In my travels across southeast India this past winter, in small villages and large cities, I was often welcomed with folded hands, bowed heads, and the traditional Hindu greeting, "Namaste," which translates, "I bow to the divine in you." It is an humble manifestation of respect which recognizes the value of each individual and the greater presence of the Divine at work within.
As a Christ-follower, thinking of this greeting, I am drawn to Baptist hymnist, B.B. McKinney's wonderful hymn, "Let Others See Jesus in You." Verse two says, "Your life's a book before their eyes, their reading it though and through. Say, does it point them to the skies, do others see Jesus in you?"
I know of no one who manifests this message more than Leena Lavanya, founder and director of ServeTrust. We have partnered with Leena in this great ministry for several years now and have grown to love and appreciate this faithful follower of Christ whose tireless efforts to share Christ's love in her native India have made an incalculable difference. I was privileged to watch and participate first-hand in her outreach to those who have no advocate, those who are often forgotten. She truly embodies McKinney's admonition to "let others see Jesus in you."
This Sunday, we will be blessed to welcome Leena to Westwood and to hear stories that give evidence to the hand of God at work through Leena and ServeTrust. She will be speaking to our children during their opening time of FunDay School, and then spend a few moments with our youth before sharing in morning worship. Her visits serve to remind us of the blessing of partnership we share in the ministry of ServeTrust and I encourage you to be present to welcome and honor this faithful servant of God.
At the close of worship Sunday morning, in honor of Leena's recent birthday and the life-changing work she is doing, you will have a chance to make a special financial gift for the ongoing ministry of ServeTrust. Together with other churches and individuals around the world, we reach across the miles to make a difference so that others can truly see the Divine...can truly see and know Jesus.
I look forward to seeing you Sunday morning.
Jim Abernathy
Friday, September 16, 2016
Friday, September 9, 2016
Remembering 9/11
Country singer Alan Jackson, asked in his powerful song in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, "Where were you when the world stopped turnin'?" It was a question that spoke of a particular moment, frozen in time. There are many such moments, milestone events, good and bad, that make us pause and remember as if they happened just yesterday. Over the last seventy-five years, some of us might cite the bombing of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, Dallas, Texas and the assassination of JFK November 22, 1963, April 4, 1968 and the assassination of Martin Luther King, July 20, 1969 and the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon, and September 11, 2001 and the terrorist attacks on that day "the world stopped turnin'." With the exception of the events at Pearl Harbor that drew our nation into World War II, I remember where I was in each of these moments. From the shadowy images of a six year-old in 1963, to the vivid images of a 44 year-old in 2001, I, like many of you, have been changed by those moments.
Now, we are about to mark the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11. Stories, pictures, and memories will be shared and the distance of fifteen years will be bridged. The war on terrorism that was initiated in the aftermath of 9/11 is still being waged today, and most likely will be for the foreseeable future. One event...changing our lives, changing our world.
In the chorus of Jackson's ballad about that awful day, he writes, "I know Jesus and I talk to God, and I remember this from when I was young: Faith, hope, and love are some good things he gave us...and the greatest is love." Our lives, our world can change in a moment's time. Jackson's words remind us of the foundation that keeps us, as followers of Jesus Christ, grounded in an often violent, angry world. The greatest gift, the gift of love is our only hope in the midst of changing, uncertain times.
In morning worship this Sunday, we will have a conversation about our memories of 9/11 and about the power of love to heal and overcome. I will be preaching from the thirty-seventh Psalm, the same text I used that first Sunday after 9/11. I hope you will join the conversation and share in this special worship service.
Where were you when the world stopped turnin' that September day? I hope you will join the conversation this Sunday at Westwood.
Jim Abernathy
Now, we are about to mark the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11. Stories, pictures, and memories will be shared and the distance of fifteen years will be bridged. The war on terrorism that was initiated in the aftermath of 9/11 is still being waged today, and most likely will be for the foreseeable future. One event...changing our lives, changing our world.
In the chorus of Jackson's ballad about that awful day, he writes, "I know Jesus and I talk to God, and I remember this from when I was young: Faith, hope, and love are some good things he gave us...and the greatest is love." Our lives, our world can change in a moment's time. Jackson's words remind us of the foundation that keeps us, as followers of Jesus Christ, grounded in an often violent, angry world. The greatest gift, the gift of love is our only hope in the midst of changing, uncertain times.
