A Prayer for Those Getting Older

During my first sojourn in Florida, I was, of course, much younger.   Many of the “letters to the editor” in the newspaper seemed to be written by retirees – “too much time on their hands with nothing else to do,” I thought.  Now, for my second sojourn in Florida, I’m retired and I fear that I am becoming like the caricature of older people I used to have.    I’ve written to the editor, only to be rejected.  So, I started a blog.  More clutter in cyberspace!  Therefore I share this pray which I recently found in The Complete Book of Christian Prayer.  Its source is not known, other than it’s from the 17^th century. 

 

Lord, though knowest better than I know myself that I am getting older and will some day be old.  Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.  Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs.  Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy.  With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but though knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

 

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.  Seal my lips on my aces and pains.  They are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.   I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains, but help me to endure them with patience.

 

I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.  Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

 

Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint – some of them are so hard to live with – but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.  Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people.  And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.

 

To which I can only say, Amen and Amen!

 

 

On being LIBERAL

Liberal has become a four-letter word.  I’m not ashamed of the word and I hope that would never regard conservative as a dirty word. 

 Yesterday morning, a letter to the editor in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune lifted up the “L” word by quoting from his Random House College Dictionary definition of liberal: 

“1. Favorable to progress or reform as in religious or political affairs; 2. Pertaining to representational forms of government rather than aristocracies or monarchies; 3. Favorable to concepts of maximum individual freedom as guaranteed by law; 4. Favoring or permitting freedom of action; 5. Free from prejudice or bigotry, tolerant; 6. Open minded; 7. Characterized by generosity; 8. Not strict or rigorous.”

That same evening I attended services at a local Southern Baptist “mega-church.”  One of the points in the pastor’s sermon was that we all need to “know we don’t know.”  (To me, that’s a classic characteristic of being a liberal.  I also have to admit that my prejudice was showing because I was most surprised that he would say something like that.)

I just finished listening to the President of Notre Dame introduce the President of the United States, noting that while Notre Dame does not waffle in its beliefs about abortion, it is not afraid to talk with people who hold differing views.   He honored the President by saying that he, the President, wants to engage people who hold opposing views and was not, therefore, afraid to come to such a potentially hostile venue.

Then I listened to President Obama.   In urging a humble approach to life and life’s issues, he reminded the graduates that God is greater than any of our understandings and beliefs.

Some days it all comes together.  There was a pervasive theme to my week-end:  There’s  lots to like about liberal.

What is a Christian nation?

The debate goes on ad infinitum – is the United States a Christian nation?  A brief note in the May 19 issue of The Christian Century quotes Brian McLaren who wonders when it was the U.S. was a Christian nation.

“Was it when Americans wantonly killed native peoples, taking their lands and breaking promises to them?  Was it during the era of slavery or segregation, which were justified on biblical grounds?  Was it when the U.S. dropped the first nuclear bombs on civilian populations?  Or was it when the nation plundered the environment and turned a blind eye to torture?  Was it earlier this week when I turned on the TV or radio and heard people scape-goating immigrants and gay people and Muslims?”

 Perhaps the fact that more and more people raise these questions today is an indication that, despite the dwindling numbers, those who do confess the faith are more serious and intentional about it.  Could it be that we are more “Christian” as a nation today, not because we open the school day with prayer and a Bible reading; not because the majority of us attend weekly worship; not because a copy of the Ten Commands is posted on public buildings, but because more and more Christians understand that more important than rituals is the way we care for each other, and especially the “least of these.”  (See Matthew 25)

 The Constitution won’t allow us to be a “Christian nation” in a sectarian way, but there is nothing to prevent us from trying to “do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.”  (Micah 6:8)   It excites me that I find more Christians reflecting such concerns than when I first began my ministry.  My excitement is short-lived, however, having just read the report that “the religiously unaffiliated are the least likely (40 percent) to support torture, but the more you attend church, the more likely you are to condone it.  Among racial / religious groups, white evangelical Protestants were far and away the most likely (62 percent) to support inflicting pain as a tool of interrogation.”   (Leonard Pitts, Jr., The Miami Herald , May 6, 2009).  That’s my group.  Ugh!

 Speaking for myself, instead of saying “I am a Christian,” I prefer to say that I’m trying to become Christian.  It’s a journey, one on which some days we take two baby steps forward only to be followed by days when we take three giant steps backward.  As they say on the Fidelity Investment Group's commercials -- keep going, but STAY ON THE LINE.

Fencing the Table (Altar)

Last week, Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania and a devoted Roman Catholic who is also pro-life, voted to confirm Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.  Pro-life groups opposed her nomination because as Governor of Kansas, Sebelius vetoed legislation that would have restricted abortion providers.   Now Scranton (PA) Bishop Joseph Martino has warned Casey that he might not be worthy to receive Holy Communion.

This is becoming a common occurrence in Catholicism, withholding the Sacrament from those who step outside the box of church teaching.   I don’t know why Casey followed party line rather than his conscience, which is typically pro-life.  Maybe he didn’t think that Sebelius’ confirmation really violated his conscience.  My purpose is not to comment on abortion rights, but to wonder what would happen to the Sacrament if the church withheld it from everyone who strayed from church teaching.  The current example is from the “right wing” of the church.  What would happen if the “left wing” withheld the Sacrament from everyone who is a racist?  What would happen if the church at every point along the political and theological spectrum withheld the Sacrament from those it regarded as “sinners?” 

 Jesus’ reputation among the religious leaders of his day was well known – “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  (Luke 15:2)  Would that his reputation was just as well known among the religious leaders of today’s churches, whatever the denomination, because not one of us is worthy to come to the Table or the Altar.

Wine Into Water?

Chances are more than good that you are familiar with the story of Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.  (See John 2:1-11)

You may also have heard the story about a pastor driving to New York to see a Broadway show and he’s stopped in Connecticut for speeding.  The trooper smells alcohol on his breath, and then seeing an empty wine bottle on the floor, says, “Sir, have you been drinking?”  The pastor replied, “Just water.”  The trooper retorts, “Then why do I smell wine?”  The pastor looked down at the bottle and said, “Good Lord, he’s done it again.”

You probably have not heard about a project that turns wine into water (though I have used that expression in sermons to refer to the way the church has often watered down the wine of the Gospel).   The following is from today’s (5-1-09) CNN web site: 

BLOWING ROCK, North Carolina (CNN) -- Behind the bar at a local restaurant, Doc Hendley leans in to hear his customer over the band. "You like the pinot? Cool," he says.

It's a seemingly average interaction, but Hendley is not your average bartender. As he pours wine in the United States, he's also helping to save thousands of lives on the other side of the world -- and he's tapped into his regulars to help.

"[They] sit on the same stool, drink the same drink, pay the same tab every day. I felt like they really did want to be a part of something," Hendley says. "They just were waiting for somebody to bring that something to them."

That something is Water Into Wine, Hendley's organization that provides clean water to people in developing countries through funds raised at wine tasting events.

Since 2004, Hendley has traveled to Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Cambodia, working with local communities to build clean water wells and sanitation systems.

Check out the web site:  winetowater.org.  It’s a most interesting idea, another sign of the creative genius in the human race.  Didn’t Jesus say that we, his followers, would do greater things than he did?  (John 14:12-14)

So there you have it for today.  A story from the Bible that points to the transforming love of Jesus; a joke (we can all stand a good laugh in these troubled times) and a concrete example of a common person – a bartender, yet – making a difference in the life of the world.  It doesn’t get much better than this!