thoughts on the news of the day: buzzwords

hmmm….

            There’s been a list of obsolete office buzzwords on the internet news.  They are the ones people have been using that are now out of date.  Phrases like “let’s go offline with that” and Human Capital (the old Personnel Department, renamed Human Resources).  Have you heard the phrase “low hanging fruit”?  It means easy to get, though in the end, not worth the effort.  These phrases don’t mean much to anyone except for the folks who use them.

            It really bugs me that we do that in Christianity.  That is, use buzzwords that don’t mean a darn thing to most of the folks who don’t go to church. And, oh, yeah, there’s even a buzz word for those folks:  “unchurched”.  How would you like to be called “unchurched”,  sort of like “unclean”, isn’t it?  Then there’s our “confessions”  -- sure we have lots of sins to confess but that’s not what confessions means.  In Christian-ese, it means “beliefs”.  Then there are words like “disciple” which simply means follower.

            So why don’t we just say that.  We could just say something like “I follow Jesus.” But, of course, the problem becomes that we then have to do what we say and follow a man who loved the poor, those in prison, the unclean and well,… uh… the unchurched.  Also, a man who died for something.  That’s a little more complicated.

Wonder what Jesus would say about that?

hmmm ….

thoughts on the news of the day: one size fits all

hmmm…..

            Did you know that it is no longer unusual to find young residents in nursing homes?  About one in seven patients now living in skilled care facilities are under 65 years of age.  Young adults who have debilitating diseases or injuries find themselves isolated and alone among critically ill senior citizens because there is no place else for them to go. This is tragic and sad.  Young adults with injuries that may or may not have been of their making are confined to a life that is dismal and depressing at best. 

            The truth is, these young patients are pretty much powerless to control much of what goes on in their lives.  It is easy to judge them.  It is easy to say, take control of your life.  Stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop smoking, stop eating junk food.  Just do it.  That is so easy to say when we are not the ones living day by day in a place filled with little hope. 

            But don’t get me wrong.  In many cases, nursing homes are a blessing.  They give the family members a reprieve when they are no longer able to care for a loved one at home.  So the problem comes when we try to generalize.  We try to make our world “one size fits all” when it is anything but that. 

            God recognizes our needs.  God knows that we are all different but we have the same desires: to be loved, to be cared for, to be affirmed, to be needed.  And maybe what we can offer is a little bit of heaven by recognizing that truth in every one we meet.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: stamps

hmmm…..

            “Forever” is a long, long time.  Beginning in February, a spokesman for the Postal Service told the Associated Press that all new postal stamps will be “forever” stamps. This will eliminate the need to add 1 or 2 cent stamps when the postal rates increase. In other words, all first class stamps from now on can be used for letters. Stamps will not even have prices on them anymore.

            Forever is a long, long time.  When I say the Lord’s Prayer, at the end I always say “forever and ever.  Amen.”  I think it’s a southern thing.  A member of my prayer group points out that she began saying it after she started praying with me on Thursday mornings.  She is from up north and I guess they just say “forever. Amen.”  But either way you say it “forever” is a long time.

            Then there’s the BFF abbreviation that’s been around for a while.  Do we really have Best Friends Forever? Really?  Actually I do have a BFF. She lives in Washington State, and we have been friends since kindergarten. To my daughter that is forever.

            I think we should be careful about how we use the term “forever”.  It really is longer than a long, long time – it is, well, forever.  Unending. Eternal. Perpetual. Timeless. 

            Maybe the only thing that is really “forever” is Love.  Maybe all the postal stamps should say “Love.”  Maybe that would make sense.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: black birds, part 2

January 5, 2011

            hmmm…..

            Death comes in many different ways.  When you are invited into that intimate moment when a soul makes the transition from this life to the next, it is sacred.  Yesterday I was privileged to enter that sanctum with an elderly lady who is a long time member of our church.

            She had moved to our lovely Hospice House which has clean and contemporary  facilities and hand made quilts covering each bed.  Her only remaining relative, a stepson lives in California and was not able to make the trip to see his mom one last time.  So I decided to stay with her until her passing;  it’s what I do. 

            The afternoon was quiet.  My parishioner was not responsive at all; she occasionally opened her eyes to look around, but otherwise was lost to our world. The nurse indicated that in a matter of hours, she would be gone.  My thought was that her stepson might want an update and the hospice nurse suggested that I could put my cell  phone up to the patient’s ear so that the stepson could say a last goodbye.  Even though she could not respond, the nurse suggested that she might be able to hear what was being said in the telephone conversation.

