Not Off the Hook Yet!
In the 17th chapter of the Book of Exodus is a verse that echoes down the centuries to our present day. The people of Israel, set free from long captivity in Egypt, are wandering in the desert, and they do what they have come to do best; they complain. In verse 7 we read, “He [Moses] called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?” That question is still very much a part of the fabric of our lives, this question of whether or not God is among us, or with us, or for us. We want to know because so much depends on the answer to it. Never mind that the Apostle Paul already answered it so eloquently in Romans 8:31 “(NRSV) What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us”
Paul speaks in the context of Christ’s resurrection when he says “God who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”
Is God among us or not? For Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, the answer was “no more” as they embarked on their way to anoint Jesus’ body three days after he had been laid in the tomb. Mixed in with their deep grief, the three women might have experienced also a sense of relief: relief that it was over, and that in many ways their lives would return to “normal”.
No more traveling ahead of Jesus and his disciples to organize food and lodging for the night. No more exposing themselves to the taunts of people hostile to Jesus and the new faith he preached. No more enduring the criticism and condemnation they experienced at the hands of many religious leaders and their Roman friends.
No more. Done with this difficult business of following Jesus. Done with the tedious task of turning the world upside down due to the excitement Jesus’ teaching about God and his Kingdom stirred in people’s hearts and minds. Jesus was dead: crucified and buried on Friday. The journey was over.
Or is it? The two Mary’s and Salome arrived at the tomb, finding the heavy stone that had covered the entrance rolled away. And instead of Jesus, they find a messenger from God sitting there, waiting for them. And the message he has is far from proclaiming that the journey is over: “Don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.” (Matthew 28:5-6)
These three faithful disciples of Jesus realize suddenly that their lives will not return to normal, but that their journey of following Jesus will last for the rest of their lives. God had a message for the women to bring to the disciples, hiding from anyone and in fear in the Upper Room: “Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” (Matthew 28:7)
Nobody is off the hook from following Jesus: not Mary Magdalene, nor Mary the mother of James, nor Salome, and most definitely neither you nor me. Is it any wonder the women rush out of the empty tomb “and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
Is God among us or not? For the Apostle Paul and through him for us, there is no shadow of doubt. For us, the people of the Reed City United Methodist Church, living in the days after Easter, the message is loud and clear: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39)
Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
God is (still) on the Move
The season of Lent brings us a chance to move inward as we move toward the cross. During Lent we move deeper into the biblical story of Jesus’ journey on earth, as well as into our own inward landscape to see things God wants to show us about ourselves.
Over the next seven weeks we discover how God is still on the move, both in the world as well as in our lives. When God took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, God moved into a whole new neighborhood and set of experiences. Together we look at Jesus’ first move in his ministry, his move into the desert. Jesus didn’t stay in one place for long. His earthly ministry was one of moving from one place and encounter to the next. He also moved through every part of the human experience, encountering everything from temptation, to joy, to suffering and even death.
This year’s Lenten series helps us reclaim the movement of Jesus’ ministry from temptation to condemnation, through his teaching and miracles and finally through the story of his death and resurrection. As we encounter the life and ministry of Jesus, we cannot stay the same. We ourselves are moved to grow and change as followers and imitators of the gospel.
The comforting truth of Lent is that as we delve deeper into our own self-examination, we find that we are not alone. God is still on the move in our lives, walking with us every step as we travel the road to Easter.
Looking forward to going on this journey together,
Pastor Daniel
“And Who is My Neighbor”
Wouldn’t it be great if we could meet with Jesus face-to-face and ask him burning questions about our daily lives? Alas, we cannot do that face-to-face but only indirectly by searching the Scriptures. In the Gospel of Luke, we find one such instance when a lawyer approaches Jesus to ask his question. Now we understand that the term “lawyer” can have all kinds of connotations in our day and age, so we might be better off by referring to this man as an “expert in the law”, which he apparently was.
