I was in my car, on my way to Indianapolis.  I was in the right-hand lane (going the speed limit…really!) and a car drove past me, pulled in front of me and slowed down.  It was obvious, from my vantage point, that the driver of the car ahead of me was busy on his smartphone, texting.  I wasn’t really in a hurry, but did at least want to go the speed limit, so eventually I signaled and moved to the left lane.  This action apparently jarred the driver from his text conversation and made him upset as, to my amusement, he sped up the minute I was beside him so that I could not get around him.  I didn’t care, as I didn’t need to be in the right lane for a while.  After a few minutes he slowed down, abruptly passed behind me to the turn lane coming up on my left, honked and gave me a “sign” (and it wasn’t the sign of the cross).  I was a bit confused as to his anger with ME, but not enough to care.  I was more humored than anything else.

Oh, did I mention that he had a Greek “ichtus” (sign of the fish, the “secret” symbol Christians used to identify each other in the First Century) on his bumper?

I assumed the car was purchased by the current driver at a used car lot.

And once again the words of a friend came to me, “If your car has a bumper sticker about heaven, you probably shouldn’t drive like hell.”

 That quote is far-reaching implications for any of us who identify as Believers & Followers of Jesus.  If we are going to put our identity out there, we should probably BE what we advertise.  After all, I don’t expect to find SKITTLES in an M&M bag.  If M&Ms are advertised on the packaging, they had better be M&Ms inside.

Now we all do some things, as Believers & Followers, that some other Believers & Followers would call “unchristian.”  Example: as an actor I have been called upon to play characters that are NOT Believers & Followers.  One of those times, I had to carry (not smoke) a fake cigarette through most of the production.  A dear saint wrote a kind note to me, making her case that she thought it was inappropriate for a minister to carry a cigarette.  I, of course, disagreed…on several levels (1. a minister WASN’T carrying the cigarette, the character was, 2. I know several spirit-filled ministers who smoke, and 3. if you’re offended by THAT, then I could tell you a few other things about me that might make your hair curl…etc.) but what I actually said was that I was sorry she was offended and hoped that my carrying a fake cigarette around, as an actor, didn’t shatter her faith.  And I realized that in this large community we call the Kingdom of God, social norms, geographic boundaries, and tradition often define what some might think is “Christians behaving badly” while another group doesn’t see an issue.

At the core of the community should be the unity of the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT, no matter what we wear, how we cut (or don’t cut) our hair, how we worship, when we worship…etc.  A person identifying as a Believer & Follower, either by carrying around a Bible, wearing a big cross, or even putting a bumper fish on their car need to at least PRACTICE (if not perFECT) love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control (GALATIANS 5:22-23).  These things, and not anything else, are the mark of those who believe Jesus is the Son of God and follow Him as sheep follow a shepherd.  If one is not willing to at least attempt, and practice these things, then they shouldn’t advertise they are something they are not.

I say “attempt, and practice” because many of us are not there yet.  However, the practice and attempt are obvious in people who DO practice and attempt to be who they claim.

Those who are obviously (by their lack of “fruit”) not who they profess to be give a bad name to those who ARE, because the world tends to paint all Believers & Followers with the same broad brush, and God gets a bad reputation.  The FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT; the evidence of a Believer & Follower’s roots, plays out in large and small ways, sometimes those ways are how we DRIVE, how we treat people we don’t HAVE to be nice to, how we tip, how we serve.

Jesus called this sort of false advertising “whitewashed tombs” (MATTHEW 23:27), a far more colorful description even than “If your car has a bumper sticker about heaven, you probably shouldn’t drive like hell.”

Even better is to make sure that one’s fruit of the Spirit is so self-evident that a bumper fish isn’t necessary.

Drive safely.  Advertise accurately.  Produce fruit.

