by Greg | Feb 18, 2015 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
In baptism and through water we are marked by God as one of God’s own. Baptism is the symbol of being born again. On this day Christians around the world are marked with ashes. To be marked with ashes with the sign of the cross is really the only time Christians look distinctive or set apart from others. No one can see your baptism. Wearing a cross means little nowadays since it is now mostly a decorative symbol. Most Christians do not have hats or caps for the head, or veils to cover the face. This one day of the year, all over the world, Christians gather in places of worship to be smudged, right there in the middle of the forehead. Why? We are marked for penitence: Not a one of us will leave here unscathed by sin. It gets to us all. We mark others with our failures and fears and we too become victims bearing the scars of hurt and pain – some you see but most you do not. We are fooled into thinking that sin is a private matter, between us and God. Sin nearly always affects those around us. We are here together, tonight as a family. This whole business of being marked by ashes got started centuries ago when sinners were singled in the public in order for them to be brought back into the church. The trouble is once you start marking every sinner with ash, not a person is left out, no not one. “Ash Wednesday is the most honest of days.” (Christian Century,...
by Greg | Feb 16, 2015 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
To The Field of Stars: A Pilgrim’s Journey to Santiago De Compostela, by Kevin A. Codd Told from the perspective of a Catholic Priest, this book recounts a thirty-five day pilgrimage across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, the traditional burial place of the apostle James the Greater. Pilgrims, trekkers, cyclists and hikers have traversed this route for hundreds of years. The author allows us to travel with him from village to village as he recounts friendships and insights and discovers changes in his own interior life along the camino (the way). He infuses his pilgrimage with delightful details of some of the places he slept, food he ate, and the scenery along the way. Along the camino he shares his admiration of some of the great architecture of the cathedrals and churches he encounters, confessing, “I gawk at Gothic but I pray in Romanesque.” Elsewhere he reminds us of the gift of authentic welcome that blesses him in surprising ways. “Hospitality counts for everything; appearances for nothing.” His story is breezily told, but there were places that I felt he bogged down in the telling. Nevertheless if you would like to learn more about this historic pilgrimage from the eyes of a modern pilgrim, I commend this to...
by Greg | Jan 28, 2015 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
Every town and city has something that caters to the tourist. In my little hometown of Eatonton, GA, you can take a brief (and I mean brief) tour of the Uncle Remus Museum and purchase some sweet, Brer Rabbit swag. Right here in Augusta for one special week thousands upon thousands gobble up anything marked by “The Masters Tournament.” Recently I was in the city of San Antonio for a small conference. During a break I walked down to the Alamo to do some site seeing as well as look for trinkets to bring back home. In one shop filled with gaudy and goofy souvenirs there was a display of nativity sets, with the following sign: Don’t take baby Jesus Please, it is a set. Thank You Apparently pilfering baby Jesus is a problem near the Alamo. Thinking about this some more, there is a deeper truth than just defending a shopkeeper’s merchandise. If you take Jesus, you have to take everyone that comes with Jesus. In a culture we are used to customizing nearly all things towards our personal taste and nearly everything can be reduced to a commodity. Jesus, however, comes as is and along with Jesus comes a family of people that many would rather leave out. Reading the Gospels Jesus brought along Samaritans and Canaanites who were ethnically and religiously on the “wrong side of the tracks.” He associated with despised tax collectors, prostitutes, and other unsavory characters. Jesus reached across the cultural divide and gave women hope, the diseased healing, and the neglected life. Because of this Jesus offended those who wanted...
by Greg | Jan 21, 2015 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
One fall morning, when I was a little boy of eight years old, I took it upon myself to leave the house and explore the vast pastures and woods of our farm. In the past my daddy and granddaddy walked every acre with me, but this was the first time I struck out on my own and by myself – and without the consent or knowledge of anyone else! I traipsed directly to the creek that dissected our land, found a narrow pass and jumped over to the other side. I figured that soon I should be climbing a familiar hill that would overlook the pastures with the dairy cows grazing on one side and the creek bottoms on the other. Instead I came to another creek – this was a surprise – and it seemed to me it was on the wrong side. Then and there it slowly occurred to me that I was not exactly lost, but rather confused. I had walked in a circle. For the last century researchers have puzzled over why when we walk we generally do not travel in a straight line, especially without a fixed point. This is also true for swimming and driving a car. Without a fixed point we tend to travel in circles. Scientists and engineers can put a man on the moon, but there is still not a good answer as to why we travel in circles, even when we think we are going straight ahead. By the way, I do not recommend you drive a car blindfolded to test this theory out, but I am told...
by Greg | Jan 14, 2015 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
“Every man looks upon his wood pile with a sort of affection.” Henry David Thoreau All of my life I have enjoyed the blessings of the generosity of others. This includes procuring firewood. I have friends in the church that have allowed me to cut wood, gather wood, and at times some have delivered wood practically to my doorstep. Few things in housekeeping are more satisfying than a generous stack of firewood. Thoreau continued his soliloquy on firewood writing, “I love to have mine before my window, and the more chips the better to remind me of my pleasing work.” Yet no matter how grand the stack, as winter’s chill sets in so goes the wood. Firewood was meant to burn to warm both home and heart. The cycle of generosity repeats itself: find, cut, split and deliver more wood year in and year out. We spend our days accumulating and then in time we begin giving it all away. I have been reminded of this lesson of late as I know of several in our church family who are “downsizing” from larger homes to smaller ones. There is the sentimental and at times painful sorting through a lifetime of artifacts trying to determine what to keep, what to give away and what to throw out. Meanwhile the concentric circles of life grow smaller and smaller. Such is life. It is at this liminal and sacred place that grants us space to reflect on what it is in this world that is most valuable and what it is that we will take with us...
by Greg | Dec 24, 2014 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
As I write this I am in between Christmas Eve services. Our family service has concluded and hundreds of “children of all ages” are happily making their way to home and celebration. In less than an hour our sanctuary will fill to capacity. If we are honest (and of course we should be) we envy the full and busy. To want and to languish is hardly sought out or admirable. A few of us even brag about such fullness by working hard and never having enough time, feigning remorse saying “Maybe we can find some time next week.” Tonight in churches throughout this land the weary worshippers will ease into their pews only to nervously wonder if they have shopped enough, cooked enough, planned enough. “Maybe there is something more I can do…just one more thing.” We fill our time and our bellies with so much that there is not really room for much else. Please know I like the fullness of it all, especially this time of year. There is joy in the over-indulgence of celebrating and singing and eating. The kingdom of God is often compared to a feast and what better time to feast and over-indulge than Christmas, the very celebration of more. I wonder though if we also stuff and stow and fill our lives because we fear the emptiness. That is, we fear the silence, the unknowing, the stillness. Look at what centers us this night – a manger that at this moment is empty. I wonder about what or who was in that stable where the empty manager stood....
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