Of Our Time

Some years ago Sidney Ahlstrom wrote a monumental work entitled, A Religious History of the American People. In his introduction he addressed the need to be more aware of historical processes in a generation of American he described as “one-dimensional.” By that term he meant to describe us as living in the present only, to the extent that we are unconscious of the future effects of our actions and indifferent to the sources of our present state.

According to Ahlstrom, one of the strong factors in shaping the modern church in the United States has been the vast diversity of American religious life. In the United States, says Ahlstrom, we have been subject to “virtually every surviving heresy and schism” that has ever plagued the church. He quotes Dietrich Bonhoeffer who said, “…it has been granted to the Americans, less than any other nation on earth, to realize the visible unity of the Church of God.”

Whether or not we recognize that our American religious history has had an effect on us, we need not look too far to identify a host of contradictory and demanding ideas that are presented as “true” experiences of religion. Most of these waves of religious influence have not led us to an authentic apostolic faith.

As we begin this summer season let us turn, and return, to the scriptures–free from the cloudiness of speculation, and rooted in authentic biblical scholarship and prayer. Let us take the best of our insights into life, the needs of our neighbors, near and far away, and let us strive in word and deed to conduct ourselves as the current stewards of God’s magnificent gospel in Christ.

We cannot escape being the children of our time. But we must never allow ourselves to be the captives of our time.

Go with God,

Pastor Jansen

Cultural Relevance

“For though I am free from all people,

 I have made myself a slave to all

 that I might win the more.” II Corinthians 9:19

Mark Twain said, “The only person who likes change is a wet baby.” That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but from my own observation, most people have some hesitancy toward change. Those who have reached the age of 100 have seen radical change in their lifetime: they are unexpected witnesses to an era that brought forth Band-Aids and penicillin, Kellogg Corn Flakes and pizza, the World Series and Reader’s Digest. They remember not just when man landed on the moon but when he first soared into the sky. They remember the terrifying toll of the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918 and the wrenching despair on the soup lines of the Great Depression. The last century opened with the first telegraph message being sent across the Atlantic and concluded with millions of email messages being sent around the world every day.

With many changes in our culture, we must also understand this is the culture we have been called to minister to. This is our world, and God has placed us here for such a time as this. We have been called to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of this generation in a culturally relevant fashion. Try inviting an unchurched friend, family member, neighbor or associate to worship with you. People are longing for meaning and purpose in their life. You can make a difference in someone’s life by giving them a faith foundation in which to live.

And there are some things that don’t change, Jesus. In a world of constant change it is good to know that Jesus Christ is always the same, always with us and always loves us. Neither does the Bible change. The Word of God gives us directives for worship, for lifestyle choices, for practical instruction and for our salvation. Neither do spiritual needs change. In every generation, people have hungered for spiritual truth.

Ken Olson, President of Digital Equipment Corporation stated in 1977, “There is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home.” While I’m sure he was a fine man, he was not a visionary and did not understand the changes that were to come. Our culture is radically changing before our very eyes. Let’s be ready for it, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Go with God!

Pastor Qualley

Summer Warm-up

The word summer occurs only three times in the New Testament, about 25 times in the Old Testament; at least that’s what my Concordance says. If that’s all the Bible has to say about it as a season, maybe we ought to give some thought to what a major season summer has turned out to be for many Americans in recent years. Summer is a season that is really different from the other three. I mean in the sense that who we are and what we look like and do with ourselves changes more. The man next door likes to mow his lawn shirtless. People splash around in pools of water, or go to the shore. Traffic loosens up for a while. Trees and plants and grass grow and sometimes get dryer than ever. We use gallons of “sun block” to protect all the skin we expose and we cook over open fires in the backyard or on the deck, sometimes with comic results. “Cool” is the word for the way we would like to feel, not warm, or dry, or toasty.

