First Person, Present Tense

The following is the text of a homily I preached at a nursing home in my area on this week's lectionary text.

Exodus 3:1-15 ^3:1 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ^3:2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. ^3:3 Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." ^3:4 When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." ^3:5 Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." ^3:6 He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. ^3:7 Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, ^3:8 and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites^{. 3:9} The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. ^3:10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." ^3:11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" ^3:12 He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain." ^3:13 But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" ^3:14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" ^3:15 God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.

This is a familiar scripture to most of us. Even if we haven’t necessarily read it, we’ve at least seen it played out by Charlton Heston in the Ten Commandments. We know it and understand it as the call of Moses. Many of you have probably even heard it preached on.

You all know the story. Moses was just walking along, minding his own business and tending his father-in-law’s sheep when he saw a bush burning off to one side of the trail. As he noticed this bush, this fire at the side of the path, he was a little confused, because even though it was burning, it wasn’t being burned up. He decided that he needed to check it out a little more closely, and he had to leave the path to do that.

Often, it seems, God will go to great lengths just to get our attention! For Moses it was a burning bush. Sometimes it’s a lightning strike. Sometimes it may be a serious illness. What lengths has God gone to just to get your attention?

And once God has our attention, isn’t it usually the case that, like Moses, we may have to leave the path we are on to figure out what God wants us to do? God’s path isn’t always the one we have marked out for ourselves, but it seems to me, once we start down God’s path, there isn’t any turning back. We may hit detours and obstacles along the way, but we can always work our way back to the path.

When God saw that Moses’ attention had been caught, God called out to Moses. And when Moses responded, God started talking and didn’t let up. As God spoke to Moses, God began with the proper approach toward holiness – Remove your sandals – you’re standing on holy ground. Now we don’t think about taking off our shoes when we go to church, but we do need to prepare our minds and hearts for any encounter with God. We need to prepare ourselves to be ready to face the miraculous and amazing. When it comes to having a direct encounter with God, we prepare ourselves as best we can, and expect to be amazed.

God continued with the identification of who was speaking, including a short history lesson “I am the God of your father and your ancestors – of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. This was enough to get Moses’ attention, and he hid his face so as to not look directly upon God. Nobody, but nobody feels worthy to look at God straight on.

And then God began to recount how God knew about all that the Hebrew people were going through. God told Moses, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."

God knew what was going on with the people. God wasn’t hiding out up in the clouds, oblivious to what was happening on earth. God was keeping track of every person and every encounter and every relationship and every prick and pain of every person.

And that’s still the way it is. Even today, God knows what we are going through. This isn’t just a story of people a long time ago. It’s our story, too.

Some of us may be in Egypt – experiencing suffering and loss of hope…looking for the way to bring an end to the agony, torment and affliction.

Others may be wandering around in the wilderness. Not quite tormented as they have been in the past, yet not really having found the promised land either. Some may be looking backward over their shoulders thinking, “we had it so much better before….Why can’t we just go back? Others may be looking forward, thinking, “I know the promised land is just over the next rise…a few more steps, and we’ll be there!”

Some of us even hear the voice of God calling to us from a bush along the side of the road, and even though at times afraid to face it, are learning to turn toward it to say “Here I am."

And wherever we are in our journey of faith, God knows what we’re going through and promises to be with us on the way.

This scripture offers us God’s promise. It may be a little hard to weed out, but we find it in God’s words to Moses. When Moses asks God what he should tell the people…how will they know that God sent him? God tells him to say: , 'I AM has sent me to you. The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.

Two simple words, I AM – the name of God. These words are a promise.

God’s name is I AM forever. First person, Present tense of TO BE. God - the first being and the last. A person in the man, Jesus Christ who suffered more than we can know or fathom, so much to die for our sins as a living and human sacrifice, and present always with us in the Holy Spirit. A wonderful promise for all times- always present tense: I am. Yesterday: I AM. Today: I AM. Tomorrow, and the next day, and the next – for all generations –present tense: I AM!

This is the God we worship. The great I AM. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, the God of our parents, our ancestors, of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. The God of our journey from the land of suffering into the land of promise. The God who created us, who calls us into service, who knows our suffering, who walks beside us even now, and who leads us on to eternity. This is our God, and we Praise the great I AM for all time. Thanks and praise to God’s holy name!

Labor Day Friday Five

It is supposed to also be a celebration of the working man and woman, the backbone of the American economy, the "salt-of-the-earth nieces and nephews of Uncle Sam. With apologies to those in other countries, this is a Friday Five about LABOR. All can play. Put down that hammer, that spoon, that rolling pin, that rake, that pen, that commentary, that lexicon, and let's have some fun.

1. Tell us about the worst job you ever had.
Every job I've ever worked at has had both its good and bad aspects. When I was in college, I worked on a survey crew for the railroad. Sometimes our assignments would include inventory activities, and as I walked along the tracks counting railroad ties for miles on end, I remember thinking about how I thought as a child that it would be a really boring job to have to count railroad ties. And it was.

Another place I worked as an environmental engineer enforcing regulations on various industries. It was one of the most polluted places I've ever been. The air stunk, and the groundwater was purported to have a foot of benzene floating on the top. Beyond that, the work environment was also very poisonous, with egos that had to be protected and vicious back-biting. In the two years I worked there, I encountered at least 8 people who have since died of cancer or had other mysterious illnesses. I still credit my former boss with having saved my life by recruiting me away from that hell-hole.

