During the past 24 hours I have been confronted by the thought of death and its role in how I live my life. Yesterday my sister, who is only a few years older than I, had a total hip replacement! I know she will feel much, much better now but every time someone goes into surgery I feel the mortality of our human bodies.
That went double for this surgery because my sister had the surgery in the same hospital where my husband died 20 years ago. Just when you think you are passed certain feelings they come rushing back - and I have had to work hard these past 24 hours to keep my anxiety in check and to remember that every person's situation is different. Most of all I have been trying to keep my faith as the guiding influence as each day passes.
We are all wounded in some way or another in our lives and we have all been touched by death - whether directly or indirectly. Today I spoke to a church member who was having some trouble physically and that triggered her to decide to complete her funeral planning! So we discussed the pros and cons of doing that at any age because we are all human, we are all going to die. Having a plan in place for that time is one of the ways we can be comforted in our ongoing journey.
But the fact is we all must face our mortality and what the means in terms of our faith and how we live our lives. Jesus tells us to live life abundantly and has given us the way to do just that by his victory over death. If we have faith we don't have to fear our mortality because we know there is something more for us beyond death, and I find that to be a true comfort.
My loss of my husband at age 31 has left me living my life without the family I always thought I would have. Still, it is a good life, just not the one I had envisioned for myself. Death of someone we love may set us on a different course but we still have lots of life left to live and how we do that directly shows our faith. I find myself not too consumed with the future because I am too busy living this day. But when something like the surgery of a loved one arises I have to control that first reaction of panic, the anticipation of loss, and remember that I have a faith that allows me to get through even the toughest times.
When my husband died I had no understanding of my faith but as the years have gone by I have come to understand that my faith allows me to believe that everything works out - maybe not the way I want it to - but in a way that is meaningful. I still believe people will do the right thing when push comes to shove even when I am proved wrong over and over.
No matter my mortality I believe - I believe people are basically good and I believe that God who created us all is still an integral part of my daily life. I believe my mortality is just another step on my journey. I believe I will get the chance to see all of my loved ones again in a different way and life through God.
I believe.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
Contrasts
So, here it is, January in Duluth, Minnesota and we have had the coldest weather in 7 years with morning temperatures exceeding -20 (AIR TEMP!) on several occasions. That kind of cold cements your eyelashes together from your own breath and leaves me wondering what in the world I am thinking to love winter! The landscape is stark and it's hard to believe anything can thrive in this world of white and cold.
Contrast that with Africa - while some areas are experiencing their winter, others are in full summer and in high season for mosquitoes. they are thriving and the female anopheles mosquito, which feeds at night, is continuing to spread malaria to unsuspecting people. We don't really think about malaria anymore because it was eradicated in the U.S. years ago, but in Africa a child dies every 45 seconds from this disease, but only a short time ago it was every 30 seconds. There is progress.
While we here in Duluth are in the deep freeze the families of impoverished Africa are fighting for their lives because of this mosquito. Malaria is a both preventable and treatable but it is a disease of poverty that affects all aspects of life.
But now we are connected - those of us at Hope UMC in Duluth and those who are at risk for malaria in Africa. We have joined our passion with the 11.5 million United Methodists worldwide to empower the continent of Africa to achieve a sustainable victory over malaria by 2015. This ministry of care includes raising $75 million churchwide (over $2.5 million in Minnesota alone) to eliminate death and suffering of malaria.
Why does this matter to us? When people are healthy they are more productive and can sustain their own lives and countries, so less aid is needed. When people are healthy they can make choices for the future that they could not when malaria forced so much suffering and death. And because Jesus calls us to help those in need, those suffering, those for whom the most basic need of life is not being met.
There the contrast ends. Because both the people of Duluth and the people of Africa have compassion and the will to make a difference. We come together because we understand we live in a world that has become a global community where when some of us suffer all of us suffer.
We sang it last week - "We are called to act with justice, we are called to love tenderly, we are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God."
May you be warmed by the knowledge we are heeding God's call!
Contrast that with Africa - while some areas are experiencing their winter, others are in full summer and in high season for mosquitoes. they are thriving and the female anopheles mosquito, which feeds at night, is continuing to spread malaria to unsuspecting people. We don't really think about malaria anymore because it was eradicated in the U.S. years ago, but in Africa a child dies every 45 seconds from this disease, but only a short time ago it was every 30 seconds. There is progress.
