Every Sunday morning, I have a tradition or ritual, if you will, when I arrive at the Church Building. This “ritual” started as things that needed to be done by the “first person who arrives” (me) and then developed into something more.

Usually, I am the one who unlocks the doors and turns on the lights. It begins when I park “Aubergine” (my faithful Buick) in my parking spot beside the alley door. I’ve already been playing a “Sunday morning soundtrack” and having a little worship in the car. I let myself in the alley door, walk up the stairs and first turn on the hallway lights. I make my way down the back hall towards Schuster Chapel, passing the historic photos of generations past. I then step into the chapel where I leave my coffee and Sunday things (Bible, sermon stuff, etc.) 

I turn on two lights in the chapel, shut the doors and then unlock the 10^th Street outside doors (the ones for the chapel & elevator). Then I walk up to the doors at the back of the sanctuary and walk to the sound booth, where I turn on the sound. I check the “McEucharist” packets in the basket in the back (to make sure we have enough) as I travel north towards the Jackson Street door.

I come to the switch plate panel for the lights in the sanctuary and turn them all on before proceeding to the Jackson Street door, where I turn on the narthex lights and unlock the doors.

I return then to the sanctuary chancel area (up front) and turn on the lights above the pulpit, lectern, piano, organ and all. I open the small door behind the piano to the area behind the chancel and turn on the lights in the reredos (the fancy, carved, wood thing above the baptistry) and behind the stained-glass window of the baptistry.

Returning through the door behind the piano, I make sure the lectern light is on and the handheld mic under the pulpit is working. Then on to the 10^th Street door in the 10^th Street narthex, lights on, doors unlocked. Finally, I walk through Sims Parlor and turn on all those lights before returning to the chapel, where I “preach my sermon to the empty pews in the chapel” – as a final “dress rehearsal”.

Now, as you can see, this is a detailed description of what I do. It’s accurate, and I was able to write it down quickly and without much thought…because the pattern of it hasn’t changed in years. What HAS changed is this “circle around the sanctuary” has become a “Circle of Prayer”.

WITH EACH UNLOCKED DOOR: “Father, throw Your arms wide open to any and all who enter – let OUR arms be Yours.” 

WITH EACH LIGHT: “Father, enlighten us and help us to see.”

WITH EACH PASS AROUND THE PEWS: “Father, protect those who sit here. Love, through us, each one who sits here. Breathe Your breath of life, Your Spirit of Truth, on each person who sits here.”

IN SIMS PARLOR: “Father, help us make this house a home.”

When I started doing what I call my “Circle of Prayer”, years ago, I engaged my mind and heart and thought about what I was saying. But just this last Sunday, I caught myself in the back of the chancel area turning on the baptistry light when I realized I had been walking, unlocking, turning on lights, and saying the prayers, without realizing it…it was in my body automatically. I might say that is a good thing (that it was so automatic) except that I was doing it without “thinking/feeling”.

That’s when the “lesson of it” hit me. This is TRADITION without REASON, TRUTH without SPIRIT, STYLE without CONTENT…RELIGION without RELATIONSHIP. 

A performing artist, whether singing, acting, dancing, or playing an instrument, practices to get the music or movement in their bodies. I know, as a pianist, that memorizing a piece of music is sometimes done through sense memory: your fingers remember where to go, and when. But my piano teachers always reminded me that my mind needed to memorize also, telling me what chord I was playing, and which chord I’d be moving to…seeing/hearing the music as I played. Why? Because in times of stress (like a performance) sense memory abandons you and you must rely on your mind. And how many times have I either seen that happen, or had it happen to me? In acting it’s called, “going up” on your line: not just forgetting the line, but being blocked from remembering even how to go on, or what comes next. 

In our Faith, this is the danger of TRADITION and RITUAL. Both are good things to help us practice the presence of God, to remind ourselves of our life together, and our life with Him…but if TRADITION has no foundation, if RITUAL has no basis in history or reason then it is useless. That’s why we need both TRADITION AND REASON, TRUTH AND SPIRIT, STYLE AND CONTENT, RELIGION AND RELATIONSHIP. 

I don’t say that TRADITION, TRUTH, STYLE, and RELIGION are bad in themselves, but they need to be paired with something that gives them substance and reason. Even TRUTH, as we are taught by the Spirit, is cold if it is not paired with LOVE, or with the ultimate “REASON” which is Jesus.

Be careful to not get into even Spiritual habits that become so ingrained that you can do them without thinking. What is your purpose? What is the reason behind the Spiritual habits that YOU do consistently (Why do you attend worship? Why do you sit in the same pew? Why do you pray WHEN you pray? Why do you SAY to God and to each other?) 

Sometimes we…I SHOULD say, “sometimes I…” need to start at the beginning and remember why this habit started in the first place.

My “Circle of Prayer” will be more thoughtful this coming Sunday as I think about what I am doing at that moment, even though I’ve been doing it each Sunday for years…and as I think about my vocation and avocation.

