Buried in a box of old photographs, I seem to remember a picture taken of my sisters Denise and Diane and myself in our Easter clothes. We were moving into our teenage years. My sisters wore new dresses with ribbons and carried purses. I probably got the new white shirt or maybe the tie. We were dressed up enough to have our picture taken together in front of the house before going to church. Easter marked the real beginning of spring, and a hallmark of the day was dressing up for church.  Many ladies wore hats and some even wore white gloves. It was a day for smiles, family dinners and the smell of Easter egg dye. Easter meant lilies on the church altar table, special choir music and a re-telling of the greatest story ever told. That first Easter is, after all, the single most important day in the history of the world. 

One Sunday, when I was serving on the staff of a church during college, a long-retired minister was asked to preach in the absence of the pastor. As he was being introduced, the preacher stepped up to preach hurriedly putting on his suit coat. Something was comically off. He kept fiddling with his coat throughout the beginning of his sermon, first trying to get the collar right, and then never finding how to get his hand into the coat pocket. He couldn’t—his coat was on inside out. He persevered with the message, taking a text from Colossians 2. Before we realized it, the wily preacher, having trapped us in our own pride, as many of us were snickering about his outfit, began reading “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…” He explained that his inside-out coat represented the deceptiveness of our sins and that the call of Christ is to take off the sinful ways of our old self and put on the new. He took off his coat as he explained the passage, and then he wore it right side out as the Maker/Tailor intended. 

Easter is not about how you dress for church. It is about how Christ transforms us from the inside out. Like the old song says, Once I was lost, but now I am found. Once I was trapped in sin and shame, but now I am free and forgiven forever. All things are new because Christ is risen!

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Wear your Easter clothes every day. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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The term airbus took on a new meaning for me when my plane departed the runway at Niamey, Niger. It wasn’t so much the chicken being chased down the aisle by the young boy, it was that the whole episode had upset the goat. The airplane carry-on rule was loosely enforced on Ethiopian Airlines back in 1997.  My destination was N’djamena, the capitol city of Chad.

I settled in for the flight seated next to a gentleman who did not speak English. I do not speak French or Arabic. French is the language of commerce in North Africa. The stewardess offered us a cup of water or coffee. I opened my book and sipped the coffee gingerly. I was on my way to encourage our missionaries in Chad and teach Prayer Walking with the leaders of the only Baptist church in town. We hit a little turbulence and some of my hot coffee landed on my seatmate’s thigh. I tried to apologize but I could tell he was not happy with me. I did the only thing I knew to do at the moment. I dug out of my carry-on a fun-sized bag of M&M’s and handed it to him. He smiled, I smiled and everything else went well. Never travel without M&M’s, bubble gum or hard candies. One of the realities of foreign travel is encountering the little children who beg. I carried a roll or two of freshly minted coins for years, but they began to cause luggage screeners to frown; therefore, the switch to candy.  

Our time in Chad was well spent with God’s power being evidenced in new ways for the believers and a new mission point started at the invitation of the leaders of a local village. I sought to encourage the faithful and occasionally gave away some candy. During a Sunday evening prayer meeting that was focused on the persecuted church, our time was interrupted by the news that an Iman fleeing from another country had come asking for refuge in the church. He reported that he had seen a vision of Jesus calling him to faith. He left all he knew and owned to follow Christ. I flew back to Niger, with a full heart and empty pockets, minding my coffee. Never underestimate the power of a little candy. Candy speaks a language of its own. It can thank, reward, apologize and even bring smiles in awkward situations. It is amazing how small, kind acts can bring so much joy to others. Encourage someone today. Use candy, if necessary.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Stay sweet. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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This was written for the Center for Congregational Ethics is based on Psalm 146 from the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, for March 22, 2023. 

As God was walking the couple out the Garden gate, God promised a lifetime of thorns and thistles, pain and sweat. Or as we politely call them today, frustrations. In my theology, the promise of frustration is another form of God’s justice. Sin hurts. 

I had seen it done in countless movies and TV shows all my life, but I had never done it. Looking through the shop window, I suddenly realized I wanted to have a barber give me a shave – in the old barber chair, all lathered up, with the old-fashioned straight razor. I had not shaved that morning. The whole process took about 30 minutes. It was a very good shave. When we were finishing up, I asked the barber what he might have learned from shaving my beard. He said my skin was sensitive and he graciously gave me some after-shave oils to try. Then he pointed to the places that were hardest for him to shave and said that this is where I needed to be very careful. I knew those things: the sensitive places will always be sensitive, and the hardest places will always be the most difficult. For me the promise of frustration includes knowing I am tempted with the same temptations, frustrated by the same frustrations, and will face the same conflicts again and again. 

