Volume 1 Issue 5

Greetings from sunny Las Vegas! I know that some of you are experiencing less pleasant weather, so I’ll try not to rub it in. But I do love it here!

I thank again all of you who have responded in such complimentary ways to what it is that I’m trying to accomplish with this website. I had the joyful experience this week of “hearing” from Lauren Senn, a “survivor” of one of my confirmation classes. It’s hard to believe that she actually “searched” for me online in order to express her appreciation for one of her past pastors (I’m sure all the rest of you know that October is “Clergy Appreciation Month” but are just waiting until the month is actually here to acknowledge the occasion). Lauren is completing her doctorate in occupational therapy at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and is the newest addition to “the list” of happy reunions made possible by this marvelous technology.

Mary and I just saw “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” If you haven’t seen it yet, I strongly recommend it as a celebration of the unifying power of love. In addition to that, it’s just a good movie.

The word for this week is “hermeneutic” – interpretative, explanatory. “hermeneutics” – 1. the science of interpretation, esp. of the Scriptures. 2. that branch of theology which treats of the principles of Biblical exegesis. (The American College Dictionary) After reading this week’s message, I think you’ll understand why I bring it to your attention. Plus, it will be a great word to throw around at the next party you attend! I guarantee that people will be impressed.

I’ve been asked about the availability of the text that I’ve been referring to so often, “The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus.” (Polebridge Press, 1993) It is available from www.amazon.com in paperback (new $19.60, used from $7.00). This leads me to think that it is then available from most book distributors.

Our webmaster, Matt Piper of WebICX (I really hope he doesn’t mind me calling him that, but it sounds so professional!) informs me that we are dangerously close to a functional bulletin board. Matt amazes me with his knowledge and talent, and further impresses me with his willingness to contribute to this “for loss” endeavor. If you’re so inclined, I don’t think he’ll object to strongly to receiving compliments at: mpiper@WebICX.com. In the not too distant future, you’ll be able to post those compliments on the bulletin board he’s close to finishing.

If the events of the past year have taught us nothing else, it is that each day of life is a precious gift never to be reclaimed. Let us not fail to use each day to its fullest advantage by loving God, and loving God’s children as God loves us. Hug your loved ones and tell them that you love them. Don’t put it off. Tomorrow is not guaranteed, but will be all the richer if we have made the most of this day that the Lord has made.

Until next week……Shalom!

Volume 1 Issue 4

As I write the United Nations is trying to observe International Peace Day. In some ways this seems absurd, but surely no more so than many of the other machinations taking place in our own country and around the globe. Today’s message continues with the theme: “God Bless America!” It examines three of the beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, but does not specifically address one which is so appropriate for today: “Congratulations to those who work for peace! They will be known as God’s children.” (Matthew 5:9 SV)

The Scholar’s Version cited above is found in “The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus” (1993, Polebridge Press). I know that I recommended this book before in the seminal “Easter and Beyond” effort, but I offer it again as an excellent resource for those of you who are not inclined toward literalism or fundamentalism, but who instead have a genuine curiosity about how we ended up with the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as they are found in today’s versions of the Holy Bible.

I am truly grateful to those who were “brave” enough to use the newly added “Share Your Response/Reaction” link at the end of last week’s message:

Kirby Schmitz of Billings, Montana provided a number of instances in United States history where the determination of the government was to “strike first,” among them being actions taken against the native Americans, the Spanish-American War (“the USS Maine was never determined to have been sunk by the Spanish; most historians think it was a boiler explosion that put it on the bottom of Havana’s harbor”), and the recent controversial discovery of the sunken Japanese submarine still in international waters.

Still, when I here the media use words such as “unprecedented,” I have to wonder if there is not something unique about the “Bush Doctrine” that is emerging before our very eyes.

Sally Sardakowski of Arvada, Colorado has kept me supplied with many wonderful anecdotes and illustrations, but space here will only permit me to include her most recent one:

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that was going on inside him.
He said, “My son, it is between two wolves. One is evil: anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other is good: joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one I feed.”

