Tuesday, December 20, 2016

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: What Are You Giving To Others This Year?



Hardly a day goes by when I do not receive a couple of phone calls and letters inviting me to donate some money to a worthy cause.  Hardly a year goes by without one of my kids or my house or my car also needing some financial help.  Sometimes the steady drumbeat of financial needs makes me wonder if perhaps the only thing important about me is the money I have to give to others.

Most of us are familiar with the story Jesus tells about the Good Samaritan (Luke 14:25-37).  A Jewish man was riding through a mountainous, remote area, when he was robbed, beaten, and left in the road "half-dead."  A Samaritan came along the road. Samaritans and Jews were the bitterest of enemies.  Yet when the Samaritan saw the man in the road, he was moved with compassion.  He braved the danger and stopped, giving the injured man emergency medical aid, and transporting him to an inn.  He then paid the innkeeper and directed him to care for the man until he had fully recuperated. That would have been a substantial expense.

What was Jesus doing with this story?  He was showing us what it means to love your neighbor.  Jesus shows us the Samaritan meeting the material, physical and economic needs of the injured Jew ---- the Samaritan planned for the injured man's recovery and paid all the related expenses.  But, the Samaritan's time with the injured man was brief ---- he did not give much of himself, other than his money.

I realize that this is exactly what most of my charity-giving requests are asking of me.  Would I please simply write a check, mail it and thus be done with this particular charity ---- until next year?  This is not enough to really satisfy me, and perhaps you feel the same way.  We each have more to give "our neighbor" than just our money!

Three on-going activities at Central Church help us fill this "giving gap."  One is the annual Central High School Mission Trip, where more than 40 teenagers and adults go for a week to live in some needy place, do some construction repairs on houses and roofs, but most importantly develop relationships with the destination hosts.  These "hosts" are so different in life experience from the Central Mission trippers, that the latter must exit their shells and give something of themselves (so, it is no longer just about giving money).  What can they give?  For the children of the hosts, who are seriously considering dropping out of school, or who have no real plans for their lives, our Mission Trip teenagers encourage these host kids to raise their sights ---- they help the kids define a vision for themselves that could be more fulfilling and perhaps even more financially rewarding.  But, will only a week of contact and friendship really do this in a lasting way?  We do not know until we give it a good "college" try.

Now, consider the Elizabethport Tutorial Program which meets at Central Church every Tuesday evening from October until March.  On a typical Tuesday night about 100 kids gather in the Central auditorium.  We bus 40-45 students to Summit from the Elizabethport Presbyterian Center, and they are joined by about 60 teenage tutors from local high schools.  On-going relationships are developed between student and tutor.  The tutors find themselves encouraging their students to apply themselves more fully, and for many students the encouragement of the tutors has boosted student career goals and study habits.  The tutors are not giving money ---- they are giving something more priceless.  They are giving their own example as achievers, and showing the Elizabethport students some of the things that are possible for them in the future.  This is a lasting gift.

A totally different Central Church practice is the "Midnight Run."  Each month or so, Central youth and accompanying adults, make a hundred or so sandwiches and a supply of coffee or soup, and troop into places in New York City where homeless folks are known to gather in the evenings.  It may be under bridges or in city parks. There they deliver their gift of food.  But, more than that, they talk with these "friends" whom they sometimes will meet again on subsequent "Midnight Runs."  The great thing about this endeavor is that each side discovers they are dealing with real people. Each shared story is different for both the Central participants and the homeless, but the encounter is not quickly forgotten.  Which do you think is worth more?  The sandwiches and soup, or the cordial human encounter?

Sure, not-for-profits will continue to ask for your money and mine ---- they must do so in order to keep going.  But, ask yourself whether you have something more to give "your neighbor" than merely your money.

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These thoughts are brought to you by Central's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage some personal spiritual growth this year at Central Church.
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Tuesday, December 13, 2016

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Can Your Christmas Be A Time of Reconciliation?



December 25 each year for centuries has been thought by many people to be the birthday of Jesus Christ.  Christians think of it as the anniversary of the day that God placed his only son in the midst of mankind, thus attempting to show his love for us by teaching an improved approach to our mortal life.  This so impressed us, that we even designated the four weeks prior to Christmas as Advent, and made it a joyful time in anticipation of the Christmas Day celebration of Jesus' arrival.

