What’s in your wallet?... or... What do you carry? by Anne Roser

"What's in your wallet?" Capitol One has made that question a pretty common one withtheir their memorable commercials.

This commercial always makes me think about what I carry with me. Too often the little daypack I carry gets stuffed with too many writing implements, too many tea bags, various forms of ID (hey, I have to keep that Red Sox Nation card!), cell phone, keys, appointment cards, and whatever I use for money these days. Oh, it’s winter, so add the meds and the tissues! And lists, to remember what to do and where to go…it’s exhausting just thinking about it all! Exhausting because as much as I try, there is no way to prepare for every contingency the world throws my way.

Beyond the tangible things we carry, there are intangible ones as well. These can wear us down even more. We might call them burdens, or worries, or doubts, or just plain fears. The school bus is late…has something happened? There are 7 messages on voice mail….that can’t be good! A family member is hospitalized. A national tragedy heightens our anxiety and grieves our spirits. The bills are piling up, and we are being stretched so lean that we feel we will break. These are burdens many of us carry.

Yet, life also includes blessings. Here are some definitions… Burden: something that is carried, something oppressive or worrisome. Blessing: something conducive to happiness or welfare.

Have you ever noticed how some people can endure and even surpass the most incredibly difficult times in their lives? How is it that some thrive despite all that impedes the way of light and hope and love? And how is it that others are easily crushed, broken, or cast aside by the simplest of events?

Jesus has something to say to us about that. Read this passage from the Gospel of Matthew, from the translation, The Message: Matthew 5:1-11

We are told that no matter what situation claims us, we are blessed (we can be content, we can rest easy). We are blessed even when we fear we are at a dead end, or a time of deep despair. We are blessed in the midst of frustrations, calamity, and heartbreak.

Why is this? Because God, the holy One, the One who created you and fills you with all that is good and life-giving, is present. God promises to carry you through the storms and struggles and celebrations and triumphs. You are blessed with a love so fierce, so faithful, that even in the darkest of times, light will make itself known, light that clarifies, reveals, and supports you. You will recognize it because the tables will be turned. YOU will be carried – beyond what you have known -- to a new future, a hopeful future, a future that is touched by the holy.

It may happen in the company of a friend or a stranger. It may be words offered at just the right time. Or you may wake up one day and realize that something you have deeply longed for has indeed come true. And other times, there will be those surprising, amazing coincidences that occur which are all about mystery, a holy mystery, because through these events you will receive what you most need.

We will carry burdens. But blessings are different. They are given. They come from beyond us, and they are gifts. Blessings come to us and bring contentment, joy, and well-being. The most profound blessings take away the sting of burdens and encourage us to live in hope, to seek wholeness, and rest in the promises of God that all will be well.

Julian of Norwich, an English person of faith who lived during the years of 1342-1416, is known for this quote: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” She realized in her life that if “God made it, God loves it, and God keeps it.” She understood each day as a blessing from God. Here is a beautiful example of  her words put to music.

So I think maybe Capital One is missing the point. Maybe it’s not at all about what we carry, or what we feel the need to carry. But this I believe: it is all about the One who carries us, beyond what is, to what will be.

May the God of new life, shown to the world in Jesus, continue to carry you and embrace you through all that is before you. “All shall be well” is the promise God invites you to rest upon. May it indeed be so!

Losers unite, and step into the light! . . . by Kari Henkelmann Keyl

Getting un-stuck can be such a pain. Sometimes you just can’t find the right words to express yourself. Or you can’t get your feet out of bed to get the day started. Sometimes it seems like your whole life is frozen. Like you wish you had a giant “Refresh” icon to click, to get a brand new try at making connections.

Being refreshed… sounds so good. Just give me a bit of sunshine, an energy boost, a new sense of urgency for living. New Year’s resolutions can sometimes function that way. Sometimes companies or families or individuals write mission statements, to articulate a vision that will inspire and get things moving again.

