...A Chicken Sandwich

Okay, I've tried quail and yeah, it wasn't all that good. I was told the meat would taste "gamey" (after 50 years of life I still don't know what that means). To me it tasted like quail, it had a stronger taste, and smell, than duck. It wasn't light and juicy like chicken, and as my wife will tell you I can eat chicken all day long everyday. So, forgive me if I don't fully appreciate the food given to God's people by God in today's passage from Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15 and instead call my quail a chicken.

On the other hand, though, I love bread, any kind of bread, even bread that was a "fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground." So for today's thought I am wondering if what I crave is a good chicken sandwich. Of course I'm using the image of a "good chicken sandwich" to mean all fine foods.

Nothing is more inviting to me than being at a party where good food is being served, and there are just a lot of those in Hawaii. Graduations, birthdays, weekend BBQ's, church pot-lucks, and anniversaries are just a few of the reasons we gather to celebrate with one another. In these celebrations we will always see a table filled with home-made foods. The variety would be too extensive to describe, suffice it to say there could be anything from somen to adobo (you may have to look those up).

However, if I really take a look at why I go to these gatherings the food would have to be a close second. The main reason I go to these gatherings is to be with family and friends and to share in their lives. Being with people I love and who love me simply because I'm there has a way of filling my heart and soul with a joy that cannot be described. That feeling also gives me hope that one day people around the world will be able to come to the party, sharing in the food that's on the table and being in one another's unconditional love and acceptance.

So, on day 2 of my quest towards finding what I crave I'll have to say it's not a chicken sandwich. Darn, really thought I had that one figured out.

I'm Craving...

I begin this week wondering what it is I crave. I'm not talking about food, because as those of you who know me I crave all kinds of food. Rather, I am wondering what it is I crave in my heart and soul. What is it that I want most and don't get enough of in order for me to be happy - truly happy.

Psalm 78:23-29 is a good reminder that God provides for my needs. And I would think that having my needs taken care of should be enough. However, in verse 29 takes me from being satisfied with my needs to wondering about my wants. "for he gave them what they craved" tells me that not only does God give us what we need - food, shelter, clothing, etc. - but that God also looks out for our wants.

What, then, do we want? Here is where that thinking can get us in trouble. There are a lot of things I want - my bills paid off, my house fixed up, a new car - but will those things really satisfy me? Will the accumulation of material things make me a truly happy person?

When we look at the root, what lies at the core of why we want things, we'll see that those things we want make us happy. Therefore, is it not happiness we're looking for?

This'll be a question I'll be looking at all week; What really makes me happy? My guess is it won't be a new car.

Let Them Eat Bread - Part 2

If you remember my post from Tuesday I made mention that today's Passage from John 6:1-21 is a retelling of a short story we found in 2 Kings; that of feeding a many with little. Both stories include loaves of barley bread and a few who think the task of providing for so many is daunting. Both stories also include one person who has enough faith to understand that it's ultimately God who provides.

As I read the passage I really enjoy the images painted by the writer. Large crowds, grassy hillsides, thousands of people eating together, and a little boy in the center of it all somehow put me at ease. maybe it's because I particularly like grassy hillsides. Maybe it's because I like big parties. Maybe it's because I have a soft spot for the Youth and Young Adults in our cultures. Whatever the reason might be it's obvious to me that when I read this passage I have a sense of people who are gathered together for one reason; to be with each other in the presence of hope.

How that hope is spread will vary on how one wants to interpret the reading. Perhaps people shared their lunches after seeing a little boy do so, maybe this is the predecessor to the story of the stone soup, maybe Jesus multiplied 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed 5,000 people. Whatever, however you want to interpret this story doesn't matter so much as to why this story is told in the first place.

The why, in my opinion, is to help us understand that God gives us each something to bring to the picnic, and  through God we are able to share what we have to bring hope to everyone we meet. This is the good news we share; that we are loved, no matter what, and through Christ's show of compassion for us we are able to live in the knowledge that we are loved.

Now That's A Prayer

For today's post I want to quote Ephesians 3:14-21 and ask you to read it as the prayer it is. As you pray this amazing prayer try to think about what love looks like - what would the ultimate act of love be for you - then multiply that by infinity. Even if you can imagine what that would be like you would still not be able to grasp what the love of Christ is like and the love he has for you.

