Through Stained Glass: A Mid-Week Reflection-Grandpa's Gaze

My grandpa does this thing when I visit with him that I never really noticed until recently.

When there is a pause in conversation and I begin to glance around the room, when I look back at him, he smiles.

While I look for the next topic to discuss, he has not removed his eyes from me. His gaze warms my heart…but also has me wondering, what in the world is he staring at me for?

Do I have something on my face?

Is he wondering what he is going to have for supper?

Or is he contemplating me the way a grandfather does of a grandson, admiring who I am as a person because of who he is as one?

Regardless the reason behind it, it is a feeling I find comforting. His brief smile when our eyes reconnect is a type of blessing for me. It is as if he is saying, “I’m proud of you, grandson.”

He gets it. He understands the importance of being present.

The same cannot be said when I am with my friends.

Not because we don’t think the world of each other, but because, we are less present with one another.

When I’m with my grandpa, the only competition I have is age and the effect it has on ears that are 92 years old.

With my friends or other members of my family we are very distracted. Most of us have our cell phones on the table waiting for it to flash, ding, or buzz. And when it isn’t flashing, dinging, or buzzing, we have a tendency to pick up our phones, gazing into the lights the way my grandfather gazes at his grandsons, hoping to connect with someone something.

I wonder, how much do we miss because of technology?

As I caught myself doing this at lunch last week, I did a little research and Googled statistics about phone use.

Here is a stat I found in a Time Magazine article that overwhelms me but doesn’t surprise me:  The average person looks at his or her phone 46 times every day.[1] The article goes on to say, “Although 46 checks per day is the average, that number varies depending on users’ age group. Those between the ages of 18 and 24 look at their phones most often, with an average of 74 checks per day. Americans in the 25-34 age bracket look at their devices 50 times per day, and those between 35 and 44 do so 35 times each day.

Yikes.

That is a lot of unnecessary screen time.

Part of what makes Jesus so compelling is his presence with people. Granted, Jesus didn’t live in an age where he could ‘connect’ with people through a cell phone. He did, however, travel around with twelve people who were pretty demanding of his time. Jesus knew how to be with people, how to give them all of his attention, and in doing so, validated their lives and their humanness. People in the Gospels felt loved and knew they were loved by simply being with Jesus.

Perhaps you don’t have a cell phone and thus this post is irrelevant to you. Or maybe you do have a phone and you have more self-control than the average American. For that I applaud you.

For the rest of us, let’s make a promise to pay attention more to those with whom we are dining. Turn off the TV with the floating heads in the background, put aside the newspaper you always read during your meal with your spouse, and leave the cell phone in the car the next time you go out with people. Let’s promise that we will do our very best to be completely present to those we share life with.

And when there is a pause in conversation, don’t be so quick to look away or find something to say.

Instead, just be with each other, gazing at each other in a way God gazes upon us in all our humanity.

The way my grandfather gazes at me when we are together.

---

[1] Lisa Eadicicoo. Time. “Americans Check Their Phones 8 Billion Times A Day.” Accessed May 01, 2016.

Through Stained Glass: A Lenten Catholicon

Through Stained Glass:  A Lenten Catholicon

I needed worship on Sunday.

My spirit’s well had run dry.

My heart’s joy had been depleted.

But Sunday restored my hope. There was such a hum rushing through the pews the way water seeps through cracks. We, as a family of faith, had gathered to worship, to share life, and to break bread. We, as a family of faith, lived into what I think is our best gift that we can offer to Lincoln and one of the most important in our missional identity:  hospitality.

As y’all know we hosted the choir from Lincoln College. Yet I think many of you would agree that in the end, they hosted us. Their singing possessed a peacefulness that penetrated the solemnity that Lent can sometimes posses. They gave us a break from our ‘normal routine’ and they took us down to the river where we were able to drink deep from God’s goodness and mercy.

On Sunday, I believed a part of us was healed.

Did you know the church can do that?

Did you know that the church can heal?

Did you know that the church is actually called to bring healing to the world?

Did you know that you cannot only participate in this healing but also receive it?

Did you know that God wants to heal you?

         From whatever is troubling.

         From whatever burden you are carrying.

         From that broken heart.

         From the bad news you received.

         From the doubt that you aren’t as good as your siblings.

         From the busy life you have taken on without knowing.

         From burn out.

You get the point.

All of this reminds me of an interaction Jesus had at a well with a Samaritan woman. Perhaps you remember it. It is high noon and Jesus stops to get a drink of water while the disciples go ahead into the city to do what disciples do. At the well Jesus meets a woman and asks her for a drink.

From there the interactions goes something like this:

Woman:  You are asking me, a Samaritan, to get you, a Jew, a drink? No way.

Jesus:  If you knew who I was, you would. You’d never have to drink again, actually.

Woman:  Ha! You don’t even have a bucket. So please, give me this living water. (Giant eye roll!)

The interaction gets a little strange. Jesus invites/tells her to go get her husband. She can’t and Jesus reveals that he knows her history. Most sermons will depict this woman as a prostitute of sorts. But this isn’t necessarily the case. She is more likely widowed or abandoned, because men often did that in 1^st century culture.

