Heal Me, Oh Lord!

Ever noticed how many people Jesus healed?  Bleeding disorders, skin diseases, inability to walk, and more.  A couple thousand years later and needs haven’t changed much.  I am always amazed on any given Sunday how many prayers have to do with physical health.  Prayers are lifted for people recovering from heart attacks, those in rehab for a new hip or knee replacement, or some form of cancer that is wreaking havoc on a loved one.  I wonder if instead of coming to Christ for a miracle after a disorder has arrived on our doorstep, if maybe we could come to Christ praying for wisdom to know how to better care for our bodies before they begin failing us? 

In a time of rising health care costs and a lack of understanding of how our new National Health Care system will work, not everyone is afforded the luxury of regular health care.  I know I went without coverage for almost 15 years as a single parent and then a business owner.  It was simply a luxury I could not afford to add to our ever growing list of needs: school supplies, new shoes for the kids, outrageous utility costs, and car repairs.  My body took the toll as I waited over 10 years to have surgery done on a knee injury and eventually had to have some new parts put in.  I know both my adult sons live without insurance, as well.  They have both worked hard since teenage years, but jobs offering health coverage are few and far between anymore.  So they pay as they go, always hoping the one big health tragedy will never occur. 

A few of us in the Concord area are trying our best to do our part in helping people like single parents and young families who can’t afford insurance.  We know health mattered to Jesus, so surely it matters to us.  We don’t have the ability to toss up a miracle healing or two, but we do have the ability to offer a FREE Mobile Health Fair.  Our Presbyterian friends across the parking lot were gracious enough to turn our community’s name in for a drop by visit this summer, and out of 30 sites chosen per year across the nation, we got one!  The Open Door Free Store jumped on board with our Parish Nurse Health Team leading the way.  Catholics and Presbyterians, United Methodists, health care professionals and local businesses are all joining hands, and skills, to offer this event to our neighbors. 

A van load of medical interns will pull into town the night before the Mobile Health Fair begins on Saturday, August 11.  From 9 am until 2 pm there will be a multitude of screenings offered at no cost to anyone who attends:  blood pressure, BMI, vision, basic hearing, oral screening, glucose testing, skin cancer, lice and skin scopes, depression testing, spirometry, lead screening, pharmacist consult just to name a few of the possibilities!  And did I mention all the health education stations that will be set up? … and I don’t mean boring-read-a-pamphlet stations.  I mean hands on, fascinating, fat-filled test tubes to help you decide which fast food sandwich to consume, to weight belts that can be added or taken off to see what it would really feel like to drop 10 pounds!  Stations will include dental care, nutrition and exercise, cancer, high blood pressure, hypertension, heart disease, family planning, STDs, maternal and child health, mental health and family life issues, substance abuse, children and safety, diabetes, asthma, COPD and more.  There will also be a craft station for the kiddos… and lunch will be served by the Concord Schools Summer Lunch Program from 11 – 1… and did I mention that everything is FREE?!? 

So start praying now, for wisdom on who you can stop and pick up on the way, for guidance as to which screenings you truly need in order to prevent scary health conditions down the road, and for all our health care professionals who are gracious enough to share their day with us.  And if we all do our part to get healthy, that truly would be a miracle, now wouldn’t it!

Deep Rest, Deep Renewal

As you read these words today, I am preparing to get away on Sabbath.  Sabbath is a biblical discipline that goes all the way back to creation. The Almighty and Everlasting God worked for six days creating the heavens and earth, the moon and stars, the animals, and humankind itself.  And then God rested.  We, as God’s creation, used to do the same.  As a child I remember being on the farm with my grandparents all summer long and Sundays were different.  We didn’t work around the house on Sunday.  Cows were milked but we didn’t hoe the fields or plant or even harvest on that day.  Great grandma, a Romanian Orthodox Christian, held fast to her Sabbath rules and did not even allow my grandmother to cook on Sundays.  Food was prepared on Saturday and simply warmed up and served on Sunday. 

Instead of working, we would just be together.  Aunts and uncles would come by, cousins would show up, and we would just be together.  No one shopped and no one had any sports practice, let alone games or tournaments.  It seemed the whole world, sacred and secular, abided by these rules whether spoken or unspoken.  Liquor was not sold on Sundays and most all businesses were closed. 

Then somewhere along the way, nearing my highschool years, I believe, it all changed.  A store would hang a banner announcing it would be open on Sundays and lo and behold, people came.  Great grandma had died and gone on to live in Sabbath forever with her Savior so it seemed to the rest of us, and the world I suppose, that Sabbath was no longer needed here on earth… at least in my community.  So we began cooking on Sunday and mom would ask us to clean our rooms.  The laundry had piled high so we would toss in a few loads “just to catch up.”  Garages needing reorganizing and floors needed mopped, so we did what we “needed” to in order to get life back in order before heading back to work on Monday.  And then the sports world showed up on our doorsteps… It seems six days a week wasn’t enough to entertain ourselves and performance in sports bled over into Sundays, as well.  Professional games filled the airwaves and local sports demanded we drive our kids to practice and now, even games and tournaments on Sundays. 

