Some of my favorite women...

In a fairly recent survey of clergy, woman authors do not fare well. In fact, that's an understatement. In the research project commissioned by the Duke Divinity School's Pulpit and Pew, clergy in three traditions (Catholic, Mainline Protestant, Conservative Protestant) were surveyed regarding reading habits. There is only one woman, Barbara Brown Taylor, in any the "top twelve" lists. Taylor shows up as #12 on the Mainline list. For Conservative Protestants and Catholics no women -- not a one -- made it into the top 12. Going even beyond the top 12, there are women read by Catholics and Mainline Protestants. But not a single woman made the author list of conservative clergy. Not a single one!

In my humble opinion, that is totally outrageous, scandalous, and very sad.

Is it any wonder the people in the pews are hungry?

So here is a list of "some of my favorite women" for pastors and spiritual leaders and others looking for breadth and depth of spirituality. These are spiritual (and some not-so-spiritual) writings by women: a brief and subjective list of good stuff from my own library......


From my Church History class in seminary: In Her Words: Women's Writings in the History of Christian Thought. Edited by Amy Oden. Abingdon Press, 1994.

Oneness in the Eucharist: On a certain Pentecost.... My heart and my veins and all my limbs trembled and quivered with eager desire... so that dying I must go mad, and going mad I must die. On that day my mind was beset so fearfully and so painfully by desirous love that all my separate limbs threatened to break, and all my separate veins were in travail.... (Hadewijch of Brabant, c. 1200s)

From my pastoral care professor: The Spirit of Adoption: At Home in God's Family. Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner. Westminster John Knox Prsss, 2003.

We need a new image of God as Adopting Parent. If the church can develop the Christian anthropological view of human being as "adopted child of God," then God can be viewed more centrally in our liturgy, preaching, and teaching as Adopting Parent as well as Birth Parent.... God's merciful compassion is God's womb-love.

From a shelf of books which could be labeled, "Books I could never write but I'm glad I could read": Great with Child: reflections on faith, fullness, and becoming a mother. Debra Rienstra. Putnam, 2002.

The world is different, for a new person has arrived in it. He is here, he is real, he has a name and a birth date. Each of us is different, too. I, the mother, given over completely from dark clouds to light and joy. Ron, a buoyant father now of two sons. Miriam and Jacob, feeling their bigger-than-ever status as sister and brother. This tiny infant will go on changing us, God willing, for the better. Philip Aaron, born July 10, 1999.

From my poetry shelves: Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women. Edited by Jane Hirschfield. HarperPerennial, 1995.

At last free,
at last I am a woman free!
No more tied to the kitchen,
stained amid the stained pots,
no more bound to the husband
who thought me less
than the shade he wove with his hands.
No more anger, no more hunger,
I sit now in the shade of my own tree.
Meditating thus, I am happy, I am serene.
(Sumangalamata, 6th c. B.C.E.)

From a shelf reserved for edgier memoirs: The Horizontal World: growing up wild in the middle of nowhere. Debra Marquart. Counterpoint, 2006.

And no matter how far from that uncompromising land we drift, a long, sinewy taproot summons us, always, home.

And, add to the list, these more well-known contemporary writers...

Barbara Brown Taylor - (it's all good)
Kathleen Norris - A Cloister Walk & The Quotidian Mysteries
Annie Dillard - Teaching a Stone to Talk & Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Mary Oliver (her poems are all good!)
Alice Walker - Her Blue Body Everything We Know
Anne Lamott - Operating Instructions
Naomi Shihab Nye - 19 Varieties of Gazelle (poetry)
Lucille Clifton - Blessing the Boats (poetry)

And three more...

Singular Intimacies: Becoming a Doctor at Bellevue. Danielle Ofri. Beacon Press, 2003.

Not Counting Women and Children: Neglected Stories from the Bible. Megan McKenna. Orbis, 2001.

Coven. Susan Deborah King. Folio Bookworks, 2006. (poetry)


My challenge to men: In 2010, read at least book by a woman each month. Of course, for some this will be more of a challenge than others. The survey reported just over 10% of clergy read less than one hour per week. Unbelievable!

