As September drew to a close I had a “first”! I participated in the ceremoney of ordination. It was a member of our church as a Lutheran Minister. Her name is Jennifer Amos. I had attended and watched some seven ordinations in my lifetime. Four were my brothers to the priesthood in the Catholic Church; two were as ministers in the Lutheran Church one woman and one man. I also watched the installation of my son-in-law, Tom Baker as a Deacon in a ceremony much like an ordination. But I never had the honor of participating until now.
As part of the ceremoney the ordained receives five stoles, each of a different color and are presented to her by people she or he chooses. The last color to being given and placed around the neck is the red one. This is the one I gave to her saying: “ Jen, on Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and gave them tongues of fire. Be bold in proclaiming God’s message of grace. Also as Christians who follow a Lutheran tradition, stay grounded in your heritage of Grace, Faith and Word.”
We now have three previous members of our church ordained and two still studying. Having five young people out of any congregation who decide to become ministers is quite an outstanding feature. We had three seminarians when I wrote the history of our congregation from 1990-2005, the last twenty-five years. In it I wrote: “The purpose of a Christian church is to bring Christ to the community, its world; it is not only to build new facilities. Its members, now members of the body of Christ, take what they have learned and bring it with love to the community outside the church walls. How better is that purpose fulfilled than when its members bring Christ into their lives with such force and love as to want to dedicate their lives to serving Him and bringing Him to others. The fact that three of LCC members have directed their lives to ordained ministry demonstrates that the church is carrying out its mission. Ours is a history for which to be thankful, and it provides the opportunity to acknowledge that the leaders and church community are doing something right! The challenge is to continue such growth in 2005 and beyond.” Now in 2009 it is evident with two more members seeking ordination that the mission is continuing to be carried out.
In my reading recently some articles got me thinking. The “NY Times Magazine” had one entitled “Is there a right way to pray?” That such a question would be in a magazine like the N.Y. Times was itself a surprise and caused me to want to read it. It was written by a reporter of Jewish background who called himself a “Sam Cooke Agnostic” I don’t know who Sam Cooke is but I always get thinking of the word agnostic’s meaning when I hear it. The word is defined as “person who believes that nothing is known or can be known” That to me raises the question “How does he or she know they are an ‘agnostic’ if it cannot be known?
The author’s title indicates immediately he doesn’t have the slightest idea what praying is all about. Seeking the help of God and thanking Him are just some of the reasons we pray. There is never a “right or wrong” way. He then visits all types of churches and places where in some public prayer is employed and even special people who make it a thing in their lives to help others in their praying. The organization is called ‘Spiritual Directors International’. They state that their purpose is to help people learn to pray. They state the reason for this is, “They want to learn how to pray, but feel awkward in a house of worship” Could it be that ‘they feel awkward” because many “house of worship” are no longer that. Where better to think of the Almighty and call on Him then in the presence of a quiet place surrounded by people calling on God the same as you are?
The ‘feeling awkward in a house of worship’ reminds me of an incident I read about where a churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper. He complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone and done it for 30 long years now”, he wrote, and in that time I have heard something like 3000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So I think I’m wasting my time and the preachers are wasting theirs too.” He got a response, which I liked. “I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this…They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. If I had not gone to church for nourishment I would be spiritually dead today! When you are DOWN to nothing…God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!”
The agnostic author, in the NYTimes magazine, talking about prayer goes on to say, “…I have never been able to pray and mean it. On two occasions when it appeared I was going to die, I didn’t give God a thought…I saw this as a confirmation of my freedom from superstition”. So the “agnostic” who can’t know anything somehow does “know” that he is free of that ‘superstition’ called God. He doesn’t visit any of the protestant or catholic churches or attend any services in houses of worship. So is it any wonder that he doesn’t understand or see really what prayer is! He does visit one of the trained directors of the Spiritual International. He went there with the understanding he didn’t have to believe in God to learn how to pray? To whom then do we pray? She tells him that ‘sometimes intellect is a block to spirituality’ We should all strive to discover our spiritual side. What for example is meaningful in your life? Later she sends him an email saying, “Life is about living out the questions – not necessarily coming up with the answers… I would hope that your would find yourself moving to a deeper level of questions, insights, spiritual growth, and with that a yearning for the Presence of the Divine. Prayer would naturally be a part of that process..” He finally decides “…I was probably never going to become a praying man. But if, by some miracle, I ever do, I hope my prayers like the prayers of these kids I met at the Love church in Berkley Springs. Straight-up Gimmie! on behalf of people who really need the help.” Apparently to him this is the ‘right’ way to pray, i.e. ask for something to be given. It is apparent that this reporter lacks even the basic knowledge of what prayer is all about as well as the ability to go to the right place to find it.
I am reading a biography of “Einstein”. It is tough reading in many places for me since it is into physics and such of which I am not with much knowledge. I was glad to see that he, Einstein, didn’t like geometry nor math and he didn’t get top marks in those courses. “During his four years at Polytechnic, he got 5 0r 6 (on a 6 point scale) in his theoretical physics courses, but got only 4’s in most of his math courses, especially those in geometry”. It is one thing we have in common, but beyond that there is a whole other world where Einstein dwells. The author, Walter Isaacson, says, “He did however retain from his childhood religious phase a profound reverence to the harmony and beauty of what he called the mind of God as it was expressed in the creation of the universe and its laws.” So a guy with brains like Einstein’s still can see God in the creation of the world! (There is a chapter in the book on Einstein’s belief in God.)
This thinking about God and his creations brings back to a cartoon I once saw. It was a Charlie Brown comic strip. In it there two characters, one Charlie and a friend looking at the sky full of stars. Charlie says, “Let’s go inside and watch TV. I beginning to feel insignificant” How true that is! Then there is a bumper sticker that got me, it said, “If you are going to live like there is no God, you better be right!”
My health is improving. I am walking with less heavy breathing. The swollen legs and rash are almost gone. The doctor said when I am able to walk around the block I will be as well as I can be with this condition. I am still a good ways from that. We see him in November. Until next time, Pax Tecum !