In fact, when I am gone, I hope that I will be remembered for doing nothing more than exposing everyone in my circle to the God who made us, who gives us life and joy and love…

…and in fact, all I ever did in my life here was to never hinder access to the Source of our Life and Love…all I did was unlock the Doors and turn on the Light.

William Shakespeare. Once again this year, THE ALLEY THEATRE season closes with a Shakespeare script at The Anderson Museum of Art. The words attributed to that name are some of my favorite phrases. I have grown in my appreciation of the plays and sonnets, of the accurate recording of human nature, defined so expertly and beautifully in a language that seems all but lost. I have been honored to perform in and stage direct several Shakespeare plays, and I’ve got to say that simply reading the words do not do them the justice they deserve. The words are written to be heard. 

There is almost no one English writer more quoted than Shakespeare, and snippets of lines from his poems and plays have made their way into our vernacular even today; “All the world’s a stage…”, “to be or not to be”, “what’s in a name?…”, “the winter of our discontent”, “such stuff as dreams are made of”, “all that glitters is not gold”, “the course of true love never did run smooth”, “there’s a method in the madness”, “a lean and hungry look”…and so much more!

Watching and hearing the plays reminds me that people haven’t changed all that much since the 1500’s, and the best entertainment still rests upon the masters of words. But here is something interesting about the playwright; evidence of his authorship is scant. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the person called William Shakespeare DIDN’T write the scripts, but there is some doubt. It has been an on-going discussion since shortly after the death of Elizabeth I. Several theories have come forward as to WHO might have written and WHY they would use Shakespeare’s name, but we take for granted that William Shakespeare wrote it all. We take it on faith, because there is little evidence.

Speaking of faith and Shakespeare is one thing but speaking of faith and the person of Jesus Christ is another. There are several books that seek to prove the existence of the human, historical person of Jesus. The historicity of the Gospels themselves give us more personal, biological information about Jesus than we have on most other ancient historic figures. In fact, there is more evidence of Jesus’ existence than there is of Alexander the Great’s existence. But I believe that God wants us to have some room for doubt so that we can exercise our “faith muscles”.

FAITH, as we know, is a gift of God to be exercised and built up through believing. And what is faith? The best definition, I think, is in the scripture itself, “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” HEBREWS 11:1. It is by faith that we flip the switch each evening and turn on the lights in our homes. It is by faith that we turn the keys in our cars and expect the engine to start. Faith is a natural thing. It is also by faith that we pray, read, worship and live, and that is good. It tells us that there are some things in this world that we CAN’T explain. There are some things in our lives that we DON’T have control of. And so, though we may not understand it, it is through faith that we live. The more we “exercise” that faith, the greater and more numerous are the daily miracles.

Believe, exercise faith…live miraculously.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
HAMLET, ACT 1, SCENE 5 (W. SHAKESPEARE)

The OLYMPICS have made me look back on our pictures of trips to Italy…and remembering the wonderful days and nights spent there.  I have a book filled with photos and notes from the trips I have taken there with family and friends. These are vacations by which many other vacations since are measured because the destination and company were stellar.

I travelled in memory, through the photos, and once again felt the warm sun, listened to the music, tasted the wine, and remembered things I had forgotten in the few short years since that trip.

As I looked and remembered, however, I thought of some specific moments in time during those trips: traveling through the streets of Rome at nightfall, gelato in San Gimignano, a glass of wine on the Piazza di Santa Croce, and looking out over the vineyards and villas of Tuscany at sunset. I said to myself: “No photo, painting or story does justice to this place, no matter how beautiful they may be.  None of those things can match the moment of being here and seeing this with one’s own eyes.” 

There is a difference between “knowing about” something and “knowing” something. 

It’s the same with people.  It’s the same with God. We are taught, and I believe, the scripture tells us about God.  That is truth, or at least one side of it.  The Scripture tells us about God, and so does His creation and His children.  His Spirit in us, is also a witness to the personality of God.  But all those things share ABOUT God, none of those things are a substitute for KNOWING God.

To know ABOUT God is not the same as KNOWING God.  After all, lots of people know about God, and it doesn’t seem to change them in the least.  The people who have been changed, who live a full life, who walk with peace inside and out, who seem to pour out “springs of living water” are people who don’t just KNOW ABOUT God, but who KNOW God.

The process of getting to know God is like getting to know anyone else.  We find out about our family and friends by spending time with them, getting to understand their likes and dislikes, catering to them, supporting them, and staying in contact with them.  We don’t maintain relationships with our loved ones by reading about them.  

There is a difference between “knowing about” something and “knowing” something.

Jesus’ wish is that we know Him, not just know about Him.  He wants us to spend time talking and listening to Him.  He wants us to love Him by loving each other.  He wants us to look for Him everywhere, to turn to Him all the time, to be with Him forever.  That’s going to take more than just reading the scripture and calling it good.  We’re going to have to trust the Spirit of God to lead us into places that we wouldn’t ordinarily go.  We’re going to need to trust in our own God-given common sense and ability to trust His Spirit in us when it comes to situations that are not mentioned in the scripture.  We are going to have to KNOW that God is real, even though His personhood is not defined by OUR understanding of what a “person” should be, in fact it’s just the opposite: our personhood is defined by the fact that we are created in HIS image and not vice versa.

