The More Things Change

For those of you who long for the “good-ole-days” allow me to share a little dose of reality with you.  Awhile back, I went to the library and borrowed a copy of E.B. White’s collection of essays called One Man’s Meat.  For those of you who are saying to yourself “the name sounds familiar,” E.B. White is best known as the author of Charlotte’s Web.  He also wrote for the New Yorker magazine for many years.  The essays were written just prior to the start of World War II and they were published in book form in 1942.  Mr. White chronicles the journey of his move to a farmstead in Maine and what life was like, with some observations about the world at large, thrown in for good measure.  Reading through the book, I am reminded, once again, of the old saying “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

In an essay titled “Sabbath Morn,” written in February, 1939, Mr. White made the following observations:

“In this house we cling to a few relics of religious observance, but there is no heart in it.  If we possess faith (and I guess we do) it is of a secret and unconsecrated sort ill at ease in church….The church sometimes seems painfully unimaginative in its attempt to perpetuate a faith which has been gutted by so many fires.  Whether or not people are essentially less religious than they used to be, I don’t know, but it is obvious that something has happened….I go to church once in a while and sing the hymns very loud; it clears the blood, and I love the gush of holiness when the old bone-shaking anthems ripple up and down my spine and crackle in my larynx.  But for the most part, religion is tucked away in a bottom drawer among things we love but never use.  In two generations there has been a great falling off.  When I was a child, I could feel heaven slipping…By the standards of a hundred years ago, my family to-day is a group of misguided agnostics, seeking after an illusive beauty and fumbling for grace…”

What a familiar tale, I think to myself!  How similar and relevant are Mr. White’s words today?!  The great angst that we possess as the United Methodist Church over decline in attendance is the same thing that was going on back in “the good old days” that we fondly talk about.  The rosy days of “back yonder” were not quite as rosy as we would like to believe.  The reality, the truth of the matter is this-we struggle with the same issues that previous generations struggled with.  That doesn’t mean that we choose to just accept this as a fact of life, we can choose to try to change the outcome.  But if we intend to change, we had better make sure that we have thought things through carefully.  “Change for change sake” is not true change at all.  Learning from the past, taking off the rose colored glasses and seeing things as they really were, rather than how we imagine-that is the lens that we need to use when we decide what to change and how we go about changing things!  Until we can do that, until we can accept the fact that there is nothing new under the sun, all of our best laid plans will be nothing more than just another plan.

Let’s be honest with ourselves and recognize the fact that the more things change-the more they stay the same, if we choose to ignore the truth of the past.  We will not change the course if we do not learn the lessons of yesterday.  In my humble opinion, this is indeed a valuable and timely lesson in light of General Conference.  A voice from the past holds an important reminder, to us all, for today!

Song of Spring

A quick note-I wrote this piece about a month ago and didn't publish at the time.  Health issues and life in general still keep me hopping, but I am hanging tough and will persevere!  I hope you enjoy reading this piece!~ Trudy

Hello, darling readers!  I know, it has been awhile since I have ventured this way!  My only explanation is a few minor health issues, lack of inspiration and need to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather that has ventured over Missouri during the last month!  Today is different, it is the first day in over a month that we will have closer to a “normal average high” temperature.  It also rained quite heavily last night, so rushing to be outside in the mud is not on the agenda!

It’s been a strange spring!  Plants have bloomed much earlier than usual.  Trees are almost fully out in leaf.  My beautiful Lilac bush has just about gone by on the blooming stage.  Normally, it blooms closer to the end of April.  My husband actually did some mowing yesterday evening as well!  Gardeners, such as myself, have been in a rush to get things in the ground.  I did put some early spring plants in the vegetable garden, such as peas, lettuce, broccoli, carrots and radishes.  I took a pass on warmer weather plants, such as tomatoes, because I know that spring weather can be unpredictable.  The risk I take with the early spring crops is that they could bolt to seed if the weather stays unseasonably warm.  But, this is Missouri, and we still face a frost risk, for at least another month.  The cool weather crops can handle a hit of frost.  Tomatoes on the other hand, can not!  Like I said, it has been an unusually warm spring and the plants are doing their thing about a month or so ahead of schedule!

