Hold On!

I wish is had a blood pressure cuff this past week. I was at home with the family. We had the television on. And a political ad came on. I couldn't believe it. The election was over. Aside from being a wast of money because they aired the commercial at the wrong time it was a waste of my time because, like most people I got pretty sick and tired of those ads and I didn't want to hear one more word about it. I started going into a tirade and wasn't a couple of sentences into it when I noticed the commercial started moving in fast motion. I hadn't realized until that moment that the program we were watching was recorded from the week before and now my loving wife was kindly fast forwarding it to spare me the pain of watching one more moment of it.

A moment of pause would have done me well. A moment of reflection and patience before speaking would have saved me some grief. Fortunately, only my family was around to see this embarrassing display. With out saying a word; with out a gesture or a glance' with the quick action of the remote control my wife said “hold on!”

That's a multipurpose phrase, “Hold on”

“Hold on” can mean to pause as my wife's actions suggested. Its what you say when you are wanting to catch up to someone, getting them to wait. Its what you say when you are challenging someone on an idea. You ever done that? It seems to happen more around election season. Someone is passionate about a subject and they are going on and on and at some point they cross a line that you cannot agree with so you stop them with a “hold on.” I wonder what the criteria is, for some people when forming their political opinions. It ought to be be based on the great commandments of God but I am convinced that's not always the case. What is the line that some one crosses that causes you to say, “Now hold on!”? It's interesting to look inside and investigate where our biases come from.

Jesus gave the disciples a “hold on” in the scripture today.

Jesus and his disciples were walking out of the temple and they were awestruck by the immensity of the place. And Jesus told them not to be so impressed because all this is temporary. Well scripture has Jesus saying, “ Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another. All well be torn down.”

These guys were small town fishermen and they were with Jesus in Jerusalem, in the temple which was at that time one of the wonders of the world. And Jesus was saying that this marvel was temporary. Ti must have seemed unbelievable.

This week in history 25 years ago, in 1987 I was a small town boy getting ready to play in the state championship football game in the Pontiac Silver-dome. We came out of that tunnel for a short practice onto that field that two nearly years before Barry Sanders ever did. My coach, taking a cue from the movie The Hoosiers, pulled out a tape measure and measured a yard and, yep, it was a regular ole yard, 36 inches. And now The Silver-dome goes unused.

This is a temporary world with temporary things and temporary problems. Jesus disciples wanted to know when the destruction of the temple would happen. They wanted dates. They wanted a time line. They wanted a heads up or a warning. But Jesus gave them a “hold on.” There will be people who will try to use events to try to claim to be the Christ but don't you listen to them. Jesus in his loving care didn't address their question directly but warned them about the dangers of their way of thinking. We ought not be looking for signs of the end but instead we should be staying true to what God commands us.

Hold on and also mean brace yourself. There is rough road ahead. Its like when I get last second directions in the car to make a turn. I tell the kids, “Hold on!”

Do you other parents instinctively put your hand in front of your child in the passenger seat to protect them? We do that I a lot of ways not just in the car. We try to keep those we love safe in a world that is dangerous and full of things we cannot control.

When we face difficulties, sometimes the only thing we can do is hold on, to minimize the loss or the damage. That feeling of being out of control is not one that we desire. This is a dangerous world. We can marvel at a sunset over Lake Michigan and say that God is good but then we also have to look at the devastation that Hurricane Sandy has wrought and hold on to the same understanding of God. God is still good. There are some who say that this storm or that storm is a judgment by God about this or that action of a people. That doesn't make much sense to me. Does that mean that we northern Michiganders get punished with dangerous blizzards every January and February for our sins? Only to be rewarded with heaven on earth every summer and fall? No its just a dangerous world we live in. Bad things happen. During the good times we rest in God and During the rough times we hold on and rest in God. Jesus said that there wold be wars and rumors of wars. Jesus said that there would be earth quakes and famines. Hasn't this happened many many times in the past 2000 years? Hasn't there been many predictions of the end of time that have come and gone? Has that been spiritually profitable to anyone? The current one that is getting attention is the end of the Mayan calendar. I know its frustrating when you get to the end of the calendar you are using and have to buy a new one, especially when it's been carved out of stone and is centuries old but time marches on and we have something eternal to hold on to.

That's another way to use the phrase “Hold on”. Keep secure what is true and valuable. Hold on to my grandmothers frog that was her door stop for all the years of my life. But even as solid and as permanent as it seems it is temporary so I don't hold to tightly. Hold on to what is eternal. Hold on to what is true: God loves you unconditionally; God took the initiative in saving you the tangle of hell you have created for yourself; Jesus is God in human form and came to give you life; Life in Jesus means life in eternity.

So, how is it with you today? Hold on! Pause and asses your situation. Hold on! It could get rough, but God is there. Hold on! Hold on to what is true and eternal.

On Kinney Down

Jay getting his glasses adjusted AGAIN. The staff at the optometrist know us well. 

Some notes from the Kindergarten Sunday School class for me.  What a delight!

This is the entrance where I get my hair cut.  I now have a barber.  Thought I have
been gong her for over a year now, I finally can call her "my barber" because there is now
that familiarity means little needs to be said.  Its a Zen-like understanding. 

  

Smoking Section

Visiting the sick and dying is an uncomfortable,
yet blessed part of ministering to God's people.  

Mark 7:24-37

I had hope but ultimately I was disappointed the Central Michigan University Chippewas lost their home stadium match up with the Spartans. Oh well, at least all those people at family camp wearing their green and white shirts should be satisfied today.