There is a difference between “knowing about” something and “knowing” something.

I have some wonderful memories and photos of Italy, but none of them ARE Italy, they are “reflections” and “images”.  The images are representations of a small portion of that place.  The SCRIPTURE shows us part of who God is. The SPIRIT shares with us knowledge as we need it. NATURE is a portion of what God has created, and OUR OWN HEARTS & MINDS contain a touch of His personality.  But to KNOW God requires regarding Him as the friend He wishes to be.  It requires spending time with Him in the everyday things, trusting the Spirit in us to believe Him when we hear Him and see Him, even when others may not. 

It is a lifelong task, and we have a never-ending lifetime to make it happen.

I can remember, in elementary school, seeing people on Ash Wednesday with ash on their foreheads and thinking (since it was generally just a few people) that they had bumped into something or accidentally gotten something wiped on them.  Some kids would be dismissed from lunch and come back (obviously from noon worship services) with ashes on their foreheads, embarrassed and a little reluctant to speak about what happened at noon.

When I moved to Seattle, as a college student, I remember being downtown on Ash Wednesday one year, and seeing a slick-looking businessman carrying his briefcase, off to a meeting somewhere…with a smear of an ashen cross on his forehead.  Somewhere behind him in a crowd was a young mother with two small children, each with an ashen cross.  There was an older Hispanic man and his wife, a Chinese woman, a young man of color working as a messenger on a bike, all with the ashen crosses that day.  And I saw, for the first time, the many faces of the children of God, all blessed with HIS cross on their foreheads.  People who didn’t know each other, and if they did, may not get along as we would hope but all of them under God’s care at that moment in time; the cross binding them together. We were all “singing the same song” in a variety of parts.  True BELIEVERS & FOLLOWERS sing together in harmony…not unison.  We may not see eye-to-eye…but we will be face-to-face with the one who created us all…from dust, covered by the cross that signifies the price paid for our admittance to the feast. 

At CENTRAL, we observe LENT (and ASH WEDNESDAY) in a big way. Where do the ashes we use at Central come from? The ashes we use are the ashes of the palms used the prior Palm Sunday; mixed with olive oil which is infused with frankincense and myrrh. Once the palms are burned, ground down and mixed, they are preserved. In fact, at Central, the ashes I’ve used for nineteen years (my Anniversary with Central Christian Church is today – February 18^th), predate me by two to three ministers at least. I have only added some ashes, but they are combined with ashes from Palm Sundays past. The alabaster jar that holds Central’s ashes also holds the representation of at least three generations of parishioners, pastors, elders, deacons, and stories here in the heart of the heartland…and now, it’s all ash.

The palms that symbolize the crowds in Jerusalem wishing for and welcoming what they imagined was an “earthly” kingdom, are now dust – reminding us that the “earthly” kingdom is not what our King came to inaugurate – HIS Kingdom is “not FROM, or OF, this world”. HIS Kingdom doesn’t turn to ash. But our kingdoms, our countries, our homes, and our bodies…do. And WE are individually headed in that same direction. No matter what our diversity, no matter our likeness, we all travel to that location…dust. That knowledge alone should cause us to treat others with kindness, love, patience, and help. The knowledge of the shared destination of all our lives should cause us to live every moment on this earth, in this body, with intention. But does it?

This isn’t really bad news; it’s the way of physical life. But “Life” (with a capital “L”) isn’t defined by things that turn to ash. “Life”, according to what I believe and teach, transcends nations, communities, and human bodies. I believe our souls will land in new bodies that don’t turn to ash, in a land that always remains green, lush, diverse, and colorful – like the immortal life that will inhabit it with our King, Jesus.

My time at Central, in Anderson, and on this earth will one day be represented in the palm fronds I have burned and mixed with ashes from times before, and pastors who have served and moved on, along with their parishioners.  My soul has already started packing for another trip. The Kingdom of MY King has already been created.

So take the ashes and remember: we are all on the same physical journey, and on the way, offer your hand, your smile, and your love, because Jesus asks you to. Also, as different as we all may be, and no matter where we started – we may not all be “in the same boat”, but we are quite possibly all “in the same storm.”

Every moment has its time.

Every person has their place.

Don’t rush past either,

Or you may also brush aside

God’s desire for you to either

ENJOY or BE the miracle. 

If we do nothing else this Lenten Season…that would be enough, and it might change the world.

Years ago, I played percussion in my local Symphony Orchestra.  I thought about that the other day while searching for some music.  As I was looking for something else, I came upon an old “percussion” part that was tucked into something else.  A flood of memories came as I looked on it, saw my teen-aged pencil marks and notes – and I suddenly remembered what it was like to participate in a large orchestra – standing in the back, soaking in the music and counting, counting, counting.