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” (Luke 10:25-28)
The question being raised by the expert of the law has an ulterior motive: ‘he came forward to test him.’ The question itself is very good question, perhaps one we have pondered in our own hearts and minds at times; “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
January 27th marked the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Concentration Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau by members of the Red Army. In consequent weeks and months, both the Allied Forces and the Russian Red Army liberated many more such concentration camps, whose sole purpose was to incarcerate, torture, and exterminate people of all walks of life, but primarily Jewish men, women, and children.
And ever since those days and weeks of liberating these Nazi death camps, people have been asking this one, central question: “How on earth could something like this ever happen?”
One answer to this question was given by Martin Luther King Jr. in a sermon in gave in 1965 in Selma, Alabama. Speaking the day after what has become known as ‘Bloody Sunday’, Dr. King said (among many other excellent things),
“A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right.
A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice.
A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.”
This sounds in many ways similar to what happens in the conversation between Jesus and the expert of the law/lawyer. The man knows his Bible and quotes the appropriate passages, and Jesus commends him for it. “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But then comes ulterior motive number 2: ‘But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”’
It is in this context that Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan, a story with 6 very different characters. There is a man going on a journey, then there are the robbers attacking him and leaving him for dead on the road. Next come two representatives of the religious community, namely a priest and a Levite who ‘passed by on the other side’.
Eventually, a much-despised Samaritan comes a across the wounded and helpless man, binds up his wounds and takes him to be cared for by an inn keeper at the Samaritan’s own expense, all because “he was moved with pity.”
I wonder if the contemporary Christian community can still be moved to pity and do that which is right, just, and true? How about it, Reed City United Methodist Church?
May the God of Love and Justice be with us all.
Pastor Daniel
Prayer at the Close of One Year and the Start of a New Year
Gracious God,
As we come to the close of another year, we want to make it the prayer of our hearts that you would abide with us.
We thank you that you have been with us through the days of this past year. Perhaps at times we have not felt you near or even felt that you have forsaken us and forgotten us, and we thank you that it has never been so.
We thank you that you are constantly with your people, and that you have enabled us to persevere in grace. You have heard our prayers, comforted our hearts, and have come so often to our aid.
We pray that you will go with us into this new year. None of us knows what the new year will hold, but we thank you that every moment of that year is in your hands, and you will be with your people. We thank you that we can go forward with confidence and in your peace. We pray that you will help us to walk with you in this new year better than we have ever done before. As the days of the new year unfold, guide us to an ever-closer walk with you. Help us to put sin to death, and gladly yield our lives unreservedly to Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Have mercy, we pray, upon those connected with us who come to the end of this year and their hearts are still closed against you, still hardening their hearts against you. Grant that this new year would mark the beginning of new life in Jesus Christ.
Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, and give them courage and hope in their troubles, and bring them the joy of your salvation.
Heavenly Father, accept the prayers of your people, and strengthen us to do you will, through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN
I look forward to journey with you in 2025!
Pastor Daniel
Anticipation
I do not remember the exact age I was when I discovered some of the true meaning of Christmas. Through deduction as well as careful investigation, I came upon the hiding place where my parents had placed the Christmas presents after purchasing them, but prior to carefully wrapping them up. I eagerly went through the shopping bags and boxes, discovering things like sweaters, handknit socks, warm mittens, and other such necessary but unexciting things. I saw the toys intended for my brother, but where were my longed-for presents? I put everything back in its proper place, covering my tracks, so to speak, and disappointedly shut the doors to the huge wardrobe my parents had hidden the forthcoming blessings.
Christmas Eve came, and my parents banished us children to our bedrooms while they set up and decorated the live Christmas tree. We were released from our ‘captivity’ and ate supper together before entering the living room with the Christmas tree. My mother lit the candles, while father kept a bucket of water ready, just in case the candles and branches might misbehave. I read the Christmas story as told by Luke, and we basked and marveled at the beauty and magic of the lit Christmas tree. Then it was time to open the presents, and my troubles began!
My big problem was that I had not thought about how difficult it would be to fake enthusiasm or excitement over every present I received, and whose content I already knew! I had robbed myself of the gift of anticipation, of guessing and waiting and hoping for what was to come.
