Peter Marshall, one-time Chaplain for the U.S. Senate and a highly popular preacher and writer, wrote a poem-prayer for Independence Day, 1948, which is a classic, not only for public prayer but also for prayer on a national holiday. Here's the text, from the Dallas Morning News magazine, July 4, 1948:
O God our Father, we pray that the people of America, who have made such progress in material things, may now seek to grow in spiritual understandings.
For we have improved means, but not improved ends. We have better ways of getting there, but we have no better places to go. We can save more time, but are not making any better use of the time we save.
We need Thy help to do something about the world's true problems - the problem of lying, which is called propaganda; the problem of selfishness, which is called self-interest; the problem of greed, which is often called profit; the problem of license, disguising itself as liberty; the problem of lust, masquerading as love; the problem of materialism, the hook which which is baited with security.
Hear our prayers, O Lord, for the spiritual understanding which is better than political wisdom, that we may see our problems for what they are. This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen
Monday, May 16, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The Sack Lunch - A Good One to Pass On
The news is full of "international relations". This is the other element, and we can't ever forget this one.
Copied without cuts from a friend:
I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.
Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.
'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time...
As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base.'
His friend agreed.
I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'
'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.
'This is your thanks..'
After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room.
A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.
Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.
Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base.
I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base.. It will be about time for a sandwich.
God Bless You.'
Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers.
As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little...
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'
That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.
Prayer:
'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.'
Copied without cuts from a friend:
I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.
Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.
'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time...
As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base.'
His friend agreed.
I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'
'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.
'This is your thanks..'
After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room.
A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.
Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.
Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base.
I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base.. It will be about time for a sandwich.
God Bless You.'
Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers.
As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little...
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'
That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.
Prayer:
'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.'
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Unashamedly Copied
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools
and ran to the bog.
There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death
The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
'I want to repay you,' said the nobleman. 'You saved my son's life.'
'No, I can't accept payment for what I did,' the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.
'Is that your son?' the nobleman asked.
'Yes,' the farmer replied proudly.
'I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.' And that he did.
Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.
What saved his life this time? Penicillin.
The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill .. His son's name?
Sir Winston Churchill.
Someone once said: What goes around comes around.
Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Tough Spirits and Martyrs
Pakistani Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian who had tried to reform the country's blasphemy law, is shot. So opens a news item today. Jesus knew it is/was a tough world when he told us to love our enemies. That did NOT mean to fail to RESIST, but to pray for, even as we defend against. But to live in a spirit of love.
Our choir is preparing (in rehearsal tonight) a work by Thomas Aquinas, sung to a Benedictine Plain-Song. Followers of Benedict were men who worshiped in a profound way, and lived fearlessly in brutal times. For hundreds of years, they lived according to the word of grace, no matter what the world around tossed to them. We need profound worship in these times, even within our layers of comfort and protection.
Here's the text, a phenomenal guide to prayer:
Jesus, I adore thee, Word of truth and grace, who in glory shineth light upon our race.
Christ, to thee surrendered, my whole heart is bowed.
Alpha and Omega be, thou true Son of God.
Taste and touch and vision to discern thee fail;
Faith that comes by hearing pierces through the veil.
I believe whatever the Son of God hath told.
What the Truth hath spoken, that for truth I hold.
Word of God incarnate, Lord of life and light, teach me how to love and worship thee aright.
Holy Spirit, ever bide within my heart, speaking thy commandments, telling all thou art.
Wondrous revelation, verity and grace, Lo, in glory's heaven, I see thee face to face.
Light of endless light whom heaven and earth adore,
fill me with thy radiance now and ever more.
Without something very like that happening in the private depths and in public worship, you just can't go out into the rough world and hold to the course God sets for the disciple.
Shahbaz Bhatti was shot. He prayed before he left home this morning. God didn't abandon him, but sustained him in faithfulness even at the worst. He reminds us of the meaning of the word "martyr". The world works every day to redirect those who would be faithful to Jesus, and sometimes works under very confusing labels.
Facing YOUR heart's enemies, you need time for prayer and adoration of God. We all do.
Our choir is preparing (in rehearsal tonight) a work by Thomas Aquinas, sung to a Benedictine Plain-Song. Followers of Benedict were men who worshiped in a profound way, and lived fearlessly in brutal times. For hundreds of years, they lived according to the word of grace, no matter what the world around tossed to them. We need profound worship in these times, even within our layers of comfort and protection.
Here's the text, a phenomenal guide to prayer:
Jesus, I adore thee, Word of truth and grace, who in glory shineth light upon our race.
Christ, to thee surrendered, my whole heart is bowed.
Alpha and Omega be, thou true Son of God.
