The Sunday before Ash Wednesday, Rev. Angie proposed “That we see God’s hand in everything, the planned events in our lives as well as the unplanned events. We couldn’t just put holiness in a neat little box. We were challenged to find God in every experience.”

It’s been so difficult for me to find God, while I’m watching my friend, Jimmy, who may be dying soon. There have been days where he has phoned me 6 times. I know God has had a hand in helping me answer the phone and listen. No matter what I’m doing, I try to understand how important it is for me to just listen. God knows, how much I’ve been praying to listen more and talk less. (Wow! Giving up chocolate for lent was easier than this!)

I want to try and give hope to Jimmy. I believe there is always hope in any situation, it’s just sometimes hard to find. It’s difficult for me to tell him the medical facts without destroying hope for him.

Pray I listen more, offer hope to Jimmy, and grasp that God is always available for both of us.

Praise be God!

-a Beloved

“I Recommend Jesus” (part 4)

“O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.”

-Psalm 34:8 NRSV

It’s only a recommendation: Finally, in verse 8, after all of his boasting, David makes his recommendation. “O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.” Returning to my earlier definition of “recommend,” let me paraphrase his thought. He is saying that to try the Lord is advisable and expedient. He’s saying that to choose the Lord in times of crisis is appropriate and beneficial. He is saying that the Lord is worthy of your confidence and acceptance.

However, as is true with all recommendations, this recommendation carries with it the option of rejection. The one to whom a recommendation is made is not obligated to accept or receive the recommendation. In other words, each of us must choose to try the Lord for ourselves. We as humans are good about making contingency plans. We like to have a backup plan whether it’s a man or woman, a bank account, a hustle, or some other device that will come through when things are not going according to our plan. So, instead of trying the Lord, we turn to the resources we have cultivated to help us out in a pinch. Or if what the Lord has spoken to us isn’t working as quickly or as well as we would like, we have someone to turn to who will save the day, running to them while all the time, the Lord is saying, “Try me, and let me prove myself to you!” David said, “Taste and see (for yourself) that the Lord is GOOD!”

I thought of a phrase that I often repeated to the members of a music class that I taught: COMMIT TO THE BEAT! They were required to take an assigned tune and sing it with the correct pitches, rhythm, and syllables. But on many occasions, some of them would start and stop and start and stop and start and stop while they tried to figure out what the note or syllable should have been! But in doing so, they had already defeated the purpose of the exercise because the rhythm was already broken, disturbed, and distorted. My insistence was therefore that they needed to COMMIT TO THE BEAT. In other words, they needed to make a decision to push on through those difficult, shaky spots, and keep moving on to the end instead of interrupting the process.

Maybe, the same is true of us today. We get to a rough, shaky spot, and instead of braving it out, trusting in the Lord to see us through, we balk. We stop and try to fix it or go back to the beginning and stop and start and stop and start, never making our way through the danger, the threat, the problem. And each time we do so-relying on our limited resources-we may be interrupting the Lord’s process of showing us who is on our side, of teaching us to trust, and of proving to us that the Lord alone is worthy of our “confidence, acceptance, and use!”

“I Recommend Jesus” (conclusion)

“O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.”

-Psalm 34:8 NRSV

Will you try the Lord today? In the midst of this Season of Lent, the Lordcontinues to urge us to really try the Lord today, to taste and see that the Lord is good. And Jesus says to us, that if we will try him, we won’t go away dissatisfied, hungry, or empty “for those who fear him have no want [no lack]. The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” [Psalm 34:9-10].

Yet, each of us has to decide to “commit to the beat,” to commit to the course and endure the process so we can see how good the Lord truly is. It’s only when we decide to throw our entire weight upon the Lord and trust the Lord to carry us that we’ll begin to know the Lord in all of the Lord’s sweetness.

If you will try the Lord in the midst of your crisis (and better yet, your everyday living), you can find out for yourself that Jesus is still able to save and deliver.

Jesus is the friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Jesus is the one who empowers us to make a difference in our communities.

Jesus is the one who weeps with us is our sorrow.