In the long centuries following the prophet Isaiah’s words about what God was going to do for his people Israel, the anticipation grew with every new generation. Isaiah had spoken this prophecy: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.
For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.” (Isaiah 9:2, 6-7)
Who would this child whose light was about to break forth be? Where was that ‘endless peace’ that they so desperately longed for? And wouldn’t it be grand if there would finally be true justice and righteousness in the land?
The season of Advent we are about to begin is such a time of anticipation for us in the church. Advent means a coming or arrival of the (then) first and (now) second coming of Christ, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. John the Evangelist tells us in his Gospel that the long anticipated light had come and shone forth into the darkness of the world: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)
May this season of Advent and Christmas bring true light and peace into your lives, as together we anticipate the (second) coming of Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Wishing us all a blessed and joyful Season of Anticipation!
Pastor Daniel
To Keep Going Without Ever Giving Up Pastor’s Column
All things considered, the Apostle Paul was an amazing man of God! While not one of the original twelve Apostles, one can easily make the argument that he was the most influential Apostle. Let’s look at just some of what this remarkable man of God did:
• Paul went on four missionary journeys in which he evangelized an area that covered modern day Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. He accomplished this without the aid of planes, trains or automobiles!
• He wrote half the New Testament, and he wrote many of his letters from jail.
• He faced tremendous opposition along the way, preaching at a time when Christians were persecuted simply for proclaiming the name of Jesus, but Paul never stopped.
• Paul was, outside of Jesus, the most influential person of the 1st century church.
To give you an example of the opposition, by Paul’s own account he said, “I have worked harder than any of them. I have served more prison sentences! I have been beaten times without number. I have faced death again and again. I have been beaten the regulation thirty-nine stripes by the Jews five times. I have been beaten with rods three times. I have been stoned once. I have been shipwrecked three times. I have been twenty-four hours in the open sea. In my travels I have been in constant danger from rivers and floods, from bandits, from my own countrymen, and from pagans. I have faced danger in city streets, danger in the desert, danger on the high seas, danger among false Christians. I have known exhaustion, pain, long vigils, hunger and thirst, going without meals, cold and lack of clothing.” That is enough to crush anyone. No mere human could suffer all of that without the Grace of God to do it. Paul endured it while focused on the Body of Christ. “Apart from all external trials I have the daily burden of responsibility for all the churches.”
Even while suffering and imprisoned, Paul was focused on others and not himself. Through it all, Paul kept the focus on God: “Oh, if I am going to boast, let me boast of the things which have shown up my weakness!” (2Corinthians 11:23-31). Paul learned that when he was weak (humanly speaking), he was able to be made strong by the Grace of God.
So what does this mean for us, the people of the Reed City UMC, today? The message is simple: we have the Grace to keep going. Never give up! Paul held on to the end. In his last letter he said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). He knew what his assignment was, and he also knew when it had been completed. In this same letter to Timothy, he said the following to his spiritual son: “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus… Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” What was Paul doing? He was helping Timothy get mentally and spiritually prepared for the challenges he would face on the road to fulfilling his own life’s assignment. The same can be said for us. We will face challenges, but we will not quit! The only way we can ever truly lose is if when we quit! And, like Paul, we won’t be able to do it on our own. Without the Grace of God, we will succumb to the pressures of the enemy. But with the Grace of God, we will be able to keep going, even when the pressure is on, and the temptation is to quit.
“Pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14), I am glad to be on this journey together with you.
