A parishioner exited the sanctuary several years ago after a sermon that obviously resonated with them and asked, "Now how will you top that one?" One of the great dangers for appreciation of the moment is comparison. We could make it difficult to enjoy a present vacation, for example, because we may be constantly measuring it against another one. We could make it difficult to enjoy what may be good about our present job because we are comparing it to another. Or, it may be difficult for us to enjoy our present church because we are comparing it to another. Well, I could go on and you probably will, but you get my point.
I believe that is exactly why Jesus didn't want Peter, James, and John to build a booth to commemorate their experience when Jesus was transfigured (Mark 9:2ff). Jesus didn't want them to measure all future events against this one.
I would imagine that if you are struggling today one of the reasons may be that you are comparing this day to another or what you may now be doing to something else you'd rather be doing. Try looking at this day or what you are doing without making a comparison. So this day may not be as lovely as last Friday, but you are alive and able to enjoy what may be good about it. What you may now be doing may not be as glamorous or enjoyable as what you were doing on Tuesday, but you are able to perform the task.
Try some of the following:
- Use your own personal index for evaluating yourself and your performance. "Am I content with myself?" Rather than I'm not as good as my colleague.
- When you find yourself in the old habit of comparison stop right in the moment and catch yourself. Rather than condemning yourself for performing different than someone else rephrase, this is how I perform and I'm fine with it.
- Try to enjoy the unique gifts of each of your children rather than comparing them.
- In the midst of a task you may not enjoy compared to another one you do, try to remind yourself that at least you can do this task.
Prayer
I give thanks Lord for this day-that I am able to experience it-good and bad. Grant me the self-esteem I need to avoid comparing it to any other day lest I miss what joy I may discover today. Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Remembering Our Father
We're coming off a Father's Day that I pray was a good one. I know it is a time for me to give thanks for my children who made me a father, and for the gift of my father-limited those his time was on earth. I enjoyed his legacy to me of humor, generosity, faith, and courage.
I know not everyone's memory of their father is good. I am sad that this is true. I read a book several years ago that helped me understand the way one person dealt with their father when memories of him were not good. She started thinking of the good traits that were a part of his life. What motivated her to do this was realizing that if she could not remember the good ones, she could not own some of those same good traits in herself (The Wounded Woman by Linda Leonard).
I am glad that Jesus came into this world to show us a more loving side to the fatherhood of God. If we had only the First Testament as a guide we would have to work harder at finding these traits about God. It wasn't that God was not loving then, it was simply that people's view of God was incomplete and often thwarted by their own views of themselves.
Jesus shows us clearly a fatherly side of God that is at once strong and gracious. Indeed, it is a terrific model of dads today-strong and gracious. When we think about it, grace takes a lot of strength. Grace does not arise from a position of weakness. Strength and grace arises out of viewing others and ourselves with a sense of respect and gratitude.
So, I pray if your experience with your father was not all good, you'll at least try to remember some of the traits there were, so that you can own those good traits in yourself. At the same time let go of those fatherly images of God that make God harsh and weak. Replace those images with the fatherly God of Jesus who is strong enough to forgive even the most disappointing of us.
Prayer
Heavenly Father I give you thanks for your strength and grace. Let me bask in it, if only for these moments, that I might see those same traits in myself. In the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
I know not everyone's memory of their father is good. I am sad that this is true. I read a book several years ago that helped me understand the way one person dealt with their father when memories of him were not good. She started thinking of the good traits that were a part of his life. What motivated her to do this was realizing that if she could not remember the good ones, she could not own some of those same good traits in herself (The Wounded Woman by Linda Leonard).
I am glad that Jesus came into this world to show us a more loving side to the fatherhood of God. If we had only the First Testament as a guide we would have to work harder at finding these traits about God. It wasn't that God was not loving then, it was simply that people's view of God was incomplete and often thwarted by their own views of themselves.
Jesus shows us clearly a fatherly side of God that is at once strong and gracious. Indeed, it is a terrific model of dads today-strong and gracious. When we think about it, grace takes a lot of strength. Grace does not arise from a position of weakness. Strength and grace arises out of viewing others and ourselves with a sense of respect and gratitude.
So, I pray if your experience with your father was not all good, you'll at least try to remember some of the traits there were, so that you can own those good traits in yourself. At the same time let go of those fatherly images of God that make God harsh and weak. Replace those images with the fatherly God of Jesus who is strong enough to forgive even the most disappointing of us.
Prayer
Heavenly Father I give you thanks for your strength and grace. Let me bask in it, if only for these moments, that I might see those same traits in myself. In the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Life Eternal
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!—
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Longfellow wrote this verse as a part of his quest for a connection to God. He had lost two wives to untimely deaths, and longed for spiritual relief. Indeed, the poetry he wrote during the last twenty years of his life reflects this quest. These two parts from his poem A Psalm of Life indicates that in spite of the tragedies that befell him, he ultimately came to understand that life does not end at the grave.
The apostle Paul who also incurred a great deal of suffering during his life concluded the same thing. Paul wrote as he reflected on his suffering:
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our
inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction
is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond measure, because we look
not at what can be seen but what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is
temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
—2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Again, that great resurrection hymn resounds:
Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where’s thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!