Peace Love & Coffee,
Randy

Prayers for Haiti

For those of you unable to be with us in person... Forgive the formatting (or lack thereof)... I didn't take much time to fix it up... just basically "cut and paste." I was able to insert links to the two new hymns written within just within the last few days. Thank you for joining us in prayers for Haiti. Peace of Christ... Randy

PRAYERS FOR HAITI:
OUR HEARTS UNITE IN LAMENT AND PRAYER
An Ecumenical & Interfaith Candle Lighting Service of Prayer

First Presbyterian Church • Lake Crystal, Minnesota
Rev. Randal K. Lubbers, Pastor & Teacher


PRELUDE Mary Ann Norman, organist
CALL TO PRAYER Based on Psalm 90
Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord;
People: who made heaven and earth.
Leader: Lord, you have been our refuge from age to age.
Before the mountains were born,
before the earth and the world came to birth,
from eternity to eternity you are God.
People: Lord, you are our strength; hasten to help us.
Leader: Lord, teach us to count up the days that are ours,
and we shall come to the heart of wisdom.
People: Lord, you are our strength; hasten to help us.
Leader: Come back, O Lord! How long? How long must we wait?
Take pity on your servants.
People: Lord, you are our strength; hasten to help us.

HYMN
“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”
ST. ANNE
Words: Psalm 90:1-2, 4-5; vers. Isaac Waats (1719)
Music: William Croft (1708)
O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home:
Under the shadow of your throne your saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is your arm alone, and our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood or earth received its frame,
from everlasting you are God, to endless years the same.
O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
still be our guard while troubles last, and our eternal home!
PSALM 46
PRAYER by David Gambrell (2010)
God, our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,
when the mountains shake, when the earth trembles, you are our shelter, our safety.
Give peace to those in turmoil, give refuge to those in danger,
give comfort to those who mourn, and strength to those who offer aid,
until all may dwell secure in your eternal city of peace that can never be shaken.
THE SITUATION IN HAITI
SILENCE


HYMN
“In Haiti There Is Anguish”
ST. CHRISTOPHER
Words: Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (2010)
Music: Frederick C. Maker (1881)

In Haiti, there is anguish that seems too much to bear;
A land so used to sorrow now knows even more despair.
From city streets, the cries of grief rise up to hills above;
In all the sorrow, pain and death, where are you, God of love?

A woman sifts through rubble, a man has lost his home,
A hungry, orphaned toddler sobs, for she is now alone.
Where are you, Lord, when thousands die-the rich, the poorest poor?
Were you the very first to cry for all that is no more?

O God, you love your children; you hear each lifted prayer!
May all who suffer in that land know you are present there.
In moments of compassion shown, in simple acts of grace,
May those in pain find healing balm, and know your love's embrace.

Where are you in the anguish? Lord, may we hear anew
That anywhere your world cries out, you're there-- and suffering, too.
And may we see, in others' pain, the cross we're called to bear;
Send out your church in Jesus' name to pray, to serve, to share.

PRAYER: a congregational lament by Calvin Seeveld (1986)
A READING FROM THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES: Isaiah 40:28-31
A READING FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT: Matthew 5:3-10
A PRAYER WITH THE PEOPLE OF HAITI by Taylor Burton-Edwards (2010)
Leader: Again the ground shakes,
Earth heaves, buildings rumble
and more fall.
People: How long, O Lord?
Leader: The dead unnamed, uncounted,
some yet living; still not rescued,
and now more traps are sprung.
People: How long, O Lord? How long?
Leader: Help scrambles in,
soldiers, doctors, food, water, dogs, money,
supplies of every kind from every nation,
and more will surely come.
People: Your mercy is on all your creatures, O God.
Leader: Let this be but beginning,
not of rescue only, but deliverance,
not simply to restore, nor to rebuild,
but build anew.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: These are our sisters, brothers,
not projects for a time,
but family for our lifetimes.
When others leave, call us to stay.
People: Christ, have mercy.
Leader: And keep our hearts stirred,
not satisfied until these
and all our family, in every place,
can live with joy and dwell in peace.
People: Lord, have mercy.
With all who live and die in Port-au-Prince,
in the name of Jesus, Prince de la Paix,
we continually pray.
Leader: Amen, and amen.
CANDLE LIGHTING
“I Light This Candle”
Words and Music: Paul Jaansen (2010)

CLOSING PRAYER
“O Lord, Hear My Prayer”
HEAR MY PRAYER
Words: Psalm 102:1-2; adapt. The Community of Taizė
Music: Jacques Berthier (1982)
O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord, hear my prayer: when I call answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord, hear my prayer: come and listen to me.