I don’t know if you have ever seen an orchestral “part” before, but the magic in it is that it is a PART and not the SCORE.  In other words, there is one line, and (especially in the case of a percussionist) many, many measures one doesn’t play, but those measures need to be accounted for, so that you know when to come in and play your part.  For the percussionist, it’s not unusual to have hundreds of measures to count before possibly playing just one tap of a drum or roll of timpani.  Then it’s back to counting until the next part.

Many times, no one person in the orchestra (except for the conductor of course, God willing) knows what the piece sounds like; they only have their part to see and until EVERYONE plays together, it may not make too much sense.  In that case, it’s up to the player to concentrate, count, and watch the conductor for the cue to come in at the right time and place.

One player may have several “roles” to play within one piece.  Sometimes the player is the “oomp” part of the “oomp-pah-pah”.  Sometimes they are the “pah-pah” part of the “oomp-pah-pah“.  Other times a player, by themselves or in a section with others playing their same part, may be harmony, sometimes counter-melody and sometimes MELODY.  Depending on what the composer wrote, everyone has a “part” to play to make sure that the listener’s ears are intrigued.  Every-once-in-a-while the player gets a solo; playing the main phrase or melody alone amongst the other players.  At that point, the conductor will look directly at the player and give directions that say, “Play out, so that all can hear you.”  It doesn’t happen often for any one player (unless you’re a woodwind) but it happens enough that you need to be ready when it does. 

What if everyone played believing that every line they played was their own personal solo?  What if everyone played believing that they always had the harmony and should stay in the background.  What if no one believed their part was important enough to even come in at the right time and therefore didn’t count OR watch the conductor.  Well, one thing I know for sure, that orchestra wouldn’t have an audience for much longer.

In a symphony orchestra, as in The Kingdom of God, every part is very important TO THE WHOLE.  The composer has written something with a specific task in mind, the conductor takes that and coordinates with all the players so that the audience gets a sense of the journey.  Although many times the conductor may see or hear other possibilities in the song and change the tempo a bit, or the balance, it is only to enhance the piece – sometimes discovering things even the composer themselves didn’t see or hear.  But the task of the player is to know when they are supporting, when they are harmonic, when they are countermelody and when they are melody…AND WHEN THEY ARE SOLOISTS…and to be prepared for each.

In The Kingdom, there are many who would like to be the soloist ALL THE TIME, without the sense that, like a piece of music, it is important for the world to hear all the player, and the entire piece, not just a part of it, but the whole of it. God calls us (the players) to be ready for anything and everything.  Sometimes we support each other, sometimes we play in unison, sometimes we play the melody…and every-once-in-a-while, it’s our turn to take the solo (I Corinthians 12:14-20).

What happens if an orchestra player doesn’t practice because they don’t believe they’ll ever play a solo?  I’ll tell you what happens, because I’ve seen it happen: The solo part comes and they are not prepared, and that player is swiftly replaced with someone who is prepared.  And so it is with life in The Kingdom (John 15:2).

Jesus asks us to be happy with each other and ourselves.  Doing what we need to do to “play the piece” and communicate it to the “audience”.  We are not always going to be the soloist, we are not always going to be the support, and most of the time we are handed a part that has lots, and LOTS of rests – during which the entire song continues.  Our part in the song may not be evident until we play our part and then see how it fits.

Trust yourself.  Trust conductor….and trust the “Composer”.

Thinking of this week, and February 2^nd – I am remembering several years ago, when a good friend of mine accepted a Music Director’s position at a church in Punxsutawney, PA (yes, THAT Punxsutawney – home of “Phil the Groundhog”).  He had asked me to come up one autumn weekend and lead a choral workshop, as his choir prepared for the upcoming church year. I had been to Pennsylvania before and so was looking forward to seeing its beauty in the fall – and it didn’t disappoint.

The weekend was filled with laughter, music, singing, and much, much eating (those people know how to cook!).  One morning, after our session and before our evening event, my friend asked if I’d like to meet “Punxsutawney Phil”.  What? See face-to-face the most famous groundhog in the U.S., and perhaps the world?!  Of course.

Now before we go further, I want to let you know that the town of Punxsutawney doesn’t look like the Punxsutawney in the famous (and favorite) film, “GROUNDHOGS DAY”.  That film was shot in: Woodstock, Illinois, Carey, Illinois, and Hollywood, CA.  The truth is, the actual Punxsutawney is a little isolated and not quite filled with the “character” which was needed for the film. In the real Punxsutawney, “Gobblers Knob” (where Phil is taken to see or not see his shadow) is a field out in the middle of nowhere (as opposed to the Town Square in the film) and when not performing his duties, Phil lives in the town library.

We went to the library to see Phil.  Phil lived in luxury in a large pen with a picture window looking out (and so that humans could look in, when the library was closed).  He shared this beautiful home with his wife, Philomena, and he was, quite possibly, the largest, slowest, groundhog I had ever seen.

