and though its statistics are dated, it nevertheless presents a tremendously compelling argument on the effects of televised violence on antisocial behavior by teens. 

It would be foolishly naive to assert that this was the lone contributing factor in this tragic incident, if it was a factor at all.  Yet the society in which we live seems powerless to prevent, let alone restrain the seemingly escalating number of such occurrences in places that are regarded as sheltered from such acts of bloodshed.  The search for answers as to why this happened is like grasping at straws.

It is in the midst of this state of confusion, pain and anguish that we turn to God; not necessarily for answers, but to seek consolation and hope.  In his book, The Problem of Pain, British novelist C.S. Lewis stated:  “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”

It is in the pain and sadness that we cry to our Lord for help.  The community was comforted by numerous prayer vigils where the reassuring word of God was heard.  There will now be funeral services in which once again God’s voice will be proclaimed.

Of the many Psalms that express grief or lament to God is Psalm 130.  The words of the psalmist resonate loudly:

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;
² Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

 ³ If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

 ⁵ I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.

[Psalm 130:1-5 NIV]

 

The search for answers will appear to be endless.  The mystery as to why may remain unsolved.  But while the reasons for what has taken place may forever remain unknown, it is important to move forward in hope.  Hope for healing, hope for renewal, hope for restoration of our faith in God.

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[1] http://www.parentstv.org/ptc/publications/reports/stateindustryviolence/ReportOnViolence.pdf

Oh No, Not Another Opinion on Jeremy Lin!

You don’t have to be a professional basketball fan to recognize the name Jeremy Lin.  But in case you don’t, let me introduce you.

Jeremy Lin is a point guard for the New York Knicks, a team that has won its share of championships, but in recent years one of the more mediocre teams in the National Basketball Association.  In the last two weeks however, they have created a firestorm of excitement because of Lin.  Before a loss on Saturday night, they had won seven games in a row.  The winning streak coincided with the insertion of Lin into the starting lineup.

I make this entry with a certain measure of trepidation, knowing that it will not present any new information.  So much has been written about Lin that if you Google the name you come up with nearly 600,000 articles in less than a second.  Even publications that aren’t known for sports coverage are caught up in “Lin-sanity”.  (All right, I’ve written the obligatory pun that is most associated with this phenomenon.)  Sojourners magazine online, for example, can’t seem to write enough about Lin.  What more can be said?  So this blog entry contains merely personal impressions with few, if any, amazing insights.

Several factors make Jeremy Lin special, not the least of which are his intelligence and ethnicity.  The son of Taiwanese immigrants, Lin is a Harvard educated, second generation Asian-American that plays in the NBA.  The league is not noted for its immense number of players in either category.  But besides breaking a long-held stereotype that Asians can’t excel in a sport dominated almost exclusively by African-Americans, Lin also possesses other characteristics that set him apart:  determination, humility and faith.

Despite leading his high school to the California state championship, he received no athletic scholarship offers.  So he chose to attend Harvard, where he majored in economics and graduated with a degree in economics and a 3.1 grade point average.

Despite his college success, he went undrafted by any professional team; and after trying out for several teams, Lin received a contract with his hometown Golden State Warriors.  The Warriors ended up cutting him, as did the Houston Rockets.  The Knicks signed him in late December but he was told not to get an apartment because his stay might not be long with them either.  We now know that won’t be the case.

Lin’s ambition however, was not to play in the NBA, but rather to become a youth minister.  Thanks to his college coach, former Duke standout Tommy Amaker, Lin’s career path may have taken a totally different turn.

And this is what makes this story so inspiring.  Lin makes no apologies for his faith.  Neither will he hide it.  He will share his witness with anyone.  And that inevitably leads one to make immediate comparisons with Denver Broncos’ quarterback Tim Tebow. 

Here’s where I think they differ.  Lin has had nowhere near the fame and publicity that preceded Tebow’s entry into the NFL.  And whereas Tebow has had to prove that his skills make him worthy to compete on a professional level; Lin’s performance to date casts no such doubt on his ability.  The challenge Lin faces is not his ability to succeed – he has apparently done that at every level – but his success must serve to overcome the deeply held ideas about athleticism that are inextricably intertwined with race.  In other words, demystify the old “White men can’t jump” syndrome.   

Obviously the more attention Lin receives, the greater his forum for Christian witness.  Yet undoubtedly there is an element of incongruity in equating faith with success, as columnist David Brooks so articulately points out in an op-ed piece in The New York Times.  It borders on what Martin Luther called the theology of glory.

Brooks’ opinion coincides somewhat with the first sentence in our Gospel text for this Ash Wednesday in which Jesus warns his disciples: “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” [Matthew 6:1]

And while great care should be taken to guard against it, it is nevertheless refreshing to watch Lin.  I like to think of him as an infusion of spirit into the NBA’s valley of dry bones, to use another biblical image.  So for a few more moment, or another couple of weeks, or however long this spectacle lasts, let’s go along for the ride.

