Benjamin Franklin once said, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." Franklin reminds us of the significance of putting what we learn into action. Knowledge for knowledge sake finds little fulfillment in our lives unless it is acted upon. New Testament writer James spoke of faith and action in a similar manner as he wrote, "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." When we draw others into a learning environment where thought becomes action and possibilities become reality, there is blessing.
This weekend we celebrate the actions of many who have given much for others. Memorial Day is a reminder of the indebtedness we owe to those who have selflessly served in some way for the benefit of others. Memorial Day began more than one-hundred thirty years ago as the graves of soldiers who died in the Civil War were decorated and their sacrifice remembered. Since that time many men and women have given their lives in service to their country. In a larger context, the observance of Memorial Day reminds us also of friends and family members who have gone before us to enrich our lives in many different forms of service and commitment. It is good to pause and reflect, to ponder and remember the faithfulness of others, and in our thanksgiving, to give ourselves in service to others. There is a great deal of information about Memorial Day and the significance it holds for our nation. It means very little to us if we don't act on that gratitude to instruct, encourage, and bless others. Take time this weekend to give thanks and to serve others. The supreme example of service is witnessed not in the context of national pride or in simply doing good deeds, but rather in the One who has given himself fully for all, Jesus the Christ.
Yes, let us involve ourselves and others in celebrations of national sacrifice this weekend, remembering the courage and will of those gone before us to give of themselves for the cause of freedom. As grateful citizens of this land, we can do no less. And as followers of Jesus Christ, let us remember again that faith compels us to action...belief, leads us to involvement, for there we learn and then teach great lessons of love, hope, and sacrifice.
Jim
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Unless There Is No Sunday
Greetings from Minneapolis! I am in this beautiful city for the annual Festival of Homiletics...an annual conference for preachers. Now listening to preaching for five days straight may not sound like an enriching activity to you, but I enjoy hearing a variety of preachers sharing their unique approaches and understandings of God's word. The weather has been wonderful all week and spring is just now beginning to peak here.
I look forward to returning home on Saturday and being with you for worship on Sunday, unless....unless there is no Sunday. Perhaps you have heard that a group based in California, led by a radio ministry executive named Harold Camping, believes that Christ will return this Saturday, May 21, ushering in the judgment of the Lord. Mr. Camping believes that when Jesus said that no one knows the date and hour of his second coming, he wasn't including true believers in that ignorant group. He believes that most of us who call ourselves Christians, particularly those within the established church, are not true believers. He, and others who believe like him, are indeed the ones who will be saved when Jesus returns this Saturday. Now though I have heard Mr. Camping on a few occasions on his "Family Radio" broadcasts, I do not begin to understand his rationale for the warning he has issued to the world about Christ's return. I have heard him try to defend his prediction, but have obviously found it unconvincing. I do believe that Christ will return, but that is a decision God alone will make and God alone knows that date and time. Jesus pointedly admitted that even he did not know the hour of his return, (Mark 13:32-33) yet many people have taken it upon themselves over the years to affirm their advanced knowledge on this subject before God.
It would be easy to lampoon Mr. Camping and many others before him through the centuries who have thought they had the inside track to God's timetable. The tragedy in all of this, however, is that those skeptical of the church and the message of Christ become more skeptical, and many within the body of Christ, more cynical. I will not question the sincerity of Mr. Camping or his followers, for I do not know him or them. I do however wonder at the arrogance of the human mind to once more imply that we have figured God out...charting the "signs" even better than Jesus could, to calculate, or calculatingly bring forth God's judgment.
If my flight arrives safely Saturday afternoon and I awaken Sunday morning by the grace of God, I will walk through the doors of Westwood Baptist Church with anticipation for what the living God will do in and through the community of faith gathered in that place on that day...and I will trust God with the time God gives, believing again that God's grace will be sufficient for each moment, and that God's timing is not dependent on the arrogance of human prognostication. Thank God, and thanks be to God!
