My Five Good Fathers

            This Sunday we will be remembering and honoring fathers as we celebrate Father’s Day.  In my sermon, I will explore the essential qualities that a “good father” should have.  My scripture for this week is Luke 15: 11-32, the parable of the “Prodigal Son.”  This is one of Jesus’ richest parables and we can reflect on it from many different perspectives.  This time, I will interpret the parable focusing on the father.

            From this perspective, the parable of the Prodigal Son is a story about a parent’s relationship with his two sons.  When we reflect upon the father’s actions in the story, four essential qualities emerge:

1.      He respects his child’s freedom to make his own mistakes in life.  When their children are young, parents become accustomed to protecting them.  For instance, with a young child, a good father will reach out and grab his child to keep her from running out into a busy street in front of speeding cars.  Or, he will resist requests to stay up late and not get enough sleep.  Parents are protective of their children because, when their child is hurt, good parents suffer with their child as he suffers.  As children grow older and mature, parents are tempted to try and prevent any harm from coming to them.  So, when a parent sees their child about to make a bad decision that will likely result in much heartache and suffering, there is an almost irresistible temptation to tell the child that she cannot do something.  While the mother’s motive is pure, it is restrictive and unfair to the older child.  Each of us deserves the freedom to make our own decisions—and to make our own mistakes.

Undoubtedly, the father of the prodigal son knew that he was making a terrible mistake, when he asked for all of his inheritance and made plans to travel to a new and exciting and foreign land.  Yet, the father resisted the temptation to be paternalistic and try to protect his son from this terrible mistake.

2.      The father took the first initiative to be reconciled and repair the relationship with his sons.  When the younger son asked for his inheritance and left his father’s household, in Jewish culture, he dishonored his father and treated him as though he were already dead.  Later, after the younger son’s return, the older son became indignant when he learned that the father was throwing a party for the prodigal son.  In both cases, it was the father who first took the initiative to be reconciled with his children.  When the father saw the prodigal son returning, he ran to him.  And, when the older son was pouting in the yard, it was the father who went out to reconcile with him.

3.      The father affirms his two sons.  With both sons, the father takes an attitude and posture that affirms them and claims them as his beloved sons.  At the party celebrating the return of the prodigal son, the father publicly proclaims, “This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!”  Even though the prodigal son had dishonored his father and acted as though his father was dead, it is the father who affirms their relationship and proclaims that his son is alive.  When the older son lashes out at his father because of the welcome home party, it is the father who affirms their relationship and re-assures him, by saying:  “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.”

4.      The father show compassion and love.  Throughout the parable, in his dealings with both sons, the father exhibits tremendous love and compassion for his two sons.

I think that in the parable of the Prodigal Son, the father provides a great foundation for identifying the essential qualities of a “good father.”  Perhaps there are other qualities as well.  Earlier on the Meriden United Methodist Church Facebook page, I asked that readers identify what they think are essential qualities of a “good father.”  See our Facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Meriden-United-Methodist-Church/72561738004.  I will be sharing and discussing these suggested qualities during my sermon on Sunday.  If you know of qualities that should be included in our list, it is not too late to share them with me.  You can share them by posting a comment to this blog.

In my sermon this week, I will also suggest that being a “good father” is not restricted to being a biological father.  Actually, most of us can identify biological fathers who are both good and bad fathers.  All of us, perhaps, can identify key persons in our lives who have been like a father to us—or, like a mother to us.  That is certainly the case in my life.  So, in the proclamation this week, I will not just talk about my own, biological father.  In addition to my Dad, I will also share the stories of four other men who have been like a father to me.  Hence the title of my proclamation, “My Five Good Fathers.”

 

If you live in the Meriden-area and do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United Methodist Church this Sunday.  Meriden UMC is located at the corner of Dawson and Main.  Our worship service starts on Sundays at 10 am.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

"God Blesses Us through Our Pets"

      This coming Sunday, June 9th, my congregation will be observing a special Sunday of "Blessing the Animals."  We will gather for Worship in the Meriden City Park, rather than our church Sanctuary.  Everyone who has a special pet--whether it's a dog or cat or hamster or snake or horse or something else--is encouraged to bring it to the worship service for a special, individual blessing.  After the worship service, we will stay in the park for a combination cook-out/pot-luck meal, together.  The blessing goes like this:

          "Bless, O God, these creatures [cat, dog, etc.]; fill our hearts with thanksgiving for

           their [his, her, its] being; Give us wisdom and a caring heart that we may be good

           stewards and promote their [his, her, its] flourishing."