Jesus is the one who offers us opportunities for resurrection.

To borrow from another advertising slogan, when it comes to Jesus, our Lord,

“You’ve got the right one, baby!”

“I recommend Jesus for he’s that kind of friend.”

-Dollie Howell Pankey

“I Recommend Jesus” (part 2)

“O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.”

-Psalm 34:8 NRSV

Why I recommend Jesus: As you can see, Jesus is the object of my recommendation. The Random House College Dictionary definition for recommend is “to present as worthy of confidence, acceptance, use; to represent or urge as advisable or expedient; to suggest a choice as appropriate, beneficial, or the like. ”

This Psalm suggests that David had found the Lord to be worthy of “confidence, acceptance, and use,” for he says, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears” [Psalm 34:4]. He did not say that he sought Momma or Daddy, wife, lover, brother, friend, prophet, or priest. If we were to add to that list for today, we might also have to include doctor, lawyer, therapist, bartender, accountant, or personal drug supplier. Rather, David sought the Lord.

This particular psalm resulted from a period when David was fleeing from Saul’s threat of death. He was pushed to a point of having to feign madness in order to save his life. Yet as he reflected on that time, he was able to bless the Lord because the Lord had heard him! If you have ever been in trouble, then you know that it’s good to have someone who will hear and answer you in your distress.

Then David said that not only had the Lord heard him, but that the Lord also had delivered him from all his fears and saved him out of all his troubles. On top of that, the Lord had angel standing guard over him. So he had good reason to present the Lord “as worthy of confidence, acceptance, and use” to all those that would hear.

As I consider the Lord Jesus this Lent season, I have good reason to present him “as worthy of confidence, acceptance, and use” to all those that will hear! If you need one who can hear and deliver today, then I recommend Jesus!

“I Recommend Jesus” (part 3)

“O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.”

-Psalm 34:8 NRSV

Why I recommend Jesus: It is easy to see that David’s recommendation of the Lord was based on personal experience rather than on someone else’s word. It is one thing to take another person’s word on who or what to try. We do it all the time. If LeBron James says that we should try a particular wireless phone or tablet company, we’ll go check it out! When Sophia Vergara oohs and ahs over a can of Diet Pepsi, we think it can make us look the way that she does! Advertisers bank on our willingness to accept the recommendation of someone held high in our esteem. Yet, most of us have had an experience where we’ve gone out and tried something on somebody else’s word and wound up highly disappointed in the ends.

David was not one of those who had just taken somebody else’s word for how good the Lord was. He had personally experienced the Lord’s goodness. He had spent years out in the countryside tending his father’s sheep and got to know the Lord for himself. He had developed that sweet communion. When the lion and bear tried to attack the sheep, he got to know the Lord as a victorious conqueror. When he was anointed by Samuel to replace Saul as king, he got to know the Lord as one who looked on the heart of a person and not on outward appearances. When he had to run for his life because of Saul’s threats, he got to know the Lord as one who delivers and is faithful to keep his promises.

David had plenty of opportunities to try the Lord for himself, and because he had tried the Lord for himself, he was able to say, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.” [Psalm 34:1-3] He had seen the Lord come through for him in the midst of tragedy and was able to boast in the Lord’s goodness!

I am glad that I can join in with David’s song and recommend Jesus to you myself because I’ve tried him for myself and have found him to be a friend. I recommend Jesus to you today.

Stay tuned! Next: It’s only a recommendation.

-Dollie Howell Pankey

On June 27, 1997, my family suffered a tragedy when my first cousin’s 21-year-old grandson was murdered-shot down in cold blood and left for dead on the streets-as a result of his efforts to help a young woman at the center of a fist fight. As I thought of his tragic, untimely death and the difficult funeral that my family had to face, I began to think not only as a member of the family, but also as a minister. For as ministers, we are often called upon to bring words of comfort, to find the words that will express what has been inexpressible, to give words of hope. I began to ponder what I would have said if I had been called upon to say something to my family, but the more I thought, the more I realized that there are really no words that will take away the deep pain that comes along with such tragedy. I also thought about the multitude of tragedies and crises that face our neighborhoods and even members of this community for which there are no words adequate to soothe the aching heart and dispel the storm clouds that hang over us.