Born in captivity (and descended from former “Phils”) he had known nothing of the outside world, he had been generously fed things that tasted good but weren’t necessarily nutritious: the children of the town were given marshmallows to feed him, and his wife, when visiting. And he had very little exercise.  Not surprisingly, he had to be kept inside because he wouldn’t have survived in the outside world…which was, ironically, his natural habitat. 

As my friend and I observed this “lumbering king-sized pillow of fur” slowly make his way through a human-made habitat of water, foliage, and concrete rocks, my buddy turned to me and said something very significant: “It reminds you of some Christians, doesn’t it?” 

Knows nothing of the outside world.

Generously fed things that taste good but aren’t necessarily nutritious.

Very little exercise. 

When it comes to “the world” Jesus reminds us that we (as newly created in Him) we are “not formed from the world/or OF the world” (JOHN 17:14-16) but that we have connection to the world by loving our neighbors as ourselves (MARK 12:31), which infers that we actually know them.  We provide what is needed and by BEING AWARE of what is needed in the world.  Each time Jesus’ disciples, or the leaders of the church, tried to get Jesus to speak about the age-to-come, He brought them right back to the age in which they live, and the people that surrounded them, telling them they should concentrate on the “here and now”. 

Some people see the community of faith, in whatever form their “church” exists (traditional, contemporary, house-church, etc.) as a place where “they are fed”.  In fact, we hear that phrase all the time.  You and I also hear from people who have left their communities of faith because they are “being fed” things that don’t taste good to them…they want “good-tasting food” (sometimes marshmallows). At times that “good-tasting” food they crave is a lie, and if one has marshmallows as a steady diet, then salad isn’t going to taste so good to them, even though that’s what they need. So there are also times when THE TRUTH doesn’t taste so good to them, and they deem it ”bad”.  Sometimes people WANT to hear/digest only what they agree with, whether it is the Truth or not.  Sometimes people just want to relax in the oasis of love and good teaching/food – be fed and “fat and happy” in their Church.

But the entire POINT of “feeding” (teaching from the scripture and the Spirit) is like that of the human body.  Food that comes into our bodies is there to work with the oxygen which also comes into our bodies (like the breath of The Spirit in our communities of faith) so that we can MOVE, so that we can SHARE, so that we can EXERCISE our faith with the work that brings joy: lifting the fallen, speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves, a cup of water for the thirsty, clothes, visits, hugs…love-in-action to those Jesus has placed in our paths. 

Like Punxsutawney Phil, some Christians aren’t able to function outside their communities of faith. But be reminded: The Church’s role is not to sequester and hide people away from the world but to prepare, and yes FEED, them to be IN the world.  We should be knowledgeable about the needs of the world, connected to those around us, and help people to see the differences of a life “conformed to this time & place” and a life “transformed by Jesus” (ROMANS 12:2).

The point of reading scripture, of listening to the voice of God through the Spirit, and of continuous prayer is NOT so that we get overweight with the “good food”, but so that our “food”, combined with the breath of the Spirit, will give us a strength we don’t have on our own…to live the glorious life of service to others, love to others, that Jesus wants us to live…so that we will be happy, it’s what we were created to be. 

The ”Phil” I saw passed on, and another took his place.  He just passed, his heart, surrounded by fat, just stopped.  He never knew the joy of his natural habitat, the joy of providing for himself and those he loved…he lived in a “church” that separated him from the “Phil” he was created to be.

That should be a lesson to us all: is the meaning of our lives simply to be aware of our own shadows, or is it to “live” as Jesus created us to live?

MATTHEW 13: 24-30:
Then he put forth another parable to them, “The Kingdom of Heaven”, he said, “is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were asleep his enemy came and sowed tares (weeds) among the wheat and went away. When the crop came up, and ripened, the weeds appeared as well.
Then the owner’s servants came up to him and said,
‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field?

Where did these tares (weeds) come from?’
‘Some blackguard has done this to spite me,’ he replied.
‘Do you want us then to go out and pull them all up?’
 said his servants.

‘No,’ he returned, ‘if you pull up the weeds now, you will pull up the wheat with them. Let them both grow together till the harvest. And at harvest-time I shall tell the reapers,

‘Collect all the weeds first and tie them up in bundles ready to burn but collect the wheat and store it in my barn.’” 

Have you ever engaged in an “exercise in futility?” I have.

Just last week I swept the hardwood floor in the living room while the sun’s rays were brightly shining through the window and bathing much of the floor in sunlight. It seemed as if there was far more dirt in the air than in my dustpan! Then, after working on the computer for a while, I went back into the living room and behold, the end tables which I had dusted before sweeping were covered again. I thought, “why did I even bother to sweep the floor? Or dust the end tables?” What an exercise in futility! I have concluded that the best time to sweep the floor is at midnight with only a dim night light allowing me to avoid tripping over furniture as I sweep!

