Diversity in Life and in Faith

A great conductor, tired of the excessively familiar New World Symphony by Dvorak, asked his orchestra to reseat itself on stage so as many players as possible were placed next to an unfamiliar instrument. For example, the first violinist sat next to the timpani, an oboe player amongst the violas, a horn in the cello section and so on. The purpose was to reveal new sounds and textures the musicians would not hear when seated in sections where musicians played the same instrument as they did. The change in Dvorak’s piece was revelatory.

I think this is a marvelous illustration of the importance of diversity in life. We travel in circles where people see things the way we do. People increasingly place their children in schools where the values and perspectives of the other students are like their own. The same could be said of our faith community. Imagine if we worshipped with people who saw their faith exactly as we see ours. We would certainly miss out on a new vision of life and faith.

I marvel at the diversity of Jesus disciples—fishermen, a tax collector, and a nationalistic zealot. They were hardly a homogeneous group. As difficult as this might have been Jesus knew that his teachings would have to appeal to a larger crowd whose values, lifestyles, and experiences would all be very different. So, he recruited people who would understand that kind of diversity. What a difference it made in the broad appeal of the gospel message.

This is one of the reasons I want to travel and see different cathedrals and the communities that grew up around them. Each of them will tell the story of a variety of people and paths of faith. They will tell the story of doctrinal unity and diversity—harmony and controversy. These cathedrals and the communities they spawned comprised of the artisans that constructed them will remind me that we ignore diversity at our peril. A church, a real church requires people of all ages, stages, viewpoints, status, race, and ethnic origins bound together by the mystery and wonder of God and guided by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We certainly have a ways to go in some areas, but if we can see the strength diversity will bring us and the new ways God will speak to us, we’ll move even closer to the church God wants us to be.

Prayer
Gracious God, I thank you for the blessings of the different. If I have become too comfortable with the life and faith I am composing, seat me next to someone who sees it differently so I might grow in grace to the glory of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

P.S. I am taking the summer off from my weekly articles. See you in the fall.

C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana

The Value of Taking Risks

The great cellist Gaspar Cassado used to say to his students, I’m so sorry for you; your lives have been so easy. You can’t play great music unless your heart’s been broken. I would say the same of great composers, great poets, great preachers, great parents, great business people, etc. Getting one’s heart broken is all about taking risks. That is how we come to understand grace—owning the risks we take in a world that is by and large immune to our control.

The compassion Jesus had for others came from having his heart broken. He took the enormous risk of recruiting relatively uneducated and self-absorbed people to follow him. On so many occasions his heart was broken when they fell asleep while he prayed, eyes glazed over at his parables, and doubted after they had witnessed one of his miracles.

A life that is well lived is risky. Marriage is risky. Venturing into a new area of business that is filled with the unfamiliar is risky. Taking the time to make a new friend is risky. Having children is risky. Deciding to care for animals that have been abandoned is risky. Volunteering in an unfamiliar area is risky. You can and will get your heart broken and face disappointment. But you will also experience unparalleled success. The new friend will introduce you to new ideas. The business venture will open up new possibilities. Volunteering will expose you to another world. Having children will make you humble. Marriage will teach you a new kind of love—deeper than you thought possible.

Christians are called to be risk takers especially as we live the message of the gospel in the world. Jesus speaks about this throughout Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7. The risk is seeking to live by what the world deems as unconventional. Yet, I dare anyone to try any of these teachings of Jesus and see if the risk does not result in a richer, more compassionate life. Yes, we will get our hearts broken, and life will not always be easy, but we will to know how great living a life of faith can be.

Prayer
Precious Lord, take my hand and lead through the risky paths of faith. Show me the great joy of a deeper love and a greater capacity to care that my life might more reflect you to a world that thinks it can live without you. Amen.

C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana

Waiting

How long, O Lord! Will you forget me forever? How long
Will you hide your face from me? —Psalm 13:1

I just had the privilege of leading another small group on understanding and practicing discernment. As a part of our last session we reflected on one of the most important disciplines about discernment — waiting. Waiting is not valued in our culture. When we want something, we want it now. I think of the commercial frequently seen on television where people, sticking their heads out from a variety of windows, yell, “It’s my money, and I want it now!”