So, I have been outside quite a bit!  We turned off the heat and opened up the windows and let the fresh air in to the house!  I was so upset the other day because it actually got hot and humid enough that we had to close the house back up again and turn on the central air!  I like the fresh air.  I like feeling the breeze blow in through the open windows.  I love hearing the birds sing.  It’s a way for me to still feel connected to the outdoors even when I am doing the things inside that need to be done.  Closing up the house makes me feel disconnected and isolated.  One of the hardest adjustments for me since moving to Missouri has been dealing with air conditioning in the summer time.  In Vermont, summer is a time to be connected with the outdoors!  You open the windows in June, day and night, and they stay open until the end of August!  And if the house gets a little too stuffy, you go outside and sit in the shade, or go swimming at the brook.  That’s a tough thing to do here in Missouri when the temps hit 102 with 100 percent humidity!  Spring has now become my most favorite season here in Missouri, because it is more like the summers that I was used to back home in Vermont!

Being outdoors, especially in the garden, is a form of meditation for me personally.  There is something very satisfying in the experience of planting and weeding and hoping for the future!  If the tiny little seeds germinate, if the small plants survive and thrive, there is a hope for eating something fresh and wonderful from the ground that you have toiled to work!  It requires attention.  Weeds must be pulled.  Beneficial insects encouraged to pollinate.  Pests that would destroy your efforts, swiftly dealt with.  You don’t just simply throw things on the ground and hope that when you come back later, something will have stuck!  In order to be successful, you must engage in the process!

There’s a metaphor for life!  Engage in the process!  Pay attention to the details!  Prior to the economic crash, there were individuals who were warning that the pestilent swarm of collapse was coming.  Yet, we chose to ignore the sirens and hope for the best.  We threw our seeds on the ground and walked away and hoped that nature would take care of itself.  We called it “market forces” and opted to believe that they would keep the weeds in check and that the locusts would stay at bay.  We have paid a price for that philosophy and hopefully learned a valuable lesson as a country.

We can carry that lesson into our personal lives as well.  I think so many of us struggle because we have literally thrown our creative seed out in the proverbial wind and then wonder why things haven’t turned out the way we hoped they would!  We have hopes and dreams but they seem too big, too impossible to accomplish!  It seems like something is always coming up that either robs us of our energy to carry on, like a weed, or chews away at our confidence, like a locust!  We get tossed to and fro and our dreams shrivel up inside, never to see the light of day because the outcome is too much to hope for!  But let me ask you this-is God a big God?  Do you think God would give you hopes and dreams if HE didn’t already have a way for them to be accomplished?

The first thing to ask yourself is what do you think God wants you to accomplish?  Your first thought might be, I dunno!  But you do!  Think about the things you would like to accomplish.  When you do that, I have found that usually, these can be the seeds of the vision that God has planted inside of you.  It may not always be the case, (sometimes our ego can get in the way) but many times, when you take a good, hard critical look, you can find the seeds of a long term vision.  What do you hope to change?  In other words, what is the outcome that you would like to see?  Some would call it a goal.  I prefer to think of it as God’s vision for my life (once I have taken the time to get my ego out of the way)!  From there, we step back.  What will it take to get there?  This is a great way to come up with individual things that must be done along the way and it helps you identify what needs to be done first!  It forces you to pay attention to the details!  It also provides a way to become engaged in the process.  It becomes a way to engage with God in a very personal way!

This is not a new way of doing things, contrary to what popular culture would have you think!  God has longed to engage in a personal way since time immortal!  Think about it-why send Jesus to suffer on the cross if God was not a God of personal engagement?  Look at anything big that was done in the Bible, such as building the ark or the temple.  When you read about the undertaking, you always find very detailed descriptions of just exactly how the “goal” was accomplished.  First, came the vision.  Then came the details!  Even Jesus was very specific with the Disciples.  Jesus would go on  ahead of them as the Savior.  The Disciples would then share the Good News with all who would listen!  It wouldn’t be easy!  The High Council would dog every step.  Individuals would not receive them.  Sometimes even their own followers would cause them to have to settle disputes.  But their job, their goal would be to share the message and spread the word of God’s love and saving grace, one person, one town at a time!  If they tended the seeds that they planted, eventually the faith would grow and bloom and the bounty would spread!  But it would not happen if they did not take the time to engage in the process and pay attention to the details.  Details matter if you truly want to see the vision through!