 

Meditations on Martin Luther King Day

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

In our adult Sunday school class yesterday I showed a clip from the PBS series “God in America” that focused on the civil rights movement.  It was Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday and I had earlier made reference to the slain civil rights leader in my sermon that morning. 

I had preached on God’s call to Samuel [1 Samuel 3:1–10] and related it to King’s experience in Montgomery, Alabama, that catapulted him into national prominence after Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus.  We had an interesting follow-up discussion, perhaps one of the better ones in recent months. 

It is important to mention that the overwhelming majority of our class members are in their 70’s, so many of them were well into their adult years when the most important civil rights demonstrations took place and subsequent legislation was enacted.  Yet for many of them, the information presented was new.  They were unaffected directly by the historic events, although they were aware that they had taken place.  It became a marvelous teaching opportunity for me and hopefully, the experience will whet their appetite for social justice. 

This morning I re-read King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and was struck by these prophetic words:  “If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.”

I have long been troubled with the apparent apathy of the Lutheran Church in general, and my denomination (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) in particular, when it comes to issues of social justice.  One reads and hears of leaders of other denominations taking proactive stances when it comes to expressions of concern for the “least among us,” but Lutheran leaders for the most part remain conspicuously silent.  Silence seems inherent in the ethnic roots of Lutheran culture historically.  I would submit that is one of the many reasons for the numeric decline of membership, a tangible indicator of its seeming irrelevance.

I admit that my passion may not have been so profoundly provoked had it not been for my experience in doing outreach to the emerging Latino population of Canton, Ohio, during my years as a mission developer.  Had I been initially assigned to an established, mature parish such as the one I serve now, my outlook may have been different.  I don’t honestly know. 

But, by the same token, I feel that the Holy Spirit had a hand in opening my eyes and making me aware of the needs of marginalized people, and guiding me to act and advocate on behalf of those whose fear, sorrow and pain I witnessed firsthand.  God’s call comes to us in many and various ways. 

I live in hope that my church will be awakened, that it will hear God’s call and reclaim that spirit of restlessness that will stir us from placidness and cause us to be a voice of justice.  May we recapture that vision of the Kingdom that, through us, others may see the light of Christ in a world of darkness.

The Prettified Manger

I learned a new word today – prettify.  “Prettify,” according to an on-line dictionary, means, “To make pretty or prettier, especially in a superficial or insubstantial way.”

I came across the word in a reflection I was reading as part of my daily devotion.  It was used in reference to the manger scenes that become prevalent around this time of the year as we prepare for Christmas.  I had never thought of the manger scene in this term.  I have always used the word sanitize, which in some way is much stronger; but prettify gives it a certain charm that, as the definition states, makes it superficial. 

We tend to become superficial people around this time of the year, showing kindness in an insincere sort of way.  We put our best face forward, reach out to people we would otherwise have never given a second glance, and give generously to causes that on other occasions occupy not even the deepest recesses of our minds.  It all stems from that beautiful manger scene that we glorify as Christmas fast approaches.  We see it everywhere:  on church lawns, on ads and commercials, on Christmas cards.  It is a pretty scene, and gazing at it intensifies our desire to prettify our image and ourselves in such a way as to make us worthy of a place alongside Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds in the stable.

But have you ever considered the fact that no one ever sweats on those images?  Have you considered the fact that no one, not even the shepherds, smell on those images?  Have you ever considered the fact that not one article of clothing shows a wrinkle, or a hair is out of place, or that anyone looks sad?  No.  They’re all…prettified.

And yet, the reality is that nothing could have been further from the truth.  This was a stable, and truth be told, it was more of a hole, a cave dug out of the side of a hill.  Mary had just given birth and, I don’t know about you but, most mothers of newborns that I’ve seen don’t wear makeup and aren’t their most attractive even the day after their child is born.

We haven’t even mentioned the animals.  Sheep, cows, donkeys, they all live either outdoors or in barns.  Not with humans!

That manger – the real one – is a metaphor for the mess that is our lives, with its sweat, its smell, with its wrinkles.  And it is into this mess that Jesus chose to be born.  He came to clean up the mess.  To prettify us.  Not in a superficial or insubstantial way, but in a meaningful way.  It is because of Jesus that we are assured we will not have to wallow in that mess forever, but we will be prettified. 

In baptism, our sins are washed away and we are cleansed of our iniquities.  Our sinful nature still exists; but thanks to that babe in the manger, who grew up to die on a cross for us, we can rejoice in the fact that we are not condemned to a life of eternal squalor.  And for that we say, “Thanks be to God!”