2. Tell us about the best job you ever had.
Gotta be the one I have now! It took me 25 years to finally respond formally to my call, and now that I'm into the third year with my churches, I still have the feeling of "I can't believe they actually pay me to do this!" To get paid to love people and to be loved by them in return while serving God is the most incredible opportunity I can imagine! I get to read at work and visit people in the hospital and set up gatherings of others. I'm having a great time!

3. Tell us what you would do if you could do absolutely anything (employment related) with no financial or other restrictions.
I'm doing it now! (See #2 above). Like I said, it took me a long time to get here. I used to say that when I won the lottery, I would quit my job and go to seminary. The problem was, I didn't buy lottery tickets. I finally decided that I needed to take the Nike approach and "just do it." I used to make a lot more money than I do now, and had many job-related perks, but I'm so glad I followed this path.

4. Did you get a break from labor this summer? If so, what was it and if not, what are you gonna do about it?
As my first summer out of seminary and the first in full-time ministry, I was looking forward to getting some plans laid out, and my house cleaned, and maybe some start on some other household projects that have been on hold a long time. It was labor that I was actually looking forward to - somewhat.

None of it happened that way. I did get the opportunity to take a road trip with my daughter, and that was great fun, but the work didn't happen. I keep thinking that now that the kids are back in school I can get some things done. We'll see.

5. What will change regarding your work as summer morphs into fall? Are you anticipating or dreading?
Anticipating. I have a couple of new programs starting up at the churches, and I feel much more organized than I have been, so my hope it that I won't have quite as many things slipping through the cracks due to overload.

Bonus question: For the gals who are mothers, do you have an interesting story about labor and delivery? If you are a guy pal, not a mom, or you choose not to answer the above, is there a song, a book, a play, that says "workplace" to you?

A terribly appropriate question today since it is my dear daughter's 17th birthday. It was a rough 34-hour labor, and then she ended up spending 10 days in neonatal intensive care. Not something I want to relive, but stories aplenty. We ended up bringing her home from the hospital on Labor Day weekend - a major improvement over the previous year when I spent Labor Day weekend recovering from a miscarriage.

Rev Gal Friday Five - Date edition

Songbird offered this Friday five:

Here are five things to ponder about dates. I hope you'll play!

1) Datebooks--how do you keep track of your appointments? Electronically? On paper? Month at a glance? Week at a glance?

Every few months, I look for that perfect solution. I prefer week at a glance on paper, but I also keep things on my phone/pda, and that seems to be the most current at any given moment. But it offers the difficulty of not being able to see the whole week or month laid out. I can look at it in outlook, but with two offices and home, having everything all synced together gets complicated.

When I work my calendar well, I schedule my time for myself as well as the things other people have me doing...when I don't, I tend to blow off my spare time. But isn't that what spare time is for? I tend to get a lot done just because I do manage time pretty well, but I also tend to over schedule myself and get stressed.

2) When was the last time you forgot an important date?

I really don't recall....I didn't write it down.

3) When was the last time you went OUT on a date?

About 2-3 weeks ago. Husband was coming home from Boy Scout Camp, son was still there, daughter had plans of her own, and my sermon was mostly done before Saturday evening. I called my husband up and told him that if he got home in time, we could go out. He got home in time. We just went out to dinner, but we had both spent the past week with one child a piece and not together, so we needed time to catch up. It was nice.

4) Name one accessory or item of clothing you love even though it is dated.

I used to have a cardigan sweater with beads and embroidery that my mother hated and I loved, but that was over 30 years ago. I really can't think of anything that I have now that is particularly dated since I tend toward fairly classic pieces and don't get too hung up on clothes.

5) Dates--the fruit--can't live with 'em? Or can't live without 'em?

I don't know that I've ever eaten one. In 1999 I walked the Disney Marathon, and one of my teammates was a devout Muslim. It was during Ramadan, and he had to do the entire marathon without eating or drinking anything. We were all very concerned for his safety. He finished about the same time as I and when we were on the bus waiting to return to our hotel, I saw him looking out the window, holding a bag of dried fruit and nuts. It was January, and about 5 in the evening in Florida. He turned to me and asked, "What do you think, Kim? Is the sun down yet?" I assured him that I believed that it was, and he began to snack on the fruit and nuts, offering me some. I told him to eat up.

And then the lights came back on...

I was reaching for the telephone to return a call about 2:30 PM, and suddenly, the overhead light in my office came back on.

I told the parishioner I was calling what had just happened.

When I finished the call, I checked the hallway....the lights work.

The computer monitor in the secretary's office was on.

The lights in the secretary's office came on when I flipped the switch.

Understand, this church can't really afford to call in an electrician to fix things like this. Perhaps it was the failure of a single phase on the line that just got corrected.

I like to think it was God.

Thanks, God!

In the Dark

I'm sitting here in my office in the middle of the day, working on my sermon, in the dark.

It's probably my fault. Last week when I was here, the central air wasn't keeping up (compressor problem? I don't know,) so I turned on the aged window unit to cool the office. It ran for a while, noisily, but it was helping the temperature improve.

After about 20 minutes, there was a pop, the unit stopped making noise, and my lights went off. I went in and shut off the AC, and decided I needed to look for the circuit box. But then my office lights came back on. I figured it must have righted itself somehow, or maybe it was just a surge from the public utility that shut everything off.

