Montgomery Advertiser Article - July 2010
"I do." "I will."
These words remind me of spring and summer – seasons of transition. It's when many people move on to new jobs, new towns, graduation and marriage, and say "I do," or "I will" to the future. Though joy and excitement often fill the hopes of a bright tomorrow, new beginnings often mix with a healthy dose of uncertainty and fear.
The future by its very nature is unknowable. "There 'be dragons out there!" We can guess at what lies ahead, but we can't be sure until we get there. This element of uncertainty can make the decision to move forward or to move at all difficult to say the least.
Maybe you're at a point in your life where you have no excitement about the future,and are instead overwhelmed by the fear of what may be "out there." You must say, "I do" to a future without someone who has passed away. "I will" move forward without a loved one, when you've spent every day of what seems like forever waking up next to the same person. For others, it's making the choice to walk away from a relationship that must end, even though it's all we've known for decades. What has happened to my life? Can I make it out there alone? What happens when I get knocked down? What if my world that seems so out of control never gains a sense of order?
I was looking at an old map in a book the other day. The map had a rough outline of countries I recognized, but the coastline veered off in unusual directions and lacked details. The only clear images were of dragons and sea monsters creeping out of the depths of the sea. Mapmakers placed these monsters in the uncharted waters to represent the undiscovered places of the world. The creatures represented the unknown, and the fear that often accompanies it. As I stared at the map, I thought about the brave souls who said, "I will," and climbed aboard ships and headed straight in the direction of the monsters.
I always think of David when I think of those daring to move forward. David was the youngest of his brothers and an unlikely candidate to lead anyone into the future. No one, including Samuel, expected David to be the anointed one to lead God's people. But, Holy Scripture reminds us that God doesn't look on the "outward appearance" and those things human eyes value, God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). This boy stepped up and took on the Philistines and the champion fighter Goliath, knowing that God would ultimately "deliver" him. (1 Samuel 17:37). He defeated Goliath and went on to be a mighty king. I can imagine more than a few fearful citizens, and David himself, questioning a future with a young king in the face of all that threatened the people of Israel. His future was not without turmoil and challenge, but it was one filled with God's presence. God doesn't always call the qualified, as the saying goes. He does, however,always qualify the called.
We live in a crazy world. We are in the midst of the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history as oil pollutes the Gulf of Mexico and changes our way of life. Our nation's troops stand in harms way in two theatres of war. The economic arena sees the world trying to contain greed and abuse of all kinds. The economy continues to sputter along as millions look at a future with no job, or limited prospects. State governments from the east coast to the west teeter on the edge of bankruptcy. Each trip to the airport reminds us that safety is not a given in a world with some determined to bring about terror and destruction. It's enough to shake even the strongest nerve.
And yet God is calling each and every one of us to say, "I do" to tomorrow. There are personal, family and community tasks and relationships that demand our best. They require everything we have. Our legs may shake with the fear of moving forward, but God's grace meets us in the midst of our fear and trembling. God walks with us as we move forward. But, God also goes before us. God is already in tomorrow, preparing it for our arrival and waiting to greet us there.
We stand on the edge of tomorrow, and,frankly, we have no idea what it holds, but we do know who holds it. When we recognize this power we can look at the unknowable future and whatever it holds and say with confidence, "I do."
Saturday, August 21, 2010
To-Be-Forgotten...Never
Montgomery Advertiser Article - August 2010
I don't know how she died, or why her family wasn't there. I will never know what made her smile, laugh, and cry. The world will never hear stories of summertime as a child, the security of daddy's arms with a skinned knee or Christmas at grandma's house. I don't know what in her life made her proud or what frightened her most. Last week she lived. Today she rests in peace, buried beneath Alabama's red clay.
Every now and then, area cemeteries ask me to conduct funerals for those who have no family or friends to claim the body and make arrangements. There is usually very little information about the person's life, beyond the basics of name or religious affiliation. And even though the person is unknown to me and most, the time I spend with this individual is always sacred. Other than the men who fill the grave with dirt, there is usually no one there to say goodbye. As I stand in a section of a cemetery forgotten by much of the world, I am reminded that this is one of the highest honors I have as a child of God. I join with the communion of saints, living and dead, and give witness to a life. It's a witness that acknowledges another person made in the image of the Almighty and says that every life matters.
We all want a witness to our lives. From the time we can barely walk, we scream, cry and shout to get the attention of those we love. It continues into adolescence and adulthood. We don't want to be chosen last for basketball or asked to the dance in the final hours. We want to be included in the right clubs and receive the best accolades at work. If people notice us, we think it means we matter. And yet so many of us, even when it appears to everyone around that we have everything the world says matters, go through life feeling forgotten. We have this sinking feeling that what we do and who we are doesn't matter. Even in the midst of such feelings, we look at the world and ignore others and through our action and inaction make them feel less than worthy. Whether we are the ones being ignored or the ones ignoring, Jesus makes it clear that every life matters and every soul should be made to feel important, because it is.