Dust is an imperfection in which we learn to cope…even if we must dust and sweep every day or every week. I still remember my grandmother taking her quilts off the bed on a warm sunny morning, hanging them up over a clothesline, and beating them with a broom handle. Little poofs of dust would explode with each strike and then less and less dust with subsequent blows. Then she would leave the quilts out all day to “sun.” Then eventually it was a task to do all over again.

Was this an exercise in futility. . .or a means of coping and accepting an imperfection that exists? 

Some people like to eat tender dandelion greens and others see these plants as a weed and a nuisance. For me, I just want my front yard to be free of them. In the spring I use fertilizer that only allows grass to flourish. Yet, all through the summer I use my dandelion weeder often. As far as my yard goes, I have succeeded in keeping them from blooming and scattering their airborne seeds throughout my yard, but I must stay vigilant by using that dandelion weeder weekly! But I can’t control the dandelions in other yards and fields around me. So, it is a constant battle to weed them out of my yard before they reproduce. Yes, sometimes I wonder why I even attempt such an exercise in futility! But each week that I stroll through my yard with my dandelion picker, the truth finally takes hold. . .my yard will always be prone to this imperfection.

Like dust, dandelions will never be “controlled”; these imperfections have dwelt and will dwell on and on forever. The parable about pulling up the tares found in the wheat fields is a clear example of an exercise in futility.

Tares, weeds that resemble wheat in the early growing stages, are an imperfection that no one wants to see in a wheat field. The wise farmer tells his helpers (who discovered the tares) to leave the tares alone and wait until harvest to separate the tares and wheat.  Why? The roots of the tares and the wheat entangle, thus, to pull up the tares is to also pull up the roots of the good wheat and thereby destroy a good harvest. Yes, it is aggravating to see a wheat field invaded by tares, and the instinct is to want to pull them. Far better to wait until harvest when the farm workers can separate the wheat from the tares!

Run that thinking out. We human beings often have little patience with imperfections that we might see; our first instinct is to rip them out or remove them. How futile it is to think that we can eliminate imperfections in ourselves or in others. Imperfections are ingrained in human life like dust or dandelion weeds or tares. We ministers strive to remind dreamy-eyed couples who are planning a marriage ceremony that when the honeymoon is over, there is an awareness of a zillion imperfections. . .and that a person must work “with and around” as constantly as sweeping and dusting. Leaving the tares alone until harvest is a clear message: leave the imperfections alone when the greater good (harvest) will be adversely affected! O, to be sure, some imperfections (criminal behavior) are such that punitive action must be taken. However, my point is that too many relationships (not only marriage, but friendship, co-workers, family, etc.) may be harmed when we decide that some imperfections we see in others must be ripped out.

For example, years ago my wife and I had gotten to the point that we were short with some of the other’s shortcomings. Then we learned that we differed in how we picked up on the world around us. I (Ken) tend to be intuitive which means, among other things, that I often instinctively know what may be going on without having to ask or be told. Della, on the other hand, is “sensing” person who must rely upon the five senses (touch, taste, sight, hearing, and smell) which means, among other things, that she usually has to ask or see for herself, etc. But once we learned that we pick up on the world around us differently, many of the things that irritated us melted away almost overnight. What we saw as imperfections in each other that we wanted to “rip out” was transformed into a new way for us to understand each other. 

Leave the imperfections alone. Any of us can enjoy long term relationships simply when we wisely realize that we are not in this world to rip out all imperfections that we see in each other. If we did so, we would be lonely and alone for sure!

Fred Craddock, well-known Disciples of Christ preacher and author, uses this parable to say to the churches, “leave the tares alone; don’t pull ‘em up!” The old practice of “churching” meant that a person was removed from membership for a “sin” committed, usually with an expectation that such persons would see the error of their ways and ask to be restored. Written histories of a few congregations tell stories about young people who were “dismissed” for dancing, or a man “churched” for chewing tobacco, or a woman “removed” for flirting. Usually, the aftermath of these actions is turmoil. Families and kin quit attending. People take sides. Offerings suffer. Why? Because roots are all tangled up: pulling a “tare” also pulls out the good wheat. Leave the tares alone.

Craddock also says, “don’t clean up the membership rolls.” I (Ken) once began a pastorate with a new congregation, and within days I was confronted by an older man who came up to me on a street of that town. I was informed that he would not be back in church, nor his family, nor would his folks support the church in any way. I said, “do you mind telling me why?” To which the response was, “I got the new church directory and my family, including my grown children and their families, were not in it anymore. We may not have attended, but we did support it financially when we could. But somebody decided to clean the rolls. . .” So, I did some checking into the man’s story. The new directory was created and printed while the church had an interim minister, and the person assigned to update the membership list with home addresses “removed” people using the criteria of attendance alone. I have learned that the most precious asset of any congregation is the goodwill of the membership and the good will of the community. Leave the tares alone! God did not call the Church into being for the Church to remove tares; that is God’s job. Rather, the Church is called into being to put to share redemptive love and grace as revealed in Jesus Christ, to lift up those who have been overtaken in a fault, to exist in true fellowship with fellow Christians who can admit to being a part of imperfect humanity who are united in a common goal to become the new humanity of God’s people by the increase of love for God and neighbor.

