Windstorm of 2015

1AdventC, Sullivan Park Care Center, November 29, 2015 by Annette Fricke

            During the aftermath of the now named “Windstorm of 2015”, I resolved to clean up more than just the mess that resulted from needing to clear out the freezer compartment of my refrigerator and the overflow of water from my kitchen sink.  It was time once again for a new beginning.  I thought it best, despite losses to plunge into the effort of getting my living space back into a more respectable “normal” clean and organized apartment.  I washed the rugs, dusted, mopped the floor, and washed the essential laundry. My plants have been relocated to a proper place in the waning sun where they can drink in what rays might be available as the days grow shorter. I promised myself that despite the mailing today announcing the increase of rent once more, I would trudge on; doing my best to tighten my belt even further and hoping my raise at work would fill in the gap where expenses would threaten to usurp my paychecks.  I am thankful for family who put up with me and my habits for several days, knowing full well that many did not have someone else willing to share heat, light, food, and a place to shower and do the laundry.  Beyond that, my niece’s family even offered to share Thanksgiving dinner with them. They even giggled when I told them that I reasoned I didn’t have to brush my teeth before I came because I still had a toothbrush there. This will not be a storm that will fade quickly from my memory. There is no usefulness in becoming angry or depressed at something beyond my control.  It’s done; it’s over. It’s time to move on.

            This type of gospel text comes to us not only at the end of the church’s liturgical year, but at the beginning as well.  Today is the first Sunday of the church year of a season that only has four Sundays preceding Christmas.  We are now in the season of Advent.  The word advent is from the Latin meaning coming. During this time period, we will see readings that emphasize both the need for repentance as well as hope.  Thus the liturgical colors for the season can be either purple, as in Lent or blue.  Blue has become a preferred color in many churches denoting hope.  When we repent, we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ, both the birth of Christ and the second coming of Christ.  We look forward to celebrating Christmas and also the second coming of Jesus in power and glory.  These elements are descriptive and inclusive of what we call apocalyptic literature.

            This Lukan text proclaims loud and clear for all to read and hear that the Messiah is coming. The message is the same for 70 CE when it was written for a very different culture and happenings as it is for today in 2015.  While many people have predicted the end, they were all wrong and the end is yet to come.  There is almost an implicit message if we read between the lines that predicting is of no value.  If that was the case, why should we be on guard or alert?  That would in no way be logical.

            Is it not true that our lives are marked by beginnings and endings all the time and that we are frequently in a state of confusion because of that very phenomenon?  For example, is a graduation an ending or a beginning? Isn’t it the case that we also call this same event a commencement?  A birthday or anniversary is a commemoration of the past and also a look into the future.  Our whole lives are a state of being somewhere in the middle all the time: that is where I was, this is where I am and the future is yet to come.  Some days are lived in reminiscing, some lived in the moment, and still others dreaming of the future.  And God’s story is the same with a beginning at creation which is the past, the continual giving of the Son and the Holy Spirit which is the present, and the consummation of God’s saving grace at Jesus’ second coming.  Our lives parallel God’s.  God has the upper hand in all things, can and will make it happen.  This is still the beginning of the end of all things.  Despite how many storms or earthquakes we experience or live through or upheavals in our personal lives, God remains the eternal provider for all that is necessary for life for all of creation.  God still has in mind the restoration of God’s kingdom and will bring it to completion.  Caring that much about each and every one of us and all of the created order is God’s purpose. God will not abandon us or leave the work of redemption unfinished.  Jesus promises that God’s word will not pass away.

            That is why we can sing with confidence, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”  It is Jesus who is the foundation of our hope.  It is Jesus who is the solid rock of our lives if we will but cling to him.  “In every high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil.”  But most of all, our hope is in that fourth verse which goes like this, “When he shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in him be found, clothed in his righteousness alone, redeemed to stand before the throne!”[1]  We have a sure hope in Jesus.  In the words of the fourth verse of another hymn, “My soul is waiting for the Lord as one who longs for morning; no watcher waits with greater hope than I for his returning.  I hope as Israel in the Lord; he sends redemption through his Word.  We praise him for his mercy.”[2]