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
God’s Perfect Pitch by Pastor Daniel Hofmann
I want to talk to you about pitching. I am not talking about pitching for just any old team but pitching for God’s team. And the pitch I have in mind has very little to do with baseball, but a lot with prayer. The longer I follow Jesus as a disciple, the more I am convinced that one of the top ingredients for effective and relevant churches today is that of being and staying in tune with God. Prayer is how we as followers of Christ and as churches get in tune with God. Leonard Sweet in his book, Faith Quakes, writes ‘that our body is an instrument, tuned for the right pitch, which is God’s pitch.” Sweet uses the image of a Christian holding a tuning fork in one hand, and a pitchfork in the other hand. The image of the pitchfork may be rather obvious. Leonard Sweet writes that “a true prayer is not something one does with one’s lips but what one does with one’s life.” The Christian life is a life in action. We proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ not only with our lips, but also by what we do with our hands, our bodies. We are familiar with the saying that “action speaks louder than words.” By the same token, though, one cannot support with one’s body what has not been discerned in and through prayer. To engage in Christian action without any sense of direction and purpose is to be a mere busybody.
Hence the tuning fork.
We get out of tune with God’s perfect pitch quite easily. Christians aren’t immune to sin, those acts of willful and conscious disobedience to God’s love and grace. Prayer becomes the instrument whereby we lift our lives toward God and get in tune with God’s will for our lives (and for our churches). By ourselves we will fail in this endeavor; but when we keep our eyes on Jesus we can get back in tune with God. To quote from Leonard Sweet’s book again, “Jesus is our tuning fork for the eternal. Jesus is God’s Perfect Pitch.”
My sincere wish is that we are willing to seek God’s heart and mind this fall and beyond. By striving to attain God’s Perfect Pitch by measuring ourselves on Jesus, we can be tuned for constructive and body-building harmony as God’s people here in Reed City and far beyond. What do you think could happen if Reed City UMC committed itself to weekly prayer meetings and to a sincere and fervent prayer life of its people? Don’t keep your thoughts to yourself; share them with me and talk with others about what you are going to do with your prayer life!
Altered Reality, by Pastor Daniel Hofmann
The Old Testament book of Ezekiel has held a fascination for me for as long as I remember. Ezekiel served in his dual role as priest and as prophet during the devastating period of the Babylonian Exile of Israel, roughly 593-571 BCE. Ezekiel witnessed things that completely shattered his understanding and beliefs on how the world operated. And God said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great detestable sins that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater detestable sins” (Ezekiel 8:6). There are days and moments when the world I live in simply doesn’t make all that much sense anymore. It feels at times as if I had been placed in some altered reality game, or an especially mindboggling science fiction novel, desperately trying to find meaning and purpose in what I hear and see and experience. How about your own perception of the present state of the world we live in? Does it feel overwhelming at times to filter through the incessant flow of news stories that flash across our screens or reach our ears? What keeps you up during an odd hour of the night? What brings you peace and joy day in and day out? The thing that fascinates me perhaps the most with Ezekiel is his unshakeable faith that God would intervene in history to his people and set straight and correct all that is presently upside down and crooked. I gladly refer you to chapter 47 of his book to give you just a glimpse of what I mean by Ezekiel’s deep sense of God’s unfailing love and grace. I get that same sense from the apostle Paul when he writes in his second letter to the church in Corinth: So we do not lose heart/hope. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). My constant prayer is that God will give me the strength needed every day to offer up hope and encouragement to God’s people in a vastly altered reality of the world around us, just as the priest and prophet Ezekiel did in his own day and time long ago. I feel a strong sense of being in the presence of a kindred spirit as I spend time with this prophet. Will you let me know how I may assist you on your journey with Christ? What brings you joy in your daily living, and what fears keep you up at night? I am grateful you and I can share this stretch of our path together for the time being. May God continue to bless us and keep us encouraged and radiant and hopeful.
