The Lottery and Good Friday

Jennifer Maldonado had not been at her new job long enough to get her first paycheck.  She had been laid off from her previous job and she has a four-year old son with autism.  She was happy to find employment and the people with whom she worked seemed to be a good fit for her. 

Her colleagues at her new job had formed a lottery pool to play the Power Ball Lottery.  Each employee contributed $20 to the pool.  Jennifer turned down the opportunity to participate because she couldn’t afford it.  Some of her new colleagues told her they would lend her the money, but she declined. 

When Jennifer came to work Sunday, her colleagues were having a big celebration.  They had matched enough numbers in the Power Ball Lottery to win one million dollars!  She was slightly disappointed at first because she had not participated, but she quickly overcame that disappointment to be happy for her colleagues.

Then they informed her that they had unanimously voted in a matter of only seconds to share some of their winnings with her.  Upon learning of their decision Maldonado said, “They’re such great people, I wouldn’t put it past them doing something so phenomenal and so gracious, honestly.”

In a Today show poll 41% of people said they would not have shared their winnings with Maldonado, “you have to be in it, to win it”.  Only 18% said, “yes, it’s the right thing to do.” 

Maldonado was right.  Her colleagues were phenomenal and gracious.
 

Those are the themes of this weekend.  Jesus graciously died on the cross for all human beings.  It was a phenomenal act of love; one that we did not deserve and can barely fathom.  The only perfect person who ever lived, died a brutal death, so we could live.  We don’t deserve it, can’t earn it and didn’t participate.  Jesus included us.  It is phenomenal and gracious.

Jennifer Maldonado was overwhelmed by her colleague’s generosity.

I am overwhelmed by God’s love and grace.

            Accept God’s love. 

Celebrate Jesus’ resurrection!

            Happy Easter!

Living Holy Week

Sunday will be filled with excitement, anticipation, and joy.  That is for the many people from our church who are heading somewhere warm for Spring Break.  However, the same will be true for us hearty souls who remain behind in the frozen tundra of the Midwest.  We will be celebrating Palm Sunday. 

Palm Sunday is one of great celebration in the church.  On Palm Sunday we are reminded of Jesus’ Triumphal entry into Jerusalem for Holy Week.  People heard about his coming and spread the word.  Soon a crowd had gathered at the entrance to Jerusalem lining the street and hailing him with palm branches as king.  All their hopes were in the Jesus basket.  He would somehow overthrow the oppressive Roman government and sit on the throne of King David in Jerusalem and return Israel to her rightful status as a world power.

That was how the week began.  But as the days progressed it became obvious that things weren’t going to work out that way.  In fact, the unspeakable took place.  Jesus not only didn’t occupy a throne, he occupied a cross, the most brutal and shameful death one could die.  All the hopes and dreams of Palm Sunday came crashing down by Friday.  The world went dark.

This is the rhythm of life.  We have moments when we sense God’s blessings poured out into our lives; our marriage is solid, our health is great, our kids are succeeding, and our work is satisfying.  However, in a few days, or hours all that can be overshadowed by a dark cloud; a test result reveals cancer, a child is injured in a car accident, a parent falls to a heart attack, or your boss reports that your job is a victim of cutbacks. 

And not unlike those in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago we wonder, “Why God?”, “What happened, God?”, “How could you let this take place, God?”  Our world goes dark.

This is the broad overview of Holy Week, a week we relive in our own lives, in our own way, frequently.  The Jesus followers who hailed him as Messiah on Palm Sunday, were shrouded in darkness on Friday, but received the powerful good news of the resurrection on Sunday.  It was a week of dramatic ups and downs. 

              

It is hard to think about resurrection and hope in the midst of darkness.  However, that is our advantage over those in Jerusalem when Jesus arrived. For us the resurrection is a fact.  No matter how dark our lives become, no matter how problematic the news we receive, no matter how devastating the diagnosis, we can cling to the hope of the resurrection.  Our greatest fear, death, has been defeated!

              

So, Holy Week, a week we relive regularly, begins.

Power of the Mind

I went to the dentist this week. I have what some would refer to as an “irrational fear” of the dentist.  I know its origin.

In high school I had a lot of dental work done.  My dentist told me I had teeth that incurred decay easily.  Like so many other things in life, dentistry has improved techniques and procedures over the last 45 years.  The Novocain used then wasn’t as effective in eliminating pain.  Consequently, a lot of my dental work was painful.  There were even times when I went in and we didn’t bother with Novocain because it wouldn’t work that well on me and it was only a “minor procedure”.

