Pastoral Ponderings- InBEEtween

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Pastoral Ponderings- InBEEtween

I think it would be very helpful if Easter had something to go with it along the lines of the 12 Days of Christmas.  For probably 25 years, the 12 Days of Christmas between Christmas and Jan. 6, Epiphany, has helped me and son Kristopher to more smoothly deal with the transition from the celebrations leading up to the holiday, and getting back into ordinary time.  I need something like that for Easter too!

The time after Easter is a powerful reminder that we’re living in an “inbetween” time—between Jesus’ initial victory over death and offer of resurrection transformation power two millennia ago, and Jesus’ final victory, somewhere, somewhen in the future.  And we’re all stuck somewhere in the middle, where the mundane realities, losses and struggles so often distract us from the Peace that Passes All Understanding.

Some churches spend a lot of time and energy focusing on what that inbetween time might means—with studies on “the last days” and such.  We United Methodists typically don’t, though—because even Jesus said “not even the Son of Man knows” any details or timelines.  And in a very real sense, what difference does it make?  Shouldn’t we “be ready” and live right anyway, no matter when or what may come?

Karol found some cute décor last year to go along with my bees (that, yes, along with countless other hives these days, have died out this past year…)—to include such a simple reminder, that no matter what, to “bee kind” is always the right answer!  So, in our “inBEEtween times,” that bee wisdom is a great reminder of what God calls us to BEE, no matter what we are inBEEtween, or how long it takes.

Finding the nectar that brings out life’s sweetness—Pastor Jim

Easter in Real Life

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Pastoral Ponderings—Easter in Real Life

Darling Wife Karol’s mom could have died at any time, especially in recent years when she has been in skilled nursing care and in declining health, but it didn’t happen until just this past week, right before Easter.  With this timing, I can’t NOT think of it in terms of a real-life Easter inspiration.

She and Karol’s dad became Methodists ages ago BECAUSE of faith conflicts: she was raised Lutheran, he a Baptist, so that neither were able take Communion in the other’s church, and even Baptism meant something quite different in those traditions.  When he was in the Air Force, they asked their Chaplain for suggestions (Go military Chaplains!).  Being a good Methodist, the Chaplain pointed out that they could both take Communion together and bridge their Baptism differences in a Methodist church.  They agreed to become Methodists, thereby setting the stage both for Pastor Karol’s being such a blessing in ministry with us, and last week, for the peace with which Karol’s mom left this world for her heavenly home.

I am delayed in sending this note due to a crazy week with another of our long-time church pillars passing just before Easter.  Is this an exclamation point on the message that though death is real, it is not the end?

Easter shows us the many facets of how Jesus’ resurrection transforms us, and transforms the end of death into the beginning of life.  Because of the Resurrection, we knew that for Karol’s mom, Candy, and all who are lost in the faith, that we are just coming to the end of a paragraph, not the end of the story.  At the end of an earthly life in Christ, we can say with St. Paul, “to live is Christ, to die is gain,” so that in the gift of Easter, the end of this life is the beginning of a more full life in Christ in some other way.

In faith and hope—Pastor Jim

Pastoral Ponderings—Thatching

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Pastoral Ponderings—Thatching

One of our big surprises on our recent trip to the UK was how many places we saw thatched roofing still in common use. Thatching is such a simple technology, and amazingly durable when properly cared for. Modern asphalt shingle roofs are typically guaranteed for 25-30 years, while a good thatched roof, even with much older technology, can be expected to last 25-50 years or more. Pretty impressive for being made almost entirely out of bundles of reeds!

Individual reeds will of course not last nearly as long. But bundled together and arranged as they are to make the water roll off, and to collect ample sunshine, they last an amazingly long time, even in quite wet environments. Likely the only reason Jesus didn’t have a parable of thatching is that his environment was dry enough that they typically used mud roofs instead.

So based on related Jesusisms, my version of a parable of thatched roofs is that, like the reeds that make up the roof will typically only last a single season or two, Jesus people who try to stand alone generally won’t last. But when Jesus people stay bundled together in ways that provide mutual strength and support, in ways that ward off the conditions that leads to rot, and allows for plenty of air/Pneuma (Holy Spirit) circulation, and plenty of SON-shine (did I spell that wrong?), followers of Jesus can weather most anything!