If that is not enough, we have witnessed one of the most glorious springs in recent memory! The beauty of it has done much to release us from the sting of winter. If God has so created the world around us, how much more does our God give the gift of life and hope to his children.
Prayer
Gracious God, thank you for this day. Life is real. Life is earnest. Let your grace enter in and bring healing to whatever may sting our souls for they are yours and we are your children. Alleluia! Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Sacrificial Giving
So Easy a Saved Man Can Do It
. . . they gave themselves first to the Lord . . .
Pastor Bob led us in a great Bible study at our last campaign rally from 2 Corinthians 8. The apostle Paul was encouraging a reluctant Corinthian church to let go of some of their cash (which they had in greater abundance than other congregations), for the sake of helping the less fortunate. He was using as an example of generosity the churches of Macedonia.
What is striking about this passage is that Paul says their generosity began by first giving themselves to the Lord. That is where any action of faith must begin—by first giving ourselves to God. No act of sacrifice for the sake of this church or any other will happen without first giving ourselves to the Lord.
I think that sounds a little frightening to some of us. I sometimes wonder if being a member of a church without giving ourselves totally to the Lord is safer. Yet giving ourselves totally to the Lord is one of the safest things we can do. Paul tries to remind us of this when he wrote that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to God’s purpose (Romans 8:28). Even when paying down the debt on our beautiful facilities.
So, as we consider what sacrifices we are willing to make, let’s first give ourselves totally to the Lord and see what wondrous things he can make happen through us.
Equal sacrifice—not equal gifts
Mac Hamon, senior pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
. . . they gave themselves first to the Lord . . .
Pastor Bob led us in a great Bible study at our last campaign rally from 2 Corinthians 8. The apostle Paul was encouraging a reluctant Corinthian church to let go of some of their cash (which they had in greater abundance than other congregations), for the sake of helping the less fortunate. He was using as an example of generosity the churches of Macedonia.
What is striking about this passage is that Paul says their generosity began by first giving themselves to the Lord. That is where any action of faith must begin—by first giving ourselves to God. No act of sacrifice for the sake of this church or any other will happen without first giving ourselves to the Lord.
I think that sounds a little frightening to some of us. I sometimes wonder if being a member of a church without giving ourselves totally to the Lord is safer. Yet giving ourselves totally to the Lord is one of the safest things we can do. Paul tries to remind us of this when he wrote that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to God’s purpose (Romans 8:28). Even when paying down the debt on our beautiful facilities.
So, as we consider what sacrifices we are willing to make, let’s first give ourselves totally to the Lord and see what wondrous things he can make happen through us.
Equal sacrifice—not equal gifts
Mac Hamon, senior pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The Perfect Day
You wake with
no aches
in the arms
of your beloved
to smell the fresh coffee,
you eat a giant breakfast
with no thought
of carbs.
there is time to read
with a purring cat on your lap.
later you walk by the ocean
with your dog
on this cut crystal day,
your favorite music and the sun
fill your house.
a short delicious nap
under a fleece throw
comes later
and the phone doesn’t ring.
at dusk you roast a chicken,
bake bread, make an exquisite
chocolate cake
for some friends
you’ve been missing.
someone brings you an
unexpected present,
and the wine is just right with the food.
after a wonderful party
you sink into sleep
in a clean nightgown
in fresh sheets;
your sweetheart doesn’t snore
and in your dreams
an old piece of sadness
drifts away.
—Alice Persons
Prayer
Almighty God this day may not be perfect, but I know your presence can make it better. Let me dream a little about what might be, yet not lose what is lest I miss the presence of your grace while I work this day and sleep tonight. Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
You wake with
no aches
in the arms
of your beloved
to smell the fresh coffee,
you eat a giant breakfast
with no thought
of carbs.
there is time to read
with a purring cat on your lap.
later you walk by the ocean
with your dog
on this cut crystal day,
your favorite music and the sun
fill your house.
a short delicious nap
under a fleece throw
comes later
and the phone doesn’t ring.
at dusk you roast a chicken,
bake bread, make an exquisite
chocolate cake
for some friends
you’ve been missing.
someone brings you an
unexpected present,
and the wine is just right with the food.
after a wonderful party
you sink into sleep
in a clean nightgown
in fresh sheets;
your sweetheart doesn’t snore
and in your dreams
an old piece of sadness
drifts away.
—Alice Persons
Prayer
Almighty God this day may not be perfect, but I know your presence can make it better. Let me dream a little about what might be, yet not lose what is lest I miss the presence of your grace while I work this day and sleep tonight. Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Saturday, June 5, 2010
You can't take it with you
It’s so easy a saved man can do it
. . . . for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take
nothing out of it . . . for the love of money is the root of all
kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have
wandered away form the faith. . . .
—1 Timothy 6:7, 10
Both of these verses from Paul’s letter to the young, aspiring pastor Timothy are quoted in various and sundry ways—often incorrectly. For example we hear someone say that money is the root of all evil rather than the love of money. The word for love in the Greek that is used in this passage is sacrificial love—the kind of love reserved for God.
