Life Sentence… Without Parole

Life Sentence… Without Parole

Jan 20, 2023 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

In the fall of 2001, I was 42 years old. I had one daughter in High School, one in Middle School, and one in her last year at the Elementary School.

At Trinity Lutheran Church, on September 9th, we dedicated a new addition to our campus which included offices, gymnasium, kitchen, sun-walk hallway, courtyard, and the Sunday School education wing. Two days later the nation was rocked by the unimaginable events of September 11th.

In the fall of 2001, I was scheduled to begin a sabbatical by joining other pastors on a trip in the footsteps of Saint Paul in Greece and Turkey. My mother was 71 years old and she was not happy that I was going to travel internationally just weeks after airspace reopened in the wake of 9-11. Her pleading was unsuccessful.

A week before my departure I received a UPS package from my mother. It was a Canadian sweatshirt. The letter with the gift instructed me to wear the sweatshirt every day of my trip. “No one hates Canadians,” my mother wrote.

At the time, I chalked up her anxiety to her advancing age.

Now there is nothing that I am writing here that is critical of my mother, my darling daughters, or my beloved grandchildren. This is simply a reflection of a man of advancing age who spends a lot of time with anxious parents and grandparents. So here goes.

Why didn’t they tell us? Why didn’t they tell us when passion blurred our judgement and romantic delusions of parenthood danced in our heads? Why didn’t they tell us that this was a life sentence? Why did we think that raising these kids and putting them through college would then simultaneously launch them into adulthood and launch us into more carefree days, days without worry?
Why didn’t they tell us that it was a life sentence, and there would never be a day or week free from concern or worry for the fruit of our loins?

Why didn’t they tell us; that this parenting gig was a life sentence? And then, just when I thought it was safe to go out, grandchildren started arriving.
I am convinced that there is no greater gift of advancing years than grandchildren. They are an absolute joy! I can be Bapa to them, play with them, hold them, teach them, spoil them, and then return them to the parents I raised. But there is a problem with this Norman Rockwell painting.

Why didn’t they tell us that parenting was a life sentence? And when the grandchildren are born your sentence becomes: LIFE WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE. That’s right; now I have five more humans to worry about, pray for, and buy Canadian sweatshirts for. In my advancing age I now realize that my mother, bless her heart, was serving a life sentence without parole.

If only they had told me. If only they had told me, I would have done …. nothing differently.

If misery loves company, we ought to be happy together.

Sharing the human journey, I am your
Pastor Jim

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Hold On To Hope

Hold On To Hope

Jan 18, 2023 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

I don’t live in a Pollyanna world. I see more heartache and death than the average person. I hear stories, tear-filled stories and confessions, that leave one sad and emotionally exhausted.

The human journey is beautiful and dangerous, our days are marked by monotony, exuberating highs, and tragic lows. No human escapes this reality, and even if we love Jesus, we are destined to face despair, depression, and death. I do not live with a Pollyanna view of the world.

Having said that, the year ahead of us resembles a toddler taking its first steps; there will be falls and a few boo boos, but soon the child will learn to walk and soon they will run like the wind. The year ahead is young, the possibilities for the remaining 49 weeks of 2023 are seemingly endless. The daily news is not generally encouraging: there is reason for great concern as we observe a troubled environment, a shaky economy, a dysfunctional government, war in Eastern Europe, and the endless saber rattling of assorted madmen.

Now look around. In all of human history there has never been a better, safer, or more secure time to live on Whidbey Island than 2023. Our refrigerators are full. Our highways are safe, our healthcare system (though strained) is among the finest in the world, the ferries run most of the time, we live with freedom of speech and movement. We have more opportunity for travel and adventure. We have access to the world’s greatest literary works from the comfort of our homes.

To be honest, if the only news we ever heard was Whidbey Island news, we would have little anxiety and more joy. Pretty much everyone you meet is kind, they have stories, they carry burdens, they wish you no harm.

I do not live with a Pollyanna view of the world, I try to keep informed about the events in the world and I try to keep focused on those things that are actually in my control. I ask myself each morning, “What is it that I can do this day? What is it that I can do to today that will serve my health, my family, and my community?”

I make lists each morning, and then I try to live that day with purpose and intention. Sometimes life happens, and at the end of the day nothing on my morning list is checked off; but as the sun sets, I say my prayers, and if I make it through the night I make a new list for a new day.