Of course, 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, so perhaps we are not all that well prepared for religious Christmas, after all.

But, what IS the point of religious Christmas for us?

Well-known Pastor Rick Warren, with a church in California, offers some helpful ideas on how we can focus ourselves on the deeper meaning of Christmas.  He explains why we should have real gratitude for the birth of Jesus, and not limit our thanks to one day of the year.

Warren says the first purpose of Christmas is to celebrate.  Do you realize that God loves you!  Not based on what you do, but based on who God is.  Our good works do not buy God's favor.  This is so different from the rewards of the secular world!

Secondly, Warren says, God is with you and will never abandon you.  You may not feel like He is near, but that means you are not tuned-in.  Therefore, the gift to mankind of God's only son, Jesus, is a priceless gift to you.

But, there is more!

There is a thing called "Salvation."  Rick Warren believes that most people recognize their need for somebody greater than themselves ---- someone to help them through a problem, rescue them from a tight spot, and ultimately save them from something they can't solve on their own.  They realize the need for somehow being saved ---- salvation!

Warren believes that Salvation is three-dimensional.  You are saved FROM something ---- yourself.  We all have a pride problem; an unfortunate attitude.  We call it SIN.  We sin by acting out or 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 free us from our sin.  So, there is truly something from which we need to be set free.  We need to be set free from ourselves.  We need a Savior!

In addition, 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 we will never be completely satisfied with mere "success" in some secular sense.  We were not made for "mere" success.  We were made for a higher level of significance.  Significance that comes from knowing God, His purpose for your life, and then for us 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, it is Reconciliation ---- when a broken relationship is restored.  Perhaps it starts with our relationship with God ---- but it does not end there.

Pastor Warren sees three varieties of Reconciliation:

   ---- First, if you are trying to live without God, then you are at war with God and you need a peace treaty.  How do we make peace with God?  You don't do it by promising to be good.  We 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 developing faith ---- faith 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 happens in your heart when you've made peace with God.

   ---- Third, God has given us both a ministry and a message 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 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 meaningfully forgive others.

So, we have a range of gifts to acknowledge, but not just at Christmas.  There could be some material gifts you receive or give on Christmas, like new golf clubs, or special gifts for the children in our lives.  At the same time, we can count on an invaluable gift from God, as evidenced by the birth of Jesus.  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.  We can give this gift any time of the year ---- not just at 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 winter at CPC.
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Tuesday, December 6, 2016

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 "other 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 unearned miracles of our lives?  Are we one of those who is more interested in what God can do for us than in God himself?  You probably don't neglect thanking your friends and family for things they have done for you!

Do you see that Jesus will have 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 ---- its not just personal gifts and hugs.  If we forget to thank God, whom do we thank for the unearned miracles we have been given?

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These thoughts are brought to you by the Central Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage your spiritual growth this season.
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Wednesday, November 30, 2016

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: How Do The Four Sundays of ADVENT Prepare Us For Christmas?



Last Sunday (November 27) was the first 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 an answer:

ADVENT emphases dimensions of our relationship with God that we sometimes neglect.  As Pastor Roberts says, "In ADVENT we feel what it was like for the children of Israel in their longing for a Savior.  We also get in touch with our yearning for a future in which the coming of the Lord will establish justice, wipe away every tear and bring the fullness of God's peace.  In ADVENT worship, we pay attention to the experience of waiting for God, rather than just rushing on to the next religious activity.

ADVENT also 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.

Through such reflection we are reminded of just how much we need a Shepherd to watch over us, a Savior to forgive us, and a Redeemer to deliver us.  Thus, ADVENT can help prepare us for a truer and more heart-felt celebration of Christmas.

In today's secular culture, pursuing these facets of ADVENT is not a simple task ---- it takes focused-time and re-enforcement.

So, during ADVENT worship next week, look for the ADVENT wreath with its four large candles, at the front of our Sanctuary.  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 focused, ADVENT can be a present opportunity to deepen our relationship with God.  This enriches 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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Wednesday, November 23, 2016

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: What Does Thanksgiving Day Celebrate?