What I knew was that if you had to go to the dentist, this was the drill (Pun intended).  My dentist was a nice man, a big high school football fan, who even came to some of my games.  In spite of the pain, I didn’t mind going to the dentist.

As I have gotten older, techniques and drugs have improved the experience at the dentist.  I haven’t felt pain during a dental appointment in 30 years.  But as soon as I hear the sound of drills grinding on teeth I feel my whole body tense up anticipating that it is coming.  I have to continually remind myself to relax or my grip on the arms of the chair or I will do permanent damage.  I feel all the tension leave my body and realize how tense I have been, only to have to remind myself again a few minutes later. 

              

The mind is a powerful thing.  We are wired to avoid pain and can rid our conscience selves it, but places, buildings, foods, circumstances, or other people trigger painful memories. 

“…Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  (Romans 12:2)  What is recorded in our minds becomes an unconscious response to people, situations and circumstances.  The things we read, or watch, or participate in, have a huge hand in determining our lives.  I am reminded of the old computer phrase, “garbage in, garbage out”. 

If we put God’s word in our minds, it becomes a part of our hearts.  Our subconscious is filled with God’s perspective, attitude, and values .  We see and experience life the same way Christ does.

Maybe that’s what I’ll think about the next time I hear the dentist drill!

Pileated Woodpecker

I just ran into another old acquaintance who suffers from Pileated Woodpecker Syndrome (PWS).  You won't find this in the medical journals.  It is a "Revism".
 
Pileated woodpeckers are woodpeckers on steroids.  Rather than the normal sized woodpecker they are approximately the size of crows or larger.  They are very common in northern Michigan.  
             
One of the pines in our front yard in Traverse City began to die and soon there were tell tale signs that pileated woodpeckers were visiting.  They peck huge holes in the trees in search of fine dining.  We didn't find the jackhammer like noise of the pecking annoying.  It was actually kind of cool.  They visited regularly and pecked and pecked away at the tree.  We began to wonder how there could be anything more to dine on inside because there didn't seem to be much left of the tree.  It was slowly disintegrating before our eyes.

One Saturday we left to run our errands only to return and find that the pileated woodpecker pine had collapsed across the driveway.  I wasn't sure what I would do.  How would I move the tree?  It had been dead for so long and was so depleted by the woodpeckers it weighed next to nothing.  It was easily moved.

I was reminded of this incident when I ran into an acquaintance from my Hope College days last weekend.  He was a student when I was a Chaplain at Hope and after graduating from Hope he went to Western Seminary across the street.  Our paths crossed frequently.  Besides being part of the clergy union he shares my addiction to basketball!  I asked where he was currently serving and he said he had recently left ministry and was currently painting.  I was saddened by the news and my grief increased when he said, "I got tired of being beaten up in the church all the time.  I couldn't take it anymore."  Then he said, "You probably can take it because you've got that football mentality.  I couldn't do it any more."

I call this "Pileated Woodpecker Syndrome".  And it is common among clergy.  Statistics indicate that 1,500 pastors will quit the ministry each month!  80% of pastors feel discouraged in their work (84% of their spouses are discouraged).  70% of pastors say they do not have someone they consider a close friend.  Pastors who work 50 hours a week are 35% more likely to be fired than those who work more than 50 hours per week.

It usually isn't one big thing that leads pastors to quit the ministry.  It is usually an accumulation of constant complaining and negativity, like daily visits from a pileated woodpecker.  Eventually pastors can't take it any longer and they fall over.

I have thought a lot about my recent conversation with my friend.  I've had times of difficulty, discouragement, darkness and loneliness in ministry.  I've been criticized publicly and privately, to my face and behind my back.  Some of it has been well founded and helpful; some, not so much.  But, for me, the days of joy, encouragement, seeing lives change, watching people and churches come alive, the sense that God is using me, yes me, in spite of myself have far outweighed the darkness and discouragement.

This doesn't make me any better, or stronger, or more courageous than any other pastor.  It only makes me thankful for God's grace and mercy poured out on my life.  "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."  (Psalm 16:6)

Today I feel bad for my old friend and other pastors who struggle with discouragement.  And I feel a great deal of gratitude for God's blessings in my life.

~Rev