What will become of my FB...when I die?

Dear Archer and Donald-
   
      Today is Thursday, January 29, 2015. Martin Luther King's holiday is behind us... and Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday lies ahead. Sherry and I are back from an appointment with her oncologist in Chicago, and I'm writing a Devotional Book for Lent. At church we're preparing an Annual Report for our Annual Meeting, and I should be working on Sunday's sermon. But I'm not inspired, and so I decided to spend a few minutes looking at today's stories on Yahoo. I suspect that you'll still be looking at Yahoo when you get old enough to care about such things, but I can't be sure. In any event, Yahoo is very popular right now, and many people turn to it for news. It presents a snapshot of what's going on in America, and I elected to share some of it with you. This coming Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday, which means that I had better give a very short sermon! It's hard to believe, but this is Super Bowl XLIX and I actually watched #1. Sports is an obsession throughout the world, and in America, football (not soccer) is king. We can't get enough of it, and there are articles on Yahoo to wet our appetites. One of them tells us that the old Silverdome in Detroit is a pile of rubbish now (which is hardly a surprise) and another article describes the best and worst Super Bowl games (although I don't know who made the decision). I see that the NFL has a domestic violence problem, but that's not surprising either. However, I learned that Bill Bradley, a former NBA star... and a U.S. Senator... may have "deflated" basketballs before big games (and that is surprising).
      On a more serious note, I see that Bill Gates (he started Microsoft) is worried about the use of computers and that "binge" TV watching has been proven to have negative affects on one's mental health. I've suspected this all along because "binge" anything can't be good. Our nation's unemployment rate has hit a 15-year low... but I hope that yours will be lower... and that the jobs will be better. People are concerned about police accountability right now, but I see that a meeting to discuss the matter in Ferguson, Missouri erupted into a near-brawl because many other people believe that it is the community- and not the police- that needs to be accountable. A man named Jesse Ventura- a former WWE wrestler, Minnesota Governor, and Navy Seal (elite soldier)- is insisting that the "American sniper" is "no hero." In truth, the American Sniper is a man who served his country in ways that he was trained and ordered to do! As far as I know, he did his "job" honorably, and he ought to be thanked for that. War is ugly business, and I pray for all of those who are caught up in it. Whether he is a hero or not, I'll let you decide some day. However, he was most definitely NOT a coward.
      Marijuana is legal in Colorado now, but the authorities at the Denver airport have banned the sale of marijuana sovenirs because they don't want travelers to get the wrong impression. I see that an entertainer named David Letterman has invited an entertainer named Jay Leno to be on his show... because they had the same job on different networks before they were thrown under the bus for younger men. You won't have to worry about this sort of thing for a long, long time, and I'm also glad that neither one of you will have to worry about your last name. I see that a man named Michael Hoomanawanui has a name that "no one" can say correctly. Actually, it looks rather easy to pronounce... but then again, I've grew up with the last name of Shedenhelm, which the kids in Des Moines went out of their way to abuse and misuse. Well, that's about it. There is no mention on Yahoo about the battle for America's soul that is going on right now, and there's no article on the growing gap between rich and poor. or the rapid decline in traditional values, or other items that seem newsworthy to me. But I'll leave you with an article that presented a dilemma for your generation- WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR PARENT'S FACEBOOK WHEN THEY DIE? Or your poppy's. I don't know. You won't know the people I have befriended, (I don't know most of them)... and I don't think that they use Facebook in heaven!

God on the Line- What Does He Want from You?

        When Christ says that he is The Way, and we trust in this, we are responding to his call. When Christ says that he is our source of forgiveness and salvation, and we surrender to him, we are responding to his call. When Christ knocks on the door... and  we open it, we are responding to his call, but we're also called to serve him- to live for him as we walk through this life. Christianity is not a spectator sport, nor a way of thinking- it is a way of being... and each one of us has been equipped and called to serve Christ in our own lives. Each one of us has more than enough talent to pray, lead, forgive, empower, heal, teach, preach, listen, visit, serve, or protest... for Christ! We're all being called to do (at least) one of these things for Christ. We're all being called to invest at least one talent for our Lord, and it's important to get hold of what we're being called to do and what talents we've been given for the work. Hearing and responding to Christ's call is what it means to be a Christian. It separates those who are on a Christian journey from those who are just thinking about, or maybe wishing we were- so let me make just a few points about it:
1) God IS calling (period). There are no "if's, and's and but's" about it. God is calling... and we share a common call to make disciples, feed the hungry, make peace, seek righteousness, and more;
2) God IS calling you... in the ordinariness of your life... to use your gifts and talents. Thus, we have a general call and a specific call. Each one of us is equipped and expected to serve Christ with the gifts that we have been given;
3) God is calling us to faithfulness, not greatness. So we shouldn't wait for something great... when we can do small things in a great way. We can't love everyone, but we can love someone;
4) God wants us to be our best for him, and this that we need to understand what talents we've been given... and what talents we have not been given. Serving God with the talents that I've been given... means that I will not being singing solo... and that I won't even go down to the boiler room:
5) However, God can do anything. So, even though we have God-given limitations, we must not limit God. Indeed, following God's call in your life may well mean getting out of your comfort zone and reconsidering what you can do... and become in God's hands;
6) God's call will probably not come from what you do for a living. If you work in personnel, you may be fed up with people problems (and don't need ours) and if you work in food service, you may not be called to kitchen duty. Instead of checking your resume, check your heart and soul. What makes you cry? What breaks your heart? What brings a smile that you can't suppress? What makes you mad? What things just aren't right?
7) Be specific. God's call is specific, and we're well advised to think of specific ways in which we can advance his kingdom in this place. Rather than thinking in terms of being a "better person," listen... to hear if God is calling you to join our Personnel team, or Church Life team, or to a small group, or to meet a specific need for this neighborhood;
8) God's call is challenging. It will call for a sacrifice... and it may require more than a little trust. In fact, it will because God is in the sacrifice and trust business.
9) Finally, God will call you to the place where you will be most fulfilled. Abraham Maslow said that a "musician must play," and a "artist must paint." We is our "calling," and I've always liked Buechner's thought that God calls you to the place "where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."
      God will not allow us to rest, no matter how happy we are, at a place where the world's hunger is not being met, and God will not lead us into a place where we will be miserable and unfulfilled. We can follow God's call boldly then, knowing that it will have a win-win outcome, for the greater world and for us! Amen.

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?

      Dear Archer and Donald- let Poppy be the first to tell you that time flies. It slips away, and it moves faster and faster as you age. There was a time in my life when I thought this idea was foolish, but now I am a believer. Time flies. When I was a bit older than you are today, we lived in Des Moines and I had a great time with my uncle Bill (who is near my age) and my cousins, Delmer (aka. Del Jr.) and Louis (aka. Butchy). We played sandlot baseball. We played throw-back football, and sometimes we just hung out. We were just kids in '55, '56, '57 and we had a lot of fun together. My brother, Larry, and I played Little League baseball on a team that our uncle Louis (Sr.) managed, and given the chance, my uncle, Bill and I would torment the younger kids. It was the beginning of rock n' roll, and I can remember listening to Richie Valens and Little Richard at Del Jr's house. We had a lot of fun playing outside (yes,we played outside) and there were summer days when I swear time stood still. But...Butchy moved to Utah. Del Jr. moved to California. Bill fell in love, and time passed. Before I knew it, everyone had built a life somewhere else. There were kids, and deaths, and occasional get-togethers... but our sandlot days were over and time continued to fly.
      Butchy became an accountant. Del Jr. worked in restaurant management. Bill became an excellent airplane mechanic and supervisor for American Airliines, and I kept trying to climb the corporate ladder. We all did fairly well... but now our working years are behind us. Uncle Bill, who is the patriarch of our clan, retired a couple of years ago, and cousin Butchy too. I was never clear on exactly what Butchy did for a living, but I've just learned that cousin Del is retiring after 48 years in the restaurant business. 48 years. That's a long time, boys... but it passed in the twinkling of an eye... and I am not far behind. Soon now, we'll all be retired and our working years, like our sandlot years, will be gone. Don't misunderstand me- the 60 years between 1955 and 2015 have been full. We've seen the technological revolution, the advent of modern music, the breakdown of traditional values, enough joys and hurts to write a book (if anyone would read it), and many of the greatest sports stars who ever lived. Much more importantly, we've all been blessed with children and grandchildren to love. If we had stayed on the sandlots, the world would be a lesser place because neither one of you would be here.
      I guess there are just two points I'm trying to make. I can't believe that time has passed so quickly- that's one- and two, I hope that each of you will make the most of every minute you live! There is nothing we can do about the passing of chronological time. It comes and goes and we count it. But we can celebrate kairos time... which is special time. It transcends the counting of time, and it lasts forever. It's the time when your daughter walks across the stage to get her degree; it's the time when your child scores a soccer goal or performs at a recital; it's walking to a bakery with your grandson, or bringing a little toy home to your great-grandson. It's standing at the altar with the one you love, and it's walking with your family behind a brother's coffin. Boys, please dance with life's moments because they won't last forever! Also, I pray that you will give faith a chance because it has made a huge difference in your poppy's life and in the lives of my extended family too. Uncle Del was the first to be "born again," and then Del Jr. Finally, Uncle Bill jumped in with both of his Pentecostal feet, and last of all, your Poppy was saved! Butchy has been a faithful Mormon throughout his entire life.We are all men of faith today, and it has given us more Kairos moments.
   Although I wish I would've used some of it more wisely, I wouldn't trade my time for the world. I've been blessed with a loving wife and great daughters. Your grammy and I have 3 phenomenal grandchildren- one of whom has given me the honor of officiating at her wedding this summer... and the even greater honor of walking her down the aisle- and (dare I say it) with an awesome great grandson too. Your faces. Your presence. Your joys... make it all worthwhile for grammy and me. But I still wonder- how did the time pass so quickly?

