Here we are in the midst of the Red River’s record flood. Although the river level dropped over a foot, the snow flying out my window only adds to what already covers the ground. We pray the levees hold as the snow’s melt pours into the flooded valley.
An influx of a couple thousand National Guard provides not only added protection, but it seems to offer a needed respite for weary flood workers. Please keep them in prayer as the enter dangerous situations, and continue your prayers for those sitting vigil, watching the pumps, and hoping against hope the dikes will hold.
Throughout these flooded days a flood of emotions enters those who battle the deluge. Fear, hope, gratitude, fatigue, burts of energy, sadness and moments of joyful exuberance.
These are moments when it seems that God is both very near and very far away–often at the same time. Now we continue to offer care, compassion, and seek concrete manners by which we demonstrate the sacrificial love of Jesus.
Fight the good fight, and keep the faith!
A Flood of Emotions
Jordan
I write this as we prepare to leave Amman, Jordan after a wonderful three days. We visited Bethany beyond the Jordan, Jesus’ baptism sight as well as the location of Elijah’s ascension and the Israelites crossing of the Jordan at the Exodus’ end. From there on to ancient Gerasa–an amazing Roman city of the Decapolis. We also visited Mt. Nebo where Moses gazed into the Promised Land.
Yesterday found us, not at a biblical sight, but at the ancient city of Petra, which was used in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” This is an incredible journey, for learning, pilgrimage, and awareness of current Middle Eastern situations.
The visits are only part of the journey. A deeper understanding of our world and history are invaluable. Can’t wait to visit some more.
Bethlehem
“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.”–Matthew 2:6
We’ve been on yet another whirlwind of a journey. Saturday we spent our time touring Bethlehem; the Church of the Nativity, the Shepherd’s Field, a Lutheran school and dinner at a bedouin tent, complete with working hookas. It truly is an exhilerating experience to stand next to the manger and see the spot where tradition says Jesus was born. A new sense of the word ‘impoverished’ is gained in the sight.
Probably the most impressive and inspiring moment of the day was an unscheduled visit to a Lutheran K-12 school, which educates 270 young people. It is a blessing to know our church emerges as a leader in the teaching of peace and co-existence.
Our eventful days continued today while worshipping at Christmas Lutheran Church. It was youth Sunday and a variety of youth participated in the service, included a dialogue sermon. From there we traveled to the Holocaust museum which is truly a somber walk.
Through the day we were surrounded by sights and sounds blatantly conveying the dire and urgent need to be Jesus’ hands and feet in a world where intolerance and hatred reign supreme. The Lutheran Church in Palestine is small, yet we learn that here are leaders for a new world; here are being raised up God’s messengers to change the world with the Gospel of Jesus.
I truly cannot wait to get home to share my experience. There is something about the journey that holds one in either speechless awe, dumbfounded by the overwhelming sights and situations; or it captivates the pilgrim so that they can’t shut up about it.
I leave it to you to guess which one I’ll be…
The Via Dolorosa
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”–Jesus, Matt.23:37
These past two days brought as much contrast as captivating sights. Yesterday was about as beautiful a Galilean day as is possible. From Capernaum to reading Jesus’ words on the Mount of Beatitudes, to the Golan Heights our little group experienced the awe-inspiring surroundings of Jesus’ ministry.
Today brought to us an experience as varied in surroundings as it was in effect. Walking the Old City of Jerusalem is not a jaunt to be grasped until you take the steps upon the limestone streetways. An eerie sense of ‘numb’ grabbed hold of me, an almost ‘no-reaction.’ Even as much of the city is greatly built up from the 1st century, and some of the sights can’t be 100% confirmed you still know you’re pretty close. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre contains both the believed locations of Golgotha and Jesus’ tomb. How strange and how downright odd to imagine the events so many years ago, and yet, the power of God’s intense love, (even a suffering love), hangs in today’s air.
The city sights are both impressive as well as faith-inspiring. Overlooking the Temple Mount from the west, you see the Mount of Olive’s slope to the east. Breathtakingly beautiful.
The journey continues and my fellow pilgrims are well. We settle in to the International Center of Bethlehem and visit the area tomorrow.
Blessings to all today.
Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee
Hello to all from the Sea of Galilee! We travelled to today from Amman, Jordan and first to Nazareth. The crossing at the border near Jericho is an interesting experience, to say the least. Presenting your passport to six different individuals, some of them with machine-gunned guards is a little disconcerting. Yet, like Dorothy to Toto, “We’re not in North Dakota anymore!”
