You are a celebrity

I dropped by the church this afternoon and one of the little girls from Buenas Nuevas, our Spanish speaking congregation said to her friend, "It's him! He's here. It's really him." I saw them giggling and heard her comments but i didn't know what they were referring to. Then one of the girls came up to me with a copy of our newsletter and said, "Is this really you?"

My picture was on the front cover of our October Newsletter as an introduction to our Homecoming event this weekend. I never thought it would make me famous, but at least to these young ladies, I was a celebrity.

How wonderful it was to be recognized as someone special, even in a limited way. Well here is the good news. God thinks of us in that same way. We are the object of his affection and he gets excited every time we come to him. As a matter of fact, he loves us so much that he gave up his only begotten son for us.

So the next time you think you don't matter or that you are unimportant. Remember that to God you are a celebrity.

Cal

Putting out the garbage

When I got home tonight I went out and dragged the garbage out to the curb. It was a busy day and I was tired. I almost decided to let it go. But I knew that if I didn't tend to this tonight, that I would end up being sorry about it later.

A thought hit me after I came in. The same thing is true with the "garbage" in our lives. God calls us to dump it on him every day. Actually he calls us to come to him and confess our sins so he can forgive us and restore us. If we don't do this on a regular basis, it builds up in our lives and creates all kinds of mess. We get piles on top of piles and the problems seem to multiply exponentially.

So it is a good idea, no matter how busy or tired or whatever other excuses you have... to make sure you spend a little time with Jesus every night. It will be a blessing to you and you will be able to get a fresh start to your day.

Cal

A prayer of comfort in tough times

As I watched the ticker and saw the stock market going down again today I almost cried out, "Enough now!" I have not been directly hurt by the economic mess on Wall Street but I know that everything is touched by the ripple. I know that jobs will be lost and homes will be surrendered. I know that choices will have to be made about college educations and vacations, and even the things we put in our grocery carts.

There are a lot of worried people out there. I found this bit from Max Lucado. He is great. He has a way with words and I hope these words, this prayer of his brings you comport if you are worried tonight.

Cal

It is no debate

Last night I watched the movie, "The Great Debaters" and truly enjoyed it. The thing that really touched my soul though, was the fact that good people in this country had to live in fear simply because of the color of their skin.

I confess that I grew up in the sixties and seventies in a pretty isolated community here in Connecticut. We never saw the kind of discrimination that ran rampant throughout most of the country in those days. When the race riots broke out in Hartford, and the big cities across the country, I never saw it. Tony Gibson was my friend. The Davis family were a part of the school. The color of their skin didn't matter to us here. They were just like us.

A few years ago I sat down with a couple of ladies at the Martin Luther King Center and listened to them tell their stories about growing up in the south. It opened my eyes and I wanted to cry. How Could people be so cruel? I couldn't imagine watching my friends get turned away from a restaurant or a hotel. I don't know if I would have let it pass without stepping up to say something.

I wondered why people of faith didn't stand up and say something. Then again, that is a silly question. People of faith are still silent on such issues today. We are hesitant to speak about some issues of injustice. We don't want to speak up about things because we believe our faith is a private matter.

I don't think that is true. The truth is that our faith should inform everything we do, say and believe. We should stand up for what we believe is right and stand with the powerless and oppressed. The only word of caution I would give is that we need to remember to do it in love and with civility.

Martin Luther King was able to do far more with his acts of peaceful resistance and civil disobedience than many who came before and after him. His actions spoke to the hearts of many and changed minds and created dialog and opportunities. God's love shined in him.

I loved the fact that the debaters in the movie were able to present a pretty convincing argument by simple sharing their experience. No guns were fired or heads cracked, yet, they began to change the minds of many intellectuals in this country and paved the way for a better world.

I pray that your faith and mine might do the same in our time. So let it shine.

Cal

Turning apples to applesauce

Ooops! This morning I decided to trim my goatee and in a brief moment of a mental cramp I shaved off half of my mustache. I took off the attachment and went right down to the clippers without realizing what I was doing. I had a real predicament. After trying to balance off the sides, I went in to ask my daughter' opinion on what I should do. She laughed and said, "Shave it off. It looks stupid!" I pleaded with her to change her opinion but I knew in my heart that she was right.

Then I tried the next best thing to salvage my goatee. I shaved the mustache part completely off and decided I would go with the Kevin Youkilus look. Rachel laughed even harder when I came back in to her room. She said "Shave it off. It is all you can do."

As I finished the job it struck me that life has a lot of these little unintentional moments. Half of life is dealing with unexpected happenings. Isn't it funny that we worry about a lot of stuff that never happens. We fret and stew and run around worrying. Then something like this happens and we just deal with it.