Prayer for the Readers 

 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.       

 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

Amen indeed!

Let Them Eat Bread - Part 1

Today's post will be brief. 2 Kings 4:42-44 is, after all, a short passage. It comes in the same week we're going to read about the feeding of the multitudes on the grassy hill. I find it interesting that there are 2 stories about feeding a lot of people with not enough food. It makes me wonder how many  stories there are where the old stories of Israel are retold in a new way for the new people of Israel. It also makes me think how it is that these new stories of God's people need to be retold to a newer people of God.

We make the mistake of thinking the Bible to be static and forget that if it truly is the word of God then it cannot be anything less than living. To be living, then, it has to grow. To grow it will become something new. New does not mean change, it just means new. The word of God grows and in time has new revelations to us - it has to because we grow and become new people with new understandings.

It's a vicious cycle, I know, but if we allow the voice of God to speak to us in the place we're at in our lives we'll hear the stories with a new understanding. I think that's what the world needs now; a new understanding of God's love as given to us by the stories of God and Christ as told in the Bible.

Where Is God?

At breakfast last Friday the conversation centered on what happened in Aurora, Colorado the night before. Many questions were asked, "Why would someone do something like this?", "How can something like this happen?", "Does the guy who did it have social problems?" were just some of the questions. Mostly, though, there were prayers for those who were harmed, their family and friends, and anyone who may have been witnessed to this horrific crime.

In the days between then and today we've heard stories on the news about the bravery and heroism displayed in that theater and surrounding areas. We heard about the police rushing injured to local hospitals, young people laying over the bodies of friends to protect them, friends staying with friends amid the sound of bullets ringing through the theater, family staying with family as bodies fell around them. We even heard of a story about a 13 year old girl who covered her friend's wound to slow the flow of blood as she dialed 911 with her other hand.

These are all amazing stories of courage and self-sacrifice; these are all stories of amazing love. These are all stories of where God lives in today's world.

Psalm 145:10-18 reminds us that God is alive, and active, in our world and in our lives. My favorite verse in this Psalm is 14; "The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down."

Yes, a horrific thing happened in that quiet town last Friday, but the actions of our heroes display God's love without question.

No More Sleeps

A good friend, one who I missed very much these weeks at VST, taught me a saying. Whenever the end of our time together was coming he would count down the days with how many more nights we had left. 4 more sleeps, 3 more sleeps, 2 more sleeps...

This morning as I woke up I quietly said to myself, "no more sleeps." Today I travel home. I have missed my family, I miss my church, I miss my pets, I miss my bed, I miss the humidity. Yet, as I think about going home I think of all the wonderful people I'll be leaving behind and I begin to miss them as well.

I wrote this week of being settled down in God's love and letting God settle down in you. It's in that spirit I leave this place. Every one I've met, each relationship I have furthered or began has become one that is settled in my heart. I have shared in the spirit of all my brothers and sisters here, and I take a piece of them home with me. I'm sure our rivers will meet again, and when they do we will have more to share, more to talk about, and more to be in each other with. 


I also wrote this past week about being in the boat with Jesus as we go in and out of our lives. Tonight I jump back into my life, having shared a wonderful time of rest, work, and play with many faces of Christ. In the next few days we will all be in our lives, thinking back to these two weeks and recalling all the moments of laughter and crying together because we had found a place where we are accepted as we are, for the person we are. None of this, and none of you, will ever be forgotten.


So, fare well my summer dwelling place. To my home I say, I can't wait to be with you again.

All Together Now

I really can't believe two weeks have gone by on my stay in Vancouver. My time here at the NMC summer school with VST has really been eventful. The learning, studying, paper writing, BBQ's, worship gatherings, conferences, and the sitting over meals and talking really has made the time seem to go by quicker. Now as I begin to think about going back home to warm Hawaii I look forward to a time of rest and relaxation.

Unfortunately I'll have maybe a day, two tops, where I can rest. I have Sunday School to prepare for, start back at work on Monday, church staff meeting on Wednesday, and so on. Life doesn't stop, it just allows you to jump in and out at the appropriate times to do what you need to, then you jump right back in.

