Claimed, gathered and sent

The text for this sermon is Luke 20:27-38a . This is my initial draft.             The Gospel of Luke continues to challenge us. Wed. morning as the pastors’ group gathered for text study, we discussed what we thought it might be like in the afterlife. What are we expecting? It was certainly different from what Jesus’ challengers anticipated. One member’s response was, “I just want some answers. I want to ask questions.” Maybe you feel the same way. The Sadducees had questions as well. Though their example seems extreme, it appears innocent enough, but we need to understand a bit of the cultural and religious dynamics of the groups Jesus encountered. The Sadducees and the Pharisees were generally at odds with each other. The Sadducees only believed in the written law in the first 5 books of the Old Testament. They did not accept the oral traditions that went along with it. Nor did they believe in the resurrection from the dead or in angels. The Pharisees on the other hand, believ

My CPE supervisor right from the beginning told us the residents of BV would be our teachers. CPE is now complete and I couldn't agree more. This is the story of a relationship with just one of them. When I first met R, she was pretty well bed-ridden and on hospice care in her apartment in assisted living. I went to her room in response to a note from the associate chaplain that she was not doing well. R didn’t speak much when we met as she was struggling with pain, but still managed a few words and looks of communication. Her eyes were bright clear blue and were warm in spite of the soreness she was experiencing. As one of her two daughters introduced me to her as one of the chaplains, she smiled in response and seemed glad to see me. The conversation we carried on was very limited due to the medications she was being given for pain. They made her sleepy and she would nod off. She was remarkably warm and welcoming given the circumstances and her own suffering. When awake,

I first became acquainted with the hymn "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" at my home church in RI. It was while in the process of discernment, not long before I left for seminary. Since that time, I have found it to be evocative and laden with meaning. Shortly after CPE began, I discovered that this is a particularly meaningful hymn to this community as well. The last couple of weeks I have spent much of my time with the resident mentioned in my previous post.Walking and waiting with R and her daughters has been an amazing, life altering experience for me. Each time I went to her room, I had to listen carefully to what the Spirit was saying. Sometimes I thought I was going for Rand it ended up being for one or both of her daughters. Other times, like the last time I was with R, I initially thought I was there for her daughters. For a while I had been praying that God would take R home to be with God. Each day I would check and she was still with us, though that much cl

My recent absence from blogging has not been because nothing is happening. Much is happening, but much of it is confidential. That which can be shared has taken some time for me to process before I could write about it. The last few weeks have been full of encounters of all kinds, events, and personal reflection. It has been a roller coaster ride full of tears and joy--moments of "Aha" and others of "Oh crap." Here is a bit of what can be shared. The retirement community I'm doing CPE in, being a chaplain this summer in, is a truly amazing place. Volunteers abound and those volunteers are residents of the retirement community. My weeks have consisted of times in one area to "Chat with the Chaplain." Wednesday mornings I do the devotions that are broadcast to all areas of the community. Friday mornings is a Bible study in memory support. Memory support encompasses a variety of abilities--some appear fully functional cognitively while others do not even

I received a call a short time ago from my daughter that her grandfather has gone home to be with the Lord. The chorus from an old Gaither song kept going through my mind: It is finished, the battle is over It is finished, there'll be no more war It is finished, the end of the conflict It is finished and Jesus is Lord It seems very fitting that today, Veterans Day, should be the time of his homecoming as a World War II veteran. Thank God for the hope we have in Christ. As Paul wrote, "If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied" (1 Cor 15:19). It is good to know that he is in God's loving care and has no more pain or sorrow. Thanks be to God for this amazing gift.