Category: Blog

Thoughts from here and there…Donkeys and Christmas Pageants

This story helps to create an appreciation of the Christmas Story.

“There’s something very special about Christmas pageants, even those in which everything seems to go wrong.

“Robert Fulghum tells about one such Christmas pageant. Trying to outdo previous years they decided to rent a live donkey for Mary to ride on. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

“Have you ever noticed that a lot of things ‘sound like a good idea at the time?’ The day of the pageant arrived. The congregation sang beautifully some Christmas carols and the angel choir, complete with haloes, got through their first big number ‘almost on key and in unison.’

“The time came for the grand entrance of Joseph and Mary, with Mary riding on the donkey. She was ‘carrying what later proved to be a Raggedy Andy doll.’ Then it happened. The donkey made two hesitant steps through the door of the chancel, took a look at the whole scene, and locked his legs. The donkey would not move and the entire procession came to a halt. Jerking on his halter had no effect. Neither did some wicked kicking on the part of the Virgin Mary.

“Just then the president of the trustees, seated in the front row and dressed in his Sunday best, rose to the rescue. The floor was polished cement. With another man pulling the donkey’s halter, the president of the trustees crouched at the stern end of the donkey and pushed–slowly sliding the rigid beast across the floor, inch by stately inch.

The choir director chose that moment to turn on a tape recorder, which blared forth a mighty chorus from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. This scared the donkey. By this time everyone was laughing.

Organizers vowed never again to put on a Christmas pageant. ‘The memory of the laughter outlives the memory of the hassle,’ Fulghum writes of the experience. ‘And hope–hope always makes us believe that this time, this year, we will get it right.'”

Sometimes you read a story that contains such insight and understanding that it needs to be shared. Is this such a story?

Thoughts from here and There…Religious Symbolism of The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Right or wrong, it is controversial. But some that believe it the popular song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” a song that is usually seen as simply a nonsense song for children has more significance than nonsense.

It has been suggested that it is a song of Christian instruction dating to the 16th century religious wars in England, with hidden references to the basic teachings of the Faith.

They contend that it was a mnemonic device to teach the catechism to youngsters. The “true love” mentioned in the song is not an earthly suitor, but refers to God Himself.

The “me” who receives the presents refers to every baptized person who is part of the Christian Faith. Each of the “days” represents some aspect of the Christian Faith that was important for children to learn. True Love refers to God.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree: The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on December 25, the first day of Christmas. In the song,

Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, recalling the expression of Christ’s sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered you under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but you would not have it so . . . .” (Luke 13:34)1.

1. Turtle Doves refers to the Old and New Testaments

2. 3 French Hens refers to Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues

3. 4 Calling Birds refers to the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists

4. 5 Golden Rings refers to the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the “Pentateuch”, which gives the history of man’s fall from grace.

5. 6 Geese A-laying refers to the six days of creation

6. 7 Swans A-swimming refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments

7. 8 Maids A-milking refers to the eight beatitudes

8. 9 Ladies Dancing refers to the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit

9. 10 Lords A-leaping refers to the ten commandments

10. 11 Pipers Piping refers to the eleven faithful apostles

11. 12 Drummers Drumming refers to the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed.

There you have it. If it is true that this is a teaching song from the 16th century than maybe it is one that we might use today. It wouldn’t hurt.

Thoughts from here and there…Fractured Christmas Stories

I like the Family Circus written by Bill Keane.

Dolly is reading the Christmas story to Jeffery and PJ (The Family Circus, from the Joyful Noiseletter. Reprinted with permission of Bill Keane. ©Bill Keane.)

“Mary and Joseph were camping out under a star in the east…It was a silent night in Bethlehem until the angels began to sing…Then Santa brought baby Jesus in his sleigh and laid him in a Manger.

“Pay attention Jeffrey, or you’ll never learn the story of Christmas.

“Chestnuts were roasting by an open fire and not a creature was stirring…So the Grinch stole some swaddling clothes from Scrooge who was one of the three wise men riding on eight tiny reindeer.”

This telling of the Christmas story reminds me of Edward Everett Horton and Fractured Fairy Tales that he used to tell on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

Jeffrey will probably not get the story straight, especially as told by Dolly. But then how often do we get the story straight.

It might be helpful this year to find your Bible and turn to the Gospels and read the Christmas story in all four of them.

There is no confusion in this, there is only an expanding vision of who Jesus is, why he came to earth, and what he can do for you.

Thoughts from here and there…Unthanked people

November 28 is Thanksgiving. This blog has been used before, but it is worth reading again and applying the principles that it contains.

