If I attended a wedding and, sitting in the pew listening to the minister, heard and watched him turn to the couple and say, “The most important thing is communication, through the good and the bad, communication with your spouse is the most important thing.”

I would say a silent “Amen”.

But if I then heard and saw the minister continue by handing them a book and saying, “Here is a biography of your spouse.  Whenever you wish to find out what they’re thinking or how they are going to react, simply read this and you’ll know.  Everything you need to know about your spouse is right here.” I would…along with most everyone in the ceremony, wonder at the mental health of said minister.  And perhaps THEN someone wouldn’t be so silent.  Someone (probably NOT me) might stand and say, “Why don’t they just talk to each other…isn’t THAT a better way to get to know someone; a better way to communicate?”  Then, of course, there would be a general hubbub, and the wedding would end in shambles with at least one member of the wedding party, along with the minister, crying and running off. 

But seriously, how ridiculous would it be if anyone told me or you that the best way to get to know someone we love, or communicate with someone, is to read about them?  Especially when they are there and can be DIRECTLY communicated with.  And yet, many Believers & Followers of Jesus do that exact thing.

I just heard someone (a faith-filled Believer & Follower) say they had so many questions and found themselves lost…so they searched the scripture for answers to their very specific questions.  Now hear me, this person is by all observances a very wonderful and strong person-of-faith…but part of me wanted to step in and say, “Why don’t you just ASK Him?”

Also hear me when I say, the Scripture is a Holy Book, it is sacred because of its place in our lives as Believers & Followers, it is a great place to find precedents for questions and answers about life. HOWEVER, Jesus says in the scripture (and Paul underscores what Jesus says) that we now have direct access to THE PERSON in this great BIOGRAPHY: God Himself.  All questions, all love, all thanks, could be directed PRIMARILY and DIRECTLY to Him.

The argument many Christians give, AGAINST this idea, is that you can’t trust that the voice you’re hearing is God’s – when your “filter” is “human” and “sinful”.  In other words, how would you know it’s God speaking and not just your own voice or imagination?

How do I know I’m not justifying my own agenda and giving God the credit?

The answer? Faith.

The theological argument that says I can’t trust that I’m hearing God speak is one I’d like to try on Moses, Elijah, King David, Joseph, Daniel, Paul…etc.  In other words, I’d like to hear from the WRITERS of the scripture about their process in hearing God.  Surely these guys were hearing through a human and sinful filter as well...how did they know, or did they, that God was speaking, and they weren’t just their own voices?

We, as Believers & Followers, don’t always make use of The Spirit like we should.  It is The Spirit, not the Scripture (according to Jesus) who leads us into all Truth.  It is through Jesus, not the Scripture, that we have access to the Great Throne.

The Scripture has a purpose, it is Holy and Sacred, it is our primary text, as Believers & Followers, regarding who we are and who He is.  I also realize that the Spirit of Jesus the King will speak in any way we will listen, and for some that is through the scripture.  But that should not be our ONLY way to know God, and it should NEVER be an excuse for unexercised faith.  It should NEVER be an excuse for NOT Praying/speaking directly to the One who leads, teaches, provides, protects and loves us.  I know far too many people who would far rather use the scripture as a rule book and a “thrown brick” than have a real conversation with God, who is far more merciful and gracious than they are comfortable with. 

I know far too many people who use the scripture as a “Magic 8-Ball” because it’s easier than trusting their spiritual ears and eyes...because getting to know God in THAT way show them, they are (and have been) wrong…or worse yet, they may be compelled to CHANGE!

Personally, I don’t want to get to that final WEDDING FEAST myself (not sitting in the pew but standing beside the King) and find that I don’t even recognize His voice, as He holds my hand.  As for me, I will put the Spirit’s voice first.  I choose to hear Jesus sing, and I want to know His Father…personally.

I saw an interesting “post” on the internet a while back: “The 38 Most Haunting, Abandoned Places On Earth”.  I decided to scroll through these beautiful (and yes, haunting) photos of everything from abandoned asylums (creepy), to old subway stations, churches (one with the chairs still standing in rows and an infant’s coffin still in its place next to the altar).  All in all, each photo begged for a story.  Then I came to Photo number 22…an old ocean liner, wrecked, beached and rusted…but still somehow beautiful with the waves crashing near it.

Then I read the caption: “Wreck of the SS AMERICA – Fuerteventura, Canary Islands”.  The SS AMERICA was an American ocean-liner that, in the 50’s, sailed from New York to Europe and back, as part of the old “United States Lines”.

A few months after I was born (1958) my father returned to Frankfurt, Germany, where he was a part of the Army Band.  My mother and I stayed in Richland, Washington until the end of July 1959 when we boarded a train from Washington State to New York City…Pier 86 on West 46th Street, to be exact.  And there we boarded the SS AMERICA and sailed to Bremerhaven.  We sailed Tourist Class, sharing a stateroom with another mother and her young daughter.  My Mom kept a bit of the memorabilia and so I’ve always known about this ship, and our time aboard.  We sailed (as opposed to flying) because of my Mom’s fear of flying (she only flew once, that I know of, and that was our return trip to the States…because there was no room on the liner when we were to depart…they drugged her up).

It was on board this ship that I learned to walk…with the aid of the Cabin Steward and some of the crew.  This ship holds a special place in my life and my heart…now a shipwreck at the Canary Islands, home to fish and a beautiful photographer’s model of “haunted abandonment”.

We have recently sung: “Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?…”  And the question might be: What is the good of “remembering”, when those significant things of our past have become nothing but skeletons and memories? 

There IS some good to looking back, and like everything, there is some bad as well.  I’m a bit sad to see the hull of what was once a “majestic lady on the seas”, and one that had a place in MY history, abandoned and decaying.

On the other hand, God speaks of “memories” in terms of strengthening the present day.  And in those terms I can look on this photo and remember that Mom had a great time aboard, and I learned how to walk (undoubtedly fostering my love of cruising in the Caribbean).  I can thank God that we traveled alone across the country on train and then across the Atlantic without trouble, and in fact MADE new friends along the way.  I can thank God that the SS AMERICA gave 54 years of splendid service to families like mine.  There should be nothing bitter about those kinds of memories…and God understands that some things are best forgotten…and that is why He promises, when we ask, to forget the times we hurt Him, abandoned Him, made stupid, stupid mistakes, and turned our backs on Him and our birthrights.

God REMEMBERS His promises/covenants even when we forget, and He asks us to remember the times when He rescued, saved, healed, fought…for us. (EX 13:3…example) When we remember THOSE times, we can feel the power of faith surging back through our needy limbs.  God will never forget us or our His love for us (IS 49:14-16).