Miss LaClaire, Miss Just, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Van Dyke, Mrs. Goranson, Mrs. Stankman, Mr. McNamara. When the school year comes around, I go through these names and memories again. I may not remember everything they ever taught but I remember every name and face of the teachers I had through Grade School (6th Grade). I admire and trust educators to do what they were trained to do.  I grew up with two supportive parents who partnered with my teachers, and I know times have changed, but I still believe in the power an educator has to inspire a child’s very heart and soul…even against the odds.

If I can remember each name of each teacher, I had in those “formative” years AND the names of most, if not all of my Middle School, High School and University teachers…they must have had SOME impact. I thank God for those who teach. It is sometimes a thankless but glorious job to stand at the gate and train those who must pass through to the next leadership time. At times I have an epiphany and think that my parents weren’t so crazy after all when they mourned about MY generation, and I think of this great quote:

“I’m trying very hard to understand this generation.
They have adjusted the timetable for childbearing
so that menopause and teaching a sixteen-year-old how to
drive a car will occur in the same week.”
ERMA BOMBECK (U.S. humorist, 1927-1996)

But as much as I remember (or don’t) about those that taught me to read, write, add and subtract…it’s these names that I remember more, and hold even closer to my heart…Pearl Mohler, Della Reibolt, Della Nunez, June Clinebell, Violet Van Hoose, Jean Martin, Eloise Woods…These were my Sunday School teachers from the time I was in the Nursery through my High School years, at HIGHLANDS CHURCH OF GOD in Kennewick, Washington. These women not only taught me the stories of Scripture (using everything from flannel graphs to play dough and puppets) but they LOVED me and when I was at my home church, I was as much at home as I was with my parents in our home. To those remarkable people, all gone except for one now, I give thanks to God.

As the years run by and each new “class” walks through the pages of the Herald Bulletin and through the halls of Central Christian Church, let’s thank God for the people He has placed in our children’s path, to teach, train and lead. Let us always pray for our children’s safety and wisdom for teachers.

As much as we may shake our heads at some of the things we see with each generation, it is good to know that some things haven’t changed in a millennium, and through those years, teachers were always held as precious:

“What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state,
than that of the man who instructs the rising generation?”
MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO
(Ancient Roman Lawyer, Writer, Scholar, Orator and Statesman, 106 BC-43 BC)

“Thank you.” To all at Central who teach, who have taught, who will teach. I also thank those who teach our own Church small groups, as well as those who have taught and are teaching in the public school system…God smiles on you.

“Teach the youth about the way they should go;
even when they are old they will not depart from it.”
PROVERBS 22:6

Luke 12:27
“Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.” 

“Consider the lilies…” 

You bet I do! My favorite flowers, indeed!

My yard has several sites where lilies grow! While they are in bloom I marvel at their intricate, bright colors. Daylilies, stargazer lilies, and other species of lilies are not only “eye catchers” but also “nose catchers” as some have a sweet, pleasing fragrance that can be noted from several feet away!

“Consider the lilies…” Jesus said, inviting folks to note that lilies labor and spin not, but they grow under the mysterious Hand of God and their blooms are far more beautiful than King Solomon in all his glory…a reference to the King who actually built the Temple in Jerusalem with its ornate decor and gold inlays.

“Consider the lilies…” Jesus said and note that the lilies are not anxious nor troubled. They grow and bloom in their own time, not rushing nor slowing Mother Nature’s (God) design.

“Consider the lilies…” Jesus said, and I do consider them! If I want lovely lilies, I have “work to do!” I plant the bulbs, mulch the soil around them, replenish the nutrients for healthy plants, and I water them in drought. And every few years I will have 10-12 plants where I only planted a couple of bulbs because lilies reproduce by creating new bulbs. Over time, if I do nothing, then the clump of lilies will keep enlarging OR I may choose to dig up some of the bulbs in the fall and plant them elsewhere in my yard OR I can give a few bulbs to others who enjoy lilies. Lilies can be hard work at times!