 

      The theme of my proclamation for the service will be that God blesses humans through our pets.  My proclamation will include numerous stories how individual persons, including myself, have been blessed by the pets we keep.  There will also be an opportunity for individuals in the congregation to stand and share their stories of blessing through their animals. 

 

       My proclamation will be grounded in Isaiah 11: 6-9.  This passage is a prophetic description of what God's Kingdom will look like at the End Times, when it is completed.  According to the prophet, Isaiah:

 

          ^"6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf

         and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. ⁷The cow

         and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat

         straw like the ox. ⁸The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the

          weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. ⁹They will not hurt or destroy

          on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord

          as the waters cover the sea."

 

This passage of scripture, which is recommended by The United Methodist Book of Worship for services that Blessing the Animals, powerfully reminds  us of God's love for all animals and for Creation.  It's not just that God blesses us in the present through our pets.  No.  Instead, all animals and Creation are part of the plan for God's Kingdom, when it is fully established at the End Times. 

 

      I have to confess that this coming Sunday's is one of my favorite Sunday's in the year, as we recognize and give thanks for the many ways that God blesses us through our pets and other animals.

 

      If you live in the Meriden-area and do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United Methodist Church.  Our worship service starts on Sundays at 10 am.  This Sunday, we are worship at the Meriden City Park, located on South Owen Street, behind the Jeff West Football Stadium.  Every other Sunday, we worship in our building, located at the corner of Dawson and Main Streets in Meriden, Kansas.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

The Church that Prays Together...

            My congregation in Kansas has some important discerning to complete during the second half of 2013, as we look to the future and to what God is calling us to become.  So, in order to inform our discernment during the summer, some of my sermons will focus on key characteristics of the first churches, as recorded in the New Testament book of Acts. 

            This Sunday, June 2nd, my scriptural text will be Acts 2:  40-47.  My sermon will focus on the role of communal prayer in the life of a faith community.  I will explore what it means for a faith community to be in prayer together, with one-another.  While there are some important differences between the communal prayer life of a faith community and the personal prayer life of an individual disciple of Christ, I will also suggest that the components of prayer should be similar.  We can think of five elements in the healthy prayer life for our church:

1.      Centering

2.      Thanksgiving

3.      Confession and Asking for Forgiveness

4.      Concerns and Requests

5.      Listening for God and Seeking Guidance from God 

If you live in the Meriden-area and do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United Methodist Church this Sunday.  Meriden UMC is located at the corner of Dawson and Main.  Our worship service starts on Sundays at 10 am.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

 

 

What the Church and Sharks Have In Common

            Marine biologists tell us that some species of shark—including the great white shark, the mako shark, and the hammerhead shark—must continually swim without rest, throughout their lives.  These sharks are called obligate ram ventilators.  They no longer have the ability to pump water through their gills, while at rest.  Instead, they must continually swim in order for the water to pass through their gills, enabling them to “breathe” and take in oxygen.  Presumably if these sharks ever stopped swimming, they would asphyxiate and die.  Thus, these sharks must continually move in order to live.

            Churches are like these obligate ram ventilator species of sharks.  If churches stop moving, then they will die, as well.  Churches stop moving when they become complacent, self-satisfied, and inward looking; that is, when they cease to be faithful to God.  Churches that are faithful to God are constantly on the move.  These churches are constantly asking, “What is God calling us to do now?”  What new ministry or program should we be starting?  These churches are continually looking for and moving towards new opportunities.  They are willing to take risks, try out new possibilities, and be uncomfortable in response to God’s call—these churches are constantly on the move.

            This Sunday at Meriden United Methodist Church we will celebrate Pentecost, which is the anniversary marking the creation of the Christian Church in Jerusalem, after the resurrected Jesus had ascended into Heaven.  Our scripture reading will be Acts 2: 1—21, which describes this formation of the first church.  During the Worship Service, we will also celebrate Confirmation Sunday, as we welcome our young confirmands into full church membership.  My sermon will focus primarily on our church in Meriden and where we may be called upon to move next in faithfulness to God.  That is, where is God calling upon us to swim next?

