The Ripple Effect

One of the great things about story telling is that it leads the mind to create even more visions of the story itself. I think that is why Jesus of Nazareth told so many stories. It engaged the people at the time and even after the story is over. I call it the ripple effect. Once the object hits the water, the ripple begin.

For example, have you ever consider how the man who was helped on the side of the road was affected by the kindness of the Samaritan. When the injured man went to pay his bill for the time he needed to recover, he was told it was paid in full. Do you think he looked at Samaritans differently? Do you think he might have looked at strangers in need with different eyes? Did the compassion of the Samaritan begin a ripple effect? I pray it did!

Or what about the day after the great feast given for the Prodigal Son? Did the son work with the Father? Did he look at his world differently? Did he extend compassion to his older brother? I hope the party changed the whole community!

Or what about the real life incidents of Jesus' life. Do you think the woman who was caught in adultery was a changed woman? Did she look at men differently because of the man who showed her what compassion and love really were? Did she give to someone else the grace and love shown her? The Scriptures itself tell us nothing more about this woman. Her story is unfinished.

And what about you and me? Do we take the time to give to the world around us what we have received? Is our faith changing the world around us? What could our world be like if we were to show one act of kindness, mercy, and grace that created a ripple?

You see Jesus wanted us to know that love begets love. Love creates love. Grace gives more grace. The ripple can begin with you and me.

Do not believe it? Try it. It will change you and your world. Love does that. Let's ripple the world with love!

Graduation is a Marker!

It is graduation time. It is one of those markers in life that needs to be marked well. For young adults it is a time of ending one portion of life and moving on to another. For parents it is a time of realizing that all of the efforts have finally paid off!

Each year I offer some nuggets of wisdom for graduates hoping that it is helpful for the transition in life.

Your parents are going to become wiser over the next few years. Don't be surprised.
That faith stuff that you thought was so irrelevant and boring will get you through the parts of life when nothing else makes sense.
It is never too late to say, "I'm sorry".
Summer vacations will be filled with this thing called "a job"--if you have not found one, you will need to do this quickly.
True friends will show themselves over and over again.
Spend time on the positive side of life. No one enjoys the presence of a whiner.
While you might look "cool" the night before, the offerings made to the porcelain altar the morning after are not cool.
Drink less alcohol. You will rmember what you do, have more fun, and never experience the previous nugget.
Keep your word or no one will believe you.
If you can not say anything good, say nothing. Your mother was right.
Spend your time and money on things that give long term returns.
Dirty clothes and body odor are not your best friends.
A stranger is a friend that you haven't made yet.
Kindness is the nectar of life that attracts many.
Potty mouths are not as popular nor liked as much as they think.
Dance as much as you can, even if you are not a good dancer. Laugh more--at yourself.
If you have a grandparent praying for you--surrender. God listens to grandparent's prayers all the time. If you don't have one, find one!

One of the golden nuggets of memories that I have is my father's hug and tears at the graduation that I received my doctorate. It represented many things to both of us! I hope that you have great memories and celebrate with all of your graduates!

I think God loves to see God's children celebrate!

The World Needs Mothers!

The woman confessed, "I wanted a mother. My mother wanted a best friend. We both suffered greatly from our missed opportunity."

One of the struggles in human life is that we all want to be liked. We want to be affirmed. Being a parent, especially a mom, means that you will have to decide which is most important. Is it more important for your child to like you or for your child to have a mother? It is my prayer that you choose the latter. Too many moms today try to be their children's best friends when their children need a mom!

Your child will have many other friends. They will have only one mother.

The best definition of successful parenting that I have heard is to work yourself out of a job. It is a tedious balance of holding on and letting go. Ultimately if you succeed, you have let go.

The other major decision that a mom has to make is whether to give greatest value to this world or to the world of the unseen--the spiritual world. A mom teaches her children the faith by example and by word. A mom teaches her children that the gift of eternity is the greatest gift. It is the gift that is characterized by love.

This mother's day celebrate. Maybe you were fortunate to have a mom who gave you the greater values in life. Maybe your mom struggled. Maybe even your mom was a failure. Even if your mom was not the greatest mom in the world, you can find something to celebrate. Then you can give yourself to giving to the children of the world the best things in life.

A successful business man was once asked what made him what he was. His answer was, "My mom was a mother who gave me the vision and touch of love,--God's love--then she let me go!"

The Common Good

Jesus told his disciples if they wanted to save their life, they must be willing to lose it.

We have seen the tragedies of the past weeks--the miners in West Virginia as well as the oil rig workers in Louisiana. Ordinary people who were willing to work in the high risk jobs of our world. Some would say that they worked there for the money. I have come to believe that there is more to it than that . I believe there is a sense of common good still alive in our society.

There are many institutions filled with people who have lost the idea of common good. Common good has been replaced with greed. There is no compassion for anyone. It is about making all the money one can make. The sense of "fair profit" is foolishness of the past. The wreckage of broken lives destroyed by this attitude is evident in our world.

Jesus of Nazareth introduced the concept of the kingdom of God that is quite different. Jesus wanted all people to be healed. Jesus wanted all people to be fed. Jesus died so that the whole world could be saved. The common good was essential in Jesus' understanding of how God intended us to live. The vertical love of God for the individual has to become horizontal reaching out to those whom we live with. Even if it costs us.