“Leave the tares alone.” Some people place this parable in terms of God’s judgment. That may well be. BUT this parable is about withholding our judgment. Oddly, for those who follow Jesus, to leave the tares alone is a clarion call to love redemptively, to live faithfully, and to become as gracious to one another as we would want God to be gracious (and forgiving) to us!

Several years back, I traveled back to my hometown in The Tri-Cities, Washington to bury my father’s ashes.  I wasn’t feeling like my best self.  Suddenly, with my mom gone as well, and being an only child, I felt like the “last survivor.”  I questioned my life, my worth, AND my “self”.

While there, I got to visit my former High School, thanks to some gracious teachers, I got a tour, walked around familiar halls and passages, remembering things I had long forgotten.  It was a new school when I attended, it didn’t look so new now.

I walked around feeling old, looking at the “children” who wandered the halls and wondering if I ever looked that young.

I turned into the familiar MUSIC BUILDING and walked into a new hall that led to the familiar CHORUS ROOM, where I spent many hours.  A girl I assumed was a student, was looking at a painting on the large wall.  I turned also to look and to my amazement, it was a song I wrote, “SCARLET & GOLD”.  

Because the school had been new when I attended, there were some things the building and school didn’t have when we started attending.  Each graduating class would “gift” something back to the school – and at that time, the gifts were things not included in the original building budget.  My class, the class of ’76 gave an electronic scoreboard for the gym.  The next class commissioned me, already a songwriter, for an ALMA MATER, which the school didn’t have yet.  There on the wall was my song.

I started feeling a little better about myself as I looked at the wall painting of my lyrics and melody.

The girl turned to me and said (since she saw I was a visitorl)

“This is our ALMA MATER.”
“Thanks, yes, I saw that,” I replied, “but there’s a mistake in that part of the lyric.” I said as I pointed down to the lower part of the painting where the error was.
“Really?” she asked (with a look that said, “Who do YOU think you are?”) “How do YOU know?”
I said, indicating the name on my VISITOR BADGE and my name on the wall,

“I wrote it.”

Her expression was what I would have if I had suddenly run into Abraham Lincoln; pleasantly shocked, but mostly because I thought he had been dead for quite some time.

Then she whispered reverentially, “Really?”
“Sure enough.” I said.
“Well I suppose you ought to know.  Wow, we sing this all the time and would’ve never thought I would have met, or talked to, the writer!  That makes a lot of difference; knowing the writer and not just the song.”  

Then, she said, “I’m still not sure that’s a mistake.” Pointing to the lyric we were looking at.  She then smiled, gave a little wave, and books in arms, moved on.

What?!

She was standing beside the writer, who pointed out the lyric and the mistake…THE WRITER, ME…who remembers hand-writing the song, who has sung the song, who KNOWS (if anyone would) what is wrong and what is right with the song.  I wasn’t at all angry, just stunned.  At that moment, she felt her OPINION carried the same weight as the “TRUTH”. 

I’ve told this story before, in a BLOG, but the last time I told it I left out her final comment because it wasn’t part of the lesson. However, recently this memory has returned to me WITH her “last line”.  I’m seeing, and reading, SO MANY people who also believe their OPINIONS (unaccredited) carry as much weight as easily verified facts and truth.  

It’s like saying, “Since I disagree with this, it must not be true.”

I suppose this is where our current time and place has gotten to…but God has been dealing with this for all time.  I thank Him for HIS patience and mercy.

A recent conversation with yet another person voicing a “unaccredited” opinion about a “credentialed truth” made the frustration-futile-anger level in me to rise…and then I heard the quiet, calm, voice of the Spirit.

The Spirit of Jesus took me back to the very beginning of today’s story – the part where my OPINION of myself was low.  That whole time, when I was low, THE SPIRIT was trying to break through.  In every corner of that trip the SPIRIT was showing me how loved I was by my parents, friends, family, and community – showing me that my life mattered…I, of course, didn’t want to listen…my opinion of myself was standing in the front. 

Then THE SPIRIT said, “My TRUTH carries more weight than YOUR OPINION…especially when it comes to your view of yourself.” 

I find when it comes to self-knowledge, self-identity, and self-esteem, humans sabotage their lives.  We forget that GOD creates by “fiat” – He speaks it, and it is made. He speaks and IT IS so.  He speaks and when He says, “You are MY child.  You are loved.  You are worth dying for.  You are the greatest creation I have made.”  those words aren’t His opinions, they are fact.  They are truth.  And our OPINIONS do not carry the same weight against His facts, and His TRUTH.

It’s not an easy lesson to learn, especially during these times, we are tested every moment of every day.  But if no one says it to you today…listen to the SPIRIT of TRUTH:

You are God’s child.
You are loved.
You are worth dying for.
You are the greatest creation He has made.

And, thanks to God , whatever you think of yourself is nothing by an “unaccredited opinion”. It doesn’t have enough weight to stand up against HIS Truth about you.

