Not Sure about the Rapture

It's been a while, I know. We took a vacation right after Easter Sunday, traveling to Washington state to visit friends and relatives. I'm from Tacoma and Sara had never been to Washington so it was nice to finally go there. We had a great time wine tasting, hiking, taking in all we could of Seattle, visiting art museums and even going to a Mariners game (they won in the bottom of the 9th with two outs!).

Now we're back and it seems there's talk about the Rapture taking place tomorrow, May 21st at 6 pm. Of course it's already 6 pm on May 21st in some parts of the world so, like the Y2K thing, this just might be a false alarm. What I'm mostly wondering is why so much fuss about the end times and little sense of urgency about what we are doing with our lives right now? I mean, now is what we've got. So here's a simple question that might help. What is it that you are most passionate about that is BIGGER than your own life? What are you doing about it?

Sara is passionate about her work as Executive Director of the Imperial Valley Food Bank. Rightly so. About 30% of our county suffers from "food anxiety," a term meaning people who aren't sure they will eat today. Meeting the needs of all those people is daunting, but it is Sara's passion, and ability to organize for effectiveness that has created a "small but mighty" (her words) food bank staff committed to getting the work done. And the gifts and donations we make lead to a great feeling knowing we are making a difference in the lives of people in need.

Today she is coming home from Jackson Mississippi. She was there for a training sponsored by Feeding America. I've missed her!

Now, one thing I'm able to do whenever Sara travels is eat some food that she is allergic to. Shellfish in particular,which is something I really enjoy. So...last night I picked up some shrimp, couple of tomatoes, peas and linguine and made a simple but flavorful dish for dinner. Here's how I made it:

Heat water for the linguine. Dice the tomatoes, unshell the shrimp, chop a clove or two of garlic and heat a skillet with a little olive oil. When hot cook the garlic until fragrant and toss in the tomatoes. Cook for a minute and add about a cup of white wine. When bubbling add the peas and bring back to bubbling. Add a little salt and pepper. Add in the shrimp and cook until pink. Remove from heat. Drain the pasta (it should have been cooking during this time, did I mention that?) and add the shrimp and sauce. Plate. Parmesan cheese if you will. This goes great with Chardonnay if you enjoy a glass of wine with dinner.

Is Heaven for Real?

Every Wednesday night we have Family Night at the church. People come and we have dinner followed by Bible study. One of the nights I made homemade soup. Asparagus. One of our church members is an asparagus farmer, and is known world wide for his asparagus. Once in a while I get some of his delicious crop, and when I do it's usually a much larger quantity than I would normally buy at the market so, hence, the soup.

During our Bible study the question came up about a book that is making the rounds called, "Heaven is for Real!" It's the story of a child, Colton, who has a near-death experience and spends time in heaven.  Of course there are lots of books about heaven, and what it's like. In fact there was a huge interest in heaven within Postexilic Jewish literature. Books such as 1 Enoch, 2 Enoch, Testament of Abraham and 3 Baruch describe heavenly journeys. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Revelation are three books in the Bible that describe heavenly encounters. "90 Minutes in Heaven" is another recent account of a heavenly journey.

Since I had read "Heaven is for Real!" I was asked what I thought about the book. While I cannot, or will not critique the account of little Colton, I will comment on what are some common misconceptions about heaven based on what Scripture really says about it.

I think most of us think of heaven as a place we hopefully go to after we die. But the scriptural understanding of heaven is more like being in the eternal presence of God. Yes, we hear that we will go to a place called heaven (or hell, which is another discussion altogether), but we are also told that the Kingdom of Heaven is here, and "in our hearts." We read in Revelation that there will ultimately be a "new heaven and new earth" suggesting that even heaven falls under the judgement and redemption of God.

The Gospel of Matthew is a panoramic story of the conflict between two "kingdoms" (note that "kingdom" is a verbal noun that refers more specifically to power and not territory--the term "kingdom of God" could be better understood as "reign" or "rule" of God), the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan (or kingdoms of the world). That is to say heaven is not a place, but a state of being. Discipleship, following the way of Jesus Christ, is the work we do in partnership with God in reclaiming God's rule over the rule of anyone or anything else. In our Lord's Prayer we pray "thy Kingdom come on earth as in heaven."

I believe we don't have to wait to go to heaven, or that our primary work is to make sure we get into heaven, but, rather, to participate in the kingdom-building good news Jesus proclaimed and lived out.

Which brings me back to Colton's experience.

I don't know who's to say what we will experience when we die, or have a heavenly encounter often referred to as a near-death experience. I DO know that Jesus told the bandit on the other cross that he would join Jesus that day in Paradise, and not heaven. Maybe these heavenly descriptions are paradise descriptions. I say that because scripture tells us that there will be a marriage of heaven and earth, a NEW heaven and NEW earth on the last day when all the dead shall be raised. In the meantime perhaps it is paradise to which we go when we die, and paradise that Colton experienced. And just maybe paradise is a place that reflects our own understanding of it as well as our own goodness, which is ultimately a reflection of God's glory.