We are in the midst of family camp weekend. A few of the regulars at worship are not here because they are at the Lake Michigan United Methodist camp in Pentwater. I spent the last two rainy nights out there sitting around the camp fire watching the kids play on that huge tire swing they have down there. Being at family camp I couldn't help but feel the tradition that was behind this event. It was as if we were being swept along by events of the past. Old memories seemed to saturate every inch of that beautiful place. It reminded me that I...that we stand in a long line of faithful disciples of Christ that have come through these doors and have made a difference in countless lives.

Have I told you lately that I am proud to be your pastor?

Months before I knew I was being sent to St. Paul I had a meeting with a few other pastors at the Scottville UMC. It was about pastoral education, blah, blah, blah.

Barb Fay Pastor from Frankfort was there. It was the first time I had ever met her. As soon as she said Frankfort I got a little knot in my stomach. Let me tell you why...

I grew up in Beal City Michigan. When you are from Beal City Michigan you are steeped in a tradition of playing football. The tradition is so strong that there is a bit of culture shock when one goes elsewhere and finds that not everyone's calendar revolves around the high school football schedule. Last I knew Beal City holds the record for most appearances in the playoffs since records started being kept in 1950 with 26. Going to the playoffs is what Beal City Football does. And when a team goes to the playoffs either they will win the State championship or they will be eliminated somewhere along the way. I was in high school in the late 80s. We met Frankfort in the play offs and were eliminated by them in 85, 88, 90, 91, 92, and 93. Beal City got a victory against Frankfort in 95, but the very next year Frankfort was victorious. You can probably guess that when ever Frankfort came up as our next opponent we started to get a little anxious. Frankfort started to take on a “larger than life” presence in my mind. But then things change. Beal City has won 7 of their last 8 meetings with them.

because of past experience we may not see people for the children of God that they are.

What if I were called to be a pastor at Frankfort instead of St. Paul? I am sure that I would have quickly got past all those playoff losses and would have been able to minister to that congregation. I mean, are they any less deserving of God's love?

I'm kidding of course.

Sometimes we need to force ourselves to go into the very area that makes uncomfortable to defeat the demon that is holding us back from showing God's radical love.

I was on Twitter and I read a something that made me pause. It said “if you want to win the world to Christ, you need to sit in the smoking section.” Meaning, you have to go to where people are. You have to go to some uncomfortable places. You have to experience real life, real pain, real suffering if you really want to make a difference in this world.

I called up to the Frankfort United Methodist Church this week to ask Pastor Barb permission to use her in this sermon. She wasn't there. The person that answered the phone said that he was on her way to Abu Dhabi to see her new grand baby. Abu Dahbi? In the United Arab Emirates? Is that safe?

There I go again. I got that same knot in my stomach. The UAE is, apparently, on my subconscious list of places one should not go. Why? Is there any place on earth where God is not? Is there any place that would not benefit from an expression of unconditional love? I want to repent of my reluctance to go to places that are uncomfortable for me, when I know that others will benefit.

Youcef Nadarkhani...Do you know this name? Youcef Nadarkhani is a Christian pastor and a native-born Iranian. He was arrested 3 years ago for renouncing Islam. He was sentenced to death. For three years he sat in jail, in Iran, waiting for his own execution. He had several opportunities to be released. All he had to do was to recant. He just had to sign a statement what he was no longer a Christian and the process would begin that would lead to his freedom. He did not deny his faith. He stayed in that uncomfortable place. He stayed in Jail. He stayed on death row. He has a wife and children. He has plenty to live for. But he stayed in that uncomfortable place, he stayed in the smoking section.

Its amazing I have heard of people giving up of their faith for much less than that. Some bad experience in some church 20 years ago. Or some preacher said something that I didn't like. Or “I couldn't believe in a God who would______________.” Fill in the blank.

In the Gospel Lesson today Jesus went on a trip to Syria. He left his homeland. Left behind the familiar. Some suggest he went on a vacation. The text doesn't support this conclusion. He left the sea of Galilee and walked to Tyre. That's like walking from Scottville to Manistee. There he met a woman who wanted healing for her daughter. He tested her faith. Was she just looking for a hand out from this miracle worker or did she truly trust in him. She proved her faith, her daughter was healed. Do you think she might have had some good things to say about this Jesus who came by and healed her daughter with ever seeing her? Do you think she held back in mentioning to everyone she knew about Jesus? When Paul would later bring the good news to this area do you think they were ready to hear the message in part because of what happened with this woman?

After this Jesus went to the decapolis. Which is like saying he left Manistee and walked to White Cloud. But he went by way of Sidon. So to put his journey into local perspective. Going from Tyre to Sidon to the Decapolis is like going from Manistee to Frankfort to White Cloud. He made a difficult journey north, and went even further into uncomfortable territory before retiring to the familiar. It was there that he healed the man with the hearing and speaking difficulties. This was no weekend journey.  This was no vacation.  This was an intentional act of Jesus to bring about the Father's will. 

Pastor Nadarkhani stayed where is was most difficult to stay. He stayed where is was uncomfortable because it was the right thing to do. Pastor Nadarkhani was acquitted yesterday of his apostate charges, was released and was reunited with his family. Pastor Nadarkhani stayed in the smoking section and has become a hero of the faith.

So how is it with you today? Were is the smoking section for you? Is it the homeless guys that hang out in the Ludington library during the winter months to keep warm? Is it the people who go to the bar? Where is the smoking section?

What do you avoid so that you don't have to interact with, “those people”?