THE SCARS WE BEAR

THE SCARS WE BEAR

John says, “He showed them his hands and his side” (John 20:20). In other words, he showed them his scars, and then, and only then, did they rejoice.

A Grandpa and granddaughter were sitting talking when she asked, “Did God make you, Grandpa?”
“Yes, God made me,” said Grandpa.
“Did God make me, too?”
“Yes, God made you.”

There was a long pause while the child looked at her granddad. “You know, Grandpa,” she said, “God’s doing a lot better job lately.”

Children tend to have fewer scars than older people. Scars are the marks of experience. Scars are the evidence of wounds, of pain, of suffering, loss and brokenness over time. Scars are wounds that eventually healed, but we always remember how they were inflicted and the pain that surrounded them.

Carlyle Marney, the great 20th century Baptist preacher, once said “God often uses people who are deeply wounded. On the last day, Jesus will look us over not for medals, diplomas, or honors, but for scars.”
Jesus’ scars are part of His story, part of what He suffered on our behalf. His wounds matter to us and to God. Our scars are part of our story, hopefully part of the story of what God is doing in our lives. Our wounds matter to us and to God.

If we recognize each other by the scars that we bear, may those marks become reminders not of our weakness, but of God’s resurrection power and grace.

Pray with me. Thank you, loving God, for being present with us when we are wounded and for your comfort and strength to bear the pain. Our emotional and physical scars remind us of your amazing grace at work in our lives. Thank you God. Amen

Trust God

Trust God

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3: 5-6

My grandmother taught me these verses. I can remember sitting on her lap in her rocking chair – her arms would be extended around me. She would read to me from the Bible. By her words and by her example she provided my first instruction in what it means to trust God.

The instruction my grandmother provided reminds me of the story Henri Nouwen shares about The Flying Rodleighs, German trapeze artists he greatly admired – so much so that he befriended them, attended practice, even traveled with them. (Our Greatest Gift p.66)

“What’s it like?” He asked the leader Rodleigh.

The flyer said, “I must have complete trust in my catcher. The public might think I’m the star – but the real star is Joe, my catcher.”

“How does that work”, Nouwen asked.

“The secret”, Rodleigh said, “is that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything.”
You do nothing?”

Rodleigh responded, “The worst thing the flyer can do is try to catch the catcher … the flyer must trust, that with outstretched arms, that the catcher will be there for him.”

Nouwen reflects: “the words of Jesus flashed through my mind. ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
In both living and dying we trust the catcher. Don’t be afraid. Remember that you are the beloved child of God. God will be there when you make your long jump. Don’t try to grab the catcher; the catcher will grab you. Trust, Trust, Trust, Trust!

Let us Pray. Come and embrace me Lord. Hold me secure; Hold me strong; Hold me forever in Your everlasting arms. Amen

Be…

Be…

Today I would like to say a special word of thanks to those of you who have supported the Dial Hope Foundation with a financial donation. Your gifts make this ministry possible!

A few years ago, I ran into my friend Ernestine at a continuing education event outside of Atlanta. Ernestine was the Dean of Students at my seminary and served as my pastor there for three years. She came to the hospital the day my daughter Marley was born. Today she is retired.

At the conference I asked Ernestine what she was doing in her retirement. She said something along the lines of: Well, I’m 75 years old. I’ve stopped thinking about doing and instead I’m thinking a lot more about being… I don’t have any mountains to climb, so this year I really just want to be:

I want to be still.
I want to be centered.
I want to be grateful.
I want to be thoughtful and kind.

How beautiful. In life we are so often process focused. We often think: what next? what’s on the agenda? what are the next steps? Ernestine’s comments made me reflect on how we would be more healthy if, from time to time, we would think about just being….

Psalm 46 reads, “Be still and know that I am God.”

Let us pray: Loving and Gracious God, today we pause just a moment in your presence. Calm our spirits. Renew us. Heal us. Fill us. Restore us. Amen.

