Random Thoughts and Ramblings

Month: December 2022

  • A Christmas Eve Devotion: Light Has Come!

    Photo by Jeswin Thomas on Pexels.com

    This is, more or less, the devotion I gave at the Christmas Eve service for my charge tonight. We held a combined service at Pleasant Hill UMC in Lucedale. A video of the service can be found here.

    Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

    The people who walk in darkness
    will see a great light.

    For those who live in a land of deep darkness,[c]
    a light will shine.

    You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
    and its people will rejoice.

    They will rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest
    and like warriors dividing the plunder.
    For you will break the yoke of their slavery
    and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.

    You will break the oppressor’s rod,
    just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.

    Isaiah 9:1-4 (NLT)

    Please take a moment and appreciate that we are sitting in a warm place with lights, running water, and heat. Right now, there are people even in our state who can’t make that claim. The arctic system that has brought us our lovely sub-freezing temperatures has caused havoc north of us in the form of snow, ice, and other nastiness. I’ve lived in two cities outside of Mississippi, and they are among the areas most impacted by the storm system. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, it was 10 degrees earlier today with a windchill of negative 14. Their forecasted low tonight is 5 degrees with a windchill of negative 15. Stanton, Kentucky, isn’t much better with a temp around 13 degrees, a windchill of 2, and a forecasted low of 9 with a wind chill of negative 5. Oh, and in both places, snow has already fallen, and more is on the way.

    I say all this to help us remember to be grateful and that the people of Israel were experiencing spiritual darkness and bitter cold. They felt as if no hope was to be had for them. Indeed, there were rabbis and others who knew of the prophecies promising a messiah, promising that Emmanuel would come, hope was alive, and God would deliver His people. But that was a long time ago. Many had given up, while others clung to the hope promised by Isaiah and others. Under the thumbs of people like the Romans and the Pharisees, the regular folks felt pressure from all sides. Pressure to conform to Roman culture, pressure to conform to the version of the faith that the Pharisees and Sadducees peddled. Even the Zealots had an influence demanding the people’s attention. People were crying out for the Messiah to come, for relief, crying out… for light.

    Indeed, our God is a promise keeper. God has never broken a promise to His people, and he was not about to start breaking promises where a deliverer was concerned. The light of Christ was about to enter the world, relief was coming, and life was being given to the people who had waited so long! The warmth of the Holy Spirit was also coming to comfort God’s people. God’s prevenient grace was already assuring the people that help was on the way. On the night Jesus was born, everything changed. The prophecy was fulfilled, and a promise made long ago was kept. God had sent the long-promised deliverer.

    As tomorrow is Christmas and we will be gathering to worship, we will not light the Christ candle tonight, but we do remember the night Christ was born. Look around and see the light that fills the sanctuary. Feel the warmth. If you’re joining us online, look at the light and feel the warmth around you. When Jesus came into the world as a baby, this was the spiritual light and warmth that had entered the world like never before. Grace and love were spilling into the world like never before. God’s people had been delivered. Today, because of the baby born in a stable somewhere in Bethlehem, we know true freedom from our sins, the warmth and light that only God can bring us. Love came down in a barn! Thanks be to God.

  • The Church’s Identity Crisis

    This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.[b] He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

    6 And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people.

    May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

    Romans 1:1-7 (NLT)

    Several times, I’ve met people who seemed to be going through an identity crisis. This seems most common at milestone years in one’s life, where one may feel the need to “find themselves.” Often, the person will look for contentment in things like Corvettes, boats, or something else with wheels. Perhaps they hope that their identity can be found in a new large house. Or, maybe, a new career that is so far out of their typical wheelhouse that the change seems outright bizarre. Or, in some extreme cases, the person may feel the need to “find themselves” by having an affair or even abandoning their family to live on an island in the Pacific.

    I believe the church has been. in the midst of an identity crisis for many years. The church claims that God is the supreme focus but often acts in ways that make us go “hmm.” We forget that our identity has already been decided. We are the people of God, we are beloved, we are forgiven. We are children of God. I believe Paul’s greeting to the Romans is intended to remind the reader of who they are and of whose they are. Paul goes to great lengths to remind us that we belong to God and that God has already declared us His beloved. That’s who we are and that’s the message that God wants us. to pass along. Not only do we belong to God, others are claimed by God as well if they but believe. That’s our identity.

    In a time when the church often acts like it doesn’t know whether it belongs to Jesus or to the world, let us claim our identity in Christ and Christ alone. Especially at the dawn of the Christmas season, let us renew our commitment to Christ and Christ only.

  • Accountability Goes Both Ways

    Throughout my life, I have been reminded that the choices I make every single day have a consequence. This lesson is one that I strive to teach my kids every single day. Some consequences are good, while others are not so good, but there is at least one consequence for every choice one makes every day. We tend to hear about consequences the most when one makes a wrong choice, and this week has closed by giving us another reminder of consequences.

    Rev. John Miles of First UMC Jonesboro, Arkansas, received this reminder the hard way.

    Jonesboro First UMC was one of the churches in Arkansas that the session of the annual conference did not approve for disaffiliation. Arkansas is the only conference in the United Methodist Church that has not affirmed any church, let alone three, for disaffiliation. Multiple reports that circulated through the UMC social media circles indicated that the problem with Jonesboro First, Cabot, and Searcey’s disaffiliations was the process each church implemented to petition to leave the UMC. It’s worth noting that Jonesboro First only barely had enough votes from the congregation to leave, the narrowest margin of any church in Arkansas that saught disaffiliation.

    Since the annual conference vote, a complaint was filed against Rev. Miles for his actions leading up to the disaffiliation vote. A preliminary investigation has provided evidence that Rev. Miles acted against the Book of Discipline, against state laws of Arkansas, and has not upheld his ordination vows. As a result, Rev. Miles has been suspended indefinitely and the annual conference leadership have invoked the trust clause in order to try and stabilize the situation. I have seen posts from several folks that indicates that Rev. Miles was actively trying to lead the congregation out of the denomination, a clearly chargeable offense, as pastors are to submit to the order of the church. One could also argue that Rev. Miles’ actions have undermined the ministry of other United Methodist pastors, which is also a chargeable offense.

    Frankly, I wish this sort of action had become the norm rather than the exception. I have suspicions, though I’ve never had proof, that other pastors have led and are leading their congregations out of the UMC. For those whose actions can or would have been proved, I would have loved to seen similar action taken against clergy who were in violation of church law and who had broken their ordination vows. I’ve been quite disgusted at some of the behavior that has supposedly occurred. I hope this serves as a lesson to any pastors who may be reading this who find themselves on a similar path. Integrity dictates that clergy who seek to lead their congregations out and who can not remain United Methodist should immediately surrender their credentials.

    For anyone reading this who have been complaining about the denomination not upholding the discipline but who criticize Bishop Mueller for taking this action, you need to think about something: You can’t have it both ways; as we say back home, “You can’t talk out of both sides of your mouth.” Demanding that clergy who perform marriage rites for LGBTQ persons be held accountable while decrying the suspension of Rev. Miles is the height of hypocrisy. You can’t demand accountability for certain crimes but not others. When properly applied accountability works for everyone and not just people we disagree with.

    We can’t demand accountability and then complain when those who are found to have acted against the discipline and state law are held accountable.