 

If you live in the Meriden-area and do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United Methodist Church this Sunday.  Meriden UMC is located at the corner of Dawson and Main.  Our worship service starts on Sundays at 10 am.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

My weekly blog will take a brief one-week hiatus next week, while I enjoy some vacation time with my family.  The next post will be uploaded at the end of May for Sunday, June 2nd. 

Memories of My Mother

            I must confess that as a Pastor, I dread preaching on Mother’s Day.  Don’t get me wrong:  it is important to set aside a day to remember our mothers and the countless sacrifices that many of them make for their children.  Yet, at the same time, when our society celebrates Mother’s Day we tend to glorify the virtues of motherhood and place all mothers high up on a lofty pedestal.  The difficulty with preaching on Mother’s Day is that not everyone experienced a saintly mother, growing up.  At the extreme, consider mothers such as Andrea Yates, who confessed to drowning her five children in the bathtub in 2001.  In addition, there are always women in any congregation who have never been mothers—or, who have lost children. 

This spring, Amy Young posted an open letter to clergy on her blog, The Messy Middle.  In her open letter, she discussed how hard it is for some women to attend Worship on Mother’s Day and how well-meaning, but clueless, pastors make the day even more difficult by the thoughtless things we say and do in our attempt to honor and recognize mothers.  Here’s a link to her post:  http://www.messymiddle.com/2012/05/10/an-open-letter-to-pastors-a-non-mom-speaks-about-mothers-day/.  Ms. Young’s blog post went viral, with over 36,000 views and almost 1,000 comments.  So, she posted a follow-up blog on what she had learned from all the comments, http://www.messymiddle.com/2012/05/28/another-open-letters-to-pastors-lessons-from-the-comments-section/.

Against this backdrop, I should also observe that this coming Sunday will be the first Mother’s Day, since my own mother died just after the 2012 Memorial Day.  So, even before I read Ms. Young’s blog, I had already decided that this year I would preach perhaps a bit more personally—by focusing more on what I learned about being a Christian from my mother.  (I wrote about grieving my mother’s death in my Pastor’s Column for the March church newsletter at Meriden UMC where I pastor, but this is the first time that I’ve really focused on personal memories of my mother.) 

My text this Sunday is Luke 10: 38-42.  This passage tells the story of Jesus visiting the home of Martha and her sister, Mary.  While Jesus settles in their home and begins teaching, Martha busies herself with being “the hostess with the mostest.”  Luke explains that Martha “was distracted by many things.”  By contrast, her sister, Mary, sits down at Jesus’ feet and listens intently to his words.  Martha becomes exasperated with Mary and asks Jesus to rebuke her for not doing her share of the chores.  At this point, the first-time reader expects Jesus to condemn Mary.  However, to the surprise of Martha and the first-time reader, Jesus actually exonerates Mary and compliments her for listening to his teachings.

In their interpretation of this passage, Biblical scholars point out that by sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to his teachings, Mary is rebelling against the social mores of the Jewish culture.  At the time of Jesus’ ministry, women were completely marginalized within the culture.  As one interpreter explains, “Mary is acting like a male.  She neglects her duty to assist her sister in the preparation of the meal, and by violating a clear social boundary she is bringing shame upon her house.”[1]  By contrast, Martha is adhering to the social customs of the day by focusing on the details of being a great hostess.

So, the story of Martha-versus-Mary presents two models of what it means to be the ideal woman.  On the one hand, it’s Martha, the domestic servant.  On the other hand, it’s Mary, the curious and engaged Christian disciple.  Jesus is very clear that God prefers Mary as the ideal model of what it means to flourish as a woman.  Unfortunately, this dichotomy has not changed all that much over the past 2000 years.  Sociologists tell us that today women do considerably more domestic work than men, and this is true even in dual-career households where both the husband and wife have full-time jobs outside the home.  WebMD claims that “men reported performing 32% of total housework and women reported 74%.[2]  And, a study done at the University of Michigan found that having a husband creates an additional 7 hours of extra household work per week for wives.[3]

For my mother, the Martha-versus-Mary choice would be a false dichotomy.  My mother was a high school Home Economics teacher.  So, it was important for her to have a clean, well maintained household, with plenty of excellent, nutritious food.  At the same time, my mother’s Christian faith was very important, as well.  Consequently, it was important for her to attend church and maintain a strong personal, devotional life.  It was also essential that she teach her faith to her children.  So, for Mom, it was more a matter of Martha-and-Mary, a both/and, rather than an either/or.