A Prayer for Haiti by Bruce Reyes-Chow, Gradye Parsons and Linda Valentine (2010)

God of compassion,
please watch over the people of Haiti,
and weave out of these terrible happenings
wonders of goodness and grace.
Surround those who have been affected by tragedy
with a sense of your present love,
and hold them in faith.
Though they are lost in grief,
may they find you and be comforted.
Guide us to find ways of providing assistance
that heal wounds and provide hope.
Help us to remember that when one of your children suffers
we all suffer;
through Jesus Christ who was dead, but lives
and rules this world with you. Amen.

O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord, hear my prayer: when I call answer me.
O Lord, hear my prayer, O Lord, hear my prayer: come and listen to me.

DISMISSAL
Leader: Let us go forth to be light in the darkness,
to be compassion in the suffering,
to be loving hands and feet to all those in need.
People: Amen.
Leader: Peace be with you.
People: And also with you.

Being a "community-of-belonging"

Have there been persons in your life who have touched you deeply, even though your paths may have crossed ever-so-briefly? I have. There are places like that, too, I think—these are the places where I can think back and remember moments and feelings as if they were yesterday. Can you think of places like that? For me, these are places like the campgrounds on Lake Okoboji where I went to church camp for at least five years in a row; and the library at Dubuque Seminary; and the back seat of our Ford LTD on family vacations some 40 years ago. Vivid feelings, somewhat blurry on the details, but yet the moments feel as if it were yesterday.

Central Presbyterian Church in Des Moines, Iowa is a place like that for me. I only attended there regularly for a relatively short time—I was "recently divorced" at that time and years away from meeting Carolyn. But I remember the feeling of being welcomed, of belonging. I remember the adult Sunday school class; it was a discussion on social issues. I remember the Sunday school teachers who made sure my son John was included when they gave the second-graders Bibles during worship (even though we had been attending for only a month or two at the time). And I remember the music: the congregational singing, the choir, and especially the organ.

Funny, now that I think of it; I do not remember a single sermon. Not one.

You see, the indelible impression came from the people and the place and the “warmth” I felt there... and all of those things working together to work the miracle of feeling welcome, of feeling at home.

It wasn’t the preaching, it was the place.

It wasn’t the pastor, it was the people.

Celtic Prayer

Celtic Prayer:

Here's a short bibliography of resources from my own library:

Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and Readings From the Northumbria Community. (HarperOne, 2002) (Hardcover) Introduction by Richard J. Foster.

Celtic Prayers from Iona. J. Philip Newell. (Paulist Press, 1997) (Hardcover)

Sounds of the Eternal: A Celtic Psalter. J. Philip Newell. (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002) (Hardcover)

The Celtic Way of Prayer: The Recovery of the Religious Imagination. Esther De Waal. (Image, 1999) (Paperback)

Every Earthly Blessing: Rediscovering the Celtic Tradition. Esther De Waal. (Morehouse Publishing, 1999) (Paperback)

And one more by Esther De Waal -- perhaps her best! -- although not in the Celtic tradition:

Living With Contradiction: An Introduction to Benedictine Spirituality. Esther De Waal. (Morehouse Publishing, 1998) (Paperback)

And in the Celtic tradition, but not specifically about prayer:

The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West...Again. George G. Hunter. (Abingdon Press, 2000) (Paperback)

Hope this helps you on your journey in Christ.