All I really know is sometimes a delicious bowl of asparagus soup with family and friends feels like paradise. And maybe heaven as well.

Here's how I made it. (How I make most soups)

1 small onion chopped
1 lb asparagus (or other veg) chopped

heat 2tbsp of Olive oil in a dutch oven and cook the onions until soft, then add the asparagus and cook until aromatic.

I usually add some marjoram, cooking until fragrant and then add broth, about 6 cups.

Add a bay leaf and bring to a simmer and simmer for an hour.

Remove the bay leaf and either use an immersion blender or, in batches, use a blender to "cream" the soup.

You can add a little cream or half and half if you like. I usually don't to keep the calories and fat to a minimum.

I serve with some homemade croutons and shaved Parmesan.

Wednesday Night Piemaking

Bob, a good friend of ours who had moved with his wife Nancy to South Carolina a couple of years ago, came to visit us recently. For two nights we had good food and good conversation sitting out on the back patio, enjoying the warm weather. In the course of our sharing on one of those nights we began talking about holidays and holiday traditions. You see, the reason Bob was in our neighborhood was his son, Mike, had moved from South Carolina back to Southern California and Bob had helped with the move. We were getting caught up with all the family doings and Bob happened to mention that, though they would miss Mike and Mike's family (especially the grand-babies), a family tradition would carry on. Now you have to know Bob and his rough and tough exterior to get the fullness of his comment about family traditions. Bob's nickname is "Big Dog." I hope you get the picture. Of course we asked what that particular tradition was. "Baking pies on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving," came the answer. But is was not Nancy baking the pies. It was Bob. Big Dog Bob. And he made several pies, not just one or two. And now Mike, his son, was carrying on the tradition of making pies on the eve of Thanksgiving.

The conversation reminded me of how important family traditions can be. Why? I suppose there are different answers to the question, but I'm quite sure they all center on the feeling of connectedness we feel when we continue a family tradition. And traditions can come out of nowhere. Two Christmases ago we watched the film "Love Actually," and it stuck as a sort of family tradition. Baseball season has begun and my wife and I watch the film "Major League" to get into the spirit, a sort of family tradition I think.

We Christians have another family tradition. We call it various names, The Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, Eucharist. Whenever I take part in the Lord's Supper with others I am reminded of how connected we are through the simple act of sharing bread, sharing wine. Of how that connection transcends time and space. Of how that connection brings the gift of wholeness, healing and joy. And that connection is there even in the worst of times. And I believe that all of our family traditions somehow are connected to this one. And that's a good thing.

In the spirit of pie-making I'm sharing a favorite recipe of mine, a free form fruit pie that we had with Bob during his visit. You can go to www.cooksillustrated.com to get the basic recipe. They call it a "Free Form Summer Fruit Tart." One of the secret ingredients I use in making my pie crust, and not mentioned in the recipe, is to add 1 Tbs vodka to the dough in place of some of the water. Trust me, it makes for a really flaky crust. Enjoy!

Comfort Food

It's been a rough week. I led memorial services for two families whose mothers had recently died. One on Friday and one on Saturday. At the same time we were all hearing about the devastating 9.0 earthquake in Japan. 9.0. We experienced a 7.2 earthquake here in El Centro last Easter Sunday. The Japan quake was significantly greater. I wasn't sure how these things are measured, but I discovered that the TNT (dynamite) equivalent for a 7.2 is about 943 kilotons. For a 9.0 it is about 474 MEGAtons. I cannot imagine that kind of energy release, the damage, the human loss. The world is responding to Japan with aid in all kinds of forms. Our church is responding by contributing to a designated fund opened by UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). 100% of the donations go to relief efforts in Japan. I'm  hoping and praying for a full recovery for the people of Japan.

Sunday we had friends over for dinner and I was craving what many of us call "comfort food." What is it? I think it's different for us all, but the one thing in common with comfort food is it reminds us of "home", and home reminds us of a sense of belonging, safety, security, and love. (Home being that place real or imagined for each of us)

Have you ever wondered why food plays such an important role in the life of Jesus? Maybe it's a reminder of all that is good about "home." Food and home seem to go together.

One of my great childhood memories of what I'd call home was going to my Grandmother's house. She baked her own bread and put up her own preserves. She had a boysenberry bramble at the back of the yard where she picked the fruit to make jam.  Sometimes we kids would help, but we usually ate more than we saved! There was nothing like entering the back door of here home, which into the kitchen, and smelling the aroma of fresh baked bread. There was nothing like having a piece of toast with homemade boysenberry jam. I think in those moments and memories we catch a glimpse of heaven. Home. Heaven. Same place as far as I'm concerned.