How then should WE live?  The answer is obvious and simple.  (PHIL 4:8) Don’t expect to be happy if you constantly think of the “sad” and the ”bad”. Don’t expect to be at peace if you dwell on discontent.  “Think on…” and remember the things that give you strength TODAY.  Life moves on, the universe is expanding daily, people change…God, in His own way, has “moved forward” so that He can meet us where those things that are new to us exist.  This is a new year, and yet ANOTHER CHANCE to turn and walk in a different direction…let the good things of the past empower you to walk forward.

The flip side, and the difficult side, is to do with ourselves what God does by forgiving our imperfections and sin (PS 103:12).  God forgives and forgets…sometimes we don’t.  We don’t forgive others and more often, we don’t forgive ourselves.  Remembering all of the wrong things one did, all of the mistakes one made makes one depressed, cynical and angry…often filled and motivated by regret.  This is where the new year raises her head again…turn around, walk forward…you are not who you were, and YOU and GOD define how your past dictates your future…God won’t force the issue.  Don’t expect your sins and indiscretions to be forgiven if you don’t ask Him, and don’t expect God to take care of any “repair work” that you need to make in your relationships with others, just because HE’s forgiven you.  But you CAN move forward.

No one sails on the SS AMERICA now…but it is obvious to me that many people go nowhere because they’ve “stayed aboard the shipwreck”…thinking their past defines their future.

Whatever it is in 2025 that you need to do…do it.  God has promised His power, through the “Breath of God” to strengthen you in any Godly purpose…and His people are standing beside you almost every week, at least.  And in case you need a little reminder of exactly what CAN be done…remember the good things, the true things, the beautiful things that God has already done.

In May, in the year 1889 (10 years prior to the construction of our current sanctuary, and the year construction began on my Brown-Delaware house) one of my “heroes” passed away.  His name is familiar enough that most American and British citizens would recognize it at once…and smile.  But let me tell you a little about him before I tell you his name.

As a Quaker, he was genuine, as a businessman, successful…and as a philanthropist, generous.  As a Quaker, his beliefs didn’t allow him to enter a university or pursue a career in medicine or law…and a military career was obviously out of the question.  He turned to business and philanthropy.

His love of animals moved him to form THE ANIMALS FRIEND SOCIETY, which then become the ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS, the forerunner of the American branch of the same.

What most people know of this man has nothing to do with his service to animals.  He is, like all of us, multifaceted. Which reminds me once again…

…everyone has a story.  Everyone has influence far beyond their time in this place.  None of us can predict what effect we will have on others we may never see.  

And so, we have a responsibility.  Jesus reminds us that every little thing we do, every smile, frown…every word (bad, good, flippant or thoughtful) matters.  The famous and rich are not any different than the unknown and poor in this way.  Each of us has a circle of influence; friends, family, acquaintances, enemies…and they have circles, and so on, and so on.  And GOD holds us responsible for the people He has placed around us. 

This is the miraculous way the world was created to work: when we follow through with our responsibilities to each other, WE are happier.  Jesus knows what He’s doing by connecting our love for each other with our love for Him and our own sense of well-being and joy.

ONE life influences MANY lives, AND we are on this earth for a short time.  Those two facts alone should remind us to enjoy every moment, by loving each other and by knowing that EVERYTHING we do will influence others. We are happy when we understand our reason for living.  

Being famous or well-known, or wealthy, seems to have no bearing on the influence of quality.  After all, when was the last time your life was altered simply by holding a newborn, visiting someone in their last days, or simply being there?  You see, even in those times we have influence.

I’ll bet my “hero” DID have some inkling THE ANIMAL FRIEND SOCIETY would have far-reaching implications…but I doubt that he, also a proprietor of a small confection business in England, had any idea the emulsification process he developed to make solid chocolate (thus creating the modern chocolate bar) would make the name of John CADBURY, famous.

You see, we still cannot foresee what the future holds, or the choreography of the great dance that God sets in place; what we may think has influence on others may in fact pass quickly away.  That random smile, kindness, or worse, that harsh word or decision based on bad judgement, may reach beyond our lifetimes.

So, with that next box of chocolates, “Cadbury Egg”, or chocolate bar, remember that our joy, our happiness, our full life, is dependent upon the little things that connect us to each other.  Every word out of our mouths, every action from our hearts, has the potential to last far beyond our passing…

…and has the power to change more lives than we could reach in our own lifetimes.

Jesus says it best, “let your light shine.” 

John 5: 1-9

Some time later came one of the Jewish feast days and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. There is in Jerusalem, near the Sheep-Gate, a pool surrounded by five arches, which has the Hebrew name of Bethzatha. Under these arches a great many sick people were in the habit of lying; some of them were blind, some lame, and some had withered limbs. (They used to wait there for the “moving of water”, for at certain times an angel used to come down into the pool and disturb the water, and then the first person who stepped into the water after the disturbance would be healed of whatever he was suffering from.) One particular had been there ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there on his back–knowing he had been like that for a long time–he said to him,
“Do you want to get well again?”

“Sir,” replied the sick man, “I just haven’t got anybody to put me into the pool when the water is all stirred up. While I am trying to get there somebody else gets down into it first.”

“Get up,” said Jesus, “pick up your bed and walk!”

At once the man recovered, picked up his bed and walked.

—J B Phillips The New Testament in Modern English

 In 1982 Dennis Jones and I co-authored a 212-page history of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Richlands, NC, as a part of the congregation’s centennial celebration. It was not an easy undertaking. You see, 47 years of board and congregational minutes were missing! How in the world did we fill in this huge gap? Writing this book was every bit as difficult as we feared and yet far easier than we could have ever hoped. Difficult because we struggled at first to get written, documented data. Difficult because only a few older members were still living who were active in the church in the early years of the missing minutes. Difficult because a few families had left the congregation in the late 1960s and formed an independent congregation; thus, a loving, generous spirit in telling that story was essential. And easy because we discovered that a resource or two turned out to be a gold mine of considerable information.

How DID we fill this gap? First, Charles Crossfield Ware (1886-1974) was General Secretary (now called Regional Minister) of the North Carolina congregations in the Christian Church (D.O.C.) from 1915-1952. A historian and prolific writer and gatherer of data from congregations, Ware wrote books about Disciples congregations and articles (such as editing the NC Christian, a monthly newsletter, very similar to the Indiana Christian), filing letters and notes of historical interest, etc., proved to be invaluable. Ware had included in the newsletter such items as dates of baptism and the names of those baptized, significant events in the life of various congregations including Richlands congregation, the installation, and resignations/retirements of ministers across the Region, and ordinations of new ministers, some of whom were from the Richlands church. After Charles C. Ware retired in 1952, he spent the next two decades building up a Discipline collection of NC congregations that is now housed at Barton College in Wilson, NC.

