Musings Along Life's Way

"Whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me." John 13:20

Who does Christ send to us? Have you ever wondered about the folks you meet? Where they came from?

Were they born out here, or are they from "back east?" And when ever we learn where they came from we always seem to know a little more about them. Oh, they are from Ohio -- that explains a lot. Ohio or Kentucky or Maine or all the way from Europe -- so that's why so and so does such and such -- that's why she has an accent. Jesus here in the gospel of John is speaking about our home in God. We come from God. Now that should explain a lot!

The folks who are sent, who come into our lives come ultimately from the Holy One -- are sent to us by God. As we are beloved by God, each one who comes to us is so beloved. When we meet a stranger we are meeting a brother or a sister. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews points out that when we welcome a stranger we may be welcoming an angel -- without really knowing it. This life is sacred and those whom we meet are sacred, are children of God, just as we are. Who does Christ send us?
Everyone we meet. Period. Jesus goes as far as to say that as we receive anyone, we receive Christ himself. So, God's extravagant welcome becomes our own. So it is that we say, "No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here."

The wonders continue: as we greet Christ, so we greet God. Jesus said it: "...and whoever receives me receives him who sent me." This is the blessing of human life: in the meeting and greeting, in the welcoming and hospitality, in the communion of our souls, the passing of the peace, in our community, we experience the sacred. The love of God is not merely a vertical affair -- all this love coming for on high. It is horizontal as well, revealed in our life together, in our welcoming, our meeting and greeting, in the mystic, sweet communion of you and me -- of the beloved.

This Sunday we will be talking about these things in church. I hope you can join me.

Love,
David

Musings Along Life's Way: Love, Healing and Virginia Tech

Dear Friends,

Our theme for the Easter season, The Joy of Community, is well underway. For the six weeks of Easter we will be exploring the disciplines that are ours as a spiritual community. Last week, Andrew, our Ministry Partner in Covenant, led us as we considered what it means to be one body filled with many people of varied and diverse gifts. This week, we will consider healing as a community discipline. To do this we will be reflecting on Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13 -- the "love chapter."

We often think of healing as a personal thing. We get sick and we hope to get well. The question is this: Is "getting well" the same as healing? Jerry May, (whose book, The Wisdom of Wilderness we are studying in our 9:15 Sunday morning book study) writes about spirituality and health, noting that a deep spirituality is no guarantee of good health. He even suggests that faith sometimes invites people into lives of "greater disease, disorder, suffering and death." Asking why this is so he writes:

Things would, of course, be simpler if the spiritual life clearly led to better health. Then we could treat the life of the spirit, to quote the Christian Century editorial, "like a nutritional supplement or a leafy green vegetable." But things are obviously more mysterious than that. In my own lived faith, I feel certain that God does not want people to suffer, not now, not ever. So how is it that authentic spirituality can sometimes be bad for your health? My hunch is that it has to do with something that the contemplative strands of all the great religions proclaim: the ultimate meaning of human life is not health; it is love.

-- Shalem News, Winter 2000, "Is Spirituality Good for Your Health?"

Getting well is a personal thing -- the healing that we find in love is a "God thing" and a "faith community thing." Yesterday, 33 college students were gunned down at Virginia Tech University. This is a great tragedy. Today (Tuesday) I received an email from Meredith Jackson which included this from Kimberly Whitney, Minister for Higher and Theological Education with the national setting of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland:

In a faith that joins us a common people of the world that knows the holy by many names, in a faith that celebrates many cultures, races, and places linked interconnectively and relationally to a fragilestrong bluegreen earth.

In a faith that embraces creation unfurling in the cosmos, and the creaturely communities of bird and deer, brother water and sister rain; we pray, and we love, and we cry, and we support by gathering or pausing - invoking a holy silence in prayer even when there are no words.

That is the call of our faith ­

To be with one another in a solidarity of loving kindness and the work of peace that is God still speaking, through and with us.

The heart of prayer of the United Church of Christ in its many settings, including those of us in Cleveland, join with you in this time as you gather on campuses, in churches, in ecumenical and interfaith centers.

Her prayer is a prayer for healing, for a coming together of community in love, prayer and support. As we pray for the students injured and killed, as we open our hearts to the suffering of that educational community, as we feel the bonds of love that tie us to all of humanity, we sense the healing that is ours in love, that is ours as we are drawn together. In our prayer and support, we sense the need to reach out -- perhaps not as far as Virginia Tech (but, yes, this far, if that is how you are called to respond) -- but certainly to our fellow church members, to our friends, neighbors, to college students we might know. Our desire is to hold one another in a firm embrace -- that embrace is our higher calling, the call to love. Here we are healed, joined by the Spirit. See you on Sunday.

Love,
David

Musings Along Life's Way: He is Risen! He is Risen, indeed!

He is Risen! He is Risen, indeed!

Dear Friends,

I hope that you will join with us here at church this Sunday as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This Sunday we will proclaim that despite all evidence to the contrary, hope is alive, joy is ascendant and love's way in the world is victorious. It is Easter and we are invited once again to dedicate ourselves to the reality of God's presence alive in all of life. This is the good news that there is nothing present in all of heaven and earth that can keep us from God's love. This Sunday we will sing out loud as we affirm Christ's living presence in our gathering. As it says in our Mission Statement, we "Celebrate Christ's presence in our midst." I look forward to seeing you at our resurrection celebration!

Love,
David