The Pulpiteer

Today I spoke a few words at the Dimondale Parade about Memorial Day. I thought I’d post what I said.

I think you can know something important about a people by what they choose to remember. Remembering is an important part of living. I recently read the statement that, “remembering is the opposite of forgetting,” which seems kind of obvious, but then when you think about it, those are our two options: remember or forget. The things we remember are the things that we choose to bring forward with us. The things we forget are gone. Things forgotten lie dead in the past, whereas the act of remembering brings to life things from the past into the present. The things we remember from yesterday have an impact upon us today and shape our tomorrow. Remembering is an active thing. It is not passive. Good remembering is the activity of bringing to your mind, intentionally, those things of the past. In the Christian Church, when we are at our best, we are remembering well. We remember the sacrifice of Christ on Good Friday. We remember the resurrection on Easter Sunday. And to do these things we have activities, songs, prayers, traditions. We do stuff in our community of believers to remember, because remembering is an active activity. I think you can know something important about a people by what they choose to remember.

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I am pretty much speechless about the situation in Myanmar. In this news report there are an estimated 100,000 dead. I cannot even fathom that number. When I think of the lives lost in the Hurricane Katrina disaster and then compare that with 100,000 I cannot imagine what that would do to a country. Certainly prayers and support for this country are needed, although it appears that it is difficult to get aid into the country at this time. All I can think and pray is that God’s Kingdom would come here on earth as it is in heaven.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Death has been swallowed up in victory
1 Corinthians 15:54b

This man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.
Acts 2:23-24

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Romans 8:11

These are just a few of the verses taken from the New Testament that speak to what the resurrection was and means. It is the driving force behind New Testament theology and behind what we are to do as the church. The resurrection of Jesus is the supreme sign that God has taken on and defeated the forces of evil and death. It is also the source of the hope that we have not only in this life, but after our death. Paul was very clear in claiming that he believed that by faith in Christ we could hope for and expect God to raise us too from the dead on the last day, not because of our righteousness, but because of Christ’s. Somehow, through faith in Christ, we are saved from death itself. This means that Christians should be celebrating life and giving life. We are a people of life and light.

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Here’s the newsletter article I did for our church for October.

October 2007

I love autumn. It is my favorite season. I enjoy those wonderful sunny autumn days when the air smells and feels crisp. The sound of marching bands echoes through the land signaling football season. The sights and sounds remind me of elementary school where I played football with friends on Friday nights at the Varsity games, or of pumpkins carved into Jack-O-Lanterns, piles of leaves ready to be burned, apple cider, cool nights for good sleeping, and the beautiful colors of Michigan.

As the fall progresses I am often reminded of the seasons of life. Winter tends to do that to me. I notice the hummingbirds leave and that makes me sad. I vividly remember a beautiful, large spider in Kentucky that made fantastic webs outside our house. I remember after the first hard frost that spider didn’t show up again. As the fall progresses I am reminded that winter is coming, and winter is a time when nature sleeps. Towards the end of Autumn I tend to get more introspective. It gets colder and darker. Continue Reading »

Luciano Pavarotti died today. I’m not knowledgeable of opera at all. However, I have listened to Pavarotti sing “Nessun Dorma” over and over. In fact, I bought it from itunes. I just think it’s a beautiful song and he sings it beautifully. As Christians we are to have a special appreciation for beauty because it comes from God and I think it reflects something of God’s character when we encounter beauty. When Pavarotti hits that second to last note it brings tears to my eyes.