With One Hand Tied
Yesterday, as I was playing with my son at the park, he insisted that we bring his football along. With this I clearly had no issue, and pride bubbled over in my heart. He carried his ball around with him throwing it around and yelling, “Touchdown!” The only problem came when he decided he wanted to play on the equipment, climbing the stairs, and going down the slides, he wanted to take his ball. While he has a high level of coordination, many of the playground elements require two hands. I implored him to drop the ball so he could use both hands, but he refused because he wanted to keep the ball with him on the slide.
I think many of us go through life like this. We want to multi-task and carry so many things with us no matter what we are doing. At times we walk through life with one hand tied behind our backs, or in the case of my son, one hand carrying a football. While we continue about our lives and daily tasks, we may not realize how much these things slow us down. Things, thoughts, worries, emotions all can slow us down, if we let any of them master us.
I am thankful that I don’t have to carry these things with me, but am frustrated that I willfully often carry more than I need or should. Let us resolve not to be mastered by the things of this world, but cling to the Almighty God, and give them over in prayer.
Guy Fawkes Day
Guy Fawkes Day
The anniversary of the famous Gunpowder Plot
Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot…
November 5th marks the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament and King James I in 1605, the day set for the king to open Parliament. The anniversary was named after Guy Fawkes, the most famous of the conspirators.
 The unfortunate conspirator Fawkes appears before his intended victim. |
Uprising of English Catholics
It was intended to be the beginning of a great uprising of English Catholics, who were distressed by the increased severity of penal laws against the practice of their religion. The conspirators, who began plotting early in 1604, expanded their number to a point where secrecy was impossible.
The group included Robert Catesby, John Wright, and Thomas Winter, the originators, Christopher Wright, Robert Winter, Robert Keyes, Guy Fawkes, a soldier who had been serving in Flanders, Thomas Percy, John Grant, Sir Everard Digby, Francis Tresham, Ambrose Rookwood, and Thomas Bates.
Brought to Light by Anonymous Letter
Percy hired a cellar under the House of Lords, in which 36 barrels of gunpowder, overlaid with iron bars and firewood, were secretly stored. The conspiracy was brought to light through a mysterious letter received by Lord Monteagle, a brother-in-law of Tresham, on October 26, urging him not to attend Parliament on the opening day.
The 1st earl of Salisbury and others, to whom the plot was made known, took steps leading to the discovery of the materials and the arrest of Fawkes as he entered the cellar. Other conspirators, overtaken in flight or seized afterward, were killed outright, imprisoned, or executed.
Fireworks, Bonfires in England
Among those executed was Henry Garnett, the superior of the English Jesuits, who had known of the conspiracy. While the plot was the work of a small number of men, it provoked hostility against all English Catholics and led to an increase in the harshness of laws against them. Guy Fawkes Day, November 5, is still celebrated in England with fireworks and bonfires, on which effigies of the conspirator are burned.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2005, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
Read more: Guy Fawkes Day — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/guyfawkes.html#ixzz14SFXNE2k
Election 2010 Postmortem
First of all, I have friends that are happy, I have friends that are sad, but most have some sort of mixed reaction to the results from last night. I am proud to say that I have friends I disagree with, and that no matter where we stand on any of the issues, we can still be friends. (Just like a lot of people don’t like the fact that I am a Laker fan, but they’re still my friends, right?) However, that is the hardest thing for me to see during these election cycles, my friends, the people I love, divided over this person or that person, this proposition or that proposition. The great thing about this country is that we are free to see things differently than somebody else, but that in all reality we are a lot more alike than we are different.
“If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.” -Jon Stewart
Certainly, many think that one solution is better than another, and we should be able to have a certain amount of civil discourse to discuss the merits of each other’s proposals. However, neither side is generally willing to complement some one from the other side of the aisle. Pardon my opinion that the concession speeches I hear seem utterly disingenuous. It is hard to hear that LOSING CANDIDATE wish WINNING CANDIDATE well and think that it is genuine, especially since we have heard the two candidates bash each other’s heads in with their negative advertisements for the last six months. (This is an another issue I despise, and am sad that it is the most effective strategy. Negative advertisements work, which is why they get used most often.)
I hope and pray that we as a people rise up and make this statement from then Sen. Obama ring true in our hearts.
“There is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America”
If we join together and work for the welfare of all people, and we all get together and push, the United States of America will be “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” However, if we are going to allow our partisan politics divide us, we will not progress as a nation, and will fall short of the ideals to which we cling.