The ministry of Jesus is filled with stories of his witness to those the world has forgotten. He reaches out and brings the lost into community. Everyone on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Gerasenes sought to avoid a man they thought was possessed by a demon. He was so violent they actually tried to chain him. They forced him to live in caves outside of town--out of sight and out of mind--forgotten. It would have been easy for Jesus to pass by this man when he approached. The people around him were probably telling him about the man's history, how he was a "crazy" and a "nobody." They could have told him that stopping might put Jesus in harm's way. But Jesus didn't ignore the man. He stopped, acknowledged him and this action began a process of healing. (Mark 5:1-20).
I believe the good news in this story is that we matter to Jesus. He meets us, as he met the tormented man, in the midst of whatever we see as our bondage and pain. He frees us from our own chains that bind us and from those others place in our lives. He looks at us and tells us that he loves us. His action of giving his life for us says that the world may have ignored us or forgotten, but he never will.
But there is more than that. At the end of the story, Jesus says to the man, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you." (Mark 5:19). We are called to seek out those forgotten by the world and share the mercy and grace we have been given. Once we experience it, we cannot begrudge anyone anything. They maybe around the world, in the next town, next door or down the hall.
So let's take notice of God's children. Look into their eyes. Remember their faces. Talk. Listen. And remember the woman at the grave who others forgot.
I don't know how she died. I don't know how she lived. I wish I did. This day, God will give me another chance to do just that with someone the world has forgotten...a chance to remind them that he never will.
I don't know how she died, or why her family wasn't there. I will never know what made her smile, laugh, and cry. The world will never hear stories of summertime as a child, the security of daddy's arms with a skinned knee or Christmas at grandma's house. I don't know what in her life made her proud or what frightened her most. Last week she lived. Today she rests in peace, buried beneath Alabama's red clay.
Every now and then, area cemeteries ask me to conduct funerals for those who have no family or friends to claim the body and make arrangements. There is usually very little information about the person's life, beyond the basics of name or religious affiliation. And even though the person is unknown to me and most, the time I spend with this individual is always sacred. Other than the men who fill the grave with dirt, there is usually no one there to say goodbye. As I stand in a section of a cemetery forgotten by much of the world, I am reminded that this is one of the highest honors I have as a child of God. I join with the communion of saints, living and dead, and give witness to a life. It's a witness that acknowledges another person made in the image of the Almighty and says that every life matters.
We all want a witness to our lives. From the time we can barely walk, we scream, cry and shout to get the attention of those we love. It continues into adolescence and adulthood. We don't want to be chosen last for basketball or asked to the dance in the final hours. We want to be included in the right clubs and receive the best accolades at work. If people notice us, we think it means we matter. And yet so many of us, even when it appears to everyone around that we have everything the world says matters, go through life feeling forgotten. We have this sinking feeling that what we do and who we are doesn't matter. Even in the midst of such feelings, we look at the world and ignore others and through our action and inaction make them feel less than worthy. Whether we are the ones being ignored or the ones ignoring, Jesus makes it clear that every life matters and every soul should be made to feel important, because it is.
The ministry of Jesus is filled with stories of his witness to those the world has forgotten. He reaches out and brings the lost into community. Everyone on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Gerasenes sought to avoid a man they thought was possessed by a demon. He was so violent they actually tried to chain him. They forced him to live in caves outside of town--out of sight and out of mind--forgotten. It would have been easy for Jesus to pass by this man when he approached. The people around him were probably telling him about the man's history, how he was a "crazy" and a "nobody." They could have told him that stopping might put Jesus in harm's way. But Jesus didn't ignore the man. He stopped, acknowledged him and this action began a process of healing. (Mark 5:1-20).
I believe the good news in this story is that we matter to Jesus. He meets us, as he met the tormented man, in the midst of whatever we see as our bondage and pain. He frees us from our own chains that bind us and from those others place in our lives. He looks at us and tells us that he loves us. His action of giving his life for us says that the world may have ignored us or forgotten, but he never will.
But there is more than that. At the end of the story, Jesus says to the man, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you." (Mark 5:19). We are called to seek out those forgotten by the world and share the mercy and grace we have been given. Once we experience it, we cannot begrudge anyone anything. They maybe around the world, in the next town, next door or down the hall.
So let's take notice of God's children. Look into their eyes. Remember their faces. Talk. Listen. And remember the woman at the grave who others forgot.
I don't know how she died. I don't know how she lived. I wish I did. This day, God will give me another chance to do just that with someone the world has forgotten...a chance to remind them that he never will.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)