Do you feel like you are floundering about, doing a whole lot of things and getting nowhere?  Stuck in the mire of everyday life?  Take some time away by yourself to meditate and listen for God‘s vision.  Your “meditation” may be being out in the garden, or maybe it is turning wrenches on your car project or perhaps it is just sitting quietly at the kitchen table.  Do what helps you think best and ask yourself, what is God’s vision for me?  Perhaps it is becoming a teacher or volunteering to help out a worthy cause or becoming the very best in your field of endeavor so that you can help others.  Whatever it is, get a clear vision of that “end-goal”.  Then take the time to look at the steps necessary to get you to that place.  Don’t be surprised if it takes a little while to come up with a plan because great things take careful consideration!  God is a big God who will show you the way!  Get yourself  spiritually in a position to take that first step!  Once the first step becomes clear, engage!

Psalm 40, verses 1-3 sums it up nicely:

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.  He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.”

May the God of all creation bless you fully, so you may be a blessing to others!  Amen and Amen!  On your way because your journey begins…today!

Can You Hear Me Now?

Artwork by Izzie, Used with Permission

Remember the cell phone commercial from a few years ago, where the guy is out in the middle of nowhere saying “can you hear me now?”  I was reminded of that little phrase as I read Job 23 this morning.  No, that isn’t exactly what Job said in that chapter but, in essence, it is the question that he was asking.  Job, in conversing with his friends essentially says that if he could just find God then he could argue his case before him.  He says this in verse 6 in the Wesley Study Bible:

“Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?  No, but he would give heed to me.”

In other words, Job is saying “at least he would hear me!”  How incredibly human is that desire?  Isn’t this something that everyone longs for at some point in time?  Although, you may not agree with me, at the very least, let me know that you hear what I am saying to you!  Each of us longs for someone else to listen to what we have to say!

As a mother, I can remember times, when my children were little, and they would come up to me with a picture, or they might tug on my arm wanting me to come see something that they had built.  Needless to say, sometimes their need to be acknowledged and my schedule didn’t always match!  Sometimes I could stop what I was doing to go look at their creation or listen to their story.  Other times, I would have to say “just a minute” and they would have to wait.  But I always tried to acknowledge their effort, or their point of view.  When they got older, the topics changed and there were a lot of family discussions around the dinner table.  I might not always agree with their position but I took the time to listen and acknowledge their point of view.  That longing to be heard is hard wired into each of us, from a young age and that longing doesn’t change no matter how old we grow!  Each and every one of us has a desire to be heard!

So why is it so hard to be heard?  Because in order to be heard, someone has to take the time to listen.  And listening seems to be in short supply.  It’s like we are all talking past each other rather than talking with each other.  Sometimes we have to stop talking and instead start listening!  That doesn’t mean that you will always be in agreement on a topic, but at least you will have made the effort to hear the other persons point of view.

Now I could use the United States Congress as a prime example of “talking but not listening” but I have another example that I would like to bring up-General Conference.  For those of you who are not Methodist, let me briefly explain what General Conference is about.  Every four years the Methodist church sends delegates from around the world to meet together for “Holy Conferencing” to discuss the state of the church and to debate issues regarding the future direction of global church efforts.  It’s a little more complicated than that but this gives you a rough idea in a nutshell.  This year, is a General Conference year, and we have a new “hot button” issue to add to the list of perennial hot button issues that come up at General Conference time.  The issue is how does the United Methodist Church reverse the membership decline that has plagued so many “mainline“ denominations?  In preparation, our leadership formed yet another committee to do a study, in order to come up with a plan that could be presented at General Conference.  It has a catchy name “Call to Action”.  This group, called in consultants and did various studies and then issued a report with their recommendations.  Since then, there has been a tremendous amount of debate from both sides and lots of ink used to defend various positions.  As we approach General Conference, the rhetoric is starting to pick up in tempo.