In morning worship this Sunday, we will have a conversation about our memories of 9/11 and about the power of love to heal and overcome. I will be preaching from the thirty-seventh Psalm, the same text I used that first Sunday after 9/11. I hope you will join the conversation and share in this special worship service.
Where were you when the world stopped turnin' that September day? I hope you will join the conversation this Sunday at Westwood.
Jim Abernathy
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Cantankerous?
I am getting a bit more cantankerous in my old age. Perhaps it's simply an adjustment to the way I filter and disseminate information, a more straightforward approach to communication. I still think one should exercise grace in conversation, but there might be a bit more of an edge these days to my words than several years ago.
I also find that scripture troubles me more today than in my younger days. Perhaps early on I viewed scripture from that ideal perspective one often learns from the simple truths of Sunday School. No, I am not calling into question the things I have learned over the years or how I was taught, but there is often more to God's word than the surface we so often scratch, but do not search beneath.
Take Luke 22:24-26. Jesus has just served his disciples their final meal together before he goes to the cross. In the midst of this sacred act he informs them that one from among them will betray him. Immediately they begin to size up one another to see who the guilty party might be, but that moment of judgment quickly devolves into an argument about which of them should be considered greatest. I am amazed at their lack of awareness. Why can't they understand the gravity of the moment? The One they left everything to follow has been telling them that he was going to Jerusalem to die, and now he tells them that one of them will instigate that process. I understand the finger-pointing and accusation that may have followed, but I do not understand the arrogance of argument over personal greatness. Jesus cited examples of those whose arrogance convinced them of their own importance, but then he said, most likely looking directly into their seething eyes, "You are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves." Maybe an awkward silence followed his words. Maybe the disciples finally began to wonder if the complaints about Jesus that others had voiced might be true. Who would want to be treated like the youngest? Who would risk being taken for granted or looked at as weak. And who would lead from the position of a servant? How could greatness be measured by service to others?
In political and cultural conversations today, the language is often centered around this me-first or us-first approach that measures greatness by the attention we call to ourselves. There seems to be less willingness to take on the role of servant and more of a desire to be served. Greatness, we are being told, is not found in giving, but in taking what we can for ourselves. Preserving personal privilege seems to be the mark of greatness.
So, Jesus, are you telling us that we are not to be like that? Could it be that those of us who claim faith in you betray you again and again when we focus too narrowly on ourselves instead of others? Is it possible that I, and we, have become too comfortable in our complacency so we view the immigrant, the outcast, the weak, the "other" as less valuable than ourselves?
Maybe I am getting cantankerous in my old age. Maybe that comes from having to confront my own and other's hypocrisy, and finding it difficult to do so. Maybe I am hearing clearly, or as if with fresh ears the words of Jesus as he says, "Don't be like that."
Jim Abernathy
I also find that scripture troubles me more today than in my younger days. Perhaps early on I viewed scripture from that ideal perspective one often learns from the simple truths of Sunday School. No, I am not calling into question the things I have learned over the years or how I was taught, but there is often more to God's word than the surface we so often scratch, but do not search beneath.
Take Luke 22:24-26. Jesus has just served his disciples their final meal together before he goes to the cross. In the midst of this sacred act he informs them that one from among them will betray him. Immediately they begin to size up one another to see who the guilty party might be, but that moment of judgment quickly devolves into an argument about which of them should be considered greatest. I am amazed at their lack of awareness. Why can't they understand the gravity of the moment? The One they left everything to follow has been telling them that he was going to Jerusalem to die, and now he tells them that one of them will instigate that process. I understand the finger-pointing and accusation that may have followed, but I do not understand the arrogance of argument over personal greatness. Jesus cited examples of those whose arrogance convinced them of their own importance, but then he said, most likely looking directly into their seething eyes, "You are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves." Maybe an awkward silence followed his words. Maybe the disciples finally began to wonder if the complaints about Jesus that others had voiced might be true. Who would want to be treated like the youngest? Who would risk being taken for granted or looked at as weak. And who would lead from the position of a servant? How could greatness be measured by service to others?
In political and cultural conversations today, the language is often centered around this me-first or us-first approach that measures greatness by the attention we call to ourselves. There seems to be less willingness to take on the role of servant and more of a desire to be served. Greatness, we are being told, is not found in giving, but in taking what we can for ourselves. Preserving personal privilege seems to be the mark of greatness.
So, Jesus, are you telling us that we are not to be like that? Could it be that those of us who claim faith in you betray you again and again when we focus too narrowly on ourselves instead of others? Is it possible that I, and we, have become too comfortable in our complacency so we view the immigrant, the outcast, the weak, the "other" as less valuable than ourselves?
