A United States Vote Against Peace

Last week the United States stood alone in blocking a UN Security Council resolution that called for Israel to stop building settlements in occupied territory and condemned Israeli settlements as illegal. The resolution had more than 100 co-sponsors and received support from the remaining fourteen members of the Security Council. The United States vote troubles me deeply.

I understand that Israel has security concerns and that Palestinians often have violently disrupted peace in the Middle East. Yet, that can be said about other players in the region as well, including Israel. Daily life in the Palestinian theater often affirms Paul’s declaration that we all sin. I understand the strategic interest the United States has in Israel, our long and important relationship with Israel, and the significant financial aid we provide to Israel annually. I do not understand how we can condone Israeli settlements on occupied land. Few impartial observers consider Israel’s actions anything less than hostile encroachment.

While we visited Israel last year, we experienced a little of the ill will these settlements foster. Volunteer “Peacekeepers” from several nations explained how Israel slowly and methodically claims occupied land as its own. They also described how they often walk Palestinian children to school to dissuade Israeli settlers from throwing rocks at them. Adults walk with children to keep other adults from throwing rocks at them! We met Palestinians with two sets of keys: one set to their present house and another to the house Israel took from them. Israel has an army. When Israeli settlers complain about Palestinians, troops come out with force. Palestine has no army to respond when Israel encroaches on, occupies, and then builds a settlement on Palestinian land.

Because we are a trusted ally of Israel and because of worldwide interest in peace and stability in the Middle East, I wish the United States would challenge Israel to discontinue this practice and to consider pulling out of existing settlements. This is not a simple matter. Negotiations between Israel and Palestine probably will continue for the rest of my life, perhaps even beyond the lives of my grandchildren. Yet, how can we have any legitimate hope of peace when we participate in denying the legitimate hopes of an entire people? A peace secured by holding one’s foot across another’s neck is not a true peace and will not last. Shalom/Salaam seeks the welfare of all. Pray for the shalom/salaam of all Middle East, not only for citizens clamoring to be freed from tyrannical rule but also for citizens longing for their home to be truly theirs.

Grace and Peace,

LP

mwpc-church.org

Worship is not a tandem bicycle

This month we celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of ConnXions, our contemporary worship service at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays. While evaluating that service, we will invite everyone to share personal perspectives and opinions. We want and need that data. Yet, worship is not primarily about “me,” regardless who the “me” is. Worship is about God and us. Here are a few guidelines for worshipping together.

Prepare for worship and come expecting to encounter God. We would never plan to attend a pot luck meal without bringing a dish. Do we come to worship expecting to be fed but to contribute nothing? Reading the designated scripture passages and praying for our leaders and guests involves us in worship before we arrive. Looking for God in faces new and unfamiliar and in each component of the liturgy helps to make room for the Spirit. Preparation and expectation respect God and those with whom we gather.

Welcome and support those around you during worship, especially if you don’t know them. Greet everyone with a smile. If they’d rather sit alone, that will be obvious. Otherwise let them know you’re glad they’re present. If they have trouble following the liturgy or finding a songbook/hymnal, lend a hand. We all come hungry for the gifts of God. Let’s help everyone feast.

Understand that we all have favorite parts of the liturgy. I’m particularly fond of well crafted and delivered sermons. Yet, if I only participate during the sermon, I get in the way of those who most experience God in the songs, the time with the children, the silences, or another aspect. Engage in the entire service. It’s like eating vegetables. Some prefer meat or grains to vegetables, but our bodies need them all. During worship the body of Christ needs the entire “course” to remain healthy.

We are blessed to have three distinct services. Select the one that works best for you, but avoid getting in a rut. Some think that God intended worship to begin at 11 a.m. on Sundays. Some think that the Spirit doesn’t move in us unless we’re in motion as well. We all have preferences. Select the service that meets your deepest needs and rejoice that others have another option. From time to time, sample what others are doing. Even if that only reinforces our preferences, it helps to keep us open to God’s movement in our community.

Tell our Celebrate Ministry Team members or worship staff what you find meaningful as well as what gets in the way. We try to provide meaningful worship experiences for all our members and guests and currently plan more than 170 services a year. Knowing what feeds the saints and prepares us to serve in Jesus’ name helps us to focus our time, energy, and creativity.

Don’t judge how others respond. If I’m not clapping, that does not necessarily mean I’m not engaged in the song. God meets us where we are, and our responses can vary from week to week as well as from year to year. Worship is not a tandem bicycle. We all don’t have to peddle at the same time or even to be pointed in the same direction.

Worshipping together offers gifts not available in private devotion. Let’s intentionally worship together. That gives God even more room in which to welcome and move in, through, and for us all. 