“Consider the lilies…” Jesus said, inviting us to marvel as we think about lilies. Lilies do not toil or spin! They do not fret and worry. And yet, they are exquisitely beautiful! 

“Consider the lilies”…Jesus said, and likewise, we are not to worry and fret about food and clothing because our life (GK: “zoe”) is wrapped up in God “Consider the lilies…” Jesus said BUT notice what Jesus did NOT say…Jesus did NOT say that we should likewise avoid toiling and spinning! I have lovely lilies because I “toil.” If I did not keep the invasive vines pulled out of my lilies, the lilies would become smothered by the sheer weight of an invasive weed. If I did not control the weeds, not even I could see the beauty of the lilies. To experience the God-given beauty of my lilies, I have work to do. I have to put nutrients in the soil by feeding them, I have to keep the grass from crowding the lilies. I have to remove grass and weeds that encroach on the lilies to the point that the lilies do not get adequate moisture. Yep! God grows my lilies and they do not have to toil nor spin…. that’s MY JOB!

“Consider the lilies….” Jesus said, with the implication that beauty of the lily is God-given, but the care of the lily is our work. Yes, God takes care of us just as surely as God takes care of the lilies. We are not to worry about what we will eat or about our bodies (and clothing). Worry not, but, instead, embrace life…for life (Greek “zoe”, meaning life wrapped up in GOD who is eternal) is more than food and the body more than clothing. Mind you, this whole conversation about lilies was started when a man asked Jesus to ask his brother to share the inheritance (from parents) with him (Luke 12:13f).

Obviously, the man wanted to live in the abundance that a goodly portion of his brother’s inheritance would have provided. Wanting a chunk of his brother’s inheritance, the man wanted “the life of Riley”, a life on “easy street” with no worries about food or clothing. His vision of life is best expressed in the word bios (Greek bios meaning physical life) of ease! Such abundance would take care of all his earthly needs…or so the man thought!

Jesus responded to the man by the story of the successful farmer who built bigger barns to hoard his over-abundance of crops. And then…the farmer died. His abundance gave this farmer no benefits on this earth or in the afterlife. Then Jesus begins teaching….

“Consider the lilies….” Jesus taught. Have we missed the whole point of this text? Yes, indeed! “Consider the lilies”, Jesus said. You see, abundance is not ours to possess or own. Any earthly abundance, including food and clothing is often fleeting rather than enduring. True abundance is only given to us…and it is given by God. God’s abundance comes in the form of love, grace, mercy, peace, forgiveness, etc…and all God asks is that we SEE this abundance.

“Consider the lilies…” Lilies live in the abundance of God…and such is our life (“zoe”) just for the awe and wonder of seeing the beauty of God’s abundance.

Warner Elias Sallman, a first-generation American (his parents were immigrants from Finland and Sweden), sang in his local church choir in Chicago.  It was there he met his wife, Ruth in 1916.  He was an artist who apprenticed with some of the best local illustrators and painters during the day, while attending the Chicago Art Institute at night.  In 1924 he was commissioned by a denominational magazine for a charcoal sketch of the head of Jesus.

Using a physical description of Jesus, supposedly written by a Publius Lentulus (Roman Consul during the reign of Augustus, and Governor of Judea prior to Pontius Pilate), Warner followed the description set out by the letter and sketched a head.  Here is an excerpt from the letter (there are several questions about its authenticity, however, it is the only physical description available):

“…He is a man of medium size, he has a venerable aspect, and his beholders can both fear and love him. His hair is of the color of the ripe hazelnut, straight down to the ears, but below the ears wavy and curled, with a bluish and bright reflection, flowing over his shoulders. It is parted in two on the top of the head, after the pattern of the Nazarenes. His brow is smooth and very cheerful with a face without wrinkle or spot, embellished by a slightly reddish complexion. His nose and mouth are faultless. His beard is abundant, of the color of his hair, not long, but divided at the chin…”

