Rumors of Glory

Good Hump Day morning to all!

It is still barely morning as I write this. Some days there seems to be so many things to do that the day seems over before it has begun. But this is a terrible way to look at it. Whatever it is that fills our days whether work or play it is all an opportunity to see the glory of God at work around us. The passage I've chosen for today speaks of the glory and beauty the surrounds us.

1 Corinthians 15:39 (The Message)

39-41You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies—humans, animals, birds, fish—each unprecedented in its form. You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies—sun, moon, stars—all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we're only looking at pre-resurrection "seeds"—who can imagine what the resurrection "plants" will be like!

With this passage in our hearts let's share our gratitude.

1) I give thanks to God for the life and work of his servant, John Updike. John Updike spent more than 50 years of his life describing the beauty of God's creation in novels and poetry and essays. Nothing for him was outside the glory of God. Even a stray pigeon feather blowing in an alley=2 0carried within it the beauty and glory of God. He once said that the true praise of God is the act of description. He was gifted by God to do just that for us. I began reading Updike in college and his voice of praise has been a constant inspiration for me. Thank God for the "varieties of beauty and brightness."

2) I give thanks to God for the life of Michael George Wiglesworth who died from a bout with lung cancer last night. Michael is the brother-in-law of Mike and Rhonda Spears and the the father of Mike and Melissa Wiglesworth. I visited Michael last week in the hospital. Though he was decimated by cancer and a staph infection he nonetheless showed forth the pre-resurrection seeds of glory as he prayed for God's love and forgiveness. As we pray for his family we thank God for the "varieties of beauty and brightness."

3) I give thanks to God for the joy and revelation a good movie can bring. I have not seen a scene expressing more joy than the multitude of women, young and old, dancing on a dock and singing "Dancing Queen" in the movie Mamma Mia! Such expressions of joy are infectious and cause tears to come to my eyes. The same can be said of performances in the movie Gran Torino. In this movie an angry, racist old man is transformed by getting to know his neighbors from a different culture. In the end he gives his life for them when he won't even give his car to his spoiled grandchild. Thank God for the "varieties of beauty and brightness."

4) I give thanks to God for our musicians and singers at Grandview Park. Each week we get to hear them grow and expand in their abilities. Again, it is the musician's job to describe God's beauty through varieties of sound. Sometimes the sounds are sweet, sometimes the sounds are agressive and confrontational and sometimes the sounds are pure joy and love. Thank God for the "varieties of beauty and brightness."

5) I give thanks to God for the beauty of winter. Too often I am complaining about the cold when I should be paying attention to the different angles of light as the sun slinks by us to the south. Too often I am complaining about the roads when I am ignoring the beauty of the snow and ice transforming the dark world around me into pure white and reflective light. Too often I am holed up in my house when the sun's light begins to disappear leaving the sky dusted in a brilliant collection of pinks and roses and reds. Thank God for the "varieties of beauty and brightness."

So, how can you praise God by describing his beauty and glory in thanksgiving? I'm waiting not only to read of your gratitude but to feel it in my heart and to pray it with you.

Peace,
Pastor Rick

"Thanksgiving is Our Dialect"

Good Dame Cinco morning to you all!

Our passage today come from Ephesians 5. We are encouraged to learn to love by watching Jesus. Our response to learning to love like Jesus is not arrogance or judgment but the learning of a new dialect which is gratitude or thanksgiving.

Ephesians 5 (The Message)

Wake Up from Your Sleep

1-2Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

3-4Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.

My Gimme 5.0:

1) I give thanks for new beginnings: new members, new elders and deacons, new leaders, new opportunities, new energy and , yes, our new president. I give thanks for term limits and the wisdom of our system (both Presbyterian Church (USA) and the US of A) that recognizes the need for new beginnings, new leaders, new energy. I give thanks for the new energy and optimism I feel both in our nation and our church. These are gifts from God in the midst of very difficult times. Thanksgiving is our dialect.

2) I give thanks for the challenges we face and for the opportunities those challenges give us to learn about the extravagant love of Jesus. Paul in Philippians 2 says, "Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand." We have the opportunity to see what these words really mean as we face our national, local and congregational challenges together. Thanksgiving is our dialect.

3) I give thanks that Randy, in his Dame Cinco last week, reminded us that somewhere in the world it is warm! Thanksgiving is our dialect.

4) I give thanks for Hiripan, Itzi, Angeles, Lizzie, Diosselyn, Ivan, Lucas, Greg, Pastor Alfonso and our team leader from Heart to Heart International, Rick. On the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday we gave three hours of service stacking 20 pallets full of medical supplies to be shipped to hurting people all around the world. I give thanks for the tacos, tortas and burritos we shared in celebration after our work. Thanksgiving is our dialect.

5) I give thanks for the Rev. Abbey Abendroth who brought four of our brothers from Rolling Hills Church in Johnson County to experience Grandview Park's unique gifts. I give thanks for Javier and Gely who bravely and honestly shared their stories with these brothers who only moments before had been strangers. I give thanks that some other Presbyterian Churches are considering how they might reach out to their neighbors who may speak another language and may be immigrants. I give thanks for the words of the law in Leviticus 19:33-34: "When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don't take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am God, your God." Thank God for the possibility of new beginnings everywhere. Thanksgiving is our dialect.