We All Need a Little Light

We All Need a Little Light

A little boy named John entered his first science fair in second grade. Because his Mom has a green thumb, they decided to experiment with the growth of plants. He took two small green plants and placed one on a sunny windowsill and the other in a cardboard box. After a couple of weeks, John checked the two plants. The one on the windowsill had grown a couple of inches and had vibrant green leaves. The one in the box had actually grown a bit, but it had lost all of its green color, becoming almost white and its leaves were drooping. Thinking that the plant might die, John cut a hole in one side of the box, and set the box, with the plant inside, by the windowsill … with the hole facing toward the incoming light.

Of course, we all know what happened, but John was surprised and delighted by this discovery! Yes, over the next couple of weeks, the plant began to grow out through the hole! And a couple of weeks later, it turned to grow up toward the light and even blossomed!

We all need light in our lives.

It’s worth considering – what brings you light? Are there certain people? Your faith? Time volunteering? Time at church? Moments of quiet or moments of action? It is worth paying attention to those people and things that help you grow and blossom. There may be other things that keep you in the dark. May you find ways to cut through those things that leave you in the darkness – and make time for those that shine their light upon you.

Let us pray: Loving God, we thank you for the way your light shines even into the darkest times in our lives. We thank you for the people we know and love who reflect that light. And we remember today that Jesus is the true light of the world. Help us to follow Him so that we will never walk in darkness. It is in His name we pray. Amen.

Give Thanks in All

Give Thanks in All

Ingratitude is a serious shortcoming. I agree with Martin Luther that “unthankfulness is
theft.” In his Inferno, Dante placed in the center of his hell not those guilty of fleshy
sins, but morose, gloomy, ungrateful men and women. Shakespeare wrote in “As You
Like It,”

“Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude.”

An elderly mother was bedridden with her final illness. The three married children, two sons and a daughter, were called to her bedside. Conscious but weak, the mother smiled weakly at their presence. One of the sons bent over and said, “You’ve been a good mother.” With a sigh the mother whispered, “Do you mean that?” “Of course, you have,” all three children joined in. The mother’s voice came again very faintly, “I didn’t know. You never said it before, and I didn’t know.” Unfortunately, some live a long time before they ever say thanks to God or to another person for blessings of human kindness. Sometimes the expression of gratitude comes as a surprise, yes, even a shock. A lady boarded a crowded commuter train. A man rose to give her his seat. She was so surprised, she fainted. When she came to, she thanked him for the seat. Then he fainted. Remember, the apostle Paul reminds us, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Let us pray: Loving God, we thank you for grateful people who care; a friendly visit, a listening ear, a funny card, a warm letter, a long-distance call, an e-mail, a bouquet of flowers, a book of inspiration. Thank you, Lord, for the ordinary days of simple pleasures and quiet charm; and for those extraordinary days of laughing and weeping when the drama and depth of life touch and warm our hearts. May gratitude for your amazing grace and unconditional love fall frequently from our lips. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Psalm 23

Psalm 23

The 23rd Psalm has been a beloved Psalm for people of faith for thousands of years. It has been recited at funerals and in foxholes. It has been said often across the world and across history by people when they feel alone or scared or sad. It is perfect for those moments when we need assurance, faith, and hope. Today, the twenty third Psalm in the old King James version is our message and our prayer. Let us pray:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Looking Towards a New Future

Looking Towards a New Future

There is a funny story about a man who always brought donuts to work. Every day, he stopped at the store to pick up a dozen donuts. Every day was the same. Every day he would eat one or two on the way in and shared the rest with his co-workers. One day, after the first of the year, he told his colleagues he had sworn off donuts. “I’ve got to take better care of myself,” he said, “No more donuts.” The co-workers all gave him a hard time – “No way. You’ll give in. Just give it a week.”

Sure enough, for weeks on end, he arrived at work with no donuts. The co-workers were impressed. But, sure enough, one day he arrived with a box of half-eaten donuts. “What happened?,” asked his fellow office workers, “I thought you were done with donuts.” The man responded, “When I was driving to work today, I felt God say to me, today you deserve a donut. I wasn’t sure it was God but I thought I’d just drive by the donut shop, and if there happened to be a parking place right up front, I would know that was a sign from God that he wanted me to have a donut. Well wouldn’t you know it, the eighth time I circled the donut shop….”

