Tag Archives: Hope

The Great Hope of Postseason 2015

12 Monday Oct 2015

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imageNearly every year in October, I’m fortunate to have my beloved St. Louis Cardinals in MLB’s postseason.  There have been times they have lost in the World Series or in National League Championship play.  But the Cardinals had an active presence in October’s baseball – many times over the course of the past 10 or so years.

Some of my dear friends rarely-to-never have the chance to see the Chicago Cubs in postseason play.  Yet each April they beam with excitement.  This will be the year!  These dedicated fans hold on to a hope that is greater than winning or losing.  It’s a hope that transcends statistics and a century-long losing streak.

So I sit here very conflicted as I watch the television set in my living room.  I’m not rooting against my Cardinals.  I’m cheering for Hope.  And I see that hope in the 2015 Chicago Cubs.

I’m cheering for the rains of hope that come after the dry spells of life.  I’m cheering for the sparks of hope that begin to ignite after failed attempts of lighting a fire.

It’s a hope in which people in the Judeo-Christian faith: hope in the midst of the wilderness.  No matter how many decades we face in the wilderness, there is possibility.  Even though there are exiles after exiles, hope abides and restoration occurs.  It’s a hope that flourishes after crucifixions and tombs.

This hope moves beyond just ballparks but into other parts of our lives.  If they can win, what other things are possible in our world?  Peace?  Love?  Visions becoming a reality  When hope wins all sorts of possibilities arise.

Hope may not win this year.  Instead it may be my Cardinals.

But hope will win someday.

Still Part of the Same Body as Rick Warren

07 Sunday Apr 2013

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Today, I heard the news that Rick Warren’s son committed suicide.  I can’t imagine what pain a parent would feel upon hearing the news that his or her own son ended their own life.

Granted, I may not agree with many theological points that Rick Warren believes.  His style of ministering and preaching may not be my style.

But, without a doubt, he is a child of God just as you and I are children of God.  He is part of the same Body of Christ that we belong.  He is made in the image of God the way all of us are made in God’s image.  God loves Rick Warren as much as God loves all of us.  And on the other side of heaven, Rick Warren will be there along with all of us.

Right now, God mourns with Rick.  God cries with Rick.  God surrounds Rick and his family with love, grace, comfort and peace.

We are called to do the same.

Because there is a hole in the heart and spirit of Rick, there is a hole in our spirits as well.  Because we are all part of the same vine and branches, we feel the branch that has been lost because Rick’s son Matthew is not walking with us on earth.  We feel a tremor in the whole body because Rick and his family have experienced this loss.

I tire hearing some theological traditions that believe that suicide sends people to hell.  Suicide is a result of mental illness.  As depression is a health issue, it can consume a person so greatly.  People do not choose to end their lives because Satan or some “evil force” causes them commit suicide.  Because of body chemistry and hormones, depression grasps the emotions of a person and causes them to understand reality in different ways.   This is a scientific and medical reality.  So Matthew isn’t in hell.  Matthew is finally seeing God in God’s fullest.  Matthew is able to see himself as God sees him.  Matthew can experience God’s full love and grace.  And Matthew is still a member of the great Cloud of Witnesses who will welcome us as we transition from this life to the next.

May the Warren family feel God’s peace, love and comfort during this time.  We pray for all who are contemplating suicide tonight and those who experience deep depression.  Amen.

A New Valentine’s Day

29 Tuesday Jan 2013

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I do not like Valentine’s Day.  It’s yet another painful reminder of how my life has not followed a certain flow.

Yet I don’t want to remain stuck in the sticky web of melancholy on another holiday.  When I reframed New Year’s Eve this year, it was probably one of the best NYE’s in recent past.

Now I want to reframe Valentine’s Day.

There has to be more than the absence of cards and flowers.  There has to be a wide spectrum of joy on a day absent of romance.

So I need some ideas on how I can make my and others’ Valentine’s Day spectacular.  One plan is visiting some of our congregants in nursing homes.  How else can I bring joy and love to our world on a day that can be very discouraging for people?

Let’s come up with some ideas!

