THE POWER OF RITUAL

"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (I Corinthians 11:26).

In modern western culture we have devalued the necessity and power of ritual. In psychotherapy and contemporary Christian religion, we have invented our own substitute rituals because we understand that people need to recognize a foundational turning point in their lives. But why use substitutes when the real thing is easily available. Baptism is the statement of trust in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our salvation. Participation in the Lord's Supper is renewing that statement of trust. In my congregation, we observe the Lord's Supper each week for this reason. We are as human as any one else, and as subject to the frailties of the flesh as much as anybody else. We need to strengthen our trust and renew our faith each week. Once a week is not too often.

I say this because I wanted to share a blurb from Neil Clark Warren, of E-harmoney fame, that is applicable in this regard:

"That's exactly why I am proposing to change the frequency of the marriage vow. Instead of its being taken once in a lifetime under stressful conditions, I suggest that it needs to be said two to three times a week for the first ten years of marriage--and at least once a week for the rest of marriage. Why? In order to maintain a steady focus on the promises that form the steel framework of the marriage. With this structure in place, it is much more likely that commitment will shape the attitudes of a person, as well as the behavioral expression of those attitudes."

During stressful times in marriage, wedding vows seem like yesterday's news. They seem remote and irrelevant. It is in repetition of the vows that relevancy is restored. I hate to admit it, but I have not repeted my vows to Helen since we were married--it's like being baptized, but never taking the Lord's Supper.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

BEWARE OF THE FACTOIDS

Though it has always been true in the old media, in the age of the internet it is even more true, beware of the factoids! Norman Mailer coined the term and defined it, "A factoid is something that looks like a fact, could be a fact, but in fact is not a fact." Now if that quote is not a fact, don't blame me. It came from a column by Wesley Pruden.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS

"Learn not the way of nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are false" (Jeremiah 10:2).

There is a huge amount of anxiety in our culture about global warming, so much so that there are people who are ready to "cash in" their God-given rights to stop it. It appears that there is consensus in the scientific community that global warming is a reality and if we do not do something about it, humanity will become extinct--if not all life. To me it is interesting that believers in macro evolution, that life formed from inert matter, would have this much anxiety about "global warming" at all. After all, humanity is the problem. If it became extinct some life form would adapt and evolve and start the whole process over again--maybe in a better way.

Of course, any time a group of scientists get together with a political agenda, their consensus becomes junk science. It was the scientific consensus that there would be many hurricanes during the last season. There was not. If the scientists cannot accurately forcast a hurricane season 6 months ahead of time, why should we believe that they can forcast what would happen if global warming really is a reality? I have a suspicion that one simply needs to look at the "money trail" and political agendas to get to the bottom of the "scientific consensus" on global warming.

The signs in the heavens could well be a sign of the times. The Hebrews understood that there were 3 heavens: the atmosphere was the first heaven; where the sun, moon and stars are constituted the second heaven and the place where God resides constituted the third. Global warming qualifies as a sign in the heavens because it is in the atmosphere. One of the qualities of a corrupt generation is when its fears come from the imaginations of its heart. Trust and obey the Lord. It's gonna be OK.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

FAMININE?

"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are in the mountain of Sameria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their husbands, 'Bring, that we may drink!'" (Amos 4:1).

"Husker Red" gave me a little heat for my poor spelling ability. Yet "faminine" is not a mispelled word--I just coined a new one. Famines have to do with scarcity and dryness. Femininity has to do with qualities of the female gender. When a system is excessively female driven and there is a scarcity of masculine and Spiritual leadership that is what is a "faminine system." It is one of the most common systems in Western culture. The father with draws from a dominating female influence in the family, church or workplace. The result of such a system is just as dysfunctional as when there is too much male dominance. Is your family, church, workplace, or government too faminine?

It is interesting to me that this dynamic is not new. It has been present in every era of history when men have not lived up to their God-given responsibility to be the Spiritual leaders in their homes. The hen-pecked husbands of Israel of which Amos speaks are but one example.

Grace&Peace;
Tom