The Telephone

I have just hung up; why did he telephone?

I don’t know…Oh! I get it…

I talked a lot and listened little.

Forgive me, Lord, it was a monologue and not a dialogue.

I explained my idea and did not get his;

Since I didn’t listen, I learned nothing,

Since I didn’t listen, I didn’t help,

Since I didn’t listen, we didn’t communicate.

Forgive me, Lord, for we were connected,

And now we are cut off.

~ Michel Quoist

There are many ways we pray. We confess; we ask on behalf of someone else; we ask for ourselves and our families; we give thanks.

But Quoist’s brief poem (prayer) reminds us of something we know: Prayer is to be a dialogue not a monologue. So, how do you nurture listening to God in your life?

Maybe you hear God’s voice in nature or through a friend or through worship or in Scripture. Whatever the case, I’ve learned that listening can only occur when I make an effort to pay attention.

Yesterday morning I went out onto my patio to do just this. Because of a finicky little dog and a three year old little girl, my sleep had been disrupted in the night so that I was not able to make it to the patio as early as I would’ve liked. Yet, the morning was cool, the coffee was hot and my life was open. I was paying attention.

Psalm 24, so overlooked because of its close neighbor, 23, came to mind: The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof…

Over the cool breeze, under the brightening sky, feeling the mugginess, watching the squirrels work or play – it is hard to tell the difference – and listening to the birds sing I knew, This all is the Lord’s. And my life is, as well.

What a great way to start the day.

Blessings,

Ande

The Monks of Portsmouth Abbey

On Palm Sunday the New York Times published an interesting article: ‘Monks Embrace Web to Reach Recruits’, by Tanzina Vega. I found it quite interesting. Here’s how it began:

The Benedictine monks at the Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, R.I., have a problem. They are aging — five are octogenarians and the youngest will be 50 on his next birthday — and their numbers have fallen to 12, from a peak of about 24 in 1969.

So the monks, who for centuries have shied away from any outside distractions, have instead done what many troubled organizations are doing to find new members — they have taken to the Internet with an elaborate ad campaign featuring videos, a blog and even a Gregorian chant ringtone.

(Read the original article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/business/media/18monks.html?_r=1&ref=tanzinavega )

As I looked at the pictures and read the stories of these dozen monks, I realized that they really want their chosen mode of calling and practicing Christianity to continue. They have developed a Facebook page to reach younger generations and are also experimenting with a blog – but, as of now, are afraid that they are not quite ready for Twitter! One priest said it this way, If this is the way the younger generation are looking things up and are communicating, then this is the place to be.

I was impressed by the maturity of these men who spend much of their days in prayer and in silence yet connect with and minister to the world for Christ’s sake and do it in new and different ways. When faced with new possibilities, they were curious and longed to be faithful. No circling the wagons here. This is Christian maturity.

I noticed that this article appeared on Palm Sunday, a day the world is reminded to drop our preconceived ideas of what the Messiah looks like and how the Messiah works. On this day we are to embrace Jesus Christ who comes God’s way and in God’s time and who comes ‘in the name of the Lord.’

I also see connections between these monks reaching out and inviting younger generations to participate and our challenge to spread the Gospel, as well. One monk’s comment was telling, Our power is very limited. In the end it’s God who is calling people to himself and calling to people to live in union with him. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t do our part.

So, will you do your part? What if it means changing your mind … or your practice?

Do you like these ideas, or not, or do you have questions? Let me know.

Gotcha Day

Friends,

Wednesday, for our family, was a very special day. We had lunch with friends and celebrated together and have termed it Gotcha Day…for one year ago Kenya’s adoption was final. And she loves to say – Gotcha!

In some ways her coming into our family was a natural thing. We met her and began caring for her when she was 3 weeks old and smaller than either of our boys were when they came home from the hospital. She lived with us for her first 11 months, was sent to live with biological family for seven months but visited often during that time, and then came to live with us for good when her parents asked us to care for her again (she was 17 months old then). She has been with us every since.

A week ago Michelle and I visited with friends who’ve taken a baby into foster care. We shared that the one regret we have as we look at our experience with Kenya is that the first two years of her life for us were filled with great anxiety – a fear of losing her. (Each month we went to court and listened as the judge decided where Kenya would reside.) I don’t know how this anxiety could’ve been helped. We fostered not intending to adopt, but then we met Kenya and we all were in love.

