Bare Feet in a Maundy Thursday Snow

It was an unusual night.  In the first place, it was not often that we had worship at that Piedmont NC church on a weekday night much less a Thursday night.  In the second place, it was a snowy night.  It would not have seen unusual if the month had been January or February, but it was April and farmers were planting corn just across from the church. 

It was a special night and not just any old night.  It was the Maundy Thursday of Holy Week, and the family of faith was coming together to worship.  The gospels tell us about two things that happened on that Thursday of Holy Week.  First, they tell us that Jesus gathered together with his disciples for the Passover meal.  As they were eating, he took a piece of bread saying “this is my body” and he took a cup and said “this is my blood”.   It was a fortaste to what would behold in the life of Jesus less than 24 hours away when he died on a cross outside the city of Jerusalem.  Secondly, the gospel of John alone tells us that Jesus also did something else on that special night: he washed the naked, dirty feet of the disciples like a servant would.   

The night became ever more unusual during the worship service when the front door of the church opened and  in walked  a man, woman, and children  that were unknown to this pastor.  After the service, I became aware that no one else knew the folks either.  While it might be normal for some churches to have guests regularly, guests that no one knew were the exception rather than the rule at that rural church. After the service ended, I discovered that the family was there not just for worship but for another reason.  That reason was that they needed help. 

They told me and a layman of the church  their story:  The man had been promised a job in New York, and so the family had driven from Texas to New York.  Unfortunately, the job did not work out and they were on their way back home.  They were out of money, and could our church provide some food, lodging, and some gas to get them closer to home in Texas.  While I still remember their story over 30 years later, what I remember the most of that Maundy Thursday encounter was the bare feet of their son walking through the snow of that April evening.

 Christians will gather in many places and many lands this Maundy Thursday to  eat the bread and partake of the cup.  They will remember the gift of Christ Jesus for them and for all.   We do well also  on Maundy Thursday to remember  the act of Jesus to wash the feet of his disciples.  As Jesus served as he washed the feet of his disciples long ago, let us remember the opportunity to serve that sometimes is right there at our doorstep on snowy April evenings and other times.  Have a joy-filled week.- Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O God, move us with compassion to serve others even as Christ served. Amen.  

Look at the Palms

Look at the palms.   I have found myself  making that statement as I gazed at the Palm trees along the road from an airport in Central America and along the water is the island paradise of the Florida Keys or on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.     Just the phrase brings memories of beautiful sunsets, tropical breezes, and easy life.

Look at the palms.   That phrase will also come to mind next Sunday when the family of faith gathers to worship in churches large and small.   In rural places and urban centers,  children and adults will wave their palm branches and perhaps place them at a cross.    The church militant will remember Palm Sunday, the day that Christ Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time with the sound of loud ”Hosannas” in his ears and the sight of palm branches at his feet.    We will remember the One who for a moment was treated like a King knowing that in a matter of days those chants of his kingship would turn to shouts to “crucify him.”  

Let me look at your palms.    I think back to that request of a friend years ago who believed they could look at someone’s palm and tell what the future holds.   Long life or short life?   Trials or triumphs?   I cannot recall the message they saw as they looked at my palms.  But I know this?    You can tell a lot when you look at someone’s palms.  What story could your palms tell?     When was the last time the palm of your hand held the hand of someone you love?     When if ever have your two palms been clasped together in prayers of thanksgiving for the goodness God gives you or in prayers of petition for yourself or someone else?      When was the last time the palms of your hands held a hammer or other tool to make repairs for a home far away or a home nearby?    When did your palms hold a cloth to cool the forehead of a child with a fever or of a friend who was in their final days of life?    When did your palm clasp the arm of a friend or acquaintance as you prayed for them?    Look at the palms, even the palms of your hands.   What story do they tell about the service you have and are rendering in the name of the Lord? The palms of Christ were nail-scarred as he served others.  Who do palms serve?   Have a joy-filled week.-    Pastor Randy Wall 

Prayer:    Loving and living God, we give you thanks for the gift of Christ Jesus.   Help us to open our hands and hearts to new ways to serve the world around us;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

 

Along the Via Delarosa

My friends, Sue and Roger Grace, are taking a little trip these days to the Holy Land.  As they shared the news of their upcoming trip with me a couple of weeks ago,  I remarked to Sue that this was a wonderful time of year to go to the Holy Land as we Christians approach Good Friday and Easter.  Though it has been almost 25 years now since I went to the Holy Land,  it still remains one of the great spiritual pilgrimages of my life.    One day while we were visiting the city of Jerusalem, we walked what is called the “Via Delorosa” or the “way of the cross”.   This is the way that Jesus is believed to have travelled as he  was escorted by soldiers to the place where he was crucified.    Along the way through the streets of Old Jerusalem, there is marked what is called the “stations of the cross” or various scenes in the journey of Jesus to his crucifixion.   As I thought about the trip of my friends Sue and Roger  to the Holy Land, I thought about one place where we stopped along the “Via Delarosa”.    It is that “station of the cross” where the scriptures say that Jesus became unable to carry his cross any further and a Passover pilgrim, Simon of Cyrene, was commanded by soldiers  to carry the cross.    I still remember being at that place along the “Via Delorosa” where Simon of Cyrene is remembered for taking up the cross of Jesus and asking  myself  a question that day in Jerusalem long ago:    “Am I taking up the cross of  Jesus and following him?”       