When we came in Sunday morning, the power was off in the secretary's office (there is no secretary), and the hallway. Lights still worked in the bathrooms and classrooms. I found the breaker boxes and flipped all the switches, but the lights that were out wouldn't come back. I tried again this morning when I came in, and still no luck, and now my office lights don't come on either. The wall outlet is good, the phone, radio, computer, and printer still have power, but the only light in my office comes from a very small west-facing window that is well-shaded, and the light of my computer screen.

It's giving me a different perspective on my sermon writing. The scripture is the parable of the wheat and tares. As I began thinking about this, I was thinking about how none of us is really in any position to judge anyone else. We can't tell who is good and who is bad. That is really up to God. That's the way I'm looking at going with the sermon.

But as I sat here in the dark, reading the other lectionary scriptures for the week, and doing a little free association to look for links, I remembered the short story "Revelation" that we read in one of my seminary preaching classes. It was about a woman who was very judgmental and in the end saw a bridge leading to heaven with all kinds of people on it. The author, Flannery O'Connor, actually said that she had written the story about Jacob's Ladder, and that just happens to be the Hebrew Bible selection for this week. Eureka! A link between the two has been discovered! I think I now have my starting point and somewhere to go.

But I'm still in the dark.

Waiting

It's late - well at least for me. I'm waiting for friends to get here that are going to spend the night and then go to the airport in the morning.

The house is relatively clean - at least by our standards, but it's getting late.

I should be finishing the admissions manual.

I should be preparing for the funeral I'm doing in the morning.

I should be reading a draft of the chapter from Susan's book.

Instead, I'm playing around on facebook, reading blogs, and waiting.

So much for productivity...

But the house is relatively clean.

Some of the laundry got done.

The van has a new muffler without breaking the bank.

We'll have a new (to us) car by morning. (We're buying it from the friends going to the airport...they won't be back for a long while.)

My husband is in Phoenix - it's 112 there.

It's 73 here.

We're headed to St. Louis for the weekend.

Life is good.

I think I'll go snooze on the couch until David & Julie get here. I can deal with the funeral in the morning. The rest will come together, too, it always does.

Peace.

Rev Gal Friday Five

A Word Association Friday Five
It is a beautiful, sunny day at my place. So come on outside and let's play a summer Friday Five!This post is loosely based on previous "wordy" Friday Fives from Reverend Mother and Songbird. I liked the results, and so we are doing another word association . Theirs were based on words from a lectionary text. Mine comes from the Lovin' Spoonful song, "Summer in the City."Think summer......are you there?

Below you will find five words or phrases. Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem, a memory, a recipe, or a story. You get the idea:

1. rooftop: I think of the Drifter's song "Up on the Roof." I think Bruce Willis may also have sung it during his very brief recording career.

2. gritty: Nitty Gritty Dirt band..., The floor of a beach house.

3. hot town (yeah, I know, it's two words): A former coworker told me of growing up in New York, and when it was the middle of summer and they didn't have air conditioning, they would go to the movie theater and see movies to escape the heat. We escaped to the library a few times a couple of summers ago during rolling blackouts.

4. night: Hanging out on the front porch, watching the world go by.

5. dance: Hubby and I actually won a dance contest many moons ago when we were dating the first time. We have also taken ballroom and ceili dance classes together. He even took dance classes in college because he figured it would be a great way to meet girls, yet it is still difficult to get him to dance. Maybe it's me? But I did receive the Dick Durant Dirty Dancing award at the Sports Car Club banquet several years ago.

Out of Seminary

Finally...Finally...I'm out of seminary! I graduated with my Master of Divinity from Saint Paul School of Theology on Friday, May 16th. It took me 5 years and mucho dinero, but now, as they would say in O, Brother, Where Art Thou, "I'm bona fide!" Or, as I said to my husband last night, "...or at least bona fiable!"

Congrats to other friends who have graduated with me, and thanks to all the friends and family who have supported me in this journey. I'm looking forward to relaxing a little now. Maybe I'll even find the time to write a little more often.

Kim

Yes, I'm still here.

I know I've been away awhile...Let's just say I've been a little busy.

I got laid off from my engineering job in October, and picked up three additional part-time jobs at the seminary. I still have two churches and a family.

Back when I got laid off, I was approached by an architect and fellow seminary student asking me if I might be interested in using my engineering knowledge in mission work in Haiti. Long story short...I'm going to Haiti for a week in April with the support of my churches. It has also offered a mechanism by which I can continue to keep my PE license current even as I move into full-time ministry.

I will graduate with my MDiv in May. I determined two weeks ago that I had all the necessary course requirements for a specialization in evangelism. So I completed the paperwork, and I will have the specialization on my degree, and I expect to graduate with honors. Oh yeah, and I'm knitting my dress to wear under my robe for graduation.

I went before the conference Board of Ordained Ministry this week to be approved for commissioning as a probationary Elder in the United Methodist Church. They said surprisingly nice things about me and approved me unconditionally. I feel very blessed. Not all were so fortunate.

It's been a busy few months, and probably won't let up until mid-May.

Say hello if you happen to read this.

7 Random Things

I was tagged in a meme by Hipchickmama, and I'm needing a break, so I figured I might as well. My challenge is to post 7 random things about myself. I'll leave out the more incriminating factoids.

1. A man at my church when I was growing up would buy warts for a penny. He'd rub the penny on the wart, then give me the penny. It always worked! The warts would go away. I wonder what he did with all those warts?