As for me, I will pray for these leaders. Not that they personally succeed or fail, but that we as a nation are able to bring hope to those that lack hope or options, and that we as a nation succeed together, not by standing on the backs of others. I truly believe that a non-zero sum is possible, and that through honest leadership, and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will be blessed. I am not going to wait until my team wins to pray, I am not going to bicker, I am not going speak poorly of my leaders, but I will pray, I will fight for truth, and through it all I will strive to be a voice for the Kingdom of God in this place.
World Series Champions?
This blogging thing has worked out well for my favorite professional teams. Yesterday night, the San Francisco Giants actually won the World Series. This group of young core players with colorful nicknames like “The Freak” and “Black Beard”, surrounded by a group of veteran castoffs from other teams, was able to make it past the Braves, beat the supposedly unbeatable Roy Halladay and the Phillies, and knock around the Playoff Pitching Ace Cliff Lee to beat the Rangers to take the World Series in 5 games. Humm Baby! Go Giants!
To be honest, I had almost lost hope that this was even possible, especially not this year. However, it goes to show that sometimes anything is possible. This year I got to put away all the disappointment that has come at the hands of the Dodgers and in 2002 at the hands of the Angels. This year living in LA is a little more bearable. All kidding aside, it is nice to see that the Giants finally have something to hold against Dodger fans when they start taunting me.
However, the Giants showed me that the past doesn’t have to define the future. Neither does our past define our future, greatness can be attained no matter how much failure we have encountered. God has a beautiful future for us, dive in, and don’t let your past define who you are. YOU could be a champion! Dive in.
Monday Morning (Halloween Edition)
Sunday was Halloween, the holiday filled with candy and costumes and tired parents. I include myself in this mix. My almost three-year-old son really got the idea of trick-or-treating a lot more this year than last year, and he has a better understanding of the greatness of candy.
However, neither of us were really prepared for the effects of the candy. It was nearly impossible to get him to take a bath, brush his teeth, or stay in bed on Sunday night. While he eventually did crash, the sugar high had to end, I felt as if I was dealing with a completely different kid.
This frustrated me and tired me out a lot more than usual. However, I also knew that there was an opportunity and an obligation to walk the line between grace and discipline. This is probably the line God walks with us, or at least me, a lot!
Monday morning was difficult as I had to get him ready for school, and myself ready for work. We dragged, I was tired from the battle, and he was tired because he didn’t get as much sleep as he usually does and he had a night of a lot of activity. We were both extremely cranky, and probably would have done better with another hour of sleep, but then out of nowhere, he gave me a hug.
That was love and grace as if directly from the Almighty God.
We continued to forge on and finished getting ready, and although we continued to struggle, and it took three times longer to get through the door, non of that matters because, I KNOW I AM LOVED, and I have the opportunity and responsibility to respond to the love of God, by loving my son.
Happy Reformation Day
The popular belief is that on this day in 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 theses, and sparked the Protestant Reformation. Later today it is my task to preach the Word of God. I feel obliged to include in the presentation of the Word, the actions of Martin Luther in 1517.
Ultimately, the importance that we find in scripture, and in history, that no human institution or human action is worthy of worship or praise, but rather it is God Almighty alone that has the power to save us from anything. Therefore, the important thing to understand is that through the prodding of the Holy Spirit, God granted Martin Luther the boldness to present this argument to the church. Certainly, Martin Luther had to respond to the prodding, but it is the Holy Spirit who reforms us, not an action by a single human, or human institution.
When we lose our way, and begin lifting up the institution above God, or even at equal position with God, we lose sight of the reforming and transformational character of God. This breaks God’s heart, because the Almighty loves us so much that when we fall into the traps that trap us in thinking that God requires a special formula, or the right “hocus pocus” to be effective, we become stagnant in our worship, and restrict ourselves from taking a step back and breathing in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. When we do this, God laughs and cries because we simply miss the point that God is God, and we should strive to be more like God, and less stuck on our own patterns and ideas about right and wrong worship.
The Almighty God alone judges. God is bigger than our churches. God seeks to grant us each a deep and true Shalom, wholeness, prosperity, peace, and completion. Only if we are willing to come together as the Church, are we going to see the true Reformation. However, that starts with our own personal expression.
God desires a personal relationship with each of us, and that relationship takes time and effort on our part. How do we respond to the grace that is present for us before we do anything? We are called to respond with JOY, GLADNESS, THANKSGIVING, and SERVICE. This has nothing to do with being Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, etc. This has to do with God, and coming together to be the true church.
I think it odd that Jon Stewart reminds us that we have more that brings us together, than that which pulls us apart, but if we amplify our differences, we wont be able to see our similarities. God loves you, God loves me, and because of that we should respond by loving one another.
