In All Circumstances

As we all watch in horror what is happening in Houston in the wake of Harvey, all those feelings from the Detwiler fire came back. The fear and uncertainty, the despair at the scorched earth that greeted us on our return. We understand, a little, what the people in Houston are enduring.

I started thinking about the sermon I shared with you the Sunday after the fire. Here is some of our reflections on that day.

Which is easier, giving thanks in good times or bad? The answer is not as obvious as you might think. Our Pilgrim forefathers gathered together for a feast of thanksgiving after an incredibly difficult year in the New World. They lost half their population to disease and those who were left were weak and thin. Yet, they gathered together and thanked God for God’s goodness!

Horatio G. Spafford was a successful Chicago businessman who lost everything in the Great Chicago Fire. Desiring a rest and to get away, he arranged for him and his family, including his wife and four daughters, to travel to Europe. Delayed by business, he sent the others ahead of him. The ship on which they traveled collided with another and sank in just 12 minutes. His daughters drowned; his wife alone survived. Upon hearing the news, Spafford immediately left for England to join her. His ship passed over the site of the tragedy, and Spafford was moved and inspired to write the hymn “It Is Well with My Soul.” He lost his children and could still say”

“When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

We give thanks in peace or sorrow because we know that we are not alone. God is present with us. We give thanks because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus knew joy and sorrow in his life. He lost people he loved to the cruelty and sin of men, people like his cousin John the Baptist.

We give thanks because we recognize the presence of God with us in the first responders who risk their lives to help us. We recognize the presence of God in the neighbors who go to extraordinary lengths to help, such as those neighbors who made sure the woman in labor got to the hospital to deliver her baby in safety.

Our challenge is to recognize the presence of God and to give thanks, no matter the circumstances. Keep sharing the stories of people caring for each other because that is how we see the presence of God.

Don’t give into fear because God is present with us. In the fire. In the flood. In the sunshine. In all circumstances. Give thanks.

This Sunday's special music from the chimes and the sermon from the letter to Philemon.

Let Us Love One Another

As I said on Sunday, I was raised by parents who were born in the 1920s and 1930s and raised in the South. Meaning, that they grew up with Jim Crow laws and separate but equal. I served in a church not far from a town that proudly displayed a billboard recording the number of lynchings, and that was in the 1980s! I served near another town that was a “sundown” town, meaning non-whites had to be outside the city limits before sundown or face the consequences.

I know that I still have a lot of growth to be fully accepting of people who look or sound or act different than me. I also know that each one of them is beloved of God, and when I look at them, I look at the face of Christ in them. None of them can replace me, and I can’t replace any of them. We are each a child of God who knows our names and redeems us.

One day, I will stand with them in the kingdom of God and I do not want them to gaze at me with sadness and ask, “Why did you not love me? Why did you sling insults at me, dismiss me as less than you?” Jesus reminds us that what we do and say to one another, we do and say to him.

Last weekend in Charlottesville, VA, many claiming to be followers of Christ spewed words of hatred at people. Do you think Jesus wept at this?

John writes in his first letter, “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). I offer again these words about the power of love. They are inspired by Paul and his wonderful writings about love in 1 Corinthians 13:

If I have language ever so perfectly and speak like a pundit, but have not the knack of love that grips the heart, I am nothing.

If I have decorations and diplomas, and am proficient in up-to-date methods, but have not the touch of understanding love, I am nothing.

If I am able to worst my opponents in arguments so as to make fools of them, but have not the wooing note, I am nothing.

If I have all faith and great ideals and magnificent plans and wonderful visions, but have not the love that sweats and bleeds and weeps and prays and pleads, I am nothing. …

… If I can heal all manner of sickness and disease, but wound hearts and hurt feelings for want of love that is kind, I am nothing.

If I can write books and publish articles that set the world agog, but fail to transcribe the word of the Cross in the language of love, I am nothing.

—Indian medical student, cited by a variety of Internet sources.

As Paul writes, “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Practice love, not hate. We do not hate those who shouted such vile things, but we do resist their message and proclaim that God’s love is for all and in all, including them.

Is Grace Too Easy?

Last Sunday's sermon plus Susan Wilson's beautiful solo.

Saved by Grace

Sunday's sermon based on Ephesians 2:1-10 and including our special music!

The Light of Love

I’ve spent most of my week in meetings about recovering from the fire. The numbers in the paper that you have probably seen only scratch the surface of the impact of the fire. Many people were living in out buildings destroyed by the fire, but those aren’t counted among the number of homes lost. Others were renting the houses destroyed, and they often have no renter’s insurance. And, when their homes are rebuilt, they realize that they probably can’t afford them any longer.

 However, the outpouring of help I’ve witnessed is amazing! The way people are pulling together to care for one another. Thank you for all you have done already.

I’ve lived through disaster responses, including Hurricane Katrina in Houston and a wildfire in East Texas. I’ve learned some valuable lessons. Right now, as the burned scars are visible and the sound of fire engines makes a shiver run up our spines, we are ready and willing to step up. However, recovery takes a long time, a lot longer than you realize. Many of those who lost everything will still be putting the pieces of their lives together this time next year. The media has already moved on to the next disaster, and, as our lives resume their normal pace, we will want to move on too. The task for us as a church and followers of Christ is to remain present for those who are striving to find a new normal.

I offer these words about the power of love. They are inspired by Paul and his wonderful writings about love in 1 Corinthians 13:

If I have language ever so perfectly and speak like a pundit, but have not the knack of love that grips the heart, I am nothing.

If I have decorations and diplomas, and am proficient in up-to-date methods, but have not the touch of understanding love, I am nothing.

If I am able to worst my opponents in arguments so as to make fools of them, but have not the wooing note, I am nothing.

If I have all faith and great ideals and magnificent plans and wonderful visions, but have not the love that sweats and bleeds and weeps and prays and pleads, I am nothing. …

… If I can heal all manner of sickness and disease, but wound hearts and hurt feelings for want of love that is kind, I am nothing.

If I can write books and publish articles that set the world agog, but fail to transcribe the word of the Cross in the language of love, I am nothing.

—Indian medical student, cited by a variety of Internet sources.

As Paul writes, “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Shine the hope of love into others’ lives!

Two Men Named Ananias

Sunday's sermon was about two men named Ananias from the book of Acts. Two very different men!