Daily Devotional 3-20-20

O Lord Our God, how majestic is your name in all the earth... When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; it occurs to me, what are human beings in comparison? Why do you care for us so?  ~Andy's interpretation of Psalm 8:1, 3-4

This has been quite a week. So far, I've had the blessing of talking to over 90% of our South Africa Team members via ZOOM or Face-time. I've visited with clergy colleagues in the same manner. I've visited with St John members far and wide, also electronically. I've heard amazing stories of God at work in transforming ways, and I've heard heart-breaking stories as well.

And while I am so very grateful for the gifts of technology that allow us to keep connected and social despite the limitations of our physical-distancing, I've also found myself feeling disconnected, which for me usually means one thing. I've been on my computer too long and I must.. Get Outside.

Today, I took my fat bike out on the trails for a ride. There is no coronavirus free floating in the woods. And the people I did pass (keeping a distance of ten feet or better), were so very friendly, waving and sharing well wishes of good health. Real human connection experienced in a safe manner.

And then I arrived here, my new favorite “outdoor sanctuary.” 

Bike Sanctuary.png

O Lord my God, how majestic is your name as I see it carved in the Chugach, and painted with glistening snow upon the black spruce, and shining brightly in the warm (WARM!!) sun! In all this vast beautiful creation, who are we tiny humans that you care about us? And yet you do? Thank you dear Lord, for your care and love of us. In the days, weeks, and months ahead, remind us of your love, fill us with your love, and may your love flow through us to others on this trail of life.  Amen.

My friends, keep observing good hand-washing and physical-distancing, but do your soul a favor, go outside today. Even if it’s on your front step or back yard. Step outside and experience God's presence in the miraculous creation around us and be reminded, even amidst this beauty God thinks you are ESPECIALLY beautiful, and God loves you deeply.

Daily Devotional 3-19-20

Jesus said, “Come away with me to a quiet place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.”  Mark 6:31-32

Many of us are squirreled away in our homes, figuring out internet connectivity for work and school, glued to the TV or our favorite web news sites, and trying to understand this unprecedented reality of social-distancing we are experiencing.

But if you are like me, it feels like anything BUT quiet, and so I'd like to encourage you to try something. Make some space for quiet today, and every day this week. Turn off the electronics. Turn off the media. For one whole hour, embrace some quiet, alone or together as a family. Take a break from the induced stress of the news media. Cook a meal together. Read a book (or the Bible!?) Try your hand at writing a poem or prayer.

Interestingly, in the Scripture above, it is only in instructing the disciples to first take a break and get some rest, that their eyes are clearly opened to the needs of others around them. If you take some time alone or as a family, in the quiet, to rest in God's grace, you may be surprised at what God reveals to you in that time of rest. I guarantee - your heart, your mind, and your soul will be better for it.

Lord God, in this time of uncertainty, help us to turn off the extraneous noise each day. Help us to set time apart to focus on rest, to focus on love of family, and to just be in your quietness. Reveal to us the ways you are calling to us to grow in love of You and neighbor, this we ask in Jesus name. Amen.

All grace and peace,

Pastor Andy

Jesus is the reason for the season... Or something like that

A Special Christmas Message from Pastor Emily

Jesus is the reason for the season... Or something like that

As I drove home from work the day before Thanksgiving listening to the Christian radio station, the host came on rejoicing that the next day they would be playing Christmas music. I smiled, already feeling my body wanting to proclaim “Joy to the World!” Yet then that radio host continued, proudly asserted that they would be playing CHRISTMAS music, not **holiday music** (insert enough pejorative and snarky attitude to sink the Titanic). My heart sank. What is it about the birth of Jesus that some people feel is under enough threat to mock those who believe different things about God?  

I pondered what it meant to be inclusive, and YET affirm the good news of Jesus in a world so badly in need of the light that Jesus brings. Can we not be comfortable enough in our faith to celebrate the particularities while ALSO being respectful of others? In the words of John Wesley, “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike?” If I lived in Bethlehem today, I might walk out into the street this evening and hear the Adhan, the Muslim call to prayer, floating down the bustling streets from the local mosque. I’ve stood on the streets of Bethlehem and heard that music inviting and drawing me in. My faith wasn’t threatened as I received this gift of another’s faith. Nor did feel the need to obnoxiously break into Jingle Bells. 

While I want to live in a world where each can share their faith openly and honestly, I do realize that Christians have a preferred place in the mainstream of society. And I think this place in the mainstream imparts on us a certain responsibility to our neighbors of other faiths, particularly as we share the good news of Jesus’ birth. It’s “cool” to be Christian. It means you can drive around town with a little Jesus fish (also called an Ichthus) on the back of your truck as a statement of pride. In reality, the place of Christianity in society today is vastly different than its place in society when Jesus lived and when Paul and others wrote. In moving Christianity from the fringe of society to the center, our relationship to the sacred text, and I think to God, changed. It’s this shift that “justified” the Crusades and the Inquisitions, and even played a role in the Holocaust. No longer are we on the outside looking in and wondering how to belong to God. We are now on the inside, the center, the mainstream. And looking out, we didn’t always invite others in to belong.  

