Wednesday, June 26, 2013

A New Dream



Have you ever given up on a dream?  Have you said goodbye to something that you were hoping for but just never really panned out?  Has someone in your life died and when they died so did that dream?  Truth be told we’ve given up many dreams throughout our lifetimes. When I was a little girl I dreamed of being a country music star (remember I grew up in the heart of the Hocking Hills).  I would ride my bike throughout our “neighborhood” making up songs and dreaming of the day that I would sing in front of thousands of people.  But as I grew up and my fear of singing in front of people grew larger, I realized that dream would never be actualized-no Grand Ole Opry, no CMAs, no glitter and rhinestones- no country music superstar.  Many of us dream these kinds of dreams and whether you dreamed of the day when you would bat for the Reds or spend your Sunday afternoons returning kick-offs for the Bengals, those dreams come and go with little to no emotional damage.  But what about other dreams: relationships that never come to pass, careers that never come to fruition, children that die suddenly.  What about those dreams? 
This week we are continuing to read through the book of Job and Job begins and ends with dreams.  Both in the preface and epilogue of the book of Job we see dreams that die and dreams that are revived.  It’s interesting that Job (which some scholars believe to be the oldest book of the Bible) is so human, so emotional, so much like real life.  Job’s dreams are shattered when he loses not only his possessions, but especially his children.  I guarantee Job had dreams for each and every one of those 7 sons and 3 daughters.  Normal kind of parent dreams like having a career, family, and a future.  As a parent of soon to be 3 children, I dream of the day when my kids will graduate high school, college and even graduate school.  I notice special traits about them and wonder what career, what calling has God placed on their lives?  And so I can imagine Job dreamed incredible dreams for these kids.  So no wonder he collapsed when he found out that those dreams were smashed by the walls of the home of one of his children.  And frankly Job spends a lot of time questioning and wondering why those dreams have to die.  But God doesn’t leave Job dreamless.  No; by the end of the book, by the epilogue, God has given Job a set of dreams, a new life, a new career, and even, yes, a new family.  Do I believe for a second that Job forgot those old dreams?  No, but those old dreams didn’t keep Job from living out the new ones.  Sometimes we have to let go of old dreams to allow God to birth a new dream within our hearts, minds, and souls.  So I wonder, what new dreams is God birthing in you?  What dreams are you being asked to dream?           

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

What Did I Just Say?


Sometimes we find ourselves in places and spaces in life where frankly we are just at a loss for words.  Perhaps the most frequent of those moments is when people are experiencing tragedy in their lives.  From the sudden loss of a loved one to the announcement of a diagnosis, it’s difficult to know what to say and how to say it.  We may find ourselves fumbling over our words and leaving our friends and family thinking to ourselves, “what did I just say?”  “Did I really mean to say that?”  Most of the time we are looking to bring peace, comfort, and a little hope to their lives.  On a regular basis when I am talking to people going through tragedy I pray, “God help me to say what you want me to say or just keep my mouth shut.”  But for some reason when people are silent, we like to fill the silence with words.  That’s exactly what was happening in the book of Job.  Job is one of the most perplexing and yet profound books of the Bible.  Considered part of the Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament, much of Job reads like a beautiful yet complicated poem.  Woven within the poetry are “words of comfort” from three of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.  Although these words are meant to help Job in the middle of loosing all his family, all his property, and even his health, their words don’t seem very comforting or helpful.  Maybe it’s because they come off as theological platitudes rather than words of compassion or empathy.  Chapter after chapter Job is blasted for his depression, his defeat, his utter despair toward life and God.  And to the modern reader these friends don’t come off as friends at all.  They seem more like people obsessed with being “right” about their understanding of God and life, rather than comforting a friend who has experienced overwhelming tragedy.  And yet as we read further we will discover there are some truths about God in what Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar have to say.  There is the tension between the character of God and the comfort of Job.  It’s that tension that keeps us from quickly dismissing the words of Job’s friends but at the same time looking at Job with sincere compassion.  The story of Job is a complicated story, but one that really challenges our understanding of life, fairness, good, and bad.  Sometimes we live under this illusion that if we come to church, if we serve God, then our lives will be comfortable, easy, and successful.  But Job is an ever-present reminder that health, wealth and success are not the aims of a Christian life, rather we are called to love God and others as ourselves in the middle of all life circumstances-the good, the bad, and the just plain awful.  
As we experience the many ups and downs in life and as we bring comfort to our family and friends, let’s always remember we don’t have to defend God.  We don’t have to speak on God’s behalf.  All we really need to be is present.  And our presence is enough.  Will there be moments when we think to ourselves, “Did I really just say that?”  absolutely, but that doesn’t mean we stop trying to bring comfort to people who need a healing touch.  

