Reflection on resources

As the cost of gasoline and oil continue to rise, I am amazed at the lack of attention this has had with Congress and the Executive branch to really do anything meaningful. I know that President Bush is holding out for the hydrogen cell cars and Congress is holding out to make auto makers increase gas mileage by 2012. I came across the following article in Christian Century November 27, 2007 which quoted a news article from the New Yorker, November 5.

In 1993 President Clinton launched the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. It was designed to assist the big three automakers in producing cars that would increase fuel efficiency threefold in 10 years. In 2002, after $1 billion of federal money had been spent and each of the Big Three had produced models of fuel-efficient cars, the Bush adminstration scrapped this program in favor of the FreedomCar project, which is aimed at creating a car that runs on pure hydrogen. Meanwhile, the average care sold in the U.S. today gets 20 miles per gallon--about the same as in 1993 when Clinton launched the Partnership program and less than what Henry Ford's Model T got when it went on the market 99 years ago.

Somehow I am not surprised by this. I had read a letter to the editor in the World Herald that stated that his 1966 truck got over 30 miles to a gallon. It makes one wonder why are cars, suv's and trucks getting less mileage today than they were getting 99 years ago? As I was thinking about this, I want to share scripture that points out to us our own failings to learn and to truly do things differently. "History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. What can you point to that is new? How do you know it didn't already exist long ago? We don't remember what happened in the former times. And in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now (Ecc 1:9-12 NLT)."

I hope that someday we will remember and will be willing to support stewardship of our resources in a more ethical responsible way. Until such a time, let us make our choices regarding our own lives and hold those in power to actually do what they say they are going to do.

Advent

I have been having several of these "God" moments that come often when I least expect them to arise. I touched upon this particular moment in my sermon on Sunday but wanted to spend more time reflecting on it as I prepare myself for this Advent and Christmas season. This moment occurred right before the start of a wedding that I officiated at Saturday. During this interlude before the service, I was talking to a person and we began to chat about Thanksgiving and what we had done. We were also talking about "black Friday" and the people lining up for the bargains at various stores often getting into line at 3 am. We spent time wondering about this and she made a comment, "Wouldn't be wonderful if Christmas was more like Thanksgiving." Her comment made me begin to think about what I was planning on preaching this Advent which was Christmas in our culture. It struck me about what we have done with celebrating the birth of our Savior.
I began to reflect on not only my behavior but even my family's behavior during this time. While Thanksgiving is a secular holiday which we have incorporated as religious institutions, Christmas is a religious holiday which has be usurped by the secular institutions. It now has become a time of over consumption, busyness, for many a time of depression and anxiety, so much so that people complain about the holiday. Some spend so much time fretting over the perfect meal or gift, that they have lost sight of what this time of year was supposed to mean.
There have been several meaningless attempts to change our attitudes with such slogans as "Let's put back Christ in Christmas, Let's look for the true meaning of Christmas (as if it was ever lost), and others. What struck me was that despite the good intentions of those who propose such things, I see no effort to choose to do things differently. We are the ones who choose to do the things that we often complain about. We have been socialized in such a way that the normal or natural way of doing things involve "black Fridays" and other social ideas of Christmas. We cannot blame others but need to take responsibility for our own choices as difficult as that may be. It is the same with other choices that we make such as youth sports on Sunday that interfere with church and with families. We are the ones that continue to make that possible. Similar to an event here in Omaha when Hannah Montana came and many parents spent outlandish amount of money to get tickets. Some were conned out of their money and were complaining about that and rightly so. Yet, why did they spend 200-300 dollars for a 60-80 dollar ticket? I wonder why they couldn't say no to their child. And I have to look in a mirror and wonder why I would spend so much money for my grandkids for presents?
If we want to make Christmas be more meaningful, we need to look at the choices that we make and decide if that is in the spirit of Christ or do we want just another secular holiday celebrating consumerism.