As a lay member who will not be at General Conference and has listened to both sides of the debate on restructuring all I have to say is I see a whole lot of talking going on, but I surely do not see a whole lot of listening going on!  If this is our definition of “Holy Conferencing” then we are in trouble!  When you have individuals from Bishops to Delegates writing and essentially saying “this is my position and I don’t care what you have to say” then we have a problem!  Everyone is so busy talking past each other and highlighting “bullet points” and defending turf that we have turned a deaf ear to listening!  This group, will decide the future of my church and expect me to take them seriously, while pounding the war drums of entrenched positions!  Seriously???  Where is the Holy Conferencing?  Where is the prayer, the discernment, and most importantly, the listening to each other, even if you do not agree?  With everything going on in the world this is where we draw battle lines?  How many people are starving in the world?  How many people are dying from preventable diseases?  How many people could use a roof over their head, or clean water, or training that would give them an opportunity to make something better of themselves?  Dear delegates, I am begging you-please stop talking long enough to listen!

I pray that each of you will go to General Conference with a willingness to listen.  I pray that you are filled with a spirit of discernment and an openness to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying, regardless of whether it lines up with your pre-determined position on a topic.  I don’t care what the consultants recommend, I don’t care what popular culture is expecting, I care about what God is asking us, as a denomination to do!  Be open, be flexible, but most importantly, be willing to listen!  There is so much to be done and we as a denomination will not be able to move on and do the things that need to be done, if we are too busy advancing agendas, instead of listening to what God is calling us to do!  Imagine that the Holy Spirit is the guy, out in the middle of nowhere, holding the cell phone, saying “can you hear me now?”  Be the one who says “yes, I’m listening!”  And may the Lord truly bless our ministry!

God and Ruth and Those Mysterious Ways!

What do you say about Ruth?!  She’s so important that there is an entire book in the Bible devoted to telling her story!  Ruth rocks!  She is yet another example of how God uses the most unlikely people, in the most extraordinary way!  First off, she’s a woman.  Second, she’s a Moabite.  Third, she is a widow.  None of these are helpful in the male dominated, Old Testament, society but, the combination of the three, spells disaster!  A female outsider, in a Jewish community, with no husband, does not make for a recipe for success in the natural.  But we’re not talking about the natural, we’re talking about God, and this story is yet another reminder that He doesn’t look at things the same way that we do!

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?  The story starts off by telling us about Elimelech and Naomi, and their two sons, who live in Bethlehem during the time of the Judges.  They live in Bethlehem but, at the time, there was widespread famine in the land.  So, they pack up with their sons in tow, and head out of town, in search of a place that actually has food.  They end up in Moab.  Here’s what you need to keep in mind-if you go back in the Old Testament, you will see that Moab and Israel were not the best of buds over the years!  Far from it! They actually attacked each other numerous times during their history.  Yet, the Moabites welcome the family and the two sons end up marrying Moabite women.  Again, this should be a red flag, because marrying outside of the faith was not something that was supposed to be done!

Long story short, Elimelech dies, the sons die, and Naomi is left with nothing but two Moabite in-laws.  So, she decides to go back to Bethlehem.  Hopefully, someone there from her family will, at the very least, take her in and give her a place to live.  Orpah and Ruth go with her, at least part of the way.  Somewhere along the way, Naomi realizes that she can’t offer anything to them, and she realizes that it would be best for them to go home to their own families.  If they do that, they stand a fighting chance!  They could remarry and have a chance at a new life filled with hope!  At first, both of the women tell her no.  Naomi tries a second time to reason with them and, at that point, Orpah decides to turn around, but Ruth stays.  So Naomi tries for a third time to change Ruth’s mind, but here’s what Ruth says in chapter one starting at verse 16 (Wesley Study Bible):

“Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you!  Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.  Where you die, I will die-there will I be buried.  May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!”

Now that’s a spunky girl!  Here’s the really interesting thing to remember-there were no guarantees for Ruth!  I am reminded of that other gutsy and courageous woman by the name of Rahab-remember her?  Both women were willing to sacrifice themselves in order to protect and take care of those they loved!  And both women, although they did not fully understand who God was, still chose to follow, without any promises or guarantees that things would work out for them personally!  No matter, how you slice it or dice it, giving up everything that you know takes some serious courage!

Naomi and Ruth make it to Bethlehem, which causes a serious stir about town.  In verse 19 it says that the only thing the women of Bethlehem said was “is this Naomi?”  There’s a subtle understatement!  Uh-uh!  You better believe that there was some serious gossiping going on!  Oh, I’m sure, they were pleasant enough to her face, but you know they had to be thinking that she was being punished.  Not only did her family leave Bethlehem, but her sons married Moabite women for goodness sakes!  No wonder they all died!  And here she comes, slinking back into town, looking for help?!  Not only that but she brought one of those Moabite women with her, can you believe it???!!!  Doesn’t get more juicy scandal than that!  As my gramma would say, there was a whole lotta tongue wagging going on!

