Let us make humankind in our image. . . . . —Genesis 1:26
This is the true joy in life: The being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. The being a force of nature, instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. —George Bernard Shaw
The scripture passage from Genesis has been the subject of treatises and books for centuries. They all fell under the Latin phrase imago Dei—image of God. Each of these works struggled with what it meant to be made in the image of God. After reading several books and articles over the years I concluded, at least for me, that it meant having the incredible, godlike ability of free choice.
I think Shaw is referring to self-image. Self-image is not the same as self-esteem. Self-image is how you see yourself rather than how you feel about yourself. Self-image is what you think you look like; what kind of person you think you are; how much you like yourself or think others like you; etc. all of which can and does influence self-esteem. Self-image is enhanced by the purposes we choose in life. And, as Shaw states, it is important that we recognize our purpose as a mighty one.
The shema is such a purpose—Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one God. You shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might—Jesus lists the second and your neighbor as yourself reminding us that love for God is integral not only to having a healthy self-image, but a good image of others. Without love for self we become a selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world [has not] made [us] happy.
Some things I can do to build a good self-image are deliberately and quietly move out of the space where people are incessant with their grievances and complaining. (Now granted there are times as a pastor when I want to listen to another’s grievances and complaints. Partly because it may lead to some constructive action on both our parts, and partly because they may simply need to get it off of their chest to feel better about life.) I can change negative thoughts to positive ones. I can list things I like about myself—appearance, personality and skills. I can do this by beginning my day in the right way.
One of the best reasons for beginning a day with a time of devotion and prayer is what it does for self-image. First, I can affirm God as the very foundation of life for me. Second, it reminds me that that I am loved by God. Third, it reminds me that I do not have to bear nor face the world’s ills by myself. Finally, it helps me image my neighbor in a better light. In other words, it reminds me that I am made in God’s image and that is an enormous help when seeking a good self-image and a better image of others.
Prayer
God of all creation, I rejoice in this new day because I know that you love me, and the world that you created. May I, in remembering your love for me begin this day with a better image of whom I am so that I may strengthen the image of others around me. Amen.
Mac Hamon
Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Praise God for Spring
For now the winter is past . . .
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come. —Song of Solomon 2:11-12
It is, finally, if only by date, spring! It has seemed for young and old alike, who have bothered to express such thoughts to me, to be a winter too long and hard. It is a welcome miracle of the changing seasons. The Source of such a miracle confounds us, but to be sure the Source is not ourselves.
A little madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the Clown—
Who ponders this tremendous scene—
This whole Experiment of Green—
As if this were his own! —Emily Dickinson
Poet and Song alike ascribe the beauty of this season to God, the Source of all. We are, to be certain, quick to blame God for the ravages of winter.
So welcome spring as a gift from God that so inspires the hymn to sing:
For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light;
For the joy of human love,
brother sister, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild; —Folliot S. Pierpoint
Prayer
Lord of all, best Gift Divine, to you we raise this our hymn of grateful praise!
Amen.
C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come. —Song of Solomon 2:11-12
It is, finally, if only by date, spring! It has seemed for young and old alike, who have bothered to express such thoughts to me, to be a winter too long and hard. It is a welcome miracle of the changing seasons. The Source of such a miracle confounds us, but to be sure the Source is not ourselves.
A little madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the Clown—
Who ponders this tremendous scene—
This whole Experiment of Green—
As if this were his own! —Emily Dickinson
Poet and Song alike ascribe the beauty of this season to God, the Source of all. We are, to be certain, quick to blame God for the ravages of winter.
So welcome spring as a gift from God that so inspires the hymn to sing:
For the beauty of the earth,
for the glory of the skies,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light;
For the joy of human love,
brother sister, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild; —Folliot S. Pierpoint
Prayer
Lord of all, best Gift Divine, to you we raise this our hymn of grateful praise!
Amen.
C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Sunday, March 13, 2011
I am not asking that you take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. —John 17:15
Well my circadian rhythms have been assaulted again by another seasonal change in time. As someone said to me upon mentioning this change, “I much prefer falling back than springing forward. I get more sleep.” It is amazing how our bodies and mental dispositions are affected by a one hour change.
I’ve been talking to various people as I prepare for my Sabattical trip, how to deal with the eight hour flight from New York to Budapest. The best advice I have heard is to get with the new pace. Don’t hole up in your room with the window shades down and try to sleep it off. Research agrees. The data indicates that we do far better at adjusting if we go out and join people going about their daily routine.