Taste and touch and vision to discern thee fail;
Faith that comes by hearing pierces through the veil.
I believe whatever the Son of God hath told.
What the Truth hath spoken, that for truth I hold.
Word of God incarnate, Lord of life and light, teach me how to love and worship thee aright.
Holy Spirit, ever bide within my heart, speaking thy commandments, telling all thou art.
Wondrous revelation, verity and grace, Lo, in glory's heaven, I see thee face to face.
Light of endless light whom heaven and earth adore,
fill me with thy radiance now and ever more.
Without something very like that happening in the private depths and in public worship, you just can't go out into the rough world and hold to the course God sets for the disciple.
Shahbaz Bhatti was shot. He prayed before he left home this morning. God didn't abandon him, but sustained him in faithfulness even at the worst. He reminds us of the meaning of the word "martyr". The world works every day to redirect those who would be faithful to Jesus, and sometimes works under very confusing labels.
Facing YOUR heart's enemies, you need time for prayer and adoration of God. We all do.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Perfect Pitch
She was superb on the key-board, had a really good voice, and was the total accompanist, the full-bore backup to her extremely talented husband.
When we worked on a processional entry one week, I noticed she didn't use a pitch-pipe - just hummed the pitch and off we went. As the choir marched and sang without accompaniment, it was a great sound. Then the daring moment came - the organ came in, and the pitch matched.
I was impressed! Whew, that was lucky! Not at all. Time after time, she sounded the pitch, accompaniment came in later, and everything worked.
More impressed, I noticed her gracious use of her gifts. And because she appreciated others, I began to notice them, and appreciate, too.
God-given gifts, used graciously and well, grow and replicate. That makes the church such a grand fellowship for all of us. There is never just a "single" thing; when it's well done, it makes more and more. And it lasts, as a longer influence than you might ever have expected.
Thank, you, friend!
When we worked on a processional entry one week, I noticed she didn't use a pitch-pipe - just hummed the pitch and off we went. As the choir marched and sang without accompaniment, it was a great sound. Then the daring moment came - the organ came in, and the pitch matched.
I was impressed! Whew, that was lucky! Not at all. Time after time, she sounded the pitch, accompaniment came in later, and everything worked.
More impressed, I noticed her gracious use of her gifts. And because she appreciated others, I began to notice them, and appreciate, too.
God-given gifts, used graciously and well, grow and replicate. That makes the church such a grand fellowship for all of us. There is never just a "single" thing; when it's well done, it makes more and more. And it lasts, as a longer influence than you might ever have expected.
Thank, you, friend!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Get the Right Question Going
I haven't posted for a while. Maybe it's the carpet/paint/rearrange the house project. Maybe it is the flood of fascinating reading. Maybe it's outlining two historical novels that "call" to be written in full. Whatever, I'm posting today, with a simple review of a contemporary theme.
Just an informal "review", but I do like Phyllis Tickle's book The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why. As the designer and original Religion editor for Publisher's Weekly, she writes gorgeous prose, well-thought and beautifully expressed. Even better, she "gets" it. She understands some of the basic movements going forward.
Her book identifies the four "siblings" of Christianity in America, shows how they are becoming a smaller part of the total scenario of believers and seekers, and how the resulting Christian population relates to, but is different from previous ages.
Stereotyping the approaches as Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist, and Pentecostal, she points to the four bases of authority as practiced by these. There are variants, of course, but these can mark off the four quarters, and other denominations can find kinship in one of the blocks.
Her contention is that about once every 500 years, plus or minus, there is a sea-change. Reformation/Counter-Reformation (+/- 1500), Enlightenment (1000), Dark Ages (500), New Testament Century, Exile (500 BCE), Moses to David (1000 BCE), are markers for major changes among people "of the Book".
What happens when there is a sea-change? Some retreat and become defensive, becoming excellent at all of the denial strategies we recognize in everyone (except in ourselves, of course). Some become as energized as kids at a cup-cake party, eager to embrace and discover. All institutions, which are constantly shifting anyway, shift more rapidly in the environment. Things change!
When we become sensitive to the difference that God is stirring up, we become appreciators of some of the short, pointed sayings that are suddenly relevant. A friend on Facebook posted this one today:
"When faith no longer frees people to ask hard questions, it becomes inhuman and dangerous". - Daniel L. Migliore
Free-to-ask is such a fundamental part of being alive!! And such a fundamental part of Jesus' teaching. This is a superb age to ask the right questions, and pray for the courage to follow along wherever courageous asking takes us. (Someone else to read: Brian D. McLaren - he's easy to find.)
Blessings for the journey!
Just an informal "review", but I do like Phyllis Tickle's book The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why. As the designer and original Religion editor for Publisher's Weekly, she writes gorgeous prose, well-thought and beautifully expressed. Even better, she "gets" it. She understands some of the basic movements going forward.