Maybe I am getting cantankerous in my old age. Maybe that comes from having to confront my own and other's hypocrisy, and finding it difficult to do so. Maybe I am hearing clearly, or as if with fresh ears the words of Jesus as he says, "Don't be like that."
Jim Abernathy
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Manassas Museum
I traveled with our www.GO group today to the Manassas Museum. This small community treasure bears evidence to the early days of the civil war and the tragic toll it took on Manassas, Northern Virginia, and our nation. Among the artifacts on display were spinning wheels used to make clothing, farm implements, reading glasses, Bibles, and hymnals alongside colt revolvers, carbine rifles, cannon balls, and battle flags. Neither the residents of Manassas nor the soldiers on either side of the conflict were prepared for the first battle of Manassas. The atmosphere was almost festive as soldiers and civilians alike seemed to revel in the exciting, even romantic quality of the impending battle. When the first battle of Manassas was over, however, thousands lay dead or wounded, homes and livelihoods had been destroyed, and the romance of war had been unmasked as the devastating tyrant it was...and still is.
I was struck by the seeming unpreparedness, even arrogance that often precedes human conflict. The pictures of the dead and wounded lying across fields that would not bear crops for years to come, and the rubble of houses, barns, and towns created by the weapons of war still give evidence to the destructive nature of humankind. After the war and throughout the last half of the nineteenth century, Manassas slowly recovered, but the stories still haunt those today who seek to learn from them.
In the often arrogant, self-serving rhetoric that marks much of our modern social and political discussion, it seems easy to speak the language of supercilious pride, but one must stop to count the costs in human terms that are all too often forgotten. Today, I read the stories of mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, generals and enlisted men whose lives were irrevocably changed in a matter of days, hours, and moments. Perhaps we would all do well to revisit such stories.
The back to school celebration at Springfield Gardens is this Saturday from 10-2. Again this year we will be providing and monitoring the moon bounce and the joyous giggles and screams of young children. We still need a few folks to help so please contact Janet Curtin to let her know you will help in this happy, happy celebration!
This Sunday is our final August Sunday at Westwood. Join us for worship at 9:30 featuring special music from our handbell players and then stay for fellowship in Whitten Hall. I look forward to seeing you then!
Jim Abernathy
I was struck by the seeming unpreparedness, even arrogance that often precedes human conflict. The pictures of the dead and wounded lying across fields that would not bear crops for years to come, and the rubble of houses, barns, and towns created by the weapons of war still give evidence to the destructive nature of humankind. After the war and throughout the last half of the nineteenth century, Manassas slowly recovered, but the stories still haunt those today who seek to learn from them.
In the often arrogant, self-serving rhetoric that marks much of our modern social and political discussion, it seems easy to speak the language of supercilious pride, but one must stop to count the costs in human terms that are all too often forgotten. Today, I read the stories of mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, generals and enlisted men whose lives were irrevocably changed in a matter of days, hours, and moments. Perhaps we would all do well to revisit such stories.
The back to school celebration at Springfield Gardens is this Saturday from 10-2. Again this year we will be providing and monitoring the moon bounce and the joyous giggles and screams of young children. We still need a few folks to help so please contact Janet Curtin to let her know you will help in this happy, happy celebration!
This Sunday is our final August Sunday at Westwood. Join us for worship at 9:30 featuring special music from our handbell players and then stay for fellowship in Whitten Hall. I look forward to seeing you then!
Jim Abernathy
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Just Yesterday
15 years!!! When I was twenty, fifteen years seemed like an eternity. Now, at 59, it seems like just yesterday. Just yesterday, Cindy, Clayton, and I began a journey with you at Westwood Baptist Church. In partnership with you and the Lord, we embraced the call to Northern Virginia to serve a people we did not know in a place we had never lived. You welcomed us warmly on August 19, 2001, and helped us quickly feel part of the community. Tragedy marked our early days as we struggled through 9/11 together, and then just ten days later, the unexpected death of my father. The burdens we all carried through those days forged an appreciation for the community we shared through faith in the living Christ. Together, we leaned on the everlasting arms that enveloped our fear, grief, and continuing transition.
