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Second Thoughts |
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Magical Moments Life has its defining moments. These moments come to each of us in a variety of ways and affect us differently. Such lighter moments have come to me a few times in my life. I am not sure how defining they have been but they have certainly been magical. It has been when our car has turned 100,000 miles!
Sometime around 1996 we were driving down the Western Kentucky Parkway and I began to watch the odometer on our 1988 Camry wagon. It read 99,990. As I drove I kept fighting to not let my mind wander so as not to miss the moment when I saw only a single "1" among all those zeros. In the last 10 miles I thought it would never happen. It was so agonizingly slow in coming. And then at the 11-mile post west of the Princeton, Kentucky exit all those 100s of miles over the last 8 years culminated into one magical moment -- 1,0,0,0,0,0! It was such a long time coming, but in a fleeting moment maddeningly fast it was gone. Arnold van Gennep writes in The Rites of Passage of life cycle rites or rituals. He gives three phases of particular life cycles: 1) separation from the old status; 2) transition; and 3) incorporation into the new status. When one is in transition, one may almost desperately try to cling to the certainty of the past. At the same time one may also agonize over the uncertainty of what the future may bring, assuming there will be a future. It’s a loosey-goosey time that may be void of real meaning. Yet in my experience I have discovered that some of the most defining of all magical moments of my life have come in such loosey-goosey times of transition, moments that have been agonizingly slow in coming but were fleetingly gone maddeningly fast. The secret for our well-being is to be alert so as not to miss the full opportunity of those meaningful magical moments that come our way in the transitions of life. Oh, by the way, there was a future. Our younger son is still driving that 1988 Camry wagon, still filled with magical moments, well past 230,000 miles (we’re keeping our fingers crossed)! ~ Bill McAtee
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Saying Goodbye Saying goodbye is never easy, though I cannot think of a better way to do it than the way you all did it for me a week ago on Sunday — Good food! Good friends! Much to remember! And in the midst of sadness, much to laugh about!
At the heart of our faith as Christians is the "alternative perspective," the faith, that God loves us despite our flaws. A good many of mine (well, just the tip of the iceberg) were pointed out the other night, and along the way, in the midst of side-splitting laughter, I was reminded of my call to ministry . . . and also of an incident in which my flaws were graciously, and humorously, overlooked and forgiven. With regard to my call to ministry, the reminder was simple – the minister through whom I was most challenged to enter the ministry was deeply flawed, and, though it seems strange to say it, it was precisely his lack of pretense about "perfection" that encouraged me to think that maybe the sense of call I had was real . . . an alternative perspective that changed my life forever. With regard to the incident, well, it happened when I was tired and pre-occupied while visiting a nursing home. The visit was to a church member’s aged, and dying, mother, who was not a member of the church. The church member and one or two others were there. Along the way, the church member asked me if I would perform his mother’s funeral. I readily agreed to do so, and then it happened. My mind wandered to my busy schedule that week, and I opened my mouth and put both feet straight in. I suddenly asked "When will it be?" To which the memorable reply came "We don’t know! She’s not dead yet!" – and we burst out laughing. My! What a relief that laughter was – an alternative perspective, a way of escape, when I was feeling weak and enormously embarrassed. It was a wonderful moment of grace! So, in the serious and somewhat sad business ahead – the business of changing friendships and relationships built up over the years, of moving from one period in the life of the church to another, I trust that there will not only be much prayer and much faith, but that there will be just as much laughter as we’ve shared together in these past years – and with it, the opening up of a new perspective on God’s future for all of us, and for Second.
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It Isn't Easy to be a
Presbyterian What a warm, open, and friendly congregation you are! It is good to be in your midst, and I look forward to meeting each and every one of you. Thank you for everything you are doing to make our arrival easier.
It is not easy to be a Presbyterian! We stand in a tradition (the Reformed faith) that had its beginnings with people (the Reformers) asking hard questions about the popular doctrines of their day. In keeping with that tradition, Presbyterians are those who love questions more than answers; truth more than truisms. They are always revising the answers to their questions. And their questions? Who is God? What did God do in Christ? What does God ask of us? What is the church? What does our responsibility for one another and the world include? Presbyterians understand that the church must be more than a repository of old beliefs somewhat like a closet of old shoes, carefully kept but never worn. No! Beliefs are like a good pair of working shoes that get us out and doing and get us where we need to be. There are no hand-me-down doctrines, only handmade ones, made with blood, sweat, tears, Scripture, mind, heart, neighbors. We live by what we have made our own, or put a better way: by a God who has claimed us, and whose claim is so thorough that we are no longer our own. Keeping up with a God who says, “I am who I am!” and “we are going to Egypt for an exodus!” has never been easy. In the words of an old hymn, “New occasions teach new duties!” In the present we are always being reformed by God speaking in scripture. Presbyterians look upon faith as an adventure of the highest order, an adventure based upon the grace of God leading them forward. One of the classic Presbyterian phrases is “if the way be clear!” What that means is we should do this, if we can figure out how to do it. And if we can see it, God does make the way clear enough to move forward. This has some marvelous, challenging consequences. If all that can be known about God is not known, then our ideas, conceptions, thoughts, beliefs, opinions must change and evolve if we are to have truth revealed, and what we have to offer is not a list of things to think and believe and do, but an atmosphere that encourages the examination of what is unknown so that what is worth knowing and given by God can be known. This faith asks a lot of its adherents. It isn’t easy to be a Presbyterian! What a challenge! What an opportunity! Shalom, |
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A
Visit to Israel |
That
moment has always held a certain fascination for me. I think about all that has
gone on in the life of that car that got it to that moment; all the places it
has been; the close scrapes it has been in; the potholes it has dodged; the
joyous and sad occasions it has taken us to. I even wonder about where it will
go in the future and how long it will last.
As you know, laughter is important to me, and, with the passing of
years, increasingly so. Without laughter, I often think that the pain and
weaknesses of life would become unbearable. Of course there are times when
laughter is inappropriate, but seeing the humor in a situation, especially
when it comes to our own flaws, is ultimately one expression of the
critical exercise of working to see life from an alternative perspective –
and God is always calling us to do that. In fact, from a religious point
of view, this "alternative perspective" is called faith. 
I am excited by the possibilities of our ministry
together. What a great future you have. I earnestly solicit your
prayers, your talents, and your commitment as we move into that future
preparing the way for your new pastor.