Thanksgiving

I want to first wish everyone who reads my blog a happy thanksgiving. I pray that it is a time of family fellowship, reflection, and remembering all the blessings that we have received. I know that Nancy and I will be enjoying a quiet day to ourselves this Thanksgiving and will be seeing our kids this weekend.
I wanted to share with you something that I call one of those "God moments." At our bible study Monday night, we are continuing to study Leviticus. As we were discussing what we can discern from the scripture, someone asked me for my opinion about something and stated "What did they tell at your cemetery?" We all had a chuckle about the slip of the tongue. But as I had time to reflect on that statement, I realized that there was a great deal of truth in what was said. I value my experiences at seminary. I learned a lot about differing ways of understanding church history, understanding about doctrines, and scripture. I have grown a great deal spiritually from my experiences. Though as I reflected on that statement and as I was planning a funeral service the next day, I realized that the foundation of my beliefs was not at seminary but at the cemetery.
It is at the cemetery, at the tomb, and at the empty tomb that I believe our foundation of belief and faith arises. It is there I find the most hope to be able to do what I do. Without that I feel that whatever we decide has less meaning then going about sharing the hope of Christ and God's love and mercy with those we meet. As we approach Advent and Christmas, I believe it is important to remember not just Christ's birth or what I may get but rather what God gave us. For that I give all my thanksgiving to God this holiday.
I pray that everyone experiences one or more of these "God moments" in their life this time of year. I invite you to share those with the people around and even share here.
God be with you this day and everyday.

Stewardship

I have been doing a series of sermons on stewardship using ideas from Logos productions Stewardship of Bread. This Sunday is our commitment Sunday where we with reflection and prayer bring our commitments to fund our ministries. With our bible study of Leviticus and with preparation on these sermons, I have become more aware of my need to make decisions regarding the resources that I have and how am I sharing those with those in need. I have been preaching about planting seeds and harvesting the fruit of those seeds, making them into mission ministry, and sharing with those around us in our community. I have also been reflecting on the bigger question of stewardship and sacrifice.
Today the leading scientists have stated that the world is growing warmer at a more rapid pace that what was first believed. They are beginning to look at the consequences of that global warming and how it will affect not only the animal kingdom but also humans. We have towns now in the United States that have no water and are dependent on piping water from other areas to be able to drink, wash, and to use for toilets. What happens if where they are going to get their water also run out of water. What will happen in Western Nebraska when they finally drain the Ogallala Aquifer? These are not some far off future events but are occurring in the present or in the next 10-15 years. What are we to do?
Stewardship means making informed and ethical decisions not only for what is best for us but what is best for those who will follow us. I am fearful that if we wait until the major crisis comes we will not be able to reverse what is happening. My concern is that our government is crisis oriented and takes so long to reach a decision that it will be too late. Maybe I am a doomsayer and completely wrong but the concern of how we do things no matter what needs to be rethought.
One part of the sharing part of stewardship involves feeding others who are effected by the droughts in the world here and abroad. Feed my starving Children (www.fmsc.org) figures to feed 5000 a nutritious meal would cost about 15 cents a meal or about $750. Here in Omaha to make a bag lunch for people would cost about 70 cents a meal or feeding 5000 would be $3500. I believe as we take part in mission work through our contributions and our time we become more aware of other ways we can be more willing to share what we have.
I believe I have been rambling enough. As we approach Thanksgiving, I would ask that everyone remember to thank God what they have been blessed with and to share with those around them. Also to remember that God created all that is and we are responsible to care for it.

Sacrifice

I have had some comments about my blog from yesterday about rationing personal use of gasoline. Most have called to question the feasibility of doing that with the lack of good mass transit and especially in rural areas. And the people are right. But I would bring up why don't we have mass transit availability? It has never been a priority because we the consumer have grown easy with our "unlimited" resources and have not been concerned about the impact that our choices have made. Another comment was that we could work to improve the gas mileage of cars and SUV's. And again I would agree. But look at the flak that occurred when congress wanted to make the car industry increase the gas mileage to 25mpg. People were outraged about whether or not that was fair including the executive branch which makes their money from the oil industry. Congress was willing to give car makers until 2010-2014 to make the changes when we have the ability to do that right now.
It would mean giving up Hummers, large SUV's that currently only get 12-15mpg. Is that good stewardship? I believe that we need to take a look at our willingness to go beyond just complaining about something and actually doing something ourselves to act responsibly and be a good steward of the resources that we possess. In bible study, we are studying Leviticus. We discussed that idea of sacrifice not as obligation but as a means of coming closer to God and to God's creation. Our willingness to even be inconvienced some may have a greater ability to bring us closer to our families, ourselves, and our God. It is not so much giving up something as giving to something.