There is very little that any of us can do to stop Putin’s war, but in 2022 we did give more than $100,000 to assist the innocent Ukrainian refugees and civilian victims of the war. It is unlikely that God will call any of us to go to impoverished or disaster devastated lands, but in 2022 we gave $50,000 in natural disaster assistance to our global neighbors.

Hold on to hope! Do not be distracted by those things that are out of your control. Hold on to hope, focus on the possibilities, make a difference where you live, and with those that you live with. Hold on to hope; together we have survived and thrived through the pandemic chaos of the past three years. I believe that we will continue to survive and thrive in 2023, IF we hold on to hope.

Hope is inspired by gathering to hear God’s Word, to sing hymns of praise, to sit at the feet of our marvelous musicians, and to break bread with our sisters and brothers as we share our humanity. I invite you to come to TLC this coming Sunday morning for a booster dose of HOPE.

Much love,
Pastor Jim

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Free At Last

Free At Last

Jan 13, 2023 | Pastor Jim's Blog, Uncategorized

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

“Free at last, free at last, Thank God Almighty we are free at last.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. – August 28, 1963

“Nobody’s free, until everybody’s free.”
Fannie Lou Hamer, Civil Rights leader

History tells us that the United States has made considerable progress in the pursuit of civil rights for all people. Thanks to the courage and sacrifice of prophets like Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, Bayard Rustin, and Betty Friedan, our country is slowly becoming a more tolerant and just nation. Perhaps one day all people will be judged by the content of their character and not by their gender, race, or orientation.

The battle is certainly not over, and probably never will be. But the progress is undeniable. This progress is not so apparent in some parts of our country and in many nations of the world where racism thrives, the persecution of minority religious sects continues, and Christians continue to be the most persecuted people in the world.

As followers of Jesus Christ, it is incumbent upon us to work for civil rights, and to speak out against racism and other forms of prejudice. Our voices and votes have power; power entrusted to us. It is my prayer that we will find ourselves on the “right side of history.”

By following Jesus, we can be a part of a revolution of peace and justice; Mine is the Church Where Everybody’s Welcome. It is not enough to use that phrase to bring us comfort. We must live it, mean it, and offer gracious hospitality to all of God’s people.

Jesus is the answer. Jesus sets us free. Jesus said, “Judge not lest you be judged.” Jesus talked more about judging others than he did about sin, heaven, or money.

Jesus sets us free by reminding us that it is not our job, calling, or business to judge anyone else’s behavior, color, or lifestyle. If you just keep working on the one who looks back at you in the mirror, you will have plenty to keep you busy.

“Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last.” You want to be free? Then quit judging others. You don’t have to understand or approve of those who worship differently, eat strange food, express their love in ways that seem foreign to you, change their names or genders, tattoo their bodies, or cheer for the San Francisco 49ers. Not your business, not your concern. Just love them; just love them, and let God take care of the rest.

History tells us that the United States has made progress in the pursuit of civil rights. Not a straight line, but progress. On October 27, 1838, Governor Lilburn W. Boggs of Missouri signed an executive order that proclaimed that all Mormons must either leave Missouri or be exterminated.

Yes, we have made a lot of progress, and yes, there is a long way to go. Let us follow Jesus, and let us be found on the “right side of history.”

See you in Church,
Pastor Jim

My Heart is Full

My Heart is Full

Jan 11, 2023 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Sheila Weidendorf…

Oh, how precious are you, am I, are we, Children of God all and so well-crafted in God’s own image! And, too, we are beautiful, with all of our gifts and graces, our failings AND our foibles. Yet, knowing this, believing that God took on fleshly form (just like us!) and earthly expression to show us who we really are… how readily we forget, or doubt, or deny the holy possibilities in ourselves and each other.

This life we live here on Earth, with all of our striving and struggle, with our little successes and our simple satisfactions is also precious. How much time, then, do we waste upon inconsequentialities? How much do we labor for a sense of security though we know full well tomorrow is not promised us? How often do we judge each other for perceived slights or infractions large or small before first considering the potentially ill-advised lens in our view finder?

I often think about the habituated patterns of thought by which our lives are organized. Our lives, our perceptions, our reactions—unless and until we devote ourselves to waking up to the bigger truths of our ultimate nature as illuminated in Christ Consciousness, we typically carry on with those familiar habituated patterns until we leave this earth. What a frivolity! This very minute is our only guaranteed minute, after all! Shall we limit this moment by the shackles of past habit?