 

  

But mostly, our minds change for a couple of months. We change our schedules and expect to do some special things, maybe a trip or at least a few extra days off from work–whatever. We move into a kind of “vacation mode.” We feel we “owe it to ourselves to…” meaning that we get a license to pursue recreation, relaxation, refreshment, and so on, that doesn’t fit as universally into our agenda in the other three season. Actually, summer is a time when you might be finding out who you would really like to be. When you have “free time” your priorities are written large in what you choose to do.

Summer is also the time when Lord of Life opens the windows on a whole array of happy possibilities for new experiences and offering s to find growth in faith and fellowship during the summer months. Wednesday night suppers and devotions in the woods behind the church for the whole family, camps, Vacations Bible School, trips for work parties, bible camps, national youth gatherings and summer camp at church for the young people, bible studies that can be life-changing for all of us, Sunday mornings at worship with everybody together, guests and all (to name only a few). So, plan ahead.

Pentecost is for all seasons, of course, but coming at the beginning of our summer season, for us, it can be like the liturgical opening of another summer of God’s grace–God’s way of warming us up for the year ahead.

Go with God,

Pastor Jansen

It’s a Matter of Perspective

Norman Rockwell is known throughout the world for his optimistic and affectionate portraits of life. His world on canvas depicted real people, friends, neighbors and family, doing real things. During his 84 years, he painted over 300 covers for the Saturday Evening Post. Most people were drawn to his art because it reminded them of the goodness of life. Rockwell once stated, “I paint life as I would like it to be.”

Rockwell could have concentrated on scenes of sorrow and moments of misery for he did not live in a trouble free world. His canvas could have been colored with conflict and despair. Certainly such hopeless hues could be found–both then and now. Yet, Rockwell chose to look for the good, the kind, and the simple and happy moments that make life worth living.

Think what would happen if we choose to paint, in our mind’s eye, life as we would like it to be. We might find more love, more friendship, more encouragement, and more forgiveness, because we are looking for it. Perhaps we would appreciate more of the simple pleasures, small gestures, and gentle remarks that are directed our way. Some might say that this “rose-colored” view of life is not realistic. But beautiful things happen even on terrible days, and joy can be discovered even in the sadness of life. Norman Rockwell reassured people of their own essential goodness. And that is a very powerful thing.

We, too, can paint life as we’d like it to be. And the more we look, the more goodness we will find: and the more “life as we would like it to be” will become life as it really is. And that is a very powerful thing. In the midst of tsunamis, terrorist attacks, and violence in our neighborhoods, how good it is to know that God still holds the reins of the world. In the meantime do all you can to make this world a better place and then lay your heads to rest at night in peace.

Go with God!

Pastor Qualley

“Come Lord Jesus, Be our Guest”

These days we certainly eat in a great variety of places, and in the presence of people we neither know, nor with whom we have anything in common. We may not always feel comfortable about eating in public, but we are accustomed to it. Fast food, take-out, hot dogs and knishes at the beach, it seems we’ll eat with anybody, anywhere, if we feel like it, and if the conditions are not too outlandish. There are some exceptions of course: some keep Kosher, others have dangerous allergies, some must observe diets and special needs, still others are careful and sensitive to cleanliness, and so on. But in the broad view of things social, we do not usually consider eating as an act implying some special relationship to those in whose presence we eat.

This is, of course, a great difference between the sign that says, “Good Eats,” and a deliberate invitation to one’s home. In the book of Revelation Jesus speaks to the Church and says, “Listen, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into his house and eat with him, and he will eat with me.” (3:20) In the old Palestinian Jewish culture, unlike our own time, that meant a most intimate and trusting privilege, a kind of social sacrament–that of eating together. There was no refrigeration of any kind, no insecticides, very little potable water, the possible presence of livestock mingling with the household, no airtight containers, cooking over open wood or brush fires, little or nothing we might call soap, no clean towels. If for no other reason than one’s health, it was urgent that great care be taken at mealtime, even when invited–not only was food precious and scarce, it was easily spoiled. To consider eating in a stranger’s house was a real problem for the observant Jew whose laws forbade it; if the rituals were not observed it would be to share in what was “unclean.”