I come to these thoughts because as I read Mark 6:30-34 and 53-56 I get a sense that Jesus and his disciples are in the same boat (pun intended). The lectionary gives us snapshots of the Bible, but if you follow it weekly you honestly do get a sense of what is going on. Last week we got the story that is cut out from today's reading; that of John the Baptist's death. The week before we were told the story of Jesus being  rejected in his own hometown then sending out the disciples to do their own thing. And next week (spoiler alert) we get the only story that is still missing from Mark 6, but we're going to hear John's version of it.

What does all this mean? The lectionary is a lot of times like how our lives are. It takes you on journeys, it shows you glimpses of what is happening and what has led up to it. It also gives you a peak at what may come if you stay on the path. And eventually it starts all over again, but with new perspectives and ideas.

As Jesus and his disciples did in today's reading, when life gets busy we jump in a boat and try to go somewhere we can find peace and quiet. Of course the peace and quiet is only while you're on the boat because the crowds will always be waiting on the other side. The trick, then, is that while you're on the boat spend what little precious time you have and sit with Jesus. I mean, he's there in the boat with you, may as well talk with him for a while - right?

"Stars Upon Thars"

Whoa! Big throw back, right. I don't know why, but as soon as I read Ephesians 2:11-22 I had memories of sitting on the floor in second grade, hearing about the Sneetches and their obsession with star bellies. I sit here literally grinning from ear to ear as I remember how the Sneetches with stars upon thars were thought to be the better class of people and how those without stars on thars wanted to be just like them.

Along came a guy with a star-making machine who, for a nominal fee, would make stars on the bellies of those without. Yay, we are all equal now, cried the newly-starred Sneetches. Of course, the original star-bellied ones would have nothing of it and went to see this so-called star maker. And wouldn't you know it, he also had a machine that would remove stars. And, for a nominal fee, he removed their stars.

In a way only Dr. Seuss could we are then shown what happens when everyone wants to be like the other, and the other wants to keep what they have. Each Sneetch running through the machines at will, making, removing, making, removing, making, and removing their stars "until neither the Plain nor the Star-bellies knew whether this one was that one...or that one was this one or which one was what one...or what one was who."

After the Sneetches spent all of their money the fix-it-up guy leaves town, and the Sneetches are left bewildered and uncertain. But you know what, in the end when "they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches and no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches" we saw how acceptance of someone regardless of their status or skin type made all of the Sneetches happy.  The Sneetches were now one people living in one community and living in one love.

If only the Apostle Paul had Dr. Seuss to read to the church in Ephesus.


To watch this story follow the following link. You know you want to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3yJomUhs0g&feature=related

Settling Down

When I met my wife I immediately knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. There was something about her that put me at ease; I honestly don't know how to explain it. The best I can do is tell you the story of our first date.

We went to a local restaurant for some coffee and just to talk. I was excited, a little nervous, even a bit shy. My last relationship ended in a divorce which hurt me for a long time, so I was also careful to not let my guard down. We sat in a booth, ordered coffee and maybe some food (I really don't remember that part) and we began to talk.

Where did you go to school? How many in your family? Where did you grow up? What do you think about...? What do you say is...? Who is your favorite...?

Questions like that came from both sides, each of us doing the getting-to-know-you dance. It didn't take long until I realized I was doing all the talking, and not feeling the least bit guarded about letting someone I had only known for maybe a week get to know me this well. As she sat and listened I saw in her eye a happiness which lit my heart. I remember thinking, at that moment, I want to be like this, to feel like this, for the rest of my life. 


We dated, we moved in together, we got married and 16 years after the day we met I still feel like I did on that first date. I'm not saying it was easy. We had our problems, as do all couples, but we never gave up on each other. We talked, got help, talked more, cried, hugged, accepted, and forgave our way through everything that threatened to separate us from each other.


Our love lives in our whole self. It is in our minds, souls, body, and heart. It mostly lives in the heart, but goes to visit those other places when necessary. I can't think of being with anyone else, nor do I want to. I am settled down and settled in; and very happy.

In 2 Samuel 7:1-14 God asks David, and David agrees, to build a place where God could live. I like how God describes being here and there and everywhere and now it's time for him to have one place where he can just be. Sounds to me like God wants to settle down.