As we talked last with our friends who are fostering a beautiful baby, we also shared that there is no way we could’ve traveled on this journey with sanity if it had not been for our church family. I don’t say this in a cavalier manner. There is absolutely no way.

I remember when Kenya had been sent to be with her biological family one friend (a church member) said, Stay in touch with them if you can, this is not over. I think this is far from over. At the time I just knew it was over, I thought she was lost forever, and I was in a fog of grief wondering how our family would go on. I didn’t even know how to pray. Never did I dream this friend would be right.

You know, I probably don’t encourage you often enough to go and be the church. Jesus calls us to be his hands and his feet, his compassion and his love, his church. I also probably don’t praise you often enough when you do just this. Sometimes your pastor and his family need you and you have certainly been the church for us. For this I am thankful.

God bless you.

Ande

Comments? I'd love to hear them at: ande.myers@gmail.com

Psalm 42 - A Reflection for Worship

Psalm 42

As the deer pants for streams of water,

so our souls long for you, O God.

Our souls are thirsty for You, we are thirsty for the living God.

When shall we come into your Presence and see your face?

Our tears have been our portion night and day and many have asked, Where is your God now?

Why are our hearts so heavy, O Lord? Why this unrest within us?

Our souls are quite burdened, the load is hard to bear;

Therefore now we will remember Your work in our midst.

We remember your help in this place.

We remember the waves of your Presence rushing over us.

Lord, you have given your loving-kindness in the daytime,

And in the night-time we did sing of you. We now make our prayers to you,

O God, the Lord of our lives.

At times we wonder, ‘Have you forgotten us? Why are our adversaries so heavy upon us?’

Our bones are being broken, we are oppressed and scorned. We are asked again, Where is your God now?

Even though our hearts are still heavy, O Lord,

Even with our souls’ unrest.

O God, We will put our trust in you.

We will give thanks to the One who is our Help and Presence,

Our Light and our Life. Amen.

A Lenten Devotion

Friends,

I hope this brief note finds you doing well. Perhaps you realize that the Christian church is in the season of Lent. This is the season of the year leading up to Easter. Here are some general Lenten facts:

~ Begins on Ash Wednesday and includes 40 days minus Sundays.

~ Adapted from the word, lengthen, as in the lengthening of the days.

~ In the early church, converts used this time to prepare for baptism on Easter Sunday.

~ This time represents the time (40 days) Jesus spent in the wilderness focusing on God. His vocation was

clarified as a result.

Today many ‘give up’ something during these

40 days. This may or may not serve a spiritual purpose.

(Examples might be t.v., caffeine, alcohol, the news

media, chocolate, etc.)

Here are some practical applications for us:

~ 40 days is ten percent of a year, thus representing

a tithe.

~ Habits formed during this time can carry over.

~ ‘Giving up’ something is never trivial when it is done for the greater purpose of glorifying God. Nor is ‘taking on’ something new for a period of time.

~ Less of any one thing can mean more space and room for God. We can welcome this.

Years ago I decided to ‘take on’ something new during Lent. This year I am carefully praying through selected psalms. I take a particular psalm a week and pray through it several times over the course of the week. I read it in a few translations, new and old. I read what a good commentary or two says about this psalm. Finally I write it in my own words as a prayer.

Sunday I shared Psalm 42 with the church during our time of Morning Prayer. The extended and relaxed reflection on this psalm helped me notice the general message of the psalmist: in the midst of turmoil, as the psalmist was asked, Where is your God now?, the psalmist remembered God’s work in the past. This remembering sustained for the present. Remembering brought comfort; remembering was also a commitment.

This week I’ve moved on to another Psalm, and am finding the exercise even easier and more enjoyable. How will God use this during these forty days and beyond? We shall see.

Blessings,

Ande Myers

The photo in this email is of our Communion Table this past Sunday. The Flower Committee does a great job with seasonal displays.

Comments? - I'd love to hear from you: ande.myers@gmail.com

Completely Legal and Absolutely Wrong

Friday, March 04, 2011

Early yesterday morning I saw some friends at the coffee shop and they asked me, What do you think about this Westboro Baptist Church and the Supreme Court decision?

Nothing like this to start off a Thursday, huh? Well, have you seen this story? Westboro Baptist is a church known for their hate and hate-filled demonstrations at inaugurations, courthouses and ,yes, funerals. You’ve probably seen their posters. These appeared at the funeral under consideration: "God Hates Fags," "God Hates You," "God Hates America," "God Hates the USA/Thank God for 911," and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” to name just a few.