Did you hear about the lady who turned a bunch of bruised apples into apple sauce? The truth is that there is an awful lot of stuff that comes our way that we see as horrible that may really just be opportunities. I know this pales in comparison to losing your job or having a fender bender, but instead of crying over this mishap, I shaved off the goatee and I am going to add a little color to my hair. I'm thinking I'll look ten years younger. I may even have some fun with this. On Sunday we are having an historical service and I can play up the fact that I look younger than when I arrived at the church 23 years ago.

The truth is that although some of the situations we face do have some difficult consequences that need to be dealt with, sometimes they also come with a fresh start. I know one man who lost his job. He hated the job but it fed the family. When he finally got a new job it turned out to be one that gave him much more satisfaction. I know another family that lost their home to a fire. It was terrible and they lost some precious memories. But today they have a beautiful new home and a lower mortgage payment to boot.

I know that I always look for the silver lining in every situation. You can do that too. For we have the promise of God that He works together for good for all those who love the Lord. That phrase doesn't mean that we will always have good times, but it assures us that God will work through even the misfortunes to provide a better outcome for us if we trust him.

So next time you see me you might not recognize me. I'll be the younger looking guy with a smile on my face.

Cal

Inviting our friends to come along

I went to Six Flags with my daughter last night. She brought a friend and I was on my own. I had a great time. The funny thing is that I went from ride to ride and with each one I was transported back in time to another day.

I rode on the Batman roller coaster and was there again with my daughter Sarah. She was just the right age when it was introduced and I remember going on it with her for the first time. I went on the Mind Eraser and I rode with my friend Al. I kept thinking about the time that he and I rode it two or three times in a row while his wife and our kids went to the water park.

I rode the Buzzsaw and kept thinking about my daughter Rachel and her friends. They love that ride and I have been on it many times with her. I crossed the park and decided to go on the old Thunderbolt. That the big rollercoaster when I was a kid. I remember coming here when it was Riverside Park with a friend from high school. I had a crush on grace and we rode all the rides on my birthday. I thought of her as I rode it.

My daughter called me and asked me if I wanted to go in the Haunted Mansion with her and her friend so I met them there. As we were going through I kept thinking of Kay, a former Youth Leader who took us on a couple of trips to great Haunted Houses when she was working with our kids. It was almost like she was there.

With every ride, I had another memory and an old friend rode with me. It got me thinking about the way we include Jesus in our lives. The truth is that if we invite him to come along with us every day, we will always see him when we look back on the events of our lives. What a blessing that is, especially when we go through those difficult times. It will remind us that Jesus is always there when we need him and call on him.

Cal

Who is God to you?

I was going through my e-mails this afternoon and I came on one that I missed last month. A young person from St. Joseph's School wrote asking me about my relationship to God. They were sent out to ask a community clergyman to share their view of who God was. The request came the day before I left for Australia so it slipped through the cracks. This afternoon I answered the question even though it was probably too late for the assignment.

The truth is that each of us should think about the question and try to answer it from our own understanding. We should never just take these things for granted. As we answer the question, God becomes clearer in our own understanding. Anyway, here is my answer. I've changed the name to protect this young person but the answer is the one I gave.

Dear Brian,

I am sorry I didn't get back to you earlier. I left for a trip to Australia on September 9th and overlooked your request when I got back. It is probably too late for your religion class but I will answer your question briefly.

Who is God to me? God is my creator and the lover of my soul. I believe that God created each and every one of us to have a life long relationship with. He didn't need to create us. He chose to do so because he was so filled with love that he wanted to make a partner to share it with. He created the earth, the solar system, and all that was and then singled out this planet and filled it with life.

We are the source of God's greatest joy, especially when we choose to reflect his love and pass it on. God is my friend. I walk and talk with him every day. I don't always hear his voice but I see him in the people and places I go. He is also worthy of my praise and worship. He is ultimate good and he is ultimately just. I am not worthy of his affection but he gives it anyway.

We see this most perfectly in the gift of his son, Jesus Christ, who came and offered his life on the cross to fulfill God's righteousness and take the punishment for my selfishness, sin and disobedience. God is holy and he calls for holiness from us. Yet we fail miserably and our sin separates us from God. But in his perfect love, God came to earth in the form of a human being. He was born to Mary and lived a perfect life so he could offer himself at the right time, so that the gap between heaven and earth, God and man, could be bridged. Now we can claim his righteousness and find forgiveness and new life. As the hymn says, "What a friend we have in Jesus." And ultimately that means we have a friend in God.

Today he is a part of my life. I talk to him every day and I love him. I am blessed by him. As a child of God I now am called to tell others just how much God loves them. I want them to know what I know. God is good and God loves us all.

How's that? Cal Lord's theology of God in a nutshell. Good luck with your class. Again I apologize for not getting back to you sooner.

Cal