You know what, God does want to settle down, and God wants to settle down in you. God wants to live in your mind, soul, body, and heart. Let those places within you be a house for God. How awesome would that be; to settle down with God.

Makes You Want To Be King David

Happy Monday! This is the beginning of my second, and final, week of Suumer School with the Native Ministries Consortium (NMC) at Vancouver School of Theology (NMC). Where the journey takes me from here is yet to be seen, but one thing is for sure; God is leading the way. I honestly feel as though a plan has been made for me, and it is God who is making it.

It feels good to know God is in charge. It feels good to know that God is watching me and keeping me safe. It feels good to know that God is in me, around me, beside me, in front of me, and behind me. And, if the words in Psalm 89:20-37 have a special meaning for King David, then I have to know that those same words are for me.

The Psalm reminds us that when God makes a promise, God doesn't take it lightly. The images of God's hand never leaving David and God's steadfast love always being there for David really resonate with me. You see, for me God is a love that, once promised, can never be shaken, no matter what. That realization brings me comfort as well as courage in knowing my God will always and forever be the one who stands beside me.

So, as I go through this week writing papers and finalizing projects I will keep in my mind that the promises made for David in today's Psalm are the same promises made for me. What a comfort that is.

The Journey (Well, Part Of It)

Wow! The first week of NMC Summer School at VST is on its last day. How amazing is it that I have been here 7 days and it feels as though I've only arrived this morning. The week has been filled with learning, laughing, crying, new relationships, and old relationships renewed. The thing I will remember most, as it is every year, is how the people I am on this journey with allow me to be on the journey with them.

The journeys we share take us in all the directions our spirits can travel. We move towards acceptance of the things that hurt our souls, only to be brought back to memories of times filled with deep pain. We recall the anger for the many promises broken by the ones who were supposed to take care of us, only to talk about the one person in our life who teaches us that forgiveness is the path to healing. We sit quietly through the conversations until we find our voice and speak our heart.

We find ourselves going from one place to another and back again, only to realize we should have stayed a little longer in that place and feel as though we have let someone down. That is until we discover that in our return we have lifted someone up.

And so the realization comes to me again that we are all where we are intended to be on our journeys. Sometimes that place is waiting for our heads to be placed on a platter because of the wishes and promises of another. Sometimes that place is on the hill top shouting, dancing, singing of the love we have in our hearts. Sometimes it's somewhere in between.

There is one thing we can all count on, though - God is always with us no matter where we are. God is the great guide on our journey and God knows the way better than any of us will ever know. Because God wants us to never be alone on this journey he sends us companions; family, friends, teachers, tutors. They come to us in all ages, sizes, and personalities and they all bring just the right part of Christ we need.

So, as this part of the journey comes to an end, I remember we are in circle and a new part of my journey begins. I know the path will have twists and turns. I know the path will take me into deep valleys of darkness and bring me to mountaintops bright with light. I also know that Christ will always be at my side showing up when I need him or her the most. I know, with absolute truth, that God will never stop leading me.

Won't you walk with me?

Be Careful What You Ask For

Today's passage from Mark 6:14-29 wasn't easy for me to read. All week I've been on an emotional high. Yes, my body has been tired and yes, my mind has been busy, but my spirit has never been so rejuvenated.
So when I'm asked to read and reflect on the beheading of John the Baptizer, my spirit goes, "Why?, we were doing so good." 


There's always a why, though, isn't there. Sometimes we go through lots of pain and suffering before we can understand the why, and that makes the pain grow. Our parents fight everyday and we feel like it's our fault - why? People outcast and ostracize us - why? We are abused by the hands, actions, and words of people we thought loved us and would never harm us - why? We become addicted to drugs, alcohol, porn, self-image, money, and so many other things - why? 


Those are the questions in life we long to understand. Just as in our story for today we ask why did John have to be so brutally put to death and displayed in a show of complete dishonor. Because of one woman's hatred? Because of one man's promise? Because of one young lady's seduction? Because of one man's devotion to his God? 


Why?


The answers come, my friends, but we may not like what we hear nor will we always be prepared for what the answers mean for us in our lives. What may help is knowing that God asks the same questions we do about the pain and suffering we go through. God doesn't want bad things to happen to us and shares in our grief when they do. God doesn't make bad things happen to us, but rather is there beside us to share in the pain and walk with us on our journey towards healing. 