Still, the words of a Walter Hawkins song speak to me in the midst of the tragedies we face today. In part, it says, “If you ever need a friend that sticks closer than any brother, I recommend Jesus for he’s that kind of friend.”

In this passage from one of my favorite Psalms, David is reflecting on a time when he found himself on the run with few places to turn and few friends. As he looks back with gratitude, he speaks these words:

“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed. This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want. The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”                                                                    Psalm 34:1-10 (NRSV)

His experience causes him to recommend the Lord. “O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.” For the next few meditations, I will focus on this passage as we consider these three words: I RECOMMEND JESUS.

Stay tuned! Next: Why I recommend Jesus.

-Dollie Howell Pankey

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 
Psalm 27:13

I’ve just pulled the kazillionth chocolate chip cookie out of the oven. These are Lillian’s project, made for the How Sweet It Is Fundraiser, which happened last night. She worked on them start to almost-finish. But at 45 minutes past her bedtime, I figured I might ought to take care of the final round.

That’s a tiny fraction of the work that went into making the evening a success, which it was because of all of the talent and love involved. I’ll be honest with you though. When the topic of the fundraiser came up, my first reaction was “Ah, hell.” — not a very church-appropriate reaction, I know.

I get tired, however, of thinking about the business of the church (our church) when what I really want to concentrate on its spirit. But that’s not the way it works — and there’s no better time than Lent to recognize it. We encounter God and one another in the business of the church as much as we do in a worship service. Or at least we do if we are paying attention.

Lent calls us to pay such attention. It’s a time of stripping away clutter. And what’s left after we get rid of all that clutter is our relationship with one another and with God.

It really hit me on Saturday during the building clean-up, when so many people turned out to pitch in (and if you didn’t, don’t worry — there will be plenty more chances on one project or another). I saw many things that day: effort and problem solving, negotiation and skill, and cleaning product after cleaning product. The task of that day was definitely clearing away clutter. And without a doubt, the best part of it was how the work taught us all, if we were paying attention, something about being in relationship, both with one another and with God.

That’s what church is supposed to do. It transforms all of the stuff of our daily lives into lessons on living in grace. Last night served as yet another opportunity for that. At 23 days into Lent, I cannot claim to have been constantly grateful for every single one of those moments of learning about grace. Yet I know that they add up to something that both transcends and fully engages me in life in this world. In those moments, I can truly see, as Psalm 27 says “the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

-Jennifer Sanders

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah . . . I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.      (Jeremiah 33:31-34)

God will not only forgive the sins of the people, but remember them no more.

Why would God choose not only to forgive, but also to forget? Not because the people of God had become a faithful people. Not because they had repented. Not even because they had sought forgiveness. In fact, the people of God continued to turn their backs on God, going about their stubborn and self-destruction ways without looking back.

So why would we be offered a clean slate?  Why would God forgive, and forget? Because of God’s unshakeable desire to be reconciled, to be reunited, to remove anything that stands in the way of right relationship.

This sounds sweet and lovely, but it is not to be taken lightly.

It is an Overwhelming, an Overtaking, an Overcoming.

It is not our overcoming our own shortcomings or our own sins, try as we might. It is God overcoming us and laying claim to our very being. It is like God taking over our bodies and branding them with love. We will be like sailors far from home, love-lorn (and alcohol-inspired) who get a giant tattoo stamped on  huge muscled arms, a big heart with a girl’s name laced through the heart with an arrow. We will be like schoolchildren on field trips, with our parents’ names on signs strung around our necks, or notes clipped to our shirts, so that when we wander too far off, someone see where we belong and know who to call before we get lost.

This is not a one-by-one kind-of-thing, not the kind of thing where you wait in a single-file. True, it is about the transformation of individual hearts, but it’s also about the transformation of the people, the nations. “I will be their God, & they will be my people.”

