Month: August 2024

Thoughts from here and There…In the words of Theodore Roosevelt:

Some time ago, I found this thought by Teddy Roosevelt. I do not remember the source, but I remember the important point that he is making that is useful especially in an election year.

“It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points where the strong man stumbled, nor where the doer has done them better.

“On the contrary, the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena–whose vision is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up again and again; who knows the great devotions, the great enthusiasms; who at best knows in the end the triumph of his achievement.

“However, if he fails, if he falls, at least he fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

We live with a courage born of Jesus, and a faith that sees us through all the conditions and circumstances of life.

Dare Greatly!

Does anything more need to be said. With daring, strength, and courage we can accomplish so much more that we first might have thought or imagined.

Thoughts from here and there…A Community of Faith

We are all part of the community of faith. We are all a part of God’s family. We cannot be part of something and live apart from it. We recognize that the community is not perfect. Sometimes imperfection is called hypocrisy; it is not. This conclusion is used to rationalize a view that a Christian does not need to be a part of the community for one can find God in nature, but what kind of nature?

Frederick Buechner1 reminds us of the limitations of this view. “Unfortunately, Adam and Eve took nature with them when they fell. You’ve only to look at the sea in a November gale. You’ve only to consider the staggering indifference of disease, or the field at Antietam, or a cook boiling a lobster, or the statistics on child abuse. You’ve only to remember your own darkest dreams.”

In contrast, Dr. Andrew Weil,2 points out that being a Christian means accepting life in a community of faith. There are not only spiritual benefits, but psychological ones as well. “Human beings are highly social, communal animals. We are meant to live in families, tribes and communities, and when we lack those connections, we suffer. Yet many people pride themselves on their independence and habitually distance themselves from others. Some may indulge in isolation as a defensive strategy — possibly developed in reaction to painful emotional experiences. Others may never have learned how to connect meaningfully to anyone or anything beyond themselves.”

We can learn to connect meaningfully. It is a risk that is taken because the results are far more valuable than what may be had in the moment. Consider this, Can one be a Christian without a community? The answer is obvious.

1Frederick Buechner, Whistling in the Dark: An ABC Theologized (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988), 85.

2Andrew Weil, M.D., “Connectedness Is Vital to Your Well-Being,” Going Bonkers?, December 1997.

Tyops

Typos are mistakes in a publication. Typos may be misspellings. Typos may be an inappropriate word, like using scents for cents. Tpoys is the one thing in this modern age that is neither discovered by spelling or grammar checkers. No matter how hard to you try to get rid of them, they appear at the worst possible time and in the most embarrassing places. For example, The Recipe of the Month in theJune Chronicles was attributed to Helga Shultz. Helga requested that a correction appear in the July Chronicles. I wrote the correction and showed it to her for her approval. Everything to this point was correct. Then I decided to change the structure of the paragraph. If you read the correction on the front page of the July, 1996 Congregational Chronicles you read, “The Recipe of the Month that was in the June issue of the congregational Chronicles was not supplied by Jennie Sanchez from Caldwell United Methodist Church, and not Helga Shultz as was noted. We apologize for the error.” Now I apologize for compounding the error. Jennie Sanchez from Caldwell United Methodist Church did supply the Recipe of the Month that appeared in the June issue of the Congregational Chronicles.

In a recent M.E.M.O. column,1 Martin Marty who writes for the Christian Century, can do a whole column on tsypo that are humorous and gain a laugh or two. Here are a few samples. Some of them are subtle, so read carefully.

“Surly the Presence of the Lord’ by: Chamber Choir.” “Leader: The Living God sends us froth to serve…” “Solo: ‘The Solid Rock/’Tis so Sweet to Rust in Jesus.'” “Births: Stewart and Amy had a baby girl on August 7 in Wisconsin. Material grandmother is Mary.” “A new church member was introduced: ‘In her free time she volunteers as a candy stripper.'” “A trustees report of a church in Connecticut: ‘The eves of the education wing need repair.'” How about one more. “A Lutheran Church announcement: ‘The Associated Ministries will hose Dr. Liebenow in an informal “Coffee and Conversation.”‘” Well, you get the point.

Typos cannot be hidden. They are right out there in front where everyone can see them. You cannot escape the comments that come as a result of your mistake. I mean, you proofread and proofread and still typos rear their ugly heads. It’s as if they were just laying in wait to catch the unsuspecting writer, and/or, editor.

I suppose that you know that the typo is a metaphor for part of our lives. How many times have you spoken when you ought to have remained silent, or vice versa? How many times have you tried to extend to someone a compliment and it came our a complaint. How many times have you told a person that you were a Congregationalist and they understood Congressionalist? We are all too human. We make mistakes. Some of our mistakes we can keep hidden from people so that we do not have to take the heat from them, but at other times there is no way of escape. The copy book is blotted for all the world, or at least as much of the world that we inhabit, to see.

Ah! Well! You cannot hide from typos. Typos are a part of life. I know only one way to handle typos and that is to smile and keep right on going, no matter how silly or how embarrassing they may be. And, I have been guilty of some of the most silly and the most embarrassing. Apologize for the typos that are offensive. Laugh with the ones that are the most silly. Correct the ones that are the most important. Learn from experience and try very hard not to do it again. But you know that it is going to happen. When you least anticipate or expect it, someone will find a typo.

(Martin Marty, “M.E.M.O., Froth and Spray,” The Christian Century, Vol. 113 No. 17 (May 15, 1996), 531.

Thoughts from here and there…Lawncare Christians?

Who doesn’t desire a beautiful lawn? Lawn care is a time-consuming task that may lead to less than optimum results.

“Minneapolis pastor Leith Anderson tells of calling ChemLawn to take care of his suburban weed-infested lawn, only to have them reject his lawn as a client because it was so bad. One member of his church volunteered to totally remove his old lawn and start a new one, an offer he was almost ready to accept when a former farmer gave him some advice: ‘Don’t worry so much about getting rid of the weeds. Just grow the grass, and the grass will take care of the weeds.’

“The Anderson’s took his prescription and did all they could to grow ‘the good stuff.’ After a couple of years, the lawn looked just as good as everyone else’s

“The Anderson’s had to ask themselves what would be their primary focus – growing grass or killing weeds? Like the householder from the Gospel parable, the Anderson’s decided to concentrate on the positive – on growth – instead of pouring their time, energy and resources into killing off weeds.”

The Gospel parable is the story told by Jesus comparing the kingdom of heaven to someone who sowed good seed in his field. It goes like this:

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn,'” (Matthew 13:24-30, NRSVA).

In lawn care you don’t call Chemlawn, you sow good seed. Eventually you will have a beautiful lawn. Does the same principle hold true for our Christian life? If you sow positive thoughts, will the negative ones be diminished? If you sow good deeds will the bad ones eventually be overcome.

The answers are a resounding, “Yes!” It takes time and effort, but it is worth it, isn’t it?