There was more to it that ritual. Then, as in our own day, to sit down deliberately to a meal with another person actually opens a whole array of meaning, when a shared meal is the common medium of being together. People discover each other, so to speak, in the breaking of bread–the conversation, the manners and the preferences we reveal, often without thinking. There is a social intimacy that we recognize, and that usually follows naturally at the table. And so taking a meal together has always been an offer of acceptance and mutuality.

With the picture of Jesus at the door of your life the Message is simply this: that Jesus has taken the initiative to arrive where you are. He is knocking, and he wants you to recognize his voice and invite him in, to your table. He will enter whatever is the current condition of your life, and he will share with you all the redeeming wonder of his life. The image of a shared meal, one in which what you have to offer your Guest seems to match in some way what your Guest brings to you, is one of the most peaceful, understandable, and meaningful portraits of our life with Christ on earth.

Do you want a near-perfect prayer?

 Here it is:

Come Lord Jesus, be our guest;

And may your gifts to us be blest. 

I think there is a good chance that

 you have known this all along,

Pastor Jansen

The Classroom that Never Closes

The Bishop from Kansas had heard a story about Pablo Picasso that did not at all sound factual, but had an interesting point. It seems that Picasso’s house had been burglarized. Picasso had hidden while the intruders were in the house and had gotten a good look at them. When the police arrived, Picasso told them that he wasn’t much at verbalizing the description of how the burglars looked to him, but that he would be willing to paint a picture of the culprits. The next day the police arrested a piece of a flowerpot, two swirls of bright color, and three odd-sized triangles.

It does not always work to accept the description of a person, or event, or anything for that matter, which does not take into account the limits of our abilities to communicate in ways that make us understandable. Human beings usually accept reality only on their own terms, and even the best of words can be lost to us simply because the language or the pictures are not clear to those with whom we need to communicate.

The children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai were so terrified by the thunderous sound of God that they could not learn what God had to say. On the other hand, when Jesus spoke in the synagogue in his hometown, Nazareth, it was neither language nor fear that kept them from hearing what he had to say. In that case, human relationships and prejudices blocked what they needed to hear. The writer of the book of Hebrews says that in these last days, “God has spoken to us in his Son…” the ways of the Creator himself are communicated to us by means of God’s language: the life, ministry, death and resurrections of Christ Jesus.

As schools close for the summer, and graduations proclaim that various phases of “learning” are concluded, it might be good to remember that life is the classroom that never closes. That Jesus is himself both teacher and lesson. And that however differently we may describe what we learn of Jesus– the important thing is knowing him–his love and his forgiving grace.

Go with God,

Pastor Jansen

Let Your Light Shine

Sandi and I have enjoyed the work of the artist Thomas Kinkade, the painter of light. His painting are like icons of hope and comfort to a culture increasingly stressed by the frenzied pace of modern living. His paintings beckon us to explore a world more peaceful than our own. His paintings depict quaint homes that welcome us with glowing windows, peaceful streams winding through verdant forests, and of course, light, a light that takes away the darkness of our days.

That really is the work of each of us, to be a painter of light. Our lives can be best lived when our lives shine with the light of encouragement and inspiration into the world around us. Despite the limitations of our family background, despite our less than perfect childhood, despite our many personal shortcomings. God has positioned us perfectly for the unique task. He has called us to DO. For reasons that to us are often unclear but always miraculous, God chose us to be light givers.

I believe that each of us, in our own way, is an artist. You may not be skilled with paints and brushes, but you are still involved in creating a beautifully crafted work of art, your life. With every moment that you experience, every choice you make, you are adding brush-strokes to the canvas. More important, you are determining what kind of message your artwork will convey to the world.