Altered Reality, Part 2, by Pastor Daniel Hofmann
In last month’s column I wrote about the Altered Reality we experience in our world and our society at present. An altered reality refers to a state of perception or experience that differs from the conventional or shared understanding of reality. In this month’s column I want to write about how we perceive the church, both universally and locally. The church, and specifically the United Methodist Church of which we are a part, has changed significantly over the past decade. Like our society at large, we as United Methodists have seen our denomination and our local congregations “sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up, ‘How Long?’” as we sing in one of our hymns (The Church’s One Foundation, Number 545). We talk about church life in terms of pre-Covid 19 and post-Pandemic these days, and there are definite differences between now and then. Before the Covid 19 pandemic, we saw our sanctuaries filled with worshipers of all ages, and the services enhanced with choirs and special music. PostPandemic we generally have twice as many people attend our Sunday services remotely, that is, online, instead of filling our sanctuaries. As the Michigan Conference and the Central Bay District, we have diminished in size due to disaffiliations of sister congregations over the past few years. Fewer pastors choose to be ordained as Elders, which puts added responsibilities and duties beyond the local congregations the remaining Ordained Elders (as your current pastor is) are serving. This is neither fair to the congregation nor to the pastors but is currently part of the reality. Many of our local congregations struggle attracting families with children, and in many congregations we bemoan the lack of youths and young adults. What is a local congregation like Reed City United Methodist to do? Well, one way in which we can alter the current reality is by learning to work together as local congregations. Reed City and Hersey UMCs held their Vacation Bible School together. In what other areas might we combine our efforts and become stronger and more effective in reaching the world for Christ when we choose to work together? In Osceola County we have eight (8) United Methodist congregations, all of them grieving the past, and wondering what tomorrow will bring. What if Reed City made the first step and invited the other 7 congregations to dream, plan, and brainstorm ways whereby we could strengthen and encourage each other, and find solutions to reaching our communities for Christ? I know I have dusted off my thinking cap and am thinking and planning and working towards that end of joining our forces together. What are your thoughts on this? What ideas, dreams, and hopes do you bring to the table? Will you share them with me, either by emailing me, or by calling me, or better yet, drop by and visit together? May God continue to bless us and keep us encouraged and radiant and hopeful. In HIS service we stand together!
‘If I Do Not Have Love’
As Summer is upon us, and political elections and theological debates are heating up with the temperatures, I have observed that the one key ingredient that is missing from our conversations and debates is this crazy little thing called LOVE. I am greatly troubled by the lack of love and compassion among many Christians that believe the Bible and fight for the truth.
People within and outside the United Methodist Church are willing to do just about anything in order to establish their position, even if it means the harm and detriment to their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is certainly still true when it comes to the issue of human sexuality (and specifically LGBTQ+ persons) and how we as individual Christians and as committed and traditional congregations ought to respond to societal changes.
I am reminded of the sobering words of the Apostle Paul from his first letter to the Corinthians in what is commonly known as the “Love Chapter”.
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. (1 Corinthians 13.1-3, New Living Translation)
Likewise, Paul gives us valuable advice on having fruitful conversations with each other, especially when we don’t see eye to eye: Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4.5-6)
We will undoubtedly have difficult conversations about faith matters in the months and years to come. Human sexuality is just one of the ‘hot topics’ we currently need to wrestle with. But can you and I commit ourselves to having conversations about difficult issues and topics in the spirit of Christian love, and with our words being gracious, seasoned with the salt of love for one another?
Quite frankly, nothing else will do. May we always remember that God is bigger than anything that may separate and divide us, for [these] light momentary affliction[s] [are] preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4.17-18)
Privileged to walk on this road together with you,
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
'May we not love alike?'
Bishop Bard’s Column
This month’s newsletter column is a slightly shortened piece our Michigan Area Bishop, David Bard, wrote following the closing of General Conference. His words provide a good overview of what happened, and the work of this General Conference will guide us in the coming months and years. Thank you for taking the time to read Bishop Bard’s insights.
Pastor Daniel
I write this one day following the adjournment of the postponed 2020 General Conference of The United Methodist Church. General Conference is the highest decision-making body for our denomination, whose work is to revise our Book of Discipline and offer other policy guidance and resolutions. Though it typically meets every four years, we have not had a regular session since 2016 due to COVID-19. A special session was held in 2019.
This General Conference was unlike any other I have attended. In 1972, language was inserted into The Book of Discipline’s Social Principles that the practice of homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.” At that time, homosexuality was still classified in the psychiatric community as a disorder, and biblical scholarship on the subject was developing. Our denomination has been embroiled in debates about this matter since. Attempts to acknowledge differing scripturally and theologically grounded viewpoints were consistently defeated at General Conference, and more language restricting ministry and limiting participation in the church continued to be added.