If we want something we jump in the car and get it now. (Although this may be a lot less frequent given the current price of fuel.) When we are sick, we want the magic bullet now that will get us well. Years ago when we wanted to purchase a new car, we had to order it and wait six to eight weeks. The automobile industry caught on quickly that they could sell more cars if they kept a large inventory. We soon learned that when we wanted a new car, we didn’t have to wait. We could have it now. In this social networking age we can give our opinions now and get a response now.

Many of the Psalms deal with lament. They usually begin with something like, “How long O Lord.” Then they are followed by what the psalmist desires and the frustration of waiting for it. I have written about this before, but the Bible indicates that there is a right time for everything. It refers to God’s time. If we are willing to wait rather than rush it, God always has something better.

Alas, many us would rather have it now and settle for less. That is why so often our grieving is cut short; we marry too quickly; and we divorce even more quickly. Isaiah reminds us that they who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will walk and not be weary. They will run and not faint (8:17).

Prayer
O God, guard my life. Do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. Amen.
—Psalm 25:20-21

C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana

Jealousy

. . . for love is strong as death, jealousy fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. —Proverbs 8:6

I know that jealousy is one of the seven deadly sins and I think, at least in part, it is because we so seldom confess it either to ourselves or to another. Jealousy is corrupting and raises its ugly head in so many ways. I watched part of the royal wedding between “Will and Kate,” and noticed all of the women wearing hats. I saw some of the women so subtly glancing at the hat of the woman in front of and around themselves. Were the glances jealousy or admiration? A promotion granted someone else to a position we had desired and thought we deserved—will it be congratulations or covetousness? Another person’s house or successful child—will it be admiration or envy? A pastor appointed to a larger congregation—will it be jealousy or joy? Someone else driving a car we have always wanted—jealousy or feelings of joy for them?

Heraclitus said, "Our jealousy lasts longer than the happiness of those of whom we are jealous. Jealousy can eat us up long after the person’s success about which we are jealous has faded." I think that was the point Jesus was making when he encouraged us not to be anxious about what we eat, drink, or wear. Will our worry add a single hour to our span of life (Matthew 6:27). Likely anxiety driven by our desire to keep up and pass the person next to us will only shorten our life span.

I think of the jealousy that arose within King Saul that led him to try and kill David. Saul, this once first and great king of Israel, was ruined by his jealousy. The jealousy over the influence of Jesus’ ministry led to some Pharisees and Sadducees deciding to get rid of him.

Life is too short for us to be eaten up with some jealousy over what another person has or has achieved. As the Proverb says this jealousy is fierce as the grave.

Prayer
Heavenly Father if there is envy or jealousy in my heart this day remind me of your love for me that I might once again return to the joy of being your child and thus genuinely rejoicing with others in their success. This I pray in the name of Jesus my Lord. Amen

C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana

Now that Easter is Over

Simon Peter said to them, 'I am going fishing.' They said to him, 'We will go with you.'

Let me get this straight, Simon Peter, along with some of the other disciples of Jesus, had just witnessed the most transforming event in human history i.e., the resurrection of Jesus, and he wants to go fishing? It's like having thwarted some dreaded disease then moving forward with life like nothing happened.

How can this be? When the woman at the well encountered Jesus she ran and told everyone about how dramatically she was affected by him. When Zacchaeus met Jesus his life turned upside down and he gave back what he had defrauded others and more. When Legion, restored to his rightful mind by Jesus, Legion became Jesus' ambassador to his home town. Over and over again we read this in scripture where having met Jesus, people's lives changed.

How could Peter return to fishing as though nothing had happened? It's like having this wonderful, celebratory Easter worship experience then going back to work on Monday as though life is the same. The sad reality is that this is exactly what happens repeatedly, year in and year out. We celebrate the risen Lord on Sunday then return to life on Monday as though nothing has changed.

In his little volume Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg talks about moving from the Jesus he knew as a child to the one he now knows as an adult, but in a more personal way (HarperCollins Publishers, New York, New York, 1995 pg. 3). What Borg is saying that he knew Jesus in a sense as a child but found Jesus in new and personal ways as an adult that have been life changing for him. As I read his book, I remembered how others have spoken with me about being "born again." They knew Jesus as a child, but were claiming Jesus in a more personal way as an adult. Though Borg and born again Christians might separate on the way they know Jesus, they both have in common the way this new relationship with Jesus has changed their lives.