Secondly, members within the church (or their parents) had saved newspaper articles about church events with the dates written on them, or they had an old bulletin or two, or they had old pictures of a Sunday School class or a CWF or CMF meeting or event. Since the church building had been built several decades earlier, older pictures showed some of the decor of the fellowship hall or sanctuary or classrooms. In short, the missing 47 years were filled by resources from people! AND filled with an incredible number of stories about the mission and activities of the church during those years of missing minutes. From Charles Ware to the Regional Minister Charles Dietze who was serving at the time of the writing of this book, the present and former members, even some of the townspeople shared their stories, and their emotions, and their joy.

How are the missing gaps filled in our lives? Every one of us has surely “missed out” on something! Having lost my parents when I was young, I was reared by maternal grandparents and deeply loved, filling the gap. The wider families of my mother and father filled the gap. And when I was grown, they were able to “let me go” and fulfill my own dreams and hopes through college, seminary, career, and certainly my own family. The people in my home church filled the gap. They recognized my gifts and abilities. They offered tons of encouragement. They gave me some leadership roles such as a committee membership and teaching a Sunday School class. Thus, people filled the gap! They always do. And I benefited from their ministry of care and nurture. And I was encouraged to minister by helping others to fill in the gaps!

The Gospel is Good News because the power of God fills missing gaps! A man waited for 38 years beside the pool of Bethsaida to be healed of his crippled legs. It was said that the first person in the pool after it bubbled up (which was occasional) would be healed; but because the crippled man could not move quickly, someone else beat him into the pool. He persisted in hope. Then one day Jesus came and that which was missing was restored. Jesus ministered to the man with a deep need.

In a real sense the ministry of Jesus was spent “filling the missing gaps” in the lives of people. From the days in which Jesus called the twelve to “follow me,” Jesus seemed to be driven to fill in the missing gaps in people’s lives, and for his three-year ministry, the 12 disciples were trained for the mission of filling “missing gaps.” Such, however, was a mission that would not be grasped until after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. And then, wow, did the disciples preach, teach, heal, and guide as they filled the missing gaps!

In the Book of Acts, telling of the beginning and early years of the Church, Phillip meets an Ethiopian eunuch who has not heard the story of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected and present through the Holy Spirit. There was a missing gap here and Phillip told the story. In fact, in many places in scripture, this story of Jesus was told and people became followers because there was a missing gap in their lives. Crowds followed Jesus because they sensed that Jesus could fill an emptiness, a gap in life. This “gap” can be best described as having “a yearning for the Holy and Merciful God.” In his condemnation of the religious elites of his day, Jesus was saying to them, “You say you know God and His way, but you are missing something. . .you are missing the deepest part of God. . .and that deepest part is God’s mercy and love.” 

Run that thinking out. Christianity grows because people have chosen to follow Jesus, and in so doing, they fill the missing gaps in their lives with the presence of the Living Christ as revealed through the Holy Spirit. AND we minister to each other as Christians in an effort to fill missing gaps—gaps not due to unbelief, but gaps due to the pain and anguish and imperfections of life. . . or gaps that yearn to be filled with more teachings that enable us to see the magnificence and majesty of a faithful life.. . or gaps the need to be filled with the sheer, raw joy of “being there” for a person in pain, whether it be emotional or physical pain.

Of course, the 47 years of history at that church in which I co-authored its history was NOT missing. It was there. Dennis Jones and I realized that there were thousands of other stories that we did not hear about or read about- – -stories of how the faithful people of that congregation filled the gaps of each other and the community and world. You see, missing minutes of board meetings is not the same as the mission of the congregation—which was never missing. If the truth be told, we live our lives with a sense of “something missing.” And it is amazing how our faith and our oneness as a people of God continually fill the missing gaps as we seek, learn, fellowship and worship together. And yes, we live our lives unaware that something may be missing, and this is when a brother or sister shares something with us in love. As a minister for 43 years, there were a few situations and circumstances in which I was unaware of something missing, but no one dared to share it with me. (Most of the time, I heard my mistakes shouted from the rooftops). Boy, do I ever wish that people would have told me, “Ken, so-and-so took what you said/did or didn’t say/didn’t do in a wrong way” OR “I don’t think the Bible Study class got your intended point” or “I don’t think the board grasped the significance of what you were explaining.” Jesus did not talk about “wholeness” aimlessly; but rather Jesus lifted “wholeness” as a spiritual blessing that comes to those whose “missing gaps” are filled. Ministry is “filling the gaps.”

Maybe the Church of the 21st Century can best understand its calling, its role, its ministry as “filling in the gaps.” Sounds like an empowering image to me!

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image; in the image of God created him; male and female God created them.

Genesis 1:31a
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Luke 11:42- 43, 46
But woe unto you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God; these you ought to have done, and yet not leave the other undone.Woe unto you Pharisees! For you love the uppermost seats in the synagogue and greetings in the marketplace.”And he said, “Woe unto you also, you lawyers! For you heap upon men burdens grievous to be borne, and you yourselves will touch their burdens with a single finger! 

Are we human beings who are in search of becoming more spiritual beings? OR, are we spiritual beings on a quest to become fully human as God intended at creation? I must warn you, Reader, that these two questions are not meant to be tricky, but to clarify.

God created human beings “in God’s image”. What does it mean to be created in the image of God? Let’s eliminate what it does NOT mean. To be created in God’s image does NOT mean that we have three characteristics of God:

1) Everlasting Life as a human being,

2) and it does not mean that human beings have a physical likeness or physical image of God, and

3) we are not created with the capacity to live our lives with perfection (without sin).

Centuries after creation, we have the story of the coming of God’s salvation in the Person of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, through whom human beings, by faith, can join with God and therefore receive these three attributes in eternity that we were NOT given at Creation. It is only after the death of the human being that followers of Jesus Christ may experience a resurrection like Jesus.

Because believers are resurrected, then we share in the Everlasting Life with God, receiving a spiritual body (not physical) in the likeness of God that lives forever, and then we human beings, transformed in resurrection, live throughout eternity without sin. I repeat: while we human beings were not created in a physical likeness of God, through resurrection, human beings are given a new body, eternal in the heavens, in a spiritual likeness of God that will exist forever. And finally, in the Last Supper that the Disciples shared with Jesus, Jesus took the cup and declared that the cup was for forgiveness of sins. Mind you, this was a unique Greek word for forgiveness, namely, that all sinfulness of human beings who, by faith in Jesus Christ and who, share in a resurrection like his, our sin will be removed as if our sin never existed. Therefore, human beings may, through grace, enter Everlasting Life, have an immortal body, and live without being troubled by sinfulness.

