Can you find rest.... I wonder?

As I get ready to meet with the children of our day care for our weekly chapel conversation, I was reading a portion of Hannah Whitall Smith's book, The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life. As a Quaker, Hannah spent a great deal of time thinking and quietly reflecting on this subject. 

Her words will speak to the heart of anyone who finds her and spends time considering what she has to say. Specifically I was held with the following passage: 

"And here you must rest. There is nothing more for you to do, except to be henceforth an obedient child; for you are the Lord's now, absolutely and entirely in His hands, and He has undertaken the whole care and management and forming of you, and will, according to His word, work in you "that which is well pleasing in His sigh through Jesus Christ" (Hebrews 13:21). But you must hold steadily here. If you begin to question your surrender, or God's acceptance of it. . .  He cannot work in you to do His will." 

I had to reread that passage more than once because the truth of her words cut me deep as I worry if I have been productive enough this week as a Christian. 

We like to think that we are in charge of our lives and our own future. We like to think that we can change the world ourselves. Boot-strapping is alive and well in the Body of Christ (and to an extent we do play a role in service to God as we practice our faith). But by practicing a posture of being in charge for ourselves we offer ourselves so little room and space to rest in the Lord--and resting in the Lord is so needed today. 

We can become so busy running and pressing and hurrying from thing to thing that we miss the chance to just rest. We can miss the chance to hold God's hand and let God hold ours. In truth, I believe the rest that Hannah speaks of is what is most needed in our day today. We need less yelling and less finger pointing and more resting in the Lord--a Lord who we can never go to a place where HE is not waiting for us already. 

And for us... that presence needs to be enough. 

I wonder, can you find rest today in a world that will try to push you away from God and away from rest?

 

A New Challenge for You

I have not written in this space in a while. But nonetheless I have still been wondering. And still been seeking to engage the question of where is God at work. 

Here in South Carolina it has become bitterly cold. . . Cold like it was when my family lived in Pennsylvania. I have been joking that I no longer have the clothes for this type of weather. My toes are in a constant state of chilly and I can't wait to feel the heat of the south rise again (and yes, I will complain about it when it comes).   

As the cold has come some things have remained the same. 

Flynn still needs to go out at night between 2-3am which I found horrible in this cold. Tucked into his sweater, he trots out every night into the freezing cold to do his business with a toy in his mouth. He is happy so I guess I have to be happy with him. It is so quiet at night here. The sky is so still in this cold. The steam from my breath seems to make a sound as the cloud rises up. 

He has never seen snow so it's funny to watch him navigate picking his spot while trying to figure out what 'snow' is and why it is here. 

We slip quietly back into the house and back to bed. He sighs and returns to his place against my leg and soon is off to sleep again. I find the whole thing (irritating as it can be to wake with a dog standing on your face) a sacred practice. 

The whole thing. . . standing there in the silent cold. Listening to the night a practice of the sacred. I cannot help but pray especially with all that is happening in our life now. And so here is the challenge for you: Can you find the sacred also? 

This cold irritates me. Like I said, my feet are so cold even now. My fingers ache and even in my office the tip of my nose is cool to the touch. Nothing about winter seems sacred. But it is. . . Or should I say: it can be. And in that affirmation, I again wonder if what you are doing right now can also be a practice in the sacred? 

Maybe (after you finish reading this) lean back and consider where the sacred space with God could be today? And when you find it, try and linger there for just a little longer than you normally might. . . and enjoy it. 

I wonder-- a short thought on Luke 2:41-52

For the last sermon of 2024, I spent time thinking about 12-year-old Jesus in the Temple. 

Specifically I wondered if we could emulate his posture of listening that we read about in Luke 2. . .  Think about the story briefly with me. In Luke 2, Jesus sat with the very people who would later lead the charge to crucify him. For 5 days (trust me, do the math, he was with them for 5 days) Jesus adopted a non-defensive posture and listened to the very people who would attack, abuse, and ridicule him. 

Makes me wonder. . . In our current culture today, could we do this for 5 minutes? 

As proof that we like to go back to the 'way things have always been' after Christmas and stop listening to each other, I offered up the jaded, judgy, critical definition that I heard in seminary about this past Sunday. I think that was where I first heard the term for the Sunday that we just experienced as the church. There among future leaders of the church I heard the term: Low Sunday lifted up. I means that no one comes to church this past week. It is the Sunday with the lowest attendance traditionally. 

Families are out of town. They are getting ready for the New Year. Perhaps they are traveling. 

But I wonder: shouldn't we do better than judging lack of church attendance by saying it's 'Low Sunday?' It feels like the very posture that Jesus came to help us get back. Should we not dwell with each other and listen more to God and more to each other and put the judgment and criticism away? There is enough of that living outside of the Body of Christ, why does it have to grow in the church as well? 

Maybe the lesson from Jesus in the Temple is to listen to each other. To dwell. To abide with people who we may not always agree with, and above all, to resist the temptation fall back into confrontational positions and postures that would help us to shake our heads when we do not see churches full on the Sunday after Christmas.

I wonder. . . could we listen to what God is saying this week?  

I Wonder--November 25

 I wonder, what makes a sacrament? 

The Book of Confessions tells me that a sacrament is: "a holy ordinance instituted by Christ in his Church, to signify, seal, and exhibit unto those that are within the covenant of grace, the benefits of his mediation; to strengthen and increase their faith and all other graces; to oblige them to obedience; to testify and cherish their love and communion with one another, and to distinguish them from those that are without." (7.22)

That is a very technical answer and one that I was trained to understand and teach. But what about this... Is this story sacramental? 

Yesterday, I went to see a friend who had surgery. He was at home doing well and his recovery was progressing smoothly. Before I left my home I gathered my Book of Worship and the home communion set that Oak Ridge gave me when I was ordained. 

I set it on the counter in their kitchen and we began to visit. About five minutes into our conversation, to my shock and dismay, I looked over at my communion box and I realized something was missing. I had forgotten the bread and the juice. 

It is not very easy to have communion without the elements! 

My mind raced. Could I message Emma or Jennifer and have them run some over to me? What was I going to do? 

My friend just laughed. He had bread, he told me. The juice... well, that would be trickier. I would have my choice. We could use OJ or tea. I laughed and said that whatever worked for them would work for me. 

So after our visit we gathered around their kitchen table with bread and OJ. I read the prayer from my Book of Worship. Then I said the words of Institution, and broke some bread, and passed our little cups of OJ, and then we prayed. 

It felt very sacramental to me. . . To be welcomed into my friend's home. To pray with him and his wife and to share communion--even if it was not as neat and tidy as I would have liked it to be. But isn't that how Jesus meets up sometimes? Just where we are. . . OJ and all? 

I Wonder--October 31

A lot has changed since the last time I sat down to write. But despite the crowded-ness of my mind and heart, God is still showing up and still causing me to wonder. 

God is calling each of us to notice the small places where He breaks in and offers a blessing as we serve the community. 

For instances. . . Last night at Bethesda Jennifer and I participated in Trunk or Treat. This is the second year that we've held the event and it was a wonderful success. Over 180 people stopped by and allowed us to serve them. 

As you can see Jennifer and I chose Disney's Up as our theme. 

We saw old friends from the daycare come back to Bethesda. I met children who sat in the church for chapel and who I shared God's Word with.  

We saw community members who we have been working on building relationships with come to the church and we cared for them. 

Members of the community who grew up at Bethesda came back to the church and I heard their stories and I listened to their needs as they talked with me about finding a place for their children and grandchildren to learn about the Lord. 

Then we gathered in the fellowship hall for a community meal and the time of listening continued as we shared how God was present with us.
 

The food was wonderful as was the conversation. We shared the blessing from table to table. You see when the Body of Christ gathers together, when we eat together and serve together, there is no limit to what God can do. 

I wonder how is God calling us to support our community in the future? How can you come together with someone else and love your community as we did last night?  

I Wonder--July 30

Last night I tried a new experiment that I want to reflect with you upon. 

Over the years, and because of our love of dogs, Jennifer and I have learned that a King Size bed works the best for us. It provides us plenty of room to sleep and plenty of room for the occasionally 'fur baby' to come visit. However, over the years the visits have stopped. Now the 'fur baby' takes up residence at (or near) our feet. So we need the extra room. 

Flynn is especially good at this. Each night he assumes one of two places: between my feet OR against Jennifer's legs. 

Now one would think that a 20-pound mini springer doodle with all the space of a King Size bed would have plenty of room to wander around. But this is not the case. Nearly every night he is either against Jennifer's leg or between my feet.  

So last night I tired something to see if it would help and as I watched, I wondered.... 

I grabbed a throw blanket that Autumn gave us for Christmas a couple years ago. It is red and white with ribbing on it that makes it look like my grandmother hand knit it. If I did not cut the tag off the blanket on Christmas morning, I would think Autumn made it herself.

I gently folded the blanket into a square and placed it in the middle of the bed and waited. Calling Flynn I smiled as I heard the jingle of his collar down the hall. He trotted down into our room holding his favorite plush toy "Harry" in his mouth (if you were a 1-year-old I bet you would want your favorite toy to take to bed as well). 

Jumping onto our bed, he did not even circle around as dogs often do, but he plopped right down with Harry in his mouth. He then slumped over onto his side and allowed Harry to rest next to him. At 5:30am I found them both in that general spot. Right where I left them. There was something soothing about the blanket for him. 

It was a very small modification that asked little of me. But he seemed to appreciate it and I wondered is there a small step, a small choice, that you can make today that will help something find peace in their day? 

Our days are filled with so much stress and so much anxiety that a small gesture might just make the difference for them. Perhaps you can be on the lookout for a chance to care for someone today? 

I Wonder--July 25

It has been a wonderful blessing to find the heat of the summer has given way... a bit. Not only has it been a hot summer, but the heat and drained us emotionally and the emotional drain that each of us confess, it can bleed into a spiritual drain that affects us as Christians. 

Now as the humidity of July has subsided (somewhat), I came across the words of Katherine May that spoke truth to me again and I wanted to share them with you. For the summer heat can burn us out and make it hard to remain faithful to the Lord. 

She writes:

"I am only just beginning to understand that my burnout was the result of multiple losses, each one of which seems so small, but I thought it didn't matter. I willingly surrendered my [prayer] time because I thought it would be a vanity to demand it. I gave up reading and time alone and long, hot baths, and walking. I gave up silence, and standing in the garden at sunrise I let those moments become overrun by work and care, and I was surprised to find that, without them, there was nothing left of me." 

I wonder how often do you find yourself following Katherine's example? Slowly giving ground spiritually and devotionally for external reason?   

Perhaps this is your invitation to regroup with the Lord... Perhaps you can take some time today and make some space to be with the Lord and 

Blessings

Rev. Derek