Category: Kim’s Blog

I bet you are reading this on a screen of some kind. In fact, that’s the only way to read this unless it has been printed out to read. Much of what we read and are exposed to, much of our communication, is done “on screen.” Have you thought about how many hours a day or a week or even a year that you spend in front of a screen? If you include phone, computer, tablet, tv, the figure could get alarming.

Maybe you think I’m going to move on to a rant against technology. Well, not exactly. In fact, we got 7,239 visits to our website in 7 days recently and I think that is great! It’s miraculous, actually. I celebrate the outreach our church (of 60 members) can have because of technology and the internet. But what I will say is that I believe our increasing amount of “screen” time makes church ever more important. To balance screen time, we need real time face time. We need contact – physical, social, relational – with real people with whom have a bond. At church, we come together, face to face, hand to hand, eye to eye, voice to voice, with our sisters and brothers in Christ. We don’t know what that encounter is going to involve, what it may mean, or how we may be affected, until it happens. Church is always a surprise. And we will miss the blessing if we don’t show up; if we confine ourselves to screen time. Our calling is to embody the love of God as Jesus did. It takes our bodies to embody. It involves actually being with other people. And we can’t know ahead of time what the outcome will be. So, in a society captivated by efficiency, outcome, and bottom line, where does going to church fit in? It’s not something that you can readily measure, quantify, chart, or sometimes even explain.

I am for church that is high touch and high tech. But I think we must resist to temptation to focus on the tech as the expense of the touch. Church should be high touch augmented, supported, enhanced, and extended by high tech.

Prayer: As humans we have a hunger for the sacred, the holy, a sense of spirit. This yearning is expressed and fulfilled in relationships with other people. May we invest ourselves in face to face contact creating communities of joy that meet our deepest hungers. May church be a safe, welcoming space in which we encounter love embodied and incarnate. Amen.

The US Constitution is not set in stone. The 18th amendment to the Constitution went into effect on January 17, 1920. On December 15, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution went into effect repealing the 18th Amendment. So began and ended prohibition. The point is that changes can and have been made to the Constitution. The need for changes to the Constitution was envisioned by our nation’s founders. That is why they included a process for change within the Constitution itself.

Based on the precedent of prohibition, the editors of the Catholic Jesuit magazine America have called for the United States to repeal the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution. This amendment was adopted with the rest of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. It is the amendment that protects the right to keep and bear arms. The Jesuit editors support the 2008 ruling of the US Supreme Court that the 2nd amendment impedes government control of the possession and use of firearms.

The repeal of the 2nd amendment is a long shot by far, but it is heartening to see a major Christian group take a position in favor of peace and anti-violence and not afraid to be controversial or visionary.

What is even more hopeful is that this stand was taken by the Jesuits, and the newly elected Pope Francis is member of the Jesuit order. While I may not agree with some of the positions that the Catholic church insists on endorsing, I do support this Jesuit initiative which could reduce the number of guns in this country and the consequent violence and death that results. I hope that this new Pope is as committed to peace as the editors of his order’s magazine.

Prayer: We hold in prayer the new pope, Francis. He undertakes great responsibility and has the potential to make a strong, courageous witness for the gospel of Jesus Christ. While we pray for Pope Francis and the Catholic Church, we also pray for all churches of Jesus Christ and for all Christians that we might not just leave it to our leaders to work for peace in the world, but that each and every one of us might truly be peacemakers in the spirit of Jesus. Amen.

From Heaven above to earth I come
O worship the King, all glorious above
Sing praise to God who reigns above
Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven to earth come down
All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above
Come down O love divine, seek thou this soul of mine

Many hymns and scriptures use the imagery of God being in heaven above us and we here on the earth below. Of course, we know that God is everywhere, not just one place and not another. By definition, God has to be everywhere. So there really isn’t anywhere, physical or spiritual, that God is not. And with advances in science, we know that beyond us is the atmosphere and space. But what is above? “Above” all depends on the frame of reference. What’s above to us may be below from another vantage point.

There is also other language such as “as far as the east is from the west” that implies the vast scope of God. We now know that if you go far enough “east” you end up in the “west” and vice versa since we know that the earth is round.