I’ve been impressed by the “Six word Memoir” movement started by the online magazine, Smith, encouraging you to tell your story in 6 words. (See Smith's 6 word challenge  Smith's Six Word Challenge ). Now that’s not necessarily like finding your reason for being, but it does get you thinking about what’s going on at your very core. Here's one that was recently posted on Smith’s site:

“Born weak. Reborn strong. Thank God”. Sounds refreshing alright!

I keep playing with my six word memoir, but it usually comes out something like this: “God's bridge-building, to me, through me”. Those six words tell the story of how I'm living fully when I'm attempting to build bridges: between different people or different ways of thinking, for example. And in the middle of that bridge-building is where I find God, or probably, where God finds me.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day seems like a great day to get unstuck, to come up with a driving principle, a reason for being… since we’re celebrating the life of one who had such passion for changing his world and knew the words to say to refresh those who were oppressed.

I’ve been musing on what might be Dr. King’s six words. “Fighting non-violently for God’s freedom dream” is one that I’ve come up with.

The Savior that Dr. King believed in had a freedom dream, too. Jesus saw God’s people stuck in the darkness, and he longed to bring them into the light. When Matthew wrote down Jesus’ story, he wanted to make sure his audience knew that Jesus wanted ALL people in that light, especially those who’d previously been squashed down by the powers that be. Take a look at this piece of Jesus’ story: Matthew 4:13-17,23.

There’s no way Jesus will be stuck in one place; he is on the move! He starts out by leaving his hometown to go to “the land of Zebulun and Naphtili”. If you’ve never heard those obscure places, you are not alone. That region was known to be the place of losers, since they were constantly being oppressed by one nasty force or another.

But they weren’t losers to Jesus. He tells them: Repent! (which means: Completely turn around!) because God’s kingdom is within your reach! Right here, right now!  Turn away from your loser status and step into God’s freeing power...

What might Jesus’ six word memoir be? How about: “God’s freedom for those squashed down”. That’s what I’m hearing when I read that passage. In this very moment, when I’m trying to write a blog that might somehow bridge someone closer to God, I have God’s freeing power. Though I started off this post totally stuck (could you tell?) and at a loss for words, God’s energy began to flow when I admitted my stuckness and accepted God’s freeing lead.

Like Jesus, Dr. King preached that the freedom his people sought was theirs already. God in Jesus had already given them all the dignity they needed. They need not earn it or grab it or borrow it from those in power. They would wear their full God-given freedom for all to see, and fight for the rights that should come to all free people.

God’s freedom is ours. As we live into it, and share it with others, we can find refreshing energy and God’s own power. 

Please feel free to leave your own thoughts or 6 word memoirs or hopes for refreshment, by clicking on "post a comment" below.   And for a bit more reflection on Dr. King's Day (and how Martin walked in the way of Jesus), check out this U2 tribute.


Portions of this blog post appeared on btw's blog January 18, 2010.

Come, Live in the Light!

by Patricia Harris (who also blogs at http://thepastorsmusing.blogspot.com/ )

After following the btw blog for a couple of years, I am delighted by the invitation to share a few thoughts with you…

When the sparkling energy of Christmas is over, it can seem like there is little to look forward to. Many Christian communities strive to continue the Christmas spirit (the spirit of Christ born within us) and let it shine even more! This “follow-up” time after Christmas is called the season of Epiphany.

Take a peek into this “Epiphany” story, where people just like us are caught up in the charismatic light of Jesus: John 1:35-42.

Did you catch Jesus’ words to come and see, inviting two intrigued people… and inviting you? Yes, you personally have received an invitation to “Come and see”! This is an invitation into the experience of being in Jesus’ presence. These words, recorded in the Gospel of John are written for you, as well as the two disciples originally addressed by Jesus.

He said to them ‘Come and See.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day.” (John 1: 39).

Jesus had seen these two disciples following him at a distance and first asked them what they were looking for, and then invited them to hang out for a while.