Thank you for reading my Dame Cinco. I also give thanks for each of you who take the time to spread the dialect and culture of gratitude each week. Keep up the grateful living and "be deep spirited friends."

Don't forget to visit the blog or recommend it to your friends. Feel free to post new thoughts there throughout the week. I will continue to encourage us to forward the emails as I get a little thrill out of seeing a new Dame Cinco in my mail box. It's like opening a special homemade present crafted out of lives of love. But feel free to share gimmecinco.blogspot.com with your friends and neighbors who might want to be introduced to our dialect of thanksgiving.

"Observe how Christ loved us."

Pastor Rick

Your Most Important Passport

Good Morning Thankful Ones,

I hope that all are warm today. The arctic blast is on its way to bring us -4 temps here in KC. So, grab your long underwear, find your friends and family and keep yourselves warm and toasty.

Today's inspiration comes from Henri Nouwen, pastor and practical theologian who wrote many books on lived spirituality. His book Gracias is his journal of a trip to Latin America. In his introduction he says this:

“The word I kept hearing, wherever I went was, 'GRACIAS!' Gracias a usted, gracias a Dios, muchas gracias! I saw thousands of poor people, spent many hours with people who do without many material things. But in the midst of it all that word lifted me again and again to a new realm of seeing and hearing: GRACIAS! Thanks! . . . Maybe there would be food tomorrow, maybe there would be work, maybe there would be peace. Maybe, maybe not. But whatever is given . . . money, food, a handshake, a smile, a good word or an embrace is reason enough to say it - - 'GRACIAS!' . . . What I claim as a right, my friends in Latin America received as a gift; what I take for granted, they celebrate in thanksgiving. And slowly I learned what I must have forgotten somewhere in my busy, well-planned and very useful life. I learned that everything that is is freely given by the God of love. All is grace. Light and water, shelter and food, work and free time, children, parents, birth and death . . . it is all given. Why? So we can say gracias, thanks: thanks to God, thanks to each other . . .”

We are building a culture of gratitude among us with our sharing of thanks. So, in the midst of all our challenges and struggles, let's take a moment to say "Gracias."

1) Gracias a Dios for an all-day home-going celebration for God's 93 yr old servant, Lillian Yenser. We began arriving at the church at about 8 am and we finally got home about 9:30 pm. In between those times we embraced one another, comforted one another, shared our memories, prayed, sang hymns and spiritual songs, shared a common meal, journeyed together, met new brothers and sisters hundreds of miles away and along the way the Passport that is Lillian's baptism received it's final stamp of welcome. Gracias a Dios!

2) Gracias a Dios for Greg Take and his intiative to involve our youth in a day of service for the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Thank God we have a great organization called Heart to Heart International right in our neighborhood (10th & Pacific) which serves the world in distributing donated goods throughout the world. Their warehouse is in our neighborhood and 12-14 youth and adults on Monday will be volunteering in service to honor the work of our brother, Martin. Gracias a Dios!

3) Gracias a Dios for new officers and deacons who will be ordained and installed this Sunday: Martin, David, Kent, Greg, Jean, Mark, Erandeni, Eratzeni, Juan and Kim. Like so many other disciples of Jesus before them, these brothers and sisters are responding to the higher call to service. I give thanks for the Spirit of God which moves in the heart of God's children to become servant leaders following the example of our Lord Jesus. Gracias a Dios!

4) Gracias a Dios for Pastor Alfonso's sermon on Baptism. The image of Baptism as our Passport to the Kingdom of God is innovative and powerful for me. Especially in relation to our true belonging as God's children. All the other citizenships we hold are subservient to the Passport we hold through our Baptism. Wherever we go we should proudly display this Passport and the seal and stamp of God's grace and love. This Passport is good anywhere and everywhere and grants us freedom to give and receive hospitality without the limits of language, culture and nationality. Gracias a Dios!

5) Gracias a Dios for the 10 ninth graders and their teachers from Whitefield Academy who came to Grandview Park yesterday afternoon and did some dirty work for us. Under the supervision of Pastor Tom and Dedric, they cleared out the front room of the first floor education wing. This open space will be used by Avenues to Recovery, a drug and alchohol abuse counseling agency that is working together with the Wyandotte County court system to help those who are in the grips of addiction. Gracias a Dios!

That's my cinco. How about yours? Hit reply to all, add your five and pass the gracias all around.

FYI -- I have established a blog page titled Thank You Very Gracias (in Pastor Alfonso's honor!). The page is located at gimmecinco.blogspot.com. I'll be posting my Gimme 5.0 there every Wednesday. Feel free to visit the blog and share the page with others. Perhaps we can spread our culture of 'gracias' to a wider audience.

Maltiosh Thank you Very Gracias,
Pastor Rick

Gimme/Dame 5.0

Welcome to the official blog site for Gimme/Dame 5.0, the world's best digital exchange of gratitude and thanksgiving. This site is dedicated to those who believe that the sharing of gratitude can change your day, your world, your health (mental, spiritual and physical), your life. Each Wednesday we will share our Gimme/Dame 5.0 ---- our list of five things we are thankful for. Join the conversation and let the gratitude spread.