All that changed at this General Conference, and it changed with a remarkably good spirit. Restrictive and exclusionary language has been taken out. Pastors will now be able to officiate at the weddings of parishioners without worrying that if those parishioners are in a same-sex relationship, they could face ecclesial charges. Persons can respond to the call of God on their lives, and boards of ordained ministry can discern those calls, regardless of the sexual orientation of the person being called. We now genuinely agree to disagree without fear of church penalties and punitive processes. Disagreements have not disappeared, but the table has been expanded. We can be a church with people who are more traditional and more progressive without the threat of church disciplinary processes over these matters.
Another way we have moved to change our worldwide denomination is by approving a more regional governance structure. When all the relevant constitutional amendments are ratified, different parts of The United Methodist Church will be allowed to make regional decisions about a wide range of matters, while our fundamental doctrines and structures remain intact. We have not changed our doctrinal standards, remaining rooted in Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. Yet future General Conferences will be able to focus on worship, celebration, and basic governance without forcing delegates from outside the United States to listen to lengthy debates about issues pertinent only to the United States, such as the pension plan for U.S. clergy or matters of U.S. law.
While many celebrate the changes made at this General Conference, I recognize not all do. The church has always had disagreements, as reflected in many of Paul’s letters. What this General Conference did was to acknowledge that some issues over which we have been fighting for many years are, in some respects, issues over which there might be genuine disagreement, and we are, in the words of Paul, letting “all be fully convinced in their own minds” (Romans 14:5, NRSVUE).
We are finding new ways to live in the Wesleyan spirit: “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences” (“Catholic Spirit,” a sermon by John Wesley).
The gospel is audacious, offering God’s wide and wild love in Jesus to the world. Knowing such love changes us profoundly or is intended to do so. And God’s beloved community is always a missional community. We break down dividing walls, not simply to enjoy one another’s company but to witness to a divided world where all persons are created in the image of God and loved by God in Jesus Christ. We have good news to share and to live out. Being part of the beloved community in the church, we seek to extend it into the world, offering healing to the broken, food to the hungry, justice to the oppressed, and peace and reconciliation to the divided. God’s beloved community in Jesus is a missional community. Our joyful journey continues, and I am delighted to share it with you.
Gain a better understanding of what is going on in The United Methodist Church, find inspiration in stories of ministry and learn how our denomination is transforming the world.
The Recap / Post-General Conference episode (umc.org)
Why We Do Not Lose Hope
I watch the livestream of the 2024 General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, as I write this month’s reflections. I must confess that I am not a particular fan of the legislative process in general. Yes, I fully realize that it is a necessary process, but that does not equate automatically great enthusiasm on my part. Observing how we get so often hung up in the minutiae of written or spoken words, large amounts of time and energy are expended for certain business items, and too little time on that which may be difficult or unpopular to deal with.
That doesn’t take place at a global General Conference, of course, but also on the local and personal level from time to time. There is no conspiracy behind any of this, no intentional disinformation strategy, or any such things. We could chalk it up to the category of “it’s in human nature” and accept it as a fact of everyday life.
What do we do with the incessant flood of images and reports that flood before our eyes and minds every single day of our lives, whether we search for them, or they come to us unbidden and as an intrusion? We are now such a connected world that anything happening in even the remotest part of the earth will become immediately newsworthy around the globe. I know that many people feel overwhelmed and helpless before the onslaught of non-stop news.
These things have been weighing on my mind a lot in recent weeks, and as I turn to Scripture for guidance and wisdom to handle the many issues before us as a world and as a society, I was reminded of some words in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
That is why we do not lose heart (or hope) in whatever situation we may find ourselves, because we focus on the things we cannot yet see, trusting in God our Creator to walk with us towards the future that only God knows is just beyond our horizon.
May God bless us and keep us as we live as people of trust and a future with hope.
Pastor Daniel
CHRIST IS RISEN! SO WHAT?