That would be my hope for each of us during this Eastertide-we would know the resurrected Jesus in new, more personal life changing ways. I simply don't think that once we have encountered the risen Jesus our lives can be the same.

Prayer
Gracious God I give thanks on this first day of Eastertide for the gift of a risen savior. Lead me to know him better each day that knowing him I might understand how I might better serve you through Christ my Lord. Amen.

C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana

Shame and Salvation

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame ... —Hebrews 12:1-2

Now there’s a word we don’t hear often—shame. I’m sorry for that. We’ve confused unhealthy shame that suffocates and holds people back from the healthy shame that enables us to feel pain because we are healthy enough to feel uncomfortable with being less than we ought to be and less than we want to be (Shame and Grace by Lewis B. Smedes).

Unhealthy shame exaggerates our faults. Unhealthy shame is chronic. Unhealthy shame is put on us by others, pervades our whole being, and is unspiritual. Healthy shame is perhaps one of the surest signs of our divine origin and our human dignity. This kind of shame comes on us when our actual self is in conflict with the true self we are meant to be. Our true self is a grateful person, is integrated as a whole, is tuned in to what is really going on around us, and helps us manage our passions.

Shame that is healthy can give us pain, but it can do it in a way that brings about a positive and creative result. The cross was a symbol of suffering and shame, as the old hymn goes. Yet, it had a positive result—resurrection. The author of Hebrews notes that Jesus accepted the shame of the cross as a means of helping us deal with our shame with the balm of grace.

There are some of us who are locked in the throes of unhealthy shame. We have permitted our shame to be chronic such that it continues to make our souls sick. Those who wear their shame in such a way need this week ahead. The week ahead is a vivid reminder that the cross was the way God showed us that he understood the soulful weight shame represents. The resurrection then becomes that act of grace wherein God says I do not hold your sin against you. So get over your shame. To be sure the source of our shame may be a part of our history, and we may still have to work with some of its debris, but it does not have to pervade our whole being. The resurrection offers us grace, but it is not cheap. Grace requires that we trust God and not ourselves to bring us through the turmoil of our sin, shedding its shame, and moving into a new appreciation of what it means to let God love us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, the week ahead offers me the opportunity to remember the road to salvation. May I be faithful in traveling it with you once again that whatever shame now besets me may be set aside that I might serve you with my whole heart through Jesus the Christ. Amen.

C. Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. —James 3:5b-6a

A member of our congregation sent me an email with an attachment from a news source that indicated a Methodist bishop, in light of the burning of a Koran by a non-Methodist pastor, had said he would burn one of our church buildings for every Koran that was burned in America. This member was wondering if this was true. I did a little research and it didn’t take long before I discovered that it was a bishop who said this all right, but a bishop from another denomination.

There are so many stories on the internet these days and I really appreciated that this member thought enough to run it by me in order to determine its veracity. I read some place that a myth on the internet, if not refuted in a couple of days, will become truth. That’s kind of scary.

Once upon a time we used to think, perhaps some of us still do, gossip was something that took place among some squinty-eyed people in a corner whose tongues spread false rumors and kept things stirred up. We tend to forget that the internet (email and texting) in so many ways has replaced this. So, many get sucked into the process not thinking that we may be participating in gossip which is every bit, if not more, as destructive as that which takes place in some corner of the room. James is writing about the power of the tongue. Like a small blaze it can burn down an entire forrest—it can destroy the reputation of one person or the unity and harmony of a congregation. Noting the power of the tongue and how it might be used, James writes later in this chapter: With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God (James 3:9).

With the tongue we can affirm someone or tear them down. With it we can honor our co-workers or cut them up. With it we can speak well of our spouse or bad mouth them to others. With it we can speak about our great congregation or we can pick it and its leadership apart. I have seen churches with the potential for greatness whittle away their gifts and destroy the very things that would have made them great—unity, harmony, and purpose. My brothers and sisters this ought not to be so (James 3:10).

So guard against spreading gossip on the internet, in the workroom, or the narthex of a church. In so doing, we will strengthen others and the Church of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, there is much that I need to do today. Grant me the wisdom to discern what may build up those with whom I work or those members of the body of Christ, for it is in His name I pray. Amen.

Mac Hamon,
Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana