How to show you are the Light of Christ

1.    Act self righteously.
2.    Jump to conclusions.
3.    Be judgmental.
4.    Keep others from living out their call to serve Christ.

5.    Assume that none your actions affect others because everyone has free will and outcomes rest on them alone.

6.    Be defensive. 

7.    Refuse to hear, refuse to listen.

8.    Treat others as inferior to yourself.

9.    Accuse others for your own shortfalls.

10.  Never forgive.

11.  Never reconsider first impressions.

12.  If angered by someone, dredge up something they told you in confidence and use it    against them.

13.  Assume that since you pray to God for answers, every decision you make is sanctioned by God.
14.  Assume that if someone annoys you or makes you angry, God feels the same way.
15.  Have no time for or interest in anyone's ministry but your own.
16.  Assume that if someone does not complete or achieve something within your time constraints their contributions are irrelevant.

17.  See all others as a threat to your “sovereignty.”
18.  Squash someone’s creativity because it’s not what you had in mind.
19.  See only one way to achieve a goal.
20.  Although the universe is not geocentric or heliocentric, think that God did make it revolve around you.
21.  Have no room in your heart for people unlike yourself.

22.  Have no understanding or love for those whom you have injured, or continue to injure, through actions, inaction, or words.

23.  Be degrading or make jokes about the opposite sex, or anyone unlike yourself.
24.  Don’t allow for grace concerning those who have been damaged by the world.
25.  Believe that you have the only accurate and truthful interpretation of scripture, or that scripture only speaks to you.

26.  Assume you are superior to others in worship.

27.  Be a total hypocrite.

28.  Refuse to admit when you are wrong.

29.  Refuse to ask forgiveness.
30.  Believe that you are irreplaceable because of the talents God has given you.
31.  Assume that because someone does something differently than you, they are wrong.
32.  Be unable to take an honest look at yourself to recognize your own shortfalls or issues.
33.  Assume that you are exactly as God wants you to be, and refuse to grow.

34.  Pretend to love others instead of really loving them.  

The Social Gospel

The Social Gospel according to Walter Rauschenbush (Social Gospel, 1900), paraphrased by me:.

All of Jesus' thinking and teaching centered on his hope for the kingdom of God.  We can understand his moral teaching only if we have that same center.  He wasn't a Greek philosopher or Hindu guru who taught how to withdraw from the world in order to obtain a personally elevated understanding of oneself.  He was a Hebrew prophet trying to prepare humankind for the coming righteous social order by attempting to teach us a goodness that would enable us to live in positive, just, synergistic relationships with one another, so we could become a truly social society.

All human goodness must embody itself in social goodness.  Fundamentally, people want to be in relationship with each other; we are drawn to social relationships.  We judge someone's morality by how they relate to and are active in the community.  A social person is moral; an anti-social person is immoral.  The highest type of goodness is a goodness offered by individuals who use all their gifts, without holding back, for the benefit of the community.  The worst type of badness is when a person uses the wealth, happiness and moral excellence of the community for selfish reasons.

All of Jesus' ethics were based on love, because love is the key to any society.  All human life originates in love.  Love holds together the family, the core human social group.  The expression of all love and friendship is the desire to get together and be together.  Love creates fellowship.

Pride disrupts society.  Love equalizes.  Humility becomes just a part of the community.  When Jesus heard his disciples arguing about which of them was most important, he rebuked them and brought a child in; because a child, before he or she has been influenced by the world, is social, quickly makes friends, happily plays with others, and is lonely without love.  When Jesus again heard the disciples arguing about where they would sit during their last meal together, he set the example of servanthood and community by washing their feet.

All of these acts and sayings reflect both the kingdom of God and God's intention for the ideal society.  Instead of society resting on coercion, exploitation and inequality, Jesus attempted to show us a what society could be if it were based on love, service and equality.  Love, service and equality were the core of Jesus' character and his view of life, so much so that he lived them out spontaneously and by example, through his speech and actions, teaching them to everyone.  God is the head of the household; men and women are neighbors, brothers and sisters, and all should act accordingly.  If humankind would simply love, all life would be true and good.  If humankind would simply seek the kingdom, all things would follow.  Under no circumstances should we allow fellowship to be permanently disrupted.  If individuals or a class or group found themselves outside the community, Jesus tried to heal the breach. 