DON'T LABEL THE NORTH-GOING ZAX

      If you are old enough, you will remember Rodney King, a black man who was beaten by LA police officers in the spring of '91, King led police on a high-speed chase before he was apprehended, but the severe beating that he received from four white officers is what caught public attention. The beating was videotaped and, when a predominantly white jury found the policemen "not guilty," riots erupted in South Central LA. These riots took the lives of 50 people and resulted in 9500 arrests before they subsided, and on the third day of the rioting, King made a public plea, "People, ...can't we all get along?"
      Can't we all get along? Can't we...just get along? It seems like a reasonable question, and for willing individuals, it's entirely possible to get along with people who are distinctly different from oneself. Many conservatives have gay friends, many white people have black friends, many Christians have Jewish friends, and both of them may get along wonderfully with a non-believer. Individuals who know one another can easily get around the labels that divide them, but tribes find it to be much more difficult, When Rodney King was pleading for us to "get along," he was talking about blacks and whites, and that has proven to be much more difficult... because we are all tribal. We want to belong, and the "belonging" gives us identity. Years ago our daughter worked with troubled teens in the Joliet area, and when we asked her whom she worried about the least, she said "the teens who are in gangs because they have a support group." Amen. Gangs are support groups, but so are political parties, country clubs, self-help groups, and people of the same religion, or color, or income status. In the main, people are tribal and they're prone to trust people who are just like them. One of my friends told me recently that "she could never trust a Democrat," and she wasn't kidding. My Pilgrim ancestors left England because they weren't allowed to worship as they pleased... but when they landed in America, they immediately persecuted everyone who did not agree with them. They did this to protect their own group from dangerous beliefs...which is the same reason that the ancient Israelites were forbidden to associate with people who were different from them.
      This is the way of the world. We form tribes of people who think, act, and look like us... and in many ways, this is a good thing. It gives us a community and something to hang on to- and a sense of pride, or outrage if we feel violated or misunderstood. As far as I'm concerned, nerds should hang with nerds, and Presbyterians ought to congregate with other Presbyterians. The South-going Zaxs will always go south and they undoubtedly feel more comfortable with other south-going Zaxs... but they must not abuse or bully the North-going Zaxs! On the contrary, without losing a sense of self, they ought to go out of our way to talk with, listen to, and try to understand them. And it is the same for us. The Presbyterians I know will never be comfortable in a contemporary worship setting... but they should never devalue those who are. What gets us into trouble is not the fact that we belong to different tribes, but rather, that we let the differences define us and separate us into "good and bad, or worthwhile and worthless," people. We go astray when we label others because this leads to dehumanizing them... and this leads to fear, entitlement, bullying, persecution, and violence. Rodney, we will never get along if we come to believe that others are nothing more than the labels we give them and the names we call them!  If we allow our tribe to define and degrade others, it will be very easy to abuse them. I don't know anyone who would kill another person (outside of combat), but I may know a few who could kill a "savage," or a "witch." Words can be very damaging, and we ought to avoid labels- especially labels that engulf another person or even the entire tribe to which they belong!
      Our labeling and our name-calling is probably less that it used to be, but it is causing more extensive damage because they are exacerbated by social media. Names and labels are easy to cast in our time, and it is still tempting to judge a person's worth by the label that someone else has laid upon them. Can we all get along? Sure, if we don't demonize one another. If we share what we hold in common and respect our differences, we should be able to get along... but we will never know what we do have in common unless we take the time to know the other and listen in love. I'm reminded of a man who owned a gigantic ranch in Texas. He called it something like the "Double S, Winding Z, Triple W, Running Waters, Deep Gorge" ranch, and he had thousands and thousands of acres. Wow, one of his friends said, how many cattle do you have? "Not that many," the rancher replied, "very few survive the branding." Amen. Friends, let's be proud of our own values. Let's nurture them, protect them, and practice them. Our ways are comforting and energizing, but we can enjoy these things without labeling and dehumanizing others. There's a story about a zoo in which a lion and a lamb shared the same cage. Day after day they could be found together, and one amazed onlooker asked, "How can you do that?" And the zookeeper replied, "It's easy. We just put a new lamb in the cage each morning."
      Surely we can do better than that- even on this side of heaven. Amen.