I found comfort in reading the final verse of today's passage. 6:29 says, "When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb." The final act of this horrific story is that of a love so strong nothing could have stopped the right thing from being done in the end.


This is the love our God has for us. Believe in it, embrace it, let it flow through you, and finally share it with everyone around. Somewhere out there someone is hurting and needs this love.

The Ransom Has Been Paid

The final stage of jet lag hit me hard yesterday. I was good, really good, until 7:00 pm, then it was lights out until 6:00 am this morning. I also had a difficult morning yesterday. I did dance and clap to some great songs of praise but I have to be honest it was more on the inside than the outside. Physically I had no strength. I guess as we age our bodies take a little longer to adjust to switching time zones. I'm not sure if that's a fact, maybe I can look it up later.


Another thing that happens as we age is we take a look at where our life has been and where it still has time to go. The older we get the more we feel like our life has to have a meaning. We want to know if what our lives are saying about us is enough. What is it we will leave behind for others? It seems I'm doing a lot of that kind of thinking these past few days, wondering where it is I am from, and to whom it is I belong.

Paul talks about this same thing in Ephesians 1:3-14 except that it's about the meaning of Jesus' life and what is left behind by him. Paul reminds us is that because of the sacrifices Jesus made we have redemption from all that separates us from one another, ourselves, and God.

Because I'm a "word guy" and I like to know what words mean in given situations I looked up the Greek word used for redemption in this passage. Apolytrōsis is a liberation procured by the payment of a ransom. Well, that only brings up a new question, doesn't it; what is a ransom? The Greek word used by Paul in other places to mean ransom is antylitron, or that which is given in exchange for something else.


This brings us to yet another question, doesn't it. What did Jesus offer in way of liberating us from that which separates us from our relationships? The answer there is quite simple, but not so simple to understand. Jesus gave his life for us, in order that we may no longer worry about the things which cause us to divide as a people. Jesus gave his life for us so that we wouldn't have to worry about the things that divide us from God. Jesus gave his life as a payment for all that was, is, and will be wrong in this world.


Once we understand and accept that we no longer have to worry about the things which keep us apart from our relationships with God, others, and self we will be able to live lives filled with peace and joy. That is Paul's message for today, dear friends; stop worrying about that which Jesus has already made good. When you do you will see hope fulfilled - a hope made possible through the Love of God and the sacrifices of Jesus.

Time To Party

OK! I am ready to dance in the streets. Bring on the drums and trumpets because the 10 lords-a-leapin got nothing on me. God's love is so great I can feel it overflowing from every part of me. God's love is so great I can't hold it in and keep it to myself. God's love is so great I just want to yell "I Love you too, God" out of my dorm window!

But I won't.

And there we have it, brothers and sisters. Somehow and for unknown reasons I've become a person who has quieted my love for God. To make things worse, I've even quieted God's love for me. To be honest, I vaguely remember the last time I fully expressed God's love in song, dance, or laughter. Yes, I sing praise songs, but when I do I don't clap my hands or dance in the pew. When I praise God I use my words and I feel it in my heart. It just doesn't make it from my soul to my body.

How I admire those Israelites described in 2 Samuel 6 - well, except for Uzzah, but that's a different story. I cherish how they are able to praise their God with so much of an animated and effervescent energy. The picture of them "dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals" truly gives me worship envy. 


So, what do I plan to do about it? Do I just continue worshiping my God in the way I have conformed to? Do I let what others think about my being the only one with my arms raised in the air, clapping my hands to match the beating of my heart, or shuffling my feet on the tiles of the church dictate my actions and expressions towards God?


NO! If I feel the need to express my love for God and God's love for me then, by golly, I will.


Join me for a dance?

Halt! Who Goes There!

Good morning from Canada. For the next 2 weeks I will be writing my thoughts from a tiny desk in a dorm room just big enough to fit it and a bed. I really miss those days. Then again, this is my 6th summer in a row doing this, so I guess I really don't miss it. In fact, I look forward to this one time of the year with excited anticipation as I get to see members of my extended family of God whom I only see once a year; if they come. We're missing a few of my brothers and sisters this year. They are missed only in body as their spirit will forever walk this campus; or at least the distance between the dorms and the castle. 