The question demands an answer, “what is the image of God that we are given as human beings created by God?” I shall begin with a story. Several years ago, as I was preparing a sermon on the Creation of Humankind, I went to a farmer, a member of the congregation, and asked for a favor, and he said “if possible, I will do it.”

I said, “For my sermon this coming Sunday I need a bucketful of the richest, blackest dirt that you can find on your farm.”

On Saturday, he called me and said “I have your dirt, what do I do with it?”

to which I replied, “I have a small folding table set up in the front of the sanctuary, just bring the bucket of dirt with you to church tomorrow and sit it on that table.”

During the sermon that Sunday, I read the scripture and started the sermon by reading a portion of James Weldon Johnson’s poem where God exclaimed “I’m lonely. I’ll make me a man! And He scooped up the clay.. . . “ Then I went to the bucket of black dirt, took out a double handful and showed the congregation how loose and light that dirt was. Then I reached into the bucket, got a big handful of dirt and squeezed it. Immediately, it formed a ball in the shape of my hand and did not fall apart when I opened my hand. How revealing: even the gaps between my fingers could be clearly seen as ridges in that molded dirt! I asked the congregation to note that fact when I walked around, showing them that molded dirt. I then continued my sermon by saying, “This black dirt is no ordinary dirt. It is humus, the root word from which we get the name ‘human’ and humus was the dirt God used in the creation of Adam.”

So back to the two questions. Are we human beings in search of becoming more spiritual beings OR are we spiritual beings in search of becoming more fully human?

When God created Adam from humus, God knew that human beings were creatures and they would not have Everlasting Life on earth, they would not be in a physical image of God, and they would not be perfect. BUT human beings would have different gifts and abilities. God did create human beings with the expectation that they would live harmoniously with one another, draw from the gifts and abilities of one another, and honor the sanctity of life for all people. Furthermore, Jesus taught us the actions and mindset that describe a “fully human” person.

In Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees and lawyers (who sought to be seen as persons who had searched for and reached a spiritual pinnacle), Jesus told them that they had ignored the love of God for all people and they had refused to touch other people with a single finger! In essence, their drive to be “spiritual” had blinded them to the necessity of loving and helping other human beings. Jesus also taught us to turn the other cheek in confrontation, to be a friend to the stranger, to restore those overtaken in a fault, to respect the bodies of each other as a “temple of God”, to seek the wholeness (healing) of one another, to live in hope (rather than despair), and above all, to become “fully human” is to recognize that all other people are human beings in need of love and encouragement and support.

Jesus never taught that becoming fully human was “perfection,” but rather he argued for living as fully as possible with the best attributes or characteristics of human life for which God had created us. Indeed, we would not be in the image of God perfectly, but if there was any truth and virtue, we were to think AND act on them.

The problem for us today, theologically, is the history of the Church in which, by the Medieval Ages, placed great emphasis upon the imperfections of sinfulness in human beings who were considered without worth and merit except by salvation. Therefore, human beings were in constant search of spirituality, and only by “finding” this spirituality in God through salvation could human beings have value. Unfortunately, this predominant view never answered this question, “why would God create human beings ‘in the Image of God’ if there was nothing spiritual placed within us at Creation?” There is, within all of humanity, an image of God; the Scriptures declare it!

What is that Image of God which we all share?

We must recognize that even the worst among us have done that occasional good deed. Abraham Lincoln once said, “There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that it behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us!” What if the Image of God within us is an ability to love one another as ourselves, a desire to engage in a quest to live harmoniously, and a willingness to live in community by seeking the well-being and common good of all? Is this the very description of the Image of God within us, the description of becoming “more fully human but not perfect?” 

Yes. I find it difficult to describe the image of God within us in any other manner. We who are parents know that young children are taught to move from selfishness toward community. We teach them to share, to respect persons regardless of differences, to understand that items belonging to others may not be taken without permission, etc. Children yearn for inclusion, for acceptance, for affirmation of their uniqueness, etc. I want to suggest that it is parental guidance (and that of teachers, grandparents and family, neighbors, etc.) to bring forth the best that already lies within every human being. Is the “best that lies within” also the Image of God with which we are created? This can certainly be interpreted as the Image of God.

Historically the Church has described salvation as “saved from sin” and I have no quarrel with that concept. But I want to ask, “what are we saved FOR?” Obviously, we are saved for the mission that Jesus has sent us, namely, to love one another to the point that we feed the hungry, uplift the fallen, seek peace, and live harmoniously with one another in the Church and in the world. The very mission of the Church is to invite the Image of God within us to flourish. When the Image of God is allowed to flourish, we move toward becoming more fully human in the sense that God created us with the capacity as human beings to find joy and enrichment in living together, loving others as we love ourselves.

What if the role of Jesus Christ who intercedes for us and grants us eternal life is declaring before God that we have indeed honored the image of God within us, however imperfect that our lives may be? Indeed, our purpose as believers in Christ, is to bring the Kingdom of God to fulfillment on earth which, in other words, is to discover and expand the Image of God that lies within all of us. Jesus, who intercedes for us, also grants us the three things that would make the creature “like God”; namely, to live forever and become Righteous (without sin). So, yes, if God created us in His Image, then we are spiritual beings in search of becoming more fully human. There is absolutely no way that God intended for human beings to live unto self; God meant for humans to strive together for the common good of all; this is the Image of God within us. And by faith in Jesus Christ, we can live more fully human lives through which the Resurrected Jesus, then, will intercede for us and bestow upon us Everlasting Life, a new body that lives forever, and Righteousness (sinless).

As a minister I worked with people caught up in all kinds of chaos and pain and anguish, I (Ken) have wondered if the “Achilles heel” of the Church as we know it today lies in its inability to understand “creature-ness”, that is, human beings, as creatures with the Image of God, are not made to be “God” with all powers and characteristics of God.

St. Francis of Assisi wrote around the year 1225 these words:
“All creatures of our God and King Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia!” He dared to call us “creatures!” And we creatures sing “Alleluia” because we have the Image of God within us that seeks to worship and praise God.

So, are we human beings on a quest to develop spirituality in our lives or are we imperfect spiritual beings on a journey to become more fully human? I submit to you that this question reveals both sides of the same coin, namely, that a Christian life includes both the quest for a deeper spirituality AND a journey to become more fully human yet never attaining perfection as human beings. We seek to develop a deeper spirituality because the Image of God within us is always reaching toward growth in the Christian life, AND we seek to become more fully human for the basic reason that we shrink in horror at the inhumanity that fills our airwaves, newscasts, social media, and sometimes our own eyes.

