Saturday, November 3, 2012

Fwd: ...In the Meantime

Here's an email devotional I look at from time to time.

Blessings to you!

Pastor James A.

Begin forwarded message:

From: "...In the Meantime" <DavidJLose@gmail.com>
Date: November 3, 2012 12:13:00 PM MDT
Subject: ...In the Meantime

...In the Meantime

...In the Meantime

Daring Greatly

Posted: 03 Nov 2012 10:25 AM PDT

teddy roosevelt

Today's poem is, well, not a poem. Rather, it is a portion of a speech given by Tedding Roosevelt at the Sorbonne, in Paris, in 1910. I was introduced to it by reading Brene Brown's recent book, Daring Greatly, which is not only a fantastic read but whose title is inspired by Roosevelt's measured and even metered speech.

I thought of it today as we approach the end of the election cycle and an opportunity to exercise our civic right and responsibility to vote. After so many accusations…and promises…and attempts to blame others…and calculated presentations of oneself and all the rest, the person I want to vote for the is man who is ready to enter the arena and give it his all. The man, that is, who will not be changing positions or platforms at each turn, shaping himself into a more attractive candidate but who will come forth as himself, ready to stake his claims, take responsibilities for his mistakes, shoulder his responsibilities, and dare great things whether he succeed or fail.

What I want, I guess, is integrity.

You will be making your own decision soon for your own reasons, but as you read Roosevelt's lines, I'd invite you to allow them to inspire you to want and expect more from our leaders – all of our leaders – than the media barrage we've endured of late suggests we should expect. And in the meantime, make sure you get out to vote.

It is not the critic who counts:
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles
or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood,
who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again,
because there is no effort without error or shortcoming,
but who knows the great enthusiasms,
the great devotions,
who spends himself for a worthy cause;
who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement,
and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls
who knew neither victory nor defeat.

"Citizenship in a Republic,"
 Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

Philippians 2:17-18

Posted: 03 Nov 2012 07:10 AM PDT

Wine-pouring

But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you— and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.

And now it gets hard. Paul really has no idea if he will survive his present ordeal. Except for him this isn't hard. He has not only reckoned with the very real possibility of his death but even sees its advantages. It would be good, senses Paul, to be able to set down his task and labors and move to the nearer presence of God.

Moreover, if his death solidifies the faith of the Philippians in that he has provided an example of faithfulness to the end, that also would give Paul joy. That may seem an odd sentiment to us, but Paul does not see death as the end, but only as another beginning.

There is a danger here of reading too much into Paul's imagery. He does not imagine, for instance, that he is in some way dying for the Philippians. The sacrifice of which he speaks is not the sacrifice of exchange, as if he were implying some form of sacrificial atonement that he is imitating. Rather, he is employing the rich imagery or first century worship, where a glass of wine would be poured out at the time of religious ritual or commemoration. Think of it as akin to lifting a glass in tribute to the deceased at a funeral, where rather than drink the wine the one making the toast pours it into the ground in tribute.

So also, Paul reckons that if his life is to be "poured out" in death, it will only be as an act of thanksgiving for and tribute to the faith, friendship, and partnership in Christ that he has shared with his beloved Philippians.

This may all sound very odd to our ears because we live in a culture dominated by the ideal of perpetual youth, such that the worst thing that can happen is to grow old and die. But sometimes life is sweetest when you know it will not last forever. As the poet Ranier Maria Rilke once said, "the knowledge of our impermanence that haunts our days is their very fragrance." So also with Paul – knowing he will die, perhaps soon, gives the present moments he shares with the Philippians a piercing joy and rich fragrance, and Paul wants them to know that it is the fragrance of thanksgiving.

Prayer: Dear God, let us live mindful that we will one day die, and allow this knowledge not to daunt us but, by faith in you, to enrich every moment of our living. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Campaign Fatigue

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 11:06 AM PDT

Abigael_Evan

The young girl pictured here is Abigael Evans, and this is her reaction after seeing one – or maybe one hundred and one – too many campaign commercials.

Abigael's mother posted this on YouTube this past Tuesday and four million views later I think it's captured the way a lot of us feel as we approach the end of this election season. So much so, in fact, that NPR posted an apology to Abigael: "On behalf of NPR and all other news outlets, we apologize to Abigael and all the many others who probably feel like her. We must confess, the campaign's gone on long enough for us, too."

So there it is: we've got 5 days left until we can not just see this election come to an end but help make it a good end by voting. In the meantime, we can remember the wise words of Abigail's mom, "It'll be over soon."

Note: If you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click here to watch the video.

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