And somewhere along the way, we all stopped resting.  We moved from Sunday to Monday to Tuesday and right back through Saturday and Sunday again as we work ourselves into our graves and falsely believe rest comes in our overnight sleep or through our many varied personal entertainment sources.  We’re as tired on Monday mornings as we are on Friday evenings and we perpetuate exhaustion in our relationships, our professions, and our homes, in addition to our inner spirits and souls.  Our bodies can’t keep up so we take anti-anxiety and depression meds to fill the gaps.  Our children take them too.  I’m exhausted just thinking about it all. 

So now, today, here where I type, I am on Sabbath.  Every year I take a week to rest, to re-center, recharge and renew everything that I have exhausted the twelve months prior.  I do my best not to talk, and I fast from most foods.  I drink lots of liquids to wash out my inners and eat a few fruit when I can’t stand the hunger.  But mostly I just rest.  I rest my mind and I rest my body.  I sleep until I wake and I take naps when I feel led.  I talk with God a ton, because I actually have time to.  I read whatever beckons my attention and as an artist, I typically create during my Sabbath. I paint or bead or weave... Creating nourishes my inner being and brings joy into my rest.  No matter what I choose to do, I can tell you this: I don’t work.  I don’t cook or clean or do any chores. They can wait.  I figure if God, the Almighty Omnipotent God, needs rest, then surely do I.  

Footprints in the Sand... or the Scorching Pavement...

I often wonder if Jesus was here on earth today in the flesh, what would he spend his days doing?  My guess is, similar things as he did when he was last walking this earth.  He would be putting love, grace and mercy into action, while worshiping and loving his Father in heaven.  So would it be accurate to say, if we are followers of Jesus, then we would be doing the same?  Feeding the hungry?  Healing the sick?  Forgiving the sinner?  Clothing the naked? Housing the homeless? 

I mean, if Jesus’ footprints lead to the Open Door Free Store to drop off some of his own belongings (the best stuff, not the used- up- can’t- use- anymore- anyway stuff…) or to help wash, fold, or serve those who shop there, wouldn’t we be right there too?  And if his footsteps led to the basement of Concord United Methodist Church or to the cafeteria school to fill trays, cook pizza, or clean off the tables after the kids ate their free lunch this summer, wouldn’t it be fair to say you would also find an entire crowd of Jesus followers right there serving, feeding, and cleaning up, as well? 

I ask these questions facetiously because sometimes I think we need reminding of why we do what we do.  We had a crazy hard weekend working out at our farm getting some work done that is required by our loan originator in order to close on the deal: roof replaced, lead paint scraped and covered, etc.  And tons of friends and family came out to help (followed those footprints, I suspect… ) scrub, paint, and tear off old roofing.  All of this was done in 90 degree plus weather… every day.  Well, you all know what’s it’s been like lately in the ridiculously hot summer.  So by early this week, when our church and it’s Concord Service Project kicked into high gear to begin this summer’s outreach work on homes of those needing a little help from a friend, it was really easy to just sigh deep and think… “Ha! Your’e kidding me, right?!”  But there was no kidding involved.  This is serious stuff, following those ever- walking, ever- moving, ever- loving feet of Jesus in the world.  His get tired like the rest of us, and they do take a break to soak and rest.  But they don’t get lazy and they certainly don’t take time to be selfish.  Before you know it, those feet are leaving prints once again… right then left, right then left.  You can see that image across the sand, can’t you?  You know the one.  Where we think Jesus has abandoned us and we assume the prints are our own.  Then Jesus gently reminds us those prints are his… as he carries us in his arms? 

Now remember, we’re following those very steps.  So there are times we need to carry others when they can’t stand.  There are times we need to re-roof a neighbor’s home, even if we just re-roofed a friend’s or our very own the day before.  There are times we need to scrape and paint and repair and sometimes even install a handicap ramp for a neighbor who can’t get in and out of their own home with any ease.  The good news?  We can sleep rest assured that Jesus is not working alone… and honestly, we can SLEEP!  Well.  Exhaustion does that sometimes. 

So if you haven’t looked down lately to find where those footprints are going next, give us a call at the Open Door Free Store, or at Concord United Methodist Church, or even at the Presbyterian Church, the Catholic Church, Baptist or Bible Church… they’ve all been following those prints one step at a time.  We’d love to have you come along.  It makes the work load lighter when we share it with the entire community. One roof, one bag of clothes, one comforting hand to a senior whose health is failing… we’ll keep doing our best to follow the footsteps of the One who always shows up to love.  Exhausted or not. 

After All, It Is All About Us?... Right?

It’s pretty easy to be a Christ follower when life is good; when everyone is nice to you, when work is going well, when family is all getting along, and finances are in order.  Too bad those stars don’t align very often! Instead, we have to look at Jesus and ask the question “So how are you expecting me to act now? At a time like this?? How am I supposed to respond?” The reality is our response to those questions, and God’s response to those questions, are very different.  And usually we excuse our/others responses with a phrase like “Well, I can understand where he/she was coming from…” because we do understand, even if we don’t condone the response. 