Blessings
Pastor Rachel      

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Making All Things New



Last week we talked about what it meant to invite people to come home after being in exile and this week we will be talking about what it means to make all things new.  As you read through Ezra and Nehemiah you may have noticed that there is a lot to be made new: from the broken down walls to the broken relationship between God and God’s people.  And neither Ezra nor Nehemiah are too shy to tell the people all about it.  In fact they are calling for renewal or “making new” that partners both a spiritual and physical renewal of God’s people.  There are walls to rebuild, there is a Temple to resurrect, but there also is a covenant (promised relationship) to reestablish.  And although we might want to quickly declare the walls, the physical renewal and the covenant, the spiritual renewal: I’m not too sure we can make such a quick distinction.  When both Ezra and Nehemiah looked throughout the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Judah they saw brokenness and I believe the walls were pointing to a greater spiritual reality that not only included the mess of individual lives, but also major issues of injustice.  The people have been oppressed, the poor have been mistreated, and suddenly it is time for God’s people do something about it.  So as we are finishing Ezra and Nehemiah I can’t help but hear the voice of God saying, “Where do you see brokenness?”  A brokenness that is both personal (mess of our individual lives) but also a brokenness that is systemic (social issues in our community, city, nation and world).  Our God is a God of renewal, holistic renewal that incorporates the physical and the spiritual, the social and the emotional, the communal and the individual.  Maybe I am so stuck on renewal because a team of pastors and lay leaders from Shiloh traveled this week to Annual Conference.  Over 3000 United Methodist from The West Ohio Conference gathered to be reminded that we are participating in God’s work to make all things new.  And as we looked around the room we saw examples of the Holy Spirit moving through regular folks to bring a spirit of renewal to churches throughout Ohio and the world.  There are relationships to be repaired, there are walls to be built, there is a worship of God to be reignited and we at Shiloh get to be a part of God’s kingdom work right-here right now.  When I think about the power of God to renew communities I think about Price Hill and Delhi - even though each is unique- brokenness abounds.  We see it in people’s faces, we see it in our streets, it may be called different things, but the reality is God is calling forth a renewal-a making of all things new- and God is asking us to be a part of it all!  So I wonder what do you see?  What brokenness can you name?  And how will you be a part of God’s healing power to make all things new?  I am convinced more than ever that our world is hungry, we are hungry for a spiritual and social awakening like our nation has never seen-so how can we be a part of the kingdom movement that God is birthing in our midst?

Blessings, 
Pastor Rachel 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Coming Home



Throughout the next several weeks many of us will find ourselves coming home.  Coming home from college, coming home to visit,  and even some will find ourselves coming home to church because we’ve been gone for a little while.  If you have been engaging in this week’s Bible reading (2 Chronicles 35-Nehemiah 6), you realize much of what the Bible is talking about is just that: coming home.
For nearly 40 years the southern kingdom of Judah has been in exile.  After the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in 587 BC, many of the people (except for the poor) were taken to the capital city of Babylon and forced to serve the kings of Babylon.  While in Babylon, God’s people face the threat of losing their identity through cultural assimilation.  But as the Babylonian empire weakens, the Israelites have a chance to return to Jerusalem.  Nearly 40 years have passed when they arrive in Jerusalem.  The walls have been destroyed, the temple is in ruins, and basically the whole place needs a restart.  This isn’t exactly what you want to see when you return home.  And then there are all of the fears: fears of invading nations, fears of war, and fears of returning to exile.  It’s in this atmosphere of instability and chaos that we enter the stories of Ezra and Nehemiah.  Now some fun facts about Ezra and Nehemiah, originally they were one book.  In fact, for years of Christian history they were considered Ezra 1 and 2 it wasn’t until the Protestant Reformation that they began to be divided into separate books, Ezra and Nehemiah.  Although the books were written at different times in history, their content focuses on the restoration the city of Jerusalem.  
The themes of Ezra and Nehemiah include rebuilding the temple, rejecting marriages to foreign women, reestablishing regular practices of worship, rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem, and reclaiming the Torah (first five books of the Bible) as central to faith and the worship of God. There are a lot of fears to overcome, and rebuilding doesn’t come without opposition, but with faith, God’s people are able to restore the Temple and the entire city of Jerusalem.  Even though these two books are very small, they have a large impact on the identity of God’s people and how they relate back to God. The religious practices laid out in Ezra and Nehemiah and emphasis of Temple/ Torah become the foundation for Jewish worship for the next several hundred years.     
Ezra and Nehemiah are books of hope, reminding us that it is never too late to return home.  It is never too late to return to God.  This week I want to challenge you to think of a time in your life when you were exiled (from family, from faith, from God, from church).  Sometimes exile happens because of our choices, other times it happens because of the decisions of others, but what was that time in your life like?  How did you return home?  Are you still trying to return?  You can make your way back home.  God is ready; are you? 

Blessings, 
Pastor Rachel