So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  2 Corinthians 4:18

Sometimes we just need a fresh perspective during these challenging times and sometimes that new perspective can come from, of all places, social media.  Tuesday morning, I saw a post from Vicky Shuttleworth that just changed my day for the better and I want to share it with you.

What would be your headline today?  Let us never forget that we are surrounded by God’s blessings every day, we just need to open our eyes and hearts to see them.  I know that isn’t easy right now, but it is totally necessary.  We need to remember that this too will pass, and we will be back together again, with masks and social distancing at first, to keep each other safe. And while this time of social distancing and quarantine has taken things way it has also given us some good things.  Perspective is everything, it can change how we view things and what we see.  Perspective can help us see the bigger picture and help us to see what is eternal.

Gracious and Loving God, you reassure our hearts of your love with the blessing of a beautiful sunset and a cool summer breeze.  Create in us eyes that see the blessings that you surround us with every day and hearts that understand that we need to bless others every day as well.  Help us to be able to realize that you are eternal, and this pandemic is temporary.  Help us to still be enchanted with this life and to show your grace and mercy to those we encounter today.  Help us to rise above this situation and to follow in the ways that your son taught us live.

Amen.

Stay well and stay safe.

Grace & Peace, Suzanne

⁴ Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! ⁵ Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. ⁶ Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. ⁷ Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

In my devotionals online I came across this prayer written by Ronan Scully, to start my day, this month, and most likely to finish out this crazy insane year. It resonated with my soul, gave me comfort and peace. I thought, maybe, it would do the same for you. You might want to print it out and put it on the refrigerator to be readily available to start each day.

“May you always see the light in the darkness during any challenging and difficult times! May you feel the loving presence of those who hold you in their thoughts and prayers! May your spirit find what it needs to sustain you on this journey of life! May you discover your inner strength and face all difficulties with dignity and grace. May you be filled with comfort, love, strength, grace and a lasting sense of peace!

May the light of your soul guide you; May the light of your soul bless the work that you do with the secret love and warmth of your heart. May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul; May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those who work with you and to those who see and receive your work. May your work never weary you; May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement.

May you be present in what you do; May you never become lost in bland absences; May the day never burden. May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams, possibilities and promise; May evening find you gracious and fulfilled. May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected; May your soul calm, console and renew you.

May there always be work for your hands to do. May your purse always hold a coin or two; May the sun always shine on your window pane; May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain; May the hand of a friend always be near you; May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you. May the blessing of God’s soft rain be on you, falling gently on your head, refreshing your soul; with the sweetness of little flowers newly blooming.

May the strength of the winds of Heaven bless you, carrying the rain to wash your spirit clean; sparkling in the sunlight. May the blessing of God’s earth be on you, and as you walk the roads; May you always have a kind word for those you meet. May joy and peace surround you, contentment latch your door, and happiness be with you now and bless you ever more.

May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow; May the soft winds freshen your spirit. May the sunshine brighten your heart; May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you, and may God enfold you in the mantle of His love now and always.” Amen.

Blessings, Brenda

¹³ People were bringing children to Jesus so that he would bless them. But the disciples scolded them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he grew angry and said to them, “Allow the children to come to me. Don’t forbid them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people like these children. ¹⁵ I assure you that whoever doesn’t welcome God’s kingdom like a child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ Then he hugged the children and blessed them.

This past week was our Vacation Bible Camp. Although it didn’t have the large gathering that we usually do for this week nor did we have all the hustle and bustle on our campus, we did have a place that children could come together and be a part of a community and learn about how Jesus showed kindness and love to those that were marginalized in society.  I personally find it hard to believe that children were once not noticed and part of the marginalized. 

Whether at Sunday School, VBC or mission trips, my experience of working with children has left the impression on me that they are HARD not to notice!   Children come with such open hearts and minds.  They come without doubt and negativity.  Their faith is full of trust.  I believe we can learn from children during this pandemic.

What if we were to take these traits that children express so naturally and apply them to our lives in today’s world? What if we approached life with an open heart and mind? Perhaps with open hearts and minds we would be able to encounter less doubt and friction within ourselves and with others. We would be able to live in the moment with acceptance naturally leading us to a more peaceful existence.  With an open mind comes adaptability, which opens us to new experiences and those new experiences can help us to experience God in new ways. With an open heart we are able to be on both the receiving and giving end of love. What if we approached life during a pandemic with trust? Trusting that we will get through this and that it won’t always be like this. Trusting that the changes that come from this pandemic will be blessings and trusting that God is beside us right here and right now and we have all that we need. Trusting is living out your faith and removes the fear.

There is much we can learn from children and I am grateful that here at CUMC we see the children as blessings and they are included, supported and loved because that opens the pathway for the learning to begin.