The Psalmist sings the Hallelujahs as he reflects upon the steadfastness of God compared to the religiously political around him.  Our frustrations are not solved by princes or politicians. Justice is not found in a bigger sword or a better budget. But in a people who can sing Hallelujah, praise the Lord, to the God of Jacob, our God, whose trustworthiness is unwavering. Some elevate their frustrations to angry outbursts and manipulative bullying. Others grow hard and cold, vowing vengeance or retribution. Most will work to move past their frustrations, making the best of things. Unless countered by such trust in God, our frustrations can turn inward and lead to a depressing sense of hopelessness.

This Psalm proclaims: our Creator is always faithful and trustworthy, advocating for the oppressed; providing for the hungry; liberating the captive; illuminating the blind; lifting the heavy burdened; loving righteousness; protecting the outsider; sustaining the vulnerable—but frustrating the ways of the wicked.  This is the promise: Justice through frustration.  Our world is broken. Our traditions, systems and structures are fracturing. Constant wars, political upheavals, and disasters are overwhelming, yet, hallelujah, there is—justice. Trust in the Lord will not be frustrated.  

I still must shave most days. 

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A quick internet search tells me that there are about 149,000 English 4-letter words. The Official Scrabble Dictionary allows about 4,000 of them. I think we may have a problem with our everyday language. Why does it seem to take weeks and weeks to teach a child to say, “please and thank you,” or “Yes, ma’am, or No, sir,” and only one time for a misplaced ugly word to be instantly memorized and endlessly utilized by that same child?  This is not a new problem. It is well past time to upgrade our use of the four-letter word. 

A few decades ago, after completing the macramé phase of my life, I turned to a pastime of cross-stitch, with an occasional venture into needlepoint. After all, you can only make so many hanging flowerpot holders for all of your friends and relatives. New friends and more relatives were gifted with my artistic pictures, sayings, and Christmas stitchery. Some were graciously received. I stitched one piece that not only turned out well but spoke fittingly to me. It is a 24” by 10” framed piece that hangs in my office over the area I reserve for conversations and counsel. It is about four-letter words. The words are colorfully stitched and subtly illustrate their subject.  (I have had to reformat their appearance to fit this printed column.)

“Four Letter Words that Change the World”

Love. Hope. Care. Help.

Heal. Work. Play. Feel.

Duty. Home. Good. Kind.

Pity. Rest. Seek. Pray. Live.

Amen.

It reminds me of the biblical admonition: A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. Proverbs 25:11

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Speak true and holy. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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New road construction projects are the dandelions of our city streets.  It seems to me there will always be a construction project in my way, forcing me to find a new way around; or giving me lots of sitting time in my car, watching others contain their dismay. Some are not very good at it. I have in the back of my mind the phrase “We are Christians under construction” as I seek a spiritual application to the construction woes of the week. 

When Dorothy and I were first married, our church in Ft. Worth, Texas hosted a Lay Renewal Weekend. Trained teams of lay couples from other cities trained some  of us to lead small groups within our church. Emphasis was given to sharing our testimony, prayer, and personal devotional study. The weekend worship services were filled with personal stories of how these practices transformed individuals, families, and whole churches. A part of the transformational process included asking the Holy Spirit to identify the persistent sins and habits that needed to be removed, the relationship barriers of grudges and envy that needed to be torn down, and the new spiritual practices that needed to be developed. Out of that experience Dorothy and I hosted, for a couple of years, a monthly group of young couples at our apartment where we prayed together and encouraged each other in discipleship. 

After moving to Tulsa, I found in some of the Lay Renewal Weekend materials a reference to a Sunday School program called Christians under Construction. I ordered the whole thing for our church. It came with rolls of yellow “Caution: Christians under Construction” safety tape, yellow caution signs, and plastic yellow construction hats for the boys and girls. This proved a useful image for the Christian life. Does everything in your life seem under construction? Are there roadblocks and detours all around? God’s Word contains the blueprints and the instructions for living a fuller and more meaningful life. For a vision of a better life to become a reality, someone must dream a new future, invest in quality work, follow the blueprints and deal with the obstacles. That includes you and me. We are, after all, still under construction. 

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Keep on building. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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