by Greg | Feb 28, 2008 | Blog Posts
Along with a handful of other TV viewers we wasted a couple of hours watching the Oscars last Sunday evening. Why do we sacrifice useful hours before the “idiot box” when we could be doing something constructive – like lobbying for world hunger or working on my macaroni art? Is it to gawk at what the celebrities are wearing this year? Oh, please. Could it be the superficial prattle of the “talking heads” interviewing the movie stars as they make their grand entrances? Nah! The Academy Award Show itself is not particularly interesting either. I suppose that one of the biggest reasons I like to watch the “Oscars” each year is that deep down I nurture some fantasy that maybe I could get my hands on one of those trophies. Think about it for a moment – it would look good right beside my vast collection of two Little League baseball trophies and a recognition plaque for perfect attendance in the third grade. The problem is I have not quite figured out what category I could qualify for – since I have never even been in a movie. Maybe a big-time director will show up in church one Sunday, listen to my sermon and exuberantly exclaim, “For years we have been looking for a bearded-Baptist-minister-who-looks-like-a-rabbi type.” And the rest will be history. Don’t you think it would be sort of neat if we could walk around with Oscars and hand them out to deserving individuals? Maybe we could start a trend on Wednesday night. After our meal I could approach the podium and announce, “For the category of Best...
by Greg | Jan 28, 2008 | Blog Posts
Churches and other places of worship are accustomed to expect that during an election year some candidates for public office will make visits. Religion is important to many in this country and so it is understandable that public servants want to participate in the lives of their constituents. Scripture teaches us the importance of welcoming all (Leviticus 19:34). In the rule of St. Benedict it is written: Let all guests that come be received like Christ. Over the years I have observed that some candidates and elected public servants are confused about their role as a guest in church. Therefore it seems prudent to offer the following guidance for those who come to be with us in worship. First, it is important to remember that all guests who come are equally important in the house of God. We do not introduce those who are visitors because we do not wish to make them feel like a spectacle. Therefore please understand that neither will we introduce a candidate or public servant should they happen to visit one Sunday. Secondly, it is important for all – guests and members alike – that when we enter public worship we release our own agendas so that we may better listen to God’s directive. While worship includes fellowship, worship is not a time to greet constituents or otherwise unduly draw attention to one’s self. It is time to focus on God. Thirdly, the body of Christ in a local congregation is diverse – racially, economically and politically. We believe such diversity deepens our community and demonstrates a hopeful model for the nation. We ask...
by Greg | Jan 22, 2008 | Blog Posts
Last Sunday evening we enjoyed some “home cooking” – tamales! Of course growing up I did not know how to spell tamale much less cook them. Yet this past weekend I sat with my family and enjoyed a “mess” of tamales prepared by a sweet couple who work on my father’s dairy. They are both from Mexico and speak very little English, but they work hard and cook even better. The occasion for the tamales was my daddy’s birthday. This couple wanted to do something nice for him and so they prepared a homemade Mexican meal for not only my dad, but all of us. I even went back to Augusta with leftovers, which is unusual when all the DeLoaches gather together to eat! All of the cooking took place in my grandmother’s house, which is where they now live. After my grandmother died a few years ago I worried about her old house. This house contained so many memories, most of them in the kitchen. It is where we rested, where we talked, where we ate and where we knew we could go no matter how far we had strayed. I could hardly stand the thought of the house empty and silent. Now the house is full again with two lives who want to do much the same as we did years ago. The smells of my grandmother’s kitchen use to be of fried chicken and biscuits, but now they have been replaced by tamales, corn and peppers. Either way my grandmother’s house is still a home. Homes nourish. They feed the body with nutrients; the heart with...
by Greg | Jan 17, 2008 | Blog Posts
It is a bit too cold right now to be thinking of camping, but I am anyway. The clear nights make for the perfect viewing of a sky full of stars. Throw in a campfire, chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows for s’mores and we are good to go. We have enjoyed camping all through our marriage. During our first year of marriage Amy and I drove out to Yellowstone to rough it for a couple of weeks. We packed a pup tent, a pound of bacon, a change of shorts and tee-shirts. After one week, however, we headed home because we nearly froze to death in the middle of June! I had no idea that it could possibly be cold anywhere in the United States during the month of June. What makes camping so fun is that you are mobile. All you need is a tent (and you don’t really need that) and a good map (which I usually ignore – it’s a man thing). Most everything else you need to enjoy a few days in the woods should fit right on your back. Mobility and flexibility is the key to happy camping. Not a bad metaphor for the faith. A faith on the move…going places. It is too bad so many are content with just staying put in their relationship with God. Never changing, never growing, never blossoming into anything more. Like water, such a faith is in mortal danger of stagnation. Water that is not allowed a place to flow becomes putrid and useless. That is why you hear me speak so often of our faith as...
by Greg | Jan 15, 2008 | Blog Posts
Some fathers receive ties for presents, or cuff links or maybe a special book. My father, for example, received from me a collection of DVDs on World War II. I guess those dads are normal. I, apparently, am an exception. My son (I will not mention which one, but I will give you two guesses and the first one doesn’t count) gave me a miniature toy figure that looks like Jesus. It is about an inch or so in height, but, the advertisement states, place the figure in water and in ten days “Jesus” will grow up to 600% its size. I plan on beginning the experiment soon and will post the results on my blog. I am a bit troubled wondering if this constitutes rebaptism, but I suppose since this is a toy and not the actual Jesus I am on stable theological ground. Have you ever approached faith like that? Just add water and Jesus rises up to the occasion. Of course you and I know that it is not nearly so simple. Faith is not a quid pro quo transaction where we act one way and God reciprocates according to a set formula. Do we really want God to be that way? Malleable to our own whims? This would make God a cosmic short-order cook, taking our orders so that we can have it our way. And yet neither is Jesus unconcerned with where we are or who we are. It’s true, we cannot add water and change Jesus to our expectations or our grandiose ideas, but we can believe that God wants something far bigger...
Recent Comments