            Speaking with the stepson, I told him about the facility, her mother’s condition and the nurse’s comments.  He was eager to talk with his mother, so I put the phone up to her ear.  I couldn’t hear the exact words that the stepson used, but I am guessing that he told her he loved her, and reminisced a little about their life together. 

            The touching part comes next.  As the mother listened to her son, her face became animated.  She smiled and nodded and shyly shrugged her shoulders in a characteristic way that indicated she understood what was being said.  Her eyes never opened but at one point a single tear trickled down her cheek.

            When their conversation was over, I spoke to the son, telling him that there was no doubt in my mind that even though she never spoke, it was obvious that his mother heard the words that he was saying.  A few minutes past.  Then slowly and peacefully, the breathing stopped and a lovely lady knocked on heaven’s door.

            Perhaps it was just coincidence, but I believe that she was waiting to say goodbye to her stepson before she made that last eternal journey. 

            Death comes in many different ways; but it comes.  Eventually for each of us, there will be a transition to the life beyond.  Oh, that we could each go peacefully, gracefully, knowing that love still abides and spirit is eternal.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: black birds

hmmm…..

            Somewhere around 5,000 red winged blackbirds fell out of the sky last Saturday near Beebe, AR.  Scientists are not sure yet exactly how this happened; but they have ruled out poisoning or illness. Preliminary testing indicates that some sort of trauma was responsible for their demise. Lightning, hail or fireworks that might have been exploded on New Years Eve are possible causes of the deaths.

            It’s eerie anyway you look at it; black birds falling out of the sky.  Some doomsayers are claiming that the bird deaths are a sign of bad things to come.   They claim that the earth will end on May 21, 2011.   Can anyone really predict the end of life as we know it?  And if we could, would we live our lives any differently? 

            Does prophesying a bad outcome for our planet in the immediate future impact our lives in anyway that is helpful?  I don’t think it does.  Right now, two ladies in our church are at the end of long lives and are facing the end of their time here on earth.  My hope is that they can find strength, comfort and peace in these last days and that they know that no matter what, they are not alone.  Facing our immortality is never easy; our comfort lies in knowing that goodness does win and that love eventually conquers even death.

            I’m not sure why the birds died; I am not sure why any of us dies.  But I am sure that nothing can separate us from the love of God; and in the end, that is all we really need to know.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: television commercials

hmmm…..

            “If you don’t like them, change your mind.”  It’s the slogan for an ad campaign for an athletic shoe and one of the 13 most talked about television commercials for last year.  Also included on the roster are the Betty White Snickers commercial where she gets creamed on camera and lives to tell about it and that bizarre edible cat litter commercial.

            Television commercials kind of annoy me.  I know that they are a necessary evil that enables us to have somewhat free TV.  So it’s refreshing really when one says something as cocky as “if you don’t like them, change your mind.”   Now, as humorous and brazen as the statement might be in trying to sell us a pair of athletic shoes, the motto is interestingly enough, a good slogan for 2011.

            “If you don’t like something change your mind,” in other words: re-evaluate your opinion.  We can always change our thoughts about something, looking at it from a different perspective and having a different attitude about it.  But there’s something else going on here.  Have you ever heard the phrase “change your mind and you change the world?”  When our mind grows, expands, transforms, something good happens to us and that in turn reflects the goodness of the world.  It may just edify your immediate surroundings; but nevertheless it has a positive effect on the world. 

            I think 2011 might just be a good year to change my mind.  How about you?

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: accountability

hmmm…..

            Seventeen days ago, Mike Haywood was hired as the new head football coach for Pittsburg.  At that time, the university called him a “"a man of character and integrity" who "will be an inspirational leader for our football team."  But this weekend, Haywood was arrested on domestic abuse charges and was relieved of his duties at Pittsburg.  Not a very good way to begin the new year.

            Now, that may seem to be an interesting piece of news, especially to Pittsburg football fans.  But what I find even more interesting is the note at the end of the article: “comments for this post have been turned off in anticipation of some predictable ugliness”.  See, on the internet many news articles give the reader an opportunity to respond to the information by commenting on it; the comments are then posted below the article for all the world to see. 

            It’s amazing how brazen and bold we have gotten now that we can say anything we want on the internet without accountability or recourse. 

            What we say, or in this case, write does matter.  Even if it is not read by a large number of people, it does have the power to create positive or negative energy.  It has the power to harm or enhance the character and reputation of another. It has the power to unleash the ugliness or the beauty in us and in the world.

            In the coming months, it will be up to the courts to say whether or not Haywood is guilty; but what we say today is up to us.

            hmmm…..