Easter Sunday has once again come and gone. Hopefully the glorious music and worship keep lingering in your hearts and spirits as they do in mine. Among many of the things said on Easter Sunday was the reminder to greet one another often with the traditional Easter greeting, “Christ is risen!” To which a parishioner once replied “Yes, nice sentiment, Pastor, but honestly: so what?”
As I write this column, I enjoy the warm-ish sun filtering through the window in my office. While the warmer temperatures and the sunshine can help boost our overall mood following a seemingly endless winter, for many people there are still dark clouds hanging over them, obscuring the ability to enjoy life fully. For some it may be health issues, or the heartache of a broken relationship, while for others it is the specter of an economic downturn that affects their everyday existence. If left unattended, many of these heavy burdens tend to only increase in weight with time, and there comes a breaking point when these burdens reach unbearable proportions. Many are probably familiar with the saying, “Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill,” but what are we to do when life has dealt us a blow and we stand facing a sheer unconquerable mountain?
Whenever dark clouds seem to gain the upper hand in my life, I remember an event in the life of the British writer Thomas Carlyle. Let me briefly share his story here.
One of Carlyle’s major works is the voluminous French Revolution. Following at least two years of painstaking research and writing diligently day after day, page after page, with a goose quill and inkwell, Carlyle delivered the bulky manuscript bundle to his friend and neighbor, John Stuart Mill, to read the manuscript and comment on it. Several days later Mill appeared on Carlyle’s doorstep, visibly shaken and depressed over something. As it turned out, Mill’s maid had thoughtlessly used the manuscript pages to light a fire in the fireplace!
For days Thomas Carlyle moved about in a stupor. A major part of his life’s work gone up in smoke! He raged, groaned, and declared that never again would he be able to pick up a pen and write.
One morning, while gazing over the rooftops of London, Carlyle watched a stone mason building a wall. This huge task was done by tackling the wall bit by bit, one brick at a time. In that moment Carlyle received fresh inspiration and energy. No longer would he spend his days grieving over his great loss. No, he would accept the fact that the manuscript was gone, and then, like the stone mason, he would build his monumental work on the French Revolution again, word after word, page by page. In that fashion Thomas Carlyle rewrote his history of the French Revolution, a book that even today counts among the world’s greatest literary achievements.
One of our proverbs suggests that “if you want to move a mountain, begin by carrying away one small stone at a time.” We live in the days after Easter Sunday. We can face each day with the assurance that the risen Christ is walking by our side, bit by bit, step by step, day by day. May we be encouraged to begin moving the mountains in our lives by carrying away small stones. Because Christ IS RISEN, and because CHRIST LIVES, WE can face all of our tomorrows.
Christ is risen indeed!
Pastor Daniel
Carpe Diem -- Making the Most of Time
I came across an interesting book on time management a while back. Most time management books never truly live up to the words describing their aims and concepts on the back cover. Instead of finding more time to cram in even more projects and activities in an already overpacked day, the precious commodity of time literally runs out in every 24-hour cycle (see, for example, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey). We end up feeling guilty for seemingly never having enough time to accomplish the things that are truly needful.
The book I saw on our daughter’s desk a few months back took quite a different and, in my opinion, rather intriguing approach. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman works from the premise that each person has a finite number of hours, days, and weeks (hence, Four Thousand Weeks). Instead of stuffing every precious hour and day to the gills with activities, appointments, and projects, what if we took the time we have to smell the proverbial roses, treasure our relationships with our spouses, children, and friends? And what about building and strengthening our relationship with God?
I am regularly stopped in my tracks by Jesus’ words in the Gospels when he asks his listeners,
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?
Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
(Mark 8.35-37, also: Matthew 10.39; Luke 17.33; John 12.25-26).
Granted, these passages are about much more than time management. Jesus speaks about Discipleship, his invitation to all of us to Come, and follow me (Matthew 4.19, for example).
Let us also consider the words of Psalm 90, believed to have been written by Moses, the man of God:
For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh.
