Tag Archives: god
(Or what if tomorrow wasn’t going to be different than today?)
Ecclesiastes is a bleak book. Yet, you occasionally catch verses from it prominently read at weddings, funerals, on cards, specifically Ecclesiastes 3 which goes:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
That might sound poetic and beautiful, but it comes in the midst of wailing and lamenting about the state of affairs of the world and life. All is vanity, the book begins. Everything will eventually pass away into dust. This isn’t the struggle to deal with suffering as we find in the book of Job – it’s more of a deep questioning of the cyclical nature of all things. Are we just wheels in the cog? Do our lives make a difference in the inevitable passing of the seasons? If we work hard in our lives, will the next person come along and redo all of our work? What is the point?
I imagine that if I could ask anyone to read this book in worship on Sunday, it would be Bill Murray. (For example, check out this clip from Groundhog Day which I may use Sunday.) He alone would capture that mix of dark humor, sarcasm, and world weariness that comes across from these writings. I like that this book is in the Bible. It counters some of the heady optimism that we encounter in other parts. Yes, we can make a difference – yes, God is passionately involved with Creation. But, things cycle and change, sometimes beyond our control. There is a season for all things, which is both good and bad.
In the end, the simplest things are the moments to savor in life. Enjoy your food. Drink well. Find joy in your hard work. Do the little things well, and perhaps the big things will take care of themselves.
“This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us; for this is our lot.” Ecclesiastes 5:18
See you Sunday or somewhere in between!
Leave a comment | tags: bible, bill murray, bleak, creation, cycles, dust, ecclesiastes, enjoy, for everything there is a season, god, hard work, little things, nathan hill, preaching, savor, seasons, simple things, the table, toil, vanity, worship | posted in Links, Video, Words, Worship Guides
Jules & Greg are two of our key Table community regulars, whose leadership and care and welcome of others has made a difference. This past summer, they went with a group from the Church of the Incarnation to Honduras as part of a training/preparation program to lead such trips in the future. Jules shared her experiences back in August, but she and Greg will brief our whole church on Sunday at noon. I hope you can plan on being there.
Mission has been an unofficial theme for the Table in this New Year, as we have attempted to move beyond our four walls and into our community. Tonight, a group of us will go and participate with the homeless census and count, starting at City Hall. During Christmas, the Table helped Reconciliation Ministry organize and distribute gifts to families in need. Most of our messages in this New Year have been focused on our call to serve others.
But it’s important to realize that mission is not just something that you go and do in a foreign country, one time a month for a special event, or whatever. It’s what you do each day.
Theologian David Bosch, in his book Transforming Mission, says it this way:
… consequently, the church is called to live the resurrection life in the here and now and to be a sign of contradiction against the forces of death and destruction.
Your job setting is a place to do mission. Your apartment complex. Your home. Your neighborhood. Your gym. Your local pub. Your supermarket. Wherever your day takes you, you will have opportunity to participate in Jesus’ ministry of incarnation in someone else – being God’s love for a stranger, friend, or enemy. Sometimes, that’s handing a thirsty person a drink of water or buying a burger for a hungry neighbor. Sometimes, it’s your presence in a time of need. It might even be words of affirmation to someone who feels beat down by life. It definitely includes using your voice to change systems that are broken in our own community.
Have you discovered your place of mission? Are you opening up to sharing God’s love with those you meet? May this New Year be a time to discover the answers to those questions and hear God’s call afresh.
Leave a comment | tags: dallas, david bosch, east dallas, god, greg, honduras, incarnation, jesus, jules, love, lunch, neighborhood, places of mission, pub, questions, reconciliation ministry, transforming mission, work, worship | posted in Outreach Opportunities, Upcoming Events, Words
I thought I would pipe in and share a few words from our Service of Remembrance last night, a reminder that the Christmas season is not a cheery, jolly time for everyone. Indeed, a lot of people out there feel great despair and loneliness. If you are one of them, you are not alone, and I hope you know that God is big enough to receive the grief, pain, and sadness you carry.
God did not wait until the world was ready, till the nations were at peace.
God came when the heavens were unsteady and prisoners cried for release.
God did not wait for the perfect time.
God came when the need was deep and great. God dined with sinners in all their grime.
God did not wait until the hearts were pure.
In JOY God came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt. To a world of anguish and shame. God came in JOY, and His light never goes out.
God came to a world which did not mesh; to heal its ill, and shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made flesh, the maker of the stars were born.
We cannot wait until the world is whole, to raise our songs with joyful voice, to share our grief, to touch our pain.
God came in grace, with love. Rejoice! Rejoice!
- Adapted from “First Coming” by Madeleine L’Engle in the Blue Christmas service
Leave a comment | tags: advent, blue christmas, christmas, dallas, depression, east dallas christian church, god, grief, heartache, hopeful, loneliness, loss, madeleine l'engle, not cheery, pain, space to bring your sadness to god, the table | posted in Words
There’s something about the human condition that keeps us from just being human.
Being human accepts that we are finite creatures – we have a beginning and end. There is a limit to our personal knowledge. There is only so much we can do. There are only so many answers that we can tuck away in our brains.
And yet, sometimes, we refuse to just say “I don’t know”.
At Faith in the City pub ministry, we go down this route a lot. We tackle a big question with deep importance to our faith, tradition, and way of life. Ultimately, our conversation takes us to a place of greater understanding, but on occasion, we have to say… “I just don’t know.” It’s not a cop out – it’s not giving up. It’s just accepting the fact that right now in our life, with what we know, experience, and understand of scripture, faith, God, and reality, we don’t have a clear picture. Maybe someday it will become clear, but rather than pretend to have some hidden insight, we admit that we are human.
Cause we are…. human.
Those three words can be frustrating, but they can also be liberating.
May they be liberating to all who seek truth, meaning, and purpose in this world.
Leave a comment | tags: big question, conversation, dallas, deep, faith, faith in the city, god, i don't know, liberating, life, meaning, pub, purpose, question, scripture, table, thinking, thought, truth, we | posted in Words
I’m excited about our September sermon series called STRETCHING.
Regardless of political affiliation, spiritual background, occupation, or age, most people understand that our world is changing, and each year, we face new kinds of questions that challenge not just our intellects but also our faith. Some of these questions may be easier than others to answer, but most challenge us to our core. What about my friend who is fundamentally a good person but has only been hurt by the Christian faith? Why does my country keep waging wars on other nations? Why are so many black young men incarcerated? Why are we stuck in an endless loop of political bickering when larger problems loom for our world?
We may have heard answers to these questions. We may know where we stand… but we may not. We also may not understand that the Bible, though wielded as an instrument of judgment by a lot of folks, may offer completely different answers than we think. This is a series to discover some of those answers. And though we may disagree, by stretching deeply around these issues, we may be more prepared to love others as God loves us.
Here’s a preview:
September 11 – Deep Wounds
Finding healing and hope in times of war
September 18 – Open & Affirming
Understanding God’s gift of sexuality
September 25 – Finding Reconciliation
Living for reconciliation in a diverse world
October 2 – A Universal God
Is God bigger than one people or one tradition?
October 9 – Real Conversations
Learning how to agree to disagree
Stay tuned for more updates as this great new conversation unfolds, beginning September 11.
Leave a comment | tags: bible, changing world, controversy, east dallas, east dallas christian church, god, healing, hope, hot topics, jesus, judgment, learning how to agree to disagree, love, message, october, political bickering, reconciliation, scripture, september, series, sermon series, sexuality, spiritual stretching, stretching, the table, war | posted in Upcoming Events, Words, Worship Guides