            Do not be like those who have no hope, who with every twist or turn of life think it must be the end.  It is not the end, but only the beginning, and even ends have beginnings.  We live in a confused and muddled world, a time of great anxiety about all sorts of problems.  We live with war planes, terrorism, destruction of lives and property caused by humans or the natural universe in which we live.  Our hearts are tugged and pulled every which way when we hear the presidential debates.  We want a president who will advocate for us and our needs, being fair to all the citizens of the United States as much as possible.  We want a president who will seek justice for people both here and abroad.  The time is here again when there will be another change in the governing body of our national government.  It is up to us to vote our conscience among those candidates who are elected by their respective parties.  Yet despite all the upheavals, no matter what happens here in our world, remember and think about your overriding hope in Jesus.  Jesus is the one you belong to and Jesus will bring you the redemption you have waited for all your life.  God will not disappoint you. 

            “When you become confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves and the shaking of the heavens, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.  However, be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with the worries of this life.  Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”  Remember, your redemption is drawing near. 

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[1] “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less” by Edward Mote (1787-1874), Hymn 293/4 Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978.

[2] “Out of the Depths I Cry to You” by Martin Luther (1483-1546), Hymn 295 Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978.

What seems Permanent may be an Illusion

25BPentecostProper28, Sullivan Park Care Center & St John the Evangelist Episcopal Cathedral, November 15, 2015 by Annette Fricke

            I’m at work now. The call light goes off and I rise from my chair to answer it.  It is a woman that I have known for years; from the time that I delivered dinner trays to her door due to a contagious malady when she lived in the independent apartments.  She asks me to look out the window and points with her finger to a tree outside, “Look at that tree!  It’s an oak tree and it’s dead.  It’s a shame; they should cut that thing down.”  I immediately recognize that she doesn’t remember; she said the same thing to me last year.  I know she will want an explanation, so I say to her, “Are you sure it isn’t just the change of seasons?”  There’s a pregnant pause and I can see that she is rolling over in her mind what I just said.  This is just an example of another daily dilemma for the job description of an aide. It isn’t a test; it just is. Although I’ve had considerable training and experience in counseling from both psychological and theological perspectives which ought to be sufficient, she remains a challenge for me as well as to others.  Those writers of books about counseling who would purport to know what to say with precise timing and wording are only speaking with authority out of their own sense of “the right thing to say” from their own perspective.  And since she taught Psychology, I can’t claim to be an expert. There are times when I really think it is better to simply do my best to listen to what the resident is trying to communicate. But I do know her well enough to know I need to respond with something, something that will ease her sense of anxiety about things she can no longer comprehend.  I know her well enough to know that she will demand a response. As time goes on, she will become a prototype for me, yet each resident will respond just a bit differently according to their personality and brain processing. I keep to the balance in my own mind of being both an authority and not an authority.  I am a child and an adult almost simultaneously as the case may be. Like all people living in this world, I too, am subject to all the changes and chances in life.  When I lived for a month and a half in Dubuque, IA I could tell when a big storm was coming, because my left knee had the tendency to give out when ascending the stairs just outside my classroom.  Then living in Minnesota after a tornado, I witnessed the aftermath of broken glass from one of the classroom windows.  One thing that is for certain, anxiety comes from within and without and is the result to our reactions to both personal problems and the effects of “natural disasters” and war. We can certainly resonate to both the Old Testament and gospel texts. 

In the Old Testament lesson, Hannah probably keenly observed that the seasons of the year continued to change as predicted and compared that to her own personal life.  On a regular basis, the trees produced leaves and flowers blossomed every year. She prayed for many years, but remained barren.  Her husband’s other wife had both sons and daughters; however, she was unable to produce even one offspring.  Even though her husband loved her deeply and showed that love, she was repeatedly shamed by others who had children.  Surely she felt very alone and ridiculed in the world, especially when even the priest accused her of being drunk.  Many in her situation would become filled with despair and hopelessness, but not Hannah.  Hannah was determined and persistent, correcting and demanding respect from Eli. A harsh exchange of words quickly turned into a mutual pronunciation of blessing.  Hannah is an indisputable, almost flawless model of faithfulness to God.  Just like the widow who put the two mites in the temple treasury of the Gospel lesson last week, Hannah does not waver in the face of having nothing; she goes forward with her life fearlessly and without regret, forgetting what is past and ready for the future.