We need the heart of the nation changed, not just the hearts of individuals. We can change the hearts of the George Zimmermans all we want, but until we change the heart of the nation, there will still be more Trayvon Martins.  “The days are coming,” says the Lord. Clearly they aren’t here yet, or else we wouldn’t be consumed by what happened when a young black man named Trayvon Martin crossed the path of a man like George Zimmerman.

The vision of Jeremiah is that God will break open the heart of God’s people, the entire people, the nations, and inscribe on their hearts a love for their neighbor, love for their enemy and love for their God so profound that we will all be able not only to forgive, but also to forget.

The days are surely coming, says the Lord. They are not here yet, but they are surely coming.   That is a promise, it’s a promise that can be trusted.

Amen.

-Rev. Angie

Acts 14:19-21 (NRSV)

“19 But Jews came there from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. Then they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the city. The next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch.”

This text from the book of Acts follows a successful missionary endeavor that took a turn for the worse in Iconium. It led to divided opinions about their message and to Paul and Barnabas fleeing for their lives. As the horror unfolded, Paul was stoned and dragged out of the city, left for dead.

As I re-read this text several years ago, I was struck by the phrase “But when the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the city,” or as the Weymouth New Testament reads, “When, however, the disciples had collected round him, he rose and went back.”

Paul’s injuries were devastating, traumatic-serious enough to end both his ministry and his life. But when the disciples present gathered around him, something happened enabling him to get up and be able to go on to Derbe the next day.

For me, it’s significant to note that they gathered at all. All too often, even as Jesus’ disciples, even as God’s beloved ones, the reality may be that we find ourselves abandoned and alone in our suffering when we most need to be in the midst of the gathered believers. At times, our isolation is self-imposed. At other times, we may be in the gathering of disciples and still not find what we need to help us go on with life!

So, what happened when the believers gathered? What did Paul find there in “the gathering?” Whatever they did, it seems that Paul found three things-

HEALING, HELP, and HOPE.

HEALING: In the midst of the gathered disciples, Paul found an opportunity for restoration and wholeness-physically, emotionally, and spiritually-through their prayers and loving concern.

HELP: Even when we our healing begins, we still need a shoulder to lean on while we heal-support and empathy-until we are able to get up and move on with living.

HOPE: In the midst of the gathering, Paul found what Andrew Lester defines as “that fervent expectation that enables us to once again be able to see a future.” When we have been that severely wounded, it may be difficult for us to see the possibility of a future, of being able to get up and go on.

Paul’s ability to return to living and to the future God had for him was strengthened by all of these gifts being offered by those who gathered around him after this horrific attack. We may or may not be able to see the wounds of the day or week’s battles around us when we gather to worship, to pray, to study, to play, to simply “be still and know that [God] is God.” As such, we may never know what perils people have survived when they enter into the gathering. Yet and still, each time that we, the Beloved Community, gather-especially during the season of Lent-we can make it our aim to BE the gathering that will us all find healing, help, and hope that enables us to once again be able to see a future.”

Prayer:

O God who loves us into being, thank you for all of those who gather around us when we have been wounded so we can “once again … see a future.”

Amen.

-Dollie Howell Pankey

From birth to tomb

another afternoon

of grace and spit upon the womb

of ones as us who try and fail

again to grasp
majestic solitude

to find girth within the filth

within the dance of circumstance

the wet of sweat and deep regret

yet salvation of the simple spate

truth unearthing history

of the holiness of us

*******************

Pax,

Susan P

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

–Philippians 4:6-7

The verse above is one I keep in a file on my computer and when I get anxious I will go and read it for comfort. Today is one of those days when I told myself to stop, take a minute and give God praise. You might wonder why on earth in the midst of chaos, phones ringing and clients waiting, I would stop and give thanks to God.  God is the one who gives me the strength to endure the hectic pace. He is the one who gives me the wisdom to know I need to lean on him and He is the one who shoulders I stand on when I can’t stand alone. When I give myself the gift of solitude and prayer with God, it replenishes my spirit which the world has depleted.

-Cindy Jones