Pastor Jim Akins’ notes

Seems like it’s been pretty hot the last few weeks.  At least that is what I’m hearing from friends and neighbors.  Temperatures have been hovering just under or just over 100…the heat indices have been higher than that.  It’s Kansas in summertime.  (and not just Kansas)  The number of people ready for December seems to rise exponentially with the mercury in the thermometer.  Except for a friend of mine I’ll name Bob.  He is originally from a part of the British Empire which shall remain nameless.  The first day the temperature broke 100 all of us natives were complaining about the heat and humidity.  Bob was smiling.  We were offering fervent prayers for a break in the heat.  Bob was celebrating.  And he was not shy about sharing why.

It seems that in his forty-some years of living Bob had never experienced a single moment when the temperature had been 100 degrees or higher.  I would like to tell you his joy was infectious.  It wasn’t!  In fact, the more he celebrated the more obnoxious he became.  It took a while for us ‘natives’ to remember the joy we had experienced in our ‘new experiences’ of life.  Bob didn’t quit celebrating.  While I suspect we didn’t rejoice as he did in the hot weather, we did just for moment really listen to what was going on in his life.

Seems like it’s been pretty hot the last few weeks on the political front.  At least that is what I’m hearing from friends and neighbors.  Important issues have been glimpsed just over the horizon…charges and counter-charges have been more visible than that.  The number of people ready for the political season to be over seems to rise exponentially with the number of robo-calls and attack ads.  Friends turn on each other and all sense of reasoned debate in a caring community seems to be lost in the need to stake out a position identifiable from that of everyone else.

The heat broke this morning…at least for a little while.  A little rain last night and it wasn’t bad walking outside this morning.  (I haven’t checked with Bob to see how he is feeling about the cooler weather)  Maybe, just maybe those of us who claim to be people of faith (yes, whatever that faith may be) can learn something from the dog days of summer.  Maybe, just maybe we are called to be those who truly listen to those of different beliefs and ideas and opinions.  Maybe, just maybe we are called to be a community which focuses on that which unites us rather than that which divides us.

We ‘natives’ assumed Bob was crazy…until we listened to his story.  We dare not let our assumptions about each other determine our future.

Grace and Peace

Jim

Spring is coming!  I know this because it was warm enough last Friday to go fishing…and go fishing I did!  You need to know that I love to fish.  It is a skill I acquired from my dad and from both my grandfathers.  Dad taught me how to catch perch and bluegill, probably because that was what was in the lake and I wasn’t big enough to catch anything else.  My granddad taught me how to fish for catfish and bullhead…he was a pond and river kind of guy.  My grandpa taught me how to fish for bass and walleye.  I’ve been a fisherman for over fifty years.

True confession time!  I’m not sure I ever really acquired any skill as a fisherman, which brings me to last Friday.  I had been intent on watching the tip of my fishing pole for about an hour and a half.  In that time I had noticed a couple of small bumps and one pretty good strike.  I had not caught anything.  And suddenly, a grandfatherly type shows up with his grandson.  The boy must have been all of five years old.  They both started fishing less than 30 yards from me.

In fifteen minutes the young man had reeled in three fish.  I was still waiting for the first one to magically appear on the end of my line.  Maybe fishing just isn’t my thing despite the fact that I really enjoy fishing.  Maybe it goes deeper than that.  Maybe I’m just not any good at fishing.  By the way, you can check the truth of that statement out with any number of people with whom I have fished.

So what does this have to do with the faith.  I am convinced that God has given each of us certain gifts and graces.  The particular skills, aptitudes, gifts and graces which you have received are undoubtedly different than mine.  Isn’t it an amazing thing that I spend so much of my life wishing I could do what seems to come so naturally to others…and I’m not just talking about fishing.  Maybe part of living the faith is earnestly seeking after those gifts and graces which God has placed in my life (or in yours) and then seeking to serve God while using those gifts.

I’ll always love to fish…and maybe someday I will be content with the knowledge that I am probably never destined to be a great fisherman.  Maybe that contentment will come when I uncover what God has made me truly good at and then live in that reality.  Perhaps doing so would be the best way to honor and glorify God.

I’ll be back next week with another edition.  Until then…

Grace and Peace……Jim

Another earthquake in the news yesterday…this time an 8.8 magnitude quake in Chile.  It seems the earth is in perpetual turmoil.  I suspect our lives often feel the same way.  Maybe that is why ‘change’ is so difficult for some to accept (or even comprehend).  We would like a little less turmoil and a little more stability in our lives.