Just yesterday, Clayton was 7, I had dark hair (and more of it!!), and Cindy...well Cindy was then as she is now, or as folks tell me when they see a seminary picture of the two of us together from thirty-five years ago, "Cindy hasn't changed a bit!" Now Clayton is twenty-two and living on his own in Louisville, Ky. Cindy is still as beautiful as ever, and I, well, I am looking more "mature" these days. And you...well, our church family has changed in many ways over this fifteen years. Some of our folks have come and gone through relocation and retirement. Some have gotten more involved while others have stepped aside. And some have gone to be with the Lord. We have laughed together, cried together, ministered together, questioned, challenged, and affirmed our faith together. We have worked side by side in ministry and mission, seeking to share Christ's love with the world around us.
Just yesterday, (literally) at the potluck dinner in Whitten Hall, many of you voiced words of appreciation for what we have shared together over these last fifteen years. Cindy and I were humbled by your kind and loving words, further reminding us of the importance of the relationship we share within our Westwood community. Thanks to everyone who led and shared in this experience.
Just yesterday, God called us to share this journey together as pastor and people. Over fifteen years there have been moments of joy and celebration, moments of disappointment and heartache...moments of welcome and good-bye. Through it all, God has been and continues to be at work. Just yesterday, I humbly but confidently followed God's call to be pastor of Westwood Baptist Church. Today, I am honored to continue that work in partnership with the Lord and you. May the same One who brought us together, just yesterday, continue to guide our steps together.
Jim Abernathy
Just yesterday, Clayton was 7, I had dark hair (and more of it!!), and Cindy...well Cindy was then as she is now, or as folks tell me when they see a seminary picture of the two of us together from thirty-five years ago, "Cindy hasn't changed a bit!" Now Clayton is twenty-two and living on his own in Louisville, Ky. Cindy is still as beautiful as ever, and I, well, I am looking more "mature" these days. And you...well, our church family has changed in many ways over this fifteen years. Some of our folks have come and gone through relocation and retirement. Some have gotten more involved while others have stepped aside. And some have gone to be with the Lord. We have laughed together, cried together, ministered together, questioned, challenged, and affirmed our faith together. We have worked side by side in ministry and mission, seeking to share Christ's love with the world around us.
Just yesterday, (literally) at the potluck dinner in Whitten Hall, many of you voiced words of appreciation for what we have shared together over these last fifteen years. Cindy and I were humbled by your kind and loving words, further reminding us of the importance of the relationship we share within our Westwood community. Thanks to everyone who led and shared in this experience.
Just yesterday, God called us to share this journey together as pastor and people. Over fifteen years there have been moments of joy and celebration, moments of disappointment and heartache...moments of welcome and good-bye. Through it all, God has been and continues to be at work. Just yesterday, I humbly but confidently followed God's call to be pastor of Westwood Baptist Church. Today, I am honored to continue that work in partnership with the Lord and you. May the same One who brought us together, just yesterday, continue to guide our steps together.
Jim Abernathy
Friday, August 12, 2016
Grace
Grace is a gift we receive in coming to faith in Christ. The apostle Paul speaks of grace as a gift of God in Ephesians 2:8. We are unworthy of such grace, yet God offers it freely in love. But is grace simply something we embrace and claim for ourselves, or is there another application of this wondrous gift? J. Brent Bill, in his book "Life Lessons From a Bad Quaker: A Humble Stumble Toward Simplicity and Grace," says that grace isn't just a gift we receive, but also one we share. In other words, touched by the grace of God that transforms my life, I am then to reach out to others, extending that same grace that can transform existing relationships, build bridges to new relationships, and help redeem and bring healing to broken hearts and lives.
The Third verse of Ira Wilson's great hymn text, "Make Me a Blessing," conveys this truth. "He writes, "Give as 'twas given to you in your need, love as the Master loved you; Be to the helpless a helper indeed, unto your mission be true." Perhaps you have not thought of extending grace as a mission. Look around you...perhaps it is time for you and me to truly embrace this mission; blessed to be a blessing.
We got off to a great start with our August Sundays last week. This Sunday, Jeff Brown will bring special music and we will also have a quartet. Sofia Bryant will be baptized, we will share in a conversation about the power of perseverance, and I will bring a message from Hebrews 12:1-3 entitled, "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize." Join us at 9:30 a.m. for worship and then stay for fellowship time in Whitten Hall immediately after. Invite someone to join you. I look forward to seeing you there!
Jim Abernathy
The Third verse of Ira Wilson's great hymn text, "Make Me a Blessing," conveys this truth. "He writes, "Give as 'twas given to you in your need, love as the Master loved you; Be to the helpless a helper indeed, unto your mission be true." Perhaps you have not thought of extending grace as a mission. Look around you...perhaps it is time for you and me to truly embrace this mission; blessed to be a blessing.
