Saturday, August 24, 2013

Reflections for August 24, 2013

"And Mary pondered these things in her heart." (A couple of times in Chapter 2 of Luke.)

 I know Christmas is 4 months away, but this was the chapter in the Bible Challenge today. Chapter 2 of Luke gives a quick snapshot of the first 8 years of Jesus lives. All of the events framed with Mary pondering the reactions of others to Jesus' birth in her heart.

 I thought about that idea as a parent. What are the parts of my son's lives that I ponder in my heart. What memories of them growing up will I hold onto well after they've left home. I certainly remember both of their births, being present in the delivery room watching them come through the surgical cut as both were cesarean section babies. I remember their baptisms. I remember their first days of school. I remember their time in cub scouts, their Little League games, wrestling matches and youth soccer games. I remember musical concerts and plays. I remember family vacations. I remember their friends, both male and female. I am sure that there will be more moments to treasure and ponder in my heart.

 I wonder if Jesus pondered things in his heart about his mother? The Bible doesn't show much interaction between the two. I wonder what my sons will remember about me? What do they ponder and cherish in their hearts? As you recall important people in your lives related or not, what do you still treasure, what do you still ponder?

Blessings,
Ed

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Reflections for 8/21/2013

"And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets."(Zech 8:5) As the last couple of weeks of summer time wind down, I start to think about summer times past of playing outside with my friends. I grew up before there was cable tv and video games and computers. I didn't have air conditioning so there was no reason to stay in side. The town where I grew up was reasonably safe, had playgrounds and even had a woods behind my house where great games could be played. I'm not going to claim that those times were better than now, just different. I don't see kids out on the streets playing anymore. Part of it is the entertainment that everybody has. Part of it is a fear of something awful happening that todays parents have to deal with more than my parents did. I do think there's a lot less imagination today then there used to be. I don't know if life is fun for kids anymore. Perhaps it is again just in a different sort of way. I miss playing outside. Heck I miss period. But that promise of God that children would play in the streets again, perhaps might return. When we feel safer, when our minds and hearts yearn for fresh air and the use of our imagination. Blessings, Ed

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Reflection for August 15, 2013

"For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."(Mark 10:27)

If we were to take a look at the things we now take for granted, how far back would we have to go before we find where the idea was deemed impossible.  Airplanes, cars, cell phones, Skype, surgeries without knives, running water in homes.  The list could go on.  We anticipate progress all the time and live in a world where the impossible becomes possible and sometimes even actual.

My faith in a living God is what brings me joy in each new discovery.  That God continues to reveal and unfold through out history.  Endowing us with creativity and openness to new concepts, ideas and inventions.

Yet there are parts of our lives where I still run into folks telling me that God wouldn't do something, that it is impossible.  Really?  Or is it actually that we find the concept impossible, hard to stomach, goes against our cherished biases.  God would never do anything we wouldn't imagine?  Yet God constantly seems to reveal that there are real possibilities right in front of us, and sometimes they contradict what was once seen as possible or the boundaries that were seemingly cemented.

If we believe in a living God, then the word impossible should not be in our vocabulary.

Blessings,
Ed

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Reflection for August 14, 2013

"But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him."(Mark 9:32)

Have you ever had someone say to you "this may be a dumb question."  Every time I hear that I want to say the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked.  I know what often stops me from asking a question, the fear of looking stupid, especially if it is something I think I should know.

Of course we also may not ask a question because we actually don't want to know.  The minute we choose to get information we are then faced with a choice of what are we going to do with that information.

I find that as I've gotten older and a little more assured that I still have things to learn, asking questions has become easier for me.  It probably helps that there are no longer grades attached.  I also know that I don't fear questions being asked of me.  If I know the answer I give it.  If I don't know the answer, I promise to try and find out.

There are subjects that I may never fully understand, but I cannot allow being afraid to squelch my curiosity.  I need the wisdom to know who to ask.  I know it is also helpful to find someone who not only knows, but who has the patience to answer the question without making others feel like idiots.

Blessings,
Ed

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Reflection for August 8, 2013

"When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream."(Psalm 126 vs.1)

The lottery ads tell me that all I need is a dollar and a dream.  I then could possibly have a fairly sizable financial fortune.  Maybe this would be a dream come true.  Part of me thinks it would be a nightmare.

What do you dream of.  Is it about a better tomorrow?  Or is it more about a restoration of what once was?

Personally I have both kinds.  Though I'd say I dream more about the future than I do about restoring the past.  That may be because my past is fine and there's nothing from it I'd truly like back.  But that may not be true for everyone.

There are moments in life that feel like a dream come true.  Usually when something terrific happens to us.  Thank God for those moments.  But I also know that some dreams don't get fulfilled.  Some restorations don't happen.  And even in those disappointments, those laments of what once was but can't be again or for those missed opportunities that aren't coming again, I too have to be like one who dreams, one who hopes and one who keeps moving forward.

Blessings,
Ed

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Reflection for August 7, 2013

"Here are my mother and my bothers/! Whoever does the will of
God is my brother sister and mother." (Mark 3:34b-35)

All of us have families.  I still have my mother and father who I see periodically throughout the year and certainly talk on the phone to frequently.  I am glad to still have a good relationship with them, and that they are still in good health.  I know not everyone is blessed to still have their parents around and in some cases the relationship is so strained they are in some ways dead.  I also have a sister who again I see from time to time, speak to occasionally. Our relationship is also fine.  We don't live close enough to each other to have family weekends and our children's schedules are also road blocks to seeing each other.  I did just see her and am glad that she is my sister.

I of course have my own family.  A wife and two sons.  They bring me much joy and also stress, but nothing out of the ordinary.  I hope to maintain that level of warmth and affection as we grow older too.

I have  other families, people who I have connections to in different ways. There is my church family, my family of Grinnell alums, my colleagues in ministry.  There is a bond of affection that while again I don't see these folks often, I'm always glad when I do.

I try not to set conditions as to who is my family. At first glance it would seem that Jesus rejects traditional family definitions and puts conditions on who's in his family.  What I see Jesus inviting us to is a place of seeing all folks who we come in contact with as family.  Can we muster the same level of warmth and compassion that we might give to those who we share some real DNA with?

Can we also find in others a sense of family that may be lacking in our own?  We need to be careful of projecting to much family dynamics onto what is really community.  But there are parallels and sometimes much like heredity, being part of the larger human family can be hard to escape.

Blessings,
Ed