Random thoughts

I often read with humor the letters to the editor in the World Herald. There are a few that can get my blood pressure up and others that seem to be just greatly misinformed. There also many that show thoughtfulness and careful reflection even on things that I would not agree on. There have been several that have dealt with the idea of becoming less dependent on foreign oil. I agree that we should look at ways that we can lessen our dependencies. Ethanol has been touted as the savior. I do feel using renewable resources certainly has more going for it than our using resources that have limits. There is a concern though that using particularly corn or soy can lead to decreases in the production of food which would greatly affect the poor. We need to become more aware of the interconnectedness of our decisions.
I did have an idea about how we can drastically cut our dependence on gasoline if we are serious about wanting to do that. I would think if we would ration gasoline for personal use to about 10 gallons a month think about what that would mean. It would require us to be more diligent about how we use our cars especially in commuting to work and to others non-essential trips. It would require us to be more aware of mass transit, the development of vehicles that would get increased mileage, and looking at alternative fuel such as electric and hydrogen cells. It would require our society to think beyond themselves and to think about others. We could also get serious about car pooling.
I know that often I will get in the car to go get my daily fix of coffee. That is not essential and if I was in better shape I could ride my bicycle to get there. Maybe that would be the motivation for me to get into shape and something that I could reward myself.
Think about it dear readers.

Scarcity or abundance

Today being Sunday I preached on the concepts of the myth of scarcity and the actuality of abundance and how that effects what we do with our time, talent, and treasure. The scripture came from 1 Kings 17:8-15 about Elijah and the widow. I had focused on the idea that it took quite a leap of faith for the widow to give what little she had knowing that it would lead to her and her son's death. Despite have nothing, she felt it was more important to be hospitable to a stranger who came to her house.
One thing that I did not talk about was something a friend and I discussed. He had served as a missionary in Africa and Iran among other places. One thing that he noticed was that those who were often without many resources were more likely to share what they had than those who had more resources. In talking to some of the members of our congregation, that seemed to be true for them. In fact one person stated that Mississippi one of the poorer states had one of the highest giving rate per capita. Richer states had less giving even though they had more disposable income. It would seem that those who had more to give spent more time keeping what they had regardless of how others may be in need. I found it interesting that when God blesses us we are more likely to hoarde that blessing and not share that with others.
As I was preparing my sermon, I was reading my devotional from "This Day," by Stookey. The scriptures were "The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous are generous and keep giving (Psalm 37.21)." Also "God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9.7)." He reflects on these scriptures, "The gospel often sounds like sheer foolishness when judged by human wisdom. God seems not to care about how much we earn, though it is by this measure that people in our society largely judge one another. Rather God cares about how much of what we have we give away; a matter never mentioned by those who want to impress us with their incomes."
He also says to ask ourselves this day: "Am I a cheerful giver or a reluctant one? When giving something away, do I ever quietly utter this prayer: 'O Lord, help me to give away even more?' How often do I recall John Wesley's rule: 'Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give away all you can?' How can I increase both my gifts and my eagerness to give? (49)"
God wants us to look beyond ourselves and our wants. We are to have faith in the abundance of God rather than the myth of scarcity. If we would equitably share the resources that we have, I believe that we could eliminate hunger, provide adequate health care, and fulfill the commandments of loving God and loving our neighbor. It takes a change of attitude about what we have and what we truly need. This is not only the money that we have but also the attitudes that we have about our environment and our willingness to sacrifice for the benefit of creation.

Community

I have been reflecting quite a bit about what it means to be a community of faith. This time of year at our church we are looking at stewardship and ministry. I believe that both community and stewardship are tied together. What we belong to and want to continue to be part of we will support with our time, talent, and treasure. I think about all the opportunities that people have to belong to and yet service organizations are struggling for membership as are churches. Sporting teams seem to flourish and take time even when they intrude on Sabbath. Even gangs are flourishing while communities of faith struggle. I wonder where churches are failing to address the needs that people have for belonging to something meaningful in their lives. Sports provide a concrete way of being part of something. Churches somehow are not providing for that need.
I struggle mostly with the idea that even though we are blessed with the financial support to do our ministries, our attendance at worship and at other church functions are down. It would appear that more people are comfortable talking about their social activities than about their faith and their church. A sociologist named Robert Putman wrote a book entitled "Bowing Alone" in 2000 that describes the collapse of American community. The book goes into depth about the continued disconnectedness of one another and how social structures whether they be the PTA, church, or even political parties have disintegrated. Even after 9/11 there has continued to be the trend of this social disconnected aspect of community.
Even with this happening many people complain about the fears that they have about what is happening and the feelings of insecurity. Despite their complaints they still tend to pull away from the very social structures that could impact those concerns directly. People are turning to the Internet, television, video games, on-line games and chat; and complain about feeling alienated. I came across a mediation found in Lawrence Stookey's book "This Day."
He begins by quoting from 1 Corinthians 12:26-27. "If a member suffers, all suffer together with it, if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." I am reminded what Martin Luther King Jr said in the letter from the Birmingham jail about if one person suffers injustice we are suffer together. Stookey then quotes from Hebrews 10:24-25. "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another." He states, "As it takes an entire village to raise a child, so also it takes an entire congregation to nurture a Christian. God has created human beings in an interlocking system of relationships, apart from which we cannot flourish. The church is a gift from God in order that we may be provided with a community of faith in which to grow; in the process this community holds us accountable and encourages us in our spiritual journey. Regular participation in the life of a congregation is intended to be mutually beneficial. As others spur us on, so we also spur others on. (p80)"
My concern is that if we continue to pursue only our individual lives and getting only what benefits me, I will never be held accountable to others and how what I do affects others. So whether I misuse resources, spend time isolated from others, consume without discrimination and understanding of why what I buy is so cheap, I perpetuate the problems that our society and God's creation face. As a Christian, I need to be reminded that just sitting back is not what Jesus or even Paul suggests. We are to go out to invite others into relationship with God and with one another, face to face. It means making community and one's presence in that community a priority in one's life. When we do that and are willing to share that, just maybe we could see some of the issues that cause the most fear lessen.