God works in mysterious ways though!  I can picture Him up in heaven just shaking his head, and thinking “ladies, you are in for one big shocker of a surprise by the time I’m through!”  Be grateful that God does have a sense of humor and a larger view!

The story continues on, Naomi and Ruth have shown up, just in time, for the harvest and Ruth suggests that she go out in the fields to glean.  I think at this point, Naomi figured they had nothing to lose, so she tells Ruth to go and give it her best shot.

Wonder of wonders, where does Ruth end up working?  In a field owned by a rich guy, by the name of Boaz, who just happens to be a relative of Naomi’s, on her husband’s side of the family!  Out of all the fields in Bethlehem she just happens to pick the right one?  Gee, does that smack of the subtle hand of God?  Hmm…I wonder….  Oh, but it gets better!  Boaz just happens to come out of Bethlehem to the field, at that time, and he just happens to notice this stranger gleaning behind his servants.  He asks his head servant about her, and the servant tells him that she is the Moabite, who came back with Naomi. She asked permission to glean, and she’s been hard at work ever since she got there!  Boaz now chooses to do something that he was not expected, or required, to do. Not only does he go to Ruth and tell her to stay with his reaping crew through the harvest, he also tells his servants to pull extra out of the standing stock so she has more to glean.  Understand, Boaz is not the kinsman redeemer, he is not first in line!  It is not his responsibility to take care of Naomi even though she is a relative.  But here is the glaring ,obvious, point that should not be missed-the kinsman redeemer is obviously NOT taking care of Naomi, because, if he was, Ruth would not be out in the field gleaning after the harvesters!  Boaz can not take care of Ruth and Naomi directly, but he CAN take care of them indirectly, by making sure that Ruth is under his protection, working in his fields, following his servants AND he makes certain that Ruth is able to glean enough for Naomi and Ruth to eat!  Boaz is doing what the kinsman redeemer should have been doing in the first place!

Ruth goes back to Naomi, after a successful day of gleaning, and Naomi is astounded by how much Ruth has been able to gather!  So she asks Ruth “where did you go? Where did you work?  Who took notice of you?”  So, Ruth tells her about her encounter with Boaz and what he said and how kind he was to her.  Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when Naomi put two and two together!  I bet her entire face lit up!  “Blessed be he by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi tells Ruth.  Naomi may have been the grieving, bitter widow, but she’s no fool!  She knew full well who the kinsmen redeemer was and she understood that he had no desire to fill that role.  Boaz, on the other hand, would fulfill that role if given the opportunity!  The question then became, how to make it happen?

Naomi came up with a daring, risky plan to let Boaz know, that she was willing to let him fulfill the role of kinsman redeemer.  If it worked, not only would she and Ruth be taken care of, but her husband’s family line would live on.  She sent Ruth to the threshing floor, under the cover of darkness and instructed her to wait until Boaz had laid down for the night.  She then told Ruth to go, uncover his feet, lay down, and wait.  If Ruth was caught, it would be absolutely scandalous, but if it worked, Boaz would not rest until he took care of the matter!  Boaz discovered Ruth at his feet about midnight.  Ruth made her request “spread your cloak over your servant for you are next-of-kin.”  Boaz responded exactly the way Naomi thought he would!  In chapter 3, starting at verse 10 he says:

“May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.  And now, my daughter, do not be afraid, I will do for you all that you ask, for all the assembly of my people know that you are a worthy woman.  But now, though it is true that I am a near kinsman, there is another kinsmen more closely related than I.  Remain this night, and in the morning, if he will act as next-of-kin for you, good; let him do it.  If he is not willing to act as next-of-kin for you, then, as the Lord lives, I will act as next-of-kin for you.”  

Sure enough, the next morning, he sent Ruth back to Naomi with six measures of Barley and got her out of there before she could be discovered.  Then, he went to the town square and waited for the closer relative to pass by.  In the presence of the elders he asked the kinsman redeemer if he wanted to buy Naomi’s field? At first he said yes.  Boaz reminded him that it meant he would have to marry Ruth and, he decided, that he didn’t want to “damage his inheritance.”  He passed the right of redemption on to Boaz!