Many people defend their solitary expression of faith outside a church by pointing out that “whoever BELIEVES” in Jesus is saved—yet God has SO MANY more blessings to pour out on us when we live in the Family of God, why would you want to try to go it alone? Sure, churches are made up of terribly imperfect people, but like thatching, our strength and resilience is multiplied immeasurably when we “bear one another’s burdens” is a community of faith.

Thank you all for being such an essential part of MY bundled up family of faith, and I hope you have found and can share the blessings of our spiritual bundling as well. Keep on holding together and building one another up! Pastor Jim

Pastoral Ponderings— Of Saints and Sacramentals–

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Pastoral Ponderings— Of Saints and Sacramentals–

On our recent trip to the UK, we were impressed with a lot of things that have weathered the centuries, not the least of which were church buildings and such that have been standing witness for ages. Inside most of the churches we saw were fascinating pieces, including a Norman era baptismal font we ran across that is still in use, even after almost 1000 years!

Baptism is one of our Sacraments—tangible expressions of God’s intangible grace that Jesus called us to keep on keeping on sharing with others. That still-in-use baptismal font has thus also become a “sacramental” item—some THING that helps convey or remind us of God’s transforming power in our lives today.

We had funerals at two of our congregations this past week, of saints who lived their lives so that they pointed in countless ways to God’s grace in Jesus. They were likewise– at least for the decades of their recent lives– sacramental signs like unto that ancient baptismal font– reminders, carriers, tangible evidence of God’s transforming grace. The baptismal font a silent witness, in their cases, sharing LIVING images of the God of the Ages with everyone they knew in their daily lives.

Part of why I love travel so much, is seeing how broadly God pours out grace and sacramental signs, both in people and artifacts, by which we can see and experience God’s working in the world. And it broadens our own opportunities, too, to encourage other witnesses, and to demonstrate to others wherever we go, that God is still at work in our world.

These “sacramentals” we’re talking about, whether in people or ancient artifacts, are not only reminders and signs of God’s grace, but reminders for us to ask ourselves in what ways we will be remembered, and in what ways now, our lives and what we do, point to Jesus. For as long as we have breath, we have opportunities to live out, breathe out, and point out God’s transforming grace to and for others. How are we living such sacramental lives today and every day?

Ever shining the Light—Pastor Jim

Game Nite this Saturday, Mar. 22!

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Game night is just around the corner! We’ve had a lot of fun with our game nights at the Twin Falls church—a great time to relax and have fun together, to share some favorite game time snacking traditions (I can’t have a game night anymore without getting a yearning for popcorn!), and inviting guests to join us. Churchy folk are just so scary, don’t you know—but we’re less scary with a game board or deck of cards in front of us.

We’ve been talking a lot about the importance of inviting others to be a part of our Jesus party as an important part of our discipleship, and game nights make that easy! Don’t forget to remind people, too, that you don’t have to enjoy playing board games to enjoy the time together. We often have several folks who just come for the company, who come to laugh at people being silly, or come for food or conversation.

But a game night with “just us,” without inviting guests to have fun with us, is missing the point. Jesus calls us to reach out beyond our little circle of friends, even beyond our “comfort zone,” because there are so many folks around us in our epidemic of loneliness, that need to be reminded that they are loved and valued. Sure, we who are always here together really enjoy getting together—and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that! But we churchy people are not just a club for ourselves—we are called to be disciples of Jesus, sharing His life-transforming, saving grace with others! Game nites make for an easy start!

Now is a great time to invite those neighbors, dog-walkers and more! We’ll have sloppy joes, and whatever other eats and treats that we bring—so plan on bringing a friend and some goodies to share! Saturday afternoon/evening, 4-8—but there’s no “hard start,” so come when you can, and better yet, BRING some of those friends in your car with you! Always works best if you pray about those guests both now, and all along—see you then!

