“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves    Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

…Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?                                       Job 2:10

Suffering. It is a part of the human experience. It is unavoidable, much as we try to avoid it. It is not a matter of if we will suffer, but when we will suffer. It is natural to try to avoid or minimize suffering, obviously, but it is unreasonable to think that we can simply completely avoid it.

So, as suffering is an inevitable travelling partner of human beings, it makes sense to have a philosophy of how we will approach suffering. Suffering comes in many flavors- physical, spiritual, emotional, relational, mental- in every way we can perceive the world- and often when one area is affected, all are affected.

Our attitude about suffering will be the indicator of how we survive it. As the great Viktor Frankl wrote “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” As a concentration camp survivor in World War II, Frankl was deeply acquainted with suffering. He understood that no matter what his Nazi captors could do to him, they could never control his mind and attitudes. That was under his control.

The famous Biblical sufferer, Job also had a great philosophy toward suffering. He said “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” He accepted that in this life, there is both joy and suffering, and that he could not blame God for the way this human experience on earth works.

Finally, we serve a God who chose to send his son to the earth to experience that very suffering that we all share. Jesus was a man “acquainted with grief” so that he could fully understand his creation.

So, my friends, we are joined in a fellowship of periodic suffering in our lifetime. The question is, how will we redeem it for good?

Prayer: Lord, you have given us resources to deal with suffering. Help us to use those resources wisely, Amen

 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well…                                                                                                                           James 2:8

I read a book a number of years ago by Ray Bakke, titled A Gospel as Big as the City. In this book, written in 1997, the author explains that the church must impact its community, and become, as he called it “a chaplain to its community”.

Chaplains provide spiritual and emotional care to people in times of need. They reach out to people who are hurting, marginalized and sometimes cast aside. They are on the “front lines” when people need help.

This resonated with me in a powerful way. Our church had opened New Creation Counseling Center in 1993 with the Care Pastor, Tom Sager, having the vision to undertake starting a Christian counseling center. The Center would operate with professional counselors and clinical interns, under the supervision of Linda Richards, an LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor). The center provides care with a Christian orientation, but is open to all, and discriminates against none.  

This nascent effort grew until now it employs 14 clinical staff. The Center offers psychiatry, counseling services in 8 area schools, and counseling for disorders ranging from significant mood disorders, anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD, marriage and family issues- the list goes on. All of this is done without denying treatment to people unable to pay the full cost of the services.

Our church has also led the way in providing support groups for divorce, grief issues, and a group for men with sexual addictions. There is a companion group for women affected by men with sexual addiction.

I lay this out because I think my church is acting truly like a chaplain to its community. In this day of people seeing the Christian Church (big C church, not necessarily local congregations) as a place that seems only to be railing against those in certain lifestyles, or being judgmental of people, my church is offering hope and healing.   

I am happy being part of a church that is a chaplain to our community.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the calling you have put on your Church- to help and heal the community, Amen

Do you want to be truly rich? You already are if you are happy and good.                                  I Timothy 3:6

Today was kind of a lazy day. I don’t do lazy days very well, and that is a flaw of mine, I think. We need some days when we do not need to end up with a “product” that we have produced. I sat by my pond and just pondered what was in front of me.

I watched my aged fish who has prospered in a pond where he/she is the dominator. I watched the frogs, the flowers, the birds, the squirrels, the chipmunks, the raindrops falling in their unique rhythm. I read my book and just chilled (after, of course doing my walking exercise- I mean, there are limits).

I was reminded of the song from 1967 by Spanky and Our Gang, Lazy Day. In fact, I went back to listen to that song and a few others from that era. Yes, I took the time to experience the moment.

I recommend the plan. It was a great lazy day.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the lazy days, Amen

Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid. Do I act for God? Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people.   Genesis 50:20 (The Message)

Wei-Ji is the transliteration of the Chinese word for “crisis.” It is composed of two words; Wei meaning “danger” and Ji meaning “opportunity”—hence the saying “Every crisis is an opportunity!” (Excerpted from Oxford University Press journal)

Never waste a good crisis. (Winston Churchill)

For many years I instructed caregivers at my church, a group called “Lay Pastors”. They did the pastoral work of the church with hospital visits, home visits, phone calls, counseling in the prayer room, leading support groups, etc. It was a wonderful, dedicated group that did great work.