Boaz married Ruth, and they had a son named Obed.  And Ruth, the outsider, is remembered as being greater than seven sons to Naomi!    She also had a very famous great-grandson by the name of David, son of Jesse, who went on to become King.  Further down the line of genealogy, came a young man, by the name of Jesus-King of Kings and Lord of Lords!  One more interesting little factoid for you-Boaz, is the son of Salmon, who was married to Rahab, that other outsider who risked her life at Jericho! One outsider, marries the son of an outsider, which produces the lineage that brings about the Savior of the world! How cool is that?!

If you had any doubt, let this story be a reminder, that God does work in mysterious, wonderful, ways!

Happy Town Meeting Day!!!

Today is the first Tuesday in March.  In political circles, that means Super Tuesday, where voters in various states vote in the primaries, for their favored nominee, for Presidential candidate.  In Vermont, it means Town Meeting Day!

I’m not sure how many New England states still practice the art of Town Meeting, but Vermont continues with the proud tradition!  Town Meeting is not merely the duty of showing up to vote.  Town Meeting is an event!  If you really want to see what Democracy in action looks like, find a way to attend a good ole fashioned Town Meeting!

In my hometown of Waterbury, Vermont, Town Meeting takes place in the school Gym.  If you get there early enough, you might get a chair seat on the floor; otherwise it’s the wooden bleachers for you!  The Select board (town leaders) sit up front on the stage, and the moderator leads the voters through the process of issues outlined in the Town report (which is mailed out to all members of the community ahead of time).  Posts are filled, like Town Constable or some of the more obscure positions like Fence-Row Surveyor.  Budgets are presented for the Town Government, Fire Department, Library, etc.  The floor is open to questions and debate on each item, and then a motion to vote is put forward, and the item is voted on.  Those in favor say aye (pronounced I) and those opposed say nay.  The meeting starts early in the morning and doesn’t finish up until sometime in the evening.  It is an all day affair!

They do take breaks during the day.  Dinner break is called around noon (just an FYI, for the old timers, dinner is at noon, supper is in the evening and using the word lunch is ludicrous!)  The meeting is reconvened for the afternoon session and then supper break is called later in the day.  If there is still any business to conduct after that, the meeting will reconvene again, and go in to the evening until all business on Town matters is concluded.  In a nutshell, that is town meeting.  But the nutshell doesn’t do it justice!  There is a dynamic, an energy that you just don’t experience any other way!


Whether you are young or old, cantankerous or  bashful, everyone has a voice!  The proposed budget items may be set by the Select board but you have the opportunity to ask questions and debate on the spot!  Anyone who is a registered voter, can stand in front of the microphone, and have their opinion heard!  You’re not just going in to a voting booth and checking the appropriate box, you are actively participating in the give and take process, and voting on things that effect not only you, but your entire community.  You literally see the community in front of you.  You see their faces.  You sit side by side.  Your neighbor hears your ayes as well as your nays!  Sometimes things get contentious, but there is a level of respect for opposing opinions that you don’t find anywhere else!

Is the process long?  Could it be done more efficiently by merely placing the items on a ballot, and having individuals come in, and vote in a ballot booth?  I’m sure that it could.  But in doing so, you miss out on a wonderful opportunity to participate in a dynamic, meaningful process.  Town Meeting is dynamic!  It is alive and energetic!  It is also incredibly meaningful because you know that you have had an opportunity to be heard!  The community, together, as a whole, works its way through the process of deciding issues for the town as a group!  That my darling friends, is huge!  There is truly a sense of being a part of something that is bigger than just you!

As you can tell, I miss being able to participate in Town Meeting.  I miss hearing the questions and the thought provoking debates.  I miss sitting next to neighbors and hearing their opinions.  I miss being able to participate in something more than a piece of paper in a ballot booth.  Town Meeting taught me to be respectful of other peoples opinions.  It taught me the art of a good debate.  It taught me the importance of being involved in community because I do have a stake in the place where I live!  It taught me the art of loving my neighbor and doing unto others in a purposeful way.  My vote did not just effect me.  It had an impact on others and I was reminded of that point vividly as I saw their faces surrounding me.