Jim Abernathy
I look forward to returning home on Saturday and being with you for worship on Sunday, unless....unless there is no Sunday. Perhaps you have heard that a group based in California, led by a radio ministry executive named Harold Camping, believes that Christ will return this Saturday, May 21, ushering in the judgment of the Lord. Mr. Camping believes that when Jesus said that no one knows the date and hour of his second coming, he wasn't including true believers in that ignorant group. He believes that most of us who call ourselves Christians, particularly those within the established church, are not true believers. He, and others who believe like him, are indeed the ones who will be saved when Jesus returns this Saturday. Now though I have heard Mr. Camping on a few occasions on his "Family Radio" broadcasts, I do not begin to understand his rationale for the warning he has issued to the world about Christ's return. I have heard him try to defend his prediction, but have obviously found it unconvincing. I do believe that Christ will return, but that is a decision God alone will make and God alone knows that date and time. Jesus pointedly admitted that even he did not know the hour of his return, (Mark 13:32-33) yet many people have taken it upon themselves over the years to affirm their advanced knowledge on this subject before God.
It would be easy to lampoon Mr. Camping and many others before him through the centuries who have thought they had the inside track to God's timetable. The tragedy in all of this, however, is that those skeptical of the church and the message of Christ become more skeptical, and many within the body of Christ, more cynical. I will not question the sincerity of Mr. Camping or his followers, for I do not know him or them. I do however wonder at the arrogance of the human mind to once more imply that we have figured God out...charting the "signs" even better than Jesus could, to calculate, or calculatingly bring forth God's judgment.
If my flight arrives safely Saturday afternoon and I awaken Sunday morning by the grace of God, I will walk through the doors of Westwood Baptist Church with anticipation for what the living God will do in and through the community of faith gathered in that place on that day...and I will trust God with the time God gives, believing again that God's grace will be sufficient for each moment, and that God's timing is not dependent on the arrogance of human prognostication. Thank God, and thanks be to God!
Jim Abernathy
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Time Does Fly
This post is originating from the Volunteer state of Tennessee where I am preparing to officiate for my niece's wedding in Norris, Tennessee, Saturday evening. It is always a privilege to share with a couple in the commitment of marriage...even more so with family, I suppose these moments are reality checks about the aging process, both for my niece, Holly, and for me. My sister Karen married Holly's dad, Michael, when Holly was a young girl. She, her twin sister Heather, and their brother Doug became part of our family and through the years we have seen them grow and mature. In reflecting on Karen and Michael's wedding nearly seventeen years ago, I also remember that Cindy was eight months pregnant with Clayton at the time...another remembrance that calls me to acknowledge the passing of time.
If these walks down memory lane weren't enough to convince me that I have aged, another experience today drove that home to me. I had just gotten a haircut and was preparing to pay, when the stylist gave me a price for the haircut that seemed a bit cheaper than I expected. As I reached into my wallet, she cheerily offered, "You are a senior, aren't you?" Now the color and number of hairs on my head may have shouted "senior" to her, but I guess her greatest offense was the certainty with which she made her judgement. When I firmly responded, "no," I suffered not only the indignity of paying $2 more for the haircut, but of her weak attempt to correct her faux pas as she said, "Of course you're not, you're much too young." The insincerity in her voice added a few years to my already bruised pride. "Come back and see us next time you're in town," she carelessly offered as I turned to walk out the door, but my senior ears had already tuned her out as I was left to ponder the brevity of my remaining days.
Yes, time does fly, as the old saying goes. The sometimes cranky, probably senior adult writer of the book of Ecclesiastes noted, "to everything, there is a season." Whether it is watching loved ones grow and mark time through the passages of life, or coming face to face with your and other's assessments of your own journey, one cannot ignore the changes these "seasons" bring. Other than a receding hair line, the one constant for me in the midst of these changing seasons, is the power and presence of Almighty God. The Psalmist reminds us of the significance of an ever-present God as he writes in the nintieth Psalm, "Before the mountains were born and before you created the earth and the world, you are God. You have always been, and you will always be." Praise God that in the seasons of human life, where the joy of family celebrations are mixed with the reality of time's relentless march, God is present, celebrating with us, walking beside us, never wavering in love and affection, no matter what each day, year, or decade bring.