"The Horse and His Boy"

When we think of our misfortunes consider, there may be something else going on with which we are totally unaware because we do not perceive.  The following is an excerpt from "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis.  (Thanks to Dr. Lee Barrett who used this writing in class at Lancaster Theological Seminary) 

Shasta remounted his horse and continued along the road he had chosen, in the faint hope of finding some cottage where he might ask for shelter and a meal...
     "I do think," said Shasta, "that I must be the most unfortunate boy that ever lived in the whole world.  Everything goes right for everyone except me..."
     What put a stop to all this was a sudden fright.  Shasta discovered that someone or somebody was walking beside him.  It was pitch dark and he could see nothing.  And the Thing...was going so quietly that he could hardly hear any footfalls.  What he could hear was breathing...It was a horrible shock.
   The Thing...went on beside him so very quietly that Shasta began to hope he had only imagined it.  But...there suddenly came a deep, rich sigh out of the darkness beside him.  That couldn't be imagination!
     "Who are you?  He said, scarcely above a whisper.
     "One who has waited long for you to speak," said the Thing.  Its voice was not loud, but very large and deep...
     "...Oh please...go away.  What harm have I ever done you?  Oh, I am the unluckiest person in the whole world!"
     ...He felt the warm breath of the Thing on his hand and face.  "There," it said, "...Tell me your sorrows."
     Shasta was a little reassured by the breath: so he told how he had never known his father or mother and had been brought up sternly by the fisherman.  And then he told the story of his escape and how they were chased by lions and forced to swim for their lives; and of all their dangers in Tashbaan and about his night among the tombs and how the beasts howled at him out of the desert.  And he told about the heat and thirst of their desert journey and how they were almost at their goal when another lion chased them and wounded Aravis.  And also, how very long it was since he had anything to eat.
     "I do not call you unfortunate," said the Large Voice.
     "Don't you think it was bad luck to meet so many lions?"  said Shasta.
     "There was only one lion," said the Voice.
     "What on earth do you mean?...How do you know?"
     "I was the lion."  And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued.  "I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis.  I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead.  I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept.  I was the lion who gave the horses new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time.  And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you."...
     "Who are you?" asked Shasta.
     "Myself," said the Voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook: and again, "Myself," loud and clear and glad: and then the third time, "Myself," whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all round you as if the leaves rustled with it.
     Shasta was no longer afraid...But a new and different sort of trembling came over him...
     The mist was turning from black to gray and from gray to white...Somewhere ahead he could hear birds singing.  He knew the night was over at last.  He could see the mane and ears and head of his horse quite easily now.  A golden light fell on them from the left.  He thought it was the sun.
     He turned and saw; pacing beside him, taller than the horse, a Lion...It was from the Lion that the light came.  No one ever saw anything more terrible or beautiful.

Evan Joseph Kreider and the Little Bird, with video tribute

I am the visitation pastor at my church so I get to talk to a lot of people.  Many of these individuals are older and therefore don't drive, have various medical problems, and tend to frequent the hospital more than younger folks.  I am deeply affected when the pass away because I have gotten to know them and formed close bonds with them, but there is often still the feeling that even though death has taken them and they leave holes in my heart, generally they have all lived good lives and for the most part, there are no regrets.  The same cannot be said when a young person dies.

Evan Joseph Kreider was 5 years plus 12 days old when he crossed over on Tuesday, just 5 days ago.  When a child crosses over there is no feeling of, "Well, he (or she) lived a good life."  For that child, life has just begun.  There is no satisfaction to be had from their long life because they never got the chance to live one.

Two years ago, Evan was diagnosed with DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma), a cancer that invades the brain stem and hits little children, kids who are just beginning their lives.  There is no cure for DIPG - it is a death sentence.  But Evan was fortunate because he had an incredibly loving family who refused to give in to the cancer and who was also determined to give Evan the most that life could offer him, just in case he could not beat his cancer.  There are many aspects of both of these things that I don't know much about but I know the fight was a good one, and Evan outlived the predictions of his impending death by more than a few months, experiencing, outside of his treatments, quite a ride along the way.  

I was working at the church when Evan was born so I've known him his whole life.  He was an adorably cute kid with a totally infectious smile.  I used to play "peek a boo" with him but, unfortunately for me, that translated into always hiding his face from me even as he grew older, especially when I had my camera in hand.  In most of the photos I have of him, unless I was hiding from him or using a telephoto lens, he is peeking out at me from behind his fingers.

