Pastor Doug's Blog
Do Things of Faith Really Matter to You?
02/22/2012 04:01 PM
Someone recently posted the following on the web: “When you really matter to someone, that person will always be there for you. Make no excuses, no lies, no broken promises.” That is a good understanding of a true friend. I got to thinking, “I wonder what the Lord might think of any one of us? Would the Lord think that God really matters to us?” This may seem a silly question at first as the Lord is always faithful to the promises God makes. But when one considers the flip side of the question, am I or are any of us as faithful to the promises we make to God? Are we really there for God when God wants us? Well, that may pose some discomfort when we are honest with ourselves and with the Lord. How easy for many of us claim to believe there is a God, even confess that we may believe in Jesus as Savior. But just what kind of a relationship do we have with the Lord? Is the relationship with the Lord and for that matter with the church as the body of Christ (as the Bible describes it) one of little consequence? A former catholic nun once said there are those who claim Christianity, but who do not let it claim them. She said for them the church and the faith is nothing more than a check list where one may show up at Christmas or Easter because one likes the music and the pageantry, but otherwise defines their relationship to the Lord and the church as the body of Christ as the following: “hatch, match and dispatch.” What she meant by that was the one shows up to make baptismal promises for a child, but then doesn’t make a real effort to be present until it’s time for wedding bells, and after that shows up for the funeral send off. I have noted over the years that some do better than that. They go through church school until a confirmation. They then promise to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ and to be a part of the church where ever they may be, but not long thereafter some of them become invisible. Fortunately, not everyone is like that. Yet as we approach Lent, that time of spiritual renewal – a time of recommitting one’s self to the Lord and the Body of Christ, the Church, I wonder what the Lord might think if God were the one who posted on internet of the soul: “When you really matter to someone, that person will always be there for you. No Excuses (or rationalized reasons). No Lies. No Broken Promises.” Jesus once said to some folk who thought of themselves as God’s faithful in Matthew 7:21-22; "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Perhaps this is a good time for each of us to see how we each can be the friend of the Lord, the Lord desires of us. It’s something to think about, if God and the Body of Christ, the Church, really matters to us. I hope to see you in church and helping the Body of Christ do things that make a difference and matter in human lives. Remember no one is too good, nor too bad to stay away, for the Lord wants the true friendship and partnership of each of us in doing God’s will on earth.
Love Cares Enough to Notice
02/14/2012 12:14 PM
A story in the Asbury Park Press on January 28, 2012 read: “No one had noticed for more than a year that a northern New Jersey man had died even as the mail piled up and bills went unpaid, authorities say.” Officers found the body of the deceased inside his home after a neighbor who missed seeing him on his morning walks had asked police to check on him. As I read that story, I was hit by a variety of emotions. First, I felt sadness that someone would be dead for more than a year and not missed. I felt sad for the deceased (though I do not know a thing about him) because no one seemed to have really missed him. How tragic that someone should die all alone and uncared about in any meaningful way. Then, I felt sadness for the neighborhood and community. It struck me as a tragic commentary on the neighborhood that neighbors were not more caring about those who lived near one another to have noticed the man’s absence in their midst. I then felt some sense of gratitude that a neighbor eventually realized he had not seen the deceased on his morning walks. That neighbor at least cared enough to ask the police to check on the man. We don’t read stories of this sort everyday in the newspaper. Thank God for that. Still that news story left me asking myself several questions. What does this say about the deceased, of whom I knew nothing? What does this say about that neighborhood (of which I know nothing)? In a society where we like to think people care about one another – In a society that values relationships – What does this say about us? The Asbury Park Press indicated that the deceased man, who would have turned 80, had not been missed at a diner where he was a regular customer. When the deceased man’s lawn became overgrown and neighbors complained to the local officials. How could it be that with an overgrown lawn, his mail piling up and an investor putting a lien on the house of the man that no one cared enough to check in on him or ask, “ has something happen to him?” Perhaps behind this story about the man who was dead for over a year before anyone noticed is another story – a story about a society that may be too impersonal – too self-absorbed – too busy to really care? I realize we can’t care for everyone in a personal manner – but what of those living right next door to us? St. John wrote: “…he who does not love his brother (neighbor) whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” – 1 John 4:20. On this Valentine’s Day perhaps the best gift anyone can offer another person is to be a living, caring presence, not just to those whose love we cherish, but also to our neighbor?
Religious Apathy and Team Play
01/24/2012 12:41 PM
After two exciting playoff games on January 22nd it is very clear that a successful team is one in which all of its players step up to cover for each other whether on offense or defense. A player on one of the winning teams was asked what made the team successful. That player indicated that it was everyone playing not just as individuals, but working together as a team. I believe that player was on target with those remarks. I remember a team a number of years ago that had lots of talent and great players. Unfortunately the team did not always play well because it played more as individual superstars, rather than as a team that kept individual egos in check. It seems to this armchair observer, that the opposition was often able to take advantage of that fact, as they knew who would be receiving the ball on pass plays, or who would always be running the ball. That team played well many times. However, it seemed to me that its success became limited because of the over reliance on the same people to do the work of the entire team. A recent article carried in one newspaper spoke of a number of surveys revealing wide spread religious apathy among folk who identify themselves as Christian. The people in these surveys tended to be only loosely or occasionally involved with the church. Many did not see a reason to be strongly committed to an organized expression of faith. As one who has dedicated my life and faith to working within a religious institution, I found the news article and the surveys reported, sadly on target. In a time when many claim to be spiritual and claim to believe in God, there seems to be a decline in commitment to religious institutions. There are certainly many reasons for this, some very understandable. Scandals involving some religious institutions and clergy are clearly a factor. This is certainly true of those who have been victimized by the abuses of some clergy. But it should be pointed out many congregations, churches and clergy (though not perfect) work hard at being faithful to the central beliefs and purposes of their faith. Every day religious institutions are involved with caring for the poor, the sick, the homebound, the addicted, and people in all kinds of personal and social need. Their work does not draw headlines, nor do they seek headlines. These same institutions and their faithful, dedicated members long to do more to make this world a far better place. However, like a football team, all who would like to claim affiliation with the team need to play with a committed heart on the team and not just do their own thing. A team’s success is only as good as the combined efforts of who claim team affiliation. It is worth remembering Jesus did not operate in isolation. Rather, Jesus began his ministry recruiting people into a partnership of faith and action. If the church is to be a force for changing lives – improving the state of the world – it needs all who claim to believe on board and committed to play as a team. A friend of mine once was confronted by a church dropout critic who claimed the faith, but had separated himself from the church as having said, “The church is nothing more than a group of hypocrites.” My friend observing the un-owned self-righteousness of his critic replied: “If that is so, then there is room for one more.” Detachment doesn’t make one better, only detached. It’s something to think about as we watch great teams play in life.