How precious are you, am I, are we! So, what to do with these habits of thought, these reactivities, these ceaseless strivings for inconsequential gains? “What does the Lord require of [us] but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God?” (Micah 6:8) And also, “But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthian 13:13)

Love. What is God if not love? What are we to be about if not love? Of course, LOVE can be a tricky business! What does it mean to love, to be loved? How do we love? Is love a thing we can offer another? Noted German philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist Erich Fromm said in his Art of Loving that, “Most people see the problem of love primarily as that of being loved, rather than that of loving, of one’s capacity to love.”

Loneliness is certainly a real issue—made more so by the global pandemic. A very real factor of depression and a host of mental health issues is the feeling of isolation in one’s suffering. Another factor in our world is the pervasiveness of seeking others to fulfill ourselves. “If he/she loved me I’d be all right.” Popular culture norms worsen the self-perceptions of teens and adults alike, setting impossible and even unhealthy standards of beauty and success such that almost no one measures up. “I’m ugly. I’m not good/smart/strong/pretty/whatever enough—that’s why no one likes/loves me” is an all-too-familiar refrain.

But Love isn’t a panacea, a stop-gap to fill the gaping maw of a wounded heart or psyche. Love is not a thing but, rather, a state of being. And Love IS salvific! Recently deceased Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh said this about Love:

“If you pour a handful of salt into a cup of water, the water becomes undrinkable. But if you pour the salt into a river, people can continue to draw the water to cook, wash, and drink. The river is immense, and it has the capacity to receive, embrace, and transform. When our hearts are small, our understanding and compassion are limited, and we suffer. We can’t accept or tolerate others and their shortcomings, and we demand that they change. But when our hearts expand, these same things don’t make us suffer anymore. We have a lot of understanding and compassion and can embrace others. We accept others as they are, and then they have a chance to transform.

“The essence of loving kindness is being able to offer happiness. You can be the sunshine for another person. You can’t offer happiness until you have it for yourself. So, build a home inside by accepting yourself and learning to love and heal yourself. Learn how to practice mindfulness in such a way that you can create moments of happiness and joy for your own nourishment. Then you have something to offer the other person.”
Build a home inside yourself! (Because where else, exactly, can we find the Kingdom of God?!?!?). Here’s the thing…. Love isn’t a thing we give, it is a way of beingness. Love is a reflection of the Holy, and a reflection of you in me and me in you. We CAN be a light illuminating a path for others—not through our judgments or our accomplishments, but by cultivating love—lovingkindness, compassion, mindfulness—within the home of our hearts. There is precisely where God meets us!

As 15-Century Indian mystic saint Kabir said, “Our Master has made this body like a palace, and He played the instrument of breath within! Our Master has made this body like a garden, and how He’s filled it with a bowl of flowers!” Or as 13th-Century Persian poet Rumi says it,

“This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.”

We are the palace, the guest house, the mixed bag of tricks with successes and sorrow both, fully human yet divinely-fashioned and called to God’s task of loving. We may experience darkness but we are also called to be the Light.

But what of the many, many ills of this world—the darkness of disease, war, famine, homophobia, misogyny, environmental destruction, brutalities great and small, social and personal? What are we to DO? While it is true that to “do justice” requires action—whether that be peaceful protest, or speaking truth to power or feeding the hungry or donating to important causes—all noble action begins from within.

We must first build homes of mindfulness within ourselves, cultivate love and kindness and understanding and light within our own hearts such that whatever flows from us reflects the greater light and love of God. Which is why Pastor Tom’s recent account of his spiritual mentor was so meaningful. She told him that “contemplative prayer IS social activism!” What is contemplative prayer but the purifying of the pipes, the conduit of God’s love for the world?

It is a RADICAL action to learn to love ourselves, accept ourselves, to love and accept each other, to wake up each morning in the guest house of God within our own hearts and embrace the day with equanimity—no matter what the day brings. It is a RADICAL thing to be a lover in a broken and weary world. But there you have it, God’s ultimate task for us!

Oh, how precious are you, am I, are we, Children of God all and so well-crafted in God’s own image! And, too, we are beautiful, with all of our gifts and graces, our failings AND our foibles. Let us meet each other, then, in the beautiful palace of God in the guest house of the heart. My heart is full of you….
Follow this link for my musical meditation: https://youtu.be/SeuA6tXDxO

Sheila

Am I Safe?

Am I Safe?

Jan 6, 2023 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

She was cute as a button, swim goggles in place, her pink one-piece suit a perfect complement to her sandy brown hair, which hung in a ponytail off the back of her head. She was three years old, not a grandchild of mine, though she could have been. She bounced out of the pool again and again. Up the stairs, her wet body leaving a trail of water as she bounced to a predetermined spot on the pool deck; a few feet below her father waited in the warm water. “Am I safe daddy, am I safe?”

