Home Another Way

Liturgical Dancers at General Conference Worshup

Morning worship began with liturgical dancers carrying in the beautiful gold stars.  They helped to transform the space into an Epiphany themed service.  The text was the traditional Epiphany text about King Herod, the magi and baby Jesus that is found in Matthew 2: 1-12.  At first, it felt strange hearing these words out of liturgical context and singing “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light” on the eve Pentecost.  Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar preached a message that encouraged delegates to stay connected to each other and to focus primarily on seeking God in Jesus Christ.  The Epiphany moment for me came when I realized that God can surprise us and speak to us anytime, even out of context 

As one who loves to preach, I am constantly listening to sermons trying to get ideas and direction.   As soon as Bishop Devadhar began, I knew how I would end the sermon if I was preaching it today.  My focus would be on verse 12: 

And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Those of us in Portland have come from different places and contexts.  Our hearts and minds are filled with differing theological perspectives and different hopes and dreams for the future of the church.  What would a modern day Epiphany look like that transformed us all to return home another way?  I have to believe that out of all our differences we can find unity and that we really can and will choose love. 

I am already committed to return home another way.  Through the stories of young people who love the United Methodist Church, I have a renewed passion for cultivating the gifts and talents of the youngest among us and making sure that their life and voice are heard.  Often at the heart of their story is an adult who believed in them, included them, supported them, and encouraged them.  I am blessed to have had so many who believed, included, supported and encouraged me.  I will return home to be that kind of adult for the young people I know. 

Tomorrow is our Sabbath.  My prayer will be that God will stir in us all courage to return home another way.

A Great Day

Today is day 4 of General Conference for the United Methodist Church.  This mama preacher is away from home and experiencing my first glance at the workings of our worldwide denomination.  My 38 years of life have been formed by the teaching, preaching and loving of the United Methodist Church.  I love our denomination and am called to lead in its midst, so I feel honored to be here as a representative of my annual conference.  The last four days have been filled with powerful worship, seeing friends from the connection, and learning the workings of our denomination.

The worship space this morning.

Our Uber driver this morning, reminded me how to start a new day.  As I got in the car, I inquired how he was doing and he exclaimed that “it is going to be a great day!”  Feeling a little tired and perplexed by all I am seeing and hearing at General Conference, I needed that reminder.  Trying to legislate conversation yesterday made me frustrated and then hearing stories of different legislative committees made me doubtful that the denomination will move forward in 2016 and yet, “it is going to be a great day.” 

And then sitting in worship listening to Bishop Sally Dyck bring forth God’s word, I knew it was a great day.  Her prophetic message to “go learn mercy” challenged us to consider all the incompatibilities with Christian teaching and to respond with mercy.  Her challenge was almost directly followed by a young 14 year old girl who proclaimed God’s word with such conviction and grace as she shared about her efforts to build wells for those who have no access to clean water.  Her presence at General Conference proved it was a great day.  And just now,  as I am sitting as an observer to a Church and Society legislative committee, the time began with the committee singing “when the saints go marching In” and the gallery singing “when the gates go open wide, we will sit by Jesus side.”  It was a powerful movement of God’s spirit of unity and the wideness of God's grace.  It was a great day!  

At the heart of our resurrection faith is this call to a great day.  God is constantly at work to make things new, to transform frustration into resilience and to resurrect hope from a sea of doubt.  It is a great day!

You may wish to watch the powerful worship from this morning:


http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/gc2016-video-may-13-morning-worship-as-you-go-be-learning

A Call to Faithfulness



Mattie as Helen Keller

Our twins just finished a second grade lesson on Famous Americans.  They studied former presidents like Washington, Lincoln, and JFK; figures like Lewis and Clark who chartered new territories; civil rights leaders like MLK and Rosa Parks; people like Neil Armstrong who first walked on the moon; and many others who left their mark on the formation and development of our country.  As part of this lesson, each child researched a Famous American and had the chance to become that person at the 2016 Second Grade Wax Museum.  Ella chose to be Sacagawea and Mattie chose Helen Keller.  Their research taught them many facts about these women.  On the day of the wax museum, they each donned clothing appropriate for their character and they were ready to share their story with all who visited.  It was impressive!  Visitors to the wax museum could approach each child and touch the “red button” on their hand bringing the wax figure to life allowing them to tell their story.  Each child shared two facts about their character and something their character was quoted as saying.  I was inspired that day by all the women and men who have left their mark on our country and helped to shape a land where freedom, justice, respect, and opportunity is accessible for all.   