In 1621, the Pilgrims celebrated after their first harvest in the New World, and some Americans call this the "First Thanksgiving."  Wikipedia tells us that the first Thanksgiving feast was held at the Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts, lasted three days, and was attended by 53 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans.

It was already an established practice in Europe to hold feasts celebrating such blessings as a military victory, the end of a drought, or a successful harvest.  For some, it was probably seen as a religious event, for others it was perhaps a time to let off steam and "party."

One of the guests at the Pilgrim's feast was Squanto, a Patuxet Native American who resided with the Wampanoag Tribe,  He had taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel and grow corn, and served as an interpreter for them.  Squanto had learned English while being taken around Europe as a curiosity, and during travels in England.  In addition, the Wampanoag leader Massasoit donated food stores to the fledgling colony during the first winter when supplies brought from England were insufficient.

The Pilgrims held another Thanksgiving celebration on July 30, 1623, after a long and nearly catastrophic drought ended with a refreshing 14-day rain, and assured a large harvest.  This 1623 Thanksgiving was significant because the order to recognize the event was from the Plymouth Colony's Governor William Bradford (a civil authority) and not from the church, making it likely to be the first civil recognition of Thanksgiving in New England.

"In the years following," Wikipedia continues, "irregular Thanksgivings continued after favorable events, and days of fasting  after unfavorable ones.  In the Plymouth tradition, a Thanksgiving Day was primarily a church observance, rather than a feast day.  But such Thanksgiving days would be a civil observation linked to the religious one, as in 1623.  Gradually, an annual Thanksgiving after the harvest, developed in the mid-17th century.  This did not occur on any set day or necessarily on the same day in the different colonies in America."

Then, in the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November, 1863, "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficial Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."  Since 1863, Thanksgiving has been observed annually throughout the United States.

But in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the traditional celebration date from the last Thursday in November.  In 1939, November had five Thursdays (instead of the usual four), and Roosevelt declared the fourth Thursday as Thanksgiving Day rather than the last one.  With the country still in the midst of The Great Depression, Roosevelt thought an earlier Thanksgiving would give merchants a longer period to sell merchandise before Christmas, helping the economy recover from the Depression.

Over the years, a number of traditions have grown up around Thanksgiving, that have no relationship to the event's early religious and civil intention.  For most Americans who celebrate with a Thanksgiving feast, a roasted turkey is the center of attraction on the dinner table.  Perhaps it was back in the era of President Harry Truman when the annual practice began for the President to "pardon" a live turkey, who would thus escape "capital punishment" and thereafter live out it's days on a nearby, peaceful farm.

In addition, many high school and college football teams will play their final games of the season on Thanksgiving Day or on the days immediately following.  This is facilitated by the common practice of employers to give workers as much as a four-day weekend.  Also, for many children, the big event of the weekend will be the annual Thanksgiving Day parade televised from New York City ---- but with much more emphasis on entertainment than on thankfulness for the year's bounty. 

For many religiously-inclined Americans, the annual Thanksgiving celebration reminds us once again to thank God for the rich bounty we find in our lives, whether material or spiritual.  But many of us do say such prayers of thanks throughout the year.  So, for such folks, perhaps the really unique gift of Thanksgiving is the strong sense of community with others, which it fosters.

The "community" around the Thanksgiving dinner table may be family, neighbors or just good friends ---- but, at this time of year we make a real effort to be there, even if we need to fly from a distant place.  Young and old gather.  The aroma and food delicacies create relaxed conversation and sweet recollections of people and times from the past.  In our very mobile and digitized America, has Thanksgiving Day reinvented itself yet again ---- morphing into an annual, not-to-be-missed day of COMMUNITY?

Perhaps not ---- think about the first Thanksgiving in 1621.  The Native American guests outnumbered the Pilgrims nearly two to one.  The Pilgrims were not just celebrating a good harvest and thanking God for their bounty ---- they were also recognizing that community with others had truly enriched their lives.

Isn't that also true for us today?  While the expression of thankfulness for our many blessings has not changed, it seems appropriate to also acknowledge the continuing gift of community with others.  After all, the Pilgrims recognized this blessing from the very beginning!

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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage your pursuit of person spiritual growth this fall at CPC.
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