I think how easy it is for many people to look at the issues of the world, pull down the shades, and try to slumber through it. It would be easy for us to march to the cadence of our own drum beat. To do this would be to completely ignore everything Jesus said and stood for. When he talked about the criterion for final judgment he did not list among them the numbers of Bible study groups to which we belong, our regular attendance at worship, the money we gave to the church, or how good a person we are. Rather, Jesus talked about how these study groups, worship attendance, and money were translated into our action in the world—did we give a stranger drink and food; did we visit the sick and imprisoned; did we clothe the naked (Matthew 25:31ff).
I know the news is usually not very good. I know I am tempted to ignore it. Yet it will often tell me the ways in which I need to validate my faith through action. It is a new day. I know you may be in a bit of a fog because of the time change. However, don’t walk around in a fog when it comes to the needs of those around you. If Lent is about anything it is, as the liturgy states when we place ashes on our foreheads—receive these ashes that dying to self you may live for Christ—not only in the pew, but in the world.
Prayer
Gracious God, you have brought me hope through the gift of your Son. You know the world around me needs that hope. Forgive me when I have pulled down my shades and tried to sleep away the challenges of the world. Grant me courage and conviction of faith to serve wherever you send me today and always in the name of Christ. Amen.
C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Well my circadian rhythms have been assaulted again by another seasonal change in time. As someone said to me upon mentioning this change, “I much prefer falling back than springing forward. I get more sleep.” It is amazing how our bodies and mental dispositions are affected by a one hour change.
I’ve been talking to various people as I prepare for my Sabattical trip, how to deal with the eight hour flight from New York to Budapest. The best advice I have heard is to get with the new pace. Don’t hole up in your room with the window shades down and try to sleep it off. Research agrees. The data indicates that we do far better at adjusting if we go out and join people going about their daily routine.
I think how easy it is for many people to look at the issues of the world, pull down the shades, and try to slumber through it. It would be easy for us to march to the cadence of our own drum beat. To do this would be to completely ignore everything Jesus said and stood for. When he talked about the criterion for final judgment he did not list among them the numbers of Bible study groups to which we belong, our regular attendance at worship, the money we gave to the church, or how good a person we are. Rather, Jesus talked about how these study groups, worship attendance, and money were translated into our action in the world—did we give a stranger drink and food; did we visit the sick and imprisoned; did we clothe the naked (Matthew 25:31ff).
I know the news is usually not very good. I know I am tempted to ignore it. Yet it will often tell me the ways in which I need to validate my faith through action. It is a new day. I know you may be in a bit of a fog because of the time change. However, don’t walk around in a fog when it comes to the needs of those around you. If Lent is about anything it is, as the liturgy states when we place ashes on our foreheads—receive these ashes that dying to self you may live for Christ—not only in the pew, but in the world.
Prayer
Gracious God, you have brought me hope through the gift of your Son. You know the world around me needs that hope. Forgive me when I have pulled down my shades and tried to sleep away the challenges of the world. Grant me courage and conviction of faith to serve wherever you send me today and always in the name of Christ. Amen.
C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Monday, March 7, 2011
Check Your Attitude
Laugh, and he world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox
The title of this poem is Solitude. I think a far more fitting title would be Attitude! What Ella Wheeler Wilcox is saying to us via this oft-quoted poem is that whatever attitude we decide to adopt is precisely what we will attract in life. Think sad and we attract emptiness. Think mirth and the world will laugh right along with us.
This poem is also a very elementary presentation of energy field theory. Essentially, energy field theory says that there is an invisible vibratory field of energy surrounding all living objects, including human beings. This field is created by how we think and process our experiences wherever we are in the world. At certain levels of consciousness, the energy field vibrates fast. At other levels of consciousness, the energy vibrates slowly. So, there is a continuum along which varying levels of consciousness are responsible for creating the field of energy.
This was the point Jesus was making about fasting as an act of spiritual enrichment. He said when [we] fast do not look dismal . . . [rather]pour oil on your head and wash your face so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret (Matthew 6:17-18). Again, You are the light of the world. . . . let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14, 16).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, It is another gray day. I know that the weather around me does not have to dictate the spirit within me. I pray for the courage to choose the Light that is within me that I might be a light of leaven and hope to those who are around me to the glory of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Weep, and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox
The title of this poem is Solitude. I think a far more fitting title would be Attitude! What Ella Wheeler Wilcox is saying to us via this oft-quoted poem is that whatever attitude we decide to adopt is precisely what we will attract in life. Think sad and we attract emptiness. Think mirth and the world will laugh right along with us.
