Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Most of you don't know me. I am 2009 graduate of LSTC and am in the third year of my first call, serving Trinity Lutheran Church in Lawrence, KS as their associate pastor.
After having been in a call for almost three years, I have been doing some reflecting on things that I could have done differently to make my life a little bit less stressful. Most of the past three years I would not change as my first call has been a great blessing to me. But there is one area I would definitely handle differently if given another chance to do things again.
Money
I graduated from seminary, as many of you are, with significant loan debt. In addition, moving half way across the country is not cheap, as many of you who are awaiting call are about to discover. Those of you awaiting call will also discover the glorious nature of the clergy tax system (I say glorious sarcastically). So here are some tips from someone who has made some mistakes and has learned a WHOLE bunch from these mistakes which will help me and my husband in the future.
1) If you have student loans, find the best payment plan that works for you NOW. If you have Stafford loans, you can consolidate them through direct loans (the federal government) which will allow you to extend your payment schedule to 20 years (but only if you need to). But do what you can to figure out what your payment amounts will be before you get that first bill and have a heart attack (or cry, like I did).
2) If you have any credit card debt, pay off as much as you can as fast as you can. When the student loan companies come calling, you won't have as much money to put towards your credit card debt and having that monkey off your back will be a great relief.
3) When you receive a call, find a tax accountant who specialized in clergy taxes (If you're in the Kansas City area, I know a great accountant). Meet with them as soon as you are able so you can talk through the clergy tax rules so that you have a working knowledge of what you need to do so you don't get penalized for not paying your taxes quarterly.
4) If you're in the market for a new vehicle, check out the tax laws in the state you will be moving to. Some states require you to pay property tax on your car so, at least for now, a used car might be a better option in multiple ways.
5) We have had faithful giving and tithing practices drilled into us throughout seminary. But this is what I was told by a Lutheran Planned Giving representative...don't give more in your offering than you are able to put into your savings account. It is the best financial advice I've received. We'll all be able to tithe at some point, but when we are just starting out that isn't always possible. So the important thing is that we give faithfully and not feel guilty because we cannot give more. (I tell folks that right now, that the majority of my giving is paying off student loans that allowed me to be faithful to God's call to ministry).
Some of this advice (particularly #4) will be more or less helpful depending on where your first call takes you but I do hope that at least one of these points will be helpful so that the stresses surrounding financial matters will be as minimal as possible as you set out on this amazing adventure called the ministry. God will provide you with so many blessings in this journey. It's not always easy, though, so having a handle on one of the few aspects in life that you do have control over (to a certain extent) is helpful.
I wish you blessings, hope, peace and love as you go out into the places that God is calling you to serve.
In God's love,
Jen Kiefer, LSTC class of 2009
Postscript: Dan K. has shared a lovely resource with me that provides help for folks paying back federal student loans. http://www.ibrinfo.org/ is the website. For those of us who have at least part of our loans through private lenders, however, it's a little more complicated and a lot more frustrating. The last time I tried to call Citiassist, they didn't even offer up an option to speak with a real human being. Moral of the story: if you can get most or all of your loans through the federal government, this is the way to go. They are willing to help you.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Sermon from Lent 3B
Lent 3B
March 11, 2012
Exodus 20:1-17
When I was in high school, I
thought things were pretty unfair. I
didn’t think it was fair that the other kids I went to school with got to go to
parties and I didn’t. I didn’t think it
was fair that the other kids got to stay out past midnight on the weekends but
my curfew was 11 o’ clock. I really
didn’t think it was fair that a couple years later, my parents extended curfew
for my brother and sister…and when I turned 21, they admitted that maybe it
wasn’t all that fair that they had been more lenient with my brother and sister
than they had been with me, their first born.
But by that time…and even more so in the time since, I have come to
appreciate the rules that my parents laid out for me when I was a teenager. I know that those rules were intended to keep
me safe and out of trouble...even though, for my parents, it meant putting up
with some teenage angst every once in a while.
I don’t know if you would
call it teenage angst that God and Moses and Aaron were putting up with…it was
probably more like desert angst, or wilderness angst…whatever it was, there was
some angst going around. The Israelites
had just been rescued from the hands of their slave masters in Egypt and were
now in the midst of their journey to the Promised Land…the land that God had
pledged to provide to Abraham, Sarah and their descendants. But it wasn’t exactly a drive down I-70 from
Lawrence to Kansas City…there were issues along the way, as tends to happen
when you are on foot in the wilderness and there aren’t any oases nearby…and
the people weren’t afraid to let Moses and Aaron hear how unfair they thought
it was.
“Why did you bring us out of Egypt,
to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”
“If only we had died by the
hand of the Lord in the land
of Egypt, when we sat by
the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this
wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
When the Israelites cried out
in protest of their conditions, God listened to their complaints and mercifully
provided them with water from a rock, quail at twilight and manna in the morning. Later, when Amalek attacked the Israelites,
God made the Israelites victorious over their enemies. And, in Chapter 19, they
finally reached Mount Sinai. It is here, at Sinai, that God entered into a
covenant with the Israelites. A covenant
unlike those God made with Abraham and Noah.