Though that trip to the Holy Land was years ago,  I still find myself asking that question again and again but particularly in this season of Lent.   It is a question I need to ask myself not just one time but all the time.    Tradition has it that later Simon of Cyrene took up the cross not just literally but spiritually as it is said that he became a follower of Jesus.     I hope that it can be said this day that I am a follower of Jesus not because I am a preacher or was a pilgrim to the Holy Land, but because the love of Christ Jesus that died on a cross is known through me.   How about you?    Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God, all praise and thanks be to you for the gift of Christ on the cross.   This day and every day,  help me to take up the cross and follow Him;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Taking a Trip to Bird Island

A few weeks ago, my wife Ann and I took a little trip to the North Carolina coast to the coastal community of Sunset Beach to celebrate our wedding anniversary.  The beach was quiet and the weather was unusually warm for March.   I am no stranger to Sunset Beach.   Back in the 1970’s and early 1980’s,  I went there often for vacation.    South of the island of Sunset Beach is a place called Bird Island.  Bird Island is a natural area free from the development that clutters the beachfront in North Myrtle Beach to the south and Ocean Isle Beach to its north.   Owned now by the state of North Carolina,  Bird Island is dotted with sand dunes, sea oats, and some wild life.    

Ann and I walked that day south of Sunset Beach to Bird Island.  Along the beach front near the sand dunes on Bird Island is a mailbox with the words “Kindred Spirit” written upon it.  Inside the mailbox are writing utensils and notebooks where are written the thoughts of other pilgrims to Bird Island.  I was moved as I read some of the thoughts poured on the pages of that notebook.  One person shared about being there to scatter the ashes of a loved one.    Another person shared about her joy of walking there  after recovering from a stroke and learning to walk in recent months.  A grandmother shared about making her first trip there with her grandchild.  On the pages of that notebook, people poured out their hearts sharing great sorrows and great joys.     I did the same that day as I wrote, thought, and prayed at Bird Island.

Each one of us needs a place like Bird Island often in our lives.   All of us need a place of peace and serenity where we can share our joys and sorrows.    Whether we are on the North Carolina coast or miles away from there,  we have that kind of place in the presence of the Lord Jesus.    An old hymn puts it this way:

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
And what a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer

Oh, what peace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer

I hope you take a trip to your Bird Island real soon and know that the Lord Jesus meets  you there.  Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall  

Prayer:    O God, we give you thanks that you are only a prayer away for us to share the joys and sorrows of our lives.   Thank you for your faithful love for us;  through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Giving or Giving Up This Lent

My Mom worked at a number of jobs during her work career.  One of the jobs in her early work career was working at a business called Boston Cleaners.  It was a local dry cleaning business in Burlington and still is in business today.   She came home from work one day  in the  1960’s and told the story about a woman that came in the cleaners to get her dry cleaning that day.   As the woman was paying the bill, Mom told the woman that she had dirt on her forehead.   The woman responded that it was Ash Wednesday, and the dirt was from the sign of the cross being placed on her forehead by the priest when she attended the Ash Wednesday Service at the local Catholic Church that day.    Wondering if perhaps she had offended the woman, Mom told me that she apologized to the woman and told her that she hoped that she had not offended her.    The woman was gracious and told my Mom there was nothing to apologize for. 

One of the changes I see in the South since those days is that more people are more aware of Lent and Ash Wednesday than used to be.   There are more  protestant churches that have Ash Wednesday services and observe Lent than did in the the 1960’s.   Remembering the fact that Christ Jesus gave His life on the cross for the sins of the whole world, Lent has traditionally been been a time when Christians give up something and have been encouraged to do the same by their pastors.   If giving up something in your life (such as a favorite food, activity, or the like) is important in your walk with Christ, great.    However, I want to suggest an alternative this Lent, and it this:    during Lent 2017, why not GIVE something to others instead of GIVING UP something.    Giving up a favorite food or activity might be a great spiritual practice, but it only has redemptive effects on you.   What if this Lent you did not give up, but you gave something regularly  to a friend, neighbor, family member, or stranger?     Here are a few possibilities of something you might give this Lent:

·         Write a note to friend or family this week to tell them how much you love them

·         Take food to someone who has been sick or suffering a loss in their life

·         Ask several friends how you can pray for them and really pray

·         Stop by to visit a homebound friend, neighbor, or family member  who you have been meaning to see some day

·         Take a walk through your neighborhood and pray for the houses you pass by

I hope that  you noticed that all of these possibilities cost little money if any, but do cost the price of your time and energy.  However, they might  make a big difference for someone else and perhaps make you different.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

March 8: Good News? March 9: Bad News?