Yet, God asks more of us.  Especially from those of us who profess to love and adore our Savior Jesus Christ, and have given our lives to live with him, through him, and for him.  We can’t leave it at “we understand” because it’s not about understanding.  It’s about being transformed into the image of Christ himself, God in flesh, here on earth.  What does that look like?  How did he respond? How did he act? And whatever the answers are to those questions, that is what we should look like.  That is how we should respond. That is how we should act. 

It’s also easy for the Church to act like Jesus when all is good and when all relationships are order.  But when we disagree on something, when a new change is being introduced into the life of the church, or tragedy hits when one of our members falls from grace, making choices that look anything but what Jesus would look like, then in all honesty, it gets a lot harder to act like Jesus… and mean it.  It’s easier to make judgments forgetting there is only one Judge and it ain’t YOU!  It’s easier to point fingers and begin deciding blame, sidestepping the very grace and mercy we were afforded each time we let God down and chose to sin.  It’s easier to begin choosing sides and start lining up our forces along the battle lines, forgetting the battle was fought and won and we don’t need to battle any longer.  Yet we do choose the easy way out, most of the time… because it’s easy!

Jesus was heard by others to say these words: “You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. In a word, what I'm saying is, grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you." (Matthew 5.43-48) 

We do expect a bonus! We think loving our friends, family, and great people around us deserves at least a bonus blessing or empty parking space or something.  And we do expect medals! For serving (like we should to honor Christ), for giving (like we should, considering it is God’s anyway), and for being nice to someone who is usually nice to us (it is easy).  After all, it is all about us… right?  Our faith life… it is all about us… right?  When we get the answer to that question figured out, the rest may actually fall in line, as well. 

“In a word, what I'm saying is, grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."  Can I hear an amen?

Operation Overboard!

What do lobster, crabs, and blow up vinyl fish have to do with feeding children?  Everything!  It’s that time again and the churches of the Concord area are diving deep under the sea to share an underwater world with upwards of 120 children this week.  Operation Overboard is this year’s theme for the community wide Vacation Bible School that will run Sunday through Thursday, July 8 through the 12 from 6 until 8:30 pm each evening at 119 S. Main Street. 

If you have never taken your kids, grandkids, or neighbor kids to this event, they are missing out!  We go all out on this one.  I am often asked “Pastor, why do you spend so much time with kid’s events like this?”  In the words of my good friends at L’Oreal: Because they’re worth it!  Every child, whether churched or yet-to-be-churched, pre-schooler or 6^th grader, brilliant or struggling student, adorable or often a snot, is worth every long day of backdrop building, late night of prop hanging, and hot week of bible teaching.  I have often wondered how my life would have been so very different at such a younger age than 30 if only someone would have thought I was worth it, as a child. 

When I say lives are changed, I’m not just talking metaphorically.  One study after another tells us that more than 80% of all people who come to know Jesus Christ as their personal savior are under 18.  All the rest combined, the young adult who comes to Christ in college, the middler who finds the Lord at a spiritual retreat, the senior who comes forward to be baptized for the first time in their life, or even the elder who accepts Jesus into their heart just before breathing their final breath here on earth, all these combined comprise less than 20% of all those who come to know God through Jesus.  So why do I deposit a good portion of my investment into children??  It’s a no brainer. 

In addition to recreation that will stir the blood of any bored kid, art projects that will help bring the lessons alive, science projects that will blow them out of the water, and snacks that will tickle their taste buds taking them to places they’ve never been, there is always the music.  I had a parent tell me once that if it were not for the little cassette (old days) we sent home with her son six months earlier at VBS, he would not have made it through the death of his grandpa.  He walked around the visitation and funeral for days with his headphones on listening to how God was with him, knew him, and loved him.  God ministered to that little broken and scared heart through VBS music.  God is like that.  Showing up in the strangest of places.

So yes, I’ve built ranches and space ships.  I’ve worn super hero costumes with 4 inch platform glitter covered shoes and I’ve dressed up like Caesar’s wife.  This year you’ll find me hanging out in a 16 foot wide yellow submarine complete with port holes, blue waters, and sea life hanging from fishing line being moved by fans.  I’ll be the one in bright orange floppy fins wearing a wet suit, an air pack on my back and some snorkel gear on my head.  Or maybe you’ll recognize me more by the smile on my face. 

This year, we are also excited to announce that Concord Schools and the Summer Food Program will be providing free dinners to all the kids under 18 at 5:30 pm each night before VBS begins.  So we’ll be feeding them before we start feeding them, you could say, as we dive deep and discover a whole new world, filled with love, grace, mercy and hope.  Load up a van of kids and bring them on down.  They’re worth it.   Just ask the United Methodists, the Presbyterians and the Catholics of Concord, as they prepare for this year’s joint VBS.  They’ll tell you all about it…