(Just in time for Thanksgiving, Rev. Brian Cavanaugh, TOR, of the Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH relayed the following reflection on “Unthanked people” via e-mail from Steve Goodier. The Joyful Noiseletter, November 1999, page 5)

When William Stidger taught at Boston University, he once reflected upon the great number of unthanked people in his life. People who had helped nurture him, inspire him or cared enough about him to leave a lasting impression.

“One was a schoolteacher he’d not heard of in many years. But he remembered that she had gone out of her way to put a love of poetry in him, and he had loved poetry all his life. He wrote a letter of thanks to her.

“The reply he received, written in the feeble scrawl of the aged, began, ‘My dear Willie.’ He was delighted. Now over 50, bald and a professor, he didn’t think there was a person left in the world who would call him ‘Willie.’ Here is a copy of that letter:

“‘My dear Willie, I cannot tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely and, like the last leaf of autumn, lingering behind. You will be interested to know that I taught school for 50 years and yours is the first note of appreciation I ever received. It came on a blue-cold morning and it cheered me as nothing has in many years.’

“Not prone to cry easily, Stidger wept over that note. She was one of the great unthanked people from Stidger’s past. You know them. We all do. The teacher who made a difference. That coach we’ll never forget. The music instructor or Sunday school worker who helped us to believe in ourselves. That Scout leader who cared.

“We all remember people who shaped our lives in various ways. People whose influence changed us. Will Stidger found a way to show his appreciation—he wrote them letters.

“Who are some of the unthanked people from your past? It may not be too late to say, ‘Thanks.”‘

Thoughts from here and there…Put On A Happy Face

It was what one radio personality called, “a moody and introspective day.” You know when the cloud cover is deep gray, the showers are falling, and you feel somewhat closed in and tired. It is a good day to take a nap, but you have too much to do.

As I was contemplating the day I thought of a song and started to sing “Put on A Happy Face.” by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams that reads:

Put On A Happy Face

Gray skies are gonna clear up
Put on a happy face
Brush off the clouds and cheer up
Put on a happy face

Take off the gloomy mask of tragedy
It’s not your style
You’ll look so good that you’ll be glad
You decide to smile

Pick out a pleasant outlook
Stick out that noble chin
Wipe off that “full of doubt” look
Slap on a happy grin

And spread sunshine all over the place
And put on a happy face

Gray skies are gonna clear up
Put on a happy face
Brush off the clouds and cheer up
Put on a happy face

And if you’re feeling cross and bickerish
Don’t sit and whine
Think of banana splits and licorice
And you’ll feel fine

I knew a girl so gloomy
She’d never laugh or sing
She wouldn’t listen to me
Now she’s a mean old thing

So spread sunshine all over the place
And put on a happy, happy face
Put on a happy, happy, happy face
Oh, come on bubby, smile its your birthday

I thought to myself, “How do you put on a happy face when you are not happy?” There is another song that fits right in here. It is called “Smile.” The tune was written by Charlie Chaplin, the words by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons

Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it’s breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You’ll get by…
If you smile

With your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just…

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That’s the time you must keep on trying

Smile, what’s the use of crying
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just…Smile

Smile as though you are happy and as you do you will be able to overcome the gray clouds and the unhappiness. It is called intentionality. You intentionally smile when you don’t feel like it and in time you enjoy a change in attitude, and you will smile. Try it, it really works.

Thoughts from here and There…Lord, Prop Us up

Every time Mike Atkinson is asked to pray, he thinks of the old deacon who always prayed, ‘Lord, prop us up on our leanin’ side.’

“After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he prayed that prayer so fervently.

“He answered, ‘Well sir, you see, it’s like this…I got an old barn out back. It’s been there a long time. It’s withstood a lot of weather. It’s gone through a lot of storms, and it’s stood for many years. It’s still standing, but one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit. So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn’t fall.

“‘Then I got to thinking ’bout that and how much I was like that old barn. I been around a long time, I’ve withstood a lot of life’s storms, I’ve withstood a lot of bad weather in life, I’ve withstood a lot of hard times, and I’m still standing, too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time to time, so I like to ask the Lord to prop us up on our leanin’ side, ’cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning, at times.’”

If you have to lean try, as the song says, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”

Leaning On the Everlasting Arms is  Song by Iris DeMent

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain:
Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms

Refrain

Songwriters: Elisha A. Hoffman, Cyril A. Mclellan, A Showalter.

It helps to remember that one of the great props is thanksgiving. To help you not to lean to much to one side or the other express your gratitude to God for all his blessings, and to your family and friends for all the times that they have been a help and encouragement to you.

Thoughts from here and There…How to Be Content

One of my favorite stories is told by J. Ellsworth Kalas in The Ten Commandments From the Back Side that I discovered in Homiletics Magazine. It goes like this:

Tauler of Strasbourg is remembered as a great 14th century saint and mystic. One day he learned a lesson from an anonymous beggar.

