Mimi

Salmon patties. 

That’s what I remember most about Mimi. 

Salmon patties and hummingbirds and talking really loud so she might hear. 

MiMi was Angela My Best Friend From

College’s grandmother. 

She died last Sunday at the age of 98. 

We celebrated her life on Saturday, 

And I walked away from the celebration with one burning question:

What can people learn about me from excavating my Bible? 

 

Mimi was a woman of faith.

Her theology was progressive and she supported women as pastors in Baptist life before it was a thing. 

She studied theology and read biblical commentaries simply because she wanted to.

She started an intergenerational Bible study at her church that outgrew all Sunday School rooms and had to meet in the sanctuary. 

Mimi was a student of the Bible and she evidently left clues in her Bible as to what made her tick. 

 

She underlined.

She wrote quotes. 

She stored poems. 

She shared wisdom. 

 

Her Bible was the Word that guided her life. 

 

Is my Bible the same? 

 

I will be honest and admit that I haven’t taken my Bible to church in years. 

My church prints the scripture readings each week so I don’t need it for worship, 

And when I study scripture on my own,

I read electronically on an online Bible platform. 

 

But after Mimi’s funeral, 

I began to wonder:

Am I missing something by not opening my Bible more often?

Am I forfeiting an opportunity to share with future generations what makes me tick?

 

My Bible has plenty of underlined passages from old. 

Might I need to update and underline passages of new—

New ways the Holy Spirit is helping me see and understand and live and be in this world?

Might I need to add new pictures and new little slips of paper with new quotes and new poems as bookmarks and reminders of people and places and events through whom God has spoken?

 

I think so.

 

Because if the Bible is the living word of God,

Then my Bible should show that much, 

Rather than serving as a time capsule from the past. 

 

Because if the Bible is the living word of God,

Then my Bible needs to be opened and read

Rather than just sitting on a shelf

Or riding around in the car. 

 

Because doing so would make Mimi proud. 

 

Because doing so is a privilege that I don’t want to take for granted

Any longer. 

 

May we each, like Mimi, 

Let God’s word guide us 

To be people of faith who

Do justice, 

Love Mercy,

and walk humbly with our God. 

 

Amen. 

Common Courtesy

 

Months ago, 

I was getting gas at the corner gas station 

When two guys drove up and asked the store worker 

If they could throw a large box into the store‘s dumpster. 

It was evidently a heavy box because it took both guys to throw it in the bin,

But they simply threw it away and left,

All while I was pumping my gas. 

 

I have no idea why I remember this moment so vividly. 

Yet every day when I drive by the gas station,

I think about it. 

 

I’ve never once questioned what was in the box, 

Although that might be an interesting brainstorm. 

I think I just thought it nice that they asked

Before throwing their trash into the dumpster.

I imagine that a lot of people have trash to throw away

That won’t fit into the garbage bins that trash pick-up companies use.

And I imagine that most people don’t have memberships at the dump.

So I imagine that a lot of people use commercial dumpsters unauthorized.

Yet, these guys thought to ask.

A common courtesy, I suppose. 

And I guess maybe why their actions stuck out to me so much. 

 

As a society, 

It seems that we’re moving away from common courtesy 

And into rugged individualism. 

We seem more and more concerned about ourselves and our own needs and rights 

Than the needs of those around us. 

 

It’s wearing headphones or turning the volume down when you’re in a waiting room and watching your phone.

It’s holding the door for someone behind you.

It’s asking someone their opinion rather than dominating the conversation.

It’s letting the person behind you go ahead of you in line if they only have one or two things and you have a full cart.

It’s not leaning your chair back completely when you’re on a plane.

 

It’s not posting your first response of anger or engaging in malicious arguments on social media.

It’s refusing to spread a rumor or deciding to set facts straight when misinformation is being shared. 

It’s realizing that you have room to grow and that there is always another side to the story.

It’s simple things that don’t necessarily cost money. 

It’s common humanity that doesn’t sacrifice the core values of love and respect. 

 

May we be people of common courtesy and respect

Who remember our common humanity 

And our call to be good stewards of the earth and of one another. 

 

Amen. 

Confession and Forgiveness

 

Each Sunday at church,

We begin our service with confession and forgiveness.

 

We pray something like:

 

Merciful God,

you speak blessing and compassion into the world.

Forgive us for the ways we act with judgment, cruelty, or indifference.

We ignore the needs of our neighbors;

we resist your call to oppose injustice;

we give in to scarcity and fear;

we assume the worst about one another.

Cleanse us from our faults and release us from their grasp.

Show us your loving-kindness.

Restore our hearts and repair your world, that we may live in Christ’s ways.

Amen.

 

And then hear words of forgiveness

That usher us into song.