UNMERITED GRACE IS NOT A JOKE

      In Jonah's day, Assyria was as bad as it got. It was a ruthless nation, which decimated the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and besieged Jerusalem 20 years later. The Assyrians were feared throughout the world, and Nineveh was its capital city. Thus, when God called Jonah (whose name means 'dove') to go to Nineveh and give its people the chance to repent, Jonah could hardly believe his ears. Giving the Ninevites any sort of break was absurd, and Jonah decided that he would not do it. No, he wouldn't do it- not even if God wanted him to do. So, instead of going to Nineveh, he boarded the first ship to anywhere, to get as far away from God as he could possibly get. But God is everywhere. The "dove" should have known that. He couldn't hide from God. None of us can, and Jonah discovered that for himself when they encountered a life-threatening storm at sea... and the sailors on the ship threw him overboard. Trying to run from God is surely a mistake, and in Jonah's case it would've been fatal... if God hadn't sent a big fish to gobble him up... and spit him out... right back where he had been in the first place. Hey Jonah, God called again, how about going to Nineveh and giving them a chance to repent? Well, Jonah was more obedient this time, and he soon found himself walking up and down the streets of Nineveh, calling both the "great and the small" to repent and turn to Yahweh. And they did! The Ninevites repented. Every single one of them repented... and Jonah was outraged! He couldn't accept the fact that these hated people would not be punished. He threw a fit and pouted, and waited to see what would happen to the city. God, on the other hand, told Jonah that He had to be concerned about the 120,000 people in Nineveh... because they didn't know "their right hand from their left." (4:11) Like the men who would crucify Jesus, they didn't know what they were doing. They didn't have a clue... and God has a special place in his heart for the lost.
      Thus, we begin the Lenten season by encountering a God who is more forgiving than we are... which is hardly surprising because most of us are afraid of grace. We may give ourselves the benefit of the doubt, but we are prone to be critical and unforgiving of others. Unmerited grace (and all grace is) embarrasses us. We protest when it's offered to us and we resent it when it's offered to others. To most of us, grace seems unfair, and even though it is not Biblical, we tend to believe that God helps those who help themselves! We talk about grace and grace alone... but we expect others to earn the love they get (and we suspect that this is also true for us). Years ago, one of my professors suggested that the book of Jonah is a fictitious work of humor. He said that it was written as a joke- one that we just don't get because we don't appreciate how much the Hebrews hated the Assyrians. He noted that there is no record that the Assyrians ever repented... and he was convinced that the whole scenario was meant to be unbelievable.      
      I don't know what the author's intent was, but I do know that grace is not a joke... and our refusal to give it to others is not funny! Expecting God to forgive our deepest sins... while holding our neighbor's slightest misstep against him... is not a laughing matter. Friends, let us a) accept the fact that we are forgiven and b) forgive others to the point where it seems silly! Pray that God will show you how to give grace. Pray that God will help you become a more forgiving person... and praise Him for being more forgiving than you are. Amen.