Early in my ministry I served a church for several years. In that town, each September, was a town festival, and a carnival came and provided all kinds of rides and events; arriving on Tuesday, setting up, and Wednesday through Saturday night, the carnival was crowded with people of all ages. The owners were an older couple, and he was a few years older than his wife. While in our town, he became suddenly ill, hospitalized, but he did not survive. Because the carnival had iron-clad contracts, they needed to move on, so it was imperative that they have a funeral before they left town and forwarded the body to the family cemetery in Florida. I met with the wife on Saturday morning and learned that they were Christians and seldom had a chance to worship as they were on the road most of the year. So, through the wee hours of Sunday morning, the carnival “broke down” and loaded up, ready to roll. At 9 AM, at the funeral home, I conducted a service before the worship service at my church at 10 AM. I stood up and looked across the sea of faces who made their living working with the carnival. Can you imagine that scene? Tattoos. Dyed hair. Unique clothing. Body piercings. Teary eyes. Attentive. Human beings seeking an Image around which they could center their lives. After the service their comments to me were sincere, kind, appreciative AND affirming that their beloved owner had taught them much about what it means to grow as a human being!

To be honest, they were. . . creatures with the Image of God within.

To be honest, they were. . . creatures with a desire to grow as human beings with the capacity to live in community together as they traveled.

Just like me…

…and you.

THE BLOG by Pastor Ken Rickett

Luke 6: 1-11
One Sabbath, as Jesus happened to be passing through the cornfields, his disciples began picking the ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Some of the Pharisees remarked, “why are you doing what the Law forbids men to do on the Sabbath day?” Jesus answered them, saying, “Have you never read what David and his companions did when they were hungry? How he went into the house of God,
took the presentation loaves, ate some bread himself and gave some to his companions, even though the Law does not permit anyone except the priests to eat it?”
Then, he added, “The Son of Man is Master even of the Sabbath.”
On another Sabbath day when he went into a synagogue to teach, there was a man there whose right hand was wasted away. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath day, which would, of course, give them grounds for accusation. But he knew exactly what was going on in their minds, and said to the man with the wasted hand, “Stand up and come out in front.” And he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them (scribes and pharisees), “I am going to ask you a question. Does the Law command us to do good on Sabbath days or do harm–to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around, meeting all their eyes, and said to the man, “Now stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored as sound as the other one. But they were filled with insane fury and kept discussing with each other what they could do to Jesus. 

In this day and age data bombards us daily through media (print, online, corporation boards, advertising, policy-making, etc.) and the question is NOT “Is this data true?” but rather “In what context do I (we) place this data?”

Examples abound as to the wisdom of knowing the context of any information that we hear and repeat to other people. Failure to place data in context not only lays the foundation for poor decisions but also hinders the development of vision merely for the sake of maintaining tradition and custom.

For example, from 1500-1800 English nobility lived about 71 years, quite an astonishing piece of data until you learn that the average lifespan of the English people during those same years was 33-40 years! Why? Nobility had more nutritious food, little contact with commoners, and often more sanitary everyday life. Did you know that the early English colonies in Virginia in the 1600s had a life expectancy at birth of 25 years? And in the 1600s in England, 40% of those born in that century died before reaching adulthood?

What was the lifespan of Americans when the United States constitution was written in 1789? Take a guess! Try 30-something! Then put that data into this context: In 1860, before the Civil War began, the average lifespan at birth was 39.4 years and dropped to 35 at the end of the war. It was 1911 before a person, at birth, could expect to live 50 years; and 1938 before a baby could expect to live to 60 years. In 1969, for the first time, newborns could expect to live 70 years! From 1900 to 2000 life expectancy rose over 30 years and 25 of those 30 years are directly the result of advances in public health care. Our country’s forefathers could not, in their wildest imaginations, see a time when 10 of the 100 Senators would be 76 to 88 years old. These same 10 Senators have served in the Senate for a combined total of 270 years (Our country, from 1776 til today, is only 245 years old!)! The average age of U. S. Senators is 64.5 years, but 79 of the 100 Senators are over 65. I’m not necessarily arguing for “change”, I am arguing that context tells a story that adds insight that may be used for evaluation. 

We need CONTEXT! 

As a retired minister, I valued context in preaching, and it has been a joy to be a part of a congregation in which the context of scripture is explained in sermons (Thanks, Rick!). 

Take the Sabbath as portrayed in the New Testament. In Luke 6:1-11, Jesus is twice confronted over actions that he took on the Sabbath. In one instance, Jesus and his disciples were traveling on a Sabbath day when they passed a cornfield. Being hungry, they took some corn, rubbed it in their hands, and ate it. Some Pharisees confront Jesus about gathering and eating corn on the Sabbath as such “work” was forbidden in the Law. Jesus’ response is crucial to interpreting this text: “The Son of Man is Master even of the Sabbath!” The other instance is the story of Jesus’ healing of a man’s atrophied hand on the Sabbath, and in anticipation of controversy, Jesus asked before he healed the man’s hand if the Law commands us to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm–which angered the Pharisees to the point that they wondered what they could do to stop Jesus. Healing was “doing work” which was “against the law.”

Don’t misjudge the context of this scripture in Luke!

The fourth of the ten commandments reads, “Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.” These two incidents in the previous paragraph are not about the Sabbath; they are about the word “holy.” Over the centuries as the Law developed, there was little question that “God rested on the 7th day” but the intent of the Law was to insure that the Sabbath was kept “holy.” Under the Law, to keep the Sabbath holy, then absolutely all work must cease except for essentials such as feeding or milking animals. Thus, all food to be eaten on the Sabbath must be prepared in advance of the Sabbath which began at 6 PM on Friday night and ended at 6 PM on Saturday evening. In the first instance in which Jesus and his disciples gathered and ate corn, they became “lawbreakers” in a way that failed to keep Sabbath “holy” and thus they failed to “rest.”

In the second instance, due to the fact that the Holy and Sovereign God rested on the seventh day, the Law declared that any healing was “work”, not rest, and therefore unholy.

It is necessary to put the word “Holy” in context. Holiness is a characteristic or attribute of God alone, not humanity. There is nothing that humanity can do to become “holy” and the New Testament makes clear that salvation from a Holy God is by grace and not by works. The prophet Isaiah declares that Yahweh alone is the Holy One of Israel. Holiness is the one characteristic by which God says, “I am God and not human.” Now we have a problem: how do we understand the 4th commandment “to keep it (the Sabbath) holy?” The answer is simple: “to keep the Sabbath holy” is to acknowledge that God alone is the Holy One and therefore worthy of worship and adoration and glory.