Reflections on our society

I wanted to write about some thoughts that I have had. I awoke at 3:30 am with these thoughts going through my head. I hope that you will hang in there with me as I put down in words what I was dreaming and reflecting on.
Over the last few weeks, we have been inundated with article after article about terrorism, homosexuality, and abortion. Whether it is statements from a so-called church in Kansas to articles from candidates, and from the news media. It would seem that if we believed all that everyone says we are doomed as a nation for any or all of these issues. I personally believe all the issues are important to spend time reflecting and even debating about. But in my reading of scriptures both Hebrew and Christian what will be the destruction of our nation will not depend on those issues but rather on the issues of how we treat one another.
Starting in the Torah especially in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, continuing in the books of history, the books of Wisdom, and the prophets, and continuing in the gospels and Paul's letters, God has continually stated that a nation will be held in judgment on how the people treat the orphans, the widows and the "aliens" among us. Certainly there are scriptures that speak to the issues of homosexuality and abortion but they are few and far between compared to God speaking about how we treat one another.
It was set up that the people were to make sure that there was enough to eat for those who are marginalized in the world. It not only applied to the citizens of the nation but to all the people as demonstrated by Jesus and the Syria-Phoenician woman. Jesus in the gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 speaks to how we treat the least of those around us is in actuality the way we treat Jesus. Jesus presents the way God intends for us to live. Ensuring that all people have enough to eat, have the ability to be healed, the ability to have shelter, and even though not stated the ability to receive education. How we live out this scriptural mandate will determine whether or not others will destroy our nation whether by terrorists or hate mongers who live in this country.
As I look at the fall of the mighty empires in the past, it is almost always due to their not caring for those who live in their care. Think about Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Europe, Germany, France, Russia all of these great nations began to fall apart because those in power sought to exploit others to become wealthier and gain more power. The question becomes what are we supposed to do as Christians, Jews, Muslims, and all the other faiths.
I don't see either of our political parties being an answer to this issue. The republican candidates are spending most of their time trying to out-conservative each other. The democrat candidates seem to be caught up in their platitudes and easy answers to complex questions. I personally do not believe that our government has an answer to the care of all its citizens and especially for those outside our nation. John Wesley mentioned that as methodists we are to treat the world as our parish. I believe our hope in changing this world lies in communities of faith. We need to step forward and begin to ethically act in the way God has demonstrated in the scriptures. Our government needs to make sure that we are safe and secure to be able to accomplish this. We need to be held accountable about what we do with the resources that we have been blessed. I do not believe it is only those who are wealthy that bear the burden but we all do.
My ideal naive as it may be would be that churches, synagogues, temples would come together sharing their resources to ensure that those who need food, health care, education, spiritual support would have access to that. There have been many attempts to do that but I believe rather than individual giving it should come from the budgets of the religious institutions. At the time of the early Christians, that is how they survived. They could not depend on Rome but could depend on each other. I would ask for those who read this blog to reflect on what I have said whether you agree or not. Let us work together in ways that we can debate, discuss, and ultimately act in the way God calls us.
I am done and will not step off my soapbox. I wanted to share what keeps me up at night not only for others to comtemplate but also to release what has been given to me.