A few years later he turned his several sketches into an oil painting, he was asked to replicate that painting for another group, and executives from The Warner Press Company (publishing arm of The Church of God) first saw it then.  Warner Press created an arm of their company, which would own the copyrights and distribute copies of the painting.  For the next 30 years Sallman’s HEAD OF CHRIST was distributed throughout the world.  Churches, clubs, service organizations all used this remarkable portrait.  The USO printed small copies to be given to every soldier, sailor and airman who enlisted.  Eventually it become the most recognized and popular picture of Jesus known.  Warner Press eventually acquired total rights to this and some 100 other well-known, and not-so-well-known paintings, sketches and illustrations by Warner Sallman…and all of them, including the HEAD OF CHRIST, are right her in Anderson, Indiana where Anderson University regularly displays them in their galleries.

For many, this is the picture that comes to mind when someone says the name, “Jesus”.  It is the product of a questionable description and a gifted Christian artist…but it is not Jesus.

This beautiful painting should serve as a reminder, to all who believe and follow, that God is not to be so narrowly defined that we would refuse to get to know Him.  The scripture, specifically the Gospels in the books of the New Covenant, remind us that Jesus-in-the-flesh stepped into a church that had SO NARROWLY defined God that they not only didn’t recognize Him when He stepped into their church, THEY CONSIDERED HIM THEIR ENEMY.  The church spends a lot of time defining God, refining His mind, His preferences, His “rules” …so much so, that any time God does something out-of-the-ordinary (“para physin”, as Paul would say) or blesses/calls/sends/anoints someone whom other “Christians” would consider inappropriate…then they/the church once again has created God in ITS image, and not visa versa.

The vastness of greatness and personality, the unfathomable mercy, love and grace that comes from our Heavenly Father is, to our minds, limitless…surprising…uncomfortable.  And that is as it should be.  We who “Believe & Follow: need to be reminded that is our calling: to BELIEVE and FOLLOW, but not to define and lead-by-proxy.  God will love and bless whom He loves and blesses.  He will call into His Kingdom anyone of His choosing.  He is not defined by our limited understanding of love, mercy or justice.  He is not to be framed into the narrowness of an “image” or painting, but He IS to be sought after as a friend who surprises us daily with new facets of His personality.

Creative and visual learners will continually look to define, visually, concepts and people, to define our thought and philosophy.  But when it comes to assuming what God does and does not think, we should tread very, very carefully, trust the Spirit, and measure against the Scripture… 

…because we don’t want to be a congregation that has Warner Sallman’s HEAD OF CHRIST hanging in the narthex but wouldn’t recognize Jesus if he stood among us during our post-worship Coffee Hour.

Our calling is to BELIEVE Jesus is who He says He is,
and to FOLLOW Him, wherever He chooses to lead us.
Let JESUS be JESUS and trust Him to define Himself.

It was a beautiful place, and a wonderful vacation: Italy!  We recently spent nine glorious days in one of my favorite cities in the world, Florence. Our circle was small; we stayed in one place, walked everywhere, and were in a neighborhood stacked with cafés, shops, art, music and the wonderful Florentines…and a lot of tourists from out-of-town.  It was unfathomably hot (above one-hundred degrees, Fahrenheit, most days.) 

Then it came time to leave.

As always, I pray for a safe, non-eventful, trip and flight(s).  God has never failed to answer with remarkably easy trips. And you all know how I hate any sort of transition or waiting.  Of course, this time, it was transcontinental…which is a whole different story…this one took two days of prayers prior.  I even thought about fasting (though not for long). 

Do you know what happened?

God said, “I’m sorry, I can’t guarantee that this time…but trust Me.”  “Really God?  I’m not sure I understand, but alright…I know the universe doesn’t revolve around me.” 

As much as I didn’t want to believe God would reply as He did, I knew from the moment I prayed my safety prayer that we were going to be in for a bumpy ride. I heard His answer clearly, and didn’t want to believe it.

