light – Page 4 – From a Pastor's Point of View

Imagination is a Good Thing

We are blessed with the gift of imagination. It allows us to fill in dots in innovative and creative ways. We explore, we learn, we grow. All this from the brain that is hard wired to express our own unique view of the world and the Creator that fashioned us in the image of the Divine.

We are blessed to be given the ability to live with a passion that moves us and motivates us to have a sense of meaning and purpose in the world. When we connect spirit to spirit with the Prime Mover, there is nothing quite like it. We are energized and equipped to have an awareness beyond our own comprehension. This reality cannot be explained, it can only be experienced.

Beware of those who try to steal your joy. Run from those who seek to overpower you and attempt to cast judgement on your own unique approach to understanding the world. These people are wolves in sheeps clothing. They cast doubt and despair on your joy. To say that they are dangerous is an understatement. Be on guard against them, for they will disguise themselves as well intentioned people filled with the spirit of God, only to leave you dazed, confused, and hurt. You must avoid them at all cost.

Direct your energies to the God of your understanding. Allow the joy of your unique vision of the Creator to be your primary focus. This is what will sustain you and bring you joy. This is the well spring of hope; this author and creator of all that we are.

Today, I am grateful for the people who strengthen me, and encourage me to look beyond the limitations of those who try to steal my joy. I am grateful for a God who continues to work through me and empowers me beyond my own imagination. Praise be to God who gives us a renewal of spirit each and every day. I pray that you may live in the power of God, in your own language, in your own way. Thanks be to God.

Preserve Our Memories Well

Recently I was visiting with a wonderful man who served in the military during World War II. He told me some amazing stories of love, sadness and deliverance. I finished my conversation with him expressing a feeling of gratitude for the memories that he clings to reminding him of his life and purpose. He maintains a spirit of joy even at the ripe old age of 95 years old.

Even though I am not his age, I do understand a little something about memories. I made a commitment this year to write everyday for a year. At the end of the year I want to look at my writing and see if there are any themes that seem to pop up over and over again. My goal is to find common ground with Scripture and my own story. I want to answer the ultimate life question, “Where has God been present in your life?”

It just so happens that I stumbled upon a small cassette tape that I recorded back in 1994. I had turned 30 years old and wanted to give my mother a gift of memories. I wanted to thank her for giving me a loving family and share with her the not so subtle of ways of teaching me life lessons on forgiveness and healing. Some of the stories that I recorded where not easy memories; however, they were necessary reflections to my growth as a human being.

Listening to these stories 19 years later has brought me a new appreciation for my family and the path that I had to journey on to get to where I am now. As I listened to my younger voice, I celebrated the lives of those who are no longer with me but were a very important part of shaping my life. I listened to my own process of forgiveness and healing as told in my own words. There was something incredibly liberating to hear a recounting of the many stories that gave me a sense of identity. I appreciated the lessons that were handed to me as I struggled to find my own sense of worth.

I recently preached a sermon on God’s presence in the middle of darkness. I told of God’s faithfulness and existence in the blackest of times. This tape reminded me of a time that I came out of the fog and into the light of God. As my World War II buddy said, “Memories are powerful and important.”

We hold tight to our past as a reminder of a time when God led us to be free of the pain that we carried. Our faith keeps us safe and our memories serve to remind us of our journey. The Israelites would never have gone back into slavery, but every year there is a celebration known as the Passover Seder to commemorate what God did in the lives of the faithful. As he did for those in physical bondage, The Holy One of Israel led us out of bondage. Theirs was a physical servitude while ours was a spiritual captivity. There is not a year that goes by that we remember that from which we have been delivered, the one who delivered us (God), and the absolute joy we have as those who have been redeemed. We preserve and celebrate our memories. They have shaped us well.

I Look to You

“My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy” (Ps. 63:5-7 NRSV).

I admit that while I like the cold, I love more sunlight during the day. There is an excitement to the impending arrival of spring. We think of rebirth and the hope of the newness that is to come. I was sharing my feelings about the night time and how much I enjoy the day when someone in a group in which I was a member pointed out something that I missed right in front of my face. My friend said to me, “Joe, remember that there is beauty in the night. You must journey through the darkness to experience the gifts that are present.”

Our Lenten journey reminds us that we were a people who came out of darkness. We looked at the stars to guide our hearts into the perfect light, the love of Christ. We know what complete darkness feels like. It is a place of fear and insecurity. We, who have been transformed, know that our journey towards the brightness of God began with a tiny light to pierce the dark. We can call the light a candle, a glow, a star or even a hope. However the light may come when there is no light, we are never the same.

This leads to the ultimate question that, since God is present in all things, is there really complete darkness? Does our journey ever take us into a place where there is an absence of God? The Psalmist states in Psalm 139 that, “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night’, even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you” (Ps. 139:11-12). We are never in complete darkness because God is present in all things.

I struggle with such a bold statement such as the one the Psalmist presents. I have seen the harm that some people inflict on other people and I am afraid that I am led to more questions than answers. If God is present in all things, then why is their suffering in this world? I am encouraged to step even deeper into the heart and determine how in the world such atrocities exist if God is present in all things.

Unfortunately, humanity does not treat the environment (including ourselves and others) very well. We see on the news everyday what groups of people inflict on other groups. We don’t have very far to go to see the dehumanization of countless groups in our world beaten and left for dead. Hunger takes its toll on innocent people. Cancer and other diseases spread through the lives of those we love and we look at the text written by the psalmist and ask, “Are you kidding me? Why would God allow this to happen in the lives of those around us? Not only is our world dark, but it appears that God is not present in the blackness.”

I believe that the claim that is made in Psalm 139 concerning God’s presence is indeed true. God truly is in all things. Our responsibility is to share in the divine love and nurture it. Our darkness is made light when we surrender to the love of the Great Creator. In our perception of the darkness the Holy One calls us to focus on Him. As we do, we come to realize that this overwhelming God transforms our hearts and minds and gives us comfort and peace. What once was a dark place has now become light.

An assuredness of God’s presence is what gives us hope in the middle of the darkness. When all else fails, there is one small light to break through the darkness of cancer, or the blackness of hunger and abuse. There is no darkness, for God is in every space and place imaginable. We embrace the light to guide us back to the incredible light of the Father. God’s warmth is already here. Will you recognize it and embrace it, or will you live in darkness and fear? The choice is yours.