While we here in Duluth are in the deep freeze the families of impoverished Africa are fighting for their lives because of this mosquito. Malaria is a both preventable and treatable but it is a disease of poverty that affects all aspects of life.
But now we are connected - those of us at Hope UMC in Duluth and those who are at risk for malaria in Africa. We have joined our passion with the 11.5 million United Methodists worldwide to empower the continent of Africa to achieve a sustainable victory over malaria by 2015. This ministry of care includes raising $75 million churchwide (over $2.5 million in Minnesota alone) to eliminate death and suffering of malaria.
Why does this matter to us? When people are healthy they are more productive and can sustain their own lives and countries, so less aid is needed. When people are healthy they can make choices for the future that they could not when malaria forced so much suffering and death. And because Jesus calls us to help those in need, those suffering, those for whom the most basic need of life is not being met.
There the contrast ends. Because both the people of Duluth and the people of Africa have compassion and the will to make a difference. We come together because we understand we live in a world that has become a global community where when some of us suffer all of us suffer.
We sang it last week - "We are called to act with justice, we are called to love tenderly, we are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God."
May you be warmed by the knowledge we are heeding God's call!
Friday, January 18, 2013
Embracing Our Differences
This weekend in the United Methodist Church is Human Relations Sunday and in our country it is the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Both of these days are reminders for us of the complex nature of human relations and how easy it is to be afraid of people we don't know.
In this area there is no doubt that as followers of Jesus we are called to not take the easy path, but to forge new paths that lead to connection and understanding. We are all afraid of what we do not know, but if all humankind are God's children, then we are called to understanding and love for one another, no matter whether we go to church, practice our faith on a trail up the North Shore or follow a different path all together. Jesus spent much of his time on Earth with those who were on the margins of life, who lived differently, from what was perceived as the "norm". He knew that to truly bring about peace and God's kingdom we would need to start by loving one another and building communities.
That means embracing our differences instead of being afraid of them! Easy to write, not always so easy to do because that fear is on both sides of any meeting. Think about that the next time you are unsure or afraid of interacting with a person or group who are very different from yourself - they too are probably feeling the same way!!!!! When we take the time to understand one another or even to realize that we all have the same feelings we can more easily come together. And when we come together we find our similarities and learn from our differences.
Just think - if we all had the same spiritual gifts how would we get everything done God wants us to do? there would be no music if we were all preachers, no mission work if we were all administrators, no moments of inspiration or deep joy if we only looked for the process of faith and not the mystery. Our differences make us each unique and make our community stronger, more loving and more giving.
I think of all of the people I know who create through sewing, quilting, art, knitting, writing, cooking, etc. If those creators didn't constantly use difference colors, fibers, ingredients, whatever, each creation would be much the same as the one before. God used different ingredients for each one of us and look how colorful, unique and gift-filled we are!!!
Embracing our differences, embracing different lenses through which life is viewed, is what we are called to do. God's kingdom is in the making and each time we embrace our differences, welcome those who we don't yet fully know or understand, we move that much closer to making that kingdom a reality.
So, I invite you to do something this weekend to embrace the differences around you - talk to a neighbor you have been avoiding, attend an event of an ethnic group you want to understand further, attend the MLK events to support and live into his legacy, whatever you can find. Embracing our diversity is embracing God more fully!
In this area there is no doubt that as followers of Jesus we are called to not take the easy path, but to forge new paths that lead to connection and understanding. We are all afraid of what we do not know, but if all humankind are God's children, then we are called to understanding and love for one another, no matter whether we go to church, practice our faith on a trail up the North Shore or follow a different path all together. Jesus spent much of his time on Earth with those who were on the margins of life, who lived differently, from what was perceived as the "norm". He knew that to truly bring about peace and God's kingdom we would need to start by loving one another and building communities.
That means embracing our differences instead of being afraid of them! Easy to write, not always so easy to do because that fear is on both sides of any meeting. Think about that the next time you are unsure or afraid of interacting with a person or group who are very different from yourself - they too are probably feeling the same way!!!!! When we take the time to understand one another or even to realize that we all have the same feelings we can more easily come together. And when we come together we find our similarities and learn from our differences.