I WISH IT WOULD'VE BEEN MARENGO

      I don't watch many movies, but my wife persuaded me to watch "Nebraska" this week. If you haven't seen it, it's a story about an old man whose life had been failure. He never earned much money, and he either gave or drank away what little he had. He was married to a woman who browbeat him much of the time, and he seemed to be suffering from some sort of dementia. He had two sons- one of whom seemed to struggling to "find himself," and one who was more successful and less co-dependent. Woody (that's his name) became convinced that he had won a million dollars in a contest, and his youngest son, David, (who couldn't say no to anyone) finally relented and drove him to Lincoln, Nebraska to claim his winnings (which everybody in the family-except Woody- knew didn't really exist).
      Most of the story takes place in the small town where Woody grew up, and it involves a poignant journey in which David (and the rest of us) get a glimpse of what made Woody the person he turned out to be. Like others of his generation, Woody was a man of few words and his brothers didn't talk much either. So, the reunion they had while Woody was in town was filled with silence (like the Shedenhelm reunions I remember from the past). But once the word got out that Woody was a millionaire, the locals and even some of Woody's relatives, were more than willing to speak their mind. Some were happy that Woody had become a millionaire and some of them even recalled that Woody had been generous to a fault when he operated the auto repair shop in town. Others, however, wanted their share of Woody's money. They remembered the times when they had "bailed" Woody out because of his drinking and they wanted some of their money back. Woody told his son that the topic of love "never came up" between his mother and him, but David met a very, nice older woman in town- a woman who had once loved his dad. She said that Woody's drinking worsened after he was shot down in the Korean War (which David didn't know about)... and she indicated that they would've married if Woody's current wife hadn't won his heart. David had trouble believing that his mother's charm had ever won anyone over, but before they left for Lincoln, the entire family walked through the home that Woody grew up in. They walked into the room where Woody's little brother had died as a toddler and his parents bedroom, which Woody was not allowed to enter as a child. He said he was "whipped" if he did, but he didn't elaborate, and when his son asked him if he remembered his little brother's death (also named David), Woody simply noted that he was "there when it happened."
      In the end, Woody and his son, David, arrived at their destination in Lincoln, only to confirm that Woody had NOT won anything at all. It had all been a joke, but Woody accepted a consolation prize of a hat. That, minus an ending that I won't disclose, is the story. It was a character study that touched me in a deep way because it was a trip that I would've loved to have taken with my own father. I would've loved to have walked through the streets of Marengo with my father, or had a beer with him in some little bar in Belle Plaine, and to have talked to old friends of his as they came up to us. Like Woody, my father drank too much, and it may have gotten worse after the War. Like Woody and others of his time, my father neither analyzed things to death nor blamed others for his life. His successes and his failures, his joys and his sorrows were his, and there was no need to explain or stir up old wounds. Like Woody, my father had a life that was both deeper and wider than just being a father. I'm sure there were lovers and haters in his life... and friends with whom he wiled away the hours. I know that he saw things, both ugly and beautiful, that I know nothing about and that he carried both dreams and regrets to his grave. I wish we would've talked more and that he would've expressed his feelings more.
      Dad was far more driven and much less confused that Woody... but he also kept things to himself. Even important things. I suspect that, if I asked him if he remembered his little sister dying, he would've said something like, "I was there when it happened,"... and I can't help but wonder if the subject of love ever came up between our mother and him.

