St. Patrick’s Breastplate

We are about to celebrate the Ascension of Jesus; and we might remember the words recorded by Luke in the Book of Acts: And suddenly, two men in white robes stood by them. They said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?' Isn't that an odd question to ask? It isn't what you would expect to hear in church! "Why are you looking up toward heaven?" It is even stranger when you consider that these same angels also tell the disciples that Jesus "will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." So shouldn't we firmly fix our eyes on the last place we saw Him? What goes up must come down; Jesus went up, so He's up there, and when He comes again, it will be from on high. Right? I have learned over the years that this is a trick question. After so many years in local church ministry, I have learned that the church is indeed the place that helps me direct my attention toward God. But I also have come to believe that this hill, the church, is often my security and comfort zone. And when I allow the church to be either of these, those angels ask me the same question: "Why are you looking up toward heaven?" Now don't get me wrong. Heaven is wonderful. We need heaven; there's a need for holiness, beauty, purity, and radiance, all the things we hope for in our understanding of heaven. But the big problem with looking up to heaven is that you can't see the person next to you. I believe that when Jesus comes again, He might come in the same way He came before. If you want to see Jesus: Don't be staring up into heaven. Look to the people who struggle each day for their daily bread. Look to the people who are hurting, lonely, and depressed; look to the least, the last, and the lost. Come down from this hill, out of our comfortable church, and share something of yourself with another. I am excited that God has promised me heaven; sometimes, it is what I need to keep going here on Earth. But I have come to believe that if we are really looking for God, we'd better look lower. And we might find that heaven is a lot closer than we think. This Sunday I am preaching at Covenant Church at the 11:00 service. I hope you will join me as, together we remember and celebrate the Ascension. Breathe Peace,

I wish I could tell you that I always make perfect meatballs, but that would be a lie. Recently, I discovered that, usually if one of my meatballs doesn't turn out right, it is because I forgot one of the basic rules of meatball making, one of the basic rules of life: Keep It Simple. The best meatballs I make are the ones that are simple; they are the ones that I don't try to add extra seasoning or do something too fancy! They are so much better when I keep things simple. Long before I started making meatballs, a brilliant man talked often about keeping things simple. Albert Einstein lived by the idea of keeping it simple. (By the way, this will be the only comparison I could ever make between Einstein and me.) But he did have a caveat, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Not too long ago, I saw a study about jurors, expert witnesses and why jurors tend to believe one expert over another. It isn't the titles, degrees, honor, or resume of the experts that sways the jurors’ vote; what influenced the jurors was the experts' ability to talk in a simple way. Keep it simple! John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement, understood this same concept. Now yes, there were many things that he made a bit complicated BUT he boiled the most essential ideas do to 3 points. Wesley called them The General Rules; the Methodists now lovingly call them The Three Simple Rules. It was Wesley's understanding that if we all could live our lives according to these rules, we could change our lives, our families, our communities, our country, and our world. What are The Three Simple Rules? Do no harm. Do good. Stay in love with God. You want to make outstanding meatballs? Keep it simple! You want to make a great life? Keep it simple? It's simple, but it is not easy!