Grace and Peace,

LP

Meaningful Relationships Are Messy

The Wall Street Journal recently ran an item entitled, “Where Have All the Presbyterians Gone?” The author noted that denominational loyalties have waned as non-denominational churches have become the fastest growing Protestant group in the United States. He attributed this to a “revivalist” movement driven by people who “tended not to talk about issues that might divide their congregants. They avoided questions like: Who should be baptized and when? What does the Lord’s Supper mean? Should women be ordained? And so on.”

Even if that implication were accurate, why avoid those questions? Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and ordination reflect the heart of our identity as followers of Jesus. The fact that Christians have varied opinions about them does not render them insignificant.

Ordination. We baptize all who accept Jesus as Lord, but reserve ordination for those called to specific leadership positions. Our discussions about ordination qualifications have been long and often heated; but I give thanks to God for them. When I felt called to become Presbyterian, I had two theological degrees and had received ordination in another denomination. Yet, I was required to take ordination exams and be examined by designated Presbyterian bodies. That took time and effort, but it manifested our commitment to qualified leadership. I learned a lot and forged meaningful relationships along that journey.

My recent reflections about ordination standards sparked several conversations. One was with a person with a different conviction. Our conversation changed no minds, but allowed me to grow in friendship with and respect for that person. If we ignored our different convictions, that would not have happened.

Lord’s Supper. When we gather for the Lord’s Supper, we invite all the baptized to receive the bread and cup. Some Christians place stricter limits on who may receive the elements. We have varied convictions about communion, but none of us considers the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, the Eucharist insignificant. God moves in and through us as we feast on the loaf and cup. The communion table points to the sacredness of all table fellowship. Communion means too much to take it for granted, even if that results in some challenging conversations.

Baptism. When, by the grace of God, I am privileged to baptize a child or adult, God seems as real to me as the water I place on a precious forehead. Our session authorizes all baptisms. Meaningful discussions regularly take place as a session ponders how to support and guide those who present children for baptism or adults who feel God calling them to the font.

Following Jesus is not all about us. Jesus calls into servant ministries: feeding the hungry; seeking justice for and having compassion on all; and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Yet, who we are and who leads us are important. I thank God for the faithful followers of Jesus fed by the “revivalist” movement. I also thank God for those who remain committed to the ministries of Jesus even when they lead us into challenging conversations unlikely to end soon. The best of life and faith lies not in what we avoid but in the often messy relationships forged as good people of varied convictions try to live, love, and serve together.

Grace and Peace,

LP

2011-02-03 Light

I am composing this item on Candlemas, the fortieth day of Jesus’ nativity, 2 February. The traditions associated with this day relate to Luke’s story of the presentation of Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:22-40). I saw few people streaming into sanctuaries today, but historically many Christians have gathered on this day to bless the candles that will be used during worship throughout the year and to receive lighted candles that symbolize the light of Christ. This reflects the description of Jesus in Luke’s story as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:32).

Our New Testament reading this Sunday refers to followers of Jesus as the “light of the world” and my favorite metaphor for scripture is “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). With all this light converging, it seems only right to reflect on it. Light illuminates indiscriminately and shines for the benefit of others. That makes it a fitting symbol for the ministry of Jesus.

I recall a specific time in my early ministry during which the light of Jesus offered particular guidance and inspiration. Once upon a time I valued being right above nearly all else. Because of that I studied hard, learned to express myself, and participated in activities that drew me out of my introversion and into public settings. One of the downsides of valuing being right so highly, however, was that I was not always kind in disagreement. Jesus does not offer the option of respecting only those with whom we agree. As the historic principles in our denomination’s constitution remind us: “there are truths and forms with respect to which [people] of good characters and principles may differ. And in all these we think it the duty both of private Christians and societies to exercise mutual forbearance toward each other.” Fortunately, I witnessed such mutual forbearance first-hand as a pastor confronted racism with passion but respect, as two elders expressed acute political disagreement while remaining friends, and on other occasions. I still value being right, but recognize showing respect as a greater good.

Light has an astounding capacity to spread. When I turn on my desk lamp, it not only illuminates my desk and most of the room, but also slivers through small openings to shine in the closet. Similarly, when we light each other’s candles on Christmas Eve, one candle lights ten or a hundred others without its light diminishing in the least. Our most Christlike traits and practices can be shared without diminishment. Love, patience, faith, hope, and more are not reduced when shared. They even increase.

On this Candlemas, I have taken time to give thanks to God for those through whom the light of Jesus has shone on me. Some knew I was watching; others didn’t. They all offered light that has helped me to travel this far. I have a long way to go, but the light continues to shine through other saints. I’m not certain what I would do without them, and, by the grace of God, I’ll never have to learn.

Grace and Peace,

LP