BAPTIMATUS SUM

      The Baptist burst onto the world's stage as a bizarre character, wearing clothes of camel's hair and eating wild honey. His message was direct and compelling. It was directed to the common people of the land... and to others who were ready to claim a new beginning for themselves and to prepare their hearts for God. Come to the river, John cried, and undergo a baptism of repentance... for the forgiveness of sins. And the people came! Not every single one of them- some weren't ready to give up their sins, some were unwilling to live a different life, and more that a few must have thought that John was out of his mind- but the historian, Josephus, makes it clear that John's crowds were big. People showed up in big numbers, and this number included Jesus, who didn't need a baptism of repentance, or forgiveness for his sins. John was standing in the river... when Jesus made his first Biblical appearance as a adult. It was an awkward moment because Jesus wanted to be baptized, and John demurred, saying that he had no business baptizing Jesus. But Jesus persisted... because baptism was part of his Father's plan. He couldn't skip it anymore than he could skip the temptation in the wilderness or the agony at Gethsemane. It had to be done, so John dunked him in the Jordan River, and as he came up out of the water, his Father affirmed him. "This is my son," he said, "with whom I am well pleased." Well pleased, it would seem, because Jesus had embraced his purpose on earth and committed himself entirely to his Father's will. For Jesus, baptism was an act of obedience to his Father and a way of identifying with those whom he would save!
     But it's our baptisms and not Jesus' that we're called to live out, and it's my prayer that we will embrace our own baptism in the coming year. This is my prayer, and I'm not particularly interested in the way or at what age we get baptized. In the PCUSA, we baptize infants as a way of recognizing that God has called them into his family. Believing that God always acts first and we respond, that God opens doors and we walk through, that God invites us to the banquet and we attend, we baptize infants as a way of celebrating God's claim on their lives. But there are many theologians, including some in our own tradition, who believe that baptism, especially a baptism of repentance, requires an informed decision to live for Christ. Thus, if your emphasis in on God's invitation, you may want to baptize infants and children, but if your emphasis in on human response to God's invitation, you'll be more comfortable with adult baptism. In the PCUSA, we sprinkle water when we baptize, and I'm quite okay with that, although I suspect that most, if not all, of the early baptisms were by immersion. According to the Didache- a "how-to" manual for the early church- baptisms should occur in running water (in rivers preferably), but if there were no rivers around, it was permissible to pour water on someone's head. Thus, it seems that the baptism itself, rather than the means, was what really mattered. Personally, I like adult baptisms because there's something powerful when the confession, the decision, and the water... come together around God's Spirit...but it also gives me great joy when God calls a young child into his fold, even as he bid the children to come to him when he walked on this earth.
      Well, you can worry about when and how baptisms are done, if you must, but I'm more worried about the integrity of the baptism, which is thrown away in infant baptism if the parents and the church do not teach the children to embrace Christ as their Lord and Savior, and violated just as badly in adult baptism... if the person involved is not reborn in the Holy Spirit, where being reborn in the Spirit is akin to complete surrender and trust. It is letting go and letting God, no matter where that may lead, and it is allowing (even encouraging) the Holy Spirit to turn our values and our point of view upside-down and inside-out. I am convinced that real issue is whether or not we live out our baptisms in our lives. Did we die to self when we went under the water and did we come up.. as God's child, man or woman? Was our baptism more than a picture taking event and a family gathering? Was it a defining moment in our lives? That's the important point. Was that child or that adult... God's kid, woman, or man... when the dunking, pouring, or sprinkling was done?
       I am persuaded that, for baptism to matter... it must define us! I am baptized. I am baptized. Baptimatus Sum! This was Martin Luther's mantra and it strenghened him. He said that, throughout his life, whenever he was frightened, tempted, weary, discouraged... he would begin to repeat to himself, "I am baptized! I am baptized!" Indeed, within a month of his own death in 1531, Luther noted that, "I am baptized... and since I am baptized... despair, doubt, fear, worries may show their teeth, but they cannot bite. I am baptized and since I'm baptized...temptation, disappointment, weakness may show their teeth, but they cannot bite. Because I am baptized, I know who I am and I know whose I am. I'm on the narrow path, along with my new friends, and I'm committed to the one who called me to baptism in the first place. Baptize them, he said, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and so it was with me and a billion others. God reached out to us in baptism. Our journey began there. We respond by carrying our crosses for him. This can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen. There is power in our baptisms- life-changing power, Let us resolve in 2019 to live as a baptized people! Let us resolve to be very intentional about our Christianity. Let us start each day asking, "How can I serve Christ, today?" and each night, let us lay our heads to rest asking, "How did I serve Christ today?" And when the road gets narrow and the lights dim, let us whisper to ourselves, "I am baptized. I am baptized." Amen.