Jim Abernathy
If these walks down memory lane weren't enough to convince me that I have aged, another experience today drove that home to me. I had just gotten a haircut and was preparing to pay, when the stylist gave me a price for the haircut that seemed a bit cheaper than I expected. As I reached into my wallet, she cheerily offered, "You are a senior, aren't you?" Now the color and number of hairs on my head may have shouted "senior" to her, but I guess her greatest offense was the certainty with which she made her judgement. When I firmly responded, "no," I suffered not only the indignity of paying $2 more for the haircut, but of her weak attempt to correct her faux pas as she said, "Of course you're not, you're much too young." The insincerity in her voice added a few years to my already bruised pride. "Come back and see us next time you're in town," she carelessly offered as I turned to walk out the door, but my senior ears had already tuned her out as I was left to ponder the brevity of my remaining days.
Yes, time does fly, as the old saying goes. The sometimes cranky, probably senior adult writer of the book of Ecclesiastes noted, "to everything, there is a season." Whether it is watching loved ones grow and mark time through the passages of life, or coming face to face with your and other's assessments of your own journey, one cannot ignore the changes these "seasons" bring. Other than a receding hair line, the one constant for me in the midst of these changing seasons, is the power and presence of Almighty God. The Psalmist reminds us of the significance of an ever-present God as he writes in the nintieth Psalm, "Before the mountains were born and before you created the earth and the world, you are God. You have always been, and you will always be." Praise God that in the seasons of human life, where the joy of family celebrations are mixed with the reality of time's relentless march, God is present, celebrating with us, walking beside us, never wavering in love and affection, no matter what each day, year, or decade bring.
Jim Abernathy
Friday, May 6, 2011
Real Peace
In my depression after another Capitals playoff loss Sunday night, I began channel-surfing in hopes of finding a diversion. I didn't have to go far. News was breaking about the death of Osama bin Laden. I watched as the President gave details of the operation and spoke of the heroic efforts of those who carried out the mission. Analysts did what analysts do in the midst of breaking news with very little detail...they began to try and piece together from the President's speech, and their sources around the world and across the studio, the elements of this story that shocked the world. Details were few, yet opinions and hypotheses were plentiful. I was preparing to turn the story off and wait for the details on the morning news shows, when the broadcast suddenly shifted from the studio to the scene outside the White House where seemingly hundreds of people were gathering to celebrate. Chants of "U S A!", "U S A!" were gaining momentum as if the United States had just won a medal in an Olympic event. There was dancing, hugging, flag-waving, banner-waving, and more impassioned chants of "U S A!" with fist's pumping as more revelers joined the celebration. I could not remember anything like it on American soil in my lifetime...a government-sanctioned strike, carried out with surgical precision, to "take out" an enemy. Certainly military operations had been carried out before and the reports made to the American people. But I do not remember the kind of spontaneous response nor the degree of celebration that I witnessed Sunday evening, not because war had ended, or violence stopped, but because another human being was dead.
Now let me say at this point that Osama bin Laden's actions in setting in motion the 9/11 attacks, and other terrorist activities over the years, marked him as a criminal whose actions demanded justice. Many believe that justice was served in the early morning hours of Monday in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad as United States Navy Seals carried out their mission, ending the life of the most notorious terrorist of the modern era. I recognize the frustration and anger of many within this country who bear the burden of having lost loved ones over the past ten years who found release in news of bin Laden's death. I cannot know what such news means to families of New York City firefighters or police officers killed in the line of duty on that day, nor to the thousands of family members who lost loved ones in the twin towers, the Pentagon, or a rural Pennsylvania field, as well as family members of soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11. But I am left to wonder, in the aftermath of raucous celebrations and the commentary of a those I heard interviewed in the last few days who claimed closure now for bin Laden's victims...has his death truly made us safer...does this closure that is spoken of suddenly end the grieving for those whose parent, child, spouse, sibling, or friend was lost on that dark day or in the years since?
In the 14th chapter of John's gospel, Jesus talks with his disciples about transition. His death is imminent and he is seeking to prepare them for what will follow. He promises them a gift unlike any other they might receive, the Holy Spirit. Then, in verse 27 he says, "I leave you peace; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don't let your hearts be troubled or afraid."
