Month: June 2024

Banished to the outer darkness of….

Most mornings I have a routine. After taking my meds, and getting my coffee, I spend time praying, studying, and meditating. Following that I open up Facebook, and try to lighten some people’s day by posting a bit of Useless Information and a historical event for the day. Sometimes I add commentary, sometimes I just let them stand. Often I will post something else that’s on my mind.

But this morning was different. When I tried to open Facebook, I received a message that my account had been suspended because I had broken Instagram’s rules of conduct. Which really surprised me, since, while I have an Insta account, I never use it. I could not send Facebook a message since I could not get into Facebook. So I wrote one to the folks at Insta.

This is not the first time something like this has happened to me. About a year and a half ago one of my Facebook pages, the one for Vox Memorial UMC, was blocked because we had broken Facebook’s rules of conduct. Which, again, was a surprise because the only thing we ever published was a daily photo with a Bible verse from a subscription service. And it went to both Brown’s Chapel and Vox’s pages. I contacted Facebook. Several times. Never heard anything from them.

It’s odd that they said my Insta account broke the rules, so they were suspending my Facebook account, but not the Insta account.

I fully do not expect to hear from them. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, and others, does not have very good customer service. But what did I expect? I don’t pay for them (other than what little I buy from those who run adds). But still, you think you’d hear something.

I had the memory of Ernestine, the telephone operator played by Lily Tomlin. In her comedy (but very real life) sketches, whenever she would be handling a complaint, she would  always end with “We don’t care. We don’t have to. We’re the phone company.”

Since I do a lot of communicating with my friends through Facebook, I feel like I have been banished to the outer darkness, where there is weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth, and definitely no Likes. And I am so used to it, I am having difficulty figuring out how to communicate with them as easily. There are the quotes that I find interesting or thought-provoking (“God does not want to clean us up, but to make us new creations.”), observations around my house (Cathy complains about the squirrels eating all the bird food, but she goes out in the heat of the day to make sure the squirrels have some clear cool water to drink), and letting people know about things I get to see (Dave Mason is coming to Florence at the end of July). None of these will get posted.

I do have a few, not many, subscribers to my blog. But it does not have the flexibility and ease of interaction to replace what I had.

I have several friends who do not use Facebook. Some do not have an account, others have them but rarely use them. And they seem to get by fairly well. As a matter of fact, they seem pretty happy and well-adjusted (not that my FB friends aren’t).

I can always start a new account, using a different email. But that doesn’t help me get back to the literally 1700 “friends” I had on FB. Even more, there are several groups that I am the moderator of, that I can no longer contact. Even if I opened a new account I could not join those groups, because I am the administrator.

So, I think I will be off Facebook for a while. And for those of you who want or need to contact me, you can do it the old-fashioned way. The way we used to do it back in the dark ages.

Text me.

Ask. Seek. Knock. A movement towards intimacy.

Almost every Sunday I ask if there are any “prayer concerns” from the congregation. (I can do that because my congregations are small. Larger churches do it but in other areas- small groups, Sunday school classes, etc. And, like most places, people mention others- friends, families, community members who have special needs. Healing, comfort, peace. Occasionally reconciliation. They also mention larger issues. The need for rain in our communities in South Carolina, too much rain in the Midwest and Florida. War in Ukraine and Israel and Gaza. Gun violence…well…everywhere.

Rarely do they ask for prayer for themselves, but it does happen from time to time. “I’m having surgery…. I need a job…. My child is travelling off to college….” I’m not a fan of “unspoken prayer requests.” You do not know how to pray, what to pray. It reminds me of someone who may be hurting or mad but will not tell you why. It also reminds me of seeing people years ago on the “Christian TV” shows where they would have a huge pile of written prayer requests on a desk or table, the preacher would lay his hand on them and say something like “Lord, you know all these requests. Meet the needs of these brothers and sisters.” Later they would say, we prayed for 1200 people today. To me, that is like putting my hands on a globe and saying, “Lord, fix this place,” and then proclaiming that I have prayed for over eight billion people. (And I did it without mentioning a single name.)

I have been in smaller groups where people did pray for themselves. Most often it was for “things”- healing, comfort, guidance, peace. All good gifts from the Giver of Good Gifts. But after a while, it seems we do not go any further. Our prayers become a “shopping list” at the Divine Supermarket. (By the way, years ago Larry Bryant wrote a song with that title. Others have recorded it, but his version is the best. It will make you laugh, and probably make you uncomfortable, too. Here’s a link.)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8) Most people see that as Jesus saying the same thing three times- that is, ask, seek, and knock are all the same. Andrew Murray, in his classic With Christ in the School of Prayer, says that they are three different things.

Asking is requesting something- a gift. Healing, food, comfort, peace. The emphasis is on the gift. Seeking is looking for a person. Most of the instances of the word seek in the Bible refers to seeking God (“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart.”- Jeremiah 29:13; “Seek the Lord while he may be found.”- Isaiah 55:6; etc.). Seeking moves towards the Divine Being rather than the gift. I believe even Jesus’ teaching to “seek first the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness” refers to being in relationship with God. And knocking, according to Murray, is a form of entering into a dwelling with another. You knock on the door, it is opened, and you go in. It is dwelling or living with the one you have sought.

It seems to me that these three point towards a movement towards intimacy. We move from the gift to the giver, to being in a relationship with the giver.