Finally, my dear friend with whom I work, Marta Noguez-Rivera, sent me a website address with a message that so coincides with mine for this week that I share it with you: http://tribute.creoletechnologies.com/TributesDirectory/AsTheWorldTurns.htm

I continue to be indebted to Matt Piper and WebICX for his “pro bono” service as Growing in Christ webmaster. In spite of being in school and holding down a job, Matt keeps making little tweaks here and there to improve our site. I know that he and I both hope that it won’t be long before all the gems you send my way can be posted to the “bulletin board.” Until then, I’ll take advantage of the newsletter venue as I have today to try to send along some of the best.

Our youngest daughter, Rebecca, has been patiently trying to expose me to the music of her generation. It’s true! I have become my parents and generally can hear it only as so much noise. Nonetheless, I close with these powerful lyrics from the song “Science” written and performed by System of a Down (no, I don’t understand the name eitherJ):

Science fails to recognize the single most
Potent element of human existence
Letting the reigns go to the unfolding
Is faith, faith, faith, faith.

Until next week…..Shalom!

Volume 1 Issue 3

I don’t regard myself as a prophet of doom, but I really have begun to wonder of late how much time is left for humankind to pursue its understanding of its relationship to its Creator. The “powers and principalities” of our world seem bent upon the ways of violence, and it now appears to be simply a matter of who is going to go first. I need to do my homework, but off the top of my head I cannot think of another time in our country’s history that we have contemplated being the aggressor to strike first rather than defending ourselves or someone else. I need the help of you historians out there to help set me straight!

Being able to react/respond to this website is one of the several improvements that you will find that Matt Piper of WebICX has implemented. At the end of each week’s message you will find a link to my e-mail that will allow you to quickly and conveniently comment on what you thought about it. This is another step toward making this site a truly interactive theological forum. A coming step will be to post your thoughts and ideas on the bulletin board so that they may be shared with our growing virtual community of faith.

We are growing because so many of you are spreading the word to your friends and families about Growing in Christ. Thank you to those of you who are sharing the “good news,” and welcome to those of you who are visiting our site for the first time as a result of someone’s invitation.

Matt has also responded to those who have reported that the full text does not always print (the right margin has apparently been cutting off letters, words, etc.) If you don’t enjoy making a game of filling in the “blanks” (which is a golden opportunity to revise my messages to your liking), Matt has created a “Printer Friendly Version” link that will take you to a text only page that should “print correctly no matter what.” Be sure to let us know if it doesn’t work as advertised!

If we have learned nothing else from the events of the past year, we should have a keener appreciation for the preciousness of each day of life and the fact that another is never guaranteed. Take this day which the Lord has made and rejoice; be glad in it! Take the time to love and to be loved. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. When we open our eyes and see, when we listen and hear, when we open ourselves to the love of God, the peace of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we discover the source of genuine hope!

Until next week…..Shalom!

Volume 1 Issue 2

This week the United States of America will observe the first anniversary of the day it changed forever. Or did it?

Arguing that it did, Andrew Sullivan writes, “…I think that for all the return to superficial normality, Americans really have changed. The illusion of isolationism has been ripped apart. How can American opt out of the world when the world refuses to leave American alone? The illusion of appeasement has been destroyed. Do we really think that by coddling regimes like Iraq or Syria or Iran or Saudi Arabia, we will help defuse the evil that lurks in their societies? The illusion of American exceptionalism has been shattered. The whole dream of this continent—that it was a place where you could safely leave the old world and its resentments behind—was ended that day. A whole generation will grow up with this as its most formative experience—a whole younger generation that knows that there actually is a right and a wrong, and that neutrality is no longer an option. That generational power has only just begun to transform the culture. In decades’ time, we will look back and see what a difference it made.”

In his essay arguing that America has not been profoundly changed by September 11, I find it interesting that Michael Elliott chooses these particular criteria to support his contention: “Nothing that has happened since September 11 suggests that it will mark so profound a change in American society [as did December 7, 1941]. If it had, two indicators would by now have flashed red. Everyone knows that the churches were full on Sept. 16, but everyone who regularly goes to church knows they haven’t stayed that way. Michael Dimock, of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, who has tracked polling data since last fall, says he can find ‘no evidence’ of a religious awakening. The Pentagon says that although there was an approximate doubling in the number of people expressing interest in the armed forces after Sept. 11, this did not later translate into any marked increase in enlistments.”

