Presbymom

Apologies to my non-Presbyterian friends, but here goes some unpacking from my last week. The past week was a super busy one in the life of my church and in the life of the PC (USA). Watching the progress in polity of General Assembly (GA) our governing body meeting in Detroit from a youth mission work site in New Orleans was unique and in surprising ways enriching. In both service out in the world and service within the church body, we struggle together to do the right thing. There are no guarantees, but the spirit is at work in our midst to help us muddle through. We pray, we serve, and we struggle together. Because we are pretty much guaranteed to not always make everyone happy, we compromise and work together. In my case this time with a hammer in one hand and a cell phone checking updates in the other.   But the important thing is prayerful action. We serve together seeking to make the community and our neighbors feel the justice and benefit of Christ's b...

Palm Sunday is a wonderful/horrible day. How are we to preach this text when it is a very typical best of times and worst of times? We celebrate Jesus riding on a donkey and being welcomed by the crowds and then quickly turn to a gruesome betrayal. Weird as it may sound, this reminds me greatly of my experience this past weekend. I attended a junior high youth conference. How in the world you might ask does this relate to Palm Sunday? The youth are having a wonderful time and are also being pushed and challenged in their faith discussions during such a conference. They are enjoying themselves in a retreat setting and can leave the cares of the world behind. Often times, they are rejoicing and spending time with dear friends who they will not see regularly outside of such retreats. For many it is a mountaintop experienced that they wish to hang onto. Much like disciples who want to build tents on the mountaintop and reside there forever on the right and left hand of Jesus, the you...

PicStitch Hebrews 2:10-18 As we sit here nestled between Christmas Day and the start of the New Year, we are surrounded by memories. They may form a pretty collage or they may be jagged at the edges torn in half to delete a person, or with some blacked out faces or places we would rather forget. In the age of computers, that is the joy of apps such as pic stitch. With this app, on the fly, I can sort through the photos taken on my phone, make my image skinnier, prettier, bigger or smaller and blot out that ex or the person photo bombing my favorite picture deleting the unwanted background or person from a shot that was supposed to show special time with a best friend. Magazines and media review the year in pictures. We review highlights and biggest news events and look forward with hope of what is next. Even though we are still in the season of Christmas, Christians quickly move past the baby in the manger. As Theologian Johnny Hill puts it we have shifted our attention from...

Christmas Eve Sermon on Luke 2:1-20 I think it took maybe 5 minutes before there was a knock on my door after turning in today’s sermon title. Ever careful, our church secretary Carol wanted to just make sure that I really meant it when I put the sermon title down as Xmas instead of spelling Christmas out. Rightly so, she wanted to make sure that I knew what I was doing printing the title this way. Yes, it is on purpose! With a husband who works retail, I am very aware of the retail side of Christmas. This year has been especially interesting watching the news and social media grab the argument and embrace the season in a so-called War on Christmas. News channels debate the reason for the season, comedians have a heyday picking apart their words, televangelists and even politicians – maybe especially politicians - all want to have their say on the importance of Christ and not letting our secular society heist the season and leave out Christ. Rachel Held Evans notes that pe...

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 I find it intriguing that the lectionary texts this year all seem to elcit the responses from my study group of: "Oh no not that one!" or "That text is so misused." What is it about this particular set of scripture that is tempting to 'misuse'? Today's text is a letter to the Thessalonians about the community and imitating the example of the disciples who started the church. It exhorts us to be willing to work for it has been heard that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies. Those who are not willing to work it continues, should not eat. In the current era in America, this is used to belitle plans such as Obamacare, assistance such as food stamps and an array of other services. Others are quick to rationalize or latch on to the term 'willing'. They may be willing but unable at this time to do work or to find work. However, in doing this, we miss the point. The misuse is applying scripture to judge eve...

Luke 17:5-10 Following a passage where they are brought to task to rebuke those who sin, and then to forgive them if they repent. Okay - but then how often? We are admonished that 7 times  a day isn't too much. C'mon isn't that  bit much? Even the apostles must have thought so because that is where verse 5 begins. 'Add faith to us' ask the apostles - if you expect THIS of us. Jesus' response at first glance sounds like another rebuke, and yet it is not. He says - 'If you have faith of a grain of mustard' you would have asked this, and it would have happened. And this isn't a hopeful 'if only you could have had enough faith'. The intent behind these Greek words in this type conditional statement is that - yes, you do have this faith! And that faith is enough. In these verses, Jesus is telling us that we are powerful enough. Matthew and Mark would have us move a mountian with our faith, and for Luke it is just a tree. However, watchin...

Luke 16:19-31 Luke has grabbed us by the throats and refuses to let go with the texts from last week and this (last week was Luke 16:1-13) We are being called once again to justice. Rather than leaving it alone, we are being pushed a little more and a little harder to look honestly at ourselves and the role we play in life. How do we make money decisions and what are we controlled by in our daily lives? The rich man walks past Lazarus every day yet does nothing. Do we have to do works for salvation? My whole tradition says that it is by grace alone that I am saved. And yet, how can we claim that grace if we do not recognize and embrace our connectedness. What exactly are all of the structures for government and for non-profit aid we have set in place for if not justice? Let's begin with a definition of the word. According to the Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, justice is the concept of each person receiveing what is due with a Biblical emphasis on right relations...