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Saturday, June 28, 2014

Last Week's Sermon

This is an edited version of the sermon. It’s a basic understanding of what I said, with some embellishments and retractions for the sake of, well, it being better than the sermon (hopefully). Besides my family, senior citizens accounted for the entirety of the audience.

Before I got started on the sermon, I did some research. Here are the links I read.
And here’s an additional link given to me by a dear friend.
The scripture I read and based this on was Acts 17:22-31 (Paul preaching to the Athenians).

When I was at a family function, my uncle and I got into an argument. I don’t remember what it was about or why it was important, but it must have annoyed the people around us enough to merit an interruption because my dad leaned in and said “He hasn’t changed his mind in 60 years, what makes you think he’s going to now?” Truth be told, Dad was just poking fun at my uncle, yet I accepted this answer not just because my uncle can be obstinate but because he is old.

My uncle and I didn’t argue because of...whatever we were arguing about. We argued because he thought I was too young to know what I was talking about, and I thought he was too old to ever change his mind.

It’s that kind of mindset that I want to address, because let’s face it: there’s an elephant in the room. I’m a 26 year old man preaching to a well experienced audience. What nuggets of wisdom do I really have to offer? What have I experienced that you have not already seen yourself? Well, maybe this is where a change in mindset comes in.

For my part, I need to realize two things:
1) That all of you being so experienced means there really are very few things I can talk about that you’ve never heard of before, and more importantly
2) Perhaps that shouldn’t be my goal

Maybe, I should be the one trying to understand where you’re coming from, and from there try to understand how scripture has such an impact on both your, and my, understanding of our relationship. So before this sermon I did some research on ageism, or discrimination based on age, and I have a couple of questions for you. How many of you have been insulted because of your age? How many of you have been ignored or not taken seriously? According to the American Psychological Association, most of you.

And this is to say nothing of people over 60 looking for a job, and older patients receiving less attention in health care. In psychiatry, older patients are often not given the full benefits of mental health care because the psychiatrist believes they are “set in their ways” and too old to make meaningful changes to their lives.

You might currently experience this in the workplace right now. One time, we wanted to institute a major design change to our panel, and a field engineer was absolutely against it. I’m ashamed to say, the response of my colleagues and I was “Well, he’s older.” And this happens in both directions. When we had a meeting about new safety policies, people started throwing around terms like “younger guys” and “older guys,” each of them blaming the other for the concerns all of them had.

I wonder if the council Paul addressed experienced the same problems.

While reading this scripture, I decided to read about the Athenian council that met on the Areopagus (or Mars Hill), and I found something very interesting. The minimum age of the council was a surprisingly low 30 years (for the Spartans, it was 60), and unlike the councils of other cities people for this one were chosen at random. In other words, this governing body had both older and younger citizens working together. Did the older members discount the younger ones because of their inexperience? Did the younger members discount the older ones as “set in their ways”? Reading the scripture again, does Paul seem to care?

And that’s what interested me most here: not what the Bible said, but what it didn’t say. The Bible can be oddly specific about when it does and does not mention age, and when it does we find difficulty pinpointing the Bible’s view of it.

A couple examples of a bad outlook:
  • 1 Kings 1:11ff
When David gets very old, he gets tricked into putting Solomon as king. (For any naysayers, read everything before 1 Kings 1:17 including the stuff in 2 Samuel. David never said Solomon would succeed him until after Nathan and Bathsheba trick him into thinking he already said it.)
  • 1 Samuel 8:1ff
When Samuel gets very old, he abuses his power and appoints his sons as judges over Israel. If you’re familiar with stories like that of Gideon or, you know, Samuel himself, then you know that appointing judges is God’s job. Not a prophet’s. Not dear old dad’s. God’s.

A couple examples of a good outlook:
  • 1 Kings 12:1ff
When Rehoboam lost the Northern Kingdom, it was because he listened to the young advisors who told him what he wanted to hear instead of the older advisors who knew what they were talking about. Had he listened to the older advisors, the kingdom would not have split under his rule (or at all).
  • Proverbs 16:31
Speaks for itself. “Gray hair is a crown of glory; It is found on the path of righteousness.” (CEB)

So what does today’s scripture have to say about age? Well, nothing…

This is what I really want to focus on. Often, what’s just as significant as what’s on the page is what’s not on the page. Let’s go back to the council on Mars Hill. From an age perspective, Paul’s audience was quite diverse. And yet, when Paul preached to them, he didn’t focus on the younger members or the older members. He talked to all of them. After he preached, some of the council dismissed him, some laughed at him, and some approached him, saying “tell us more.” We don’t know if the curious ones were young or old. We only know that they heard what Paul was saying, and thirsted for more.

For those of you who were there, this is where my notes ran out. I don’t remember too much of what I said, so hopefully I capture it. If I don’t, well then too bad because this is what I’m writing now.