Cleared for take-off she launched herself two inches in the air, splashing down into the loving arms of the man entrusted to care for her. “Am I safe daddy, am I safe?”

It was obvious that she had been coached on pool safety. “Am I safe daddy, am I safe?” Gasping for air, all she needed was a little push from dad and she was on her way through the water, toward the stairs and another magical flight. The glee of a child at play is among the most precious of human observations. The absolute trust she placed in her father was likely to last another eight or nine years.

Throughout our lives, we yearn for security and safety. The world is not exactly a safe place, and security can be little more than an illusion. It was just a matter of time before the little girl tripped on stairs, slipped on the wet deck, or bumped heads with the dad who sought to catch her. No matter how strictly she observes the rules, or how diligently dad tries to protect her, tears and heartache are always close at hand. In reality, we have little protection from random accidents, a simple misstep, or the ravages of aging.

“Am I safe daddy, am I safe?” The cycle continued for 35 minutes or so as I closed my eyes, the rays of the sun warming my vitamin D deprived skin. Then I was shocked by the sudden silence. I opened my eyes to see a beautiful little three-year-old asleep on her father’s shoulder. He moved gently around the pool tenderly holding the one entrusted to his care.

It is magical and exhausting caring for a little one. Skinned knees, snack time and nap time, most of their problems can be solved. As the years pass the relationships and the problems become more complex.

“Am I safe daddy, am I safe.?” We seek safety and security. But life happens and life is predictably unpredictable and fraught with danger. The Psalmist writes, “_I lift up my eyes to the hills — from where is my help to come?_”

I have reflected upon the metaphor of that afternoon at the pool. How dependent we are in our youth, how seemingly independent we are in our middle years, and how at the end of life we return to the shoulder of the one entrusted to care for us. Exhausted from a journey of a thousand jumps into the pool of life, we lay our head down to rest. “Am I safe daddy, am I safe?” You are safe my child, you are in my arms, you are home.

Keep laughing, keep jumping, keep splashing, and trust in something outside of your understanding; yes, my child, you are safe.

Much love,
Pastor Jim

REMEMBERING 2022

REMEMBERING 2022

Dec 30, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
 
And so it is that 2022 will slip rather silently into the unchanging pages of history. Its story has now been written; the year will not be revisited or relived. It is history. We will remember 2022 as a difficult but remarkable year.
 
2022 was the year when the pandemic ended, and a war in Eastern Europe began. We witnessed the funeral of the longest reigning monarch in British history, and the ascension to the crown of one who had waited a lifetime for the opportunity to be King.
 
2022 gave us a magical summer with the Mariners, and a fall that brought unexpected good fortune to the Huskies and the Seahawks. It was a year of rising gas prices, interest rates, and a rather gloomy stock market. Despite that reality, the people of TLC gave away more money than ever before. We paid our bills, subsidized the Preschool, and took care of staff and our church home. In addition to all of that, we gave away $9,135 a week, every week, every one of those 52 weeks. We fed the hungry, we provided assistance to refugees, immigrants, college students, local charities, and those devastated by natural disaster.
 
2022 will be gone at midnight tonight. Thanks for the memories and good riddance. I am hoping to make it to the stroke of midnight to welcome 2023. The fireworks will illuminate the sky, the champagne will be poured, and there will be a kiss or two for good luck. Optimism will hold sway as together we will set out to write a story on the blank pages of 2023.
 
I am optimistic as the first day of the new year approaches. I believe that 2023 is going to be a challenging but fantastic year. My optimism is not rooted in the nightly news, the promised second coming of Jesus, or the unrealistic hope that human nature will suddenly change for the better. My optimism finds its foundation in the promises of God and in the people that will surround me in 2023. I am inspired each week by your love, service, devotion, and generosity.
 
Individually, each of us is rather ordinary, but as a community we are extraordinary. Working together in faith we can do extraordinary things in 2023. We can hold each other when sorrow comes, we can carry those who can’t carry themselves, we can be the hands and feet of Jesus on Whidbey Island and in the world.
 
We are authors called to write history together and that opportunity begins again at midnight. Say your prayers, give thanks, trust God, stay close to those you love, and be optimistic for the year ahead. God is with us, as we are in this together.
 
Happy New Year and thank you for sharing the journey of faith and doubt with me.
 
In love,
 
Pastor Jim