2. I like sweet potatoes -raw or cooked. I get that from my dad, I'm sure. The little old ladies at church would get a kiss from dad whenever they brought sweet potatoes to a potluck. Often there were five or six casserole dishes of baked sweet potatoes - and it wasn't that big of a church!

3. I had a pet hermit crab in 7th grade.

4. I used to be a skinny kid. My first husband actually wanted me to gain weight - If he could see me now! (Not! I really don't care if I ever see him again!)

5. I'm a music and instrument junkie. I took piano lessons as a child, voice lessons in high school and before my daughter was born, hammer dulcimer lessons after my daughter was born, and taught hammer dulcimer before moving to KC 14 years ago. That doesn't even count the guitar lessons (off and on), the fiddle lessons (two months), and the miscellaneous other instruments that I've collected and attempted in the 46 years of my life. I'm taking piano lessons (occasionally) again now and have recently again been tempted to teach hammer dulcimer.

6. I bought a grand piano at the KCK Habitat ReStore in September. It turned out to be a really nice piano! (that's part of why I'm taking lessons again!)

7. The Christmas tree is up, but not yet decorated. The house is a disaster area; my MIL gets in Monday night, and I'll be at a funeral ALL DAY on Saturday, so I have no idea how the house will get clean unless the kids really kick it up a notch and Steve does some this weekend.

Now I have to tag some folks, but I know so few that have blogs that Crystal didn't already tag! I may just have to edit to tag them.

Are you happy now Crystal? I posted something.

Later!

What We've Always Known

2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:5
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

It came as quite a shock…these things always do. Sure, Timothy had always known the day would come. He even vaguely recalled having heard that the old man had been ill, but he had been so busy, the news just sort of slipped by without registering.

It had been so long since he had seen him…How long had it been? And now this. The old man’s wife had called and said that there was something she needed to give him – something personal. Well, curiosity finally got the better of him and he decided to make the trip to meet with her.

It was a beautiful fall day. Just like a postcard, only windier. The hotel was just on the edge of town, and the day was so gorgeous, it seemed just as easy to walk over to her house. As he walked along, Timothy remembered the days when he had run down these streets. Days that seemed without end. Summers of baseball and wandering in the woods. Fishing in the creek down alongside the tracks. Riding his bike up the hill as far as the cemetery, then freewheeling all the way back down into town and almost out the other side.

Goodness knows that was a long time ago. But this was a place he’d always known. Somehow, coming back in the fall seemed right. Those days of childhood were long gone, fall had begun to settle in on him, too.

As he walked, his thoughts turned to the old man. Well, he seemed old back then, maybe he really wasn’t THAT old. He remembered how their odd friendship began. Timmy had been up the hill – he was Timmy back then - and was freewheeling down on his bike, just like he always did, when suddenly, some stray dog ran right out in front of him right there in front of the old guy’s house. As he swerved to miss the dog, he crashed through the front fence and flew off the bike landing right in the middle of the flower bed. The old man came running out of his house asking if he was hurt…only his ego was bruised, but the man told him what a spectacular stunt he had just witnessed. There was just something about the guy that made Timmy feel special, Like he’s known him all his life, and it wasn’t long before they became friends. The old guy said to call him Paul.

About that time, Timothy arrived at the house. The fence had long since been repaired, but the house was just as he remembered it, fence flowerbeds and all. Just like he’d always known. As he walked to the door, Paul’s wife noticed him coming and stepped up to the screen door and opened it wide. She invited him in, and deciding he had probably long since outgrown milk, offered him cookies and coffee. He accepted, thanked her, and sat down.

After the conventional small talk and formalities, Paul’s widow stood up and said, “Excuse me a moment…I have something for you.”

She returned shortly, carrying a box. From the box, she removed a sealed envelope with “Timmy” written on the front. She handed him the letter, and as he turned it over in his hands, she explained that Paul had asked her to give it to Timmy if she ever saw him again. Well that simply wasn’t good enough for her, and that is why she had tracked him down to ask him to come.

She poured more coffee, then excused herself from the room once again and left him alone to read Paul’s final epistle to his young friend Timothy.

The letter was long. Paul was always pretty long-winded. It said nice things about Timothy’s mom and grandmother, and talked about how much he had missed Timmy in the later years.

But then it took a turn. Paul spoke of those people who had lost track of what scripture taught. He told Timothy to hold fast to what he had learned and believed, knowing from whom he had learned it and how from childhood Timothy had known the scriptures that had instructed him about salvation through faith in Christ.

My, how those memories came rushing back. Timmy had never even been to church, but after his crash landing in Paul’s yard, and Paul saying how it had been a miracle and all that he hadn’t even been hurt, Timmy started going to church with Paul and his wife. He loved going there with them, and it made him feel good when all the grown-ups there would ask him about baseball and fishing and other stuff that he liked doing.

He would go to Sunday School with the other kids his age, and over the years he learned a lot about God and Jesus, and stories that sometimes didn’t make a lot of sense but were fun to listen to anyway. True, he really didn’t enjoy the memory verses, but even now, he found it funny how sometimes they would just pop into his head without warning. Could that be what Paul was talking about; knowing the scriptures that had instructed him about faith?