Change is hard, isn’t it? We get set in our routines and habits. We get comfortable with our lives. But sometimes there are changes we need to make to better our lives. Sometimes there are changes or sacrifices we need to make for the sake of others.

Recognizing the need for change is the first step towards a new future. Tell others about the decided change – they can help with resolve. Keep the end result in mind. Then, commit to prayer and trust God to give you the strength.

Let us pray: Today Loving God, I pray for all of those who desire to make changes in their lives – big or small. If this desire is truly from you, give them a glimpse of a new future. Surround them with the right people. Grant them courage and strength to take the first steps. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.

Being Made Whole

Being Made Whole

In one of the Gospel stories, Jesus heals ten lepers; but only one returns to give thanks. It’s interesting, Jesus tells the man who turns back, “Your faith has saved you.” Another translation reads, “Your faith has made you whole.”

So, ten lepers were made clean, but one of them received something more.

A friend who is in recovery from narcotics, gave me some fresh insight into this passage. He said, “It’s one thing to be clean – clean from drugs, healed of a sickness, freed from anxiety or stress. All of those things Jesus can do. But what’s even more essential, is to allow God to make you whole.” The leper in the story does that by returning, recognizing the Higher Power, recognizing who it is who helped him get clean in the first place, and by giving thanks. Gratitude, faith and salvation are all tied up together in this story.

Today, may you remember the grace you’ve experienced in your life. May you return to the source and find a way to give thanks. And as you do, may you notice the grace of God making you whole.

Let us pray: God of Grace, thank you so much for children, laughter, smiles, hugs, for flowers and butterflies, for family and friends, for life and health, for sunny days, and for rain. Thank you for our church families, for grandmas and grandchildren, for goldfish, and for the ability to love. And God we could go on and on. Help us never, ever take these gifts for granted. You have given us so much. We receive and we receive, and we receive.

Remind us to appreciate, but not to stop there. Help us to allow our gratitude to be reflected in the way we live. As we have received, may we in turn give. For we pray in the name of the One who gave even his very life. Amen.

Night Goggles

Night Goggles

“Today’s message was written by my friend, Rev. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.” – Joe

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). We have all read about those astounding night goggles that help military personnel see in the dark. For instance, in a totally black room you can see other persons, pictures on the wall, other objects in the room. Something in those goggles picks up the unseen light in the room so you can see.

What a marvelous parable for the church. There is some light in all darkness. We are the power that is able to pick up the beacon of unseen Light and enable the world to behold it more clearly. We know and trust a God who calls us out of darkness into his marvelous Light. Space scientists have long posited a theory about black holes in space. Black holes are dark cavities in which there appears to be no light whatsoever. The theory says that the force of gravity is so powerful that even the photons of light collapse in upon themselves under the pull. All light is gone.

Epiphany is the season in which we boldly proclaim that the Light of Jesus Christ can outshine even the black holes of space! The darkness of hopelessness, grief, illness, pain and depression do not have the last word. The Light has come. The Light shines in the deepest darkness and the darkness cannot, will not overcome it. That is the TA-DA! of the gospel. We have been touched by the Light.

Let us pray: O Lord of our hearts and minds, we know you are always with us and you love us. Grant us the peace that comes from that reassurance that whether we walk through fields of flowers or stumble along the streets of sadness, we will walk beside you. Though Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. Amen.

Setting Ourselves Free

Setting Ourselves Free

Sometime back in West Memphis, Arkansas, three young men were charged with murder. When they made it to court, the father of one of the victims suddenly rushed at the young men screaming, “I’ll chase you all the way to hell.” One writer observed, “I understand the father’s fierce anger, but there is something almost prophetic about his words. If we allow our hatred for those who have wronged us to go unchecked, it will eventually destroy us. We will follow our bitterness ‘all the way to hell.'”

When, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.…”

In truth, forgiveness is less about the other person and more about us. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want what someone else did to me to control me. I don’t want hatred and rage to own me. When we forgive others, more than anything else we set ourselves free.

Let us pray: God of grace, we praise you for your unconditional love and forgiveness of us. I pray today especially for those who are struggling to forgive others. Empower them to walk away from the situation if need be, but then to let go, to forgive and to move on. Today, may your Spirit rest on each of us, granting us your peace. Amen.