#189 Now What?

My job has changed a lot this year. (I know that's true for a huge number of people. I'm not here to claim that I have worse than everybody else. But I think there's some benefit to acknowledging our struggles and the pain they cause.) I spent about two months preaching to an almost empty sanctuary on Saturday evenings so we could make sure a video service was posted by Sunday morning. Now the congregation is gathering for the most part, but we're still missing a few of our members, and our worship services have been modified and slightly condensed. Those kinds of things are weird but not so bad.

The bigger change and the real struggle has come in the pastoral care part of my job. Church members used to gather in the basement for refreshments after Sunday morning worship, which gave me a chance to catch up with different people each week. Now we scatter pretty quickly. I used to visit church members in nursing homes and care facilities and in their own homes. Now I'm not allowed into buildings and many members are more comfortable if I don't come over. I've been trying to check in over the phone, but that's difficult and draining for me. I used to have some regular things that I did to be involved in my community and meet other people. But for now my normal activities have pretty much all gone away. I've always believed that meeting/visiting/caring for people inside and outside the church is vital and that it shapes how I preach and lead prayers. But lately I feel like I'm having to start all over, like I'm relearning everything about how to find and keep track of my people.

Right now I'm tired. I'm worn. Sometimes it seems like it's taking more effort to get less done. But I know that God has called me to this work, and I know that He is faithful. In the midst of all of this craziness I've had some really good conversations with church members and heard some wonderful stories of God's work in their lives. So I'm trying to endure. I'm trying to hold on to hope, to trust that God is in control, that He is present, that He brings healing and wholeness to our broken lives and our broken world. Come, Lord Jesus.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#188 R.I.P., Miller Park

We're taking a break from more serious blog topics to talk about baseball. Yesterday (Sep 20) was the last Milwaukee Brewers home game at Miller Park. (The Brewers are on the road the rest of the season and won't be hosting any playoff games this year.) Now the stadium isn't going anywhere; it's just being renamed as American Family Field next year. This is a huge bummer for me and for many other Brewers fans, too. Miller Park just made sense. Our team is named for people who make beer, so why shouldn't the stadium be named after a huge beer company? American Family Field isn't a terrible name, but it's not the same. Let's face it: after 20 years, I'm not just going to stop calling the building Miller Park. I understand that the Brewers get some serious money for selling the naming rights to the stadium, and I get that Miller had first dibs at keeping those rights, but I still don't have to like it. If we were building a new stadium, I could maybe learn to live with this, but I'm really against renaming our beloved ballpark. It'll always be Miller Park to me.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#187 Answer to Prayer

 I recently wrapped up a sermon series on the Lord's Prayer. As I've reflected on this prayer that Jesus taught (with quite a lot of help from a book by C. Clifton Black), I've come to the conclusion that the Lord's Prayer as a whole is about desiring God Himself.

(Our Father in heaven) We begin by reminding ourselves that God is our loving Father who knows what we need.

(Hallowed be your name.) Next we pray for ourselves and all people to know and praise God for His glory, His power, His holiness, His mercy, and all His other wonderful traits, as well as His great and compassionate deeds.

(Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it in heaven) Then we pray for God to end all opposition to Himself in our world and our lives. We ask God to fully establish His reign over all the earth, making all things the way He wants them to be, which is the way they should be.  We also ask that we and all people will live in obedience to God, recognizing that He knows what is good and right for us to do. God alone deserves to be our King and our Lord.

(Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.) In the second half of the prayer, we pray for God to remove anything that might keep us from Him. We pray for God to meet our everyday needs to keep us from doubting His goodness and power. We pray for forgiveness because our sins separate us from God, and we could never make ourselves right with God. We pray for God to protect us from trials and the power of the devil so that we won't be tempted to turn away from God to false gods. Basically we pray that God will clearly show His love and power in our lives, teaching us to rely on Him for everything we need.

(For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.) At the end of our prayer we focus on God once again, reminding ourselves that He never changes or fails, that His purposes will prevail for His glory and for the good of His people and His world.

I think the Lord's Prayer teaches us above all that we need God and that God is willing and able to provide us with all that we need. In prayer (whether we pray the Lord's Prayer or use other words), we seek God because God can always help us and shape us into who we should be. In the book of Luke, after Jesus teaches His followers the Lord's Prayer and gives a few other thoughts and instructions about prayer, He says, "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (11:13). God is every Christian's Father because Jesus makes us right with God through His death and resurrection. Jesus unites us with Himself, and His return to heaven assures us that God listens to our prayers. So when Christians pray, we can be sure that we will find the God we seek. God gives us His Holy Spirit. In that sense our prayers never go unanswered. We may ask not receive every specific thing we ask for (especially since we often don't know what to pray for or ask for things that aren't ultimately good for us), but we always get God Himself. God the Holy Spirit is with us, and God is always more than enough for us.

Grace and peace,

BMH