“God give you a good day, my friend,” Tauler said as he met the beggar.

“I thank God I never had a bad day,” the beggar quickly answered.

Tauler was silent for a moment, then said, “God give you a happy life, my friend.”

And the beggar answered, “I thank God I am never unhappy.”

Now Tauler was nonplused. “Never unhappy,” he said. “What do you mean?”

Well, the beggar replied, “When it is fine, I thank God; when it rains, I thank God; when I have plenty, I thank God; when I am hungry, I thank God; and since God’s will is my will, and whatever pleases him pleases me, why should I say that I am unhappy when I am not?”

Tauler was now in awe of his new friend. “Who are you?” he asked.

“I am a king,” said the beggar.

“A king!” said Tauler, half ready to believe it. “Where is your kingdom?”

The man in rags spoke calmly, strongly, “In my heart,” he whispered. “In my heart.”

I must confess that I have not yet achieved the heights of gratitude expressed by the “beggar.” There are days, and we all have them, when the grayness of life hides the Sun of life. No matter! I press on! The gray dissipates and the sun shines. More often than not, this happens when I begin to find the many ways though which I can express a sense of contentment.

I hope that you find this story hope-filling and uplifting.

Thoughts from here and there…Influence

“In a gun factory,” writes an unknown author, “an elongated bar of steel, which weighed 500 pounds, was suspended by a chain. Beside it an average-sized cork was hanging by a silk thread. It was swung gently against the bar which remained motionless.

For 10 minutes the cork, with rhythmic regularity, continued to strike. Then the heavy piece of steel began to move slightly. At the end of an hour both objects were swinging together like the pendulum of a clock!”

You may find this hard to believe, but such is the power even of a small influence. Influence is reflected in the lives and activities of people in many large and small ways.

Terency Elwyn Johnson, of Margate Community Church (New Jersey), tells the story of Bonnee Hoy, a gifted composer, who died in the prime of life. At her memorial service, a friend told of how a mockingbird used to sing regularly outside Bonnee’s window on summer nights.

“Bonnee would stand at her bedroom window, peering into the darkness, listening intently, marveling at the beautiful songs the mockingbird sang. Then, musician that she was, Bonnee decided to sing back. So she whistled the first four notes of Beethoven’s ‘Fifth Symphony.’ With amazing quickness the mockingbird learned these four notes and sang them back to Bonnee. ‘And in perfect pitch,’ Bonnee marveled. Then, for a time the bird disappeared. But one night, toward the very end of her life, when Bonnee was so terribly sick, the bird returned and, in the midst of other songs, several times sang those first four notes of Beethoven’s ‘Fifth.'”

At that memorial service, her beloved friend, with a smile on her lips and tears in her eyes, said, “I like to think of that now. Somewhere out there (in a big, big world) is a mockingbird who sings Beethoven because of Bonnee.”

Are you living a life so full of song and joy that it brings out the music of other people’s lives? It may not be a few notes from Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony” that is sounded by a mockingbird, it may be the simple influence of a picture hanging in your home.

Doris Forman remembers the time when she and her husband moved into a new house. Shortly after they moved in her husband asked her, “What about having a picture of Christ in our living room?” (Doris D. Forman, “The Picture of Christ in Our Home,” THE GUIDEPOSTS TREASURY OF FAITH (New York: Bantam Books, 1980), pp. 335-337.)

Part of her thought it was a good idea and another part of her was unsure, but she agreed anyway. “Of course,” she said, “we were Christians and, of course we loved God–but a large picture of Christ hanging in the living room and in a spot where everyone who stepped into the room would see it–wasn’t that being a bit fanatical?”

When the decorator came out to check on lamps and pictures one day, he couldn’t help but notice the 16 x 20 inch print of “The Savior” by Coleman hanging over the piano in the most prominent place in the living room. The decorator suggested that another picture, perhaps a landscape, would look better in that spot. “We like it and that’s where it stays,” her husband replied firmly.

What would their friends think when they saw the large picture of Christ hanging in their living room? “Most of our friends were professed Christians, but they lived largely in a world of club affairs, cocktail parties and bridge luncheons,” Doris wondered. During the next two years, many interesting things happened to this family that they believe was a direct result of that picture. Total strangers, like the man who delivered their newspaper, began telling them their troubles. There were others who commented on the picture hanging in their living room. “Consciously, or maybe unconsciously, they felt that we must know Christ,” Doris said.

She concluded, “Our life today has more purpose, more meaning and more beauty” due to this decision to proclaim Christ as the Lord of their lives.

There is incredible power in influence. We may not realize just how much power we possess. It is power to change lives. It is power to change society. A small cork has the capacity to nudge into motion a 500 pound piece of steel. We are more than a cork, a lot more!

