Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Experiencing Winter

It is cold here in Louisiana.  I mean, it is cold.

Before you folks up north laugh, get the whole picture.  It is going to be in the teens tonight with snow and ice.  Two days prior to this, it was in the 60's and 70's.  Two days after this, it is going to be back in the 60's and 70's.  This is the land where temperatures reach over 100 and the humidity stays at about 100 percent more than we care to admit.  It is where one day your hair is redone by wind gust of 20 mph and the next by the humidity.  Mosquitoes and cockroaches (yes everyone has them here!) are big enough to stuff.  So coldness is not one of our everyday adventures.  It is cold.

Experiencing the bitter cold can come in so many other ways.  Consider this.

The bitter coldness of being unwelcome.  Going into a church where the gracious God proclaims a welcome to all who would come only to find that no one spoke to you.   Or maybe someone spoke but it was obvious that it was a cordial welcome.  No one would point  you in the right direction.  Where is the nursery? Where is the coffee?  Where are the Sunday School classes?  Do I sit/stand/kneel?  Which book or hymnal do I use?  Am I sitting in some one's special seat?  As this person leaves, they are certain that they will never come back.    Stone cold museums where the warmth of God is not present.  Something else is present but it is not warm and not God!

The bitter coldness of indifference.  Does anyone really care?  Do I really want to let anyone know my struggle.  It would only embarrass me and invite ridicule.  There are hungry people out there!  There are lonely people here!  There are parents who are struggling with making it through the day.  There are kids being bullying.  So what.  What difference can I make?  It must be them because I am making it and I have it just as tough as anyone else.  Indifference is a cold heart that has hardened itself away from the sufferings of others.  

Or what about the coldness of gossip and those who speak ill of others.  The words are spread without regard for harm.  There is no gentleness nor regard for the harm done.  The words are a bullet that is fired without regard.  It is a vicious as can be.  The sniper (yes they usually hide) delivers the blow and then slithers back into the darkness.  They are convinced their motives are pure but rarely are.  They are demons that destroy the body of Christ and the sons and daughters of Christ.

It is cold.  Oh so cold.  Or does it have to be cold everywhere?

But we as Christians can choose to be warm-hearted and compassionate   We can practice hospitality, concern, and love.  We can challenge the experience of winter with the new life of Spring and even the warmth of summer.  Our words, actions, and intentional acts can change the world around us and within us.    Once you come to know the compassion of Jesus in your life, winter only comes through the seasons of life.  We learn to share the warmth of the faith during the season of winter.  There is a place of warmth to run to when the outside is freezing.

There is a place and a community that warms the world--inside and out.

Pray for me as I pray for you.

In the Master's Name,

Dr. Jack O'Dell

www.stlukesimpson.org
www.midweekmanna.com

Thursday, January 23, 2014

All Creatures of Our God and King!

Sometimes it is hard to keep your cool and stay focused.

So two preachers are in their place on Sunday morning (the names have been withheld to protect the guilty!).   The hymn begins to play.  It happens to be that great hymn of faith (All Creatures of Our God and King!)  The hymn celebrates the majesty of all creation.  Then it happens.

A wasp has decided to join worship.  Now I often wonder if these creatures who decided to worship with us randomly are God sent or demon sent.  Did the wasp suddenly feel the urge to identify himself/herself with the leaders of worship?  Has this wasp been waiting to answer the call to ministry?  Is there a wasp committee (which would have to be Methodist as we have such an affinity for committees) that sends out missionary wasps to worship?  "Go see what the Methodists are doing and report back to us!"  

Or perhaps there is a demonic side to this creature that has motivated its sudden appearance.  Is it a martyr wasp that is sent to do harm to those who would lead worship?   Are there cells of demonic wasps just waiting to invade UMC worship and attack its leaders?

Anyway, the wasp showed up.  It is hard to identify whether a wasp is friendly or not.  I imagine it the same for the wasp. 

The sudden appearance of these wonderful creatures of God in worship has great impact upon those who find themselves in close proximity.  One can react without thinking.  Such is the case.

Preacher one found himself holding a cross.    Preaching two and Preacher one were silently contemplating their options when said wasp lit upon or in very close proximity of Preacher one.  There should be a pubic notice somewhere in the wasp colony that warns them:  Do not land near preacher holding a cross.    Without really thinking, preacher one smote the wasp with the cross!  Yes in the holy of holy, with a cross, he smote the creature of  our God and King!  Let us pray.....

Now I am not sure what theological implications there are for such action.  I am sure there is no disciplinary actions that are necessary.  And I am not sure what happened to the remains of the wasp that dared to show up for worship.  However, I am sure that preacher one and preacher two continued to worship God in the fullness of creation with a sigh of relief.  But maybe there should not be too much comfort for these two as there ARE other wasps in this world.

