Pastor Jim’s Blog | Trinity Lutheran Church

CALLED TO BE ALIVE! – A Rite of Passage

Aug 5, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Jerry R. O’Neill…

My rite of passage from midlife to elderhood has been more than ten years in the making. Trinity Lutheran has been a huge part of that journey. So it is with great joy that I can share songs, short poems, and intentions from my new book Called to be Alive! with the TLC community at Trinity Lutheran on Sunday, August 21st.

In January 2018, my wife, Carol, and I spent two weeks vacationing with Larry and Gayle (God bless her soul) on the island of Maui. One day Carol announced she was going to attend a beginners’ class on how to play the ukulele. I had been a rockin’ freestyle guitar player and singer from childhood. So, I was at first very cool on the idea of a ukulele. But truth be told, I was in something of a rut with my music and hadn’t done much new for years. I told Carol I would sit in the back of the class just to listen. Before the first class was over, I found my way to the front and was handed a sweet, little four-string tenor to play along. The spirit of the instructor, a lively woman in her mid-seventies, was contagious. We ended up buying two ukuleles to take home with us. Since then, I have traded up twice and added a Mele six-string baritone and a double-puka (two-hole) concert-size ukulele to my collection of musical instruments.

To my pleasant surprise, learning to play the ukulele in my older years has opened the way for me to experience a second maturity in the music I compose, sing, and record. Most of the songs included in this book have been written and recorded playing the uke. This fun, little instrument now plays a key role in my music, strong in the song of the sacred. Today I am energized to play and sing with renewed gusto for both the fun and the positive impact music has on the soul. And as much as anything else, I simply love the way a ukulele puts people at ease and makes them smile.

In the fall of 2018, I attended a Sage-ing International Conference in Chaska, Minnesota. I had first read Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Ronald S. Miller for a class at Seattle University several years before. With a few more years under my belt and after reading a number of other books on aging, I returned to this wise and inspiring guidebook with renewed interest. I took some classes online and learned more at the conference. Attending the conference had a profound effect on me and my view of aging. I returned home with the desire to become a spiritual elder.

In the spring of 2019, I poured over The Sage-ing Workbook based on Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s sage-ing principles. During the forty days of Lent that year, I carefully and prayerfully completed each of the exercises. All are designed to help harness the power of the Holy Spirit for deep inner work—harvesting the wisdom of my years, healing painful memories, finding my voice, and discerning my call in later life. By Easter I was ready to begin working earnestly to write a new book on later life in Christ, preparing to use the gifts of music and poetry.

In Called to Be Alive! I have turned to the practice of creative writing together with other contemplative arts like Lectio Divina, journaling, music, meditation, and forest bathing to help do the inner work necessary for me to navigate from midlife to elderhood. Deciding not to merely drift into my older years, I have embraced aging as a spiritual practice, by which I gain enlightenment and am enlivened for purposeful living. As a conscious elder, I am open and responsive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, meaningfully engaged more in soul than in any role for the completion of my life on earth.

While my career as a parish pastor has had a beginning and an end, I understand my vocation to service is lifelong.

In my book and at my “Called to be Alive!” concert on August 21 you will witness my sense of call in later life.

Stirred by God’s Wisdom, I will use my one small voice and a little stringed instrument to break into song. I hope you’ll attend the concert, acquaint yourself with my book and recordings, and prepare to sing along with me—later-life alive!

Later Life Alive!

A Sing & Chat Concert featuring new songs and poems by Jerry O’Neill

TRINITY LUTHERAN

Sunday, August 21, 2022 at 7 pm

Followed by an ice cream and book signing reception

The Darkness Cannot Overcome the Light

Jul 30, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

This week one of our TLC families was devastated by the suicide of a beloved father. He died on the very day that his son was celebrating his 14th birthday. I was asked to give thought, words, and perspective to the family. My response was as follows. The names have been changed.

Julie, I am so sorry for all involved.

Suicide is the final act of mental illness. No one in their right mind kills themselves. The disease is depression, and it stalks it victims and kills them just like cancer killed Pastor Tom’s Brenda. The disease is no one’s fault, there is no one to blame. Just as Brenda’s cancer was not her fault. As I said Sunday quoting Kate Bowler, “There is no cure for being human.” Death is an inescapable reality for all of us.

Historically, the church made every attempt to stop suicide. Suicide leaves such a devastating wake of grief and destruction. The church called it an unforgivable sin (it is not an unforgivable sin), the church taught that the suicide victim would go directly to hell, consequently the church would not allow suicide victims to have church funerals or be buried in the church graveyard. The suicide victim would be buried on the outskirts of the village, out of sight, removed from the community, and separated from God’s love. Suicide’s only legacy was one of shame. It was a desperate attempt by the church to stop a disease that destroyed families. In reality, these well-intentioned actions caused further punishment and shame for the families left behind.