What the apostle Paul is trying to teach Timothy is that money as a god is a pretty weak one. It is weak because we cannot take it with us when we die. It is weak because it often ruins our lives as we chase after it. Its strength is only in the way we can use it generously for the sake and help of others. With it [we] are to do good, [be] generous and ready to share (vs. 18).
Paul’s emphasis on how we are to treat the things of this world is on how we might use them in ways that enables us to focus eternity. It is easy in the midst of our daily tasks to forget that we are children whose life in this world is very brief. One day we shall be asked to give an account of what our life has said is our real God. When we sacrifice some of the things of this world, it is a discipline that keeps our material wealth in a proper perspective.
Equal sacrifice—not equal gifts
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
. . . . for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take
nothing out of it . . . for the love of money is the root of all
kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have
wandered away form the faith. . . .
—1 Timothy 6:7, 10
Both of these verses from Paul’s letter to the young, aspiring pastor Timothy are quoted in various and sundry ways—often incorrectly. For example we hear someone say that money is the root of all evil rather than the love of money. The word for love in the Greek that is used in this passage is sacrificial love—the kind of love reserved for God.
What the apostle Paul is trying to teach Timothy is that money as a god is a pretty weak one. It is weak because we cannot take it with us when we die. It is weak because it often ruins our lives as we chase after it. Its strength is only in the way we can use it generously for the sake and help of others. With it [we] are to do good, [be] generous and ready to share (vs. 18).
Paul’s emphasis on how we are to treat the things of this world is on how we might use them in ways that enables us to focus eternity. It is easy in the midst of our daily tasks to forget that we are children whose life in this world is very brief. One day we shall be asked to give an account of what our life has said is our real God. When we sacrifice some of the things of this world, it is a discipline that keeps our material wealth in a proper perspective.
Equal sacrifice—not equal gifts
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Beauty and Truth
One thing I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
To live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.
—Psalm 27:4
Emerson described beauty as “God’s handwriting—a wayside sacrament.” I’ve contemplated this idea of beauty during one of the most magnificent springs I have witnessed in recent memory. It is as though after a harsh and dark winter, God’s handwriting has appeared in spectacular form. It has been at times almost sacramental for me—the very presence of drinking it in has been a religious experience of grace and truth.
John Keats was a poet who equated beauty with truth. For Keats truth was that which was real for you. Ultimate truth would be that which is ultimately real. For the Psalmist ultimate truth was connected with ultimate beauty and reality—beholding God in the world around and especially questing for God in his house.
Every time I see a rhododendron that survives the harshness of winter and thrives beyond imagination, I see God’s truth and beauty. Every time I hear our choir sing Beautiful Savior the truth and beauty of the words and music make Jesus more real. When I hear the band rock out on Grace is Enough the truth and beauty of God’s salvific presence stirs my soul.
I really don’t have to wait to behold the beauty and truth of the Lord—it is all around me. God’s handwriting and sacramental presence can only be missed if I am too busy to notice. The loss is mine when that happens. Today, make the poetic observation of the Psalmist bloom beautifully in your life. Examine what good is most real for you. Look for the beauty and truth of God’s handwriting in what might be considered the ordinary—the dandelion struggling upward through a crack in the sidewalk, the miracle of color and sight, the joy of taste, all God’s handwriting in life.
Prayer
Creator God, I give thanks for the truth and beauty of your presence. May I take the time during this day to behold your handwriting and drink of the sacrament of your presence in all that surrounds me. Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
06.01.10
that will I seek after:
To live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple.
—Psalm 27:4
Emerson described beauty as “God’s handwriting—a wayside sacrament.” I’ve contemplated this idea of beauty during one of the most magnificent springs I have witnessed in recent memory. It is as though after a harsh and dark winter, God’s handwriting has appeared in spectacular form. It has been at times almost sacramental for me—the very presence of drinking it in has been a religious experience of grace and truth.
John Keats was a poet who equated beauty with truth. For Keats truth was that which was real for you. Ultimate truth would be that which is ultimately real. For the Psalmist ultimate truth was connected with ultimate beauty and reality—beholding God in the world around and especially questing for God in his house.
Every time I see a rhododendron that survives the harshness of winter and thrives beyond imagination, I see God’s truth and beauty. Every time I hear our choir sing Beautiful Savior the truth and beauty of the words and music make Jesus more real. When I hear the band rock out on Grace is Enough the truth and beauty of God’s salvific presence stirs my soul.
I really don’t have to wait to behold the beauty and truth of the Lord—it is all around me. God’s handwriting and sacramental presence can only be missed if I am too busy to notice. The loss is mine when that happens. Today, make the poetic observation of the Psalmist bloom beautifully in your life. Examine what good is most real for you. Look for the beauty and truth of God’s handwriting in what might be considered the ordinary—the dandelion struggling upward through a crack in the sidewalk, the miracle of color and sight, the joy of taste, all God’s handwriting in life.
Prayer
Creator God, I give thanks for the truth and beauty of your presence. May I take the time during this day to behold your handwriting and drink of the sacrament of your presence in all that surrounds me. Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
06.01.10
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