We decided to arrive much earlier than our flight, and booked a taxi the night before to make certain we had lots of time at the airport.  The next morning our taxi company texted to tell us our reservation was not confirmed.  I called two taxi companies to be told there were no taxis in our area and the best thing to do was to walk, with our luggage, to the nearest taxi stand three blocks away (it was already ninety-degrees, at nine-thirty in the morning).  We did, and waited for another forty-five minutes to share a taxi with a poor university student also trying to get back to The States.  It seems there was a “taxi strike”. Of course.

“Really God?  I’m not sure I understand, but alright…I know the universe doesn’t revolve around me.”

We arrived at the teeny (one runway) Florence airport to be met with crowds of people, and a young guy at check-in who told us our gate was already closed. I asked him to please call the gate. He did.  He told us to run.  We didn’t, but we DID walk fast.  We found our gate…it was packed with people waiting to get on our flight (we needn’t have walked fast). One-hour and thirty-minutes later, we left the runway.  We arrived in Amsterdam just in time to miss our connecting flight to NYC. 

“Really God?  I’m not sure I understand, but alright…I know the universe doesn’t revolve around me.” 

They graciously gave us food vouchers, tram vouchers, hotel vouchers, re-booked our flight for the next day (Saturday) and sent us off to our hotel (vouchers in hand) along with HUNDREDS of other stranded passengers.  One night in Amsterdam.  We would take off in the morning.

Two hours after arriving in the hotel room the pain started; a low-grade ache in my stomach.  It grew over the next couple of hours to a relentless pain that was at least as bad as the time I had a kidney stone.  I couldn’t lay down, I couldn’t sit down, I could only pace, bang my head against the wall, hold a frozen can of COKE against my stomach and pray to die. It lasted for eight hours through the night…no sleep.  By the time emergency numbers were being looked up the pain started to subside enough that I could lie down, and then doze, and then sink into unconsciousness.

“Really God?  I’m not sure I understand, but alright…I know the universe doesn’t revolve around me.” 

Needless to say, I couldn’t fly the next day; weak, tired, confused, in and out of sleep.  We were re-booked again, and finally left on Sunday.  I slept the entire seven-hour trip.  When arriving home nothing has ever felt as good as sitting on my corner of my couch, kittens on my lap.  I called the twenty-four-nurse-hotline (a benefit of being over sixty-five!) After some consultation, some questions from her, she said I wasn’t the first person she had dealt with, having similar questions that week…she was certain, after knowing where I had been, and asking me what seemed like “unrelated symptom” questions, that what I suffered from was an attack of severe dehydration…and suddenly it all made sense.  Everything seemed to clear up rapidly the moment I got an infusion of electrolytes.

Then she said something that remarkably brought the entire weekend into focus…”Well, someone was watching out for you.  If that had happened during the flight, this might be a completely different story…FOR EVERYONE on that flight.” 

And then, I could see what happened in my little world might have adversely affected everyone flying with me, and even my own health, IF we had gotten a taxi in a timely fashion, IF the Florence airport was empty and running smoothly, and IF we had made our flight to NYC…it certainly would be a different story. 

Suddenly, God’s “Sorry, not this time.” became the answer to prayer I didn’t even know I should be praying. 

Again, the universe does not revolve around me.  My little pain and struggles don’t balance out the pain and struggles of those around me, or the pain and struggles of the world…but for a moment I saw this miracle: 

God loves EVERYONE.  But God treats EVERYONE as if each were THE ONLY ONE. 

This story is NOT about me.  It is yet another chapter in the on-going book: “Father knows best.”  Sometimes we ask God for something, but the greatest answer He can give, for our total well-being and the well-being of those around us, is: “Sorry, not this time.” 

ME: “Really God?  I’m not sure I understand, but alright…I know the universe doesn’t revolve around me.”
GOD: “But YOU are MY universe. You are my everything…so, trust Me.”

