Author: Pastor 139

This devotional was written for the 300th anniversary of the Philadelphia Presbytery. The gospel reading for October 4, 2017, is Matthew 7:13-21.

On this date 110 years ago, the Ardmore Presbyterian Church was formed. Things have changed a lot since 1907 even more so since the founding of the Philadelphia Presbytery in 1717. There have been triumphs and tears, good times and bad. Through it all, we have tried to maintain a faithful witness in our neighborhood and in the world.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus tells us that we should consider the fruit. Good fruit and bad fruit doesn’t happen by accident. I always wonder what the discerning will say about our congregation. When they consider the fruit of 110 years, what will they say? I see vibrant worship, a loving community, and strong partnerships in mission. I see transformed lives. Certainly, we are not a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but how do we stay healthy and strong? We must strive to do God’s will. We must not seek the easy way. We follow the path of Jesus Christ embodying his message of justice, hope, and life for the next 110 years.

Merciful God, bless today all the congregations of the Philadelphia Presbytery with good fruit. Amen.

“Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man. We hear it said that a person’s life will suffer if he doesn’t pray, but I question that. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a person is born again from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve or nourish that life. Prayer is the way that the life of God in us is nourished.”

— Oswald Chambers

The events of the last few weeks have turned my attention to Dorothy Day.  Her autobiography, The Long Loneliness, remains one of the most important books on the Christian faith that I have read in the last decade.  As a Presbyterian pastor, I am a little surprised that I would be moved by one of the founders of the Catholic Worker Movement.  Nonetheless, I am forever grateful to Jim Moore for introducing me to this woman of faith.

In 1906 when she was only 8 years old, Dorothy Day experienced the San Francisco earthquake while living across the bay in Oakland.  There, in the midst of the destruction, she experienced compassion.  People were giving clothes, making food, and sharing their possessions.  Dorothy Day wrote, “It was as though they were united in Christian solidarity. It makes one think of how people could, if they would, care for each other in times of stress, unjudgingly in pity and love.” This experience was formative for her.  It gave her a glimpse of God’s Kingdom.

Watching the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey reminded me of Dorothy Day’s glimpse.  From the media coverage, I saw the man from Texas City launching his fishing boat into the flood waters declaring to the reporter, “I am going to try to save some lives.”  I saw the volunteer who is leading a crew in Houston who stated, “It’s just the way I was raised up. Everybody else comes before me.”  Again and again, people are doing the hard work of helping strangers, sacrificing for the sake of others.

Notice the contrast between what we saw in Charlottesville where pointy-headed idiots spouted hate and vitriol and clashed violently in the streets.  I’m sure that not all the hurricane volunteers agree on every issue.  I bet they are as divided as the rest of America is.  However, when faced with great need, the divisions and differences melted away.  They found common cause in love for neighbor.

Who is my neighbor?  Jesus suggested that for the man hurting and beaten on the side of the road, his neighbor was one who acted in compassion.  It didn’t matter his background, his ethnicity or even his theology.  Jesus’ message for us is clear, “Go and do likewise.”

First Impressions

I arrived at Taize for Sunday morning worship on April 23.  Two of the first people I met were Toby and Annika.  For me, they epitomize the best of the Taize experience.  The two are young, 16 and 18 respectively.  Both have a sincere faith.  Both are altar services in their Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany.  Both are very kind.  They gave some old, Protestant pastor from America pointers and advice as he entered his first Taize experience.  Toby even gave me a ticket for a free crepe at the Oyak (like a camp store).

There was much confusing about that initial plunge into the Taize experience.  However, Toby and Annika demonstrated to me from the beginning that there was something special happening there.

What is the Taize?

Taize is a small farming village in France.  It was the place where Brother Roger established an ecumenical monastic community after World War II.  Usually, we think of monastic communities as strictly Roman Catholic.  However, there is a mix among the brothers of both Roman Catholic and Protestant.  The brothers make lifelong vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

The curious thing about Taize is that the community was discovered by young people.  By the early 1960s, young people were making pilgrimages to the community to join the brothers for a season of prayer and conversation.  Thousands of people, church groups and individuals, will find themselves living in tents and cabins this year at Taize.  They will eat together, pray together, and listen together.

Worship Experience

At the heart of the Taize community is the experience of worship.  Three times a day, the community gathers in the Church of Reconciliation for prayer.  The services are simple and multi-lingual.  There is Scripture, prayer, and song.

Most people who know about Taize know about the songs.  They are short, repetitive refrains.  Perhaps, it could be a few sentences of Scripture breathed in and out.  People find the songs centering and calming.  At our congregation, we have used some of these songs for vespers services during times of the year or now even on Sunday morning.

I love the fact that the services are multi-lingual.  There is something wonderful about so many people from so many places gathering to worship God in Jesus Christ.  However, personally, I find singing new songs in Dutch, Spanish, Latin, French and German a little challenging.  After a few worship services, I found myself simply repeating the lyrics in English and reflecting on them rather than singing every song.

The best attitude to take in a Taize service is not to participate in every part.  Let the Holy Spirit move you.  Sometimes you will be active.  Sometimes you will be passive, allowing the elements of the service to affect you.

As a good Reformed Christian, I find the lack of Scripture teaching and preaching a little dismaying.  However, I would argue that the daily Bible studies led by the brothers and small group reflections serve that purpose.  One should view the whole day as worship rather than just the time in the Church of Reconciliation.

The Role of Community

Very soon after people arrive at Taize, there is an effort to gather them into small groups for Bible study and reflection.  These same groups will often share jobs during the week as well.  These could include helping with the distribution of food, washing dishes or even cleaning bathrooms.

In my group, we had people from Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Czech Republic, and Australia.  We had devout believers, interested fellow travelers, and sincere questioners.  In my short time there, we wrestled with the meaning of forgiveness, the nature of Jesus Christ, and applying the faith to our own lives.

