Presence or Presents?

This past week was the Christmas Cantata at Salem.  You know, for a small church we have big talent.  Props to Bob M. for all his hard work and planning.  But no sermon this week leaves me with no topic.  As I write this I should be shopping, or baking, or wrapping, or something.  Who has time the week before Christmas to sit and write?  Well, OK, a writer does.  But that group doesn't include me.  So why am I spending my time on the computer?

I did something else completely indulgent this week.  I started reading a new book - Aleph by Paulo Coehlo.  In just the first few pages he struck a chord with this paragraph:

"In magic-and in life-there is only the present moment, the now.  You can't measure time the way you measure the distance between two points.  "Time" doesn't pass.  We human beings have enormous difficulty in focusing on the present; we're always thinking about what we did, about how we could have done it better, about the consequences of our actions, and about why we didn't act as we should have.  Or else we think about the future, about what we're going to do tomorrow, what precautions we should take, what dangers await us around the next corner, how to avoid what we don't want and how to get what we have always dreamed of."

It seems to me that was part of George's problem.  He was always thinking about his lost plans, or the dark future, evaluating his level of success.  He frequently missed the good that was right there in front of him.  When he hit a crisis he had nothing to sustain him and get him through, his coping tank was empty. Clarence helped him refocus on all the good that he had, right there, in that very moment.  He found his joy.

Just how does this tie in to Christmas, besides the busy part?  Throughout all the stories of Jesus and the disciples it seems Jesus was supremely present in the moment of their experiences, while the disciples were worried about something else - food, shelter, storm, impending arrest.  I don't really see their worries as irrelative, in fact, I understand them pretty well.  But, while the past informs the present and shapes the future, all we really have is right here, right now.  The people, the humans, in the Christmas story were able to see that and live it out.  Mary accepted the angel's proclamation so easily, Joseph trusted that taking Mary as his wife in her "condition" was the right thing to do, the shepherds left their flocks, the wise men traveled.  They were all present, in the moment.

I confess, I am a bit of a Negative Nelly - just ask my family.  Living in the here and now doesn't come easily to us (me).  I'm not quite sure if it is the human condition or part of our cultural obsessions.  The most probable answer is that it is some combination of factors, and I want to attribute that inability to something other than a character flaw. So, I am attempting - operative word attempting - to be present.  That's why I am reading, writing, baking, visiting, and not really thinking about what I am going to do tomorrow.  OK, I am thinking about it, but really trying to follow the example and be present in the moment.  The jury is still out on how I'm doing, but I think it is a valuable exercise. If only Clarence could come help me get focused.

A Clarence Point of View

Here it is, Wednesday, and I am still trying to get words on the screen.  I am really struggling with the messages lately and could use someone to help me discuss and process.  There is so much competing for my attention right now.  Do you feel it too? It doesn't take being in the midst of a crisis like George was with the bank to feel overwhelmed, despondent, lost, helpless and hopeless.  If only there were some definitive, finite, subjective way to get it all under control.   If I do this, this and this, then everything will be just fine.

That is what was happening in the scripture this week - Phillipians 3:7-14.   Paul is talking to the Gentiles in Phillipi who are listening to teachers telling them that if they follow the Jewish law they will get to "be holy" - the focus is on the law .  They have lost their perspective.  Sure, the laws give them the comfort of concrete steps they can take as the means to a finite end - knowing Christ and God.  Paul tells them (and us) clearly that it is a process not a product, a journey not a destination.  He even admits that he is not there, but is pressing on towards his goal - having a righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith and knowing Christ.

The pastor used a brilliant illustration for the children's story this week.  She tried to take a picture of the children, but had the camera pointed the wrong way.  Of course the kids caught it and tried to stop her, but they couldn't.  It was easy for them (and the adults) to get the point - she was focused on herself and not others.  George Bailey allowed the needs of others to shape his life - staying at the savings and loan when his father died, giving away his honeymoon cash during a bank run, lending to neighbors who were probably bad risks financially but good people.  He focuses on making the best success of the savings and loan that he can, and that is how he defines himself. When the deposit is lost and the business is failing, George can see no value in anything he has done.  He feels himself a failure with no way out.


When Clarence jumps into the river, he changes George's focus.  He immediately goes back to shaping his goals and actions by the needs of others, saving Clarence.  God comes to George through Clarence, kind of a "burning bush" moment.  When he sees how the town looks without his influence, George realizes that it is not the things he has done, but the people with whom he has been in relationship, and the way he has conducted himself in those relationships that really matters.

All those things competing for my attention, how do I put them aside and get to know Christ, get to holy?   The first step is to remember that God comes to each one of us in small ways, every day.  We simply need to be open and recognize him.  God reached out to Paul and the Phillipians through Jesus, and to George through Clarence, and while we probably aren't going to get a burning bush or Clarence moment, God also reaches out to us first every day. We simply need to accept the invitation and live in relationship.  And know that no matter what, you matter.

It's A Wonderful Life!

Do you have expectations of what your life will be? If I work hard, do the right thing, care for my family and others, make healthy choices, then I will have a long, happy, prosperous life. Right? In the movie, "It's A Wonderful Life," George Bailey had expectations for his life. He was going to go off, see the world, do something important with his life. He never really defined what "important" was, but it is understood to be something that cannot be accomplished where he is, in a small town filled with small lives.

As most of us know, life isn't always what we expect it to be. There are bumps, boulders and sometimes mountains to be overcome. Getting over and around the obstacles can set us on a different path than the one we expected. And it is difficult to give up expectations that we have nurtured and cultivated over time. Some of mine have been with me longer than I can remember, they have become an integral part of my mindset and processing.
When Clarence comes to him, George is at a place where nothing has gone as he expected it to go, and he feels utterly lost. We can get mired in that kind of thinking, too. Where is the project that was going to transform lives, make me rich, famous, useful, worthwhile? If I can't accomplish that big, extravagant, "important" thing, then what use is my life? George is so lucky! Clarence helps George define his life affirmatively by allowing him to see what it is not. George's eyes were closed to just how wonderful his life was by the curtain of his expectations. I guess there is nothing wrong with dreams and expectations, unless we allow them to blind us to reality.
Does that apply to our expectations for God as well. If we have big, important expectations of God do they keep us from seeing God in the many small ways he comes to us every day? Think about the Jews as they waited for the Messiah to come based on this prophecy:
Isaiah 9:6-7 New International Version (NIV)


6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.




I don't know about you, but if I heard those words I would NOT be expecting a baby. Or a man who would willingly, peacefully sacrifice his life. And whenever I see the word zeal, well, I just hold on because I know that means it is going to be quite a ride! So how many people in his day missed Jesus because he just didn't fit their expectation?




The sermons the last two weeks left me with some questions. Like George, I could use some help in defining who the Messiah is that I am expecting. How did and does Christ fulfill that promise? And what exactly does a wonderful life look like? Paul gives us one answer to that last question in Philippians 2:3-4




"3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."




Maybe imitating the humility of Christ keeps us focused on the "smaller" things, so we can see the forest for the trees. Service to others does make a difference. I keep working on it, but right about now I could use my own personal Clarence.

The Third One's The Charm

Wow!  Sorry so late, thought I had finished this one.  Way back on November 20 we listened to the final in the three sermon series on Matthew 25, preparing and waiting for the coming of Christ.  Whether it be the celebration of the coming of the baby, or the second coming, we have been considering how we wait, how we prepare ourselves.

So far in this series I have learned we are responsible for preparing ourselves.  No one can do it for us.  And we must act, do, use what we have been given.  We are to create communities that reflect and project the love of God in to the world.  Today we considered how we do that - our attitude toward servitude, having a servant's heart, seriously looking at who or what we serve.

I think a recap will get that done, help reflect on and process some unspoken yet understood messages.  First, all people are by nature equally undeserving.  There is plenty of scriptural basis for this statement, but it seems to me that in this God-helps-those-who-help-themselves materialistic culture, we (I) often fall into the trap of believing that because I help those less fortunate, because I share, because I support my community of faith, because I do other things I somehow merit special consideration.  False.  None of us is any more deserving than the other.  What makes the difference is not what we do, but what we believe - in God.

Second, because God favors someone else, it does not diminish me, because neither one of us deserved anything to begin with.  This one goes back to the parable of the vineyard owner and the workers.  I also see this principle in the parable of the talents.  There was no jealousy between the workers because of the differing amounts they were given. God gives according to need and ability, and expects us to use what we have been given.


Finally, we choose.  God has chosen to offer eternal life, to do right, to give us what we need and can handle.  Our actions - and inaction - have consequences.  We can be goats or we can be sheep.  We can choose to be saved through Jesus, demonstrating by our actions that we understand what we are called to do and who we are called to be.  We choose how to invest our lives, but if we choose badly God does not and based on Matthew 25:31-46 will not save us from our bad choices.

Ephesians 2:10 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Time for this goat to get do-ing.