What is the castle?, you ask. It's where the classes of Vancouver School of Theology (VST) are held. It's called the castle because, well, it looks like a castle (I'll be posting pictures later, but if you really have to see it now just search for VST images). The castle is built on the northwest corner of the campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC) and sits well above the ocean. In fact I'm told if you cross the street there's a path which leads to the ocean's edge that takes you down 200 steps along the cliff side; a fact I haven't yet discovered because I really don't see how one can go to the beach when it's barely 70 degrees outside - but that's just me; nor do I want to walk 200 steps


I'm thinking about the castle because, once again, the Psalm for the week makes mention of places on a hill and being in my current "location" it's what first came to my mind. After reading Psalm 24 all I can honestly vision is the castle with its views of the majestic snow-capped mountain set against blue skies. As one gazes out from the classrooms we can see the beautiful waters of the North Pacific, calm and cool as the ships go through the mouth leading into the Burrard Inlet. And, if we're truly blessed, bald eagles flying in circular dances will complete this picture of God's creation for us.


The more I think of my current location, however, the more I think about what is at home for me as well. Same blue crystal clear ocean, just warmer. Our mountains may not be snow-capped but nonetheless are just as beautiful. Our skies are filled with birds of all types and sizes, also dancing their circular dances. In fact, the more I sit and think the more I realize this same picture is being painted world-wide. Okay, maybe there won't always be bodies of water, or skies of blue, or dancing birds; but there will always be beauty in creation for the one who is there to enjoy it - whether it be in the sands of the Sahara, or the crackles of rocks which line a mountainside.


Psalm 24:9 says, "Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the king of Glory may come in." Who is the King of Glory? - the Psalm tells us it is the Lord. The Psalm also says earlier on that those who are pure of heart and have clean hands will stand in the holy places - that would be you.


So, as you go about your day today, take a look at what the Creator has given to you and truly enjoy it. Remember that you never go through this world alone because God is right there beside you. By our side is exactly where God wants to be. God gave us such a beautiful world to live in so we would have somewhere peaceful to be with God. So, my brothers and sisters, take that moment today to be with God; wherever that place will be.

Don't Let It Get To You

Okay, God really does have a sense of humor.

I like to take the lectionary readings one day at a time, it helps me not formulate my own opinion about what the overall "message" is supposed to be. So imagine my reaction when I read today's verses from Mark 6:1-13 and having the thought about shaking the dust of a place that isn't accepting off my sandals fill my mind. I'm not sure what the scholars are saying about this one, but let me tell you what I think; to be an effective leader we need to be able to shake off the things that don't go right and not take it personal.

Let me explain why I'm amused. If you recall yesterday's blog about getting angry and swearing for the first time in several years you'll understand where the chuckling is coming from. What happened the other day really was not supposed to get that far, not if I had been in better control of what was truly important; the relationships of those around me to God, themselves, and to me.

Yes, I got passionate about an issue of justice. Yes, I turned over a few tables to make my point. Yes, I stopped a sales person from being a bully. But, I honestly did not need to resort to anger at that level. Instead I should have shaken it off and done what I needed to do in order to fix the issue. I could have let the situation calm down, wait until everyone involved was ready to listen, then go forward in trying to solve the issue.

God really does have a sense of humor, and I thank God for letting me laugh about what happened.

It's (Not) All About Me

Today is Independence Day in the US and contrary to some beliefs otherwise Hawaii is part of the US, so today we celebrate this national holiday. I contemplated taking the day off, but after reading today's passage from 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 I've decided otherwise.

It's confession time...Last night I used a swear word in anger for the first time in several years. I've used swear words on occasion out of frustration or to make a point (sometimes I have to when working with high school students), but it's been several years since I've used it in actual anger. I detest swearing, as anyone who knows me will tell you, and I very rarely anger, which the same people will also tell you. So for the two things to happen at the same time actually means I was pushed into a corner over a ledge and felt the need to push back.

As soon as I said the words, though, I knew what I had done was wrong, and I felt absolutely disappointed in myself. After I cooled down and apologized to everyone within hearing distance of the words I had said I began to think about why I was so upset. At first I began to wonder if it was because my pride had been hurt but soon realized it wasn't about me.