Strangely enough, the apostle Paul reminds us that the cross is the central event in the life of Jesus that does protect us.  We speak in the faith of taking up the cross and carrying the cross.  When we find ourselves at a loss for what to do look at the cross.  Hold the cross in your hand and in your heart.

Sometimes there is more going on in worship that one realizes.

Pray for me as I pray for you.

Dr. M. Jack O'Dell

www.midweekmanna.com
www.stlukesimpson.org

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Giving Voice

Each morning I listen to a Podcast that is produced by the British Jesuits (Pray as You Go).  It is a very traditional devotion.  It begins usually with a monastic chant.  Don't you love to hear the monastic voices sing!  First of all they are singing in a cathedral where sound just oozes.  Then it seems that all of the monks have beautiful voices.  I am wondering what they do with all those who cannot sing?   It is a great way to start the day along with other prayers and scriptures that I read.

In past months, there has been a female British voice that began the podcast.  This week the voice has changed.  There is a male voice that almost has a gruff whisper in it.  At first, I was just taken back by the change.  "Wait!  That is not the usual voice I am used to hearing!"  I even checked to see if some foreign podcast had invaded my space.  At each day has passed, I must admit I enjoy hearing both voices in their uniqueness.

What would that look like in our everyday world--to enjoy hearing the different voices in their uniqueness?   Usually when we hear something different one reacts to the voice.  Some have the hair stand up on our necks.  Some will not listen.  Some become intrigued.  Others welcome the new voice.   But to celebrate the uniqueness is still the call before us.

I think Jesus was intrigued by each person's uniqueness.  He would look at each person with compassion and sometimes pity.   He listened to their stories.  Jesus dared to feel their pain.  Jesus saw that the image of God was deep within the soul of each person.  Sometimes it was in poor shape as the world had trampled upon it.  At other times the person had lost sight of their uniqueness and had become something quite different than what God intended.

I would invite you to give voice to the uniqueness that God has given to you.  I heard it put this way the other day by someone--"Be yourself--everyone else is taken!"    And then the next question is what have you been called to do in the kingdom of God that is uniquely yours?  In other words, it won't get done unless you do it!  God is counting on you!

Give voice.  Hear the voices around you with an intrigue for the holy.

Pray for me as I pray for you.

Dr. M. Jack O'Dell

www.stlukesimpson.org
www.midweekmanna.com

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

What Will You Do With Jesus?

As I am writing this, Jesus is passing by the window of my office.  He is with Mary and Joseph in the back of the pickup truck.  Jesus is being stored away in the shed until next year.     Kind of an interesting thought--storing Jesus and his family in the shed.

Storage shed take on a life of their own.   Did you know that the storage industry generated over 24 billion dollars in 2013?  That is alot of storage.  We have so much stuff that we not only cannot put our cars in the garage (it is filled with stuff!) that we have to rent/construct other places to store it.  The attic is full.  The garage is full.  Our closets are full.  For most of us even baby Jesus can't fit into the storage shed.  It is too full.

You can now bid on storage sheds that people have abandoned for one reason or another.   There are some who have found treasures in these abandoned places.  Great pieces of art, furniture, etc that have been left behind.  I have not heard of any one finding Jesus in the shed.  Or if they did they were not excited about it enough to tell anyone about it.

Some folks store Jesus on a weekly basis.  I admit that I do not like to have the sanctuary doors locked at the church.  It is as if we have to lock God in until next week.  We certainly do not want God loose in our neighborhoods.   The tamed and stored God is so much more fun to visit.  We can just peek in on God when we need God.  

So did you store Jesus away with all the other Christmas decorations? Or has the birth of Jesus changed your life so that storage is no longer an option?  How can you keep the Christmas experience alive in your life?  Let me offer some suggestions.

Celebrate each day!  I do not think there are enough celebrations in life.   I think one ought to celebrate the presence of people as much as possible.  Celebrate one's health!  Celebrate anything done well or done with intention.  Shock someone today by giving them an standing ovation!!!

Give more than you receive.  Generosity is missing in many people's world.  Begin to think of changes you can make in your life to give more to others.  Being generous creates holy spaces in your heart.

Pray.  Pray as though you believe that prayer makes a difference in your life and others.  It does!  Pray for your enemies.  Pray for those who think ill of you.    Pray with Jesus.  You will never be the same.

As Jesus and his family round the corner to head to the back shed of the church, I know they will be safe until next year when we take them out of storage.  The real danger for my world is the Jesus I will not let be stored.  It is this Jesus that will control my life this year.  What will you do with Jesus?

Pray for me as I pray for you.

In the Master's Name,

Dr. M  Jack O'Dell

www.midweekmanna.com
www.stlukesimpson.org