His mom called him Little Man at times and that's pretty much how I think of him, a little man in kids clothing, fighting his cancer with the strength of one much older, yet remaining totally a little boy, mischievous, rambunctious, full of life and grinning all the time.  His grin always melted my heart.   

Evan's funeral was a celebration of life, yet I was filled with devastating sadness.  Although I had seen Evan's struggle for life in the hours preceding his death and knew he was now at peace, I wondered where that mischievous little boy with all the energy of an F-16 in full afterburners was?  I knew he was with the Lord, but I wondered if he knew how everyone, especially his family, loved him, missed him, and was mourning his passing.  

After church today I went to the Vacation Bible School picnic.  I didn't feel like it but wanted to take some pictures of it for the church, and also wanted to snap a few shots of the youth team leaving for a missions trip.  As I started for home, I decided to ride past Evan's grave.  I rode up around the church, parked my motorcycle and crying, went and knelt by the flowers covering the spot where, just yesterday, he was laid to rest.  I was there for a short time.  The breeze was blowing and every once in a while the clouds spritzed rain, but it felt good.  I took off my helmet, laid my jacket on the ground, and lay on my back, two feet on the ground and knees bent, right beside the flowers.  It was a comfortable position, so I remained there for a time, praying, thinking about Evan, wondering where he was now, what he might be experiencing, and wondering what a 5 year old does in heaven.  

I felt something odd, laying there, kind of like when it is hot out and your jeans stick to you because you are sweaty, and then give.  I thought, "it's not that hot out," and didn't think too much of it, until I felt it again. It felt like someone touching me, though I had not heard anything unusual and did not think anyone was near.  I opened my eyes and saw a bird perched on my right knee.  As soon as I looked at it, it flew away.  And I simply thought, "That was odd, but totally amazing."

I've been visiting cemeteries for 52 years...I've run in them, walked in them, stood, sat, lay, talked, sung, whispered, reminisced, napped and prayed in them.  I grew up running around outside, climbing, running, digging, snoozing, and continue to love being outside, sitting silently and unmoving while a perfect photographic opportunity manifests itself.  Never once, in  a cemetery or anywhere else, has a bird perched on me.  Only today. 

I tell people all the time to look for signs that a departed loved one is near them but I'm not sure I've ever experience it myself.  Nevertheless, I believe that our loved ones do not simply cross over, never to be bothered with us again.  Paul says that love continues, that love never dies.  I believe that love ties us together in this world, ties us together in the next, and ties both worlds together.  I believe our loved ones look in on us from time to time and know what is happening in our lives.  It may not be biblical, but it is what I believe.  I believe in the power of God, who controls both the seen and the unseen, as well as the power of love, and that because of these we can do amazing things and be witness to things even more wonderous.  I believe that our connections with one another, through God's love, may even allow those who have crossed over to send signs to those who remain behind, if we are looking for them.  Like Paul said, love never dies.  And all things are possible through God.

The scientifically minded skeptic in me could explain this bird coming to perch on my knee.  I wasn't moving much, my knee was softer than a tombstone, and like a typical bird, it flew away as soon as I moved.  But the mystical part of me sees things differently.  I don't look like a tombstone and I move frequently.  And the bird flew away when I looked at it, just like Evan always did when I looked at him.  Coincidence?  Perhaps.

Why has a bird never alighted on me before?  Maybe because I never mourned the passing of a mischievous little 5 year old boy before, who like this bird, alighted in my life for so short a time.  You may choose to call it coincidence but I choose to believe in the power of love that can surmount all odds to tell us, "Yes, I am still here and I will be waiting for you, because love cannot keep us apart."  I choose to believe that a bird can be used as an instrument of God's peace with the understanding that, as the sparrows, we are all seen by a God who loves us, cares for us, and is concerned when we are mourning.    God's worlds, both the seen and the unseen, are full of wonders, just like the life of a little boy who death could not conquer and who sent a message of life with the help of a little bird.  Oh grave, where is your victory?  Oh death, where is your sting?  

Thank you, Evan.  Thank you for reminding me that death does not have the final say.  Thank you for letting me know that you are still that mischievous soul, who delights in joy and who is cradled in the arms of a loving Creator.  