This week the Supreme Court heard a case involving Westboro Baptist and the grieving father of a fallen soldier. The soldier was Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, a Marine who died in Iraq. All Mr. Snyder wanted for his son was a private and solemn funeral. And then they show up with their posters and their hatred. (Here you can find several good and thoughtful stories about this Westboro Baptist Church, the Supreme Court, and the issues surrounding this case: www.abpnews.com.)

So, back at the coffee shop…Ande, what do you think about them?

I said, It makes me sick that they call themselves Baptist and it makes me sick that they call themselves a church.

Would you worship with them? No.

Would you serve them Communion? They wouldn’t come to our church.

That’s not what I asked…if they did, would you serve them Communion? We would have some sort of conversation beforehand and I would not.

The Supreme Court decided 8-1 that Westboro Baptist could make these nasty protests. In this case it is evident that they decided that what is legal in America can still be totally wrong. Even in this ugliness America remains beautiful.

The Associated Baptist Press referred to the lone minority opinion:

Justice Samuel Alito filed a dissenting opinion, saying that while the church’s speech might be protected if directed toward a public figure, plaintiff Albert Snyder of York, Pa., was a private individual who suffered “great injury” due to “outrageous conduct” by a group seeking publicity…“In order to have a society in which public issues can be openly and vigorously debated, it is not necessary to allow the brutalization of innocent victims like the petitioner,” Alito opined.

Here is why I am so mad at Westboro Baptist. I celebrate that they can legally express their opinions. And I am resigned to the fact that they can be tacky about it and tasteless, even vulgar. But the church is called to a higher standard. That church and all churches. And I see in this church no reflection of Jesus Christ.

In our nation freedom is a privilege. Freedom is a responsibility. Sadly, not everyone is mature enough to earn privileges and take responsibility.

Justice Alito prevented a unanimous decision because he could not get his eyes off of the victim. In this case the victim was the grieving family of Lance Cpl. Snyder. I am proud of Justice Alito’s decency. And if I err, I hope to err on the side of grace and compassion.

As we think about our lives and our callings we should aspire to live lives of purity, generosity, and compassion. In this case I believe this would have been to tend to the grieving family. James said it like this in chapter one verse 26 – 27:

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

After leaving the coffee shop I was still angry at Westboro Baptist. I probably always will be. I also realized that the world is looking to the church. They notice. And I wonder: Do we give them substance and seriousness? Are we like Jesus? Our job, job number one, is to be witnesses for Jesus.

Please, God, give us your help.

Blessings,

Ande Myers

Questions or comments: ande.myers@gmail.com.

An Invitation to Grace

On the way back from a visit today I was listening to National Public Radio’s coverage of the events in Egypt. Hosni Mubarak has resigned. The people are ecstatic as hopes are high. One person interviewed said that in 6000 years of Egypt’s recorded history the people have never gotten to speak this way and choose a government for themselves. If that is true, and it very well may be, that is remarkable to me. Truly we are blessed here in our nation, warts and all.

I want to shift gears and focus a moment on grace. You have often heard (from me) that each day we have opportunities and invitations given to us by the Lord to serve him with our lives. We can choose to show mercy, compassion, generosity and forgiveness – to name a few. The question is, Are we open to these invitations?

Recently, in a Smithsonian Magazine article, there was a cover piece written about the history of the Colosseum. It was quite fascinating. In it a story was told about Emperor Gallienus. He ruled Rome from 253 – 268 AD.

It seems the Emperor’s wife had been swindled by a local merchant. He had sold her glass jewels instead of authentic ones. Of course, this turned out to be a bad idea. As his punishment the Emperor sent him into the Colosseum to face a ferocious lion. (So much for an eye for an eye.)

Well, when the cage on the arena floor opened a chicken walked out of the cage and the crowd roared with laughter and applause. The Emperor had the herald proclaim, ‘This merchant practiced deceit and then had it practiced on him.’ And the Emperor let the man go.

I wonder if the merchant learned his lesson.

In the world today if you practice mercy, it will be noticed. If you are gracious, even when you’ve been wronged, this will catch someone’s attention. When you are generous; people see it. If you are patient when you don’t have to be or when it is very hard to be, someone just might wonder… ‘How in the world does he or she do that?’

And then a witness can begin.

Blessings,

Ande

Your comments are welcomed at ande.myers@gmail.com.