Fat Tuesday

Tuesday morning Sara and I were having breakfast and she asked, "So, what will we do for Fat Tuesday?" Fat Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday is a long standing tradition in many cultures honoring the beginning of Lent. I had never really experienced Fat Tuesday when growing up, but Sara had. She grew up in York, Pennsylvania, and attended the Moravian church there. Each year on the eve of Ash Wednesday the members would gather and have donuts. Yes, donuts. But not just any ordinary donut. Called "Fastnachts" they are a yeasty, potato/flour donut. Traditionally they were made as a way of emptying the pantry of eggs, butter, sugar and other items that were to be given up for Lent. Our conversation got me to thinking about what kind of a family tradition we could start as we readied ourselves to celebrate the beginning of Lent. Fastnachts are pretty labor intensive. Overnight rest, multiple risings, etc. make these Pennsylvania Dutch delicacies difficult for a pastor with a busy schedule preparing for Ash Wednesday worship and the like. I have heard that other traditions made pancakes their Fat Tuesday/ShroveTuesday dinner so I thought, "Why not crepes?"  Perhaps rivaling Fastnachts in Sara's mind they are a fancy pancake (at least I think they are), but they're not too difficult to master. And they can be filled with either sweet or savory ingredients. "Perfect," I thought. I planned to make savory crepes with a cheesy, veggie, meaty filling, depending on what I had on hand in the fridge. I found a great recipe for crepes at Cooks Illustrated (cooksillustrated.com) and knew I had all I needed for our first Griffen Family Fat Tuesday dinner. But then I realized I had NO time to go home and make the crepe batter before I had to be back at church for meetings (I told you I was busy!). And then it hit me: I'll call home, and if Evan (our son) is there he can make the batter. I called. He was home. We began. "Evan, put your phone on speakerphone." "Ok." I read him the recipe. "Take two whole eggs and put them into the food processor." Evan asked, "Do I put them in whole or do I crack them first?" That is when I realized I'd done a lousy job of teaching him how to cook. "Crack them. Add the milk, water, flour, a little salt and melted butter." The key to the recipe and the reason I couldn't do this myself is the batter needs to "rest" for a couple of hours. It relaxes the gluten and makes for a tender crepe. With the batter made and stored in the fridge for a two hour rest I attended my meetings and came home to make our Fat Tuesday crepes.

Family traditions are important. It's why we do them. They bind us together with something, or someone, that is bigger than ourselves. They are the kind of things we can do even when we are far apart. And family traditions almost always include food. Food was important to Jesus as far as I can tell. He was always out eating with someone and it didn't matter to him who that person was. Which is to say ALL people mattered to Jesus. Yes that got him into trouble with the church leaders, but I got the message that food is way more important than simply meeting a dietary need. It's a very human thing too.Which is to say a very humane thing to do. It's the ultimate of hospitality. And wouldn't it be nice if our world became a little more hospitable? I know that in our hurried lives the idea of sitting down for a meal with family is often more of a hope than a reality. Maybe this Lenten Season we can all make the effort to sit down together and share a family meal a little more often. May it be a blessing on our journey.

Is Generosity Compulsory?

While checking Facebook the other day I saw a post that was arguing against tax hikes for the wealthiest group of Americans. The argument was that, since this group is already accounting for 59% of all tax revenue they are already paying a fair share. What wasn't included in the argument was the fact that this group controls about 95% of the wealth. I commented that we are arguing about the wrong issue.

As a nation that claims to be mostly Christian, I find it hypocritical that the wealthy resist efforts to help those less fortunate when those efforts are made through legislation. In conversation with others it became clear that their issue, a political one, was whether something like generosity should be compulsory, that is, something legislated as in a tax code.

Even though there are multiple issues here, I would argue that central to them is the Christian understanding of generosity. It seems to me that if one claims to be Christian one is saying their life is being lived in a way that reflects the Christian ethos. And the Christian ethos makes it clear that generosity is imperative. That is, you cannot be Christian and ungenerous. But is generosity compulsory?

I think we'd all like to believe that generosity shouldn't need to be "required, mandatory, obligatory, required by law or a rule." But, remembering John Wesley's belief that "we are all moving on to perfection" is it too much of a stretch to recognize that generosity is not always something that happens naturally?

For example, a sign company was hired to create signage for a local non-profit. The non-profit paid in advance for the work to be done. Now, one might argue that that was not a good business decision on the part of the non-profit. But the non-profit took the Christian symbol on the sign company's business card (along with the Bible quotes on the back) as evidence the sign company was legitimate. It turns out they weren't. They did no work. They gave a false address and phone number. They simply took the money and ran.

Some would argue there ought to be a law against such behaviors and that is my point. While generosity is clearly an important aspect of Christian identity (see Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 25:34-40 and Proverbs 22:9 for example) it doesn't mean that accountability isn't required while we move on to perfection.

We need rules and laws to help us grown in awareness of what it means to be fair and even-handed. Christian Tradition has always maintained the necessity of disciplined spiritual growth. Scripture is filled with examples of required, mandatory, obligatory behaviors that, I believe, are for good reason.

I'm tired of the current conversation about taxes, about who should pay what. Why isn't the conversation more like, "I've received so much and  I want to give back in order to help others."? In the end it comes to what one of my friends said, "It's all about attitude." And I believe that a proper Christian attitude exhibits the fullness of generosity. Do we do that all the time? I know I don't. That's why I'm forever grateful for God's gift of grace, and I'm also grateful for the reminder that generosity is not an option. Compulsory? I think so. At least for now.