It never was Luther’s intention, nor the desire of God, for the result of the Reformation to split the church into a million different denominations. In fact it was intended simply to be a corrective, and a call for the church to remember that which God’s calls us. We are called to be the salt of the Earth, and to bring the love of God to all of those lacking hope. Therefore, I pray that on this Reformation Day, we as the Church of God can come together and participate in the Reformation of the World.
A Team with Two Personalities
As a Cal fan, this football season is hard to stomach.
This season has been full of ups and downs, one week we score 50, and the next week we struggle to score at all. One week the defense gives up 0 offensive touchdowns, and the next week we give up 5 to 7. (Yes I am using “we” to describe the team.) This is hard to understand. How can a team play similar competition week in and week out, and have such a radical disparity with the level of play. The list of excuses ranges from the fact that all the games they have dominated have been at home, and all the losses have been on the road, to injuries, to passion.
However, most of us have up and downs from time to time. Some days we are up to performing our best, and other days we desire to merely phone it in. (Again using the collective “we”.) However, I think it is times like this that we have to find it deep within our gut, to fight that urge to just be content with mediocre. It is that mediocre performance that maintains the status-quo. Even if we are great on some days at fighting the injustice in the world, striking out against the forces of “evil”, and bringing hope to the world, if we don’t contend with our own slipping into mediocrity, we endanger ourselves into becoming the biggest opponent to our own goals.
Therefore, each day go after greatness, even on those days when we are struck with injury, or are otherwise prone to fall into the trap of mediocrity. We can’t always control our situation, but we can control our response. Go forth and press forward bringing glory to our God Almighty.
Intrusive Vanity
As I was running this morning I had to question my intentions. Why am I doing this? Am I doing this to lose weight so I am healthier? Am I doing this so I can be in good enough shape to run a half-marathon in December? Am I doing this because I am living out a life to which God is calling me? Or am I doing this so that I can simply be more attractive, or because of vanity?
I would be a liar if I began to say that vanity had nothing to do with it.
Certainly, there are good reasons why I am running; it does aid me in a healthier lifestyle, and my body is a gift from God, and I am called to be a good steward. The half marathon is more or less a neutral rationale, because there is also an aspect of vanity there.
While vanity was not the reason I started running, or planned to run a half marathon, the fact that vanity has crept into my desires to run bothers me greatly. This vain trap is intrusive, as it works its way into the things that are good and tarnishes them, making them less than what they once were.
I love the complements I have received about losing weight. However, my love for those comments tarnishes the fact that it is a good thing I lost weight.
This isn’t the only thing that vanity has intruded upon. When I preach, when I play with my son, when I blog, when I sit and read, and the list goes on and on and on. It works its way into so many things, and it feels as if everything I care about is vulnerable to the ugly tentacles of vanity.
It may be impossible to eradicate the danger of vain thoughts, what I can do is recognize them, and prevent them from influencing my actions. I do also need to continuously review the reasons I do things, and if they have anything to do with me and my pride, I should reconsider. I need to give these up to God, and not hold onto them. This is a difficult task and certainly not one that I have mastered, but have to flexible and ready to keep working on it.
I pray that pride and vanity do not take over, but it is something that I know I have to understand better, and make sure that my focus is upon the God that loves me, and calls me into the kingdom, and that I do this for God and not myself.
Interwoven Messages
This morning, like many mornings, I was listening to Colin Cowherd, and he had Bill Walton on his show to talk about his NBA observations. Walton is a former NBA champion, the father of Luke Walton, and apparently he is also the spokesperson for Yum! Foods World Hunger Relief Project. As he was answering the host’s questions he would correlate the leadership of NBA greats to the leadership it takes in all of us to help those who are hungry. He would answer a question about how well a team worked together, with a corresponding comment about how we all need to work together as a team to help combat hunger.
His invite to the show must have been understood by all of those involved as primarily a commercial for the World Hunger Relief Project because the host did not seem to be phased by borderline ridiculous nature of Walton’s responses. I believe our awareness needs to be raised about the hunger in the world, but it seemed a little like a joke to weave this message within Walton’s answers about the state of NBA.
However, if this tactic is effective, I support it, because it is important that we give hope to those lacking even the most basic provision, and I pray that this initiative is successful in the long run.
UPDATE: Apparently, Bill Walton has been doing this all over the place. Here is a link to another site that published their transcript of their interview with the legend. http://blogs.thescore.com/tbj/2010/10/28/tbj-qa-bill-walton/
Elpis and Shalom 