Belonging continues to ring true for me this Christmas season. In Jesus’ birth, God invites us to belong. That baby in a manger, no room for him in the inn, came as a King not with power and dominion, but with mercy and grace. How quick are we to forget that? That Jesus would go out on to the streets and invite the tax collectors and the sinners and the Jewish elite to all gather at a table together, to all belong to one another just as they belong to God. This Christmas, I think about those to whom I belong. To my parents, who we’ve had the joy of living near and visiting often year. To Aidan’s parents, who so frequently send us their love from afar. To Aunt Karen and Rachel and countless others, all of whom would drive hours to come see us at the drop of a hat. To Noah, Andrija, Nadia, and Zach, who bring so much joy and adventure to our lives. To St. John, the church that has welcomed us in and supported us in ministry. To the families I’ve met who seek rest and warmth at the cold weather shelters around Anchorage. Even to my neighbors who don’t celebrate Christmas, who have their own “holiday” music, or who don’t have any music at all. Yes, I belong to each of them too. 

And friend, I belong to you. Whether you are with me in proclaiming Joy to the World! Or you are having a really hard time this Christmas remembering loss and grief, remember that you too, belong. To me, to God, to one another. We rejoice together and we weep together. We are who we are because of one another. We are who we are because of a God who casts the net wide and invites us in to belong. So let Jesus be the reason for the season. Not in a way that mocks our experience of this holiday, but in a way that makes Christmas real, that centers us in that Holy Night, that tenderly embraces a world where all belong, in the goodness and grace of Jesus. May it be so. Amen. 

Merry Christmas from all of us at St. John!  We are so blessed to belong to you!

Time Stewardship Blog from Pastor Emily

A recent conversation with Monday Morning Women at St. John about time stewardship prompted some other thoughts, so behold this blog (with wisdom and wit, both up for debate)

  1. I’ve had “write time stewardship blog” on my To-Do list for almost a year (like, actually).  To be fair, there are really big things on that list too, such as “Evangelism/Church Growth” and “Discipleship Trail Map.”  You have time for what you prioritize (sometimes). Also, sometimes it’s best just to bite the bullet and get it done and cross it off the list for good!  A friend once told me a proverb (from Tibet maybe?) that goes somewhat like, “If you have to eat a frog, eat it first.” Do the hard thing that you are dreading now and get it out of the way!  What do you have on your list today that has been bugging you for a while? What would it take to make some progress on it?

  2. I often don’t get to some of the big or little things on my list because I feel like I’m too stressed and don’t have time.  A friend (the same one) once told me that stress is like packing for vacation. No matter the size of your suitcase, you always fill it up.  The same is true for stress. Truthfully, I have a very small suitcase right now, but it still feels full at times. This helps me remember that I really do have time for all those little nagging things and even those big things when I ignore the little things for a while.  Maybe your suitcase is gigantic right now and overflowing. How many extra sweaters do you have stuffed in there? What can you give to someone else?

  3. Avoid time-sucks.  As someone who cares deeply about doing things with high standards and is sometimes afraid of making a mistake (I’m a 1 on the Enneagram, see here: https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-1), I sometimes want to avoid that stress of messing up by not tackling the task in the first place.  I know this about myself, and recognize my behaviors as avoidance. It might not be true for you. But for all the other 1’s out there, just jump in and do it, the biggest critic of your work is probably yourself.

  4. Flow is real.  Watch this TED Talk (https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow?language=en) and then try to find your balance between challenge and skill.  When you are in flow, time moves fast but you move faster.

  5. Plan your day and your week.  You have three chunks of time each day.  Morning, Afternoon, Night. That’s it! How are you using them?  How do you want to be using them?

  6. You are the boss of you.  I know this sounds obvious, but sometimes we need the reminder.  Sometimes I joke that I just do whatever my phone calendar tells me to do next.  But I make the calendar!  I schedule doctor’s appointments and meetings.  It’s okay to schedule rest, workouts, and dinner with family too.

  7. Time is a gift from God.  Being a steward of God’s gifts means giving our time in ways that are worthy of God.  Sleep. Eating good food. Spending time with loved ones. Worship. Work and talent development.  Rest. All (and more!) worthy of God. What do you feel God drawing you to give time to? What does that mean letting go of?

  8. 22 minutes later and that’s one more thing off the list for me!  Praise God who doesn’t measure us by the length of our to-do lists.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 


Pastor Emily ☺