Paul used to talk to Timmy a lot about faith. It was all part of the way that Paul had mentored him through those years until he left town. Paul would tell him how the scriptures were inspired by God. He explained that the word “Inspired” had the same root as the word respiration, and that meant that the words of scripture had been breathed by God. Just like God breathed life into people when they were created, God had breathed life into the scriptures. He went on to say that the Greek work for Spirit, like in “holy Spirit” was from the same word, too! That had been a lot for a ten-year-old boy to take in, but now it was starting to make sense.

Timothy continued to read, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”

Again, Timothy’s mind wandered. He sure had run into a few of those folks who thought it was their duty to reproach and correct. If only they would concentrate more on the training and teaching part. Even though it had been a long time since Timothy had read any scripture, he did remember that there was a lot in there about God’s love, especially in the stories of Jesus that Paul had talked to him about. He told him that the love of God could be found in the love of the people around him who cared for him. Sure, sometimes it was important for those who love us to correct us, or at least our behavior, but the overriding message of scripture is that God is always with us and will never leave us stranded. What was that verse? “God’s steadfast love endures forever.” Hadn’t he always known that?!?

Paul’s letter went on to urge Timothy to proclaim the message, to be persistent in good or bad times, to convince people with reason, to correct them when necessary, and to encourage and build people up with patience. He wanted him to understand above all that there was a need for people to hear the message that he had tried to teach him, that there was a time coming when people would become impatient with the gospel, that they would have what he called “itching ears” and would jump from teacher to teacher to hear what suited them instead of the truth.

Timothy thought about this some more. What was it that he had read? Amazon has in its listings more than 140,000 books on various self-help topics. And over 38,000 of those are in the areas of religion and spirituality. The self-improvement market including infomercials, mail-order catalogs, holistic institutes, books, audio cassettes, motivational speaker seminars, personal coaching, weight-loss and stress-management programs was worth over $8.5 billion in 2003, and is expected to top out over $11 Billion in 2008. Seems like a lot of itching ears there. What is it that all these people are looking for? Don’t they know they can find the answers from the sources they’ve always known? Why do they have to spend so much money looking for new and exciting answers? Aren’t the old answers enough? Can’t people see that all these programs and over hyped techniques are just ways to enrich the people who come up with them and they really do nothing for the purchasers and readers?

As he neared the end of the letter, Timothy read, “As for you, keep your head together, put up with whatever you have to, even if it means suffering, tell the story of the good news in doing the work of an evangelist, and carry out your ministry fully.”

This last part confused him a little. Where did Paul ever get the idea that Timothy was an evangelist? What is this about carrying out ministry? Timothy was appalled by the thought! Him? An Evangelist? No way! What in the world could Paul be talking about? Sure, he had tried to live the way he’d been taught, he’d always had a good sense of right and wrong, but how could he tell people about it. After all, he was just a regular guy. Evangelist, indeed!

Feeling somewhat threatened by the implication he quickly folded the letter and stuffed it into his pocket.

Just then, Paul’s wife returned to the room. She asked, “What did he have to say?”

Timothy collected himself and calmly responded, “He rambled quite a bit. Talked about scripture and my ‘ministry’. He obviously knew nothing about how I turned out. I’m afraid he was sadly mistaken about me.”

She replied, “No, you’re mistaken. Paul was lucid until the end and throughout his life he had a gift for reading people and knowing just how to see their potential. He saw it in you that first time you crashed your bike in the yard. Every one of us has a story to tell, and if you don’t tell it, it will haunt you until you do. You have always known what it is to be loved and mentored by someone who cares. Just as he taught you the story of the gospel, you have those words and God’s love written on your heart and you know it to be true. Whatever he said to you, it’s because he knew it to be true. It’s now up to you. You can share the message you’ve always known or forget it. It’s up to you.

Timothy, thanked her for her hospitality and for Paul’s letter, and then silently walked toward the door. As he stepped off the porch and looked at the flower bed where he had landed all those years ago, he heard her say through the screen, “That’s the way it is with the things we’ve always known. They’re easier to remember than they are to forget. And they are remembered in the telling. Paul’s gone. If he meant anything to you at all, you’ll tell the story, not just yours, not just Paul’s, God’s story. You’ve always known it. Don’t be afraid to share it.

Thank you???

"Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here at once and take your place at the table'? ⁸ Would you not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? ⁹ Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'" Luke 17:7-10

It’s a thankless job, being a mother…Get up early, get the kids ready and off to school, a quick shower and then out the door to face the day. Nine hours at the office, all day long being told to do this and told to do that. Make some coffee, make some copies, get the mail, deliver the proposal, answer the phone, order supplies. Lunch was from the vending machine. Was it a nice day today? No way to know. It’s already dark, fighting the traffic back home. Walk in the door and before she even sets her purse down, the kids begin to ask, “What’s for supper?” Forty five minutes later the dinner is prepared and consumed, and it’s time to go to scouts and to piano lessons, and “Oh, yeah, mom, I forgot to tell you, I need some poster board for a school project tomorrow and two dozen brownies – in baggies for the bake sale.” Is the homework all done? “Come on, children; brush your teeth; get ready for bed; you say you want a story?”

Oh, for a minute to herself. Just a chance to put her feet up, maybe take a bubble bath, read a magazine – nothing heavy, nothing too deep. Too tired to think or even move, she collapses in a chair and thinks, “Sure would be nice if somebody would’ve at least said thanks.”

It’s a thankless job on the line. Nineteen years on the job. Smoke and dust in the air, a little space, a lot of noise, too hot, always the same – boredom and monotony day in, day out, day in, day out.