 While every day is a day that the Lord has made, there are some days that are especially memorable.  Today, March 8 is one of those days.  On a March 8 a few years ago,  I stood before God, friends, and the family of faith and married my wife, Ann.    It was a day that I will never forget.  I am a better man for the glorious priviledge to share life with Ann.  She is such a blessing and I give thanks to God for  her.  The world is a better place because of this godly woman. 

  March 9 is also a special day.  While the thought of March 8 brings tears of joy, March 9 is a day that brings a tear of sadness because it was on that day my Dad, Dennis Wall, died at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC.    I had the priviledge to be there at the hospital with him when he died.  I suppose there are stresses and strains at times  between all parents and their children.   Such was the case between my Dad and I.  I am certain that my  Dad’s alcoholism and my own stubbornness contributed to the strains between my Dad and I.  Those days and months leading up to my Dad’s death were hard, but they were also a blessing because it was a time when healing took place between Dad and I.  I am grateful for that healing and reconciliation, and for the fact that I was  with my Dad as he took his final breaths in this world.   

   As I think about the joy of March 8  in my life and the contrasting sadness of March 9, it begs the question for me of what is a good day and what is a bad day.  The story is told of a community where the young men were enlisting in the army and heading  to war.  All of the young men headed to war except one young man who had broken his leg.    Friends of the boy with a broken leg came to his father and expressed their sorrow that his son was staying behind.  His response was this:    “Bad news.  Good news.  Only God knows.”    A few months later,  news came to the village that every boy who had gone to the war had been killed.  When the news came to this same man, he did not gloat that his son had been spared because of his broken leg but simply exclaimed, “Bad news, Good news.  Only God knows.”     A few weeks later,  the horse of this man got out of the corral and wandered way.  Friends came to express their sadness for his bad fortune.   Again, he exclaimed,  “Bad news.  Good news.  Only God knows.”    A few days later, the horse returned to the man accompanied by a herd of other horses.    The man’s response was the same.   “Bad news.  Good news.  Only God knows.”  

That story points out well that in the midst of a  moment it is hard to know what is good news or what is bad news, what is a good day or a bad day.  In the immediacy of the moment, always knows that God is there as you shed tears of joy or tears of sadness.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  Lord and God, I thank you for this day.  Whether it brings joy or sorrow, grant that I might open my heart to the knowledge of your presence; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

Mardi Gras

 Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  At churches big and small, people will gather for worship today.  Music will be sung and prayers will be prayed.   Though the services may be different and be spoken in different tongues, most all the times of worship will include a time when a pastor will put ashes on the forehead of the people and utter words like “From dust you have come and to dust you will return.  Repent and believe in the gospel.”  

 While worship today might be somber and reflective,  some of those same people were not in such a spirit yesterday.  In cities like New Orleans, a celebration was held yesterday called Mardi Gras.  Mardi Gras is a French phrase that literally means “fat Tuesday”.     It is a time of celebration and self indulgence  in all sorts of ways in anticipation of the season of Lent which is often marked by reflection, fasting, and self-denial. 

It is good that we have a season like Lent.   Remembering that Christ Jesus gave his very life that we might be saved from our sins,  people of different ages and denominations give up foods and the like during Lent  as a spiritual discipline.   However, let us not miss the fact that there are times when people of faith celebrate and have a party similar to Mardi Gras.     I am afraid that too many followers of Christ Jesus act as if celebration and joy is not a part of our modus operandi.   We too often go around with downcast spirits and frowns.    However, the Scriptures has a different message. 

There are times when the people of faith erupt with joy and celebration.   They certainly react with joy when God gives us victory.      In Exodus 15, we read that after the Lord had given the Israelites knew the victory of the parted waters of the Red Sea and freedom from the Egyptians, Miriam (Moses sisters) and others danced before the Lord.   (That’s right,  they danced.)     It was a party like atmosphere because the Lord had given them victory.   A second time we see people of faith in jubilee and celebration is when someone or something  that was lost is found.   There is no better example of that than Luke 15 where a community celebrates a lost sheep that is recovered and found… a family and neighbors celebrate a son that was lost and now found after he returns home… and a woman celebrates with her neighborhood that she found  one lost coin.     The same God that gave the Israelites victory over the Egyptians gives people victory over disease and addiction today.  The same God that saved a man like Zaccheus long ago saves men and women in the 21th century.    On this Ash Wednesday, let us not get so engrossed in the somberness of this time that we forgot that there are also times when the people of faith need to party and celebrate.   Have a joy-filled week and a holy Lent.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  God of us all,  we give you thanks for the gift of your Son Christ Jesus for our sins and the whole world.  Make us mindful, O God, that there also is a time to celebrate what you have done and are doing.  Amen.