One day when I was at the seminary, a professor asked if he could join us at our table. We were pleased to have that time with him as he was a noted author, theologian and teacher. As we finished our meal, he asked us, “Tell me, are we saved by a Holy and Righteous God or by a Loving and Merciful God?” What a question! Most of us said “Loving and Merciful God.” As the professor got ready to leave and go to his next class, he said to us, “Let me remind you that only a Holy and Righteous God can choose to be Loving and Merciful toward all humanity.” Catch the implication? In worship we acknowledge a Holy and Righteous God who revealed in Jesus Christ a Loving and Merciful God. AHA! To keep the Sabbath holy means that we recognize that God alone is Holy and worthy of worship. Failure to “remember the Sabbath” in the framework that God alone is Holy and worthy of worship is to fail to acknowledge God at all. God “rested” on the 7th day, but for us human beings, to keep the Sabbath holy is not found in avoiding work, but rather it is found in the nature of worship; namely, we can “rest” only when we acknowledge that we belong to a Holy and Righteous God. But nothing we do, whether it is done on the Sabbath or not, can impart Holiness to ourselves.

Put these Sabbath stories in context! Luke, in telling these two stories about Jesus and the Sabbath, is not about avoiding work in order to become holy ourselves; it is about acknowledging the Holiness of God, the only true basis for worship. When Jesus and his disciples gathered and ate corn on the Sabbath, it was a worshipful recognition that a Holy and Righteous God provides for us all. Did not Jesus inform the Pharisees that even “the Son of Man was Master of the Sabbath?”– a statement that acknowledges that the fullness of God, including Holiness, was placed in himself.

When Jesus healed on the Sabbath, it was a worshipful recognition that a Holy and Righteous God will and can act for the welfare of humankind. Did not Jesus, in whom the fullness of God dwells, say “come unto me, and I will give you rest?” Only a Holy Supreme Being can give “rest” that comes only when we recognize that we utterly and completely belong to the Holy One, Creator and Sustainer of us all. At some point, in a society of 4 day workweeks and jobs that must be done on Sunday, we need to put scripture about the Sabbath in context, and I DON’T mean a NEW context. It is time to let go of all kinds of guilt created by our lack of context for understanding the Sabbath. The context in which these two stories by Luke is the same context that has been there for centuries before Luke wrote these stories. Not even Jesus was able to break through to reset the proper context of keeping the Sabbath holy. It is high time for us to put these stories in proper context. We keep the Sabbath holy by acknowledging that the Creator God was Holy. AND THAT IS OUR REST.

Context reveals meaning.

Put it (scripture) in context, please!

It was just a few days before my 20th birthday when I found myself standing with the University Chorale of Eastern Washington University on a warm spring day, getting ready to sing. We stood outside on a large platform, the Spokane River at our backs, and the skyline of downtown in our view. We were in Riverfront Park, the property that some 4 years before had been the site of the 1974 World’s Fair.

Today, it was being dedicated as a public park. We were singing, the Governor was present, along with other local elected officials, thousands of people, and special guest, the President of the United States, Jimmy Carter.

President Carter was a candidate in the first election in which I had ever voted. Seeing him also continued my then unbroken record of seeing every president who served in my lifetime up to that time, except for President Eisenhower.

We, the chorale of some 100, had arrived hours earlier and were told to stand in our places on the risers, just behind the podium and seats reserved for speakers and honored guests. We would get a good view of our President…but the waiting was difficult for us youngsters. When we looked out, beyond the park, across the freeway, to the buildings in the downtown area, we could see a large police and military presence; sharp shooters on rooftops, helicopters continuing to circle the crowd below, and the Secret Service (obvious in their attempt to be unobvious) milling about.

We sang, I don’t remember what, and then the familiar strains of “Hail to the Chief” played and there he was…taller than I expected, that toothy smile flashing brightly for blocks, and energetically chatting with all on the platform.

He spoke (after many others) and officially dedicated the park. Then, on his way off the platform he, and his entourage, walked over to our director, shook his hand, looked up at us on the risers, waved, and thanked us for our time and music…saying, “it’s like I had backup singers!”. Then he was gone.

Interestingly, it was only after the event that we were told the reason we had to arrive before anyone else on the platform. It seems we were “the rear shield” since there was not a back on the large platform, and no other way to protect the President and the other people of note, from behind.

We were not only the Presidents backup singers but we also, literally, “had his back”.

This memory from college years came to me as I watched President Carter’s memorial service in the National Cathedral, and I thought of the implications of being a backup singer and bodyguard to the leader of our country.

I hope to be the type of American citizen who always wants my leaders to succeed, whether I voted for them or not. A backup singer supports the lead singer by:
   1. raising the energy level,
     2. supporting the melody with harmony, and
     3. providing a way for the lead singer to gain momentum…playing off of the other singers onstage.

“Having one’s back” would mean that, like the chorale behind the President, we (or I) would make sure the “leader” is protected from the back so that they can always move forward without looking behind them.

During these couple of weeks as I say good-bye to our longest-living President, and another takes the oath for a second time, these “backup” lessons are not lost on me. My responsibility, not as an American Citizen but as a Citizen of the Kingdom of God, is to be an encourager and protector for ALL my community and national leaders…it’s what my King demands of me.

But, like all Spiritual Truths, the implications go beyond simply supporting a temporary President in a temporary country…this Truth also applies to those in my circle: family, friends, congregation, and enemies. My daily life should contain some backup singing, treating those closest to me as the “lead singer” while I, as the “backup singer” feed them energy, support their “melodies” with my “harmonies” (not singing the same line, but supporting lines of the same song), while encouraging them on to their finest performances. ALL THIS while “having their backs”: making sure that they are protected from what lies behind them, so they don’t have to look back, and can always look ahead.

I think this is in line with what PAUL teaches us about treating each other as if they were more significant than we are (PHILIPPIANS 2:3 – “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.”)…also, what he teaches about our gifts and talents being each being unique but working together to achieve one goal (I CORINTHIANS 12:4 – “Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord.”).

We are called to love (agape) our neighbors, our friends, and our enemies. I believe no matter who the leader may be, they fall into one of those 3 categories of people we are called to love. I believe no matter who enters our circle, THEY ALSO fall into one of those 3 categories of people we are called to love.

We are to be “backup singers” and to “have the back” of practically everyone we encounter…and some that we may never meet. I hope to be the kind of “backup singer” that behaves according to these words, from the 1800s, often quoted by President Carter:

“Do all the good you can,
In all the ways you can,
For all the people you can,
Just as long as you can.”

THE BLOG by Rev. Ken Rickett

Romans 8: 34-35, 37-39 Who is he that condemns? It is Christ who died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No! In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels , nor principalities, nor powers, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Think of your parents, or your children or grandchildren. Think of your siblings and cousins and close friends. Choose any of them (or all of them) and ask yourself, “what are (his/her name) favorite things?” Write them down. Now ask each one of them, “what are your favorite things?” After you hear the answers, did you know them as well as you thought you did?