                                                       ++++
 
Evan means "God is Good."  Joseph means "God will increase."  His parents knew the meanings of those names and that is why they named their little boy  Evan Joseph.  

Below is a video commemorating the life of Evan Joseph Kreider.  Please watch it and with me, give thanks to our loving God for Evan's life and his family's love.  Evan will be missed but never forgotten.  We'll see each other again, Little Man.   

PRAY BIG

The following is my favorite quote from Norman Vincent Peale:

PRAY BIG.  Think big.  Believe big.  The gospel of Matthew 9:29 declares, "Because of your faith, you will be heard."  In other words, your life is going to be in proportion to how greatly you believe.  Believe little, and you get a little life.  Believe weak, and you get a weak life.  Believe fear, and you get a life of fear.  Believe sickness, and you get a sick life.  Believe big, and you get a big life.  Jesus said, "Anything is possible for someone who has faith!" (Mark 9:23).  Which means what?  That the person who believes is going to get everything he wants?  No, it doesn't say that.  It means that if you believe big, you move things out of the realm of the impossible into the realm of the possible.

Christianity is the religion of the incredible, the religion of the astonishing, the religion of the breathless.  You bring to yourself what you believe.

When uncontrolled, your mind can be damaging to you, but when controlled, it can develop unlimited power.  Think defeat and you are bound to feel defeat.  But practice thinking confident thoughts and you will develop such a strong sense of capacity that regardless of what difficulties arise you will be able to overcome them.  Fear is the  most powerful of all thoughts with one exception, and that one exception is faith.  Stress the thought of plenty.  Thoughts of plenty help create plenty. 

About Care, Wisdom and Service

CARE    by Henri Nouwen

We live in a world in which people are more concerned with cure than with care... To care is to be present to those who suffer and to stay present even when nothing can be done to change their situation.  To care is to be compassionate and so to form a community of people honestly facing the painful reality of our finite existence.

WISDOM    by Gerhard von Rad in Wisdom in Israel

Ignorance in any form will be detrimental to you; only the fool thinks he can shut his eyes to this.  Experience, on the other hand, teaches that you can never be certain.  You must always remain open for a completely new experience.  You will never become really wise, for, in the last resort, this life of yours is determined not by rules but by God.

SERVICE   by Anton Boison

...living human documents are the primary sources for any intelligent attempt to understand human nature...service and understanding go hand in hand.  Without true understanding, it is impossible to enter effective service in that which concerns the spiritual life, and only to those who come with a motive of service will the doors open into the sanctuaries of life.

Patienthood

To be a patient means losing a lot.  What do you lose when you're a patient?

You lose space.  When you're well, your world consists of houses, fields, streets, open spaces--all kinds of space.  As a patient, your world is ten feet by ten feet if you're lucky.  It may even be smaller.  Your world really shrinks.

You lose mobility.  As you get better--IF you get better--they may let you move around, up and down the hall.  For some patients, being allowed to go the john on their own is a privilege they look forward to for weeks.

You lose control over who invades your space.  At home you don't have to let anybody in.  Nobody.  Unless he has a search warrant.  When you are a patient, dozens of people suddenly have the right to come right up to you and touch you, and there's nothing you can do about it.  Most of them don't even say, "excuse me."

You lose control over time.  You do things when other people want you to, not when you want to.  Have you heard the old bitter joke about being awakened at midnight to take a sleeping pill?  It is not a joke.  It happens.

Our patients who are well acquainted with the Bible often remind me of a passage in which Jesus says to Peter, "When you were young, you fastened your belt about you and walked where you chose; but when you are old you will stretch out your arms, and a stranger will bind you fast, and carry you where you have no wish to go."  (John 21:18)  Jesus wasn't really talking about what it feels like to be a patient, but to many patients the words ring true.

You lose control over what's done to your body.  For most healthy people, the skin is a kind of barrier; nobody can get inside your skin unless you want them to.  But being a patient means that people get inside your skin with tubes, needles, liquids, and probes.  

You lose contact, and maybe that's the worst of all.  You can't go to people; they have to come to you.  And sometimes they don't come.

What does that add up to?

It adds up to words like this: lonely, isolated, shut in, caged, helpless.  That in turn adds up to words like this:  angry, suspicious, irritable, demanding.

from Hospital Chaplain by Kenneth R. Mitchell