KEEP YOUR FORKS!

      Today we buried a man named Jim-an 88 year-old veteran of the marine corps, who was wounded at least twice. He was a recognized marksman and a dedicated hunter... who spent considerable time with his two boys and grandchildren. In recent years he had gotten out of the habit of attending church, but he never lost his faith... or his belief that he would one day be with his God and family in heaven. I doubt that Jim could have recited the Nicene Creed... but he looked forward to the day when he would be filled with heavenly joy. In fact, he counted on it! Yesterday, I took our car to a mechanic named Joe, who lost his wife, Susan, to cancer two weeks ago. He was obviously grieving ... but he did not grieve without hope, claiming that "Susan's out of pain now because (Mother) Mary called her home." A land without tears, or even disappointment- a place without conflict or injustice of any kind- a kingdom in which we will enjoy God and bask in His love... day after day after day? Can such a thing be possible? Well, the answer is yes... and people of faith look forward to it. They expect it and count on it! It's a great promise and for us, a certainty. Amen.
      In the 31st chapter of Jeremiah, the prophet of sorrow finds reason to laugh. There will be a time, he notes, when people will act as if they know God. The day will come when they will throw parties and dance, plant vineyards and eat until they can't eat one bite more. The days is coming, the Lord said, when I will bring all of my people together and they will come streaming from every corner of the earth. The strong, of course, will be marching boldly, but the elderly and the disabled and the little ones... will be coming too. They will all come... with tears of joy... running freely, and there sorrows will be gone forever! People of faith, our God is an awesome God... and our day of victory is at hand. Look, the apostle Paul noted in the 1st chapter of Ephesians, from the beginning of time, God chose us... to be his own. He decided this out of grace alone and sent his Son to Calvary's cross... to free us from our sins. Rejoice, Paul went on, because you've been adopted by God. Through his Son, you've been adopted, empowered, and destined to sing a new song...with Jim and Susan forever and ever! As a believer, your ship has already come in. Scripture is plain: in Christ, God has already carried the day and victory is already ours. In the fullness of time Christ emptied himself of divinity and came to earth... to begin a ministry of teaching, healing, forgiving, liberating, restoring, and saving. Most of those whom he lived among refused to receive him, and this is true to this day. Most people (and I suspect many who think of themselves as Christians) do not receive him... but according to John, those who do... will one day dine with Him in heaven... forever.
      Susan and Jim died, but they are not dead... and their faith reminds me of an old story... about a woman who was also dying of cancer. She was an avid church goer, so she talked with her pastor about her funeral service- and went over every detail- the verses to be read, the songs to be sung, other comments and prayers, and even what she would be wearing on her special day. She began to leave the pastor's office, but stopped suddenly, "There's one more thing," she said, "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand. It's odd, I know, but in all of my years of attending church functions, my favorite part was the moment when I was told to keep my fork. Invariably, when our tables were being cleared, the person in charge would lean over and say, 'You can keep your fork,' and that would give me great delight because I knew that something better was coming. Something great- not pudding or Jello- but a bountiful cake or one of my favorite pies. You can keep your fork has always meant something special to me," she concluded, "And I want to spread the word. Pastor, when people file by my casket and say, "What's the deal with the fork," I want you to tell them... that something much, much better IS coming and that they should keep their forks too! Pastor, she said, tell them that the best is yet to come... and so I will.
      Friends, there are many blessings in being a Christian because Christ does bring the joy, peace, and love we talk about during Advent. In addition, faith will give us the courage to live bolder lives, the grace to live more forgiving lives, the comfort of knowing that we're never alone, the joy of sharing our lives in community, and the priceless feeling of knowing that we are part of God's work here on earth. All of these, and many more, are blessings for every Christian... and I wouldn't go back before Christ (BC) in my life- even if I knew that I wouldn't live one day longer that I would've lived anyway. However, we cannot keep quiet about the great hope that we embrace as a reality. There will be a day in which I will see my Lord face-to-face, a day when I will sing on key for the first time- stand arm-in-arm with the saints of the ages (and not feel out of place)- rejoice with my brothers, Larry and Randy... and have a good long talk with my dad. My focus is on serving Christ each day. I take one day at a time... but I cannot grieve as if I have no hope... because I have a fork in my hand!