This new covenant that God was about to forge with the Israelites was a
mutual covenant, one that depended on both the actions of God and the actions
of the Israelites.
“You have seen what I did to
the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to
myself. 5Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my
covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed,
the whole earth is mine, 6but you shall be for me a priestly
kingdom and a holy nation.”
Now we stand with Moses, whom
God has bid to come up Mount Sinai alone, and
it is now that Moses receive the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were an outline of the
rules that the Israelites needed to follow if they wanted to be God’s
people. They are a set of rules that
show a way of life that has its sights set on peace and justice and was
intended to put us in a right relationship with our neighbors and the community
around us. And this way of life lived in
right relationship with our neighbors is informed by a right relationship with
God.
The Ten Commandments, as
provided to Moses for the use of the Israelites, were carved into stone and
given to the people as a way of showing the Israelites how they, as the holy
nation of God, could live as a sacred community…worshiping God and serving
their neighbors.
And they do the same thing
for us, showing us ways in which our relationship of God informs our
relationship with those around us. For
example, we worship God together as community because we are intended to live
together as community and the commandments show us how to best do this.
At the same time, however,
the Ten Commandments are much more than just rules. They are reminders of who we are, whose we
are, and what we were made for.
In the formulations of some
of the Commandments, we see the creation of the identity that belonged to the
Israelites. The commandments begin with
a statement about God, the one who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
In the third commandment, there is a reminder that God created the
heavens and the earth and the waters below the earth and then, on the seventh
day, God RESTED. In the fourth
commandment there is a reminder of the ancestors who were first promised a land
set apart just for them and their offspring.
For Moses and the Israelites,
and for us, there is in the Ten Commandments, not just a way of being in
relationship with one another, but there is also an identity…as created,
called, and claimed children of a God who is faithful and loving, slow to anger
and abounding in steadfast love. We were
created to live lives that show others the love of God, by being people who
value justice, mercy, and love for our neighbors.
And this is the good news
that comes out of the Ten Commandments, God is patient with us…God is willing
to give us extra chances to get it right…because left to our own devices, we’d
be in trouble. It wasn’t even before
Moses came down the mountain with the commandments that the people had created
the golden calf, and God was ready to wipe out this people whom God had said
earlier would be a priestly people and a holy nation. But Moses intervened and God changed God’s
mind and the Israelites were spared. And
we continue to see a progression of how God is willing to look for different
ways of connecting with God’s people.
When we didn’t hold up our
end of the covenant, God tried different ways of getting through to us. But the problem is that none of us can keep
all 10 commandments at all times. Our
sinful nature has bound in us the inability to be perfect, whether we like it
or not. That being the case, even if we
try with all our might, there is nothing that we can do on our own to become
perfect.
So God came down in Jesus
Christ and formed a new covenant, one in which Christ’s faithfulness was enough
for all of us. We are joined to Christ
in this covenant through our baptism and we remember the covenant each time we
come to the table, joining our brothers and sisters of all times and all places
in a meal that gives us a foretaste of the feast to come.
The commandments help us in
our life together, they help us to live in community and in our relationship
with God. But they also remind us of who
we are, whose we are, and what we were made for.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Thankful Thursday
I find myself in a strange place today. I can't tell if it's a place of over reacting to the world around me, a state of righteous indignation, or the fact that I've been suffering from a migraine for the past 36+ hours.
Fortunately, I know a remedy for this = Thankful Thursday!
Today, I am thankful for
Awesome worship last night, with Holden Evening prayer and Luther's Small Catechism as the centerpiece. Worship was made even more awesome by the incense and increased volume of children present.
A God, whose word and sacraments remind me of a faithfulness and love that is unconditional and overflowing.
6 months of marriage that I will celebrate with Chris on Saturday. Can't wait for the months, years and decades to come!
Brand new pew cushions for the sanctuary. True, my feet can no longer touch the floor, but they will make things more tolerable for some of the older folks who have had a hard time sitting through worship because of the old pew cushions.
A bible study group that puts up with my strange tangents and crazy ideas, like let's take a break from reading apocryphal gospels to talk about early church heresies! (they even volunteered to research the heresies!!)
Grace abundant
Colleagues I can laugh with, even after interesting political discussions.
Motrin
Soli deo gloria
Fortunately, I know a remedy for this = Thankful Thursday!
Today, I am thankful for
Awesome worship last night, with Holden Evening prayer and Luther's Small Catechism as the centerpiece. Worship was made even more awesome by the incense and increased volume of children present.
A God, whose word and sacraments remind me of a faithfulness and love that is unconditional and overflowing.
6 months of marriage that I will celebrate with Chris on Saturday. Can't wait for the months, years and decades to come!