A new perspective for a new year

31 Monday Dec 2012

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Each year, I approach New Year’s Eve as a time to reflect upon the past year: my mistakes, what I haven’t accomplished, etc.  I gaze upon what still has not happened in my life.  Once again, for the umpteenth year in a row, I am single, childless, don’t own a home, etc.

So, as you can see, New Year’s Eve has typically become a holiday of dread.

But what if I took New Year’s Eve and used it as a tool of grace?  What if New Year’s Eve became the great eraser for the year?  Last year I experienced such and such.  This is a new year… maybe I won’t experience this again…  Maybe I’ll avoid the same mistakes and live in healthier ways…

Yet how can I do this in a way that releases any shame from the past and embraces a fresh start?  Is there some ritual that will help us release the past?

Maybe gratitude should become part of this ritual.  What if this became a holiday in which I thank God for what I’ve experienced and accomplished?  What if I thank God for the people who have touched my lives and the opportunities I’ve had to minister to others?

So this year, I’ll try something different.  I’ll place 2012 behind me.  I’ll ask to be reconciled to God, my neighbor and self for any bad decisions and mistakes I might have made.  And I will firmly place one foot in front of the other as I walk with hope into 2013.

Hoping With…

28 Wednesday Nov 2012

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Adapted from original posting on here 12/30/10.  Inspired by Grey’s Anatomy, season 3, episode 12

Hoping is a communal action.

Dr. Preston Burke says it best in a season 3 episode of Grey’s Anatomy.  George O’Malley’s father was diagnosed with advanced cancer.  We no longer see “George the doctor” but “George the patient’s son.”

As his father’s body experiences organ failure, George turns to Burke, the cardio surgeon, to discuss father’s health.  Preston alludes that George’s father probably won’t be coming back from this.  Preston tells George that what he can do is “hope with you.”

Hoping with… what a unique way to show solidarity with those in pain and those grieving. Usually, hope is something that I will do for me and you will do for you.  Hoping seems like a very private and internal journey.  But what if the journey of hope is intended to be something we do with others?  When our hope seems dwindling, what if someone comes along side of us and keeps the hope going?

Hoping with someone has its risks.  Maybe it means that we risk our emotions in hoping.  We sit in the depths of the ditch with our neighbor, and our heart is with them in that ditch.  As their hope becomes our hope, we, too, risk having hope pass us by.

If we identify with the Christian faith, we are undoubtedly in the hope business.  We are in the tomb with Christ, hoping for resurrection.  We are with the women at the tomb, hoping for a better day.

Hope isn’t just for Easter.  At Christmas, hope comes as we wait for the birth of someone who embodied God’s love.  Hope comes as we know night will not last forever, and longer days are ahead.

For what are you hoping?  How can I hope with you?

Hoping With…

30 Thursday Dec 2010

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Adapted from original posting on here 12/30/10.  Inspired by Grey’s Anatomy, season 3, episode 12

Hoping is a communal action.

Dr. Preston Burke says it best in a season 3 episode of Grey’s Anatomy.  George O’Malley’s father was diagnosed with advanced cancer.  We no longer see “George the doctor” but “George the patient’s son.”

As his father’s body experiences organ failure, George turns to Burke, the cardio surgeon, to discuss father’s health.  Preston alludes that George’s father probably won’t be coming back from this.  Preston tells George that what he can do is “hope with you.”

Hoping with… what a unique way to show solidarity with those in pain and those grieving. Usually, hope is something that I will do for me and you will do for you.  Hoping seems like a very private and internal journey.  But what if the journey of hope is intended to be something we do with others?  When our hope seems dwindling, what if someone comes along side of us and keeps the hope going?

Hoping with someone has its risks.  Maybe it means that we risk our emotions in hoping.  We sit in the depths of the ditch with our neighbor, and our heart is with them in that ditch.  As their hope becomes our hope, we, too, risk having hope pass us by.

If we identify with the Christian faith, we are undoubtedly in the hope business.  We are in the tomb with Christ, hoping for resurrection.  We are with the women at the tomb, hoping for a better day.

Hope isn’t just for Easter.  At Christmas, hope comes as we wait for the birth of someone who embodied God’s love.  Hope comes as we know night will not last forever, and longer days are ahead.

For what are you hoping?  How can I hope with you?