Wednesday, December 30, 2015

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Will There Be Some HOPE In The New Year? It's Up To Us.

Some of us may be profoundly discouraged about the world we think we know.  So many of our media news sources are relentlessly filled with stories of natural disaster, grinding poverty, war and death.  It is hard not to be drawn into this negativity.  Bad news is news!  Good news doesn't sell newspapers as well.  Therefore, it may be hard for us to realize that in many ways the world is becoming a better place.

Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times, reports that fewer children worldwide are starving or dying of disease now than at any time in recorded history, and that more children are in school.  Kristof continues ---- "In impoverished Haiti, health care shows basic improvements.  More than four out of five Haitian children get some childhood immunizations. De-worming is now widespread.  In the old days, these kids would be dead."

In 1970, columnist Kristof tells us, almost 25% of Haitian children died before their fifth birthday.  At last count, however, the figure was just 7%.  Compare this with 15 years ago; now, one fewer child dies each hour.

"As families grow confident that their children will survive," says Kristof, "they also have fewer of them.  In 2005, the average woman in Haiti could be expected to have five children.  Now the figure is about three births per woman."

As we think about these positive trends and examples of progress in the world, several things may come to mind.  First, it took joint efforts by the U.N., many governments and numerous not-for-profit organizations, engaging large numbers of people, to make these positive "macro" changes happen.

Secondly, they did not happen overnight.  Indeed, some worthy attempts at concerted positive change were failures, and many succeeded only because of long-term efforts. Indeed, sometimes it took years before substantial progress was seen.

The issues were not just about funding.  Often, the changes required in people and their cultures met strong resistance.  This resistance had to be overcome, and that often took time and skill.  But, in the last analysis, it would seem that the change "lubricant" most often successful was people-to-people relationships ----- not distant bureaucracy.  It was people teaching each other, encouraging each other, and working side by side.

Well, is there a lesson for you and me in this?  I don't know about you, but I cannot take off a year to go work on a health project in Haiti.  But, if I stay home, are there any other ways I can bring some HOPE to some forgotten people in 2016?

Of course!  You know I am going to say to you that there are some ways. But, that YOU must find them, efforts specifically meaningful for yourself.  All I can do is offer some suggestions on how to make your "helping" time most HOPE inspiring.

Perhaps the most important lesson I have learned in attempting to bring some HOPE to others, especially to strangers in need, is that satisfying this goal is not a "one-shot" proposition.

Several years ago, when I became a weekly volunteer at Runnells Hospital in Berkeley Heights, several of us visited mainly on the first floor.  The Hospital termed these patients "sub-acute," because usually they were there for physical therapy after hip or knee replacements.  So, after about 4 or 5 weeks these patients would be discharged home and we would not see them again.  We would have had some nice conversations, hopefully relieving some of the tedium of a hospital stay, but at 20 or so minutes per chat each week, we were not really doing much to instill HOPE.  We would have needed time to build a relationship, in order for deeper conversations.

At some point, we discovered that a number of patients on the first floor, for whatever reason, occupied rooms that would be theirs for the rest of their lives!  Some had outlived their families, others had working families, or children who lived some distance from Runnells, so their visits to see the family member were infrequent and hectic.  We made a point of spending regular time with these "long-term" patients.

Gradually, some beautiful things began to happen.  Not only did they begin to tell us how much they looked forward to our visits, but we discovered that under that thin guise of their age and infirmity, they were interesting people, proud to share their feelings, frustrations and hopes for the future.

These long-term relationships began developing several years ago, and they have grown richer each year that passes, for all of us.  Some of our Runnells friends have died in the meanwhile, but it gives us a warm feeling to recall many happy times with them, and the satisfaction of perhaps having brought some HOPE to their final days.

This "seeding" of HOPE does not require one to be a Runnells volunteer!  But it does require intentional long-term effort ---- not just one-shot conversations or one-shot charitable projects.  Interestingly, it also had required long-term effort to bring such wonderful HOPE to Haiti, as described earlier in this story.