Brand new pew cushions for the sanctuary. True, my feet can no longer touch the floor, but they will make things more tolerable for some of the older folks who have had a hard time sitting through worship because of the old pew cushions.
A bible study group that puts up with my strange tangents and crazy ideas, like let's take a break from reading apocryphal gospels to talk about early church heresies! (they even volunteered to research the heresies!!)
Grace abundant
Colleagues I can laugh with, even after interesting political discussions.
Motrin
Soli deo gloria
Sunday, February 26, 2012
God's Rainbow Connection
Lent 1B
February 26, 2012
Genesis 9:8-17
"Why are there so many songs about rainbows,
and what’s on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
and rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it.
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me." ~"The Rainbow Connection" from "The Muppet Movie"
What do you think of when the topic of rainbows comes up? Leprechauns and pots of gold? Kermit the Frog with a banjo? Judy Garland and the Wizard of Oz? The cultural icon of the 80’s, Rainbow Brite? Have you ever looked at a rainbow and pictured it as God’s battle weapon? It’s not the touchy feely, happy go lucky, image that rainbows tend to carry with them…a weapon of battle. It’s not even something that we may want to associate with God, a beautiful object in the sky that could be used for destruction…but it makes sense in the context of our text this morning from Genesis.
We enter the story after God’s call to Noah has been fulfilled, after animals entered the ark 2 by 2, after 40 days and 40 nights of rain flooded the earth, after the waters had subsided and Noah and his family had exited the ark. We enter at the happy ending of sorts, the scene that is painted on the walls of babies rooms and church nurseries, a happy Noah and his family and the animals standing in the shadow of the ark hearing about the covenant that God was going to make with them. It’s a beautiful image, but it’s only part of the story.
Likewise, it’s tempting to look at the story of the flood as a story of an angry, vengeful God who has lost it with humanity. That, too, is missing the point…and it’s not the most accurate reading of the text. In chapter 6 of Genesis, we hear that God had seen how the hearts of humans had become focused on evil…and God was sorry that God had created humanity so that it grieved God in God’s heart. God had experienced the rupture in God’s relationship with humans in the garden, God had witnessed the downspin of humanity with the first murder and other evil acts that were in essence acts of betrayal against their creator, affecting not only themselves, but the entirety of creation.
Such sinful acts pained God, and in God’s sorrow, God sent the flood as an act of grief and a way of starting over, with Noah and his family as the prototype for the second go-around with the humans that God had made. And after the waters subsided, after Noah and his family had entered the ark, something had changed…but something hadn’t. Even after isolating a faithful family and placing them in the safety of the ark, human nature hadn’t changed. There was still sin lurking in the hearts of the family that had been chosen to be spared from the waters of the flood. However, God had changed. God was so full of love for humanity and for the rest of creation, that God changed how God looked at the world…being willing to be active in a future of creation that was less than the perfect world that God has created, and being open to new ways of seeking out and being in relationship with God’s children.
So God repurposed God’s bow, taking it from being a weapon of divine battle and turning it into a reminder of the promise that God made to Noah, his family, the birds of the air, the domestic and wild animals of the earth.
Unlike other covenants made in scripture between God and humans, this first covenant made to Noah and the animals was a covenant that relied solely on God’s action and shows the change in God’s approach to being in relationship with creation. It was a promise that God made to creation…not a covenant in which we were also held accountable, and looking at our track record with covenants, that’s probably a good thing…we have a tendency to not keep our end of the bargain. So, for God, the bow in the sky is a reminder that even in the most dismal circumstances, when God is so grieved at our actions towards God and one another that God is ready to wipe the slate clean and start over again, God made a promise to creation…not just to humanity, but to the whole creation…to all the animals that left the ark, that God would never again remove life from the face of the earth with the waters of a flood.
Instead, God sought out new ways of connecting with God’s children…making good on God’s promises to Abraham and Sarah, working through Joseph to care for the tribe that would become Israel, using Moses to rescue the children of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians and writing God’s laws on to tablets of stone so that they would have a framework with which to live amongst one another. When that failed, God made the Israelites walk in the desert, but not without providing for their needs. Later, when we had not lived up our end of the bargain on our covenants with God, God sent prophets to call the people into account and to remind them that while we hadn’t been faithful, God is always faithful.
But when we didn’t listen to the prophets, God had to come up with a new game plan. So God sent God’s only son to become a part of humanity and forge a new covenant. That covenant was written in the blood that was shed on the cross. We are reminded of this covenant every time we approach the table to eat and drink the body and blood of Christ. In this new covenant, we are reminded that death has been crushed and that only life in Christ remains.
Rainbows aren’t just reminders for God, they are also reminders for us. When we see God’s bow in the sky, we are reminded that God loved us so much that God was willing to give up a little control, hang up God’s bow, and live into a future that was less than the perfect creation that God had made. Instead of total destruction, God chose to wipe the slate clean and to walk with us and seek new ways of connecting with God’s children…even if it meant going back to the drawing board when we rebelled and tried to do things our own way.
