Pastor's Page
Pastor's Weekly Web Musing
Week One...
What inspires you? What causes you to think about the deep questions about life? One of the things which first inspired me as an adult to examine the meaning of existence was, and still is, creation. Especially since the advent of the Hubble Space Telescope, we are able to peer into the vastness of our universe and to wonder at its beauty and complexity. The more we see and learn about our universe, the more we learn that we do not know much. Astronomers tell us that as much as seventy percent of the universe consists of “dark matter and dark energy,” which we are unable to detect. My college majors were mathematics and physics, so I am a little familiar with the laws and forces which govern this huge expanse. I know more about the almost unimaginably small molecular, atomic, and sub-atomic particles. What amazes me is that some of the same forces and laws are in effect at the vast distances of the cosmos and in the tiny atomic scale. A second wondrous feature of creation is the proliferation and variety of life which exists here on our home planet. There are organisms which survive and thrive in conditions which would be fatal to most forms of life—extreme heat or cold—extreme high pressure—acidity or alkalinity. If we believe that life formed from random collisions between molecules and that is has evolved through accidental genetic mutations, then the probability that this incredible variety could have happened by accident is ridiculously small. I concluded that all of what we see cannot have occurred by accident. That was the beginning of my search for God. If you are seeking, or even thinking about seeking, why not join the people of St. Paul United Methodist Church in our quest for meaning. We do not promise easy answers, but we will revel in the search together.
Week Two...
Last week I wrote how I began my search for God as an adult. Like many of you, I was raised in the church, but I turned away as a young adult. I consider myself to be one of a large number of people who were wounded by church. When I reached adolescence and began to reason for myself, I was discouraged from or even criticized for asking questions. I was expected to accept what I was taught, rather than to seek the truth for myself. The congregation to which I belonged was convinced that they had all the answers, so there was no need to investigate further. To make matters worse, I concluded that many of my early instructors were racist and/or had a very strong anti-Catholic bias. Since I was raised in the sixties, one of my heroes was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. My high school sweetheart was Catholic. I only had experience within that one congregation and denomination, but I concluded that all churches felt and taught the same way. I guess I confuse God with the imperfect, flawed human beings which make up God’s church. Thanks be to God, I encountered grace—God’s unconditional, unlimited love--through an intensive Bible study in a denomination in which “We think and let think” is part of its foundation. If you are have been wounded by church, or if you are a skeptic, you will feel right at home at St. Paul United Methodist Church.
Week Three...
“What do we fear?”
When I was younger and given to philosophical discussions with my friends, one of the topics which we loved to discuss was the question, “What is your greatest fear?” In those days the common answers were nuclear war, getting a dread disease such as cancer, being paralyzed in a terrible accident, etc. I think that many of those same fears may be present in these days with some additions, such as terrorism, HIV/AIDS, climate change, political upheaval/loss of freedoms, or financial ruin. However, I believe that one of our most fundamental, unnamed fears is the fear that we are not good enough—that somehow we are lacking and that because we are not good enough, we will not be loved. The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God’s love does not depend upon who we are and what we do. God’s loves us because of who God is, not because of who we are or what we do or do not do. The people of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church ardently try to make God’s love visible in our community. If you feel isolated or unloved, why not come and see how God is working in and through the family of faith which is St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.
Week Four...
“Failure”
If you read last week’s Musing, you may remember that the general theme of the meditation was on fear. One of the greatest fears which we have is the fear of failure. We have a wide-spread expression in our culture that “Failure is not an option.” There is some truth in that expression: Failure is not an “option.” Failure is an inevitable experience of human existence. Often, when we fail, as every person inevitably does in some way, it may reinforce our feelings of self-doubt or unworthiness. If we blame others for our failures, the result may be anger and bitterness and the severing of our relationships with others, leaving us isolated and frightened. If we blame ourselves, the result may be depression or being afraid to risk trying again because the fear of the pain of failure is too great. This is especially true when the failure involves a close relationship. The Bible is filled with accounts of failure by even those we consider heroes of the faith. But the Bible reinforces again and again that God is a God of second chances or new beginnings. The people of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church are grateful to God that we have been given many second chances and opportunities for new beginnings. God has provided us opportunities for new lives of joy, peace, love, and especially hope. If these are missing from your life, why not come and see how God can heal and renew you here at St. Paul’s.
