My brother died at age thirty-one. Jesus died at age thirty-three. As I think about this, I can only think, “Way too short.” Yet on the other hand both lives were full. My brother got to do the things he wanted to do, he traveled to the places he wanted to see and he had a happy marriage that produced a child. Each day he lived to the fullest. Of course, we know about Jesus - certainly a person that lived his life to the fullest and beyond. But the same is true for each of us. We have the potential to live every day to its fullest.
In the time of Lent, it is time to reflect on our lives, our relationship to God and to assess if we are living to our fullest. Every day presents an opportunity for us to live the best we can live. I am often amused by eighty-something year olds telling me that they’re too old to do anything when I’ve just talked to a ninety-something year old who’s told me that they’re so busy they can hardly get everything done. It’s a matter of perspective and a willingness to live up to one’s full potential. So I ask you to join with me during Lent and ask yourself, “Am I living each day to its fullest?” I’ve been disturbed lately with extremism. It seems to be all around us and it appears to be growing. I read with interest an article in a Malaysian newspaper that Muslims are fleeing the country in record numbers – from extremist Muslims. Not so prevalent in the press is extremist Christians which are calling for the death of other Christians who do not subscribe to their version of fundamentalism. What happened to, “I hear your point. I don’t believe that way, but I respect your viewpoint”? I looks like to me that we’ve lost the ability to dialogue and would rather kill than talk it through.
As we begin the Lenten season, I reflect on how Jesus was confronting an extremist point of view within his own religion. Following the Law had gotten out of hand and the Sadducees in particular were going to great lengths to follow the Law without paying any attention to what it meant. Jesus stood against this extremism and paid for it with his life. As I look at extremism today, I ask myself whether or not I should sacrifice my life against those who hold this extreme point of view. Something I’m going to have to talk out with Jesus I guess… I was standing beside an empty field in the summer time, not too far from Paxico, Kansas. Suddenly the dust blew up in the formation of a tornado, but much smaller. I asked my grandpa what that was. He said, “That’s a dust devil. Watch out for those. They’ll take you up into the sky.” For a boy of about 10 this was a frightening prospect. I wasn’t ready to go up in the sky with God just yet.
As I read this week’s scripture about Elijah being taken up in the whirlwind, I think about that dust devil. Now that I am an adult, I know that God isn’t just simply up in the sky but is all around us. So why this story? The important part of this story is the change from Elijah to Elisha. Elijah goes away and Elisha carries on. God is constantly changing things. The same changeless God pushes constant change throughout the world. However, in the midst of this change God’s message remains the same. Our focus should be on the message, not the change. In that way, we can accomplish God’s will regardless of the ups and downs of life. So the next time you feel that life is a whirlwind of change and you want it to stop – remember that God’s message is constant. Love one another. A story is told of a little boy and his father. They were walking along a road when they came across a large stone. The boy looked at the stone and thought about it a little. Then he asked his father, "Do you think if I use all my strength, I can move that rock?"
The father thought for a moment and said, "I think that if you use all your strength, you can do it." That was all the little boy needed. He ran over to the rock and began to push on it. He pushed and he pushed, so hard did he try that little beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. But the rock didn't move - not an inch, not half an inch. After a while, the little boy sat down on the ground. His face had fallen. His whole body seemed to be just a lump there on the earth. "You were wrong," he told his dad. "I can't do it." His father walked over to him, knelt beside him, and put his arm around the boy's shoulder. "You can do it," he said. "You just didn't use all your strength. You didn't ask me to help." Sometimes we think we can’t do something. But we forget that there is help available. Maybe it’s a friend, maybe it’s a member of the church you really don’t know too well or maybe – just maybe – it could be God. There is always help to complete our strength. The church is always the strongest when we work together. |
Author
This blog consists of reflections written by the minister each week for the Sunday bulletin. We hope that you enjoy the musings! Archives
January 2020
Categories |