So now, we finally ask the question “what is the point of what I’m saying?” Well, it’s that we are all called by God. None of us are closer or further away. Paul never said Jesus came for the old, and Jesus never said only the young could follow him. Jesus took people as they were, and said “follow me. You want to see God’s kingdom? Come and see.”

I want to honor your past because it has value. I want to honor the lives you’re living, because they have depth and meaning. I want to hear what you have to say, because I want to learn from you.  And I want you to respect me as I learn, because I’m called by God, too. If we can work together, then we (both young and old) can move towards God’s kingdom and worship the one who gives us life, and life abundantly.

Peace and Joy.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Mawage!

Bwought us togedah Febwuaweh!

If you haven’t seen Princess Bride, then you need to fix that…

because let’s face it, it’s pretty awesome...

This is a surprisingly difficult post to write. If you’re reading this, you’re probably at the very least a facebook friend and aware of my marriage back in February (or maybe you were there, I don’t know). On top of that, all the most significant stuff I want to share is probably too much, and all the less significant stuff is all cliched, so figuring out what to say is a bit tricky.


Also, there’s that whole “only been married 4 months” thing...

So I’ll leave it at this: you know how there is that question of whether or not this is the person you want to be with the rest of your life, and how/when you will ever know that about them? With Erin, that realization came because of a fight we had. I don’t remember what that fight was about or how we resolved it, but there was something about the way we communicated. I felt like there was nowhere else I wanted to be, despite how uncomfortable things were.

I have also come to realize there were two things I felt I could do with her that I didn’t feel with anyone else: 1) I could be a complete doofus and/or idiot, and 2) I could be really bad at things. I have no idea how weird or familiar these sound, but the fact that, no matter how silly I act, I will either be met with laughter or similarly goofy behavior is something that still amazes me. And when my ineptitude is met with patience and understanding, I feel more like I can be myself. I don’t feel like we’re perfect. I feel like we don’t need to be perfect.

So much lurve!

You don’t have to find “that one true love” or anything like that, in fact some people legitimately feel called to live a single life. Mad respect. My prayer for you is that you find a place where you can just be you--where you feel loved, alive, and ready to take on the world.

Peace and joy.

P.S. - Before the next post I’ll be giving a sermon, and I’m super nervous. I’ll definitely be posting about how it went, and I’ll probably give the outline as well. It’s about ageism, and the average age of the audience is probably 75. I’m not exaggerating either. Hopefully, God’s word is spoken and heard. We’ll see when we get there.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

A response...

to this.


For starters, it may be a good idea to read Reading the Bible from the Margins by Miguel de la Torre. It gives a powerful understanding of what it means to be at the center and at the margins, and how people from each space tend to read the Bible.

I actually already wrote (and deleted) the better part of a really angry reply to the link, but if I’m honest it was just another case of a straight person speaking for the LGBTQ community instead of listening to the voice of someone on the other side. Why do we feel such an incessant need to take sides without even listening to the people we are talking about? Maybe LGBTQ Christians have some wisdom regarding these questions that straight Christians don’t. If there is one thing I have learned in a missional setting, it’s that the people you are ministering to know something about God that you don’t. Give them a voice and listen. You might learn something.

So in that spirit, I have a question for the LGBTQ Christians who may read this: what do you think about the above article? What do you think about their use of scripture? What do you think about the research they reference? I have my own opinions, but rather than speak on your behalf I want to hear what you have to say. If you know someone who can provide a genuine response to this, please feel free to ask them the same thing. For my part, I’ll do what I can to get straight Christians to listen rather than to talk, and do my best to join them in that struggle.

Peace and Joy.

P.S. - If anyone wants to know my opinion on this, feel free to ask. I just think my opinion should be secondary in this case.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Finally back.

It’s been a long freaking time.

So much has changed since I last posted, and I can’t wait to share it on here. Who knows, maybe I’ll even get to the point of regularly posting (har har raucous laughter). Seriously though, if I can find a way to post something (anything) once a week on here, I would be thrilled. That’s my current unreasonable goal, and we’ll see if I can maintain it.

You mean to tell me, you’re going to do this during the semester?

Probably not...

I’ll definitely post a lot of the life changes that have come my way, and the various things that I have learned from them. Part of the reason I’m back on here in the first place is because I have a sermon that I’ll need to give soon (my second one ever) and I’m realizing my comfort level with writing is very low. I need practice, not only with writing but with the vulnerability that comes with presenting something that I created. I’m probably going to be posting possible sermons (as well as some impossible sermons), and I’ll definitely be posting all the nerdy things I come across as well. I can’t wait!

Peace and Joy.

P.S. - If you've read any of my old posts (probably not, I didn't publicize at all) you'll notice that they're gone. I wanted a clean slate with this, so for all intents and purposes this is a new blog. I hope I can keep up with it, and I know there is so much for me to learn in the process.