Peace Love & Coffee,
Randy

Christmas Eve Sermon

“Room for Christ”
A Christmas Eve Sermon by Rev. Randal Lubbers
First Presbyterian Church ▪ Lake Crystal, Minnesota
December 24, 2009


OLD TESTAMENT LESSON: Rejoice! Your God Reigns: Isaiah 52:7-10
GOSPEL LESSON: The Word Became Flesh: John 1:1-14

Oh come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for you.

There’s a quiet, peaceful Christmas Eve I remember. I remember sitting in the quiet and in solitude for nearly 30 minutes—maybe longer—just looking at the lights of the tree. It wasn’t the “perfect Christmas.” It wasn’t “the hap-happiest Christmas ever.” And yet I remember thinking of how peaceful and quiet it was, I remember sensing God’s presence, and I remember thinking, “Ah, yes, this is what Christmas is all about.”

Of course the truth is you really don’t need me to preach to you about making room in your hearts for the Christ child at Christmas. You may not hear the message in the midst of the commercials for diamonds or in the conversation at a company Christmas party, but you’ll hear about “Keeping Christ in Christmas” often enough. Thanks to the internet and emails, many of you have heard plenty about the True Meaning of Christmas. Over the years I’ve received dozens—maybe hundreds of sweetly worded stories reminding me to keep Christ in Christmas; and, interestingly, maybe just as many tirades about the evils of saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”

So you really don’t need me to preach about keeping Christ in Christmas. You don’t need a preacher to tell you about the importance of family and friends, of making sure you’re not overwhelmed by a multitude of parties and cookie-making duties and trying to make things perfect. There are plenty of movies and articles in popular magazines making that very point. There is joy and true satisfaction in living simply, in sharing, in giving money to the Food Shelf and the Salvation Army, in doing things for others without asking for recognition. But you don’t need to come to church to find out about that.

In fact, may I share a secret? All this talk about “Keeping Christ in Christmas” makes me a bit uncomfortable. I believe it betrays a lack of theological understanding about the Incarnation. What do we mean, after all, when we say "Immanuel, God with us"? More about that in a moment...

Keeping Christ in Christmas? Really now, let’s think about that for a bit. There is really no serious risk, even in our contemporary post-Christian world, of someone taking the Christ out of Christmas. The baby in the manger, the angels, the shepherds are all ingrained in our cultural vision of Christmas. Good deeds, good tidings, good wishes, and everything else: All these things are as much a part of the contemporary idea of Christmas as Santa, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolph; as much a part of Christmas as Charlie Brown, the Griswolds, and the phrase “You’ll shoot your eye out.”

Christ... along with Christmas trees and gifts and all the rest... CHRIST IS and ALWAYS WILL be a PART of Christmas. The church is NOT necessary to keep it that way. Many others with vested interests in Christmas will make sure of it…

But my concern is not “Keeping Christ in Christmas.”

I’m not even sure that “Keeping Christ in Christmas” is a truly Christian concept.

I think we ought to be more concerned about keeping Christ out of Christmas.

Yes, OUT of Christmas…
"out of Christmas" and IN OUR EVERYDAY, ORDINARY DAILY LIVES.

CHRIST IN OUR LIVES—24/7. That’s the meaning of the Incarnation.
Immanuel. God is WITH US.

The question is not whether we make room for Christ in our celebration of Christmas,
but do we make room for Christ—period.

Is there room for Christ at your table—every day?
Is Christ welcome at your celebrations of birthdays and weddings and job promotions?
Is there room for Christ in your marriage and your friendships?



One of my favorite Christmas songs is from the musical “Mame”—it goes something like this—

Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stocking,
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.
For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas….

Much of our contemporary, popular culture does TOO GOOD a job at keeping Christ in Christmas—
but it’s just a little Christmas—
with just a little-bitty baby Jesus—
and the Lord Jesus Christ is kept in Christmas—
kept safely in Christmas—

But yet there is no room in the inn of political dialogue for Christ’s message of peacemaking, forgiveness, or loving enemies, or of patience and kindness and respect even among those with whom we disagree. Christ is kept safely in Christmas but is unwelcome when we talk about issues concerning feeding the hungry and providing health care for all persons; unwelcome when we consider the way we deal with differences of values or opinions; unwelcome from Monday through Friday dealings because… well… you know, “This is business.”