The report of the quake reminded me of two things.  First, the turmoil in my life is next to nothing compared to what most people face.  I have a roof over my head and food on my table.  The earth is not shaking beneath my feet, nor is it likely to in any significant way in Southeast Kansas.  Unlike some of you, I have not ever faced nor am likely to face any extended period of unemployment.  Unlike some of you I am not forced to make a choice between purchasing medication that I need and eating lunch on a regular basis.  Unlike some of you I am not now facing the grief that comes from loss of close family.  Life is pretty good right now, though I do have immediate family who are facing some of these issues.  And I am aware that the less turmoil I have in my life the more likely I am to resist change so that the turmoil and uncertainty doesn’t grow.  There are times when I spend more time focusing on my desire to resistance  change than I do on the very real and serious needs of those around me.

Secondly, reflecting on the quake reminded me that to address the turmoil in the world around us, whether it is relative to health care or war, budget shortfalls or earthquakes, means that change is inevitable.  To address the turmoil and uncertainty in the world is a sure path to turmoil and uncertainty…to change.

And so all too frequently society, the church, and the government choose to spend their time in endless dialogue and debate, discussion and dissension in an effort to find the perfect answer to the problems of the world.  After all, if we are not through with the discussion then there is no reason to pursue any action…especially that which will lead to turmoil and uncertainty.  Perhaps for our society, our churches, our government at all levels the answers lie in a risky step forward into the future.  Perhaps that journey begins as we acknowledge that compared to most of God’s creation we have little to be angry about.  Most of us are pretty fortunate.  More than that, perhaps the journey continues as we acknowledge a God who has promised to walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23).

I pray that in the weeks to come God will help me focus on the overwhelming needs of others rather than on what little I do not have.  I pray that in the weeks to come God will help me begin that first step of a journey toward turmoil and change in the service of those in need.

Grace and Peace……………Jim

I woke in the middle of the night to rain. I must admit it didn’t come as a surprise. The weather forecast had been reporting the possibility at 70%, almost a given in the forecasting business. I must also admit that while it wasn’t a surprise, it was out of the ordinary. I just don’t expect rain in the middle of the night in the middle of February; at least not in Kansas.

Sometimes I suspect the world views the church the way I view rain in February. It expects us to act in certain ways, whether corporately or individually. It has a fair understanding about what we say and who we say we exist for. For over two thousand years we have done a credible job of laying out for others our belief system and the ministry that we are called to do in God’s name. Even if you are not a part of a community of faith you can probably name some of those beliefs and ministries we claim are important.

We are called to love God and to love our neighbor. We are called to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger into our homes, and visit the sick and those who are in prison. While the world might not use these words I suspect they expect us to be people who do justice and love mercy and walk humbly with our God. In the weather terminology of above, this is the forecast of upcoming events in the life of the Christian and the life of the church.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise when we act in response to this belief system. It shouldn’t shock people when we perform deeds of mercy and random acts of kindness. If anything we should be able to place the probability of such a lifestyle at 100% (much more than the 70% that brought us rain). And yet, the world is more than a little amazed when it sees those times when we exhibit ourselves as a faithful community. Maybe that is because, as in weather forecasting, what we expect to happen is not always the reality. Could it be that the reason the world is surprised to find us in ministry, as I was surprised to find the rain, is because it happens less often than it might?

If it rained more often in February in Kansas I wouldn’t be nearly as surprised when the forecast proves correct. If our words and actions were more often in sync with our identity as individual Christians and the church the world wouldn’t be nearly as surprised when the ‘forecast’ of whose and who we are proves to be correct. Rather than stand amazed, perhaps the world would say “Of course, that is just what we expected!”

Grace and Peace

Jim

I am unapologetically a United Methodist. I haven’t always been one. I may not always be one. But I do think we have something important to say to the world about the nature of God’s love. John Wesley used the terms prevenient grace, justifying grace, and sanctifying grace. Don’t you just love theological terms? Reworded into my language it reads: God loved us before we were aware of God, God loves us in the moment, and God will love us into a transformed future.

That belief in the love of God is what makes us so radically different from the world around us. It is easy to look at relationships, or the economy, or health care, or family, or wars and rumors of wars and think about all the ways the past could have been different. It is easy to endlessly discuss and debate about what was done that brought us to this point or what might have been done to keep us from our current reality. It is easy to look at our present and bemoan what we don’t have…to focus on the ‘negative’ around us. (and God knows there is plenty of that) It is easy to see a future which is as bleak as today; to believe in a future where there is no change for the better.

I am not suggesting that Christians ought to take a ‘pollyanna’ view of the world. Rose colored glasses don’t transform reality. I would ask us to consider however, the possibility that focusing on a God who has loved us, who loves us, and who will love us keeps us from giving into despair. Such a God is a God who offers hope in abundance. This is not necessarily hope in a world transformed into the American dream (or the dream of anyone else), but rather hope in a world where we are never alone regardless of the state of our relationships, or the economy, or health care, or family, or wars and rumors of wars.

Life can be tough! May God be present with each of us in the ‘tough stuff’ of life!

Grace and Peace…..Jim