Jesus’ invitation to followers is warm, inviting, and down to earth. He calls to them and encourages them to see for themselves. Jesus doesn’t give an abstract discussion of what it means to follow him, but rather shows what it means to be in his company. The disciples came for an afternoon, and after the experience remained his disciples for the rest of their lives.

How do we invite people to join us in following Jesus? Do we give abstract reasons why it would be good? Do we attempt verbal descriptions of what it means to be a follower?

What can we learn from Jesus’ own words: “Come and see”? Come, join me in reading and responding to a blog. Come, join me in a Skype conversation. Come, sit and pray with me. Come, join me at the homeless shelter. Come, join me at the soup kitchen. Come, join me at a worship service. Come and see!

Some of the spirit of this personal invitation is captured in these verses of a poem by Bessie Flint.  (The rest of the poem can be found at faithwriters.com.)

For many years the great story has been told,
of the man who walked the shores of Galilee.
We’re told of the many miracles which he does,
to truly believe, you’ll need to come and see.

Oh come and see the eyes that he has opened,
see the lives that he has mercifully restored.
Come look at the broken hearts he’s mended,
just come and meet him, this wonderful Lord.

We are often reluctant to issue personal invitations to others to join us in a life of faith. Our faith in God may seem too personal to discuss with others, or we might be afraid that our invitation will be rejected. Yet, most people join a faith community because they have been personally asked by another person. So…  issue that invitation!  Call to someone else to “Come and see” and come and experience. Help someone else personally learn the joy of becoming a follower of Christ.

You are the most important component in giving Jesus’ invitation today to “Come and see.” Without your invitation, someone else may never have the opportunity to:

Come, live in the light!
Shine with the joy and the love of the Lord.
(from  "We Are Called"  by David Haas, from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Augsburg Fortress, 2006)

You have been personally invited to “Come and see” what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Accept the invitation yourself and spread it further. Put it on Facebook, send a text or email, of just personally ask someone else to “Come and see”!!!

Please feel free to join in the conversation, by leaving your comments and looking out for the comments of others. You can also join in an audio skype conversation Thursday at 7pm (EST), Jan. 13. You need to have downloaded the program from skype.com and have a microphone with your computer (as most laptops do). Then add "bythewaycommunity" to your contacts list on skype, and call in on Thursday.

God's steady pace at Christmas. . . by Luke Bouman

I am thankful for the opportunity to blog with the by the way community for Christmas this year. I am a longtime friend and mostly silent participant in the conversations of the community. I appreciate the challenges and joys of being in a community of conversation and deliberation. I am humbled by this opportunity to have my words be discussion and thought starters this holiday season.

I was re-reading an old book that has been in my family’s library for years. It is called “Children’s Letters to God” and it was collected and compiled by the editors in 1966. For something that is decades old, the questions and the comments of these children are fresh, amazingly deep and complex for their sources. One of them in particular grabbed my attention as I thought about this blog entry for Christmas. It goes something like this:

Dear God,
Are you real? Some people don’t believe it! If you are, you’d better do something quick.
Love,
Harriet Anne

I suspect this question is on many adult minds as well, especially given the state of the world. The “great recession” has many families wondering what the next year will bring. Threats from war and terror have a whole world on edge. I wonder if Christmas, as it approaches, offers people simply a distraction from all of this bad news? Or are we distracting ourselves because God doesn’t seem to be real any more? I am especially reminded of this possibility as I hear Christmas music blaring from any number of sources. The song, “We need a little Christmas,” seems to be getting more play than usual. This song about the rush to decorate, from the Broadway musical Mame, talks about our need for something to cheer us up. The lyrics are printed below:

