The Wilder View - April 2008

I am writing this article in the middle of March Madness (basketball season finals). I have not been much of a basketball fan in the past; however, I have found an interest in learning more about it because of Andy’s participation in the sport. As I have been learning about the game I have (you know me) begun to realize that theology is all around us…even in basketball. So I would like to share a few theological insights that I have received while watching basketball.

• Everyone has a common goal, which is getting the ball in the basket. As Christians we are encouraged to have a common goal of “seeking first the Kingdom of God.” If we live and work together with a common goal, we will find that we can accomplish so much more as a faith community than as individuals.
• Teamwork is valued – everyone has a role, purpose, and function. We are reminded that we are the body of Christ and that each one of us has unique and special spiritual gifts that enable and equip us to do the work of God. We can’t do it alone, we have to work together.
• There is accountability – the referees will blow a whistle if you double dribble, or travel, or other things. (They have hand signals for all that stuff.) In life we are also held accountable for our spiritual formation. We don’t have people blowing whistles around us when we get off the path, but we do have friends that hold us in prayer and invite us to grow in our faith walk.
• It is normal to foul occasionally – it happens in the middle of the heat of the game when someone might just do something that is considered a foul. The reality is that in our daily faith journey we can foul as well. Maybe we say something that is hurtful, or unthinking, or we bump into something or step on someone’s toes without being aware. We create fouls as we live out our daily lives as normal human beings.
• There are moments for reconciliation after a foul through a free throw shot (I think that is what it is called) and the game goes on. It might be a good example of how we can live out forgiveness in our midst. Name the foul, find a way to find justice, and then move on with life.
• Slow the game down – sometimes the speed of the game can get so fast that the players are playing ‘out of control’ and then the team isn’t able to get the right shot in and they aren’t thinking as clearly. There is a signal that someone makes that says, slow down the pace. It makes me wonder if sometimes God might be giving us a signal to say, slow down a little. It’s like God is saying, “I know everything is running pretty fast, but you are not functioning at the level that I created you to be.” Take a few moments, breathe, get in touch with the rest of the team, listen to your coach (the Holy Spirit) and move along at a better pace for the person he created you to be.

Ok, I know some might think it is a character flaw in me that I can’t go anywhere, or do anything without seeing God involved. Maybe it isn’t a character flaw…maybe it’s a blessing…at any rate, whatever it is, I invite you to just think about some of the lessons we can learn from our daily activities…lessons that might help us grow as individuals, and as a faith community…lessons that might help us make the world better place for all of us. Remember, God is all around us and God is constantly trying to communicate God’s plan for our lives. Who knows where we can find lessons from God next? Could it be in a grocery store, or a classroom at school, or possibly doing simple chores around the house? I guess our challenge is to look to see God, listen to hear God, and learn to serve God.

Glory Be to God,

Pastor Kathleen

Time With Sharon…Now what do we do?

April 2008

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

Easter is over…and Pentecost, with its fury of fire and outpouring of the Spirit’s unbridled power is still weeks away. We are passing through a strange time, called Eastertide in the early church, and it is a peculiar place to be. We aren’t quite ready to launch into the regular flow of ministry, with our new found passion and fever just yet. It seems emotionally, and metaphorically, we are left standing with our mouths gaping wide open, wondering, “What just happened here?”Over the days of Holy Week, we experienced the poignant last teachings of Jesus, his bloody and cruel sacrifice, and the miraculous resurrection of Christ to new life. But now the festivities are over; the company gone home, the ham leftovers eaten up, and the plastic eggs stored back in the attic. We are like the early Christians, who sat in their Upper Room, some still dazed from the raw experiences of that week of passion, wondering what to do, with what we know, now that we know it.

And what do we know? That Jesus was dead. Good and dead. Not flickering an eyelash, cold and blue dead. And then Christ was alive. In full living color, walking around, traveling and talking to folk, blessing, spirit-instilling, and cooking-them-fish-on-the-beach-for-breakfast kind of alive. How can this be? Because God has the power to bring new life to dead things.

In fact, God delights in bringing renewed vigor to the places in our world and in our lives that seem dead. We witness this miracle every spring when we see the green shoots boring their way through a cover of brown leaves in the flower beds. Imagine that maybe this could be your life, right now. If some part of your life is sloppy brown and dirt dead, God’s power can make the living sap start running again, producing green vitality that leads to new blooms. God can do it. God has done it. God will do it again.So what do we do with what we know, now that we know it? Believe it. Own it. Live it. Share it.

Once, during this same in-between time, I sat with a dear friend who felt like there was nothing more for which to live. I wasn’t sure how to offer him hope. I could have reminded him of his children who still needed their dad. I thought of ragging on him that his presence with us at church had been sorely missed. But none of those things seemed to touch the power of the truth that we had just lived through during Holy Week. Finally I whispered, “God makes life new. I don’t know how, but I know it, and you know it too.” I whispered it, not because I didn’t want the people around us to hear our conversation, but because it seemed like such a sacred and holy message. I didn’t trust my voice to say it with all the meaning that I meant it to have. It was too big. Perhaps my whisper would convey the utter importance of these words of hope.

Soon the Spirit’s power will bust forth, emboldening our voices to stand and shout from the rooftops. But now, while we are still saturated in a sense of shock and awe, let us share, even in a whisper, with great rounded eyes of wonder, what we have experienced to those who need to hear it. God has the power to bring new life to dead things. We know it. Tell someone.

Grace and peace,
Sharon