The long-term "seeding" of HOPE in others is satisfying to the giver, too.  Sometimes we may feel a little negativity about the first visit ---- don't we have many other things to do instead of this??  If one passes this test, however, it gets easier and easier to feel the personal satisfaction of "seeding" HOPE in others.

May you in your new year bring some HOPE to others, as we all try to make the world a better place in 2016 ---- even for one person at a time.  It's your move!
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These thoughts are brought to you by the Adult Spiritual Development Team at CPC, hoping to encourage your personal spiritual growth this winter.
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Tuesday, December 29, 2015

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: The Essence of Christmas



The Book of Luke (17:11-19) tells this story about Jesus.  He was on his way to Jerusalem and passed through a village on the border of Samaria and Galilee.  At the edge of that village ten men who had leprosy met him.  They stood at a distance and called out in loud voices, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

Leprosy was a disfiguring disease.  Lepers were considered "unclean" and were required to keep a distance from others.  Only after being declared healed and "clean" by a priest could a leper re-enter society.

When he saw them, Jesus said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."  And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of the lepers, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him ---- and he was a Samaritan!  This was surprising because Jews at that time generally despised Samaritans as ethnic and religious half-breeds.

Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed?  Where are the other nine?  Are none of them to return and give praise to God, except this foreigner?"  Then Jesus said to the Samaritan, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

Suppose you were one of the nine.  How would you rationalize not going back to Jesus to say thanks?  Perhaps you couldn't find Jesus.  Or, you weren't grateful enough to make the effort. Maybe, now that you had what you wanted you simply moved on to other things.  Or, were you too busy being reunited with family and friends.  Were you interested only in the miracle, not in the one providing it?

At this Christmas time how do we express our gratitude to God for the daily miracles of our lives?  Whom do you know who is actively grateful to God for everything?

Can you relate personally to the pain of physical condition, or the pain of social barriers? How about being more interested in what God can do for us than in God himself?  Do you neglect to thank others?  Right now, whom do you need to thank for something they have done for you?

Do you see that Jesus has healed or "cleansed" you at times in the past?  How do you need "cleansing" now?  Perhaps it is time to thank God for entering our lives through the birth of Jesus, which is the essence of Christmas ----- not just the gifts and hugs.  If we forget to thank God, whom do we thank?  Merry Christmas!
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These thoughts are brought to you by the CPC Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage your spiritual growth this season.
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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Why Do We Need Four Weeks of ADVENT Before the Big Celebration of Christmas?



Last Sunday (December 13) was the third of four Sundays when we celebrate ADVENT.  I remembered from my youth that ADVENT comes every year at about this time, but there are so many special days in our church calendar, I usually was not sure why or what we were celebrating.  I did figure out that it had something to do with the birth of Jesus.

What is the purpose of ADVENT, and why do we celebrate ADVENT on four consecutive Sundays?

Basically, the purpose of ADVENT is to "set the stage" for Christmas, when we will go all out in celebrating God's entry into human lives ---- the birth of Jesus.

How does ADVENT "set the stage" for Christmas?

Pastor Mark Roberts, in a recent issue of The Presbyterian Outlook, offers a three-part answer:

     1.) ADVENT emphasizes dimensions of our relationship with God that we sometimes neglect.  As Pastor Roberts says,"In ADVENT, we feel what it is like for the children of Israel to long for a savior.  Also we get in touch with our own yearning for the future coming of the Lord, when he will establish justice, wipe away every tear and bring the fullness of his peace. In ADVENT worship, we shall pay attention to the experience of waiting for God, rather than just rushing on to the next religious activity."

     2.) ADVENT can help us resist the cultural tug to secularize the Christmas season.  We often feel torn between the secular and the religious dimensions of Christmas.  ADVENT helps us to focus assertively on God during the weeks before Christmas.  This is better preparation for celebrating Christmas, than trying merely to avoid secular attractions.