What happens next is a healing. The woman was made to be ashamed about who she was:  not only a Samaritan woman, who was viewed as an equal to a man’s donkey, but also a divorced woman. Jesus shouldn’t be talking to her. She wasn’t worthy of such acknowledgment.

Jesus has no interest in shaming her. Instead Jesus gazes upon her with sympathetic eyes and extends a word of hope, a word of healing. Jesus is not chastising her or calling her to account; rather he sees her; compassionately naming and understanding her circumstances.

I like what one Lutheran pastor says about this interaction:

While she came to the well to get water, now that she has met Jesus, "who told me everything I have ever done," she leaves her jar -- the token of her present difficult and dependent life -- behind to go tell others. She has, indeed, encountered living water, has been freed by her encounter with Jesus, and wants to share this living water with others.

Sunday I was the woman at the well.

I was thirsty and needed my cup filled up. And it was at church, among you, brothers and sisters, that my thirst was quenched.

Worship was refreshing and my spirit was renewed. That's what refreshment does for us; it renews our spirits like a cool glass of water, and moves us from scarcity to abundance in all aspects of our lives.

Friends, God wants to heal us. God sits at the well waiting for us to come. God welcomes us.

God welcomes you with open, healing arms.

My question to you is, what are you holding onto that is prevent you from being healed by God?

Name it. Then, leave it at the well.

Through Stained Glass: A Mid-Week Reflection-Relationships

(This weeks post comes from our very own, Carolyn Reynolds. If you are interested in contributing I would very much so appreciate whatever you submit. Photos, poems, words, or whatever!)

Mid-week Reflection

Carolyn Reynolds via Holly Thomas

A few weeks ago I received an email from a friend asking me to participate in an inspirational email chain letter. I was to send an inspirational message or picture to whomever was listed in the first slot. I was then to copy the email, move the person from the second slot up to the first one, and then add my name in the second slot. A message was sent to the person listed number one, and I forwarded it to 20 people. Well, actually, I only forwarded to about 10 people that I thought would participate. The chain letter was to continue and eventually I would receive 10 messages of inspiration. I think I received three. What stood out for me was the message/prayer I received from Holly Thomas. (thank you, again, Holly) It is copied below for you. I should add that I did a little research and this prayer was designed to help children learn how to pray, but let's be honest, sometimes thinking of the right things stumps us as adults. I hope you enjoy it as I did.

Five Finger Prayer

Your thumb is nearest to you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is as C.S. Lewis once said a "sweet duty."

The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct, and heal. This list includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

The fourth finger is out ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble, or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

And lastly comes our little finger, the smallest finger of all, which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Through Stained Glass: Advent--come

Over the years the church (universal! not local!) has gotten a bad rap.

Honestly, most of the time it deserved it.

But, and this is coming from someone who had one of those bad experiences with a church, don’t let 1 bad experience ruin church for you.

Here’s the deal—the church as wonderful as it is—is still a community of people, who, are you ready for this…are HUMAN like you and me.

The church will mess up. There is no getting around that. The church has, is, and will probably let you down at some point. Unfortunately, this is the very real possibility when living with other people.

Why then would someone, say a pastor, commit their life to serving God through God’s church?

Here is why there is hope in the church because as broken as the church is, it is also quite beautiful—like a mosaic. And it is beautiful because you are beautiful. Your story is one the church, the community of faith, needs in order to be that city on the hill scripture invites us to be.

This is why I love God—this is why I can’t give up on my faith:  God didn’t give up on humanity and God will never give up on humanity.

Plus—how did God come to us?

In a child—a human being—fleshy, bloody, and all the other fluids that come with being a human.

Oh friends, we are better because of you. And when you aren’t with us, we lack something. We are incomplete.

Don’t give up on us. Don’t give up on God.

But also, don’t think you are alone in your doubts and struggles about the church. I’ve been there. And many more are and will be there.

Here is the good news—the church, with Gods help, with YOUR help, can make a difference in the lives of many.

So, friend, come. Come share your story with us. Come and teach us about love, faith, hope, and joy. Come.

You are welcome in this place.

I leave you with a beautiful quote one of my parishioners shared with me today. It is from Kathleen Norris’ book Amazing Grace.

“The church is still a sinful institution,” a Benedictine monk wrote to me when I was struggling over whether or not to join a church. “How could it be otherwise?” he asked, and I was startled into recognition of simple truth. The church is like the Incarnation itself, a shaky proposition. It is a human institution, full of ordinary people, sinners like me, who say and do cruel, stupid things. But it is also a divinely inspired institution, full of good purpose, which partakes of a unity far greater than the sum of its parts. That is why it is called the body of Christ.”

And so we pray, Come, Lord Jesus, come….

Hebrews 10.5-10

⁵Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
   but a body you have prepared for me;
⁶ in burnt-offerings and sin-offerings
   you have taken no pleasure.
⁷ Then I said, “See, God, I have come to do your will, O God”
   (in the scroll of the book it is written of me).’
⁸When he said above, ‘You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt-offerings and sin-offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), ⁹then he added, ‘See, I have come to do your will.’ He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.