Rainy Days

“Rain rain go away come again another day !”- Little Bill

Rain may be good for corn but it aint good for me.  While driving through the corn fields of Kansas, it seems like the corn is starting to spout and grow.  All plans need rain and sun.  I love sun but I am tired of rain.  Rain can be depressing.  Too much rain can make floods and be a disaster.  Rain is messy when you go outside.  When you are pastor you do a lot of sitting looking thought windows.  To see the sun and birds and squirrels is amazing but when it rains you have nothing.  Now when summer comes and I write about needing rain I will retract this blog but today.  I NEED SUN !

I remember the words of Rev. Denise Hygh, when we were working together at Swope Park United Methodist Church.  Every Sunday when it would be rain she would open up worship with,”It maybe cloudy on the outside but we have SON on the inside!”  Recently on a foggy day in Kansas, the sun began to melt the fog away the rest of the day was beautiful !  It was a reminder of how Christ had brighten by bitter and cynical soul for the joy of ministry.  I need the sun but I need God’s Son even more !

Pastor Marko

Reclaiming the Message of Liberation

I was recently listening to National Public Radio Tell Me More, Michel Martin  were interviewing a Rabbi Herzfeld of Washington D.C.  about Passover. Here is a transcript of the interview:

MARTIN: I want to mention that, because I find that Passover has meaning to many non-Jews, as well. In part it coincides often with the Easter season for Christians but the Passover itself, I think, has resonance for people who are not Jewish. Why do you think that is?

Rabbi HERZFELD: Well, the story of liberation is one of the greatest stories ever told. It’s a story that any enslaved people have been trying to inspire people. If Moses could take on Pharaoh, everyone could take on their pharaohs in their life.

And one of the symbols of Passover is the matzah. It’s a wafer that has not been allowed to rise, so there’s no leaven inside it. Matzah represents on the one hand both the bread of affliction. This is the bread that Israelites ate while they were slaves in Egypt. It’s also the bread of redemption. This is the bread when that the Israelites ate when they were running away from Egypt and they did not even have time for their bread to rise.

And we hold the matzah in our hands and that teaches us that the bread of affliction is also the bread of redemption. And the answer of whether or not we can be redeemed or we will be enslaved is in our hands. And that’s one of the powerful messages of Passover. Our bodies could be enslaved, but as long as our minds are free, we can soar to God

As we approach Holy Thursday, the scripture tells us that Jesus shared in a Passover Meal with disciples and established with Eucharist.  I find it extremely joyous to hear the importance of the matzah.  To understand that it is the bread of affliction and the bread of redemption.  So too when we gather around the communion table we must remember that it is the same thing.  Through the affliction that Jesus was preparing by giving his body  on the cross.

What an awesome God! A God that bring liberation to his people and ultimately the world through a suffering servant, Jesus of Nazareth !

Shalom,

Mark

Music

” The spirit will not move without music !”

African Proverb

Recently, had a great experience at church.  We had a community Easter musical and it was powerful.  I got a chance to live my life long dream.  I got a chance to direct a choir!  As a child I loved to watch my cousin Edgar Thompson direct the choir at Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church in Little Rock.  He would work and work, you could see in his body every note.  Every time the voices had to move it was under the steady hand of Cousin Edgar.  What a time !  What a time!

The Easter musical reminded me of the work and time that it take ti make music pleasing to God as we worship.  Music is an a expression of people’s praise to God.  Music expresses how God works in the world.  Each hymn has a story.  Each song has an experience of how God has worked in their life.  I love music !  It is hard to imagine worship without it.  Preachers often think that it is about the message but I believe that music is just as important as the word !

My God continue to bless us with music that gives us words of expression in our souls!

Shalom

Mark

When loved ones give up

Recently I had a classmate from my days at Philander to commit suicide.  It was a sad day for many of us the Philander Smith College family.  We are left with the pain and numbing realities of how hard live can really be.  The days have many more responsibilities and many times that question,”Is this all that life has to offer?”  As a child you can’t wait to grow up.  As an adult you for childhood again.( Or at least I do!)

As a pastor, I am often asked at these times, ” Does the bible say those that kill themselves ?”  To be honest, many take a believe that suicide is a unforgivable sin from the church tradition without much biblical support.  Moreover, it is not our human place to try to the work of Almighty God.  It is interesting that we can quickly see suicide as equal to murder but not able to remember the thief on the cross.  We can create these commands about who is in heaven and who not, be forget the grace that God offers to those who don’t deserve it.  In times like these I believe in a God who is loving and forgiving.  A love and a grace that is infinite.

When a loved one or a friend gives up, I offer them to the Lord in prayer.  I remember the many days that he would walk across campus with his then girlfriend.  I remember how he could be right by his grandmother’s side doing the work of Philander Smith College.  How I  longed for him to join my fraternity.  All of those “college days simply pass imbued with memories fond.”  Now those memories help me to remember my friend.   I pray for his family.  I pray for his wife and children.  Most of all I pray that they may know a God that loves and forgives.  That they will know that it is through tragedy that we find redemption.  It is through our crosses that we find the crown of righteousness.  ”Earth has no sorrow that heaven can not heal.”

Pastor Mark