Too often in our lives there is no room for the Christ who is kept safely in Christmas.

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for you….

Dorothy Day wrote…

It is no use saying that we are born two thousand years too late to give room to Christ…. Christ is ALWAYS with us, always asking for room in our hearts. But now it is with the voice of our contemporaries that he speaks, with the eyes of store clerks, factory workers, and children that he gazes; with the hands of office workers, slum dwellers, and suburban housewives that he gives. It is with the feet of soldiers and tramps that he walks; and with the heart of ANYONE in need that he longs for shelter. And giving shelter or food to ANYONE who asks for it or needs it, is giving it to Christ.

It would be foolish to pretend that it is always easy to remember this. If everyone were holy and handsome… it would be easy to see Christ in everyone. If Mary had appeared in Bethlehem clothed… with the sun, a crown of twelve stars on her head, and the moon under her feet, then people would have FOUGHT to make room for her. But that was not God’s way for her, nor is it Christ’s way for himself, now when he is disguised under every type of humanity that treads the earth.

What do I do, or what have I done, when a beggar stops at my home asking for food? Do I serve leftovers on a paper plate? Or do I throw a feast? A glass of water given to the one who is thirsty is a cup of water given to Jesus himself. Jesus’ teachings made heaven itself hinge on the way we act toward him in his disguise of the commonplace. And, lest you think I’m prescribing a new LAW or RULE that we are duty-bound to keep or risk falling out of favor with God… No, No, Not at all… Indeed, just the opposite. For a follower of Christ, the prodding of “duty” is not needed. It is not a duty to serve, but rather, it is a privilege and honor. Do you think Mary and Martha sat back and congratulated themselves on doing “all that was expected” of them? Dorothy Day, talking about Peter’s mother who fixed a meal for Jesus and the disciples, says, “Is it likely she GRUDGINGLY served the chicken she had been saving til Sunday because she thought it was her DUTY? She did it GLADLY—she would have served 10 Chickens if she had had them.” And that is the way we are called to show compassion and hospitality to Christ. That is how we are called to give room to Christ.

Not for humanity’s sake.
And not because… well, you know,
“maybe” it might be Christ who stays with us,
comes to see us, takes up our time.
And not because these people REMIND us of Jesus Christ…
But because they ARE Christ…
THEY ARE CHRIST…
asking us to find room…
exactly as he did at the first Christmas…

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


HYMN OF RESPONSE: “Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne” (with text adapted for worship by Randy Lubbers, 2009)

Christ did leave his throne and his kingly crown
when he came to this earth for me;
but in Bethlehem’s home there was found no room for his holy nativity.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus; there is room in my heart for you.
Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
proclaiming Christ’s royal degree;
but of lowly birth did he come to earth, and in great humility.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus; there is room in my heart for you.

Prayers of the People

Eternal God, we bow before the mystery of your incarnation.
You have chosen weakness to confound the strong
and poverty to send the rich empty away.
We remember the millions in our world today
who are hungry, who receive no hospitality—
all with whom your Son has become one by being born in a manger.

[Silence]

Merciful God, we call upon you
for all who have fled their homes in the darkness of night.
We remember the millions in our world who have been made refugees,
who have sought asylum in lands not their own,
who are displaced, homeless, landless, or lost—
all whose experience you have made your own in the life of your Son.

[Silence]

Loving God, our hearts are heavy
with the sufferings of this world.
We remember the many victims of political power and greed:
the innocent killed in war and violence,
all those who are tortured or put to death,
those who languish in prison and camps,
those missing or taken hostage—
all whose lot your Son shared by being born when Herod was king.
[Silence]

Gracious God, you placed yourself in the care of Mary
to show to the world your will to save.
Give us grace to follow her example:
to become instruments of your grace,
servants of your will, and channels of your love.
May it happen to us as you have willed.

O God of peace, you fill our hearts with hope at every Christmastide,
for we remember again that this is the world you have loved.
May hope, peace, and joy fill our hearts this night.

Amen.



Dorothy Day's essay, "Room for Christ," was the inspiration for this sermon.