“What’s that? The boss wants to talk to me? Right away, boss. What’s up?”

“Laid off? How can that be? I’m never sick, never late. Always accept overtime when asked. I’ve been here nearly twenty years. One more month and I’ll have enough points in to retire. But you say I’ve been laid off. How can that be?”

It’s a thankless job, going to school. When she got home from school, she called her mom to tell her about her grades. Four A’s, two B’s, and a C. It really is a report card to be proud of! Afterward, she calls her best friend. “Can you believe it?!? All mom cared about was the C! And one of those A’s used to be a B! I guess that’ll teach me to get good grades!”

Thankless jobs. We all know them. Maybe some of us have had them. We work hard and we expect something in return. We see those who don’t work hard, and they seem to get the same as the rest of us.

But I guess that is how it’s always been. Even in Jesus’ day, there were thankless jobs. In our text, Jesus begins by asking the disciples a series of questions. The first he asks is about common household practices: “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’?”

A simple enough question. We know the answer to this one- “Well, nobody, of course,” we answer with the disciples.

Jesus asks, “Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink.” It’s not in the scripture, but I’m sure the disciples are nodding their heads up and down, murmuring, “Of course, that is exactly what we would do.” That was really just restating and reasserting the first question, right?

“Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded?”

We’re on a roll, now! “Of course not!”

***

I once had a boss, one of the smartest men I’ve ever known, and he had a habit of asking questions of his employees. Often, he already knew the answer, and it was like going through oral exams every time he stopped to talk to you or called you into his office. It really made one doubt his or her own expertise. George would ask a question, and the brain would go into panic – “Does he want to know what I think or is he testing me to see if I really know this small aspect of my job?”

Asking questions has long been an established instructional method. It’s the method popularized by Socrates. Luke, the writer of this text was no doubt aware of the method. Jesus probably was, too. Or maybe Jesus was playing a game with the disciples – getting them in the habit of agreeing so that he could turn them around. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time!

Quite a fisherman, that Jesus! Just throw out a little bait – you know, get them to agree with you, …jiggle the hook a little, - oh, yeah, they’re starting to come along.…feel the nibble – almost there… and set the hook – “Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded?”… and reel ‘em on in.

But we’re on to Jesus’ game! We have the luxury of time and distance and the whole story to help us respond. The disciples cry out, “Of course not!” and we see it coming. We now know slavery to be a bad thing, and we want them to know it , too. We know how tricky Jesus can be at times, and we don’t want the disciples getting caught. They’re really just like us. We want to call back to them across time and space that of course you do thank people who serve you. Since we first learned to talk, we’ve been taught to say thank you. I imagine even now if I were to observe someone handing something to another person and I would ask, “What do you say?” the automatic response of the receiver would be, “Thank you.” Those scripts of our mothers’ teachings are just way too ingrained in us.

Not only that, when we go to a performance in an eating or drinking establishment, the announcer always reminds us, “Be sure to tip your waiters and waitresses.” In other words, “Remember to say thank you.”

And haven’t we all had those thankless jobs; those jobs where we did all the work and someone else got all the credit? We know how important it is to hear, “Thank you.”

But then, Jesus hits us with “Well then you don’t get it either!”

Now, wait just a minute, Jesus, are you talking to us or to the disciples?

Jesus didn’t actually say, “Well then you don’t get it either!”, at least not in the NRSV. That’s my paraphrase of what Jesus said. What this translation says is that Jesus said to them: “So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’” The disciples had been looking for glory for themselves, and Jesus made it clear they weren’t going to get it.

And then, we remember the older brother a few chapters back who used similar words in speaking to his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.” But we never really liked him. Sure, at times, we sort of identify with him, but he didn’t get it, and we do so want to be among those who understand. So we go the other way. We think, “Oh, poor baby.” While he was standing on the porch feeling sorry for himself, looking for the thanks he thought he deserved, the rest of the family was already inside the house partying it up. He seemed to forget that everything his father had was also his.

Jesus has done a really good job of dragging the disciples along to make his point, but let’s look at it another way. What if Jesus really had intended that last question, “Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded?” to be answered, “Yes”?

It’s the ‘what-if’s that really mess with our minds when we look at the things that Jesus taught. There are so many ways we can dissect this and rearrange it.

We’re told to be kind to others. Isn’t it appropriate to thank people who help us out? Isn’t that part of being kind? Isn’t that what Jesus would do?

Maybe Jesus is the master in this text. When we do the work that is commanded to us on behalf Jesus, the Christ, do we do so expecting to be thanked? Maybe not, but as servants of the kingdom do we expect, or at least hope to be rewarded in the kingdom?

Do we find ourselves asking of Jesus, the master, “Do you thank the slave for doing what is commanded?”, hoping that maybe, just this once, he will?

But what if Jesus is the servant? We know from Philippians 2:5-8 that Jesus Christ, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross. Christ made the ultimate sacrifice of his very life to obey the command of his master, God, but at the same time to serve and save all of humanity. That was certainly a thankless job!

So do we thank the servant or don’t we? It’s hard to know. Jesus closes his discourse by saying, “So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’” The word translated “worthless” means those to whom nothing is owed. Perhaps a better reading would be, “You don’t owe us anything, we have only done what we ought to have done.”

The disciples are directed by Jesus to say that they are not owed anything because they have done only what they were commanded to do. As disciples, are we to infer from this that we should just do that which is commanded without expectation of recognition or reward? Maybe. But does the example of Jesus as servant also suggest that perhaps we should do even more?