Ella as Sacagawea

As our family studied and learned alongside our second graders about all these American heroes, I began to ponder the heroes of our faith.  Our biblical narrative is filled with characters who left their mark on the world and in turn help to shape our faith.  In particular, I pondered the female characters and the stories they offer us.  Women such as Deborah, who is the only female judge mentioned in the Bible; Mary, who willingly offered her life to be the mother of Jesus; and Mary Magdalene who encounters the risen Jesus at the tomb and is instructed to go and spread the good news.  In addition to these women, I feel certain that if we offered a Biblical Wax Museum, we would find the following women and their stories, as well:    

                Ruth:  A Moabite woman who upon the death of her husband is left barren and alone except for her mother-in-law, Naomi.  She offers complete devotion and agape-type love to Naomi and because of her faithfulness appears in the genealogical line of Jesus.  She once said, “Where you go, I will go, where you lodge; I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:15).

Lydia:  A woman from Thyatira whose trade was to sell expensive purple cloth desired for purchase by royalty.  She heard the gospel message from Paul and she and her household were baptized making her the first European convert to Christianity.  After her baptism, she invited Paul and the others to her home saying, “if you have found me faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home” (Acts 16:15).

Women have played an important role in narrating our faith.  Ruth and Lydia both demonstrate radical hospitality and show us how to love others as God has loved us.  They each overcame significant challenges.  As a widow and childless woman, Ruth had no place in society and yet her faith placed her in Jesus’ genealogy.  Lydia, likely was a freed slave whose trade made her wealthy and able to overcome the odds and be the first Christian convert in Greece.  I am inspired by Ruth and Lydia, as they exemplify perseverance, equality, compassion, and commitment.  They help to tell a story of the diversity and inclusivity found within our faith story. 

Perhaps less famous, there are women and men who have also shaped my faith outside the biblical narrative.  Mrs. Elaine, who first taught me how to draw a tulip as she read stories of God’s love to me in Sunday school.  She would later take me to the most rural parts of Western North Carolina where dirt floors and no running water homes exist, all the while teaching me that we are called to love the least, last, and lost.  A recovering alcoholic and homeless neighbor named RG shared Christmas dinner with my family my senior year of high school and taught me that being welcomed to the table is transformative.  And precious 7-year old Angelia who I met in the Dominican Republic, shaped my faith through her broken English and hand full of cherries teaching me that truly the greatest of these “is love.”  Mrs. Elaine, RG, and Angelia will likely not be called famous and yet their lives and their actions forever changed my life and my actions.  They narrate the wideness of God’s mercy and the depth of God’s love.  Perhaps it’s not so much about being famous, as it is about using the life God gave us for faithfulness.  And perhaps in our faithfulness, we live out our calling to bring God’s kingdom a little closer to this earth.     

The Perfect Family Portrait

Several weeks ago our family of 5 took a picture.  I have seen the proofs and selected just the right one to be used for our Christmas card because we are all smiling and looking in the same direction.  Recipients of the card might think, “Wow!  What a perfect little family.”  The picture is perfect.  It captures that moment in time when all was well at the Queen house.  No one was yelling, screaming, crying, or pouting.  Everyone was keeping their hands to themselves.  Everyone had on clean and pressed, color coordinated clothes and our hair was fixed, my make-up was fresh and the girls’ faces were clean.  The picture creates a false sense of the reality of our lives.   Most of the time we are not put together and at least one of us has an attitude that is out of sorts.  Our lives are far from perfection.    