What are MY favorite things? I am fairly new in town, so most of you may not be able to name many of my favorite things. Yet, knowing my favorite things allows you to know more about me. Here’s a list:

My favorite holiday: Thanksgiving
My favorite hobbies: Genealogy & yard/gardening
My favorite flower: Poinsettia
My favorite pie: Peach Cobbler
My favorite cake: Red Velvet (made from scratch with beets)
My favorite vegetable(s): Sweet Corn, Okra, white sweet potato
My favorite poets: Joyce Kilmer and Robert Frost
My favorite TV programs: College football
My favorite professional football team: The Indianapolis Colts
My favorite season: Winter
My favorite treat: Ice Cream
My favorite snack: Chocolate!
My favorite wintertime activity: jigsaw puzzles of 1000 or more pieces
My favorite season of life: retirement!
My favorite wife: Della, certainly, 49 years!
My favorite hymn lyrics: In the Bulb There Is A Flower (p 638 in Chalice Hymnal)
My favorite book: The Bible, of course!

Some items are missing from the list above. My favorite movie, for example, is difficult to name because I do not understand voices in movies without closed captioning; hence, I do not go see them. My favorite memory from childhood, or during college/seminary days, or when my children were growing up is just too difficult to limit to one or two of them! I did not name my favorite author for a couple of reasons: one, several of them are theologians whose writings shaped my thinking and my preaching; and two, I enjoy biographies and genealogies and history which are written by many different people.

And there are some favorite things that I will never separate by name: favorite child or grandchild because the nature of love is indiscriminate. Of course, there are different traits that I admire about each of them. Yes, I see their strengths and weaknesses and they see mine. Should any of them personally say that I have a “favorite” child or grandchild, I can only acknowledge that perception in spite of my efforts to show no partiality. The truth is that our offspring (and grandchildren, etc.) may be quite different in temperament, personality, giftedness, and whimsy. But when all is said and done, there is a huge difference between “my favorite things” and “love for each member of one’s own family.”

I have just one more favorite, and I will call it my favorite marvel. What is it that amazes me and fascinates me and surrounds me and causes me to marvel? I marvel at God’s Love revealed in Jesus Christ. William Barclay reminds us that one of the earliest creeds of Christianity says “He (Jesus) was crucified, dead and buried; the third day he arose from the dead, and sitteth at the right hand of God, from which he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.’ While the Apostle Paul would certainly acknowledge that Jesus “shall judge the quick and the dead” and Jesus would undoubtedly have that right and power, that is not what Paul says. The Apostle Paul declares that “Christ is at the right hand of God to “intercede for us.” Instead of being at God’s right hand to judge, Jesus is there to intercede for us, to be our Advocate and to help us. He is there to state the case for us.

What a magnificent view of the love of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ! For us the Risen Christ steps in to turn away the judgment! What a triumphant view of the Christian’s present and future condition! Dr. J. Winston Pearce (my great-uncle, pastor, seminary professor of Preaching, author) reminds us that Paul talks about separation!

“Who,” he asks, “shall be able to separate us from the love of Christ (meaning himself)?” Then he gives a long list of things that often cause separation, namely, trouble, pain, persecution, lack of clothes, danger and peril, the threat of deadly weapons, etc. Paul is convinced beyond a doubt; no principalities nor powers that be, things that may come as well as things present, no height nor depth nor any other living creature can come between us and the love of Christ for us. None of these things shall separate us from the love of Christ! Paul doesn’t stop there; rather, he issues another stunning statement about those who are in Christ, “we are more than conquerors!” And so it is! For Christ shall be at the right hand of God to intercede for us! And we shall, by the love of Christ that intercedes for us, claim an overwhelming victory-eternal life.

I have on my bookshelf a novel by Margaret Craven entitled “I Heard the Owl Call My Name” (New York: Doubleday, 1973) in which she tells the story of a young seminary graduate named Mark, just ordained, who is ready for his first assignment. The day before he was to meet with the Bishop, the Bishop had received word that, unknown to the young minister, a disease would likely take his life within three years. The bishop decided he would not tell Mark just yet, but rather he would send him to one of his toughest parishes–that of a remote Indian tribe deep into the forests of Canada. Mark, full of energy, but also full of love, quickly endeared himself to the people. He listened to their stories; he respected their customs and traditions which were vital to them in the midst of their growing Christian faith. Mark learned to hunt and to fish with the best of them. He became a trusted friend, a confidante. One tribal tradition was simply that before one died, he or she would hear the owl call their name, sometimes several days or weeks ahead. Then one day Mark himself heard the owl call his name.

He spoke to Marta, an older beloved Indian lady, who was preparing him a meal. He told her, “A strange thing happened tonight. On the banks of the river a while ago I heard the owl call my name.” She did not try to convince him otherwise. She lifted her sweet, kind face, with its wrinkles, and said, “Yes, my son.” Words of endearment. Mark did not know how to tell the village that he had heard the owl call his name and must leave soon. But Marta had passed the word around. Keetah, the female leader of the tribe saw Mark alone the next day, and she came to him and said, “I have come to speak for our people,” she said, “and there is something we wish you to do for us.” Mark replied, “Of course, anything I am able to do, I will.” She said, “Stay with us. We have written to the bishop and asked that you remain among us because this is your village, and we are your family…” And so it was. He lived among them, loved as one of them. And after his burial in the little churchyard Marta lifted some words of advice to Mark’s Spirit: “Walk straight on, my son. Do not look back. Do not turn your head. You are going to the land of our Lord.” Just as Keetah interceded on behalf of the village and asked Mark to spend his days with them, there was no doubt with Marta, Mark’s dear friend, that . . . Christ would intercede for Mark who would walk straight on…!

My favorite marvel: Christ’s love for us! Years ago, when I was in middle school, the youth choir at my home church learned and sang a song entitled “Love of God” (Warner Chappell Music, Inc.) I have written a few verses because it catches my deep sense of marvel!

The Love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade
To write the Love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky

O Love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints and angels’ song

I began playing the piano regularly, around 62 years ago this year.  Not only is that number astounding to me, as is looking in the mirror these days, but I’m thinking about how the piano (and music in general) became such a natural part of my personality – and how that all began.  I’m starting to take some memories from the back of the “filing cabinet” of my mind…and I thought today about my first “RECITAL”.

Probably one of the most colorful figures to enter my world (and this is saying a lot) was my first piano teacher.  She was larger than life, a chronic smoker with the voice and cough to prove it, fingers crippled with arthritis (though she could still play amazingly well) and everything in her house was pink.  At Christmas she had an aluminum tree with pink ornaments, and a rotating color wheel on the floor…going to my piano lessons during Christmas was like a trip to Vegas.