God has refined it, the rainbow connection,
For prophets, believers, and me.
February 26, 2012
Genesis 9:8-17
"Why are there so many songs about rainbows,
and what’s on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
and rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it.
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection.
The lovers, the dreamers and me." ~"The Rainbow Connection" from "The Muppet Movie"
What do you think of when the topic of rainbows comes up? Leprechauns and pots of gold? Kermit the Frog with a banjo? Judy Garland and the Wizard of Oz? The cultural icon of the 80’s, Rainbow Brite? Have you ever looked at a rainbow and pictured it as God’s battle weapon? It’s not the touchy feely, happy go lucky, image that rainbows tend to carry with them…a weapon of battle. It’s not even something that we may want to associate with God, a beautiful object in the sky that could be used for destruction…but it makes sense in the context of our text this morning from Genesis.
We enter the story after God’s call to Noah has been fulfilled, after animals entered the ark 2 by 2, after 40 days and 40 nights of rain flooded the earth, after the waters had subsided and Noah and his family had exited the ark. We enter at the happy ending of sorts, the scene that is painted on the walls of babies rooms and church nurseries, a happy Noah and his family and the animals standing in the shadow of the ark hearing about the covenant that God was going to make with them. It’s a beautiful image, but it’s only part of the story.
Likewise, it’s tempting to look at the story of the flood as a story of an angry, vengeful God who has lost it with humanity. That, too, is missing the point…and it’s not the most accurate reading of the text. In chapter 6 of Genesis, we hear that God had seen how the hearts of humans had become focused on evil…and God was sorry that God had created humanity so that it grieved God in God’s heart. God had experienced the rupture in God’s relationship with humans in the garden, God had witnessed the downspin of humanity with the first murder and other evil acts that were in essence acts of betrayal against their creator, affecting not only themselves, but the entirety of creation.
Such sinful acts pained God, and in God’s sorrow, God sent the flood as an act of grief and a way of starting over, with Noah and his family as the prototype for the second go-around with the humans that God had made. And after the waters subsided, after Noah and his family had entered the ark, something had changed…but something hadn’t. Even after isolating a faithful family and placing them in the safety of the ark, human nature hadn’t changed. There was still sin lurking in the hearts of the family that had been chosen to be spared from the waters of the flood. However, God had changed. God was so full of love for humanity and for the rest of creation, that God changed how God looked at the world…being willing to be active in a future of creation that was less than the perfect world that God has created, and being open to new ways of seeking out and being in relationship with God’s children.
So God repurposed God’s bow, taking it from being a weapon of divine battle and turning it into a reminder of the promise that God made to Noah, his family, the birds of the air, the domestic and wild animals of the earth.
Unlike other covenants made in scripture between God and humans, this first covenant made to Noah and the animals was a covenant that relied solely on God’s action and shows the change in God’s approach to being in relationship with creation. It was a promise that God made to creation…not a covenant in which we were also held accountable, and looking at our track record with covenants, that’s probably a good thing…we have a tendency to not keep our end of the bargain. So, for God, the bow in the sky is a reminder that even in the most dismal circumstances, when God is so grieved at our actions towards God and one another that God is ready to wipe the slate clean and start over again, God made a promise to creation…not just to humanity, but to the whole creation…to all the animals that left the ark, that God would never again remove life from the face of the earth with the waters of a flood.
Instead, God sought out new ways of connecting with God’s children…making good on God’s promises to Abraham and Sarah, working through Joseph to care for the tribe that would become Israel, using Moses to rescue the children of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians and writing God’s laws on to tablets of stone so that they would have a framework with which to live amongst one another. When that failed, God made the Israelites walk in the desert, but not without providing for their needs. Later, when we had not lived up our end of the bargain on our covenants with God, God sent prophets to call the people into account and to remind them that while we hadn’t been faithful, God is always faithful.
But when we didn’t listen to the prophets, God had to come up with a new game plan. So God sent God’s only son to become a part of humanity and forge a new covenant. That covenant was written in the blood that was shed on the cross. We are reminded of this covenant every time we approach the table to eat and drink the body and blood of Christ. In this new covenant, we are reminded that death has been crushed and that only life in Christ remains.
Rainbows aren’t just reminders for God, they are also reminders for us. When we see God’s bow in the sky, we are reminded that God loved us so much that God was willing to give up a little control, hang up God’s bow, and live into a future that was less than the perfect creation that God had made. Instead of total destruction, God chose to wipe the slate clean and to walk with us and seek new ways of connecting with God’s children…even if it meant going back to the drawing board when we rebelled and tried to do things our own way.
God has refined it, the rainbow connection,
For prophets, believers, and me.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust...Lord have mercy
My life experience has had a way of constantly keeping me in awe of the simultaneous resiliency and fragility of life.