            Both our Old Testament and Gospel lessons were written during times of turmoil.  For Hannah, it was personal turmoil.  For Mark, the destruction of Jerusalem was either about to happen or already did.  But to keep perspective, this is an example of apocalyptic literature.  The purpose of apocalyptic literature is not to foretell the future, but to encourage faithfulness and patience in the present time, especially in times of trial, adversity, and suffering.[1] There will be destruction of lands, houses, and peoples as there has been since the beginning of time.  It makes no difference if someone is out there predicting the end of the earth as we know it, as if someone’s prediction coming true validates God’s existence. It is more likely to point to the predictor than to God.  Those who predict the end of the world want people to take notice of them, not God. Martin Luther was asked what he’d do if he knew the world would come to an end tomorrow and he said he would plant an apple tree.  When the world ends does not matter because we are still called to live our lives, as Hannah, in faithfulness to God. We are to live into the future in spite of external eruptions and disruptions around us, despite persecutions by those who would try to destroy us.  None of these matter because they are only temporary, just as the Jerusalem temple of God for the Jews was temporary.  Our situations in this life will pass. 

            Note what one of Jesus’ disciples says, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’  The temple complex had more than one building and there are a couple of different Greek words to denote different parts of the complex.  The Greek word for temple here can refer to the temple itself or the larger complex. The other Greek word for temple is the inner sanctuary.  This is where God dwells according to Jewish tradition and this is the same word that Jesus uses when he talks about the temple to be re-built in three days.  It is also the word used to describe the curtain in the temple. Christians concluded that Jesus took the place of the temple as the presence of God.  God no longer is restricted to a designated physical place as was the case in Judaism for much of their history.  God is much bigger than that. No, the presence of God is in you and all around you.

            “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.”  “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.”  God has promised an end that is still in the future. “…let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds…encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  None of us know when that day will be, but learning how to relate to each other in the meantime is an on-going, daily task. Don’t follow the temptations of this world and its alluring invitations.  Seek from God and each other how to be a Christian in your world, in your space at this moment in your life, for God goes into these tasks with you.

           

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[1] Brian Stoffregen, “Gospel Notes for Next Sunday” for Mark 13:1-8

Feeling Invisible

24PentecostBProper 27, Sullivan Park Care Center, November 8, 2015 by Annette Fricke

            This gospel lesson is a challenge for preaching no matter who the audience is.  It is a text about crookedness and giving.  When I had my initial internship with a church in Port Huron, Michigan, I was told only one thing about this, “Those who give the most are the poorest of the congregation.”  I think that if there were ever a sentence that described a summary of our gospel reading for today, that would be it.  Nothing was ever said by my supervisor or anyone else as to the reasons for this occurrence, it was simply an observation.  Jesus observed this, too.  Why is it that the poorest of the poor, a widow, gives so much?  My speculation at the time was that perhaps it was because they, of all people, know what it is like to make do with little.  They are those who tend to themselves, yet still look after others without complaint.  They are the perpetual mothers who have it so ingrained into their very beings to care for others that they know no other way.  I know people who do not have a retirement account of any kind.  I know those who sometimes have a savings account and sometimes not.  I have a friend just a few years older than myself who has been out of work for ten months. A close relative of mine was out of work for more than two years.  Yet these are the kind of people who know how to make something out of nothing.  It is a stretch in defining “widow” this way, but all of these scenarios fit the bill.  Most of the “saints” of old not only took a vow of poverty, but were not allowed to own anything.  All property and clothing belonged to the community. They intend to live as the description in Acts where everything was held in common, everyone contributed to the pot and therefore, all were cared for equally.  It is difficult enough living with a husband or wife and some children.  Just imagine living in a convent or monastery community where there are probably fifty or more, all one gender living under one roof, doing almost everything together.  The idealism of a novice soon wears off and the realization settles in that disputes will occur from time to time.  The true colors of people will reveal themselves.

            The stark truth of this text is Jesus’ criticism of the temple authorities who make a luxurious living off the backs of widows.  The very institution meant to be protective of the widows, the poor and the vulnerable citizens of society were doing just the opposite.  Even religious institutions can be fallible and end up doing so-called normal operations that are outrageously immoral on several levels.  Just as the Jewish temple in those days, so also the Church, as an institution is to be a house of prayer for all people.  We are not to discriminate between the poor and the rich.  But also like then, we need to decide in our own minds where what we give actually goes.  It looks as though the widow is giving to the Temple, yet on another level, she gives not to the temple, but to God out of her heart.  Above all, she believes in God, the giver of all things to be the source of her life.  She is giving all she has, but she has no power to effect change.  She is not part of the hierarchy of temple leadership. She is simply living out her life as a poor Jewish widow.  Her gift is a gift to God in thanksgiving for her life, poor as it may be.  By her monetary contribution, she is saying, “Thank you, God for giving me life.”

            This past week, I attended the memorial of a wealthy woman.  The worship space was full.  People were dressed in full suits and the family sat up front as per custom.  I saw many people from the place of my employment where she had lived for years and even stopped on my way out to the social gathering area to put the feet of one I have cared for many times onto the chair’s foot rests.  In my mind, it was a rather odd service to take up the whole cathedral.  There were two priests up front, the bishop was in attendance, yet there was no homily or sermon preached, nor was there communion served.  The obituary in the paper was about how great a philanthropist she was, yet here what stood out was the commonality she had with others of her generation.  Those who talked about her reminisced about her “habits” and the way she taught discipline in her children and guests who loved her cookies.  On a side note, some of the companions for her were named and thanked.  I saw the widower the following Monday and gave him flowers sent by someone else.  He smiled, thanked me politely and hurried to his room. The kitchen server asked me if he was coming to dinner and I said, “I don’t think so; he’s got company.”  His son was there, but there was no direct communication.  I felt invisible in both places and I wondered what the real story was about his wife’s life.  Did she feel invisible, too?

            The truth is, money can be a source of power and control. It can be given to institutions in order to control them into doing what the contributor wants.  It can even hold back progress towards a more open society of equal rights for all people. Money may not be the root of all evil, but it can certainly corrupt people and society.

            This Wednesday is Veterans Day.  It is a time to remember those who did what they could for this country to preserve it and defend it.  They worked hard to keep physically fit in the performance of their duties.  They did their best to work as a team, especially in times of battle when following orders was of utmost importance to military strategy.  Remember as well, those veterans who are homeless and those having difficulty accessing healthcare in a timely manner.  Pray for and vote for those who you think would do the best to care for our military while they are in uniform as well as when they return, discharged from duty.  They all have crucial roles, even down to those who prepare and distribute food.

            For those of you looking for a positive example, November 11 is St. Martin of Tours day.  Before becoming a bishop in 397, he served in the Roman army.  The story goes that while he was a catechumen, he was approached by a poor soldier for alms and he took his own sword, cutting his military cloak in half, giving one half to the soldier. 

            The poor, the unemployed, the widows, the invisible, the homeless; these are all people for whom we should fight for protection and provide for them what they need to feel an equal and acknowledged part of the society in which we live.  If we are truly not living for ourselves, but living for God as the widow giving an offering many of us would call small or even minute, economic and social equality can become a reality for many people.  We should strive to value and love people as God in Christ loves us. Become a part of that achievement.

           

Transforming Evil and Suffering into Good

AllSaintsDayandSundayB, November 1, 2015, Sullivan Park Care Center, by Annette Fricke

            Today, in Christendom, is the Feast of All Saints proper.  This is not a moved feast, but the actual day.  All Saints Day is always the day after Halloween which has lost its original connection to All Saints.  I have great memories of Halloween as a child.  My usual costume was to go as a witch, something easily accomplished with my long dark hair; just rat it and go.  No use in spending time with elaborate things.  It was a time of immediate excitement and eagerness to go out on the town, to each and every door.  I didn’t care about the candy, although I did know kids who did.  I had one classmate who would put a costume on, trick or treat the entire town, then change into another costume and do it again!  Not for me.  The best part for me was trick or treating at the town librarian’s house to savor her scrumptious freshly baked cookies!  Yum!  It has a Celtic origin, in fact and was the end of the Celtic year.  The Celts believed the souls of the dead roamed the streets and villages at night. Since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left out to pacify the evil and ensure next year’s crops would be plentiful. This custom evolved into trick-or-treating.[1] Some have depicted Halloween in modern times as the time when children take revenge on their parents.  In my day, soap on the windows of businesses sometimes became wax.  Yes, children can become the embodiment of evil at times.  Although it is no longer with its association to a harvest festival, we now have a more and more American version of Oktoberfest for that purpose.  Observe the juxtaposition of both evil and good and how the evil has been transformed into a happy occasion that has nothing to do with evil unless our children are the perpetrators.  And it is not necessarily a lack of teaching and molding on the part of parents and grandparents as it is in the rebellion and differentiation of self from parent, teachers and others in authority.  I submit to you that this thought process and behavior continues well into adult hood, although likely perceived in a different way and performing a different function.  I know that my dad continued to tease in the same manner as always, but no longer was aware of context.  He needed the guidance of others to curb his teasing which took on the quality of being too rough with the little children.  Walkers and wheelchairs can be excellent forms of transportation, but also a means of either intentional or unintentional hazards to others travelling in the same path. Our judgments of right and wrong can become distorted to where we unknowingly do harm without realizing it.