Just think - if we all had the same spiritual gifts how would we get everything done God wants us to do? there would be no music if we were all preachers, no mission work if we were all administrators, no moments of inspiration or deep joy if we only looked for the process of faith and not the mystery. Our differences make us each unique and make our community stronger, more loving and more giving.
I think of all of the people I know who create through sewing, quilting, art, knitting, writing, cooking, etc. If those creators didn't constantly use difference colors, fibers, ingredients, whatever, each creation would be much the same as the one before. God used different ingredients for each one of us and look how colorful, unique and gift-filled we are!!!
Embracing our differences, embracing different lenses through which life is viewed, is what we are called to do. God's kingdom is in the making and each time we embrace our differences, welcome those who we don't yet fully know or understand, we move that much closer to making that kingdom a reality.
So, I invite you to do something this weekend to embrace the differences around you - talk to a neighbor you have been avoiding, attend an event of an ethnic group you want to understand further, attend the MLK events to support and live into his legacy, whatever you can find. Embracing our diversity is embracing God more fully!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Happy 2013!
Here it is - New Year's Day 2013!! I remember when I thought the year 2000 was so far away and here it is 13 years past that day. Time does seem to speed up as we get older.
Do you have any resolutions? We spoke in worship last Sunday about making the great resolution of shoring up the foundation of faith and we participated in part of the Wesleyan Covenant service. It was meaningful to honor the past, take part in the present and have hope for the future! To renew my covenant with God reminded me of what is truly important in life - my faith, my family, my friends and my neighbors. So, I am hoping 2013 brings me closer to God and to all who I meet on my journey.
This Sunday is Epiphany and on that day we celebrate the magi's visit to see Jesus. And we see that their lives were transformed by their experience of the Christ child. So, as we begin 2013 let's resolve to make things different, to live our lives transformed by Jesus - by reorienting our priorities not to focus on ourselves, but on the radical love Jesus gives from us and asks in return. Won't that be an adventure?
I invite you to look back at the last year and see the road(s) you have taken. Then look ahead and make a plan - how can my road lead me to spend more time with the people I love? How can I demonstrate my faith through community and service? How can I make my relationship with God even stronger? Will it be the same road as last year or a different one?
Happy New Year!
Laurie
Do you have any resolutions? We spoke in worship last Sunday about making the great resolution of shoring up the foundation of faith and we participated in part of the Wesleyan Covenant service. It was meaningful to honor the past, take part in the present and have hope for the future! To renew my covenant with God reminded me of what is truly important in life - my faith, my family, my friends and my neighbors. So, I am hoping 2013 brings me closer to God and to all who I meet on my journey.
This Sunday is Epiphany and on that day we celebrate the magi's visit to see Jesus. And we see that their lives were transformed by their experience of the Christ child. So, as we begin 2013 let's resolve to make things different, to live our lives transformed by Jesus - by reorienting our priorities not to focus on ourselves, but on the radical love Jesus gives from us and asks in return. Won't that be an adventure?
I invite you to look back at the last year and see the road(s) you have taken. Then look ahead and make a plan - how can my road lead me to spend more time with the people I love? How can I demonstrate my faith through community and service? How can I make my relationship with God even stronger? Will it be the same road as last year or a different one?
Happy New Year!
Laurie
Friday, December 28, 2012
Christmas Blessings
So, the big day has come and gone. Parties, family, presents, church, celebration over. How was Christmas for you? Did you stop to truly take in the day and thank God for all of your blessings? I hope your celebration was full of God's love, joy and peace.
Christmas Eve at Hope UMC was wondrous. At the 5p worship service we came together in a large congregation to remember the wonder of Jesus' birth through music, the story of the Christmas angel, and the prayer the reminds us all that we, like the innkeeper in Bethlehem, need to make room in our lives for Jesus. As we sang "Silent Night" in candlelight and then ended worship with "Joy to the World" I certainly could feel a true sense of hope for the future. I also felt blessed to share this experience with so many people!
Our 11p service was one of candles and carols as multiple voices recounted the story of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus from a different perspective. This service was peaceful and filled with the wonder and beauty of so many candles piercing the darkness. And so Christmas morning came - and again it was shared by many.
I know some people have already torn down the decorations, put out the Christmas lights and packed away the holiday for another year. But I hope you don't pack away the blessings, the wonder and the reminder to make room for Jesus in your life. As we head into 2013 may we all find a way to stop more often and look at the people and the world around us, understand the blessing of diversity and be ready to grow in our relationship with God and with one another.