     3.) ADVENT reminds us of the yearning of Israel for the Messiah.  Through such reflection we are reminded of just how much we also need a Shepherd to watch over us, a Savior to forgive us and a Redeemer to deliver us.  Thus, ADVENT helps prepare us for a truer and more heart-felt celebration of Christmas.

So, during ADVENT worship next week, look for the ADVENT wreath with its four large candles.  The candles symbolize our search for HOPE, LOVE, JOY and PEACE.  They are all lighted on Christmas Eve in our joyful greeting to the baby Jesus.  

If we are truly attentive, ADVENT can deepen our relationship with God, enriching our worship experience at Christmas time, and long thereafter.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this winter at CPC.
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Tuesday, December 8, 2015

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: What Is The Point of Christmas?



Some of us have found the rituals of purchasing and giving gifts, sending greeting cards and meeting with friends and neighbors at holiday parties, a frantic effort to stay on a tight schedule.  Most of this occurs during the four weeks of Advent, but perhaps we are not all that fully prepared for Christmas, after all.

So, what is the point of Christmas?  Was it merely something for Jesus, Mary and Joseph to do?  Or, is it more complicated and profound?

Well-known Pastor Rick Warren, with a church in California, offers some helpful ideas on how we can re-focus ourselves to the deeper meaning of Christmas.  He explains why we should have real gratitude for the birth of Jesus.

Warren says that the first purpose of Christmas is to celebrate.  God loves you!  Not based on what you do, but based on who he is.  Our good works do not buy God's favor. Secondly, God is with us and will never abandon you.  You may not feel like he is near, but that just means you are not tuned-in.

Thirdly, God is not against you.  He is not out to get you or make you miserable.  God loves you. God is with you.  God is for you.  Therefore, the gift to mankind of Jesus, God's only son, is a priceless gift to YOU.

But, there is more!

There is this thing called "Salvation."  Rick Warren believes that most people recognize their need for somebody greater than themselves ---- someone to save them from something they cannot solve on their own.  They realize the need for somehow being saved ---- salvation.

Warren believes that God's salvation is three-dimensional:

     ----- You are saved FROM SOMETHING ---- yourself.  Sin is an attitude.  It is a pride problem.  Sin is saying, "I want to be my own boss, I don't need God."  The problem with sin is that it separates us from God.  Jesus came to set us free from our sin.  So there is something from which we need to be set free.  We need to be set free from ourselves.  We need a savior!

     ----- Secondly, Pastor Warren believes Jesus came to save us FOR A PURPOSE.  It's in Christ, he says that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  But, Warren believes, you will never be completely satisfied with your life until you find out what is the purpose God has for you, and how to bring it to pass.  You were not made for mere "success" in some secular sense.  You were made for a higher level ---- "significance."  Significance comes from knowing God, his purpose for your life, and then for you to fulfill it.

     ----- Thirdly, Rick Warren reminds us that Jesus came to save us BY HIS GRACE. Grace is when God gives us what we need and not what we deserve.  Grace is when God says, "I'm going to take your problem and make it my problem."  God came to save us from our hurts, our habits and our hang-ups.

So far, God and Jesus have done all the work.  What role do we play at Christmas time, if any?  Rick Warren sees a very difficult but important role for us!  In a word, he calls it "Reconciliation" ----- when a broken relationship is restored.

Pastor Warren says there are three kinds of "peace" relationships:

          ----- First, if you are trying to live without God, then you are at war with God and you           need a peace treaty.  How do you make peace with God?  You don't do it by promising to be good.  You don't do it by being perfect.  You can't be perfect.  You don't do it by never sinning.  You will sin.  You make peace, the Bible says, by faith ----- trust in God's grace.

          ----- Second, you've got two choices in life.  In every circumstance, you can pray or             panic.  You can worship or worry.  If you prayed as much as you worry, you would have a whole lot less to worry about.  The peace of God is in your heart when you've made peace with God.