            For those of you watching the presidential nomination debates, there is one comment that sticks out more than all the others and it was made by Donald Trump.  He said something to the effect that he never asks for forgiveness, just picks up where he left off and tries to do better.  He does not apologize for any mistakes he made in the past.  That kind of statement makes me wonder if he ever really thinks he made a mistake at all and how he raised his children and what his relationship was like with his estranged wife and current wife.  Did he ask for forgiveness for his affair while married to his first wife?

            I suppose that we can be on either side of the tangled mess of misguided behavior in our quest for dignity, integrity, security in life.  Sometimes it makes us ugly people, while at others, we shine with the brightest of the saints who now have passed from this life.  One of the big items in the news today is the story of a Maryland diocese bishop who texted on her phone while driving drunk, hit and killed a man a year ago.  She was sentenced to seven years in prison.  But the rest of the story, as told by a friend of mine who posts a picture of Jesus knocking at the door with a jack-o-lantern trick-or-treat container in his hand, is that she hid her alcohol addiction from the church committee when she was called to become bishop of the diocese. Yet despite this and a former charge in 2010, she also managed to grow a church so well, that new facilities had to be built to accommodate the parishioner increase.  Many are left wondering, myself included just how it is that such extreme opposites in behavior can reside in the same person.  Will she someday be named as a saint of this church, or will the drunk driving charges and sentencing overshadow the good that she did?  Will she receive treatment?  Will she follow it?  Will she ask for help when she needs it?  Those of us ‘would be clergy’ types are told from the very beginning of the process that we need a spiritual director, at the very least as the case presented before us dictates.  As much as the freshness of this case is in the news and brings up strong emotions, this is the world in which we live.  We are not perfect human beings as much as we might want to be and we do need the support of others on our spiritual journeys. 

            The story I just told you is true and she is no longer a priest; it remains very painful for all involved on this almost one year anniversary.  This situation is a witness for the entire world to see.  Many will see it and declare that Christians are simply a bunch of “wishful hopefuls” living in a fairy tale world who have fallen very short of their example in Jesus Christ, their supreme leader. Those outside the church will wag their fingers at this fallen bishop alongside the hatred displayed by the so-called Christian entity known as the Westboro Baptist Church.  Some will say that she deserves punishment; but mostly she does not need punishment for her crime as much as she really needs strong support in her journey into treatment.  In addition to that, she needs to sense a genuine remorse for her part in causing unnecessary pain for grieving family and friends of the man who died at her hand. The man’s wife and children now have to face life without him.

            Our strength in all tragedy is remembering that God walks with us through our roughest times, pulling us out of the mire that would hold us back and paint the canvas of our souls with darkness and despair.  God chooses to dwell with us mortals in all times.  God longs to draw us ever closer into a place where all that threatens to destroy our relationship with God will no longer be a factor in our thoughts, belief and behavior.  God promises that belief in Jesus will enable us to see the glory of God, to see resurrection, to see that with God, all things really are possible.  God loves us just as intensely as illustrated by Jesus’ love for Lazarus, which he fully demonstrated when Jesus, learning of Lazarus’ death, ran to the aid of his family, cried and sat with them. God will wipe away the tears from our eyes.  Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more. 

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[1] http://www.halloween-website.com/history.htm on 10/31/15