Happy New Year!!
Laurie
Christmas Eve at Hope UMC was wondrous. At the 5p worship service we came together in a large congregation to remember the wonder of Jesus' birth through music, the story of the Christmas angel, and the prayer the reminds us all that we, like the innkeeper in Bethlehem, need to make room in our lives for Jesus. As we sang "Silent Night" in candlelight and then ended worship with "Joy to the World" I certainly could feel a true sense of hope for the future. I also felt blessed to share this experience with so many people!
Our 11p service was one of candles and carols as multiple voices recounted the story of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus from a different perspective. This service was peaceful and filled with the wonder and beauty of so many candles piercing the darkness. And so Christmas morning came - and again it was shared by many.
I know some people have already torn down the decorations, put out the Christmas lights and packed away the holiday for another year. But I hope you don't pack away the blessings, the wonder and the reminder to make room for Jesus in your life. As we head into 2013 may we all find a way to stop more often and look at the people and the world around us, understand the blessing of diversity and be ready to grow in our relationship with God and with one another.
Happy New Year!!
Laurie
Friday, December 21, 2012
Scandalous Love
How is your Christmas preparation going? Do you have plans for the holiday? Presents? Tree? Finishing up your Advent devotions? Planning which worship service to attend? Well, it's almost time once again to experience God's love for us - a love that was and is actually quite scandalous!
We often fail to understand just how scandalous God’s love for us is, and how radical it is that God would show that love by lowering himself to be born in human form. Using the story of Hosea, this week’s message emphasizes how doggedly God pursues us, in spite of our unfaithfulness. Christmas is the heralding of God who comes to be with us. God is the one who pursues. The Incarnation is the revelation of God’s scandalous love affair with humanity.
The story in Hosea is often hard to hear and understand in our modern times but it shows God's love through the image of Hosea and his wife. Hosea 2:2-3 says "When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, marry a prostitute and have children of prostitution, for the people of the land commit great prostitution by deserting the LORD . ” So Hosea went and took Gomer, Diblaim’s daughter, and she became pregnant and bore him a son.”
Yikes! Hosea's wife Gomer represents Israel and its unfaithfulness to God. In Hosea 3:1 The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."
And then there is the birth of Jesus - want to talk about scandalous? Mary pregnant before she and Joseph were married, Joseph being father to a baby clearly not his and standing by Mary! Not something that happened all that often in Nazareth. But out of that scandalous love came Jesus to show how God loves each and every one of us whether or not we are faithful followers, or questioners of all things religious, or believe in other things. God continues to love us and call us into God's presence.
So, do you trust God’s promise to redeem your life? To love you and want your love in return, no matter what kind of mess your life has been? To whom or in what way can you show “scandalous” love this holiday season because of God’s great love shown to you?
I challenge you to think about what it means for us to love others “scandalously”, especially in the wake of the horror of Sandy Hook Elementary shootings? How would that be different from the safe, cautious ways we often show Christ’s love in the world? How would it make our world better?
I hope that you will all take the time to worship on Christmas Eve/Day and that you continue to spread God's scandalous love to all you meet!
We often fail to understand just how scandalous God’s love for us is, and how radical it is that God would show that love by lowering himself to be born in human form. Using the story of Hosea, this week’s message emphasizes how doggedly God pursues us, in spite of our unfaithfulness. Christmas is the heralding of God who comes to be with us. God is the one who pursues. The Incarnation is the revelation of God’s scandalous love affair with humanity.
The story in Hosea is often hard to hear and understand in our modern times but it shows God's love through the image of Hosea and his wife. Hosea 2:2-3 says "When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, marry a prostitute and have children of prostitution, for the people of the land commit great prostitution by deserting the LORD . ” So Hosea went and took Gomer, Diblaim’s daughter, and she became pregnant and bore him a son.”
Yikes! Hosea's wife Gomer represents Israel and its unfaithfulness to God. In Hosea 3:1 The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."
And then there is the birth of Jesus - want to talk about scandalous? Mary pregnant before she and Joseph were married, Joseph being father to a baby clearly not his and standing by Mary! Not something that happened all that often in Nazareth. But out of that scandalous love came Jesus to show how God loves each and every one of us whether or not we are faithful followers, or questioners of all things religious, or believe in other things. God continues to love us and call us into God's presence.