Romans 8 is clear — “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” Nothing means nothing. We are not powerful enough to defeat the love of God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing — not addiction, not sin, not cancer, not mental illness, not unbelief, not suicide.

This poor man was ill, very ill, diseased — his disease is what killed him — no one is responsible and no one could have prevented it. Sometimes prayer, doctors, chemo, and radiation leaves us still at the graveside of a cancer victim. Sometimes prayer, medication, and the love of family still leaves us at the graveside of a suicide victim. There is no cure for being human.

My grandfather hung himself in the basement of his house just two days after Felicia and I left him after Christmas to return to seminary. I came home to officiate at his funeral. He died of loneliness, depression, mental illness, but nothing could separate him from the love of God.

This broken family will never be the same — this poor 14-year-old will never have a birthday free from tears. The grief that descended upon this family last Friday will be with them forever, but they will be better off if they can name the cause of his death and understand that Dad did not quit loving them. He did not want to leave them — this was disease, this was about the enveloping darkness of depression which steals all hope and sometime extinguishes all life. But nothing can separate their dad from the love of God. He is safe in the hands of God — no more tears, no more pain, no more death for him.

The darkness cannot overcome the light. Paul Skinner, one of our dear saints, wrote me a note years ago at a difficult time in my ministry. He said, “I read the last chapter — we win. God wins, love wins.”

The truth can help us to dispel the shame and secrecy that for too long has come with suicide. There is no cure for being human — a disease or an accident will take us all — this dear broken man was taken by a disease he could not defeat. God wins — love wins.

We are in this together and we are one day closer,

Pastor Jim

[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

T-Shirts & Shorts All Summer Long

Jul 29, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

It is hot, hot, hot, but the sanctuary and gym stay remarkably cool even during a heat wave! This Sunday, wear your favorite T-Shirt, wear shorts, wear your bathing suit. (I am kidding Brian Appleby). Come as you are, be comfortable; Jesus wore sandals and a tunic.

And if your wardrobe needs updating, you can pick up the newest TLC T-Shirt this Sunday. Look smashing and help get Pastor Jim out of T-Shirt debt!

It is going to be a great Sunday at TLC as we look once again at the Lord’s Prayer and the place of prayer in our lives.

See you Sunday!
PJ

Look to the Heavens With Wonder

Jul 26, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…

“The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God’s handiwork. Day by day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.” Psalm 19

“When I look to the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” Psalm 8

Have you seen the latest images from the James Webb telescope? They are really quite amazing, beyond comprehension, mind blowing to say the least.

My grandson Cam and I were looking at this image of a close star system—just 2500 light years away from earth. He asked how far that was. Well, the light from our Sun takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach earth, but the light from this star system takes 2500 years to arrive.

“But how far away is it Bapa?” Cam has flown many times on Alaska Airlines, so I tried to make it relatable for him. We did the math, and after crunching the numbers, we came up with the answer.

If you boarded an Alaska Airlines plane and flew non-stop you would arrive at your destination in 3,356,164 years. That is a lot of frequent flyer miles.

I was talking with a highly educated young professional last week. We have talked before and he always described himself as not religious, an agnostic at heart. The images from the James Webb telescope had changed his opinion. He had no name for God, and he was quite sure that most religious movements were off base, but he said, “This could not be an accident. The universe clearly was designed by a higher intelligence.”

I think that it is impossible for mere mortals to comprehend God. The mysterious movement of God over billions of years is mostly beyond our understanding. I think that human institutions like the church are flawed, often arrogant, and frequently misguided. We should be more humble, less certain, less judgmental. I think that we are not alone in the universe. We are created in the image of God, but there are likely others, on other planets, lost in the expanses of space and time, previous civilizations, or yet to be birthed children of God.

Does the reality of our mortality and our limited intellectual capacity mean that there are no certainties? I think not. What do we know about this God who created a universe so vast and mysterious? We know that this God is defined as “LOVE.” God is many things, but God is most accurately defined in a simple phrase, “God is love.” What does that mean for me as I approach the autumn of my years? It means that I need not be afraid. I need not be afraid of God. I need not be afraid of the future. I need not be afraid of death even. God is love and that tells me, that as one created in the image of God, that I should just concentrate on being more loving.

Look to the heavens with wonder my friends. Muse upon the reality of being a part of something expansive, so grand, so beautiful, so wild. In our tiny neighborhood, in this small corner of the Milky Way, we have been given the gift of 80, or so, years. Drink it up, soak it in, and love. And when your 80 years are up, know that love will be there to meet you. The past, the present, and the future belong to God, and God is love.

One day closer,
Pastor Jim
[email protected]

On Kindness

Jul 22, 2022 | News-for-Home-Page, Pastor Jim's Blog

TODAY’S WORD by Susan Shira with an introduction by Pastor Jim…

Most of us are not in a position to change the course of history, affect international policy or travel to far off lands to work with the poorest of the poor.

