by Greg | May 6, 2015 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
This is the time of year in which I am endlessly entertained with bluebirds nesting and now hatching out another generation of young. Papa birds are easy to identify with their brilliant colors. It was Henry David Thoreau that said a bluebird looks as though he “carries the sky on his back.” While he gets all the attention, it is the mamma bird that really counts. Without her there would be no eggs and therefore no young. One year one of our birdhouses was a home to a mama squirrel and her young. From does tending to the fawns, to herons guarding their nests perched at the top of sycamores, may God bless all the good mammas in this world! Over the years I have known some wonderful mothers. One mother I knew would arise in the dark hours of the morning and see to it that my sister, brothers and I awoke to a crackling blaze in the fireplace. While we were not the wealthiest family in Putnam County, we ate like royalty. Biscuits were her specialty, but she was not bad with fried chicken or mashed potatoes either. Everyone in our family called her Nannan – my grandmother. She died just over eleven years ago and I still miss her, but she still shows up in a sermon illustration here and there. Amy’s mother died about two weeks before my grandmother, and she too was a “mother of mothers.” I called her Ruby when I was a newly minted husband as well as an official member of the family but within a year or two...
by Greg | Apr 22, 2015 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
A few evenings ago I was cutting grass along the shoulder of the road while my neighbor was cutting down and sectioning a dead tree in his front yard. As I was trudging behind my push mower, my neighbor was hauling away the logs of the hollowed out pine. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed he quickly dropped a log and so thinking that he needed help I shut off the mower and met him in his front yard. He looked at me and said, “I think there is a snake with a bird in the log.” Not wanting to pass up this act of nature and I had a look for myself and sure enough, there was a king snake coiled around the remains of a bird. Apparently earlier in the day the bird flew into the hollow of the tree and was surprised by a visitor for dinner. When I left this morning I noticed in my neighbor’s front yard the log still in place, presumably with the snake ensconced in it digesting its meal. I have a feeling the log will remain for the foreseeable future. Not-so-pleasant surprises come in all forms: snakes in the grass, yellow-jackets in the shrubbery, or bats in the eaves. I suppose at times it feels like nature is working against us, but then again nature usually does what it is supposed to do. What about our nature; how do we live and act according to our nature? The evidence is mixed. We pollute the earth and our bodies; we exact great harm upon others out...
by Greg | Apr 3, 2015 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
The events of Good Friday are well known and often told by believers and followers throughout the world. Each Gospel offers only one word to describe what happened: crucified. Though we want all the gory details – we live in a culture of violence after all – not much is actually told. He was beaten; a crown of thorns was pressed on his head; nails secured him to the cross beam; a spear pierced his side. There are very few adjectives used and not much in the way of grisly poetry to elevate this story. We are left with our imaginations to fill in the spaces. In fixating on the violence we sometimes overlook the more subtle indignities. There is the sign we read of in John’s Gospel that hangs over Jesus’ crucified head. In three languages it reads: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Today this sign is symbolized through the acronym based on the Latin letters: INRI. At that first Good Friday many saw this sign as false advertising, including the religious leaders. “He is not our king.” Some perceived this as his charge and therefore justification for this capital punishment. He says he is king of the Jews so the Romans will show you what they do to those who think they can usurp their imperial power. Maybe the sign was just a simple mockery; a humiliation. Some king, right? What sign are you hanging on Jesus today? Is it political, using Jesus to defend your ideology? Is it a sign of convenience, labeling Jesus as your own, but only partly so?...
by Greg | Apr 1, 2015 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
Do you compost? It is the best kind of recycling one can do. Compost consists of most any biodegradable material such as raw vegetables, coffee grounds, leaves, grass, and fruit. I keep a compost pile in the woods out behind my yard. Once it has thoroughly rotted – I think the correct term is “decomposed” – it becomes “gardener’s gold” and useful for all sorts of planting needs. I use it to amend and nourish the soil so that it will bear new life in the spring. I suppose Holy Week is a composting of sorts. We are spiritually stripped down to the essentials, reminded that we must die to our old lives of sin and waste. But through this spiritual death God is able to raise within us new lives full of beauty and promise. Holy Week is the biblical reminder that we cannot long remain the same. The weeds of care and concern, sin and transgression threaten to choke out the good fruit of generous lives. Our generous God transforms all this waste into something good and holy through the cross and into the resurrection. This Holy Week and Easter here are the ways in which you and I are invited cultivate our hearts and souls: Maundy Thursday (Matthew 26, Mark 14; Luke 22) will be observed in the Fellowship Hall at 7pm. There are a number of themes observed or commemorated on this day including the last meal with the disciples, which was probably a Passover meal, the institution of the Lord’s Supper or Communion, the betrayal of Judas, and the washing of feet....
by Greg | Mar 24, 2015 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
…That was the subject line of an email I recently received – “Muffin Top Drop.” I am not sure if it was a promotion for weight-loss or advertising a delicious pastry. I decided to forgo opening the email, assuming it was unsolicited. Besides, I like muffin tops and I do not need an email to convince me of it. I am amazed at the emails that get filtered and never make it to my virtual desk and those emails, like the one I mention above, that make it through in spite of our filters. For example today I received unsolicited emails promoting cigars, credit reports, memory loss prevention and something called a “belly buster.” (I hope my emails are not some kind of profile) When I accessed my junk file that automatically redirects emails from my inbox, I found emails from church members wondering why I had not replied to earlier emails; a poetry blog I subscribed to years ago; and something from Harvard (I am sure it was a delayed acceptance letter). Some people I know could stand to work on their filters. Saying and posting whatever comes to mind or how one is feeling at a time of heightened emotions is rarely a wise choice. God gave to us a frontal lobe and while not all lobes are created equal, a little reflection before speaking or writing is good for the soul and good for others too. Should churches ever filter? Apparently we try to with our server, but you see how effective that is. No, no, I mean should churches ever filter who...
by Greg | Mar 18, 2015 | Blog Posts, Uncategorized
A week or so ago many were amused, some outraged, and others mystified at the audacity of a pastor’s efforts to raise $65 million for a private jet. Apparently this pastor just skipped over the part in the Bible where Jesus instructed his disciples to, “Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff…” (Matthew 10:9-10) Come to think of it, maybe this pastor found a loophole, because in fairness Jesus makes no mention of airplanes. Pastors often follow the lead of other “successful” pastors, but I am not so audacious as to ask for $65 million for a jet (besides, I am prone to airsickness). I just need $65 for a tire cover for my Jeep. Truth be told, I can afford the tire cover, but I could use some suggestions on what should go on the cover. Maybe “Follow Me to FBC” or “What Would Johnny Cash Do?” Feel free to Facebook or tweet me your suggestions with #namethatcover. I guess we can roll our eyes at such outlandish actions by people of faith who prey on the vulnerable to enrich their lifestyles and do so “in the name of Jesus.” We can share our disgust with one another as well as bemusement. We can, and probably should, squirm a bit at our own complicity to justify some of our outlandish actions done under the banner of Christianity. Or we can be sad. Sad for this pastor so consumed in self-enrichment and self-entitlement that he no longer sees what is...
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