Mame:
Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stocking,
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.
For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
It hasn't snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry;
So climb down the chimney;
Put up the brightest string of lights I've ever seen.
Slice up the fruitcake;
It's time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough.
For I've grown a little leaner,
Grown a little colder,
Grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older,
All:
And I need a little angel
Sitting on my shoulder,
Need a little Christmas now.
Mame:
Haul out the holly;
Well, once I taught you all to live each living day.
All:
Fill up the stocking,
Young Patrick:
But Auntie Man, it's one week from Thanksgiving Day now.
All:
But we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
Agnes:
hasn't snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry;
Ito:
So climb down the chimney;
Put up the brightest string of lights I've ever seen.
All:
Slice up the fruitcake;
It's time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough.
For we need a little music,
Need a little laughter,
Need a little singing
Ringing through the rafter,
And we need a little snappy
"Happy ever after,"
Need a little Christmas now.
Need a little Christmas now.

I think it’s clear that our culture seems in a hurry these days. We have little patience to wait for much of anything. We join Harriet Anne imploring God to do something quick.

Now, read the Christmas Story, keeping Harriet's request in mind. If you don’t have a Bible handy you can find the story here:  Luke 2:1-20

If there is one thing that strikes me about this story this year is that this is a story about a God who is definitely not in a hurry. God is not doing “something quick” at all. God is acting deliberately, slowly. This story unfolds more than 500 years after the prophets first recorded the promise of God’s gift of a Messiah. As opposed to the Greek gods, God does not inhabit an adult human form, but instead comes into the world as we do, born as a child. This one who is born will first need to learn to walk and talk, to eat and play and grow. This plan is nine months of incubation, twelve years to come of age, eighteen more before ministry begins. This plan is painfully slow, from our perspective.

But the slowness of it is not the only surprise. The fact that it lacks a certain, shall we say, conventional “star power” is also striking. This birth seems to indicate anything but royalty. The place is a simple animal enclosure, not a palace. The announcement is grand enough, but it is to shepherds (folks who were at the bottom of the religious barrel) not to priests and upright worshipers in the big deal town of Jerusalem. Even “David’s City” isn’t rightly named here. David’s City was the above mentioned big deal town, not backwoods, backwards Bethlehem. Almost everyone hears this story today without hearing how jarring all of these things are.

And yet God goes about this slightly off, deliberate, painstakingly slow plan. As it unfolds, I wonder whether I truly understand what God is about. I am in a hurry. God takes time. I rush to fill the void in order, vainly, to try to eliminate it. God enters the void, and by the presence of a child hallows it. I look for some mighty sign. God gives up the mighty route for the simple. I wish to dwell and worship a babe in a manger. God moves slowly, but does not dwell here. The manger is not the final destination for this baby.

It is only when I slow down to match my pace with God that I discover that God is at work in many surprising ways and surprising places. I have heard the calls of voices in our culture decrying that “Christ” has been removed from “Christmas”. But when I slow down, I realize that no such thing has happened. We didn’t put Jesus in the holiday, and no one has the power to take Jesus out. Is Christmas a time when people are hoping for something? Is Christmas a time when people long for more than what mere possessions can offer them? Is Christmas a time when we wish for the peace and goodwill of which the angels sing? Jesus is born into all of our longings, hopes, and all of our pains and sorrows. We do not always express these hurts and hopes appropriately, but even our poor attempts cannot drive God from our midst. The God who chose to be born in a stable comes to the desperate poor and desperate rich alike. The God who chooses also to die reminds us that even in the most desperate of places, God dares to join us. This is what we discover when we slow down. No matter how bad things get, God is right there with us all along, and doing something, albeit in God’s good time.

So I wonder, if we slow down, what other hidden things we might discover about God? Where else does God turn up unexpectedly? How else is God hidden in and with the desperate places of our world?

+ + +

Thanks so much, Luke, for your thought-provoking piece!  Please feel free, everyone, to join in the conversation, by leaving your comments and looking out for the comments of others.   We won't be having a skype conversation this week or next.  But anytime you'd like to let us all know your reflections, please share them here or on our facebook page.  God's holying presence be yours, in your joys and in your sorrows, this Christmas and beyond! 
~ Kari Henkelmann Keyl