For many of us, our prayer life has stayed at the ask phase. Maybe it is time for us to move a little closer.

A Meditation  for June 24

Do you remember the advertising slogan “Only (fill in the number) shopping days until Christmas”? It pretty much went out of fashion in the early 1970s. It was then that stores started opening on Sunday afternoon. Now, except for Hobby Lobby and Chic-Fil-A and a few others, most stores are open every day, all day. And with online shopping with overnight delivery à la Amazon, there are almost no times when you can’t get what you want immediately.

But it used to not be that way. You had to wait and plan and work and hope. And then, one not so surprising morning, you would wake up and there would be a new world for you, just waiting to be unwrapped.

By the way, that slogan was first used by Harry Gordon Selfridge, a manager at Marshall Field’s in Chicago and the founder of Selfridge’s in London. The television series Mr. Selfridge is a great show about him.

So…what does that have to do with June 24? June 24 is the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist. It is considered to be his birth date. Most of the saints have their Feast Day on the day of their death (the day they entered Heaven), but John the Baptist and Mary the Mother of Jesus are the only two who are celebrated on their birth day.

June 24 happens to be 6 months before Christmas Eve. Though the actual day of John’s birth is unknown, it is celebrated on this day because it foretells the coming of one who would introduce a new world later. John came before Jesus to get people ready. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the prophet Isaiah says

“A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
 Every valley shall be lifted up,
    and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
    and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5)

In the Christian Scriptures, John is baptizing people in the Jordan and the Jewish leaders come to find out who he was. The apostle John (don’t confuse the two) records this in John 1-

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed and did not deny it, but he confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”  He said,

“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ ” as the prophet Isaiah said. (John 1:19-23)

Not many places or people celebrate this Feast Day, but in those places where they do, they often build fires in the evening, sing, dance, eat, and share things with the needy. In some places, people go to worship, then come out, find a nearby body of water (river, lake, pool, ocean), and jump in, fully clothed. It is reminiscent of John’s baptism of people.

I have a suggestion- do things that show a new world is coming, and parts of it can be seen now. Do what John told people to do- share what you have with those in need. “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” It’s a little too hot to build fires where I am now, and I don’t want to jump in anything fully clothed. But you know, I can share what I do have. So can you.

And, by the way, don’t just give away what you don’t want or what is worn out. After all, if your brother or sister needed a shirt, would you give them one with a hole in it?

Then, take some time to dance, sing, eat, pray, and look forward to a day in the near future when a new world will be waiting for you to unwrap it.

Some Thoughts on Flag Day, June 14

I am writing this on Flag Day, June 14, 2024. June 14 has been declared Flag Day since 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson declared June 14 (the date in 1777 that the Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as our national flag) Flag Day. In 1948 Harry Truman signed into law Congressional legislation designating the same and calling on the President to make an annual Flag Day declaration. You can read President Biden’s Declaration here. A portion of it reads “ I urge all Americans to observe Flag Day and National Flag Week by displaying the flag and honoring all of our brave service members and revering those who gave their last full measure of devotion defending our freedoms.  I encourage the people of the United States to observe with pride and all due ceremony those days from Flag Day through Independence Day, set aside by the Congress (89 Stat. 211), as a time to honor the American spirit, to celebrate our history and the foundational values we strive to uphold, and to publicly recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.”

Our flag is used and misused in so many ways. It always amazes me that the same people who object to the flag being burned don’t seem to mind when they go to Myrtle Beach and see it used as a bikini or bathing suit.

We recite the Pledge of Allegiance, which begins with “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands….” ends with “with liberty and justice for all.” Then see the flag used as a weapon against fellow citizens, even used alongside other flags that speak against all we want to stand for.

I think the flag is misused more today than ever before.

July 3-5, 1970, I attended the second Atlanta Pop Festival at the Middle Georgia Raceway in Byron, Georgia, with some friends from high school. A quarter of a million people showed up. In the middle of the raceway was a giant flagpole with a huge American flag flying from it. On the first day some people had lowered the flag, turned it upside down, and raised it again. (This was during a time of protesting against our government’s policies, especially in regards to Viet Nam.) Leaders on the stage asked that it be turned around correctly, saying “We are here to show peace, love, music and unity and if the flag is flown upside down, that will be the only thing we see on the news.” They quickly set it aright.

One of the ways people showed their disdain and disagreement with the government back then was to burn the flag, which upset most of us. Strangely, a lot of those people who were upset called themselves Christians, but never seemed to be upset when people burned crosses.

I’ve come to think there are worse ways to disrespect our flag than burning it.

A few come to mind. Flying it upside down when you disagree with the rule of law. As mentioned above, using it physically as a weapon against other people. Flying it along with flags that were representative of groups or countries that fought to destroy us and harm the world. Wearing it as a badge of honor while dishonoring the people who died for what it stands for.

On the other hand, I’ve seen it flown in ways that make me proud. When seeing people working through the rubble of the Twin Towers, with the hope of finding more living victims, or recovering the bodies of those who died, bringing a little peace to the families and to the country. When flying above the rescue centers after natural disasters. When people wave them together and not at each others. And it brings tears to my eyes when I see all those flags flying in front of all those tombstones on Memorial Day.

Cathy and I have a small American flag that we fly from time to time outside our home. We fly it as it should be flown- not upside down, not touching the ground, not mixed with other symbols. Just a simple flag flown with the hope that one day, one day soon, there will be liberty and justice for all.