As we wind up our stewardship campaign, we look to Christ’s example, ask those same questions, and ponder the implications. What if Jesus really wanted the disciples, and through them, us, to respond differently to all of his questions?

"Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here at once and take your place at the table'?” If Jesus is our Lord and we are the servants, does not the master regularly invite us to come to the table and eat alongside him whenever and wherever open communion is served. We are called to be present.

“Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink.”

And we are called to respond, “No, Lord. What you have done for us is already too much. Let us honor you with our gifts and our service.”

“Do you thank the servant for doing what was commanded?” Do we honor God for all that has been given to us? Do we adequately acknowledge the gift of Jesus’ life being given in suffering and death for the sake of our salvation? After all, he was just doing what was commanded. Are we truly thankful?

Truth forces our response, “Not nearly enough, Lord, not nearly enough.”

When Jesus asks the questions, we, as Christians are called to respond. Do we do what we’ve always done because it was what was commanded? Or do we do more so that we do not have to respond, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’?”

Is it about us? Or is it about God?

At loose ends - Calgon take me away!

I'm having some job struggles right now.

On Sunday and Monday, and at odd times during the week, I work very focusedly on my pastoring gig. On Tuesday and Wednesday, it's time to be a student. On Thursday and Friday, I am a consulting engineer. Recently, the engineering gig has been causing me some stress.

The engineering work has been a little slow as of late, and I'm not really enjoying it much anymore, but it does help get the bills paid. A week ago yesterday, my boss and I had a heart-to-heart about some goofy things happening at the corporate level that I'm very disturbed about, and also about how little work we have in our office right now. Bottom-line: If we don't round up some work soon, I will be one of the first to go since I'm almost entirely overhead. Because of my part-time status, my project involvement is very limited - mostly doing QA/QC.

That evening, I went home in a bit of a funk. Even though I don't enjoy the job much anymore, I'm not really quite ready to cut the cord. On the way home, I called a friend with another firm to see if they needed anyone on a short-term, part-time basis. He said he would get back to me by Monday. I still haven't heard from him.

I called another friend at another firm...this one more conveniently located to my church job. His firm is the same boat as ours right now.

On the drive home, I formulated a variety of alternatives and scenarios, including the possibility of picking up something on an interim basis at the seminary.

When my husband got home I told him what was going on, and we had wine with dinner.

On Friday morning, I stopped on my way to work to visit with my former employer who is now a client as well. I told him honestly the situation and asked if there might be anything at all they could send our way on the on-call services agreement our firm has with them. He promised to do some checking around and get back to me.

On Tuesday afternoon, I spoke with one of the deans at the seminary, and he said that if something would happen that would leave me stranded, to get back with him because he had a project that he needed help with and it was probably something I would be capable of doing with very little direction.

On Wednesday, one of my friends who owns an architectural firm that my engineering firm has worked with before came into class and frantically told me that they had gotten more on some huge projects than they expected to get and needed help in a big way. I asked if there was anything we might be able to help them with, and she called her partner and returned to tell me "Yes, have your people call my people." I called my boss to let him know, but he was out until Friday.

Yesterday, I sent an email reminder to former boss/client asking if he had come up with anything. Today, I met with a client in the morning, and while in that meeting, my former boss/client called with an emergency project that needed immediate attention. I contacted the office and set the right people onto it to get it moving. My current boss is now playing phone tag with the architectural firm. So, it looks like I may have found us some work!

So why do I feel like I'm not going to see any of the benefits of it? Right now, I still feel like my job is on the line. And frankly, I don't know if that is bothering me as much as it probably should. I'm afraid that even though I scrambled my a$$ off this last week and got us some work, I may get laid-off anyway, and if I do, it will leave a very sour taste in my mouth. I wanted to be able to leave here on good terms, but if what feels like may happen does actually happen - the work comes in, but I get sent away anyway - it may be very difficult to take the high road, and it may be very harmful to the firm in the long run, regardless of how gracious I am in leaving. Former boss/client was burned once before when a consulting firm let his friend go, leaving his friend and his project high and dry. If this firm lets me - also his friend - go, especially after I got the work for them, he won't be happy, regardless of what I say or don't say. And that combined with the corporate thing I mentioned before will make it all the worse since it will function as connecting the firm that burned his other friend with this firm. Clear as mud...huh?

And all this in the midst of a denominationally related paperwork storm!

Thanks for letting me vent.

Friday Five: Seasons Change...

It's Labor Day weekend here in the United States, also known as Summer's Last Hurrah. So let's say goodbye to summer and hello to the autumn. (People in other climes, feel free to adapt as needed.)

1. Share a highlight from this summer.

I had a really great summer!

I had a class with Revhipchick and got to know her a lot better.

I had time to read some things that weren't required.

I helped my professor move her office.

I lived vicariously through my daughter who spent three weeks in Costa Rica.

But probably best of all, I had a great time spending a lot more time with my kids than I have in past years. My son went to a camp in mid-Missouri, so we had some good car time together, and my daughter took driver's ed, so we've also had quite a bit of good car time. It's kind of cool that my kids actually enjoy hanging out with me. The week before school started, the kids and I went to Omaha (3 hours away) to go to the zoo there. We had heard it was a good zoo and we weren't disappointed. It was in the high 90's in KC that week, and Omaha was in the low 80's so our timing was perfect. And daughter dear drove the whole trip!