The summer between my first and second years of seminary was the first time I got to see this in a tangible way. As part of my Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) experience, I got to witness an autopsy. Did you know how resilient the human body is, even after death? That afternoon, I stopped by the nursery to see the newborns and in watching how those nurses moved those babies around, I was equally as struck by the strength of the human body just after birth. And yet, our bodies as strong as our bodies are, they are still so fragile that sometime microscopic can put an end to our lives, or at least our lives as we know them.
In Genesis, we are told that God formed Adam (the Hebrew word for "dirt person") from he dust of the ground. And when Adam and Eve turned away from their total dependence on God, God reminded Adam of this saying "you are dust, and to dust you shall return"
That phrase was burned on my brain yesterday as I imposed ashes upon the foreheads of those who came to Ash Wednesday services yesterday. I thought of my college classmate, Rachal, who died this week after suffering multiple seizures and cardiac arrest suddenly last week. I thought of Martha, an elderly member of our congregation who also died this week due to complications from Congestive Heart Failure. And I thought of Penelope and Arianna who were born on the same days that Rachal and Martha went to be with the Lord. We are simultaneously resilient, strong creatures and fragile creatures. So when 3 month old Brooks, his 6 year old and 3 year old sisters, and 5 year old Thomas were presented to me for the imposition of ashes last night, it took all that was inside of me to hold back the tears.
How do you say to life that is so new "remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return"? and yet, how do you say to life that has seen so many years "remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return"?
But then, I think of the oil of gladness mixed in with the ashes...I think of the hosannas shouted by those who waves the palms that became the ashes...even in death, there is life and hope and joy because of the life, death and resurrection of Christ. And it is because of this I can say to the 3 month old and the 96 year old "remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
The summer between my first and second years of seminary was the first time I got to see this in a tangible way. As part of my Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) experience, I got to witness an autopsy. Did you know how resilient the human body is, even after death? That afternoon, I stopped by the nursery to see the newborns and in watching how those nurses moved those babies around, I was equally as struck by the strength of the human body just after birth. And yet, our bodies as strong as our bodies are, they are still so fragile that sometime microscopic can put an end to our lives, or at least our lives as we know them.
In Genesis, we are told that God formed Adam (the Hebrew word for "dirt person") from he dust of the ground. And when Adam and Eve turned away from their total dependence on God, God reminded Adam of this saying "you are dust, and to dust you shall return"
That phrase was burned on my brain yesterday as I imposed ashes upon the foreheads of those who came to Ash Wednesday services yesterday. I thought of my college classmate, Rachal, who died this week after suffering multiple seizures and cardiac arrest suddenly last week. I thought of Martha, an elderly member of our congregation who also died this week due to complications from Congestive Heart Failure. And I thought of Penelope and Arianna who were born on the same days that Rachal and Martha went to be with the Lord. We are simultaneously resilient, strong creatures and fragile creatures. So when 3 month old Brooks, his 6 year old and 3 year old sisters, and 5 year old Thomas were presented to me for the imposition of ashes last night, it took all that was inside of me to hold back the tears.
How do you say to life that is so new "remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return"? and yet, how do you say to life that has seen so many years "remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return"?
But then, I think of the oil of gladness mixed in with the ashes...I think of the hosannas shouted by those who waves the palms that became the ashes...even in death, there is life and hope and joy because of the life, death and resurrection of Christ. And it is because of this I can say to the 3 month old and the 96 year old "remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Why Whitney's death is, in fact, tragic
Let me start this off by saying that what I have to say on this matter is my own opinion and it is probably considered by some to be controversial. Therefore, take this as a warning that you may not like what I have to say, and that I respect that.
I was watching a Charlie Brown Valentine's day special when it was interrupted by ABC News to tell us that Whitney Houston had been found dead in her hotel room in Beverly Hills. My mom and I looked at each other in disbelief. We had both been great fans of Whitney's work, and knew that we had just lived into a moment that changed the world. There would be no more new work from an artist who was truly and genuinely gifted by God with the voice of an angel. But, after taking a moment to reflect, we moved on with our evening.
The next morning, though, I was jarred by a FB status from someone I have known for over a decade. The individual stated very matter of factly that in his/her opinion, Whitney's death was not a tragedy because she had chosen the lifestyle that led to her death. Later that week I was further jarred by a chain post that some friends had shared that stated something similar about Whitney choosing to live a life of drug and alcohol abuse.
Let me be clear...I respect these opinions. However, I am in 100% absolute disagreement with my friends.
Every death is tragic.
No one chooses to be an addict.
No one wakes up one morning and says "you know, I think I'll become an addict today"...and no addict wakes up one morning and says "you know, I can stop being an addict now" and is magically not an addict.
Addiction is a psychological disorder, considered by many medical experts to be a disease.
Addition may be the result of the overindulgence in something, be it alcohol, drugs, exercise, sugar, food (or lack there of), sex, the list goes on and on. But it doesn't have to be...some people are genetically predisposed to addiction.