          ----- Third, God has given us both a ministry and a message.  It's about reconciliation; to help other people find peace with God and peace with each other. 

With whom do you need to rebuild a broken relationship this Christmas?  Just remember that you will need to let Jesus Christ fill you with his love so you can love other people the way he does.  And, you will need to let him fill you with his forgiveness.  Until you let God in, and feel truly forgiven, you don't have the ability to forgive others.

So, we have a range of gifts to acknowledge this Christmas.  There could be new golf clubs, a wide-screen TV or something even more grand.  At the same time we can count on an invaluable gift from God, as evidenced by the birth of Jesus, two thousand years ago. But, one of the most precious gifts we can give might simply be the gift of forgiveness to someone who caused us pain in the year that is now behind us, just as God's grace has already forgiven us of our repeated sinning.

Merry Christmas!
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this year at CPC.
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Wednesday, December 2, 2015

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Amazing Grace

Perhaps you remember the parable told by Jesus in which he describes a father and his prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).

One day the son asked his father to give him the son's share of the father's estate, even though the father was still alive.  The father complied.  Soon after, the son gathered all his wealth and set off for a distant country, where he squandered his fortune in wild living.  After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need.  So he hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.  The son longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

When he came to his senses, he realized his father's hired servants had food to spare, and here he was starving.  He decided to go back to his father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants."  So he got up and went to his father.

But while the son was a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him.  The father ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

The son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son."

But, the father said to his servants "Quick!  Bring the best robe and put it on him.  Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it.  Let's have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."  So they began to celebrate.

Was this father rewarding irresponsible behavior?  What kind of "family values" would this father communicate by throwing a party for such a renegade?  What kind of virtue would that encourage?  There was no solemn lecture, no "I hope you've learned your lesson!"

Instead, Jesus tells of the father's exhilaration ---- "This my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found" ---- and then Jesus adds the buoyant phrase, "they began to make merry."

The Webster Dictionary's definition of grace is "the unmerited divine assistance given man for his regeneration or sanctification."

The story of the prodigal son delivers an astonishing message.  We realize how thickly the veil of "ungrace" obscures our view of God.  Every human institution seems to run on "ungrace" ---- it's insistence that we earn our way.  All this helps us prepare for the real world with it's relentless ranking of who is greatest.  Secular culture tells us we must look good, feel good and make good.

From nursery school onward we are taught how to succeed in the world of "ungrace".  The early bird gets the worm.  No pain, no gain.  There is no such thing as a free lunch. Demand your rights.  Get what you pay for.  We know these rules well because we live by them.  We work for what we earn.  We like to win.  We insist on our rights.  We want people to get what they deserve ---- nothing more, nothing less.

Yet if we care to listen, we hear a loud whisper from the Gospel that we did not get what we deserved.  We deserved punishment and got forgiveness.  We deserved wrath and got love.  We deserved debtor's prison and got instead a clean credit history.

But, the world runs on "ungrace".  Everything depends on what I do.  But, Jesus' kingdom calls us to another way, one that depends not on our own performance, but God's.  We do not have to achieve, but merely follow.  On the Cross, Jesus has already earned for us the costly victory of God's acceptance.

Author Philip Yancy asks:  "What belief is unique to the Christian faith? ---- GRACE.  The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seeming to go against every instinct of humanity.  Other religions offer a way, a path, to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional."

So, grace comes free of charge to people who do not deserve it.  Grace comes from outside, as a gift and not as achievement.  How easily it vanishes from our dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest, look-out-for-number-one world.

Grace does not depend on what we have done for God, but rather on what God has done for us.  Grace comes undeserved, at God's initiative and not our own.  God loves people because of who God is, not because of who we are.  Grace baffles us because it goes against the intuition everyone has that in the face of injustice, some price must be paid. Grace makes its appearance in many forms.  Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more ---- and there is nothing we can do to make God love us less.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this year at CPC.
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