We got off to a great start with our August Sundays last week. This Sunday, Jeff Brown will bring special music and we will also have a quartet. Sofia Bryant will be baptized, we will share in a conversation about the power of perseverance, and I will bring a message from Hebrews 12:1-3 entitled, "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize." Join us at 9:30 a.m. for worship and then stay for fellowship time in Whitten Hall immediately after. Invite someone to join you. I look forward to seeing you there!
Jim Abernathy
Thursday, August 4, 2016
August Sundays at Westwood
Redskins game, soccer practice, band practice, doctor's appointment, breakfast with a friend, school, start of vacation, holiday parade, Black Friday shopping...these are just a few of the things we get up early to prepare for and get to. The list is certainly not exhaustive for there may be many other things you like to do or have to do along the way that require an earlier start. How about Sunday morning worship???
During the month of August, we move our worship services to 9:30 a.m. Now, for many of you, that is just 15 minutes before Sunday School usually starts (though I am aware that is just a suggestion for most of us). For those, however, who only come to worship, it requires an hour and a half earlier start. I know also that Sunday mornings follow Saturday nights and the busyness of our social calendars and for some, that means Sunday morning can be a catch-up for sleep, and yes, there are a few among us who truly have limitations in the morning that challenge early commitments. But for most of us, Sunday morning worship is a choice, a decision we make to gather in community with others to worship the living God. August brings change to our schedule, but also opportunity for meaningful worship in a format less formal, perhaps more interactive, followed by meaningful fellowship. Some of you will be traveling during this month. I pray your time away will be refreshing and blessed and we look forward to welcoming you back on your return. But if you are in town over these next four Sundays, I also pray that you will adjust your schedule and join your Westwood family. If you have friends or family visiting from out of town, bring them along, then head out to enjoy a full day, exploring the treasures of our area.
Our theme in worship over these four Sundays will be, "Connections: Stronger Together Than Apart." In gathering for worship and fellowship, the connections we make together, honor the Lord and strengthen our family of faith. So, set your alarm clock a little earlier, if necessary, and make whatever plans may be necessary to prepare for and get to Westwood at 9:30. I think you will be blessed, and I know you will be a blessing to others.
Gospel Forje, a bluegrass group featuring our own Ginger Beecher, will be with us this Sunday morning to provide special music. We will observe communion and I will bring a message entitled, "The Ties That Bind," based on Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. I look forward to seeing you at 9:30 this Sunday!
Jim Abernathy
P.S. Don't forget, "Westwood's Got Talent" is Sunday night at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary, with desert fellowship to follow. Join the fun and fellowship!
During the month of August, we move our worship services to 9:30 a.m. Now, for many of you, that is just 15 minutes before Sunday School usually starts (though I am aware that is just a suggestion for most of us). For those, however, who only come to worship, it requires an hour and a half earlier start. I know also that Sunday mornings follow Saturday nights and the busyness of our social calendars and for some, that means Sunday morning can be a catch-up for sleep, and yes, there are a few among us who truly have limitations in the morning that challenge early commitments. But for most of us, Sunday morning worship is a choice, a decision we make to gather in community with others to worship the living God. August brings change to our schedule, but also opportunity for meaningful worship in a format less formal, perhaps more interactive, followed by meaningful fellowship. Some of you will be traveling during this month. I pray your time away will be refreshing and blessed and we look forward to welcoming you back on your return. But if you are in town over these next four Sundays, I also pray that you will adjust your schedule and join your Westwood family. If you have friends or family visiting from out of town, bring them along, then head out to enjoy a full day, exploring the treasures of our area.
Our theme in worship over these four Sundays will be, "Connections: Stronger Together Than Apart." In gathering for worship and fellowship, the connections we make together, honor the Lord and strengthen our family of faith. So, set your alarm clock a little earlier, if necessary, and make whatever plans may be necessary to prepare for and get to Westwood at 9:30. I think you will be blessed, and I know you will be a blessing to others.
Gospel Forje, a bluegrass group featuring our own Ginger Beecher, will be with us this Sunday morning to provide special music. We will observe communion and I will bring a message entitled, "The Ties That Bind," based on Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. I look forward to seeing you at 9:30 this Sunday!
Jim Abernathy
P.S. Don't forget, "Westwood's Got Talent" is Sunday night at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary, with desert fellowship to follow. Join the fun and fellowship!
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