Together

Paul reminds the church in Rome, "together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory."  Two important things stand out to me in this text. First, the word "together" communicates the significance of community.  Paul knew more than two thousand years ago that faith, while unique to each human heart, was strengthened in community.  When we gather to worship, fellowship, or go out to the world about us with the good news of Christ, we are encouraged and empowered to serve as the Holy Spirit works through us.  Second, as heirs, we are blessed to know that God has provided for us.  Salvation is the greatest provision, but the promise of scripture that God will be with us speaks to the blessing of God's presence in every aspect of life.  We trust ourselves, our family, our work, our finances into God's hands.

 

Together, you and I make a difference. in the community of faith known as Westwood Baptist Church.  Together, we share an inheritance of faith in the living Christ that empowers our worship, work, and witness.  Together, our time, talents, and resources are used for the glory of God.

 

This Sunday, our stewardship emphasis concludes.  A letter was sent last week, challenging us all to consider making a special gift to help reduce the deficit of spending through the first three quarters of the year.  Our pattern of giving as a congregation over the last several years has reflected a strong last quarter to overcome these deficits.  Together, we can achieve this goal again this year.  As heirs of God's glory, let us be faithful to honor the Lord through our giving.  Together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory."

 

See you Sunday.

 

Jim Abernathy

 

P.S. Just a week to go until our 50th celebration.  It's going to be a wonderful weekend!!!!

Psalm 40

I have been reading the fortieth Psalm this week.  It's a practice I observe from time to time of reading a text multiple times through the week, allowing it to speak to me over a period of time.  I find in this practice that certain parts of the text speak to me in certain moments, finding broader application in the changing scenes of my life. I also read the text from different translations and in doing so, become more open to the different layers of the text. 

 

Psalm 40 is a Psalm of patience and trust, confession and redemption.  "I waited patiently for the Lord," the NRSV translation begins, "He inclined to me and heard my cry."  "Happy are those who make the Lord their trust," verse four affirms.  Patience and trust...are there two more difficult concepts to embrace in our contemporary world?  We used to describe a person of privilege as "wanting for nothing," but today, our privilege might best be described as "waiting for nothing."  We find little satisfaction in the process, rushing too quickly at times to achieve the desired outcome.  It is somewhat like that eighth grade algebra book I used that included chapter after chapter of algebraic problems, followed in the back of the book by the listing of answers to each problem.  It was easy to find the desired outcome; more difficult to understand the process in getting to that outcome.  

 

Waiting upon the Lord is a process of time and trust. Not only are we made uncomfortable by waiting, but our patience is sorely tested by the uncertainty of life events that call into question the ideals of faith and family, even government, that seem to be the foundations of hopeful living.  Questions of why are often offered in the aftermath of what we do not understand.  Relationships that begin in pure and passionate love find pathways at times too bumpy to traverse.  Have you been watching the political ads on television this election season?  If you believe what each side says about the other, no candidate is worthy of election!  From Ottawa to Syria to West Africa to Charlottesville, unspeakable, sometimes unexplainable tragedy captures our thoughts and troubles our hearts.  Patience and trust are often victims in so demanding and dangerous a world.

 

"Evils have encompassed me without number," verse twelve begins. "My iniquities have overtaken me and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me."  The Message translates the last part of verse twelve, "More guilt in my heart than hair on my head." He is speaking to me...but also to you. Confession is recognition that gives voice to the need of the human heart for redemption. In The Message, the Psalmist's recognition of the source of his redemption is quite clear, beginning in verse two, acknowledging that God has seen and heard his cry for help; "He lifted me from the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me on a solid rock so my foot would not slip." Confession and redemption are voiced in his conclusion in verse seventeen, "And me? I'm a mess, I'm nothing and have nothing: make something of me."  Here is the hope of redemption, that God can make something of me...of you.

 

That is the redeeming hope Jesus offered when he said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."(John 10:10b, KJV)  From the Psalms to the Gospels, from Genesis to Revelation we see the story of patience, trust, confession, and redemption told and retold with the hopeful theme...that God can make something of me.  That is a message worth reading, hearing, and sharing again and again and again.....

 

Jim Abernathy

We Make Melody to the Lord

Music has long been a means of human expression that communicates a host of emotions, tells wonderful stories of love and loss, and soothes minds and hearts that are troubled by the challenges of life.  For persons of faith, music becomes a vehicle of praise that communicates the wondrous story of God's continuing interaction with all of creation. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 27:6b, "I will sing and make melody to the Lord."  Through hymns and other songs of faith, we make melody to the Lord every Sunday when we gather to worship.  Westwood is blessed in so many ways by the gifts of music shared among our congregation each week and on special occasions. 

 

This Sunday, we will be blessed to host the PromisedLand Quartet in morning worship.  While this group is known for its southern gospel roots, they do a variety of musical styles that will bring blessing and indeed make melody to the Lord.  This is a great opportunity to invite someone to join you for this special service, so call a friend or neighbor.  We will receive a love offering at the close of the service for this group.

 

Whistle while you work is not just a theme from the movie, Snow White, but also a sign of joy in meaningful work.  Tomorrow morning, beginning at 9, our property team will be leading the effort to do a final cleanup in preparation for our 50th anniversary weekend, November 8-9.  There will be several things done from painting to landscaping so come along and join in, and whistle while you work.

 

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday.