When I was a child, my mother struggled with cataracts and some other illnesses.  It became necessary for my two siblings and I—along with my father—to take on much of the domestic work.  We learned to cook, wash dishes, clean the house, and do our own laundry.  My mother continued to teach her faith to us, maintain her own, active devotional life, and attend church activities regularly.  So, my most vivid memories of time with my mom involve doing household chores, having a devotional life, and attending various church activities. 

In reflecting back on these memories, I believe my mother’s intuition about Martha-and-Mary is correct.  You see, women should not have to choose between being a Martha or a Mary.  Instead, women should be able to choose being both Martha and Mary, at the same time.  But, in order to choose both Martha and Mary, women need the support of their family—and, their community of faith. 

This is what I learned from my mom.  Of course, it’s not just mothers who need the support of their families and their communities of faith; all of us who strive to be faithful disciples need support.  And, regardless of whether or not we are mothers; regardless of whether we have good or bad memories of our own mothers; regardless of all the other factors that make each of us unique; we all share this in common:  We can support others in our community of faith to be both Martha’s and Mary’s; to serve the world and also grow spiritually closer to God.

If you live in the Meriden-area and do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United Methodist Church this Sunday.  Meriden UMC is located at the corner of Dawson and Main.  Our worship service starts on Sundays at 10 am.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

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[1] The Interpreter’s Bible, p. 231 on Luke/

[2] Accessed online at http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/news/20070829/husbands-do-less-housework, on 10 May 2013.

[3] Accessed online at http://askville.amazon.com/hours-Housework-average-person-week/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=10477132, on 10 May 2013.

Will I See My Pet Animals in Heaven?

            The sermon this Sunday, May 5th, is “Will I See My Pet Animals in Heaven?”  This is the sixth and final sermon in the Easter series, “What Happens to Me After I Die?”  This particular topic on pets in heaven was not part of my original vision for this series on life after death.  However, when I presented my plans for the sermon series to the Worship Committee at Meriden UMC, they suggested adding this topic.

            Many American Christians have pets as a part of their households.  For many of us, these pets literally become “part of the family.”  We develop a deep love for our pets; we cherish their companionship, as well as appreciating their unique personalities and their quirky traits and habits.  We care about our pets and their well-being.  Just as our love for family members and friends extends beyond death to the next life, so also the scope of our love for our pets extends beyond this present time to life after death.  We wonder if we will see our pets in heaven.

            (Will I see my pets in heaven?  This is certainly an important question for me.  As I’m writing this blog, my dog, “Mr. Snuggles,” is curled up, sleeping at my feet, while my cat, “Jaguar,” keeps batting my arm with his paw because he wants to me to scratch him behind the ears and rub his back.  When I pause to rub Jaguar, I can hear him begin to purr.)

            Christians are divided on the question of whether we will see our pets in heaven.  A quick search on the internet reveals the division of opinions on this question. 

Some Christians believe that animals do not go to heaven.  Christians holding this position can build a persuasive argument, which is thoroughly grounded based upon a number of passages from scripture.  For instance, Pastor Jeffrey Hamilton of La Vista Church of Christ in La Vista, Nebraska, quotes 27 different passages of scripture in his sermon, “Dogs Don’t Go to Heaven”.[1]  Among the reasons that Pastor Hamilton believes that dogs do not go to heaven are his claims that dogs are lazy, greedy, and “have disgusting habits.”

Other Christians believe that animals to go to heaven.  Christians holding this position can also build a persuasive argument and they also base their argument on numerous passages from scripture.  For instance, in preparation for this sermon I read a book by Steven Woodward, entitled:  Biblical Proof:  Animals Do Go to Heaven.[2]  In this book, the author offers extensive biblical proof that animals do go to heaven, in contrast to Pastor Hamilton above.