(Aside: have you ever noticed that we don't demonize food addicts or exercise addicts? We don't go after anorexic or bulimic individuals...and yet alcoholics, drug addicts and sex addicts are fair game for us to cast out and put down)
From the testimonials of her friends and family, Whitney Houston was a woman who loved God. She was also a woman who struggled very publicly with her addiction and she tried to overcome her addiction, going to rehab multiple times. But the demons of addiction had too firm a grasp on Whitney Houston and she lost her battle. Now a child will live the rest of her life with out her mother to guide her.
Also, we don't know yet what caused Whitney's death...we won't know for some time yet, I'm afraid. But if it was drugs, she wouldn't be the first. Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Amy Winehouse, Brad Renfroe, W.C. Fields, John Belushi, River Phoenix, Judy Garland, Chris Farley, Dorothy Dandridge, and Montgomery Clift are just a few celebrities who have died of drug or alcohol overdoses.
A beautiful voice is gone too soon, a child is now motherless. But maybe, some glimmer of hope can come out of the death of Whitney Houston. Maybe because of Whitney's death, there will be a greater effort to understand addiction and the power that it has the potential to wield over people who fall victim too it. Maybe there will be more compassion for people who are currently battling this affliction. Maybe by talking about addiction and ridding the disease of its stigma, people will seek help sooner and future deaths will be prevented.
But here is the final thing that I have to say on this topic. God's love is bigger than addiction...in fact, God came down in Jesus Christ for the addict, that they too might know peace and healing. Whitney Houston now rests in the arms of our Lord, free of her addiction, full of the New Life promised to her in her baptism.
Eternal rest grant her, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine on her.
*steps off of soap box*
I was watching a Charlie Brown Valentine's day special when it was interrupted by ABC News to tell us that Whitney Houston had been found dead in her hotel room in Beverly Hills. My mom and I looked at each other in disbelief. We had both been great fans of Whitney's work, and knew that we had just lived into a moment that changed the world. There would be no more new work from an artist who was truly and genuinely gifted by God with the voice of an angel. But, after taking a moment to reflect, we moved on with our evening.
The next morning, though, I was jarred by a FB status from someone I have known for over a decade. The individual stated very matter of factly that in his/her opinion, Whitney's death was not a tragedy because she had chosen the lifestyle that led to her death. Later that week I was further jarred by a chain post that some friends had shared that stated something similar about Whitney choosing to live a life of drug and alcohol abuse.
Let me be clear...I respect these opinions. However, I am in 100% absolute disagreement with my friends.
Every death is tragic.
No one chooses to be an addict.
No one wakes up one morning and says "you know, I think I'll become an addict today"...and no addict wakes up one morning and says "you know, I can stop being an addict now" and is magically not an addict.
Addiction is a psychological disorder, considered by many medical experts to be a disease.
Addition may be the result of the overindulgence in something, be it alcohol, drugs, exercise, sugar, food (or lack there of), sex, the list goes on and on. But it doesn't have to be...some people are genetically predisposed to addiction.
(Aside: have you ever noticed that we don't demonize food addicts or exercise addicts? We don't go after anorexic or bulimic individuals...and yet alcoholics, drug addicts and sex addicts are fair game for us to cast out and put down)
From the testimonials of her friends and family, Whitney Houston was a woman who loved God. She was also a woman who struggled very publicly with her addiction and she tried to overcome her addiction, going to rehab multiple times. But the demons of addiction had too firm a grasp on Whitney Houston and she lost her battle. Now a child will live the rest of her life with out her mother to guide her.
Also, we don't know yet what caused Whitney's death...we won't know for some time yet, I'm afraid. But if it was drugs, she wouldn't be the first. Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Amy Winehouse, Brad Renfroe, W.C. Fields, John Belushi, River Phoenix, Judy Garland, Chris Farley, Dorothy Dandridge, and Montgomery Clift are just a few celebrities who have died of drug or alcohol overdoses.
A beautiful voice is gone too soon, a child is now motherless. But maybe, some glimmer of hope can come out of the death of Whitney Houston. Maybe because of Whitney's death, there will be a greater effort to understand addiction and the power that it has the potential to wield over people who fall victim too it. Maybe there will be more compassion for people who are currently battling this affliction. Maybe by talking about addiction and ridding the disease of its stigma, people will seek help sooner and future deaths will be prevented.
But here is the final thing that I have to say on this topic. God's love is bigger than addiction...in fact, God came down in Jesus Christ for the addict, that they too might know peace and healing. Whitney Houston now rests in the arms of our Lord, free of her addiction, full of the New Life promised to her in her baptism.
Eternal rest grant her, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine on her.