 

Jim Abernathy

Trusting in Faithfulness

"Four more weeks," the doctor said yesterday.  Though I was not really surprised by his words, still, there was disappointment. The X-ray showed the shadowy progress of regenerating bone, but the fracture was still quite noticeable.  "You're making good progress," he said, "but it is a slow process."  Having been in a cast for six weeks already, the prospect of another four weeks left me less than enthusiastic.  Progress was good, just not good enough.

 

Five months ago, I took walking for granted, a means of transport to the routines of daily life that seemed a given.  A torn tendon in my right foot hobbled that movement, but still, I was able, with the assistance of others, and on my own at times, to do much of what I needed to do.  Then, the fall on August 28 at home changed that.  My doctor's instructions were quite clear...no weight bearing on the fractured foot and be careful not to do further damage to the right foot.  I have tried to follow those instructions, and both he and my wife/nurse have pronounced me a good patient.  I'm not so sure about the "patient" part.

 

Life can change in a moment, a brief second.  Walking from the kitchen to the family room isn't a hazardous journey...at least I would not have thought so before August 28.  But two little steps I have bounded up and down thousands of times without a thought, suddenly became my downfall, literally!  I have replayed the moment again and again in my mind, but have yet to produce a reasonable explanation for my tumble.  It just happened.  Like many of life's experiences....it just happened.

 

Folks are fond of explaining things like this by saying that everything happens for a reason.  Many believe that to be a statement of faith and trust in God's providential hand.  I have been cautious about such explanations, not because I don't believe that God is at work in the midst of life's circumstances, but because I would not want to imply responsibility for the Almighty in every circumstance of life.  Where was God on the evening of August 28 as I approached the steps?  I believe that God was with me, just as at other moments of life.  Perhaps, for me, such mystery is better understood in the promised presence of the Spirit of God to comfort, encourage, and instruct in every circumstance of life. 

 

Long-term illness, broken relationship, lost job, disappointment in yourself or others, and yes, even a fractured bone are but some of the unexpected turns of life.  God is ever faithful...in the midst. The writer of Lamentation reminds us of this: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." 

 

In everything...in the midst, keep trusting in that faithfulness.

 

Jim Abernathy

Fandom and the Lessons of Life

The Washington Nationals begin National League Division Series play today.  There are great expectations across the region for a run to the World Series.  Nats jerseys, T-shirts, and hats will be worn in the stadium today, and probably in a lot of offices, businesses, and schools where they might not normally be worn on a Friday.  Cindy has assembled a Nats "trinity" of sorts on our fireplace mantle with Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth, and Ian Desmond bobble-heads, and she was wearing a red Adam LaRoche t-shirt as she left for school this morning.  As she backed out of the garage, she passed a red Nationals garden flag hanging in our front yard.  In a stunning reversal of personal perspective, she has become a baseball fan!!!  Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I'm not sure it would be truthful to say she has become a baseball fan, but she has certainly become a devoted Nats fan.  She mentioned recently hat her dad would be shocked to know of her interest in baseball these days because she used to give him such a hard time about his love of the game.  Too slow, too boring a game, she would tell him. I remember going to games over the years in other places we have lived where she would be rooting against the home team to tie a game in the ninth inning because she didn't want the game to go to extra innings.  And yet, now, she talks about Stephen Strasburg's fastball, Adam LaRoche's home run swing, and Drew Storen's triumphant return to the closer's role not as a detached observer, but a passionate fan who lives and dies with every hit, pitch, and error.   Yes, she will tell you that college basketball is still her favorite sport, but Nationals baseball is quickly becoming a close rival.

 

Being a fan of a favorite team is a sometimes wonderful, sometimes agonizing thing.  When the team is winning, like the Nationals have done this year, it is easy to get excited when putting on the team colors.  But when the team doesn't perform so well, as was the case with last year's Nats, well, that's a different story.  The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat are captured quite well in the sports section of the Washington Post this morning with two pictures of Drew Storen, one in celebration as he high-fived Wilson Ramos after saving a game against the Braves just a few weeks ago, and one of stunned disbelief as he sat by himself at his locker after blowing the save in a game 5 playoff loss to the Cardinals in 2012.  Fandom is pretty well summed up in those two pictures.  Come to think of it, our lives find parallels there as well...highs and lows, wins and losses, joy and disappointment.  We much prefer to be the victor, but are wise to recognize that the spectrum of life's experiences is broad and varied.  As much as we learn from winning, one cannot forget the powerful teacher that defeat can be as well.

 

Faith is a vital companion amidst life's ups and downs.  As Cindy's dad was her first baseball mentor, it seems appropriate here to include one of his favorite scripture passages, the 121st Psalm.  The Psalmist acknowledges the need he has for help along the way, and says that he will lift his eyes to the One who knows everything about him, even his coming in and going out.  Here is the assurance in the ever-changing circumstances of life that gives the person of faith a foundation upon which he or she can build, no matter what may come.  "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth," the Psalmist declares.. In victory and in defeat, those are good words to hear.

 

Sunday, we will begin a series of messages on the theme, "Heirs of God's Glory."  We will focus on the blessings of relationship we share through faith in the living God, and how we are to become better stewards of those blessings.  We will observe the Lord's Supper and celebrate the wonder of God's love.  Invite a friend to join you.

 

And of course....GO NATS!!!

 

Jim Abernathy