Taize is about relationships–our relationship to God and each other.  To get the most out of the experience, one needs to form connections fairly quickly.  That’s probably why many travel to Taize in groups.  They already have the benefit of existing relationships.  Otherwise, a participant needs to be gregarious. Taize would be tough for an introvert.

The Language Barrier

The language barrier is real. Everyone that I have met has been very accommodating and kind. It is amazing how much can be communicated when folks share a common faith in Jesus Christ. People are very patient and loving. There is certainly a lot of laughter. Nonetheless, it’s frustrating when you can’t understand or cannot be understood. Pentecost was probably the best possible miracle for the early church. Christ came to tear down the walls that divide us from each other and from God. Language is certainly one of those walls.

Not Good for a Bad Back

Taize is not a place to go with a bad back.  Before Easter, I injured my back, and after a difficult Holy Week, I almost had forgotten the pain I had experienced.  However, Taize constantly reminded me.  Most worship seated on the floor.  There are very few places to sit other than hard wooden benches or concrete. The beds are incredibly uncomfortable.

This led to some interesting observations.  During worship, I sought out one of the few benches along the periphery of the church.  The view isn’t that great, but I prefer less pain.  These benches were also the home of those youth who particularly didn’t want to be there.  They were forced to come along with their church youth group.  Sitting near me was the eye-rolling boy from Germany, the class clown from France, and the flirtatious young lady from Switzerland.  These were not the most devout, but even they had an openness to God’s movement.

In a conversation with one of the brothers, we both observed that in today’s generation there is receptivity to the faith.  They may not have the vocabulary to express their longings or their experiences of the divine.  Nonetheless, there is something there.  A generation or two ago, young people were rebelling against the church.  Now the church is real counter-culture.

 

 

What are You Taking Home?

In my conversations with others at Taize, there was a question that I kept asking, “What are you going to take home from this experience?”  At one point, someone threw the same question back at me.  It was harder than I thought it would be.  I think what I will take back is the questions.

The participants are from all over the world, yet there is clearly some spiritual challenges that reveal themselves over and over again: What brings my life meaning? How do I escape the trap of the expectations of the culture, my family, etc? How do I stay connected to a greater reality in this crazy world? What role does family, career or sexuality play in my identity?  What is our responsibility to the poor?  How do we make a difference?  Where is God in all this?

Those common questions and the answers that we discover in our Christian faith provide a challenging agenda for the church.

I have been posting regularly until I lost almost all internet access in Taize.  Nonetheless, I thought some might appreciate more of a narrative account rather than a topical one.

EASTER SUNDAY, April 16

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!

The worship service was glorious.  Many don’t realize the work that goes on behind the scenes in preparation for the celebration.  There are many volunteers and staff who worked so hard to make everything perfect.  The music was great.  The youth did a great job for the early service.  The breakfast was wonderful.

The text for the morning focused on the words of the angel and Jesus to the two Marys at the empty tomb, “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 28:5,10).

April 17, 2017

Monday was spent getting all the last minute arrangements and an MRI.  I’m not sure what I did, but since Tuesday, my back was getting progressively worse.  According to the MRI, my lower back is a bit of a mess.  Nothing that requires surgery or a major intervention.  A friend from college sent me a picture of his blood pressure score.  Sometimes it is hard to believe that we are all getting older.

April 18, 2017
Tuesday we left for the airport.  A friend from the animal shelter where Sara volunteers took us to Hamilton, NJ where we grabbed the train to the Newark airport.  Then we were off to Dublin via Wow Airlines.  It’s a budget airline out of Iceland.  We stopped in Reykjavik for a brief time.

April 19, 2017

Wednesday we arrived in Dublin.  We stayed at the Times Hostel near Trinity College.  The conditions were spartan but comfortable.  It was cheap and close to everything that we wanted to see.

That afternoon we visited the Book of Kells, and we walked the much of the downtown area.  We visited the post office where the Easter Rebellion occurred in 1916 which paved the way an independent Ireland.  We took in a Guiness at a local pub, and that evening, we took a bus tour of the city.

April 20, 2017

Bright and early on Thursday we were prepared to go on a U2 tour.  Unfortunately, our tour guide didn’t arrive.  We were very disappointed, and later I received a call from the tour company.  They made a huge mistake, and they wanted to schedule for the afternoon.

That afternoon, we met PJ Murphy-O’Brien.  He showed us Bono’s and James Joyce’s Dublin.  It wasn’t exactly what we were expected, but we had a great time.  After the tour, Sara and I attended a public reading of James Joyce which was being recorded by a local Dublin television station.  Sara and I might even be part of a future broadcast.

April 21, 2017

Friday, the family split.  Sara and Thomas flew to London, and I went to France.  I was eventually headed to the Taize Community to be a bit like a monk for a few days.  Sara and Thomas always the saner members of the family declined.

After arriving in Lyon, I rented a car.  Driving in a foreign country can be a challenge especially if you don’t know any of the local language.  The hardest part was trying to change the GPS language from Polish to English.  Also, it was fun driving a manuel transmission again.  The last time I drove stick shift was back in high school on a little pick-up truck in East Texas.

April 22, 2017

My first stop before going to Taize was stopping at Cluny.  I stayed with Airbnb.  My hosts were incredible.  Accommodations were wonderful.  Breakfast was great, and Savan, the family dog, was very welcoming.  If you are ever in the Burgundy region of France, I would highly recommend you visit.

That day, I visited what was left of the Abbey of Cluny.  It’s an amazing bit of history that is all but forgotten.  It was amazing to learn this bit of history of the Christian church in Europe.  That evening, I tried escargot.  It’s a local speciality.  Butter and garlic make anything better.