Her book identifies the four "siblings" of Christianity in America, shows how they are becoming a smaller part of the total scenario of believers and seekers, and how the resulting Christian population relates to, but is different from previous ages.
Stereotyping the approaches as Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist, and Pentecostal, she points to the four bases of authority as practiced by these. There are variants, of course, but these can mark off the four quarters, and other denominations can find kinship in one of the blocks.
Her contention is that about once every 500 years, plus or minus, there is a sea-change. Reformation/Counter-Reformation (+/- 1500), Enlightenment (1000), Dark Ages (500), New Testament Century, Exile (500 BCE), Moses to David (1000 BCE), are markers for major changes among people "of the Book".
What happens when there is a sea-change? Some retreat and become defensive, becoming excellent at all of the denial strategies we recognize in everyone (except in ourselves, of course). Some become as energized as kids at a cup-cake party, eager to embrace and discover. All institutions, which are constantly shifting anyway, shift more rapidly in the environment. Things change!
When we become sensitive to the difference that God is stirring up, we become appreciators of some of the short, pointed sayings that are suddenly relevant. A friend on Facebook posted this one today:
"When faith no longer frees people to ask hard questions, it becomes inhuman and dangerous". - Daniel L. Migliore
Free-to-ask is such a fundamental part of being alive!! And such a fundamental part of Jesus' teaching. This is a superb age to ask the right questions, and pray for the courage to follow along wherever courageous asking takes us. (Someone else to read: Brian D. McLaren - he's easy to find.)
Blessings for the journey!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Strangest Moment of All
I was licensed to preach in September of 1957, just before my 17th birthday. That's a long time ago! And the strangest thing ever? In the whole time? A conversation, about half-way through the journey:
A man I didn't know had died, and we were preparing for his funeral. The wonderful woman who was leading the Worship Committee asked me: "Shall we use white or purple paraments on the altar today?" No one had ever asked that.
So, I asked her: "What is the difference? What do the colors mean?"
Her reply: "Well, the former pastor said we were to use white for a saved person, purple for one not saved."
Puzzled: "How did you know?" She: "The pastor knew, and he told me."
We agreed in that moment to use white (since no one knows) from that point forward, and the simple expression of relief in her face has stayed with me! For me, it was one strange moment; for her, the end of a strange recurrence that had shaped the previous several years!
No one knows! Point one in funeral preparation! Question: how do you preach the Gospel when the remembered one is saved? It's the same Gospel when one is NOT, and no matter how much one may prepare by learning the Gospel, there is no way to know inside another's faith. The Gospel is about God and His grace and love. No one of us knows inside any other one's deep heart, whether there was a life-long trust in Jesus, or a newly discovered trust in Jesus worked by the Holy Spirit in the latter moments.
No one knows. And I am totally sure that I do not know. God, however, is not confused! He loves us all, whether we trust Him or not, and he is eternally hopeful. That, after all, is the meaning of GRACE, and the foundation of FAITH. I'm sure I won't be saved or lost based on the results of a survey among my friends, but only by the loving opinion of my Heavenly Father. And THAT is consolation enough for any of us.
Conclusion? Take heart! You are loved!
A man I didn't know had died, and we were preparing for his funeral. The wonderful woman who was leading the Worship Committee asked me: "Shall we use white or purple paraments on the altar today?" No one had ever asked that.
So, I asked her: "What is the difference? What do the colors mean?"
Her reply: "Well, the former pastor said we were to use white for a saved person, purple for one not saved."
Puzzled: "How did you know?" She: "The pastor knew, and he told me."
We agreed in that moment to use white (since no one knows) from that point forward, and the simple expression of relief in her face has stayed with me! For me, it was one strange moment; for her, the end of a strange recurrence that had shaped the previous several years!
No one knows! Point one in funeral preparation! Question: how do you preach the Gospel when the remembered one is saved? It's the same Gospel when one is NOT, and no matter how much one may prepare by learning the Gospel, there is no way to know inside another's faith. The Gospel is about God and His grace and love. No one of us knows inside any other one's deep heart, whether there was a life-long trust in Jesus, or a newly discovered trust in Jesus worked by the Holy Spirit in the latter moments.
No one knows. And I am totally sure that I do not know. God, however, is not confused! He loves us all, whether we trust Him or not, and he is eternally hopeful. That, after all, is the meaning of GRACE, and the foundation of FAITH. I'm sure I won't be saved or lost based on the results of a survey among my friends, but only by the loving opinion of my Heavenly Father. And THAT is consolation enough for any of us.
Conclusion? Take heart! You are loved!
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