Ordinary people live and work in what seems to be ordinary jobs but create the extraordinary world that you and I live in. And when they die in tragic accidents, maybe it is time for you and I to realize that they worked not for themselves but for the common good.

The common good is a blessing that God invites us to preserve. If we do not learn how to lose our lives, we will never truly live.

We are Always a Child

I think when Jesus said we enter the kingdom of God as a child, he knew something about us. There is a part of the kid in us that never grows up.

I am spending some time with my grand kids. Of course, I think I have the most beautiful grand kids on the face of the earth. However, when I am around them, I realize they are still kids. For example, my grandson, Caiden cries when he does not get the exact cup he wants in the morning. The adult in me says, "A cup is a cup!" But for him, there is a special cup--a particular cup.

A mother recently arrived at church early to help out. She was trying to smile although I knew it was not a smiling Sunday. It was Valentine's Sunday. Thinking as mothers do, she put her son in red. He was dressed to a tee, with one exception. He did not want to wear red. So she arrived at church having lost her religion on the way to church listening to her son cry because she had dressed him in red.

We are like this in our relationship with God. We simply do not understand why God would do things the way God would do it. Some of us cry and stomp our feet at God. Others of us try to go silent on God. Fortunately for all us, God is a very patient and forgiving God. God puts up with our childish behaviors encouraging us to grow up. And then, God celebrates the uniqueness of our child that always remains.

Yes, Jesus said we enter the kingdom as a child. God welcomes God's children. God, like me, enjoys time with the children in our life. But I have to admit one great difference: Grandpas have limited energy. They are wearing me out!!!

Pray for me as I pray for you.

In the Master's Name,

Rev. Dr. M. Jack O'Dell

Lead Pastor

The Well UMC

www.thewellumc.com

www.midweekmanna.com

Fish On the Right Side

My friend and colleague, Woody Smith, would canoe down the Buffalo River each year. He would spend ten days and go about sixty miles. It was quite an adventure for those of us who are not as adept to outdoor camping and canoeing. Woody knew how to do it so it made the journey enjoyable.

One of the things he taught me was where to catch the fish. After each rapid on the river, there would be a deep pool. You would go just beyond the deep pool and then cast back into it to catch the big fish. The big fish would make their way down the rapids and then rest in the deep waters of the pool.

Knowing where to fish and what to fish with is a key to catching fish. Fisher people (you can not call everyone fishermen any more) know the importance of this. A particular bait at a particular time at a particular place yields the big ones!

Jesus appeared to the disciples after his death. They had gone fishing again. The disciples were not catching anything. Then Jesus says, "Fish off the right side". When Jesus said this, they did not know it was Jesus. Peter, being an expert fisherperson, probably said, "Oh, so that's the problem, we are fishing off the wrong side of the boat. Some smartaleck thinks that we are that poor at fishing." Then it happened. The fish were everywhere. There were so many they had to call all the crew to land them.

When John looked again at the one who gave instructions, he saw the Lord.

It is a message for the church. If you are not catching anything, maybe it is time to fish on the other side. Maybe it is time to listen to what Jesus would have you do, instead of what you have been doing with little or no success. There are plenty of fish to be caught. All we need is some disciples who will heed the voice of the one who can guide them

Church, do you hear the voice of Jesus?

Pray for me as I pray for you.

In the Masters Name,

Rev. Dr. M. Jack O'Dell

Lead Pastor, The Well

www.thewellumc.com

www.midweekmanna.com

Practice Takes Discipline

It is that time of the year for golfers--The Masters. I am enjoying reading Phil Mickelson's book, One Magical Sunday (But Winning Isn"t Everything). It is the story of Mickelson's winning not only The Masters Golf tournament but at life. There are many golfers who win tournaments, but lose life.

In the book, Mickelson quotes another accomplished golfer, Ben Hogan. "Every day you do not practice is one day longer before you achieve greatness."

You see, I have the passion for golf but lack the discipline. Now do not get me wrong, I am a pretty good golfer for an old preacher man. But the only way I can ever get better is to practice. There is the difference between many golfers.

I think it is true in our witness as well. We have to practice the faith. We have to act upon our beliefs. Many people BELIEVE in God. However, fewer people act on their beliefs. Acting on our beliefs is risky business. Most of us prefer the safe side of life.

It is interesting to note that Peter, the disciple that Jesus named the rock of the church was a man of trial and error when it came to faith. Rocky (I think Jesus nicknamed him this!) would be bold and try to do acts of faith--such as walking on water. He would fail only to find that Jesus would then rescue him and fulfill his dreams. Rocky practiced the faith until he was made perfect. No, not perfect in the sense of being sinless, but perfect in the sense of reflecting God's love.

This week as you watch The Masters Golf Tournament or hear others talk about it. Remind yourself that those gentlemen who earned the privilege to play there are there because they dedicated themselves to days and weeks of practice. Then perhaps you can begin to dedicate yourself to something greater than a golf tournament. Dedicate yourself to THE Master---Jesus.

Pray for me as I pray for you.

In THE Master's Name,

Rev. Dr. M. Jack O'Dell

www.thewellumc.com

www.midweekmanna.com