Will I see my pet animals in heaven?  On this question, many Christians of good obviously disagree—as evidenced by the two Christian writers above.  Readers of this blog may well disagree with me on this question.  If you do, I hope that you will respond to this blog and share why you disagree with me.  I find that I always learn and grow through considering viewpoints that are different from my own.  However, with that said, my own position is that animals do go to heaven, and that we will see our pets there.

My reasons for believing that animals go to heaven are not based primarily upon arguments from scriptural proof-tests, such as those used by Steven Woodward in his book.  I believe that the scriptural arguments on both sides of this question are rather superficial and shallow.  I really appreciate a sentence written by Wesley Smith in an article for the magazine Christianity Today.  Like me, Smith is critical of stringing together various scriptural texts to argue that animals do—or, do not—go to heaven.  He writes, “Instead of speculating or making strained proof-texts, let us instead give thanks to God for the great gift of joy he has given us in our pets.”[3]

Instead of stringing together proof-texts about whether animals go to heaven, I have come to my position because this claim fits consistently into our understanding of who God is and what God will do at the End Times.  In this sermon series, I have suggested that we need to take a broader view, which sees the Resurrection of Jesus, the promise of eternal life, and the End Times as all inter-connected with one another.  Indeed, our view needs to be broader, yet, so that we also include our understanding of God’s work as the Creator.

One of the fundamental Christian beliefs is that God created the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, and indeed the entire universe.  In Genesis 1, God surveys all that God created and saw that it was very good (Genesis 1:31), and Genesis 2 says that God created all of life on planet Earth as a gift for humans, who are to serve as stewards and caretakers of this beautiful blue-green planet.  But, God’s creative work did not stop with the Big Bang.  Instead, God continues to create and redeem all of Creation.

My sermon this week is based upon Romans 8: 18-25.  In this passage, the Apostle Paul writes that all of creation “has been groaning in labor pains” as it awaits final redemption, when Jesus will come again.  But, this suffering of the creation is not in vain.  Rather, at the End Times, “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

The full and total redemption of Creation will not be completed until the End Times.  When redemption is completed, humans and all of Creation will be completely transformed.  As Revelation 21: 1 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”  God not only promises us that we and all of Creation will be renewed and transformed, God also guarantees it through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the first Easter.  As I suggested at the beginning of this sermon series, Jesus’ Resurrection was a physical resurrection.  Yet, at the same time, the resurrected Jesus was in some way transformed so that his disciples and closest friends did not recognize him at first.

My hope is based upon this conviction that God will redeem all of Creation at the End Times—including Jaguar, Mr. Snuggles, and all of my other beloved pets.   This conviction is based upon Romans 8, Revelation 21, and other scriptural passages.  So, it is consistent with our understanding of God’s Redemption of Creation to believe that I will see Jaguar, Mr. Snuggles, as well as all of my other beloved pets, in Heaven.  God loves and redeems all of Creation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If you live in the Meriden-area and do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United Methodist Church this Sunday.  Meriden UMC is located at the corner of Dawson and Main.  Our worship service starts on Sundays at 10 am.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

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[1] La Vista Church of Christ, “Dogs Don’t Go to Heaven,” access online at http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVSermons/DogsDontGoToHeaven.html on 30 April 2013.

[2] Steven H. Woodward, Biblical Proof:  Animals Do Go to Heaven (Xulon Press, 2012).

[3] Wesley Smith, Karen Swallow Prior, and Ben DeVries, “Do Pets Go to Heaven? In Christianity Today, 12 April 2012, accessed online at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/channel/utilities/print.html?type=article&id=9590. 23 April 2013.

God's Earth versus the 'Human Waiting Room'

            This Sunday, April 28th, we will celebrate Earth Day at Meriden United Methodist Church.  The service will include special music from the children in our Sunday-School and conclude with the planting of new shrubbery at the front entrance of our building. 

As part of our special Earth Day service, my sermon is entitled, “God’s Earth versus the ‘Human Waiting Room,’” which is a continuation of my current Easter sermon series, entitled “What Happens to Me After I Die?”  The scriptural text for this proclamation will be Genesis 2: 4b-25.

            At first glance, an Earth Day sermon may seem to be an abrupt digression in a series of sermons on Resurrection, Life Eternal, and the End Times.  Afterall, the focus of this series is on what happens when we die and at the end of time.  We might well ask how focusing on our present time and place is relevant to reflection on our individual destiny at the end of times? 