2. Are you glad to see this summer end? Why or why not?

Yes and no. I'm glad to be getting back to school where all my friends hang out, but I'm also a little nervous about having more work to do than I have in the past even though I'm carrying less hours. Weird...I'm not sure where that is coming from. I also realize that it is the beginning of the end of my seminary education. I'll be graduating in May. Then comes the big transition of letting go once and for all of the engineering job that has supported our family for so long and relying on God through the auspices of my denomination. God help us all! Maybe I'm just getting ahead of myself. Live in the moment, Kim.

3. Name one or two things you're looking forward to this fall.

1. A road trip with three of my best buds to Tulsa for the Stacey Preachers' Workshop featuring BBT and Fred Craddock in mid September.

2. Officiating at my niece's wedding in mid October and then going to my best friend from grade school's annual bonfire and hayride later that evening.

4. Do you have any special preparations or activities to mark the transition from one season to another? (Cleaning of house, putting away summer clothes, one last trip to the beach)

I'm cleaning house today, but that is mostly because my MIL is coming in tonight to spend the weekend with us. We are also planning to paint the barn Saturday and Monday, and to attend Irish Fest after church on Sunday. Our biggest end of summer ritual is our daughter's birthday which falls on August 29. Other than that, going back to school for all of us is the main thing.

It's funny, the first year I was out of college, August/September hit, and I felt this strange need to go spend exorbitant amounts of money on books and office/school supplies. Maybe that is the real end-of-summer ritual for me!

5. I'll know that fall is really here when __________________________________.

The trees begin to catch fire with all the colors of the rainbow and I can smell that indescribable spicy aroma that I assume is decomposing leaves but has always just meant autumn to me. And I can start comfortable wearing knitted sweaters again.

Kim

Spouses of Pastors

This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about my husband and his role in my career(s). What follows are miscellaneous ramblings on the topic of career, marriage and ministry in no particular order.

Sunday, one of my churches had a potluck in my honor, and one of the trustees rose and made a speech in which he was very good about acknowledging not only me, but my family as well. He recognized that even though I was called to ministry, chances were good that my family had not been, and therefore, he was certain that there were a lot of adjustments that had to be made because the family had just gotten a lot bigger with many more demands on Mom’s time. He thanked them for sharing me with the church and for supporting me in my work.

Then, this morning I read a couple of blogs written by pastor’s husbands: http://marriedtothechurch.blogspot.com/
and http://www.mitchross.com/blog/.

My husband is a manufacturing engineer. Ministry is my second career, having been a civil engineer for 20+ years. Throughout my career, I have held positions of some authority. We often attended functions related to my job where people would speak to him first (because he was male) and then become very confused when his employer didn't match up with anyone they knew. Most significant was when I worked for a major public works consulting firm, and we were attending a retirement party for one of the higher-ups of the municipal wastewater utility. During the mingling and mixing, someone began speaking with my husband, and eventually asked, “Where do you work?” He said, “I’m with [insert name of major aircraft manufacturing conglomerate well-known in the area].” The person who asked got a puzzled look on his face and said, “Oh…why are you here?” My wonderful husband then replied, “I’m with her. She works for [insert name of well-known local consulting firm].” And I said, “Hi, I’m Kim.” Following some initial awkwardness and continued conversation the person apologetically excused himself and walked away (presumably to remove the egg from his face). We still chuckle over it.

My husband has often played the role of “spouse.” He always seemed to enjoy himself. He’s somewhat introverted, but always enjoyed the free food and drinks. He’ll speak if spoken to, and of course he can always talk about guy things. Most of the professional activities in engineering are “guy things” so he holds his own in conversation. I’ve done less of the corporate spouse thing because his coworkers don’t seem to socialize all that much. Frankly, it’s a role that feels a little weird to me. Sure, I can talk about my children ad nauseum with the other wives, but I do other things, too, like attend seminary, work part-time as a consulting engineer, pastor two churches, and occasionally teach knitting. I’ve never done submissive, shy, diminutive, and retreating very well. I’m pretty WYSIWYG and sometimes a little in-your-face, but in a nice way, and I’ve always worked around men, and am often more comfortable around men than around women. It’s really been only in the last five years or so, since I started seminary and have become more involved in knitting, that I’ve really had many women friends.

And what does the church call the husband of the pastor (other than his name)? At my former church, they called the pastor wives “first ladies.” I found that rather offensive. It seems to give the pastor an authority, that, I’m sorry, I find rather inappropriate in this denomination. I also felted it was very dismissive (is that where “dis” comes from?) and disrespectful (or is that?) of my husband because he was still a member there after I began pastoring elsewhere. Not all of the women who were called "first ladies" were married to pastors at that church. One was a widow of pastor from another denomination, one is the wife of a pastor in another denomination who does interim gigs, so the family remains there for stability. So what should the pastor’s husband be called? One of the bloggers mentioned above suggested “first husband,” but that won’t work for mine because he is really my second husband.

One of my friends has an even more unique situation (though probably less so than we realize). Her spouse is female. It’s not likely that she’ll be ordained in our denomination anytime soon for just that reason, and I guess “first lady” would work, but even so, her challenges will probably be even greater when that time comes. Frankly, I wouldn’t want to be called “first lady” if my spouse were the pastor.

So let’s put on our highly creative thinking caps and come up with a name for the spouses of pastors that works in a generic, gender-neutral way.

GO!