I am personally divided. There is surely truth in the notion that September 11, 2001 changed everything, and nothing will ever be the same again. It is also true, however, that the majority of Americans seem to have returned to “business as usual,” and that the focus of our living has returned to “taking care of Number One” at the cost of accepting responsibility for what is happening to the rest of our world.

As a result, I have struggled with this week’s message. What does one say from the perspective of faith that has any real meaning in today’s world? I wish that I was smart enough or wise enough to know. The only conclusion that holds any certainty for me is that it ultimately depends upon our understanding of the nature of God and our relationship to It/Her/Him. I share Elliott’s sentiment that had anything really changed a year ago, we would have seen a more genuine quest on the part of the American people to discover in what ways the relationship is still in need of improvement, rather than the adamant assertion that we are serving God’s will through violent retaliation.

Matt Piper continues to be patient with me as I try to figure out what to do with the “Bulletin Board” and “Philosophy” pages. I ask you to be, as well. The intention to create a truly interactive theological forum on this website is sincere; it’s just time and my personal knowledge of the technology that are wonting. Your comments and reactions are most welcome. If they pertain to content, please e-mail me at: RevMAH@aol.com.
If they pertain to format (some of you have already let me know that the right margins of the sermons are missing if you try to print them), you may as well direct those to the person who can do anything about it: mpiper@WebICX.com.

I personally feel that our country has enough holidays, and so even though I would welcome another day-with-pay away from the workplace, I’m opposed to the movement to make such of September 11. We are, however, in desperate need of more holy days, and it is my closing prayer that this will be the experience of our virtual community of faith. May the love of God, the peace of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit be yours now and always!

Shalom,
Mark
P.S. Happy Rosh Hashanah (New Year) to our Jewish brothers and sisters!

Volume 1 Issue 1

When Easter and Beyond debuted last March, I wasn’t real sure what the “beyond” would look like. Well, here it is! A website designed to provide a forum for the free exchange of theological and spiritual ideas in the hope that sharing in such an experience will cultivate a more fully-developed, mature faith in all who participate.

I am so deeply indebted to Matt Piper of Web Information Consulting eXperts for his extraordinary commitment and skill. I’ve had only to wonder if something could be done, and Matt transforms it into something real. You are invited to learn more about WICX by going to their website: www.webicx.com
The purpose of the Newsletter, which I hope to publish weekly, is to promote a sense of community, even if it is a virtual community located in cyberspace. As I’ve said before, the people who compose “the list” are remarkable in many ways, and the diversity of thought and point of view is indeed something to be celebrated.

The Bulletin Board will be a place to post the wide array of offerings brought to the site by the community. Because I have this deep-seated need to be in charge J I am going to maintain control over what gets put on the bulletin board, but you will have to trust that the decision will not be made on the basis of whether I agree with the theology or not. The intent is to be as inclusive as possible without sacrificing moral integrity (i.e. I don’t plan to be posting much Aryan Nation ideology, etc.). If you wish to contribute an item, just send it to me at RevMAH@aol.com

The Sermons get to be my little showcase. After all, I’m the one paying for all this! In my first “newsletter” I confessed to being presumptuous enough to think that someone else might be interested in what I think about matters of faith. I also admitted to needing to maintain the discipline of weekly preparation now that I’m no longer an active parish pastor. Perhaps the nicest feature of this new approach is that you won’t even have to bother with ‘delete’ when you don’t have to sign on in the first place!

The Philosophy section will be an ongoing project to develop the thesis that Christ is a universal—or, as Matthew Fox would say, a cosmological—phenomenon. In an ever-shrinking world, we can no longer afford to engage in exclusivity. Many of the progressive, contemporary theologians are helping us to come to a richer, fuller understanding of Buddha as Christ, of Mohammed as Christ, and yes, of Jesus—the Jew—as Christ! Here will hopefully be found the explanation for how we may all look forward to Growing in Christ!
Your feedback is most welcome! As I said before, this cyber-ministry that I’ve embarked on gets kind of lonely. I’d be less than honest if I said I don’t miss getting to look out at the congregation each week to see who my stirring message was lulling to peaceful slumber. More importantly, I truly believe that our faith (or lack thereof) is being tested as never before. We need to engage in the theological conversation, because it is the one thing that will ultimately affect us all.

Until next week…Shalom!