Heat Exhaustion and Sin

There is a balm in Gilead

To make the wounded whole;

There is a balm in Gilead

To heal the sin-sick soul.

(African-American Spiritual)

 

            While we were in Florida we were fortunate to be able to go out into Tampa Bay on some boats.  With my younger brother we were able to go fishing and catch some snapper, Carolyn caught a shark about two and a half feet long, and we were able to watch dolphins play in the wake of the boat as well as seeing them cruise around at sunset.  On Carolyn’s brother’s boat we ended up at a large sandbar in a backwater channel that has turned into a gathering spot for many.  We were out at the sandbar for several hours with a large portion of it being spent in the water on the sandbar.  Somehow, even though I thought I was drinking enough water, staying cool by being in the water, and not really exerting myself a case of heat exhaustion crept up on me.  Not a bad one, just one that made me feel really tired and not so good.  I caught it before it progressed too far, but it still knocked me for a loop.  I think part of what happened was I was distracted and did not catch the warning signs in time.

             So, what does my heat exhaustion have to do with the life of the church?  It is this; many people do not realize they are coming down with heat exhaustion, or something more serious, because it creeps up on them so gradually.  It is the same way with several aspects of our faith and church life.  Those decisions we make saying “no one will notice” or “I will only do it this one time” or “it won’t hurt to miss worship just a few times” become easier and easier and before we know it we are doing things we would not have thought about doing or missing church on a more regular basis.  Very few people involved in the life of a congregation just wake up and decide they are not going to church anymore.  It is the same way with committing sin, few decide to actively sin.  The habits, beliefs, and lifestyles we live are gradually replaced with those habits, beliefs and lifestyles that move us away from Jesus.  Often it is so subtle we do not even realize it until something happens.  We constantly need to be alert for the signs, big and little, we are being overcome.  Remember the little items may not seem as potent, but let them all come together and they can be a more potent force in your life than what might be considered by many to be a big distraction or sin.
            Thankfully we are told that if we move away from God, that if our souls are overcome, that God through our faith in Jesus as Savior will take us back.  We can and will be healed.  We are also told to be on the lookout for the Tempter and our actions that might draw us away from God.  Are you looking for the signs?

 Blessings,

Pastor Dave

Newspapers, Wimbledon, & Women-The Message We Send to Girls and Young Women with the Placing of Events in Newspapers

           While it may not be politically correct I will admit I prefer most men’s sporting events over women’s events.  Faster, more powerful, often more graceful, the men’s events catch and hold my attention quicker and longer.  Yes, I realize that there are many women who could mop the floor with me if I was to enter into a competition with them, but my preference is what it is. 

With that being said I am appalled with the double standard that some newspapers, for me notably the Minneapolis Star Tribune, have with some of the major sporting events.  The day after the Wimbledon’s Women’s Final the Star Tribune reported it on the inside of the Sports section.  I think it was page four or five.  This is regardless of the fact that Wimbledon is probably the premier tennis event in the world, both of the finalists were ranked outside the top ten, and other aspects that would, a person would think, warrant a front page placing.

I could understand the editors burying the story if they were consistent.  After all tennis is a second or third tier sport that does not have a huge following.  Minneapolis, St Paul, and the rest of Minnesota are football, baseball, and hockey bastions.  Driving around towns you see many more empty tennis courts than you do basketball courts.

However, the Star Tribune, and I imagine other papers, are not consistent.  The day after the men’s final at Wimbledon the Star Tribune has a huge picture of one of the finalists and an article that starts on the front page of the Sports section.  Granted, this was the first time in decades an Englishman had won the tournament, and there were some interesting stories about the two finalists, but I have to wonder what makes the men’s stories and final so much more important and interesting that it deserves the first page of the sports page while the women’s finalists and final deserve a spot and headlines that may not be seen because people do not have time to look past the headlines on the front page, or they just think it is just not important because of its location and lack of pictures.

I understand the newspaper business is often driven by ratings just as the television stations are driven by ratings.  I also understand that many people are not necessarily into women’s sports that much.  I will admit twenty years ago I probably would not be writing this, but twenty years ago I did not have a daughter.  Even though I prefer to watch and read about men’s sports, I realize the need to try for parity in reporting on sporting events. 