Although I recognize that this is counter-intuitive, I believe that a complete exploration of resurrection, life eternal, and the end times must include reflection on our relationship to—as well as responsibilities for—God’s Creation in the present.  It is a profound mistake to separate God’s physical Creation and the environment from our understanding of life eternal and the end of the world, as some well-meaning Christians have done historically.

            It has been nearly 50 years since the historian Lynn White, Jr. published his controversial article, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis.”[1]  In order to address what were then emerging environmental crises, White argued that we must first examine and critique our religious beliefs about nature.  He said:  “What people do about their ecology depends on what they think about themselves in relation to things around them.  Human ecology is deeply conditioned by beliefs about our nature and destiny – that is, by religion.”

In his analysis, White noted that the human capacity to wreak damage and destruction upon the environment grows out of Western technological and scientific advances.  These advances have occurred in a social context in which Western Christianity was the dominant religion.  Turning to an analysis of religion, White argues that Western Christianity makes it possible to exploit nature in a mood of indifference because "nature has no reason [for] existence save to serve [humans] man."  In other words, for Christians nature is simply the stage upon which the drama of human salvation is played out—or, the waiting room before we enter Heaven.  White asserts that Christian arrogance toward nature "bears a huge burden of guilt" for the contemporary ecological crisis.

Needless to say, White’s essay touched off a firestorm of protest from Christian believers, who primarily argued that White had misunderstood the Christian faith’s attitude toward nature.  They argued that Christians have taken a positive view of nature and have understood that humans have a special role to play as wise stewards, or caretakers, of the Earth. As with most controversies, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.  On the one hand, White’s critics are absolutely correct in that the affirmation of Creation is an important theme in the Bible and Christian thought.  On the other hand, White is correct to observe that historically Christians have frequently exploited nature with indifference.

In our reflections about what happens to us after we die, our understanding of God’s Creation in the story of humans is an important question.  Is this Earth merely humans’ “waiting room,” before we die and go to heaven?  Or, is this Earth in itself important to God? 

I think that Genesis 2: 4b-25 provides a very poignant answer to these questions.  Unlike the Creation story in Genesis 1, in Genesis 2 the account of creation begins with the first man, Adam (v. 7).  After Adam is created, God creates the rest of nature as a gift for humans.  Then God places Adam in the Garden of Eden, as recorded in verse 15:  “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.”  The Hebrew word in verse 15, which Biblical scholars translate into English as “to till it and keep it” is ābad.  This is a very interesting word choice.  In Hebrew, this word, ābad, means to “serve,” and it usually refers to a slave who serves a master.  So, Adam is to serve the rest of Creation.

            To summarize, in Genesis 2 the rest of nature is given to humans as a special gift from God and at the same time God asks humans to care for – or, serve – God’s good Creation.  Clearly, from the scriptures, God values our Earthly home much, much more than seeing it simply as the human waiting room for Heaven.  This understanding of Creation also fits with our earlier discussion of Revelation 21, where at the end time God will transform all of Creation into a New Creation:  “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…” (Revelation 21:1).[2]

 

            Feel free to post your comments on this blog.  I realize that there are other interpretations and answers to some of the questions concerning what happens to us when we die.  In exploring these issues, I am not trying to convince everyone that they must accept my answers.  In fact, I think it is important for each person to develop their own answers.  And, Christians of good will can disagree. 

However, even in disagreements, there are opportunities for spiritual growth.  When we encounter persons who disagree with us, that very disagreement can challenge us to think more deeply and come to a better understanding of our own answers.  This can lead to a deeper faith and a stronger conviction and assurance.

            At the same time, even though Christians may disagree concerning how we answer these questions of ultimate meaning, I think that we can all agree that God has given us this beautiful planet as a precious gift for safe-keeping.

If you live in the Meriden-area and do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United Methodist Church this Sunday.  Meriden UMC is located at the corner of Dawson and Main.  Our worship service starts on Sundays at 10 am.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

 

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[1] Lynn White, Jr., “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis,” Science Vol 155, pp. 1203-1207 (10 March 1967).

[2] For a more detailed discussion, see my earlier blog, entitled: “’Freeze or Fry,’ The End of the Universe and the End Times.”