*steps off of soap box*
Sunday, February 19, 2012
“Hallelujah, forevermore”
Transfiguration of Our Lord
Mark 9:2-9
Have you ever noticed that God is a big fan of mountains? After the waters of the flood subsided, God landed the ark, which held Noah and his family, on Mt. Ararat. When it came to communicating with Moses, the mountain was the place…mostly Mount Sinai, the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments after hanging out with God for about 40 days. But God also communicated with the Israelites at Mt. Nebo during their wanderings in the desert. It was at Mt. Carmel that the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal took place and God showed God’s self to be the only God. And it was at Mount Horeb, where Elijah encountered the still small voice of God, who encouraged Elijah in his work after he had fled from persecution by King Ahab and Jezebel.
So I suppose that it is no accident that Jesus was also a fan of mountains, in fact, they were his favorite place to retreat and pray. And if that’s the case, it’s no accident that on this day, the day of his transfiguration, Jesus went to the mountain once again. But this time, he wasn’t alone…he had brought his most trusted disciples along with him. We don’t know if Peter, James and John had any idea what they were in for that day…Mark tells us that they were frightened by what they saw up on the mountain. Suddenly, their leader was transformed…his face glowing and his clothes became a dazzling white…his holiness as the Son of God shining through. And if that’s not enough to startle you, Moses and Elijah then appeared and engaged Jesus in a Holy huddle. Then, to top it off, a cloud overshadowed them and they heard the voice of God declaring Jesus to be God’s son, the beloved, and they are ordered to listen to him.
I don’t know if I can say we can understand how frightened Peter was by this encounter that he wouldn’t know what to say so he just spouted off the first thing that popped into his brain. I don’t know if I can even say that it is something that can be imagined…a firsthand encounter with Moses and Elijah…hearing the voice of God…and seeing Jesus in the absolute fullness of his glory as the Son of God. Awe-struck is the first word that comes to mind…followed by a feeling of just how small a person is in relation to just how big God is. But then again, I’ve never been on a mountain with Jesus, Moses and Elijah…so I’m not about to say how I would feel about being a part of this specific, powerful encounter with the divine.
Perhaps, though, we can all speak to our experiences that have resulted from what happened after the encounter with Moses, Elijah and the voice of God. For after Jesus was transfigured, after he chewed the fat with Moses and Elijah and after the voice of God instructed the disciples as to who Jesus was and that they should listen, Jesus came down. Escorted by his most trusted cohorts, who were, no doubt, themselves changed by this experience, Jesus came down from the mountain and went back into the real world.
And the first thing that Mark tells us that Jesus did when he came down from the mountain was to enter into the darkness of a young boy plagued by demons and Jesus brought that boy healing, freeing him to live fully now that his darkness had been sent away.
In the transfiguration of Jesus, Peter, James, and John were blessed to receive a preview of the fullness of the glory of Jesus that would be shown to all the disciples and all others to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection. And in truth, Peter was not inappropriate in his statement that it was good for them to be there and in his suggestion to build booths for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Jesus could have very well stayed on that mountain…he could have remained in a place of glory…he deserved to stay up there in the fullness of his glory as the Son of God, flanked by Moses and Elijah…attended to by Peter, James and John. It would have been safer to live in the state of glory set apart only for the Son of God.
But Jesus knew that there was work to be done down in the valley that only he could do. Jesus had already seen the darkness that existed and still exists at the bottom of the mountain and knew that it was darkness that only he could dispel. Jesus knew that he was and is the one who could enter into that darkness with us who are slaves to sin and set us free to live in his light and receive his life.
So Jesus came down…he came down to enter into our darkness with us, to experience the darkest parts of our lives and then to set us free from that darkness having fully known what it is like to be human. Jesus came down to sit with us in our unbelief…to cry with us in our despair…to celebrate with us in our triumphs…to struggle with us in our afflictions. Jesus came down for the soldier tormented by battle scars…for the singer tortured by the demons of addiction…for the father so plagued with hate that it overcame the love for his children…for the mother lost in the grip of depression…for the high schooler so afflicted by the words of his tormenters that he starts to believe the awful things they say to him…for the young woman living in fear that she will be cast out from her family if she utters the words, “Mom, I’m Gay.” We all have dark places, places of struggle and doubt and fear that we would rather no one else knew about. But as much as we try to hide and mask these dark places in our lives, we cannot hide them from Jesus. Jesus knows our pains and he is there with us in those dark places to bring us life. We are never alone in the darkness…Jesus himself went to hell and back so that he could walk with us and so we would know light, life and peace.
Out of his love, God sent Jesus to come among us…and even after experiencing the fullness of his glory, in seeing the depth of the darkness in our world, Jesus came down from the mountain. There was work to do…there were people to heal…there was light to spread…and in the end, there was a cross waiting for him…a cross that would set us free from the grasp of death and bring us in to the fullness of the new life that is in store for us.
This is what the transfiguration is about…that Jesus, knowing the absolute fullness of his glory, loved us so much that he came down from the mountain, entered into our darkness, and went to the cross so that in giving his life, we could have life, love, peace, and joy. Hallelujah forevermore.
