Five Funky Dysfunctions: Worry
February 28, 2010
Texts: Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 12:22-31
During the First World War, the army fliers developed this philosophy: “When you are in the air you will either be flying straight or turning over. If you are flying straight, there is no cause to worry. If you are turning over, one of two things is true: you will either right the plane or fail. If you right the plane, there is no cause to worry. If you fail, one of two things is certain: you will either be injured slightly or injured seriously. If you are injured slightly, there is no cause to worry. If you are injured seriously, one of two things will happen: you will either die or recover. If you recover, there is no cause to worry; and if you die, you can’t.”
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During the First World War, the army fliers developed this philosophy: “When you are in the air you will either be flying straight or turning over. If you are flying straight, there is no cause to worry. If you are turning over, one of two things is true: you will either right the plane or fail. If you right the plane, there is no cause to worry. If you fail, one of two things is certain: you will either be injured slightly or injured seriously. If you are injured slightly, there is no cause to worry. If you are injured seriously, one of two things will happen: you will either die or recover. If you recover, there is no cause to worry; and if you die, you can’t.”
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Five Funky Dysfunctions – Hurry
February 21, 2010
Texts: Romans 12:1-2; Luke 10:38-42
Going fast was his life, and for Nodar Kumaritashvili, the 21-year-old luge athlete from the Republic of Georgia, it was also his death. Whether it was the track, or his own error that was the critical issue, his death was ultimately caused by what is known in traffic violations as “traveling too fast for conditions”. For quite a while, many of us have found that life often seems to be a constant state of traveling too fast for conditions.
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Going fast was his life, and for Nodar Kumaritashvili, the 21-year-old luge athlete from the Republic of Georgia, it was also his death. Whether it was the track, or his own error that was the critical issue, his death was ultimately caused by what is known in traffic violations as “traveling too fast for conditions”. For quite a while, many of us have found that life often seems to be a constant state of traveling too fast for conditions.
Continue...
Evolution and Extinction
February 14, 2010
Texts: 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-36
We hear a lot about information overload these days, and so I was particularly impressed by something I heard yesterday at a Presbytery meeting. The Presbytery’s Associate Executive told us that, quoting Clay Shirky, “There has been information overload since the invention of the Gutenberg press. By 1500, there was more published than anyone could read in a lifetime.” So the information overload problem is not new. Nor is it, Shirky says, the real problem. The real problem is “filter failure” – the failure of systems to screen what information comes before us. Two examples of filters show what he’s talking about – publishers filter information because they don’t publish everything. They make decisions about what to publish so that we aren’t inundated with everything that gets written. However, as the internet has lowered the cost barriers to publishing information, publishers no longer are effectively performing that function, so another example of a filter is found on the internet – the spam filter on our email. It screens emails coming into our inbox so that we don’t have to individually sort all the mail that comes to us. Continue...
We hear a lot about information overload these days, and so I was particularly impressed by something I heard yesterday at a Presbytery meeting. The Presbytery’s Associate Executive told us that, quoting Clay Shirky, “There has been information overload since the invention of the Gutenberg press. By 1500, there was more published than anyone could read in a lifetime.” So the information overload problem is not new. Nor is it, Shirky says, the real problem. The real problem is “filter failure” – the failure of systems to screen what information comes before us. Two examples of filters show what he’s talking about – publishers filter information because they don’t publish everything. They make decisions about what to publish so that we aren’t inundated with everything that gets written. However, as the internet has lowered the cost barriers to publishing information, publishers no longer are effectively performing that function, so another example of a filter is found on the internet – the spam filter on our email. It screens emails coming into our inbox so that we don’t have to individually sort all the mail that comes to us. Continue...
Faith and Fishes
February 07, 2010
Texts: Isaiah 6:1-8; Luke 5:1-11
Although the text doesn’t say so, it seems clear that today’s Gospel story is set in Capernaum, where Peter lived, and where Jesus was based during his ministry. I went to Capernaum last summer, and it was very moving. It is all in ruins, of course, but you get a good sense of the distances. And while many of the sacred places in Israel are known as “traditional sites” (in the sense that we don’t really know whether a story happened here, but the tradition is that it was in this place), in Capernaum, we actually know where some of the primary sites are. So let me take you there…Capernaum is on the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Gennesaret. It is a coastal town. The home of Peter, a stone house, is very near the lakeshore (for remember, the Sea of Galilee is actually a freshwater lake), perhaps 100-150 feet off the shore, with no buildings in between. And as you walk inland from the lakeshore, after passing the home of Peter, you come to the synagogue. Now, the ruins that are there now are the ruins of the synagogue that was built later on the same site where the synagogue had been in the time of Jesus. When we see the synagogue, we are not seeing the actual building where Jesus worshipped, but it is in the same place. Continue...