Let me back up a little and start the story in the beginning. The night before at my sales job I helped a family choose a wireless plan that best fit their needs. We looked at all the different carriers and their plans and phones and came to an honest decision about what was best for the family. As the sale was winding down my co-worker recognized the family I was working with as one he talked to over a month ago and decided to interrupt us and tried to redirect them into a plan that would cost them more money based on how they would actually use the phones. He began arguing with me in front of the customers, trying to "lay claim" to them as "his" customers. He eventually stopped, and the customers left happy. 


Now to last night. As soon as I walked in to work he continued from the night before, actually accusing me of taking "his" customers and how I did the wrong thing by not putting them on the more expensive plans because I could have made more money. I asked him to stop, and he didn't. I walked away, and he followed. I repeated for him to stop as I walked away and he continued to push the issue. That's when I lost it.


This morning, as I read from Paul's second letter to the church at Corinth I began to realize why I angered; I didn't like the injustice being shown by my coworker to that family. His boasting got the best of me and I reacted; albeit in a way I should not have. It brings me some relief, though, to remember that even Jesus turned over a few tables to show his anger at injustice.


Today we celebrate our independence as a nation from the forces which suppressed our freedoms as a people. Somewhere in the past 220 (or so) years we somehow transitioned from a people living with freedom to persons expecting to be able to do whatever we want. The two are not the same thing. On this day, and everyday from this point forward, let's do our best to do what's best for those around us. After all, it's not about us, it's about them.

Follow The Leader

If you've never read the history of Israel as told in the books of Samuel I highly encourage you do so. The pages are filled with passion, deceit, love, hate, great battles, and so much more which I'm sure you would enjoy. Woven into and around each of the intricate stories as well as the story as a whole is how God has worked in and for the the nation and people of Israel. Today's passage from 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 is no exception.

David has become king of Hebron and ruled over the city of Judah. At the time there was a civil war between the north and south of Israel and many battles between Saul (who ruled in the south) and David (who fought for the north) are recorded in Samuel. By the time we get to today's passage Saul has died, his son had become king and was murdered, and the elders of Israel come to David to pledge their allegiance. Seriously, great stories.

Alas, we must take today's reading as a stand alone passage, trying our best to exclude the rest of the story, which is often difficult to do. Nonetheless let us try.

Connecting today's passage to yesterday's Psalm, however, should be allowed; don't you think. Yesterday's Psalm had kings approaching the great city on the hill and trembling in awe of the great power in the presence of God. Today we read about the elders of Israel approaching David to make a covenant in the presence of God. In both passages God is present, in both passages leaders are humbled, and in both passages we get a sense of how great leaders are made.

I read a commentary on this passage which gave 3 things a good leader should have;
1 - The ability to listen, not only to the voices of those she/he is leading but also to the voice of God
2 - The ability to be humble and not think one's self better or less than those around him/her
3 - The recognition that it's God's call we follow in becoming a leader and therefore should do our best to lead in the way God intends.

Pretty cool list, I wish more of our world leaders would follow it.

How Magnificent!

I'm one of those people who take longer to read things than most because I tend to internalize and visualize the images the writer is trying to portray. So when I read today's Psalm I found myself needing to be shaken "awake" by my wife trying to find a new ringtone for her phone.

Psalm 48 paints a a literary picture, to me anyway, of a white marble city sitting high on a mountain, filled with great halls and rich treasures. It also does a great job at catching the reaction of nobles and kings approaching this temple in awe of its power and beauty. Phrases like "they were astounded", "they were in panic", and "trembling took hold of them" let us know just what these king's state of being was as they approached mount Zion and the great city built there.

While reflecting on this I starting thinking about the times I approach Gods "cities" now. Every time I go to the beach or gaze upon the Koolau's I feel that great sense of awe those kings might have felt as they approached the city on the hill. The laughter of children playing always makes me smile and the voices of adults discussing something with respect and acceptance towards each other's opinions truly makes my heart warm. Sitting on the beach, looking out at the ocean, wondering what really lies just beyond the horizon while feeling the warmth of the sun against my body will always bring me thoughts of just how great my God is.

I may not be trembling or want to flee in a panic, but I most definitely sense God's awesomeness in those moments. It's very difficult not to.