Thoughts from here and there…Brokenness

There was a time when Step-son Hans and I were chasing a mouse that had gone behind the kitchen stove. Welding a broom we tried to dislodge the mouse from behind the stove so that we might capture and dispatch it. We did get the mouse but in the process we knocked a decorative plate from the wall. It fell to the floor and fragmented into many pieces. There was no way to save the plate. You could have glued the pieces together but many of them were so small that the plate would have had gaps where the decorations were missing. Helga was disappointed to discover the broken plate. Fortunately it was not a very expensive one.

There are times when life becomes broken. We do not think that it ought to happen, but it does. Henri Nouwen was a Priest and a psychologist. He spent 10 years of his life working with the disabled at a L’Arche community most of them at Daybreak in Toronto, Canada. It was out of this experience that he wrote, “Our life is full of brokenness – broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God’s faithful presence in our lives.” Our lives are full of brokenness. We cannot ignore the brokenness. It haunts our waking hours and our dreams. We cannot avoid the brokenness, we can only learn to live within it, using it to grow into a deeper relationship with the Healer of Broken Hearts, Jesus Christ. But there is more.

C. S. Lewis has written about the ways in which God in Christ works, “He works on us in all sorts of ways. But above all, he works on us through each other. Men are mirrors, or ‘carriers’ of Christ to other men. Usually it is those who know him that bring him to others. That is why the Church, the whole body of Christians showing him to one another, is so important. It is so easy to think that the Church has a lot of different objects – education, building, missions, holding services…the Church exists for no other purpose but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other reason.”

Showing Christ to one another. Demonstrating the love and compassion of Christ to one another. Living out in faithfulness the teachings of Christ with one another. This is the way to a life full of vitality and excitement. Helping one another to be a child of Christ. This is the way to utter fulfilment and satisfaction.

I have come to believe that there is no better way to live. I find in Christ not only a way to live with the brokenness, but also a way to use it to develop the coping skills that are needed to live within the brokenness. This is the way of ultimate purpose and meaning. This is not only something to think about, it is something to do.

Thoughts from here and there…The Congregational Way: What does it provide us?

Joe Polhemus, the late editor of the Congregationalist, published by the National Association sent an e-mail message inviting me, and anyone else to address his concern which is as follows:

“The current issue of The Congregationalist, now languishing at the printer for several weeks, carries seven short definitions of the Congregational Way by seven Congregationalists, including Arthur Rouner, Jr.

“We talk at length about the merits of the Way, but when asked for specifics we get varied, sometimes vague, answers. If our Way is relevant, which I am sure it is, I believe we have a responsibility to articulate it in concise terms.

“I would welcome your definitions, in 150 words or less, by September 7, to be considered for publication in the Oct./Nov. issue of one of Christendom’s great publication. No prizes are being contemplated.”

The date has come and gone and I did not write anything for the Congregationalist. Mr. Polhemus’ concern is a genuine one, and one that ought to gain the attention of all who claim to be Congregationalists.

Specifically, what are the merits of the Way? What benefits do we acquire from our membership in the Congregational Christian Church?

If I were going to write a definition in 150 words the point that I would emphasize is FREEDOM! I would approach the meaning of freedom in this way.

In Congregationalism we have and must have freedom of choice, for good or ill. My reading of the biblical material defends this position. God created us and gave us choice. The first human used choice badly by eating fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God does not physically, emotionally or psychology restrain their choice, and neither does he ours. Choice is one of the qualities that defines what it means to be human.

In Congregationalism we are free from creeds and statements of faith. Creeds and Statements of Faith have their place. What often happens is that creeds and Statements of Faith become fixed once and for all time. It is at this point that they become restrictive to spiritual development. God wants us to grow. Growth towards spiritual maturity is the work of a lifetime. It never ends. Dependence on a creed has the tendency to stifle growth by allowing us to believe that we know all that there is to know. This is not true.

Well, I am already at 261 words in this response, but let me add one more thought. In addition to freedom of choice and freedom for growth there is in Congregationalism the freedom to be.

I was startled and comforted when one day when I read, “God is not so much interested in what we do, but why we do it.” We cannot do enough work to satisfy the claim of God on us, we can only love. God helps us to develop the understanding and the capacity to be loving people. Even as you pastor in Congregationalism I am only one amongst equals. We are together in Christ, above all else, people who love and care for one another.

Mr. Polhemus wrote: “We talk at length about the merits of the Way, but when asked for specifics we get varied, sometimes vague, answers. If our Way is relevant, which I am sure it is, I believe we have a responsibility to articulate it in concise terms.” I hope that what I have tried to share with you in this brief article articulates the benefits of our Way in concise terms. I am delighted and proud (in the best meaning of the word) to be a Congregationalist.