 

Yesterday,

As we collectively read our prayer of forgiveness,

It struck me just how powerful it would be if

All proclaiming Christians, everywhere,

Read aloud those words together;

 

If all proclaiming Christians, everywhere,

No matter how pious and well-meaning,

Embraced the fact that we DO

Ignore the needs of those around us,

Resist doing what’s hard,

Give into scarcity and fear,

And assume the worst about the other;

 

If all proclaiming Christians, everywhere

Focused on the heart of Christ which was

Taking care of those around us,

(Not just our families and friends),

Fighting for what is right for all people,

(Not just those who look and think like us),

Living with the idea that there is an abundance when it is shared with all,

(Not just hoarded for ourselves or a minority of people),

And seeing the possibility of good in all people,

For all were created in the image of God and are doing our best to survive.

 

If all proclaiming Christians, everywhere

Focused back on the heart of the Gospel—

That Jesus came to serve rather than to be served,

That Jesus came to usher in the God’s Kingdom which is one of Love,

And that Jesus came to show us,

Once and for all,

That death and darkness and sin do not triumph,

Rather life and light and forgiveness emerge victorious in the end.

 

Reading those words each week

And embracing forgiveness

Is an act of humility and surrender

To something so much bigger than myself.

 

What IF all proclaiming Christians, everywhere

Were to demonstrate those same acts of humility and surrender

And allow God’s spirit to transform even the vilest of hearts?

 

What IF all proclaiming Christians, everywhere,

Were truly to follow Christ?

 

Amen.

Random Reflection on Love

There is a fierce independence amongst some Christians,

Yet God calls us to be the Body of Christ,

Intertwined,

Each with different functions,

All serving together toward one common goal:

Love,

For God IS love.

 

Love does not haphazardly

Discard differences or

Throw away challenges.

 

Love does not discriminate

By color or age or gender or status.

 

Love does not make swooping changes

Without considering long-term affects.

 

Love does not boast about its accomplishments.

 

Love does not gloat in hurting others.

 

Love is not red.

Or blue.

Or black.

Or white.

 

Love is not inciting battles that turn to wars.

 

Love is not money.

 

Love is not greed.

 

Love is not a business.

 

Love is people,

Real people,

With real needs,

And hurts,

And feelings,

Trying to make it in this world,

And, in America,

Trying to live into the creed

That all humankind is created equal.

Love is a choice.

And an action.

And an outpouring of a heart grounded in

Love that comes from God,

For God IS love,

And anything less than love

Does not come from God.

 

It is that complicatedly simple.

90 Minutes

 

Once upon a time, 

There was a woman named 90 Minutes. 

90 Minutes got her name by spending 90 minutes of a 405-minute class talking. 

She dominated conversation

With stories, interruptions, and certainties that contradicted even the professor. 

When others spoke,

She didn’t receive their words. 

And so they wrote. 

And thought. 

And breathed. 

And prayed. 

And remembered a wise sage’s words:

She can be your teacher. 

Pay attention to what you can learn. 

 

And so they learned, 

With 90 minutes as their guide. 

 

They learned to remember that there are people who are truly opposite from them. Some people really care about scholarly things like history and word origin and statistics and data. When you don’t, you still need to give a scholarly nod to those who do. 

 

They learned to remember that some people process out loud and/or struggle with boundaries and/or self-awareness.

 

They learned to remember that some people have deep wounds that come out in wonky ways.

 

They learned to recognize that stress levels increase in their bodies when they hear crinkling snack wrappers and crunching during the middle of class. 

 

They learned to recognize but not judge their pride. 

 

They learned to identify their judgmental limits.

 

And they learned that, in general, they really are gracious people who give others the benefit of the doubt. And when they can’t, they at least have the intention of grace. And that intention can go a long way. 

 

Yes, they learned. 

And 90 minutes was their guide. 

 

She taught them everything they were not expecting to learn. 

 

And more. 

 

The end. 

Keep Going

 

Just before the feeding of the 5000,

Jesus and the disciples were going to a solitary place

Because they were exhausted and needed to rest.

Rest didn’t come, however,

Because people followed them and

Jesus had compassion on the people.

 

On Friday night,

I reflected on Mark 6’s telling of this story.

First, I wrote down what I imagined Jesus saying through the text.

Then I wrote down what God was saying to me for this time of history.

Maybe one of these will speak to you.

Maybe you need these messages, too.

 

…

 

Come.

Rest awhile.

Eat with me.

Drink with me.

But no—

Nevermind.

There is more work to do.

Look at them—

The people—

They are hungry and hurting.

Compassion runs over.

And it’s up to us to show them a steady presence—

To teach about love and

To heal through being together.

So keep going.

I will make it possible—

Even when you need rest.

And when it seems impossible—

I will feed thousands with

5 loaves and 2 fish—

And still there will be enough.  

 

…

 

Keep going.

Keep giving.

Keep showing up.

Keep writing.

Keep praying.

There will be moments of rest on the boat—

The journey with me can renew and restore.

Just keep going.

I am greater than

The country going backwards

Eating disorders

Cancer diagnoses

Deportation

Broken justice

Misplaced blame

Fear

ALL can be fed.

But you have to keep going.

Let me do what you cannot.

 

Amen.