These images are quaint and can make scripture and religion seem antiquated and even irrelevant. The image of a far off heaven may be intended to convey the distance between the world as it is and the world as God intends it to be. As far as the east is from the west is a spatial image of distance and separation. If we want to convey distance and separation in more current images, how might we do that? Might we say as far apart as the Latin alphabet is from the Arabic alphabet? Might we express isolation and separation in terms of the internet: As isolated as if having no access to the internet for months on end. Are there other images of separation that we can think of in today’s terms? God was as silent as if I were in a dead zone with no cell phone reception. I pray, but it is as if I have no bars.

Using contemporary imagery and language is important for keeping religion, Christianity, and our faith vital and relevant and alive. It is also a reminder that those who penned what we now consider scripture used what was contemporary, colloquial language, which may loose something in translation across languages and centuries.

Prayer: We know that our faith is a living faith. God’s love and grace are relevant in every culture, in every age, and in every circumstance. We know that the way of Jesus is the way of life, whatever our context. May we not be afraid to reverence faith of the past and make relevant faith for today. Amen.

Have you done any weeding lately? Maybe you don’t have to bother with that anymore in your living circumstances. Maybe you are not capable of weeding. Maybe you are putting off weeding so haven’t done it for a while. Well, I did some weeding in a bed of dense growth. It was a matter of getting all the miscellaneous little plants out that don’t belong there. And because of the dense ground cover, you have to really look at each little section of dirt and examine all of the leaves to find the invaders. It is definitely detail work. And there were a lot of weeds.

As I weeded I thought about how it had gotten this bad. I thought about how tedious and painstaking it is to clear out the weeds. I thought about how if I did this weeding more often it would not seem so burdensome and overwhelming.

In many ways, weeding is like the spiritual life. You may wake up one morning and wonder, how did this happen? How did I get to this point in my life? How did things get this bad? Why haven’t I done anything about it? Maybe you are ingrained in an addiction. Or having severe difficulties in a primary relationship. Or feel isolated and alone. Or don’t feel connected to God/the sacred/ love. Perhaps someone makes a comment to you or you read something and a light goes off and you suddenly see how far you are from where you intended. Time for some weeding to get to where you want to be.

As with weeding, the longer we let things go in our spiritual lives, the longer we procrastinate, or stay in denial, the harder and more painstaking it is to address the problems. Staying on top of things prevents issues from getting worse and makes them easier to resolve. As usual, the best cure is prevention. And in terms of the spiritual life, that means vigilance. Paying attention. Noticing what is going on. To do that we may need to turn off the TV/iPod/radio/computer/cellphone and make sure we are giving ourselves quiet time and space to think and feel and reflect.

Lent is the perfect time to create or re-establish your connections and to do it through quiet reflection.

Prayer: May we have the discipline and desire to pay attention to our spiritual lives. May we also have the courage to address the problems, concerns, and issues that we notice. By maintaining constant vigilance we make the way clear for divine love flow through us and bless the world. Amen.

Today 5 of us headed over the Skyway Bridge to Palmetto to serve lunch to over 100 people who are on the Fair Food March sponsored by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers from Fort Myers to Lakeland to the Publix Headquarters. We set up the burritos, apples, chips, and drinks on tables under the trees on the lawn of a Methodist church. All was ready. Then along came the marchers. Young children, young adults, middle aged and older adults. Some Euro, some Afro, some Latino. An eclectic array. And here we were, 5 middle American white people serving lunch. There was plenty of food. And much gratitude.

And there was a fair amount of conversation. What was memorable? The young children who are walking. The senior citizens who are walking. The college age students who could be spending their break at the beach but instead are walking in solidarity with those who provide our food. The workers who are in the midst of prime picking season and are taking two weeks off, unpaid, from working in the fields to work for justice. This is necessary income for these subsistence workers, and yet here they are. Missing two weeks pay. What would you give up two weeks pay for? Would it be to advocate for justice? And walking many miles, which may very well be easier than the work that is done in the fields.

Those of us who served lunch offered time to prepare and serve the food. We offered the food which we had purchased. We offered ourselves as listeners. We offered the support and solidarity of our congregation. Ed Helm offered a rendition of Mark Twain. But I think that each of us would say that we received far more than we offered. As I told them in my brief remarks, “We have given you food for your bodies, but you inspire us and give us food for our spirits.”

“One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” [Deuteronomy 8:3] Today, I believe we heard God speaking.

Prayer: Help us not to get so absorbed in our own agendas and routines that we neglect the opportunities that are given to us to hear God speaking. May we listen for God in the many movements for justice which surround us. Lent is a time to listen. May we listen and know God in the voice and the face of another. Amen.

Note: Look for pictures of the march and of the lunch on the church website: lakewooducc.org