The travel from there to Nazareth is a breath-taking drive through the Jordan River valley. We could first see it as we passed Mt. Nebo and shared a moment with Moses, looking into the Promised Land. Jerusalem was very much in sight as you gaze up the Judean hills.
To most in our group, the journey indeed is far more than a vacation; it is a pilgrimmage. The entry to the Church of the Annuciation in Nazareth presented most pilgrims with an appropriate sense of tingling awe. to gaze into a small cave where Gabriel may indeed have visited the young Mary is a somber and holy moment. We should have removed our sandals, for we were on holy ground.
I expect many more such moments in the days to come. The unreal and overwhelming sense of awe cannot be underestimated.
Now at the Sea of Galilee I have a room that overlooks the sea. Sight, sound and smell of the lake is right there. Before dinner I couldn’t contain myself and grabbed bible and journal and headed to the water, soon up to my knees where, somewhere close, Jesus called those first fishermen.
You could almost hear it; certainly with soul if not ear, “Follow me.”
More to come…
Dog Days
Here we are in August, closing in on these “dog days of summer”. We all know the hot, muggy weather we can experience in this part of the world. So what, exactly, are the “dog days”, and why do we call them such?
According to “Wikipedia”:
“The phrase Dog Days or “the dog days of summer“, refers to the hottest, most sultry days of summer. They are a phenomenon of the northern hemisphere that usually falls between early July and early September but the actual dates vary greatly from region to region, depending on latitude and climate. Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress.
The term “Dog Days” was used by the Greeks…as well as the ancient Romans…after Sirius (the “Dog Star”), the brightest star in the heavens besides the Sun.
Popularly believed to be an evil time “when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies” – Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813.
…The ancients sacrificed a brown dog at the beginning of the Dog Days to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that that star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather.”
Hmmm. Hot, stagnant, and a dull lack of progress accompanied by ancient astrology and canine sacrifice. And I thought it was just bloody hot! Our summer months roll along and will soon give way to fall. The busy-ness of autumnal motion is familiar to all; school days return, activities commence, and the turning of seasons readies us for winter’s onslaught. Maybe we need some dog days to rest and renew. Yet reflecting on my personal calendar, and knowing I’m not alone, these dog days have nothing to do with stagnation or dull lack of progress. We’re plenty busy now, sometimes to the point of “burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies”.
Even so, if we come across the occasion to rest and renew, it is a welcomed gift. Such it is with our lives of faith, devotion and discipleship. Rest and renewal are critical to our well-being. This doesn’t mean, (and we’re all guilty at times), that we put God on a shelf until the vacation’s over and Labor Day arrives. It’s the perfect time to reconnect with the spiritual core of our selves. Jesus always awaits with open arms to welcome, forgive, and make us whole. Every day.
So when your dogs are barkin’ these days, by all means rest. But know that the Lord who loves you as much as life itself calls your soul to fresh newness. Found nowhere else in all creation, it’s just what we need.
Renewal
There is much conversation these days about the renewal of the church. Certainly for all the good that comes from the church’s existence, there is a great blessing for the world. At our best, the church comes through in time of crisis, as well as comfort and direction for those wondering about life’s purpose. Yet something is missing from Christian congregations across this country. We’ve been about much good, but our sins and shortcomings regularly overshadow a positive presence.
Some generations perceive the church as irrelevant, they don’t need it, and they can live good and fruitful lives without a church connection. Sadly, I’d have to say in many ways they’re right. For we in the church it is extremely easy to position the blame on those who are missing, but is that true or even helpful in the conversation? Lately we at Olivet are engaging in the conversation in order to reinvent and renew our community and make meaningful connections. It’s not easy; sometimes we have to hear things about us that we’d rather not hear or admit. Jesus, it seems, was about this very thing; confronting the leaders to make fundamental and significant change. Not just for the sake of change, either. Jesus went straight for the heart both of the believer and the religious institution. His intent was to change, transform and renew for the sake of the world.
I’m hoping we can all listen with care and compassion. Not, (this may sound weird or even, dare I say, heretical), for building up the church, but for the sake of those whose lives may be gracefully impacted by Jesus’ love. What do you think? I’d love to hear more comments and ideas.
Peace,
Kris Gorden
Gifts
We recently dove into a Spiritual Gifts Inventory during a Sunday morning worship. I’m not sure what people expected before taking the inventory, other than many were confused at what such a thing is and how it would be used. Would this be another relatively useless “time and talent” sheet we’re so fond of in organized churches? Maybe it would be something cleverly used to get me to sign up for something, like a committee. (Good God! Who needs another committee meeting!)