One of the lessons that we taught was about Crisis Management. One of the metaphors that we took from the Stephen Ministry Manual was a picture of a triangle. When the triangle rests on its base, it is stable- in fact, it is the most stable engineering shape. However, when a crisis happens, it is like the triangle is tipped on its point. It is very unstable, and inevitably will fall on one side or another to regain stability. The crisis, while upsetting and fraught with possible danger to our security, will eventually resolve. But which way will the triangle tip?

This is the point of opportunity. When the crisis resolves- the triangle flops on one side or another. Here is where we have some input. Based upon our reaction to the crisis, and the decisions we make, we can fall into a chronic depressive or hopeless state, or we can have a new beginning- a new way to solve problems or perhaps see the world.

So, while we try to avoid crises, naturally, there is also opportunity for new growth. Forest fires, for example can bee seen as a crisis. However, they are necessary for the renewal of the forest. Under most circumstances, the fire can cause a good outcome.

So, my friends, a crisis is an opportunity if we can find ways to manage it well.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for those readers in crisis, that they may find an opportunity in the resolution, Amen

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”

G.K. Chesterton

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.                                                  Philippians 4:8 (The Message)

I recently came across this quote from G.K. Chesterton, and it rings true with one of my themes in life. The things that truly motivate us well, and consistently, are positive things. Motivations that come from fear, and desire to escape, can be powerful, but they are ultimately short lived and draining.  

In the long run, positive motivators give energy and zest to life. Motivators based upon fear and escape deplete energy, and can wreak havoc on our emotions and our body. Chronic stress depletes serotonin levels, and raises cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone involved in regulating our metabolism, blood pressure, immune response, weight control, and inflammation of body tissues.

When we are in a constant state of stress- such as is caused by fear and need to escape- we are damaging our bodies and minds. Some stress, of course is unavoidable. That is the price we pay for being human. Yet, if we can keep in mind positive motivators, and recognize the negative motivators, we have a choice of how we want to proceed.

Seeking the positive goal is the motivation that energizes us.

Prayer: Lord, help us to keep in mind what our true goals and motivators are, Amen

So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. “It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with               Acts 17:22-23 (The Message)

These days, the popular culture in which we live often does not seem too receptive to the true message of Christianity. Why is that? Well, the message is not the problem. Usually, it is the messengers. It is the way that the Gospel message is delivered by Christians to those who are not claiming that same faith.

Paul approached an alien culture of polytheists by commending them on their spirituality! He recognized that they were seekers of God, and he, by the way, was intimately acquainted with that God through Jesus. He just wanted a chance to speak with them. In order to do that, he was respectful of their culture and beliefs, and he put forth his reasoning as to why the God of the universe, the Creator of all, was not bound by earthly temples.

Paul gained a hearing by being respectful, thoughtful, confident, and articulate about his beliefs. He did not ridicule his hosts or demean them. He shared his faith with reason and care. I always loved that Paul essentially said, “You have a statue to an unknown God, let me introduce you to him!”

So, the lesson for me is this. As we engage people about our faith, we must be courteous and respectful, not damning or judging others, but sharing with others the confidence we have that God loves them, and they may not yet know that.   

Great message, right?

Prayer: Lord, help us to be caring and respectful to all as we demonstrate your love for others, Amen.

 So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.                     Galatians 3:26-28

There was a controversial social experiment done by a teacher named Jane Elliott in 1968 with her third-grade students. In the aftermath of the recent assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., she wanted her students to understand in a very practical way what racism, exclusion and prejudice feels like.

She divided her students into two groups- blue eyed kids and brown eyed kids. She later stated that one of the reasons she used this arbitrary determinant was that in Nazi camps during the holocaust in World War II, eye color sometimes decided who went to the gas chamber and who was spared. Blue eyed persons were not likely to be Jewish, but some brown eyed people tried to pass as non-Jews. Often, blue-eyed persons were spared.

She divided the students into eye color groups and proceeded to tell them that children with blue eyes were inherently superior to brown eyed children. She then gave some favored treatment to blue eyed children, including extra recess time. If children with brown eyes made a mistake, she would call it out, and attribute it to the fact that they had brown eyes and were thus inferior. The children also were instructed to wear arm bands indicating their eye color so as to make the distinction clear to all. This too harkened back to the Nazi practice of having Jewish people wear armbands with the Star of David to rapidly indicate who was the shamed group in the country.   