Pastor Jim

Pastoral Ponderings—In plain sight

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We had a lovely vacation in our long anticipated trip to the EU and UK—thank you for the opportunity to get away!  I’ll be sharing more detail in the weeks to come, but often someone asks “What was your favorite part?”  That’s a difficult question!  I have a lot—but let me share one of them as an introduction to the season of Lent that starts today.
One day we were on the road to get to one of our planned sights, when out the car window we spied a picturesque old bridge, so we pulled off the road to take a look.  This happenstance along a highway then became one of the highlights of our trip!  We thought we were just walking to the bridge to get some good pictures, but when we saw the little plaque stating the date of the bridge, we were both taken aback—the bridge had been built around 1504!  Despite its age, and that it had been built for much smaller loads than our rental car, it felt as solid as could be driving across—though it had been built in 1504!
For folks who love history like us, this was quite a find—but it was right along the side of a highway with at least hundreds, if not thousands of cars driving by every day, most of which likely don’t even notice this treasure in plain sight.  We talk about God sightings in our church prayer time—when you think about it, as obvious as that little bridge along the highway.  Yet like that little bridge, treasure though it is, what could be our God-sightings go just as un-noticed.
I pray that for one of your disciplines this season of lent, that you will be intentional about keeping your eyes open—maybe even journal about or take pictures of God sightings that are all around us, so that at the end of Lent, you might have been able to develop the habit of noticing God’s little treasures all around every day.  They don’t have to be dramatic to be a God sighting—most people wouldn’t think that little bridge very dramatic!  But when you see the hand of God in even the simple things, God opens our eyes to so much more divine drama than we could ever imagine!  Keep your eyes peeled!
– Pastor Jim

Pastoral Ponderings— Just dead trees?

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Pastoral Ponderings— Just dead trees?


I was out in our wooded acres checking on our maple tappings, and collecting firewood for cooking down the sap into syrup, and was reminded out there how lifeless and depressing people sometimes find this time of year.  Sure, they just look like dead trees, but if you look beyond appearances, God has put a lot of life and potential in those “dead” trees.
Tapping for maple syrup production can only happen this time of year from what looks like leafless and lifeless trees.  When tapping, you’re actually tapping into the early flow of the sap up the tree to the budding leaves—collecting what is literally the life-blood of the tree, bringing back new life for the Spring.  Other signs of new life are already showing (though unfortunately, the wild roses with all their thorns are among the first of the year to come back).
But even when trees are truly dead—or more dying than living—they are still sources of life.  Woodpeckers and other creatures feast on the bugs that love dead and dying trees, and the rotted out holes from broken branches make cozy homes for countless creatures as well.  They as the trees fall to the ground to return to their Maker, they end up creating a dynamic ecosystem that becomes the food source for plants, bugs and animals that become the foundation of the whole forest system food chain.
A powerful parable demonstrating that death not only provides the conditions for new life, but in many ways, is the actual source of new life.  So is it really the depressing scene of lifelessness that it at first appears to be, when all we seem to see is just dead trees, or is that death really the playground where New Life is playing hide and seek in so many ways and places?
In our lives, too, we often find ourselves in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, where things can seem hopeless, helpless and depressing.  Yet in God’s ecology, as Jesus said in His elegant simplicity, “unless the seed falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12: 24)
I so love Jesus’ phrase, “s/he who has eyes (or ears), let them see (or hear).”  I pray we all gain the eyes to see the often hidden gems of new life God is sowing all around us, especially in this season that seems to only offer dreariness.
– Pastor Jim

Pastoral Pondering—Leave Your Mark

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Pastoral Pondering—Leave Your Mark

We recently did a quickie overnight ski trip to Peak-n-Peak just across the NY state line (I highly recommend the place!).  Our room had a loft in it, and the morning before we left, I noticed that some mischievous little rascal had left their mark in a harmless, fun way.  The kiddo had left a little action figure barely visible, keeping watch over the room and the snow on the loft support.  Not obnoxious like graffiti or carved initials, just leaving a littl friend that I hope to see again on our next visit!
 

Whether we intend to or not, we all leave our marks (are we building a theme with last week’s note?)—will we leave them in fun ways, ways that make a positive impact?  I just recently sent off a text, too, to an old friend I hadn’t connected with in years—he much more so, and his daughter ever so briefly as well, had left their little superhero marks on my soul in our past interactions. Their coming to mind out of nowhere led me to reach out again—is it a random firing of neurons in my brain that brought a smile and beautiful memories, or perhaps a nudge from the Holy Spirit?  Nothing lost either way with sending off a quick note.
Little bits at a time of these kinds of positive marks can often build up into something beautiful.  I love seeing the ice stacks when I’m skiing, where, a little bit at a time, the snow makers build up beautiful sculptures of ice along the trails to bring even more joy and beauty to the experience.  Of course, the snow itself on which we ski is the same—little bits at a time that God sends to build up into paths of beauty and joy.
So often in life and in our spiritual journeys, it’s not the big things, but the little things building up like this, that create the beauty, that bring the joy, that touches souls.  What small investments are you making in the lives of those whose paths you cross?