Beethoven is not one of my favorite composers.  I don’t dislike his music, it’s just not my favorite…but oddly, he IS one of my favorite people, aside from his music.  I learned quite a bit about him in college, we spent an entire semester researching, learning, getting to know old Ludwig.  I also found out so much more about him in a book by Russel Martin in 2001: “BEETHOVEN’S HAIR” (highly recommended if you haven’t read it…here is the link for ordering it on AMAZON: Beethoven’s Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved: Martin, Russell: 9780767903516: Amazon.com: Books)

But one interesting “Beethoven thing” happened in college.  I attended a small art conservatory on a hill in Seattle, filled with the greatest combination of people, art, and nightlife.  There was an older man who was seen frequently around the school neighborhood.  His hair reminded me of photos of Einstein, he wore a trench coat, always.  He carried around a portfolio, which I later saw filled with handwritten music manuscripts.  He appeared to have a “girl-friend”, about his age (late 50s?…it’s hard for me to remember now because when I was 21 everyone older than me seemed to be ancient) who would pretend to meet him for the first time at a bus stop (we witnessed this often) and they would strike up a conversation as if they had never met.

In any case, one morning I walked into the front door of the school and into the office…to see him bending over the copy machine making copies of the hand-written music in his well-used satchel.  The secretary noted the look on my face and pulled me outside the door.

“Have you not met Ludwig?”

“That guy’s name is Ludwig?  No, I haven’t.”

“We don’t know what his actual name is, but he believes he is Ludwig Beethoven.  He comes in and the President of the school has authorized him to use the copy machine whenever he wants to copy his music.”

“He thinks he’s Beethoven.”

“Yup.” 

She was right…he did, and everyone just went along.  Partly proven by an event that happened just the next week.

The school had a small choral ensemble, and we were prepping a performance of a Beethoven piece, “CHRIST ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES” (SIDE NOTE: our Chancel Choir has sung the “HALLELUJAH” from that work) and our conductor informed us, at rehearsal that day, that a special guest would be coming into class that day to “give us notes” on performing (wait for it) HIS piece…guess who?!

I was REALLY looking forward to this.

He walked in the door and everyone stood. That’s right EVERYONE stood.  Our conductor welcomed him, introduced him, and gave him the floor.

Graciously, warmly, and lucidly, “Ludwig” smiled, began informing us of his “vision” for the piece, finishing by opening up the time for questions, while reminding us to speak up…since he was going deaf.  

Shockingly, our conductor asked the first question, and “Ludwig” answered astutely. I have to say, everyone “played along”, our conductor never indicated in any way that he didn’t believe this man wasn’t Beethoven.  And as for “Ludwig”, I think the actual Beethoven would’ve approved of his answers and demeanor.

Were we cruel or loving to “Ludwig”?

I ask that, as a BELIEVER & FOLLOWER, to see what you think?  Because we, in the chorale, propagated his “untruth”.  We played into his “delirium”.  We pandered to his “illusion”.  Was that appropriate and fine?  As far as I know I was the only person in the room who identified as “Christian”, but I have to say: I was SO impressed by the love shown to this man…and must add that moment to all the times I have learned more about Christian behavior from non-Christians than from people who identify as “Christian”.

What I learned was: “Truth” (in the life of a BELIEVER & FOLLOWER) should always be defined through the filter of love.  Was it more important to make sure he understood he was not who he thought he was OR important to make a “relationship connection” with him?

I have acquaintances (who identify as “Christian”) who believe we should’ve prayed over him and his mental healing.  I have acquaintances (who identify as “Christian”) who would’ve at least believed we shouldn’t call him “Ludwig” (because that’s not really his name) or continued to let him use the copy machine because that’s not really “loving him”…it’s only helping him continue to live a “lie”.

That is a sad truth for me because I don’t think Jesus said, “the facts shall set you free.” I think He said, “the Truth will set you free”, and Jesus (“the Way, THE TRUTH, and the Life”) repeats the same command over and over, to the point of His death: “love one another”.

And this is TRUTH: Relationships are the only currency you can take with you.
TRUTH: “consider others greater than yourself…”
TRUTH: no matter whom HE (“Ludwig”) identified as, MY business was, and is, to show him kindness, an act of love. 

And MY business was to know that whatever was going on in his brain was NONE of MY business.

I learned the truth about acceptance of others, no matter what, without compromising Jesus who lives in me…from people who took him for who he said he was.

“Ludwig” reminded us that day that “CHRIST ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES” was not a “concert piece” but a sacred one.  That it should be treated and sung as a sacred work: it was not about RELIGION (he told us), it was about the person of JESUS.  That person who, on the Mount of Olives, cared more about us then Himself.

 “Sing,” Ludwig said, “as if you owe Him your life.”

I never did actually learn his real name, but that year I heard again the lesson that LOVE is the greatest thing, and THE TRUTH certainly does set you free…and I learned it from a broken vessel…just like me.