I have just left the home of one of my heroes: artist designer, composer, inventor, sculptor – LEONARDO DaVINCI.

Leonardo was one of those few sparks of miraculous talent who combined all the arts and sciences into one incredible, fluid existence.  His mind was capable of almost anything and his ability to question everything led him to seek out answers about creation that took scientists some hundreds of years to come to the same conclusions.

His work in art, architecture and mechanical engineering are well-known, but did you know that he was also a chef and a musician?  He was a theatrical producer, who created some of the most-discussed pageants (which included dance, song and amazing technical sets)of his time, for patrons with the right amount of money.  His works involved actual moving planets that danced with human dancers on a stage lit by candlelight and a backdrop of stars…all combined with music HE wrote, sometimes played on instruments HE invented.

One striking concept which Leonardo introduced to the painting world of the Renaissance was the idea, captured best in the Italian word, of “sfumato”.  No, it’s not a type of tomato…it means, “to go up in smoke”, or “mist” or simply “smoked”. 

This concept of things in the distance fading into a mist, so that their details are lost (in contrast to the very detailed foreground) is evident in the background of his most familiar painting, LA GIOCANDA or as we know it, THE MONA LISA.   

Here is a woman with a mysterious smile, and behind her there is a landscape that fades to dark, mist, smoke.  This effect was made by first painting the detail and then covering it with layer-upon-layer of thin painted mist.  This created ambiguity (“having more than one possible meaning”, “not clear or decided”), Leonardo believed, was more realistic to not only what the human eye could take in and focus on, but also was a philosophical statement of belief: there are some things that SHOULD remain and be accepted as ambiguous, as unknown. 

That philosophy was in sharp contrast to the belief of the day, during the Renaissance, that everything should be found, discovered, figured out and defined.  The Renaissance was the “age of man” and “age of reason” where humanism reigned supreme…there were no mysteries that humans couldn’t unravel.  But it took the artists to remind the thinkers that there are many, many things we will NOT be able to define.

I bring all of this up to say, there are some things in life, and especially in spiritual life, that are beautiful, true and good because they are ambiguous.   

We live in a type of Renaissance today.  We believe that we are “enlightened” enough to define all things.  We, in the church, not only fall prey to this thought but sometimes argue with our detractors and rush to quickly give answers to all the questions the scripture seems to throw at us.

At CENTRAL, we journey through the scripture and sometimes, together, run into things we don’t understand.  Some of those things simply require some background and historic commentary to give us the perspective of life when the words were written and heard for the first time…so that we can translate them into the minds of a 21^st-Century believe & follower. The Spirit is also with us to translate. Yet there are times when all those resources will fail to give us satisfaction as to what was actually going on, what God was saying, and what the lesson is for us…and that is perfectly fine, and that shouldn’t shake our faith.

 Accepting the ambiguous, realizing that (as Shakespeare wrote) “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, then are dreamt of in YOUR philosophy.” (HAMLET).  There are passages in scripture that we may never figure out until the Age-to-Come, there are doctrines and philosophies evident in the times we read about, that are foreign to us.  And there are simply things that we will never understand.

As long as we keep the balance between SEEKING THE SCRIPTURE as God has commanded us to do: finding the Truth by study…

…and EMBRACING THE AMBIGUITY, and not using that as an excuse for NOT studying (i.e. “Well, I’ll never understand it so I’m not going to try.”), then we are doing what is required of us…using everything in our power to KNOW GOD, and accepting that there is no end to the journey. 

After all, Jesus asked us to KNOW His Father and Himself…as the closest of friends…not simply have the right information about him and know ABOUT Him. 

So, there was this guy, an instrument maker in Florence (where I am currently sojourning) with the great name of Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco.  Anyway, somewhere around 1700 Bart decided it would be nice to have a keyboard instrument that played both softly and loudly.  The instruments of his day could only play (by virtue of their construction) at one dynamic level.  So, he invented what came to be known as THE PIANO!  Woohoo…another one of my many “art heroes” from Florence.