 

 I imagine if we had taken a picture of the birth of the Christ Child, we would try to capture something like the live nativity scenes we recreate annually at our churches.  Our picture would have a clean stable where a young woman draped in blue cloth gently rocks her baby and a man stands gazing at the beauty of his newborn child.  For that moment in time, the shepherds would bow down and the animals would be quiet and still.  It would be just as we sing in the beloved carol, “The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.”[1]  It would be another perfect picture.  This kind of snapshot would not show that the Christ Child entered the world to unwed parents, his first bed was feeding trough, and his life was in danger shortly after his arrival.  The real picture of the birth narrative would far from the image pageants recreate yearly, and yet the reality is that perfection was born that Silent Night.  Emmanuel, God with us, was born; the living, breathing expression of God entered our world in the form of a tiny baby.  A perfect God came into an imperfect world.   

The image of our world then and now is a messy, dirty picture filled with blood, lies, and pain.  Young girls are victims of human trafficking, innocent lives are taken in mass shootings, terrorists threaten our sense of security, addiction and abuse ruin the home lives of children, infidelity leaves spouses alone and hurt, and many, too many to count, go to sleep on empty stomachs without a covering over their heads.  This real life picture is too painful to capture and would never find its way on the cover of a Shutterfly or Vista Print Card.  This image forces us to sing, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” 

God in Christ was born to redeem this picture by saving a broken world and taking our mess and junk and transforming us into something beautiful and wonderful.  This year as Christmas Cards are sent and received, perhaps our attempts at perfection embody the truth of the incarnation.  God IS with us.  Perfection has come.  We can smile because we can have faith to live life unafraid.  We can appear we have it all together because we embrace hope, long for peace, and journey towards Christian perfection.  We can laugh and love and share joy because God IS with us and we are not alone.  We can live in the image of our world and know “unto [us] is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”[2]

 

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[1] Away In a Manger

[2] Luke 2:11

Precious Honored and Loved

Precious Honored and Loved

Isaiah 43: 1-7 paints a beautiful picture of God.  The prophet repeats his message of God’s protection:  “do not fear for I have redeemed you.”  “Do not fear, for I am with you.” “When you walk through the waters I will be with you.”  He describes God’s compassion: I have “created you” and “I have called you by name, you are mine” and expresses God’s love:  “you are precious in my sight and honored and I love you.”  Isaiah further declares that God is both creator and redeemer even calling God “savior.”  These profound and memorable words were written to an exiled people hoping to offer them comfort.

                Last Thursday, my girls and I helped serve dinner and visit with guests who were living at our church for the week.  As we drove home, my 8 year old twins had many questions.  Why is someone homeless?  Will they always be homeless?  How much money does it take to buy a house?  Where will they go next?  Does all their stuff really fit in those Rubbermaid tubs?  Why didn’t we give them any money?  Such deep and thought provoking questions.  I am reminded of our car conversation as I read some of the latest news from the Vatican where Pope Francis has decided that the Vatican is taking in two families of refuges.  Pope Francis declares that “It is not enough to say “Have courage, hang in there,’ but rather he pleads for churches and Christians to follow his lead and offer a home to those in exile.[1]  In other words, it seems he is urging the church to put love, compassion and justice into action.

                I wonder if one of the greatest challenge for Christ followers is to actually embody the picture of God painted through the words of Isaiah 43.  We find comfort in those words and yet they should equally challenge us to become those words for the world. Embodiment will move us beyond a gentle pat on the back and “hang in there.”  When we embody these words, all will know they are precious, honored, and loved.  Just as the prophet Isaiah spoke to those in exile, may our hearts be nudged to develop relationships with the homeless, the immigrants, and the refugees among us to offer them the same promises of God.   