We all have a greater purpose to our lives than merely existing day to day. Each of us, in our own unique way is called to let our light shine.  It’s the highest calling any of us have in life: making the world a little brighter because of the way we paint our days and hours and months and years.

It seems pretty obvious, if enough people filled their lives with light, the world would be a pretty bright place. But if even one person lives more radiantly and joyfully, the world will still be brighter than it was.  I rejoice that Lord of Life is blessed by people who let their light shine. May we keep shining by both word and deed as we color the canvas of our lives.

  Go with God!

Pastor Qualley

Have You Ever Had a Bad Day?

That was the question I asked a group of children the other day as they gathered for some afternoon activities. Every child shot their hand into the air. It was not even, “Let me think about that…I’m not really sure...Let me ask someone what they think…” No, the response was immediate.

Bad days come to us all. There are times when we feel that we can’t endure, that we can’t face what’s ahead of us, that we can’t live with the disappointments and problems; that we can’t carry the heavy load. But these times come and go, as does our strength and courage, and we have to hold on until the shadows brighten and the load lifts. “No one could endure adversity,” said Seneca, “if, while it continued, it kept the same violence that its first blows had…”

There is more built-in strength in all of us than we sometimes suppose. What once we said we couldn’t do, couldn’t live with, or couldn’t carry, we find ourselves somehow doing and enduring as time, reappraisal, readjustment, and sometimes sheer necessity modify our sense of values and our attitudes. We find strength, endurance, and hidden resources within ourselves and the strength and grace of God.

Facing facts and adjusting to life aren’t always easy. But before we give up we should most seriously consider what we are giving up, and what we are going to do. “Out of the frying pan, into the fire,” is an old phrase that has much meaning.

When difficult times come take time to pause and reappraise, allow time for hope, faith and strength to return. These are the times when I find good meaning in going back to the comforting book of Psalms or some of my favorite Biblical texts. It is like a long cool drink to a thirst soul.

Someone said, “If everyone brought their miseries together in one place, most would be glad to take their misery home again…each one’s own.” John Quincy Adams put it this way, “Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” I like better the words from Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Go with God,

Pastor Qualley  

A Month of Sundays

Luther once said, “Anybody who believes in Jesus Christ has already come more than half-way through his own resurrection.” Luther did not mean that believing in Jesus was some kind of short-cut to the next life, or that some new spiritual vaccination would make a person immune to the jolts and collisions of life on earth. He simply meant that our years on earth have a context, a reference.

Our origins are clear enough; all of us have some idea of the circumstances within which we came into existence. We did not exist until our parents made life possible for us, by the creating power vested in them by God himself. But then, as we grew into an understanding of the wonder of life, we discovered that the details of our birth, incomplete as they might be, were infinitely more distinct than any concept of what would finally become of us as we grew: our thoughts…our feeling…our unique personhood.

Much of the world of our time is pre-occupied with the details of the earthly particulars of the life of Jesus, the specifics of his suffering, the ranking of his teaching amount the wisdom of our world, and so on. Few outside the Christian church take the measure of what is the cosmic magnificence of his presence on earth, his triumph over death. For them the mystery remains unattended. None dare speak of what all of life is for, because death has intimidated the strong and defeated reason.

But as we celebrate Christ Risen on that first Easter, astonishing his contemporaries, shocking those who did not recognize that the life-source from the beginning had asserted itself again in Jesus of Nazareth, and earth had been set free from its captivity to anxiety and fear of the future. Believing was for Luther living in the resurrections to the point of claiming it as his greatest blessing.

May is a wonderful month of Sundays celebrating the gift of eternal life won for us by Christ Jesus. How totally fitting that one of those Sundays be lifted up to honor our mothers, who brought us forth into the life of this world, making it, in the first place, possible for us to be participant in the blessings of all the endowment of the grace of God in Christ Jesus in this world, and also in the world to come.

Pastor Jansen