I’ve been playing the piano since I was 2 years old and so, it is like an “extra limb” to me.  The more I play, the more I love it.  When I was a piano student, while other parents asked, cajoled, and commanded, their kids to practice, mine begged me to stop.  Playing the piano, like singing, is “air” to me. 

I sat down at my in home piano a couple of months ago and found myself shocked at how “out of tune” it was.  OK, time to call the piano tuner. I was immediately struck by the fact that I was playing songs I ALWAYS play on my piano…same piano, same player, same songs…but the TUNING makes all the difference.  What I experienced as the difference between the tuned and un-tuned piano might be called, in our “doctrinal world”, an illustration of sanctification and spiritual discipline.

THE SONG…the song, of course, is the Message: God’s word through us.  This message is true, is written down to be “performed” for others, a message that doesn’t come from the “player” but from the composer.

THE PERFORMER…is the Spirit of God in Jesus.  The TRUE “performer” is perfect, every muscle and tendon exactly honed for producing the best possible result from any instrument.  The “PERFORMER” is well-acquainted with the SONG and therefore knows how to interpret it…so far so good, right?

THE PIANO…that is ME and YOU.  When the SONG is perfect and the PERFORMER is perfect, then the PERFORMANCE should be perfect…but much depends on the instrument.   Every professional instrumentalist will tell you that the differences between a good instrument and a great instrument are numerous and can make or break a performance.

God doesn’t expect us to WRITE the song, BE the song, or even PERFORM the song…but He does hope we will TUNE ourselves FOR the song.  

He doesn’t expect us to make up His message of Good News…nor even have the strength to give that message to others (that is the Spirit’s job, in us…we just have to BE THERE) … but, if we are TUNED instruments the MESSAGE (SONG) will be clearer, cleaner, for those who need to HEAR the song as God intended.

How do we, as “instruments of God” get out-of-tune?  Circumstances change, “weather” changes.  Instruments fall apart when not played, or get worn by being played in a wrong way.  Tuning requires constant listening.  Tuning requires constant awareness (of the room, the weather…etc.) and tuning is something that never ceases.  One doesn’t tune an instrument once and then never again.  No, it is a constant necessity.  No matter how fine the instrument is, it requires a constant touch, adjustment, cleaning.

For us, this is sanctification: the act of becoming (through discipline of prayer, meditation, learning, fellowship, worship, exercise of giving…etc.) a well-tuned instrument for the SONG and the PERFORMER to play upon.

I can hardly write this without including St. Francis’ famous prayer,
which is a much more beautiful way of stating what I have so crudely tried to do:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Well, I sit writing this BLOG in my favorite city in the world, Florence (Firenze), in the Tuscany region of Italy. It’s been years since I’ve been here and, not surprisingly, things don’t change too quickly here.  But this time I’m staying longer this time, concentrating on the heartbeat of this city specifically: the home of the Italian Renaissance, the place where the piano(forte) was invented, where DaVinci, Michelangelo, and Dante called home…along with countless other artists and writers.

I travelled here often, in memory, through the photos I took from the last time I was here, and once again felt the warm sun, listened to the music, tasted the wine, and remembered things I had forgotten since that trip.  It is always a great diversion.

As I looked through those photos and dreamed of this trip, I thought of a specific moment in time, when I stood on a rise looking out over Tuscan fields, gazing at a village and church on the horizon, vineyards, and orchards between.  It was sunset, and 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 actually 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) that the scripture tells us about God.  I believe that is true, at least one side of the truth.  The Scripture does tell us about God, but so does His creation, and so do 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 that knowledge 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 they are people 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, despite the fact that 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 visa versa.

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

I have some wonderful memories and photos of Tuscany, but none of them ARE Tuscany.  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. 