Gracious and loving God you give us all that we need including children who are inquisitive, full of wonder and trust that teach us how to live a more faithful life. Children are one of the many blessings you have given us.  Thank you for children. Amen

Grace and peace,
Marty

“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.” – Romans 12:9-11

Like many of you, my family have been binge-watching old shows on TV. Elizabeth decided that it would contribute to her “Cultural Literacy” to watch all of the episodes of every Star Trek series in time-line order. Kathy and I agreed, but realized that we can only handle one episode an evening. So this may take years!

We have been through all of “Enterprise” and have just started on the original series. Last night we watched season 1, episode 4, “The Naked Time.” This may have been set 200 years from now, and may have been produced in 1966, but it was spot-on for 2020.

We watched as two crew members beamed down to a frozen station on a planet that was about to blow up. Something had happened to make all 20 of the station staff die in strange ways. The crew members didn’t wear space suits, but something that looked like hazmat suits or Personal Protective Equipment (spoiler alert: the PPE was red!).

Our jaws dropped and then Lizzie shouted “Nooooooo!” as the ill-fated crewmember took off a glove, reached out to a surface to support himself, then reached under his face mask with that same hand to RUB HIS NOSE!  Of course he beamed back to the ship without mentioning anything. Of course he engaged in physical interaction with other crew members. Of course he came down with a heretofore unknown virus.

As you may recall, this was the virus that caused people to lose their inhibitions. Dr. McCoy explained that the virus turned the water in their bodies into alcohol. The fun for the viewer and horror for the crew was that deeply hidden desires, needs, emotions, and personality traits rushed to the surface.

We ended up talking about the parallels to our time; about virus protections, of course, but in other ways as well. No, COVID-19 doesn’t get us drunk. But our reactions to the restrictions and to the time spent being “safer at home” have seemed to allow some of our more basic (and base) instincts and characteristics to rise to come to the fore.  Some people have become more kind and generous. Others have become more reactionary and defensive. Most of us have felt that our emotions reside much nearer to the surface.

Christianity is not about performance. It isn’t about trying to appear holy in order to make God like us. Instead, a relationship with God through Jesus the Christ brings a fundamental transformation to our very being. Trying times tend to show us who we are at the core. If I don’t like what I see, perhaps it is time to ask the Holy Spirit to work in my anew. Then love will be genuine.

Holy Spirit, Refiner’s Fire, burn in our hearts once more. Consume the fear which holds us captive. Melt our icy selfishness. Expand your grace, so that our love and joy may be without limit. Grant us strength to persevere and hope to see us through. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.  

“Not many of you should become teachers, my siblings in Christ, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” – James 3:1

“Don’t be a pastor unless you can’t do anything else!”

When I heard these words from a member of the Long Beach District Committee on Ordained Ministry I was taken aback. I was in high school and had been feeling the call to ministry. I went through the required steps to meet with the committee, and they helped me to understand all the next steps I would need to take. (It was this same committee whose members told me that I should leave the state to go to Seminary). There were plenty of things they felt I could do instead of ministry! I felt that this person must have had an awfully low view of ministry and ministers if the job was reserved for people who were incompetent or who had failed at everything else!

Over the years I have come to understand what this person meant. If you are looking to make a impact in the world, if you are seeking to change hearts and minds, if you are wanting to put your Christian faith into practice in meaningful ways, ordained ministry can be the least effective way of doing this.   Real change is made by real people doing real jobs in the real world. Yes, I feel effective as a pastor, but my effectiveness is in preparing, supporting, guiding, coaching, and organizing the people to be engaged in ministry.

I was thinking about this as I heard the stories of the life of Rep. John Lewis. With you, I smiled at the image of the young man so on fire with the love of God that he preached to chickens. And with you I am thrilled that he answered the call to be in ministry by taking his passion for justice it to the streets, to the busses, to the trains, to the lunch counters, to that bridge, and to congress. Yes, John Lewis was an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church. But he is remembered as Rep. Lewis, not Rev. Lewis.  I was overwhelmed with joy and pride that the Rev. Jim Lawson (of the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church) got to tell some of the story of Rep. Lewis’ life; and that President Obama noted that both Dr. King and John Lewis were taught Gandhian non-violent civil disobedience by the same Jim Lawson. Did you know that?

I was recently texting with a person who told me that their child had once announced a desire to be a pastor, but had later decided not to. I shared that the child had probably made a wise choice because they could be more outspoken and directly impact lives by doing the work they now performed – both on the job and avocationally as an outspoken layperson.

We have made a point that the church is not closed. The church community continues even in this time of quarantine. Your staff continue to reach out to comfort, guide, and support. In the same way, the ministry continues – perhaps even more strongly – in you. You are able to have the face to face meetings with your families. You are able to check in on your neighbors and offer help, even at an appropriate distance.  You are the church. You are the ministers. You are demonstrating that now.

Lead us, Oh God, into the ministry of Jesus. For such a time as this we need your guidance and we need each other. Form us into the body of Christ in the world today. Through Him we pray. Amen.