Using an inventory in worship seemed like a risky thing to do. Yet if we asked people to come to designated times, my guess is three or four people out of 4000 would have shown up. Besides, to discover, claim and offer our gifts is a powerful act of worship, is it not? Admittedly, my expectations were kind of low. Even though we would work through the inventory and score it collectively in the service, how many people would actually do it and turn it in? 100-150 was my best guess. What a surprise to receive over 350 with more still coming in! Some were pleasantly surprised at their results, while most remark they feel affirmed in their giftedness.
God grants a powerful lot of gifts to each. It’s too common, however, for us to be humble, not brag or flaunt our gifts lest we be seen as braggarts or egotists. This is a sad development for church communities across the nation. My hope and prayer is that this first step in claiming our gifts will blossom into a field of ripe service for the kingdom. It doesn’t argue theology, get caught up in the “who’s saved, who’s lost” debate, or get bogged down in meetings to discuss what we should meet about. All indications are that a plunge into spiritual gifts becomes the gritty work of sharing a love that transforms and cares for the world. Here’s to unwrapping the gifts.
Pushing for Peace
This week recognizes one of the 20th century’s greatest leaders, one who could inspire hearts to change and feet to action. Monday commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and celebrations and memorials will happen across the country. Yet for so many, Monday is only another day off school, when banks and government offices are closed. We can only pray the message of Dr. King and others who work for peace and equality will not be easily forgotten or ignored.
Our world, this fabulous rock God gave us to tend, carries a myriad of talented people. We have the capacity to confront most of our world dilemmas, if only we have the will. Peace, equality, food and shelter for all are within our grasp, but it is going to take love, effort and tremendous hard work. It’s time for the followers of Jesus to take the lead.
I recently made a comment at our congregation’s annual meeting that for the church to be relevant to the world we must remain focused on the main thing, and keep our work and witness centered on the issues that change the world. The average person sipping coffee shop latte’s could care less about our theological quarrels, one church claiming its right-ness while telling us who’s wrong, or the endless stream of Christians who give us the low-down who’s saved and which poor suckers will be damned to hell. Not that I’m not concerned about such things, we simply can’t be consumed by these matters. Not when wars rage out of control, hunger is ashamedly rampant, preventable disease is high and equality remains far off.
Still, there is much hope. Jesus spoke regularly about the kingdom of God on earth. We who have faith in this One, who trust in his promises above all else, who hold these words of life can lead the way. All we need is the will.
Witness
Anyone ever talk to God and hope for God to speak in return? My prayer for our community of faith is that we will listen carefully to where God leads us. My prayer is that we will take message of gracious God–a God of love, God of life, God of healing, God of hope, to people who need to hear it. Whether they’ve heard it before and turned away, we have an opportunity to take it to them. Maybe they’ve never heard it, or at least never had it shared in real, meaningful, genuine manner. My prayer is that we might keep it real, that we can all witness to this amazing love.
Jesus once taught his disciple to “pray always, and not lose heart.” After all, a common prayer is, “How long, Lord—won’t you answer me???” As the story goes, however, Jesus recently taught those Twelve to pray—“Thy Kingdom Come…” Now things are heatin’ up. They come closer and closer to Jerusalem and those who seek to kill Jesus. It’s as if he says, ”Don’t lose heart now; not now when it gets tough.” These are the ones who must lead in witnessing to the faith, to God’s love in Christ, to a whole new way of living faith. Jesus has given them something to believe in, now is the time to believe it.
One of my best friends is also a seminary classmate. The summer after we graduated he worked construction–a job before he started serving his first congregation. He was regularly razzed by co-workers, and ”Preach” became his nickname, (he probably got it because he spoke up when the Lord’s name was taken in vain). One day he rode the truck to pick up supplies. The driver of course, turned to a conversation about God, as was usually the case in a one-on-one. “I read my bible, have my own prayers, believe in God on my own, but I don’t need church!” My friend replied in what I believe to be the most profound fashion. “Maybe not,” he said, “I’ll give you that. Maybe you don’t need church. But I’ll guarantee you one thing. Someone there NEEDS YOU!”
I think of some other friends, one lost wife to cancer at young age leaving a young daughter, some who can’t shake addictions, others with a host of troubles. They need some Good New. Who is on your heart today? How do they need the gracious love of Christ? How might you bring it to them?
Peace,
Kris Gorden