By showing such obvious partiality to the men’s events I wonder how girls and young women process this if they are paying attention.  What I believe is happening is that a message is being sent that women in sports do not deserve the same attention as the men.  Does this then get processed into ideas that women do not deserve the attention they should get in relationships, work, community activities? 

One last thought before I go.  Theologically we need to remember that men and women were created in the image of God.  One is not better than the other.  We may be different, but that does not mean one gender is better than the other.  Little items like where stories are placed in the sports section seem to elevate one above the other.  While the focus of this article is on inequality in sports we can see it going the other way notably in the way men are treated on sitcoms, but that is an article for another time.

In Response to Boston

Tragedy
Came today;
Wounds to souls;
Psyches hurt
All seems lost.
Don't despair
In the storm
There's still hope

(to the tune of Taps"

            Once again tragedy has struck deep into the American ego.  On a day to remember those who stood up to tyranny, where thousands were out pushing themselves harder than they had before, and where many more were encouraging and celebrating with those who had worked so hard to achieve their goals, a senseless act occurred.  Lashing out, and as of this writing we do not know why, a person or group has caused many to be wounded-body, mind, soul, and spirit.  Death, maiming, and fear have taken the place of joy, accomplishment, and hope.  The clarion call for justice and retribution has been sounded.

            There is no doubt the bombing that took place near the finish line of the Boston Marathon has injured America and Americans in many ways.  Most of us cannot fathom experiencing such terror, and when events like these occur our souls and spirits are wounded.  There is fear, the fear of what if:  what if it had been me?  What if it occurs at my child’s game?  What if it is my neighbor/can I trust my neighbor not to be a home grown terrorist?  What if…? 

            Along with the fear there is a loss.  Obviously for the ones who lost loved ones or were wounded there is the physical loss.  For them and the rest of us there is the loss of security; the loss trust; the loss of hope and peace.  While most people will recover quickly and not have lasting effects upon their psyche, others will forever be marred.  Like one who has suffered the loss of a loved one, they may regain 100% functionality, but they will always have a scar of some sort that may flare up from time to time.  Sometimes the flare-up will be caused by a known trigger, and other times it will be like a tsunami that comes and overwhelms you without any warning.

            It could be easy to get lost in despair, to let the grief overcome us, to let fear rule us.  For some the fear may be masked by a call for justice or retribution.  Others may call for more laws and regulations.  Understanding that not all calls for justice, laws or regulation is fear based, we do need to be careful we do not over react.  We also need to remember that this is not the first time an event like this has been perpetrated on our soil nor will it be the last.  We have survived every time.  It does not mean we have not been hurt, that we have not lashed out, or every decision was a righteous decision.  What we have done is to rise again and again, dusting the dirt off of us, bandaging our wounds, learning from our mistakes, and kept moving forward. 

            As we think about and pray for those of Boston, Newtown, and other horrific events let us also remember that people every day suffer from life altering, traumatic episodes.  Many of these do not make the news because they are seen as part of life.  The loss of a loved one to disease or accident, being laid off from a job, raped or assaulted, fire, a dissolution of a relationship, addiction, and hundreds more everyday events occur causing injury to body and soul across the land.  We need to remember to keep these people in our prayers as well for the wounds they suffer are every way the same as to those that invoke national sympathy for the victims and outrage at the perpetrators.  This is not to take anything away from those who suffered from the bombs’ effects, but rather a reminder that tragedy occurs on a daily basis, and that we have, much too often, have become inured to its insidiousness.  It takes something large to shake our cynicism, our shield we have up to protect us, and thus we miss the hurts of others, and maybe our own as well.

            I do not always have the answers especially to when things go so terribly wrong.  I wish I did.  As a pastor I wish I could give great answers to why bad things happen to good people.  I am not always successful because I do not know.  Many times my answer is that God has given us free will, and because of this gift people have the choice of doing righteous or unrighteous actions.  Our actions impact others.  I cannot answer why some people emerge unscathed and some are maimed or killed, or why God intervenes and gives miracles to some and not to others.

            What I can tell you is that God has said he will be with us to the end.  That a peace that allows us to function, to move forward, and to trust can be ours even in the midst of conflict and storm.  We may be battered, God does not say it will be easy, we may still have questions, even Job didn’t get every question answered the way he wanted, but we will not be left alone, and that while there is breath there is hope.

 

May you find hope and peace this day.

Pastor Dave