Faith & Life Inspirational Message

Covid has been around for a while now.  As the days, weeks and months go on, people are getting tired of it all.  This is true even for those who may not have been tested positive or know anyone personally who has been affected.  For those folks who have been sick, life has been worse.  And of course, for the families of ones who have died from the disease, life will never be the same.   When it all began, no one really knew what was in store for us.  At first, it seemed like a distant threat.  I remember reading about Wuhan and never even thought about it coming to affect my life.  And then, it got worse.  And then the earliest news came out of Seattle, as I recall.  And then New York City was dealing with big numbers and Covid began to dominate the headlines of the news.  At that point, we knew it was a matter of time.   Recently, I heard an interview by some guy whom I did not know and can’t now recall his name....

As Americans, we enter the Thanksgiving season. Already people are wishing me a “happy Thanksgiving.” I am delighted with that greeting. And I would be delighted if someone next week wishes me a “happy Monday.” But I guess Mondays are supposed to be normal…not so happy, not so awful. I am not sure I do major holidays very well. I am not against them. They celebrate important events in national, religious, and often personal lives. Thanksgiving is an American deal. In Turkey it is just another weekday! As an American, I welcome it. And I hope it is happy. I am confident one of the reasons I am not sure about major holidays is the trickiness of expectations. For example, Thanksgiving is supposed to be “happy.” Christmas is supposed to be “merry” and, of course, we return to the “happy” theme for New Years. Clearly, for too many people there are too many lousy things going on to gear up to be “happy” and “merry.” Holiday expectations are tricky things. The truth is Thanksgiv...

I am sure many of us have a few disciplines---spiritual or otherwise.  Sometimes, I think discipline is a synonym for routine, but then I understand a routine is something I do without thinking.  At least for me, spiritual disciplines still require a little intentionality and sometimes some extra motivation.  No matter how important I think spiritual disciplines are for me, I still don’t do them automatically.  I don’t think I am mature yet! I am sure this is one reason I am drawn to read some of the saints and greats of Christian tradition, as well as some from other spiritual traditions, too.  They continue to inspire and sometimes offer little tidbits that are quite helpful to those of us still on the maturation journey.  One such person I very much like to read is Thomas Merton, the famous monk from last century.  It is easy to relate to Merton, because he is such a modern kind of guy.  Even after joining the pretty strict monastery, the Abbey...

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking to my former Quaker congregation on their homecoming occasion.  I am only one of a few leaders they have had over the years, so the fact that I was able to share my thoughts was special.  I take it seriously, because I know whoever speaks is able to set the agenda for the occasion.  It is as if the speaker says, “Look here” rather than somewhere else.  And if memories are going to be shared---as they inevitably will be at a homecoming---then I get to start the sharing with my own.   As I mulled over exactly what I could say to a group that once upon a time I knew so well and now after some absence, don’t know nearly as well.  That point itself was an interesting beginning.  I realized no group is static.  Time changes all things, including congregations and every other group.  Therefore, I needed to factor in the process of change.  Even though this group has had a sense of itself as a group ...

Using a title such as the one used here is slightly risky.  The risk is that I don’t deliver what folks expect or want.  One of the classes I routinely teach is a basics of Christian theology.  As I do it, I tell students there are a number of aspects to a full-blown Christian theology.  There are things like focus on God, on Jesus and how Jesus is the Christ, and the Spirit---or Holy Spirit, if you prefer.  Additionally, we look at how Christians talk about the beginning of things, i.e. how the universe came to be and how it is sustained.  Clearly, Genesis plays a role in this particular focus, but in my estimation, we also need to take seriously evolution.  We can talk about the church and sacraments, although Quakers don’t do the typical thing when it comes to sacraments.  Finally, it is appropriate to talk about where all this is heading---the end.   For many Christians the end is easy to describe.  It is heaven.  Even though th...

Occasionally, I realize I can read and read and wonder if it is like “binge reading.”  I realize this is probably not fair to those folks with an eating disorder and I mean no disrespect.  Of course, I think reading is good, healthy, etc.  I can’t imagine a life in which I could not read things.  I remember the liberation that comes from being able to put various letters together to get words and, then, watch the magic of sentences as multiple words combine to make deeper meanings.  For example, the simple word “cat” is barely interesting in itself, but put it in a sentence with a verb and that cat starts doing amazing things!  My interest in the cat soars. But I also realize I can read things and never do anything with the ideas, advice and suggestions.  Learning with no application may not be adequate.  Surely this is true in the life of faith and in our spiritual journeys.  Faith is not simply an intellectual exercise.  As important a...

Some books are so good, I return to them for reminders and inspiration.  Some of these books, like Thomas Kelly’s Testament of Devotion , are spiritually rich.  Kelly was a Quaker writing in the first half of the twentieth century.  He reminds me why I am a Quaker and how my own tradition can always help me on my journey.  Other books are less overtly spiritual.  One of these books is by the late Chicago theologian, Langdon Gilkey.   I met Gilkey a few times and read many of his books.  One I regularly use in class is Shantung Compound.  This was published in 1966.  It traced Gilkey’s personal story of being a prisoner of the Japanese in an internment camp in China.  Gilkey had gone to China soon after graduating from Harvard.  He was teaching in an American school when he was rounded up, along with many others from the area, and placed in this camp.  It was not a prison per se, but they could not escape. They spent about ...