It occurred to me as I watched the celebrations in the streets of DC and at Ground Zero, that our American response was much like what we see in other parts of the world when an enemy leader dies. The anger, hatred, and retaliation that marks a warring world was certainly on display in our streets.
Jesus offers us something different. "My peace I give to you," he said..."I do not give it to you as the world does." It is tempting to be caught up in the chants of patriotic fervor when a long-sought enemy is destroyed...but the threats of this enemy still remain. There is release for the moment in believing that justice has been done in the aftermath of heinous crime. Families and friends awakened, however, on Monday morning, and this morning, and will for every morning that they live, with the realization that their friend or loved one is still gone, and the longing for their touch, voice, wisdom, and love will not be satisfied. Yet, in the midst of these continuing threats and grief, Jesus affirms, "...don't let your hearts be troubled or afraid." Genuine peace comes not because an enemy is killed, but because the Spirit of God brings change to the human heart that cannot be destroyed, no matter the threat.
The bad news of Sunday evening that drove me to channel-surf has been compounded with another Capitals loss. They stand on the brink of elimination tonight. The violence of this world seems to move us ever closer, some would say, to the brink of elimination. Our hope is not seen in the visual evidence of an enemy's death, nor heard in the chants of patriotic cries after momentary victory...Hope is found in the One who offers real peace...peace that cannot be duplicated by the world. May you and I share the peace of Christ with the world around us, and in doing so, may our hearts be neither troubled or afraid.
Jim Abernathy
Now let me say at this point that Osama bin Laden's actions in setting in motion the 9/11 attacks, and other terrorist activities over the years, marked him as a criminal whose actions demanded justice. Many believe that justice was served in the early morning hours of Monday in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad as United States Navy Seals carried out their mission, ending the life of the most notorious terrorist of the modern era. I recognize the frustration and anger of many within this country who bear the burden of having lost loved ones over the past ten years who found release in news of bin Laden's death. I cannot know what such news means to families of New York City firefighters or police officers killed in the line of duty on that day, nor to the thousands of family members who lost loved ones in the twin towers, the Pentagon, or a rural Pennsylvania field, as well as family members of soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11. But I am left to wonder, in the aftermath of raucous celebrations and the commentary of a those I heard interviewed in the last few days who claimed closure now for bin Laden's victims...has his death truly made us safer...does this closure that is spoken of suddenly end the grieving for those whose parent, child, spouse, sibling, or friend was lost on that dark day or in the years since?
In the 14th chapter of John's gospel, Jesus talks with his disciples about transition. His death is imminent and he is seeking to prepare them for what will follow. He promises them a gift unlike any other they might receive, the Holy Spirit. Then, in verse 27 he says, "I leave you peace; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world does. So don't let your hearts be troubled or afraid."
It occurred to me as I watched the celebrations in the streets of DC and at Ground Zero, that our American response was much like what we see in other parts of the world when an enemy leader dies. The anger, hatred, and retaliation that marks a warring world was certainly on display in our streets.
Jesus offers us something different. "My peace I give to you," he said..."I do not give it to you as the world does." It is tempting to be caught up in the chants of patriotic fervor when a long-sought enemy is destroyed...but the threats of this enemy still remain. There is release for the moment in believing that justice has been done in the aftermath of heinous crime. Families and friends awakened, however, on Monday morning, and this morning, and will for every morning that they live, with the realization that their friend or loved one is still gone, and the longing for their touch, voice, wisdom, and love will not be satisfied. Yet, in the midst of these continuing threats and grief, Jesus affirms, "...don't let your hearts be troubled or afraid." Genuine peace comes not because an enemy is killed, but because the Spirit of God brings change to the human heart that cannot be destroyed, no matter the threat.
The bad news of Sunday evening that drove me to channel-surf has been compounded with another Capitals loss. They stand on the brink of elimination tonight. The violence of this world seems to move us ever closer, some would say, to the brink of elimination. Our hope is not seen in the visual evidence of an enemy's death, nor heard in the chants of patriotic cries after momentary victory...Hope is found in the One who offers real peace...peace that cannot be duplicated by the world. May you and I share the peace of Christ with the world around us, and in doing so, may our hearts be neither troubled or afraid.
Jim Abernathy
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