We are simply trying to survive, feed our families, nurse our loved ones, or rehab our own aches and pains.

That reality does not change the fact that every day, we wake up with the opportunity to make a difference where we are. Little acts of kindness make the world a better place.

TLC’s Susan Shira offers us this beautiful and inspiring reflection about kindness.

ON KINDNESS

-A Reflection by Susan Shira-

Some mornings are harder than most. On one such recent morning I started to recall my usual litany of the things for which I am thankful. However, I found the thoughts that were percolating to the surface of my mind all centered on the many times kindness has been shown to my husband and me in the years since he became blind and, most especially, in the years since he had a stroke that left him in need of full-time care. The realization was almost palpable, that the kindness of others was the tangible expression of God’s presence and loving care. These kindnesses were the actual embodiment of God drawing near.

My litany changed that day as I began to recall kindnesses:

• A simple text arrived: Can my buddy and I have a visit today, just the two of us?

• A silly, whacky video clip showed up in a phone message.

• A prayer was prayed during a visit, for God’s presence and strength to uphold, while a little child took in that scene seeing firsthand how faith and kindness are inseparable.

• A card arrived from someone unknown bearing a message of hope and caring.

• A potted plant, a Bleeding Heart, appeared on the doorstep the day after the sudden death of our beloved dog.

• A loving visit, the most recent in 10 years of visits, from one friend coming to spend time with his shut-in friend.

• A thank you was uttered, one of hundreds said over these past years, for loving care.

• A pair of simple questions were asked: Are you OK? Why not? They were asked just minutes after the first time my husband did not know who I was.

• A fellow jazz aficionado sent a link to the music of an artist not listened to before.

• A quart of homemade ice cream delivered for storage in our freezer.

• A young child, knowing very well that her daddy gives good gifts, asked him to buy new eyes for Grampy.

• A knock on the front door after the delivery of just-out-of-the-oven scones alongside a jar of homemade jam.

• A phone call from a fellow USMC vet. They met in 1953 en route to Korea. The call ended, per usual, with “Semper Fi, buddy.”

• A word of encouragement was given from a friend who twice has walked the path I now am walking: “It is hard, but you can do it!”

The words of Job 10:22 came alive for me….

“You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.”

— Susan Shira

——————–

Thank you, Susan, for these inspiring words!

I hope to see you all in church tomorrow. It is T-shirt Sunday and we will be focusing on the role of prayer in our lives.

One day closer.

Visitation

Jul 14, 2022 | Pastor Jim's Blog

A Word from Pastor Tom…

It’s a noun. Not a verb, as in “I am visiting with my family.” In the life of Christianity, it is the name we give to the story of a Mary, pregnant with Jesus, who came visiting Elizabeth who was pregnant with John, who grew to be known as the Baptizer. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb leapt at the Visitation of Mary who was pregnant with the Savior Child Jesus.

It’s a noun. As it turns out, a very important one for us all in the journey of faith.

There is a branch of Christianity, commonly referred to as millennialists (popularized by the book “Left Behind” series), who hold to a notion that the faithful will be raptured. That is, they will be taken up to be with Jesus. My purpose in mentioning this bit of religious trivia is not to get lost in a theological debate, but to make a clear distinction regarding God’s course of direction. God comes down to us. That is, the author of all life condescends to take on our nature and be with us. Emmanuel, God is with us.

We experience a Visitation whenever the Kingdom of God breaks into our life, God comes down to us and pushes back the darkness of despair and loss. During the past months I have personally experienced how the Visitation of God happens through the people of God.

Brenda’s cancer diagnosis has changed our lives. Dramatically. Many of you who have been through the big “C” with a loved one understand well this truth. It is not just the symptom bearer who lives with this disease, but the whole family as well. Me, our children, our extended family and friends. Everyone is trying to sort out their reprioritized life as a result of Bren’s diagnosis and treatment. It can feel dark.

This is where you come in. The Kingdom of God has visited Brenda and me through the countless expressions of love you have shared with us. It is impossible to name or count them all but it is very obvious their consequence. We do not feel alone nor are we without hope. We have chosen to live with cancer; we are not dying with it. That decision is made ever more possible because the Kingdom of God continues to come down to us through God’s people. Darkness is pushed back. That is a Visitation.

It is easy to minimize those seemingly small acts of caring. With a wave of the hand, we can dismiss the mailing of a card or the gifting of a meal as no big deal. Don’t. Those are expressions of love that lift a lagging heart and remind the recipient of God’s promises of “Lo, I am with you always.” Maybe there is someone you have not seen for a long time, pandemic et al. Send them a card. Make a phone call. Remind them they are valued, missed, and loved. Gift them with a Visitation.

You are God’s hands and feet; the light of God shines through you and darkness is pushed back. Your Visitation Pastor loves you and hopes to see you soon.

Pastor Tom