So, do you trust God’s promise to redeem your life? To love you and want your love in return, no matter what kind of mess your life has been? To whom or in what way can you show “scandalous” love this holiday season because of God’s great love shown to you?
I challenge you to think about what it means for us to love others “scandalously”, especially in the wake of the horror of Sandy Hook Elementary shootings? How would that be different from the safe, cautious ways we often show Christ’s love in the world? How would it make our world better?
I hope that you will all take the time to worship on Christmas Eve/Day and that you continue to spread God's scandalous love to all you meet!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Giving Up On Perfect
Last week we talked about being miracle workers ourselves - God using us ordinary people to bring miracles into the lives of others. During this week I challenge you to make your own list - what miracles will God accomplish through you this Christmas?
At Hope we made a list during worship of the top 2-3 miracles our world needs this Christmas and then picked one we would work on through this holiday season. I will be posting all of the list in church and on the Hope website at www.hopeumcmn.org.
This week we turn from miracles to giving up on the need for perfection, especially during the holidays.
How much money, time, and energy go into chasing this unattainable ideal set for us by Norman Rockwell? The first Christmas was pretty messy, and life today is pretty messy—but God shows up in the middle of the mess to bring us a message of hope.
What are our own unrealistic expectations for the “perfect” Christmas? Do the presents under the tree need to be perfectly wrapped with ribbons and bows? Does your house need to be decorated just so or it's not really Christmas? Do you send out cards expecting that everyone will send you one in return? These kinds of expectations do not enhance anything about our experience of Christ's birth but instead leave us feeling let down.
Life is not about staying safe and living comfortable. The call to follow Jesus is a call to give your life to him and to join God’s mission in healing the souls of the world. We know things just don't happen "perfectly" no matter how hard we try. Our Christmas celebration is a person short this year as a loved one has died or cannot make it home, or our church no longer does the candlelight service the way they did in our youth, or we feel depressed because of a job loss or relationship loss and we just cannot find our way out to be cheery for others.
Jesus was born in a stable a long way from home. His mother was a very young woman who was frightened of all she was going through as was Joseph. Jesus' birth came at a time when the world was ruled by the Romans and there was only an uneasy peace kept by their soldiers. There was nothing perfect about it -except that the person born was our Savior!
So shed the expectations of perfection and celebrate Jesus' birth by passing along his love and giving thanks for his life. And know that even in the midst of the messiest situation God ALWAYS SHOWS UP!
Thought for the week - what does the perfect Christmas look like to you?
At Hope we made a list during worship of the top 2-3 miracles our world needs this Christmas and then picked one we would work on through this holiday season. I will be posting all of the list in church and on the Hope website at www.hopeumcmn.org.
This week we turn from miracles to giving up on the need for perfection, especially during the holidays.
How much money, time, and energy go into chasing this unattainable ideal set for us by Norman Rockwell? The first Christmas was pretty messy, and life today is pretty messy—but God shows up in the middle of the mess to bring us a message of hope.
What are our own unrealistic expectations for the “perfect” Christmas? Do the presents under the tree need to be perfectly wrapped with ribbons and bows? Does your house need to be decorated just so or it's not really Christmas? Do you send out cards expecting that everyone will send you one in return? These kinds of expectations do not enhance anything about our experience of Christ's birth but instead leave us feeling let down.
Life is not about staying safe and living comfortable. The call to follow Jesus is a call to give your life to him and to join God’s mission in healing the souls of the world. We know things just don't happen "perfectly" no matter how hard we try. Our Christmas celebration is a person short this year as a loved one has died or cannot make it home, or our church no longer does the candlelight service the way they did in our youth, or we feel depressed because of a job loss or relationship loss and we just cannot find our way out to be cheery for others.
Jesus was born in a stable a long way from home. His mother was a very young woman who was frightened of all she was going through as was Joseph. Jesus' birth came at a time when the world was ruled by the Romans and there was only an uneasy peace kept by their soldiers. There was nothing perfect about it -except that the person born was our Savior!
So shed the expectations of perfection and celebrate Jesus' birth by passing along his love and giving thanks for his life. And know that even in the midst of the messiest situation God ALWAYS SHOWS UP!
Thought for the week - what does the perfect Christmas look like to you?
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