The children quickly picked up on this, and began to become very clannish within their eye color group, and to see themselves as inferior, or superior according to the arbitrary eye color distinction. Fights broke out, and each group began to take on the role of superior or inferior, to the detriment of both groups.

The sad point of this experiment was this- we can easily fall into a tribal and exclusionary mindset. We identify with those most like us, and we exclude and marginalize those that are different.

In looking back at our immigration policies over the past 150 years, some groups, at various times, have been favored, and others have been excluded. That is just one example of how we separate ourselves into little clans and tribes, and how we try to exclude others.

Paul weighed in on this in an early letter to the Galatians as quoted above. His letter rings as true today as it did many centuries ago. Human nature has not changed, only the nature of God can prevail in our broken world.

Prayer: Lord, help us to remember who we are- all equal in your eyes, Amen

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…

Matthew 6:9-10

This is, of course, a passage which has given us the most well-known prayer on earth- The Lord’s Prayer. We learn it as children, and we retain it our entire lives. It is, in fact, so ingrained in us, recited in a rote manner, that we may miss the richness of the prayer.

The sentence, “your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” sounds like a nice pleasantry that can become a bit of a catchphrase. Actually, it is the hardest thing we are called to do. We are actually being called to bring a bit of heaven down to earth by the actions we choose to do. Jesus was the embodiment of “heaven to earth”, and we are called to live that legacy out by making earth look a bit more like heaven.

Yes, we have a very long way to go on that, and no, we will never accomplish it in our tenure here. However, we have been called to not simply wait for the day we can go to heaven and all will be peace and joy. We are called to bring a measure of heaven’s peace and joy to earth. We do that by loving other people, encouraging them, helping them, grieving with them, and all other human connections that aid one another on this life’s journey.

So, the next time you recite the Lord’s Prayer, remember that he always intended for us to make earth a bit more like heaven.

Prayer: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…

How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life                                                  Psalm 133:1-3

Here we are one week later, and I am writing about another memorial service for a lost loved one. Last week we attended the funeral Mass for my cousin’s wife. Yesterday, we attended the memorial service for a friend of the family named Bill. The service took place in a large venue which is a performing arts center. Good thing the venue was large- there must have been 600 people in attendance.

It was fitting to celebrate Bill’s life in such a setting, because he was well known and respected in our town, Troy, Ohio. It was so uplifting to mingle with so many friends and neighbors we have made over the years here in Troy. Jesus was lifted high, as the life of this man was celebrated. He died quickly and unexpectedly two weeks ago in the arms of his family. We mourned with the family, but celebrated a life well-lived.

This event made me think of how connected we are in this little Midwestern city. So many people know one another from church connections, school, sports events, friends of our kids, grandkids, business connections, city government, friends of friends- you get the picture. We are connected in community.

So, while this was a very sad time for the family and loved ones, it was also uplifting in the vast amount of support given to the grieving family. We left feeling blessed and encouraged, knowing Bill had a life well-lived, and that we had seen the hope of eternal life in this gathering of community.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord for dedicated lives that we can celebrate, even as we mourn their passing, Amen

People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.                                          Proverbs 16:2 (New Living Translation)

I spoke with a client several days ago who was upset over what he felt was disrespect from his parents. They still treated him like he was a child at times, although he is in his twenties and has a child of his own. He has a generous spirit and he is interested in viewpoints different from his own, but the seemingly meddlesome approach by his parents is hurtful to him.

As we talked, I offered the possibility that this was a behavior that might be somewhat invisible to his parents. Perhaps their motives are good, and they sincerely want the best for him. Yes, their input feels patronizing at times, and he feels disrespected. This is understandable. However, if he could see things from their perspective- if he could believe that their motives were good- he might feel less offended.

He took this concept very well. He is a bright and thoughtful young man. He allowed that he needs to consider this more, and that it might help him to overcome some bitterness that he is building.

When we are hurt or offended, it is hard to put ourselves into another’s shoes. When we consider that perhaps their motives are sincere, however poorly they are conveyed by behavior, we might be able to see the situation with more grace.   

Prayer: Lord, help us to look for the things that are not readily apparent to us, Amen