This poem is also a very elementary presentation of energy field theory. Essentially, energy field theory says that there is an invisible vibratory field of energy surrounding all living objects, including human beings. This field is created by how we think and process our experiences wherever we are in the world. At certain levels of consciousness, the energy field vibrates fast. At other levels of consciousness, the energy vibrates slowly. So, there is a continuum along which varying levels of consciousness are responsible for creating the field of energy.
This was the point Jesus was making about fasting as an act of spiritual enrichment. He said when [we] fast do not look dismal . . . [rather]pour oil on your head and wash your face so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret (Matthew 6:17-18). Again, You are the light of the world. . . . let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14, 16).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, It is another gray day. I know that the weather around me does not have to dictate the spirit within me. I pray for the courage to choose the Light that is within me that I might be a light of leaven and hope to those who are around me to the glory of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Anger - Let It Out
Unexpressed anger is one letter short of danger.
The scriptures have a lot to say about the importance of expressed anger. Jesus taught that expressing our anger helps us avoid calling someone a name or even killing them. In fact, Jesus thought it was so important to express our anger, especially to the one with whom we are angry, that he said our gift to God is not acceptable until we have given opportunity for the anger to be expressed and resolved (Matthew 5:21-26).
That apostle Paul thought expressing our anger was so important that he wrote in his letter to the church at Ephesus (4:26-27):
Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil.
Though Christians should be the model for expressing anger in appropriate ways, we often follow the world’s model. Some of us express our anger in a sort of ready fire aim way. We let it out without first checking to see if the reason for our anger is valid and the person to whom we are expressing it is the correct person. This kind of anger can lead to insulting another person (Matthew 5:21).
Another way some of us deal with anger is to simply get quiet and have everyone around us guess what’s wrong with us. We give the person with whom we are angry the cold shoulder. Of course, if they don’t pick up on it we get even angrier at them for not sensing that we are angry with them to begin with. Letting our anger be expressed through silence makes us liable to judgment (Matthew 5:22)
And if we let our anger explode we can do the worst possible thing—call another person a fool or worse and be liable to hell (Matthew 5:22). Explosive anger can alienate us from our families, our co-workers and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The bottom line: go to the person directly with whom we are angry or go the person directly who we think is angry with us. In so doing our anger keeps everyone out of danger.
Prayer
Gracious God if there is anger within me this day against another, or if I know of someone who bears anger toward me, grant me grace and courage to share it or receive it lest my soul and the soul of another be lost to receiving and sharing your love through Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
The scriptures have a lot to say about the importance of expressed anger. Jesus taught that expressing our anger helps us avoid calling someone a name or even killing them. In fact, Jesus thought it was so important to express our anger, especially to the one with whom we are angry, that he said our gift to God is not acceptable until we have given opportunity for the anger to be expressed and resolved (Matthew 5:21-26).
That apostle Paul thought expressing our anger was so important that he wrote in his letter to the church at Ephesus (4:26-27):
Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil.
Though Christians should be the model for expressing anger in appropriate ways, we often follow the world’s model. Some of us express our anger in a sort of ready fire aim way. We let it out without first checking to see if the reason for our anger is valid and the person to whom we are expressing it is the correct person. This kind of anger can lead to insulting another person (Matthew 5:21).
Another way some of us deal with anger is to simply get quiet and have everyone around us guess what’s wrong with us. We give the person with whom we are angry the cold shoulder. Of course, if they don’t pick up on it we get even angrier at them for not sensing that we are angry with them to begin with. Letting our anger be expressed through silence makes us liable to judgment (Matthew 5:22)
And if we let our anger explode we can do the worst possible thing—call another person a fool or worse and be liable to hell (Matthew 5:22). Explosive anger can alienate us from our families, our co-workers and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The bottom line: go to the person directly with whom we are angry or go the person directly who we think is angry with us. In so doing our anger keeps everyone out of danger.
Prayer
Gracious God if there is anger within me this day against another, or if I know of someone who bears anger toward me, grant me grace and courage to share it or receive it lest my soul and the soul of another be lost to receiving and sharing your love through Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
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