After about a year of lessons, or a little less, she introduced me to a new word, “recital”.  She explained what it was and chose a piece for me to play.  I still have the sheet music. It is framed and sitting beside my piano, to this day.  The piece was prophetically titled, “IN CHURCH” (by June Weybright), and it was published the year I was born. 

We worked hard on it, she coached me on every “nuance” and reminded me that simply playing every note correctly was not enough – I needed to convey feeling and emotion that my little brain had yet to experience. 

Then one day, knowing this was my first recital (and I was undoubtedly her favorite student), she packed me in her Eisenhower-era car and took me to the venue where the recital would take place; appropriately, a church. 

It didn’t look like the church I went to, it was a bit fancier, as I remember, and larger.  Maybe a little intimidating.  There were dark open beams in the ceiling, there where stained-glass windows with pictures of Bible stories.  There was brass and there were candles everywhere…I had never actually been in a place like it before. She showed me where I would sit, prior to playing.  She led me along the path to the piano and told me to take my time getting comfortable on the bench, then take a deep, slow, breath, and place my fingers to begin.  She taught me how to bow, one hand on the piano, facing the audience.  Then she stood there and asked me to play the piece.  I did. 

Then she said, “I’m going to ask you to play it again.  But this time I’m going to the back of the room to make sure I can hear you.”

She moved to the back of the sanctuary and asked me to play it again.  She clapped when I was finished and reminded me to stand and bow.

Then she asked me to play it again.  This time, she warned, she was going to try to distract me, but no matter what she did, or what sounds I heard, I was to continue to play – “Imagine it’s just you and the piano alone in the church”, she said.  I sat down, took my deep breath, placed my fingers on the keys, and started playing.

Suddenly, a cacophony of hideous sounds came out of her mouth.  Having a smoker’s voice, and a loud one, the sounds were almost inhuman.  Had the movie been made at that point (and had I been allowed to see it) I would’ve compared the sounds to the voice of the demon in little Regan’s body – in the film “THE EXORIST”.  I concentrated as she screamed, I closed my eyes and played as she pounded on the back of the pews in back and stomped her feet.  I endured, shutting it all out.  And in the end, she applauded (and whistled) and I bowed…and then we both burst out laughing.

I had never seen an adult of her variety behave like that, in all my short years of life to that point.  It was incredible.  But she reiterated, “There will be many people here.  Some will be here to hear you specifically; some won’t want to be here.  Some people may be here for THEIR first recital. You will hear all sorts of sounds: people coughing, shuffling, children, babies crying, people whispering…you just listen for the music and play like you’re the only one in the room.”

It’s a lesson I’ve held on to through a lifetime of recitals, concerts, performances, and public speaking events.  And it is a lesson I’ve applied to life. 

Some people will always be present to cheer you on. 

Some will be there to hope you fail. 

Some don’t want to be there.

Some have no idea where they are. 

But you: set your course.  Look to the goal.
Take it all in, but don’t let it distract you from your purpose. 

The Bible says it this way: “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne. HEBREWS 12:1-2 

What is “your recital” piece? What is your purpose and goal? This is the perfect time of year to figure out who you are and why. Once you do, once you know who you are and what your purpose is in this time and place. And once God puts His hand on your shoulder, smiles, and “leads you to the piano”, get comfortable, take a deep breath, put your fingers on the keys… 

…and play your song.

I am, as I do every Christmas season, reading my favorite Christmas book, Charles Dickens’ “A CHRISTMAS CAROL”.  Through the years I’ve had several copies of this story, one is in a collection of Dickens’ classics, one is in a collection of other Christmas stories, one is on my iPad (backlit with big letters…yeah!), and one (the one I’m reading THIS year) is a beautiful limited-edition leatherbound volume with the 1915 illustrations from English illustrator Arthur Rackham.

No matter what the setting or context, this story continues to amaze and inspire me.  And next December (2025) THE ALLEY THEATRE will present the production of my script and music once more!

Now, unfortunately, I’m feeling a bit more like Scrooge this season, than I am Cratchit.  The grinding busy-ness of the season, being kind in the face of a few downright mean, or foolish, people, the aging of my body (which does NOT enjoy the cold), and who knows what kind of weather will be threatening our beautiful week of CHRISTMAS EVE and CHRISTMAS DAY at Central…bah! Humbug! And yet, no matter what kind of season I’m having, Dickens uses his words to reach into my heart and soul to communicate the best of all messages to the “child still hiding inside” this old shell of mine.

The great question of the story for me is how can Scrooge, with all the resources his world can offer, completely miss the SPIRIT of Christmas (while literally being surrounded by “the Spirits” of Christmas – while Tim Cratchit, sick, poor and facing a certain and early death, seems to not only understand, but “embodies” the “Spirit” – the “JOY”?   

And what is that “JOY of Christmas”?

In the story, maybe it’s easier to see what the “JOY of Christmas” is NOT.  When watching Scrooge, one realizes JOY does not come from wealth, or power.  Scrooge has an abundance of both and neither has given him JOY.  You can also see that “memories of Christmas”, though fond and perhaps filled with warmth, love and kindness, are more often a reminder that Christmastime now does not fulfill the memories of what it used to be.  For Scrooge, his past memories of Christmas only filled him with despair at all he had lost or cast aside.

So, what is “The JOY of Christmas”?  At its core, it is the knowledge that our Great God cared enough to love us, and connect to us, through such elaborate and sacrificial means as placing His own Son in this “God-forsaken” world. His Son then “put on our skin”, felt our pain, walked our path – so that we would see God for who He truly is, and trust Him, and follow Him.  We no longer need to fear the grave, we no longer are victims of our circumstance, we are no longer prisoners of our past, our present, or our future.

Tim Cratchit “embodies” that idea: Despite our circumstances, Christmas and its JOY transcends everything.  “Life” is not totally defined by this time and place but lives beyond this time and place. “Life” is not defined solely by heartbeat and breath.  And JOY is greater than the sum of our surroundings, our memories, and our hopes.  

What finally makes Scrooge happy, what fills him with a JOY that sets him dancing?  GIVING, not just his money, but his time, his presence, his heart.  Because Christmas JOY is “outside” of ourselves, we find the physical manifestation of that JOY is also outside of ourselves.

Isn’t that just like God?  We must GIVE to GAIN.  The percentages will always remain the same, in the Kingdom of God; the more JOY you give, the more JOY you receive, whether it’s smiles, time, talent, cash or love.

“I have come that you might have life…and have it more abundantly”! JOHN 10:10 

“God bless us, everyone.” TINY TIM