For my family and friends in Vermont; happy Town Meeting day!  For those of you who have never experienced it-you don’t know what you’re missing!

Sharing a blog post from a friend

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Ann's Attic-Rehab

Hang with the Sheep, Not the Goats!

Matthew chapters 23-25 runs quite an interesting gauntlet.  It starts off with Jesus denouncing the Scribes and Pharisees, proceeds on to discussion about signs of the end of the age, and moves on into Parables about bridesmaids and servants and talents, and wraps up with Judgment.  Now I have heard dozens of sermons preached on individual parts, particularly talents (usually around the time that the Stewardship drive comes around), but I have never seen anyone connect the dots between these three chapters.  And yes, there is a connecting thread that weaves through the three chapters!

Let’s start at the beginning.  In chapter 23, Jesus blasts the Pharisees and Scribes!  Specifically, he sums up his point in verse 23:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law; justice and mercy and faith.  It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.”

In other words, they know the law.  They can tell you all about the “matters of law”.  But knowing and doing are two totally different things!  They practice and carry out the things that can be seen-the “look at me, I’m giving my tithe of rare and precious spices” but they don’t carry out the things that require an investment that is not always seen-justice, mercy and faith.  Jesus at the very beginning of the chapter tells the listeners to do what the Scribes and Pharisees say, just don’t do what they do!

We then move on to chapter 24-the signs of the end of the age.  A lot of people get hung up on the signs and miss the entire point, which is emphasized at the end-always be watchful!  Keep doing what you are called to do and do it well, because you never know when the end is coming!  Take the talents and multiply them!  Which brings us into chapter 25 and the judgment of the nations.

In chapter 25, what is the standard that differentiates the sheep from the goats?  Jesus sums it up in verses 35 and 36:

“for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

Justice, mercy, faith-live and in action, are summed up in those two verses!

Which brings me back around to the point of the talents that we hear so much about!  A talent can be money.  It can be your special gift and grace.  But to truly “invest” your talents means that you invest in people and relationships-the one on one daily, nitty gritty of living day to day!  It is not merely about investing in a building or a program!  It’s about investing in life!  It is the stuff that we do, day in and day out, that seems insignificant because, well, it’s simply the right thing to do!

Shall we put it in modern day parlance?  I had a flat tire and you stopped to help me change it in the freezing cold, on the side of the interstate.  My house was blown away by a tornado and you came to help me clean up and save what I could, even though you didn‘t know me.  I was with my children at the grocery store in the check out line and I came up $1.98 short and you pulled out two dollars from your pocket so I wouldn’t have to face the embarrassment of trying to pick what I needed to put back.  I did something stupid as a youth and had to serve jail time, but you didn’t forget me!  You wrote letters and came to visit when you could.  I was new in town and had no family and friends and you invited me over for lasagna dinner.  I could go on, I could list more and more examples, but I think I’ve made my point!

Tell me, what on that list involved some big mission program or involved a building???  Not one!  And only one on that list involved money!

Now, before some of you out there have a coronary and think that I am saying to not support your local church or some special mission program, take a deep breath and relax!  There are certain things that only a church or an organization can do really well and it is important to support those programs!  The Pharisees, even they did that!  My point is, it is only half of the story.  And if you go back and read what Jesus said, that was his point as well!  Do what they tell you, just don’t stop there.  Don’t do what they do, focusing only on those visible things.  If you only do what they do, then you miss this whole other realm of possibility!

Look around you.  There is a mission field right in front of your face!  There are countless possibilities and endless ways that you can help others!  Some may involve money but the vast majority involve hand holding and tear wiping and good old fashioned sweat!  It’s about people and relationships.  It involves sharing yourself with others.  It involves giving your time, not just your money.

In some weird and twisted way, we equate mission with some far off place.  Mission is what “the church” or “the organization” does.  We can give our money but we certainly can’t “do mission” because we are not equipped to do that sort of work.  Jesus, however, reminded us that mission is all around us!

Be ready, Jesus said, because you never know!  Be the servant always on the look out for the little opportunities.  Mission is all around you, if you will just open your eyes and look.  Tithe and support the big stuff, but continually be on the lookout for those justice, faith and mercy moments.  They are more abundant than you might think!  Hang with the sheep, not the goats!