Although the text doesn’t say so, it seems clear that today’s Gospel story is set in Capernaum, where Peter lived, and where Jesus was based during his ministry. I went to Capernaum last summer, and it was very moving. It is all in ruins, of course, but you get a good sense of the distances. And while many of the sacred places in Israel are known as “traditional sites” (in the sense that we don’t really know whether a story happened here, but the tradition is that it was in this place), in Capernaum, we actually know where some of the primary sites are. So let me take you there…Capernaum is on the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Gennesaret. It is a coastal town. The home of Peter, a stone house, is very near the lakeshore (for remember, the Sea of Galilee is actually a freshwater lake), perhaps 100-150 feet off the shore, with no buildings in between. And as you walk inland from the lakeshore, after passing the home of Peter, you come to the synagogue. Now, the ruins that are there now are the ruins of the synagogue that was built later on the same site where the synagogue had been in the time of Jesus. When we see the synagogue, we are not seeing the actual building where Jesus worshipped, but it is in the same place. Continue...
Living Love
January 31, 2010
Texts: Jeremiah 1:4-10; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
There is an old Cherokee tale about a Grandfather whose grandson came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice. The old Grandfather said, “Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. Continue...
There is an old Cherokee tale about a Grandfather whose grandson came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice. The old Grandfather said, “Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. Continue...
Gifts and Glory
January 24, 2010
Texts: 1 Corinthians 12:4-26, Luke 4:14-30
I heard an interesting story this week– Dan and Diane Dieterich described how several years ago, they went to Disneyworld in Florida. Dan was not, apparently, content to merely watch the fun, but wanted to participate. So he dressed all in white, and carried in a small hand puppet – a black bear named Billy Bear. Billy was somewhat shy and tended to hide in the crook of Dan’s arm, but every so often, especially when he heard small children, he would peer out, over Dan’s arm, and look at the kids, sometimes even waving, as his courage grew. The children loved it. Some of them found the larger animals somewhat intimidating – Goofy is something like 7 feet tall – but Billy Bear was more accessible, and inviting. Continue...
I heard an interesting story this week– Dan and Diane Dieterich described how several years ago, they went to Disneyworld in Florida. Dan was not, apparently, content to merely watch the fun, but wanted to participate. So he dressed all in white, and carried in a small hand puppet – a black bear named Billy Bear. Billy was somewhat shy and tended to hide in the crook of Dan’s arm, but every so often, especially when he heard small children, he would peer out, over Dan’s arm, and look at the kids, sometimes even waving, as his courage grew. The children loved it. Some of them found the larger animals somewhat intimidating – Goofy is something like 7 feet tall – but Billy Bear was more accessible, and inviting. Continue...
Joyful Justice
January 19, 2010
Water and Spirit
January 10, 2010
Texts: Isaiah 43:1-7; Luke 3:15-22
Perhaps you’ve heard the old story about the minister who had a problem with squirrels in the church. And so she consulted with her colleagues, and tried all their suggestions: she set traps, called in animal control, took her dog to church with her for a while, and still the squirrels stayed in church. Finally, at a clergy lunch, someone asked her about the squirrels, and she was glad to report that they were gone. “How did you do it?” her colleagues asked. “Oh it was simple,” she replied. “We just baptized them, confirmed them, and we haven’t seen them since.”
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Perhaps you’ve heard the old story about the minister who had a problem with squirrels in the church. And so she consulted with her colleagues, and tried all their suggestions: she set traps, called in animal control, took her dog to church with her for a while, and still the squirrels stayed in church. Finally, at a clergy lunch, someone asked her about the squirrels, and she was glad to report that they were gone. “How did you do it?” her colleagues asked. “Oh it was simple,” she replied. “We just baptized them, confirmed them, and we haven’t seen them since.”
Continue...