Keep making beauty, bringing truth, goodness and joy—Pastor Jim

Pastoral Ponderings—Tracks in the Snow

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Pastoral Ponderings—Tracks in the Snow

I’m one of the weird ones up here that LOVE’s snow! I’m not sure though, whether I find pristine, untrodden snow, or the story told by tracks in the snow more fun. We’ve not had a bunch of snow in recent years, but this year, the snow has been glorious! We’ve had in the neighborhood of 5-6” on the ground pretty much since the end of DEC, with several good snows since to freshen what’s on the ground, which I have been really enjoying. I’ve even been walking on the water like Jesus to try to be extra spiritual in the last few days—though I bet Jesus didn’t have to depend on the pond being frozen to allow for His memorable stroll!

Seeing the tracks in the snow has gotten me thinking along spiritual lines too. Tracks in the snow record not only who or what went where, but also often what happened. I just wish I could have seen the scene recorded on the ice of our pond where a deer was going across and slipped and fell! Probably not the most spiritual thing to enjoy a deer sprawling across the ice, but I certainly would have gotten a laugh out of it!

Try as you might, you can’t hide the story of the tracks in the snow, nor how often a particular path is trod. Even the tiniest of birds can’t get away with it! Do you think we might be more careful where we would go or frequent in our non-snowy lives, if our paths were as visible to the world as they are in the snow? What stories would such paths tell, both through where we go, but also where we frequent? What paths might we make that we might prefer to NOT have so visible to others?


Back in the day, when the old Methodist class meetings helped people be accountable for their spiritual growth, the question was asked of all each week, “How goes it with your soul? With as I understand it, a common follow up question being something like “where are you struggling with sin in your life?” What might happen in our lives and churches if we were to be that accountable in our faith these days? What difference would that make in what tracks we leave behind?

It’s not only Superman who has x-ray vision, or Santa Claus who “knows if you’ve been bad or good.” God is the one who invented that kind of thing—not to be invading our privacy, but to protect us from the damage done by lives of sin– “so be good, for goodness sake!” Because God always sees the trail we all leave! – Pastor Jim

Pastoral Ponderings— Warmth on a Cold Night

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Pastoral Ponderings— Warmth on a Cold Night

Still cold. I thought last week’s 9 degrees was bad—this morning was -9! But bitter cold like this isn’t all bad. Closing the doors against the cold can open doors too! To ward off the cold last night, we had our neighbors over for dinner and games. After all, too cold to “go out” doesn’t mean too cold to go next door!

It’s not quite a “regular” thing to have dinner and a game night with the neighbors, but it is a common enough thing that now it’s not unusual, and it started a couple years ago with the simplicity of delivering Christmas cookies to get to know the neighbors. But whether it’s neighbors you don’t know, you barely know, you’d like to know better, or the closest of friends, the same line can warm any heart on a cold night: (addressed to said neighbor) “Hey, it’s pretty cold out. Would you like to warm up over dinner/coffee/cocoa and a game tonight?”

What’s the worst that could happen? They could say “no,” but then that’s no different that your prior plan without inviting them! I suppose it could be worse if you invite them over and some disaster happens— like they might break a tooth biting into something unexpected in the ice cream you offer, but how likely is THAT to happen? (I didn’t actually BREAK a tooth on that nugget of steel in the ice cream—just almost—but that’s another story…)

It’s much more likely that you might finally catch up with the neighbor you’ve barely said hello to for years. Or you might bring some warmth into a cold and lonely life. Or you might find that God has set up this opportunity for some wonderful blessing. Or you might just have a good time and grow a friendship– and wouldn’t any of those much more likely outcomes be a Very Good Thing?

One of the most well-known and whole-heartedly embraced of Jesus’ teachings is to “love your neighbors.” But these days, even we Jesus people who have turned that earth-shattering teaching into a bland platitude, too often, barely even acknowledge the existence of our neighbors. When was the last time you actually did something loving for one of the neighbors next door?

I’m proud of you if you can remember the last time you did something loving for your neighbor last ________ (year, month, week, last snowfall, whatever)! But why not tonight? If loving your spouse, dog, kids, parents, friends or whomever is an ongoing thing, isn’t that just as true for your neighbors?

Love your neighbor. It’s a cool thing (or a WARM thing!). It’s an easy thing. It’s a Jesus thing. — A simple reminder from Pastor Jim