Mark 9:2-9
Have you ever noticed that God is a big fan of mountains? After the waters of the flood subsided, God landed the ark, which held Noah and his family, on Mt. Ararat. When it came to communicating with Moses, the mountain was the place…mostly Mount Sinai, the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments after hanging out with God for about 40 days. But God also communicated with the Israelites at Mt. Nebo during their wanderings in the desert. It was at Mt. Carmel that the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal took place and God showed God’s self to be the only God. And it was at Mount Horeb, where Elijah encountered the still small voice of God, who encouraged Elijah in his work after he had fled from persecution by King Ahab and Jezebel.
So I suppose that it is no accident that Jesus was also a fan of mountains, in fact, they were his favorite place to retreat and pray. And if that’s the case, it’s no accident that on this day, the day of his transfiguration, Jesus went to the mountain once again. But this time, he wasn’t alone…he had brought his most trusted disciples along with him. We don’t know if Peter, James and John had any idea what they were in for that day…Mark tells us that they were frightened by what they saw up on the mountain. Suddenly, their leader was transformed…his face glowing and his clothes became a dazzling white…his holiness as the Son of God shining through. And if that’s not enough to startle you, Moses and Elijah then appeared and engaged Jesus in a Holy huddle. Then, to top it off, a cloud overshadowed them and they heard the voice of God declaring Jesus to be God’s son, the beloved, and they are ordered to listen to him.
I don’t know if I can say we can understand how frightened Peter was by this encounter that he wouldn’t know what to say so he just spouted off the first thing that popped into his brain. I don’t know if I can even say that it is something that can be imagined…a firsthand encounter with Moses and Elijah…hearing the voice of God…and seeing Jesus in the absolute fullness of his glory as the Son of God. Awe-struck is the first word that comes to mind…followed by a feeling of just how small a person is in relation to just how big God is. But then again, I’ve never been on a mountain with Jesus, Moses and Elijah…so I’m not about to say how I would feel about being a part of this specific, powerful encounter with the divine.
Perhaps, though, we can all speak to our experiences that have resulted from what happened after the encounter with Moses, Elijah and the voice of God. For after Jesus was transfigured, after he chewed the fat with Moses and Elijah and after the voice of God instructed the disciples as to who Jesus was and that they should listen, Jesus came down. Escorted by his most trusted cohorts, who were, no doubt, themselves changed by this experience, Jesus came down from the mountain and went back into the real world.
And the first thing that Mark tells us that Jesus did when he came down from the mountain was to enter into the darkness of a young boy plagued by demons and Jesus brought that boy healing, freeing him to live fully now that his darkness had been sent away.
In the transfiguration of Jesus, Peter, James, and John were blessed to receive a preview of the fullness of the glory of Jesus that would be shown to all the disciples and all others to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection. And in truth, Peter was not inappropriate in his statement that it was good for them to be there and in his suggestion to build booths for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Jesus could have very well stayed on that mountain…he could have remained in a place of glory…he deserved to stay up there in the fullness of his glory as the Son of God, flanked by Moses and Elijah…attended to by Peter, James and John. It would have been safer to live in the state of glory set apart only for the Son of God.
But Jesus knew that there was work to be done down in the valley that only he could do. Jesus had already seen the darkness that existed and still exists at the bottom of the mountain and knew that it was darkness that only he could dispel. Jesus knew that he was and is the one who could enter into that darkness with us who are slaves to sin and set us free to live in his light and receive his life.
So Jesus came down…he came down to enter into our darkness with us, to experience the darkest parts of our lives and then to set us free from that darkness having fully known what it is like to be human. Jesus came down to sit with us in our unbelief…to cry with us in our despair…to celebrate with us in our triumphs…to struggle with us in our afflictions. Jesus came down for the soldier tormented by battle scars…for the singer tortured by the demons of addiction…for the father so plagued with hate that it overcame the love for his children…for the mother lost in the grip of depression…for the high schooler so afflicted by the words of his tormenters that he starts to believe the awful things they say to him…for the young woman living in fear that she will be cast out from her family if she utters the words, “Mom, I’m Gay.” We all have dark places, places of struggle and doubt and fear that we would rather no one else knew about. But as much as we try to hide and mask these dark places in our lives, we cannot hide them from Jesus. Jesus knows our pains and he is there with us in those dark places to bring us life. We are never alone in the darkness…Jesus himself went to hell and back so that he could walk with us and so we would know light, life and peace.
Out of his love, God sent Jesus to come among us…and even after experiencing the fullness of his glory, in seeing the depth of the darkness in our world, Jesus came down from the mountain. There was work to do…there were people to heal…there was light to spread…and in the end, there was a cross waiting for him…a cross that would set us free from the grasp of death and bring us in to the fullness of the new life that is in store for us.
This is what the transfiguration is about…that Jesus, knowing the absolute fullness of his glory, loved us so much that he came down from the mountain, entered into our darkness, and went to the cross so that in giving his life, we could have life, love, peace, and joy. Hallelujah forevermore.
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