Usually, during this holiday weekend, I perform with the Indianapolis Jazz Orchestra (the “big band” I’ve been singing with since 2000) as we performed last night a THE JAZZ KITCHEN in Indy.

But one July, something special happened.  It was a private event in a beautiful retirement community in Indianapolis where we played all the songs we play every year at this time: Glenn Miller, George M. Cohan, John Philip Sousa, etc.  There was ice cream, grandkids, lemonade, and fireworks.  And of course, one of the highlights is to play the Military Service songs and have any audience members who served to stand at their song.  It was a good, all-American, kind of evening.

As I left, walking through the crowd, arranging their chairs for the fireworks, a man stopped me by touching my arm.  He was surrounded by his kids and grandkids.  He pulled me aside and thanked me for the music and asked if I had served in the military (my short hair).  I said that I hadn’t, but that I was the son of an Army Veteran.  Then he asked, “Where did he serve, and did he tell you what he did, and share stories?”
“Well, yes,” I said, “He was a peace-time Vet in Germany and Korea…and he told me quite a few things.”
Then he asked me a question that I wasn’t expecting: “Have you told YOUR children?” He asked. “Because” he said, “It’s important to keep telling the stories.”
He continued just for a short time, before his family led him away, obviously thinking that he had taken too much of my time.  But before he let me go, he said, “We need to remember…and we need to tell our children…and they need to tell theirs.”

I walked to my car wrapping my head around this conversation that took less than a couple of minutes, probably…as it affected me.

“We need to remember, and we need to tell.”

In this time and place, with renewed questions about truth in the news media, is it possible that families and generations become the care-takers of history…as it always used to be?  Is there, or should there be, a responsibility to tell our stories to each generation so that they remember?

Yesterday I listened to an historian on the radio.  He was saying how important it is to remember the story of the United States, because we are “losing our core”, as he put it.  He referenced a relatively new tradition in an African nation, where they get together in their neighborhoods, celebrating their National Day.  Along with the dancing, singing, fireworks, etc.  They “give their testimonies” (tell their stories). These are stories of their own personal survival through the genocide that rocked their people.  These are first-hand stories, and the people who tell them say they are afraid their children and grand-children will forget, grow apathetic and entitled.

A very wise tradition, in my opinion…because it’s true: generations forget.

The Spirit encourages the “telling of one’s story”.  It used to be that the Church carried that tradition out.  In MY home church, Sunday night was a time when the Pastor would regularly ask if anyone had a “testimony”, and someone would stand and tell about a recent “God Moment” they had.  Those times were far more effective on my young mind than reading the Bible…I KNEW these people, I trusted them.  Age and experience has taught me that everyone sees their stories through their own filters, much like today’s blurring of NEWS and COMMENTARY, but I’m not sure that’s all together a bad thing.

The power of someone’s story is evident at Central Christian, when some of our Elders tell THEIR stories during our annual observation of LENT…it is one of our most moving seasons of the year.

Of course, the stories related to a nation’s history, such as the beginnings of the United States, need to be repeated.  God’s people in the Old Testament told their history and made each generation learn it LITERALLY word-for-word, so that it did not get changed or edited with every telling.  The oral tradition of the Jewish people is legendarily accurate.

EVERYONE has a story.  Have you ever believed you have a responsibility to pass it on?  Remember that as mundane as you may believe your own life is, it surely has an impact on others, in ways you could never imagine.

Central Christian Church and THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST) has a story. Our history stories, or “core” (the reason our church began) needs to be continually remembered.

The story of America is the story of how, who, and why we were ever formed.  That needs to be remembered honestly and repeated loudly to those in power, and to the citizens of this nation.  AND the story of God is the story of His people and their journey with (or without) Him…and IT ALSO needs to be repeated loudly and constantly to His children.

Your story; why you were created, your journey with and without God, needs to be repeated…loudly…regularly…and given freely to each generation…we have a responsibility to remember and tell. 

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.