                Before all the questions on the ride home, Mattie had tried to encourage a 5-year old boy telling him not to cry, offering to play football with him or asking if he wanted another piece of garlic bread.  When she realized that all of her ideas did not help him to feel better and that perhaps he just needed to cry; she simply sat with him.  She didn’t say a word.  She didn’t say “hang in there” or “it is going to be ok.”  She just sat.  He cried and she sat.  He was precious, honored, and loved through the huge heart of an 8-year old girl who has never had to want for anything.  My response on the way home that night was that our job was to provide dinner and visit with our new friends to remind them that they are loved and not alone.  Mattie had done that and through her I caught a momentary glimpse of the Kingdom of God breaking into this world. 

 

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[1] http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/pope-francis-takes-in-two-migrant-families-at-vatican-calls-on-churches-all-over-the-world-to-follow-suit

Lists

I love to make lists!  I most often have a to-do list in hand, on my phone, and stuck on the side of the fridge.  The list keeps me motivated and organized.  It keeps me on task and helps to make sure I don’t forget something important.  These lists are for me.  They are not meant to be shared or even understand by another person. 

One of the most hurtful days in my life happened the spring of my junior year of high school.  I had decided to run for student body president and found myself running unopposed.  I walked into school one morning, to find friends and classmates signing a petition to add another name to the ballot.  Each class I walked into that day, I was confronted with people passing the petition, and I heard the whispers as more and more names were added to the list.

I think of other lists:  the roster of those who made the team or an invitation list for a party.  These lists include those who are in and those who are out.  As I think about these kinds of lists, I remember the joy and excitement of making the list and the heartache of being excluded.   As Christ followers, we are called to let go of the security of our lists and go into the streets to make sure the invitation spans as far and wide as possible.  We have a responsibility to make sure that all perspectives are represented, to ensure that all are heard and have voice, and to make room for everyone around the table. 

The last few days I have seen several lists that appear to divide and promote an agenda.  I love the United Methodist Church, and I believe in our polity.  My prayer is that as Western North Carolina prepares to vote for clergy and lay delegates to represent our conference at our world-wide decision making event in 2016, that we will seek inspiration from the Holy Spirit and allow God to call forth our delegation.  Ultimately, I hope that God’s list will become our list.   

So Many Questions

Life is filled with questions.  I was told once that a 4 year old child asks an average of 437 questions a day.  At that time the Queen house had twin four year olds, and I remember saying to the person, “I can believe it, and we have it times two.”  874 questions a day…. is a lot of questions!  

 

Just as life is filled with questions, so is God’s word.  The first question in the whole Bible occurs as God walks through the Garden searching for Adam and Eve and asks, “Where are you?”  This frequently asked question is echoed throughout scripture where it seems humanity is the object of divine attention.  In the New Testament, Mary and Joseph search for Jesus and Jesus responds with a question/answer, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s House?”  Perhaps the ultimate answer to this biblical question is that we have already been found. 

As Wesleyans we would do well to remember that we don’t just go out and find God.  God always finds us first.  Whether we have done right or wrong, there is no end to God’s seeking us in love.  Questions are the start of a genuine conversation with the Creator.  Our conversation with God does not start from scratch. God has already begun it. We just need to plug into the conversation that is already going on.  God asks: 

Who do you say I AM?

            Do you love more than these?

            Do you want to be well?

            Why do you worry? 

My friend Dianne tells a story of getting lost in a large department store.  As her mother looked at rack after rack of dresses, Dianne wandered out of her mother’s sight, or at least she thought.  Dianne walked to a sales clerk and told the woman.  “I am lost.  I can’t find my mother.”  The nice clerk called her mom’s name over the intercom and her mother came running, wrapping her arms around Dianne, picking her up and hugging her.  “I have been searching all over for you.  And I wasn’t going to stop until you were safe in my arms.” 

The good news for us is that God is searching and pursuing us in much the same way.  In the chaos of life, we are invited to remember, to respond, and to rest knowing we have already been found.  Across North Carolina many children are in the midst End of Grade and End of Course testing.  Teachers are overwhelmed with the assessments and students are anxious about knowing the right answer.  I know many United Methodist clergy and lay persons who will enter this environment to serve as proctors, and I pray their presence conveys the ultimate answer to any question.  Immanuel is here.  God is with us.  We have been found.