The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. …
So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart. (Psalm 90.9-10, 12)
Isn’t it odd that in our attempts to gain that one elusive hour or day to achieve goals and meet some arbitrary deadlines, we miss out on doing the things that matter the most?
We do not have 4,000 weeks during the season of Lent. We only have 40 days during which we can seek to gain a wise heart and grow ever so much closer in our relationship with our Creator, Saviour, and Friend by making each day count.
By the time this column will be published, 15 days of those 40 days of Lent will have come and gone. Let us commit ourselves to truly seize the day (carpe diem) and count our days, that we may gain a wise heart as we follow Jesus the Christ through the wilderness, and onward and upwards towards the promised land.
The Lord bless us and keep us, forevermore.
Pastor Daniel
SOMEBODY TO WALK BESIDE
I was sitting next to a window in a café the other day. It was a cold but sunny day, and I was watching people come and go from the café to the parking lot. Something about the way people were all bundled up and hurried across the road to their cars struck me as unusual. I kept looking to see what made this scene so unusual when it suddenly struck me. I was looking through a double-paned window, and in the window was the reflection of a roaring fireplace behind me, and as I watched people walk across the street, I saw each person walk through this blazing fire. It wasn’t the prospect of hell that flickered across my mind’s eye, but the saddening thought that every single person walking through this blaze of fire was walking it alone. This image was a very powerful and thought-provoking one. Why is it, I asked myself, that so many people in this world must literally walk through the fire every single day without anybody walking with them? Why is it, Henry David Thoreau wrote, so many people “lead lives of quiet desperation”?
A passage from the prophet Isaiah came to mind.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. […] Do not be afraid, for I am with you. (Isaiah 43.2-3a, 5a)
I continued my train of thought. When God so chooses to walk with us through the waters and through the fire, why can’t we as human beings do the same for each other? And closer to home, how come not more of the followers of Jesus the Christ are consciously on the look-out for people who are going through living hell every single day of their lives, or who struggle with issues that makes them feel like the water has reached up to their necks?
Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent are a stone’s throw away. Ash Wednesday Service in Reed City with imposition of ashes on Wednesday, February 14, at noon. Ash Wednesday Service in Brooks Corners with imposition of ashes later that day at 7 pm.
Depending on what faith tradition you were raised in, you may have already made a list of things you want to give up for the 40 days of Lent in order to pick up a closer walk with God. Here is a thought that struck me sitting at that café table: What if I didn’t worry so much about foregoing sweets or pop for Lent, but instead said “goodbye” to pushing my own agenda on others or lived my life so self-absorbed that there was seemingly no room for another human being I could walk with, no matter how fierce the fire or how deep the water?
I count on God to be with me when I pass through the waters, and I seriously hope God walks closely beside me when I must walk through the fire. Can others count on me to walk with them in their times of trial?
God bless us and keep us in his tender care.
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
May Everything We Do Be Done in Love in 2024 (and beyond)
Finding Our Way Home
Advent is a gift from God to us. It is a time of preparation, anticipation, and expectation, not unlike the long 450-year period between the closing remarks of the prophet Malachi, and the moment the angels brought the wonderful news of the world’s Savior to a band of shepherds outside Bethlehem.
God has such a great sense of humor! Here the people were awaiting some superhero dropping from the sky to save them, or at least some sort of king or mighty military leader who would equip them and lead them into glorious victory over their oppressors, when God did the completely unexpected. While people were watching the front gate of the royal palace, God entered our lives through the back door of history, as a vulnerable baby born in a barn! I am afraid that quite often we rob ourselves of the anticipation and excitement of waiting for Christmas when we get so caught up in the busyness of the season. Our family enjoys the tradition of an Advent calendar, where, beginning December 1, we open one little door, window, or frame to reveal an image of Christmas underneath it, until, finally, December 24 arrives, Christmas Eve, when the biggest window can be opened, and a manger scene is displayed. Yes, most people count the days until Christmas, but it is often only in terms of how many shopping days are left. Every year it seems that the first harbingers of Christmas come earlier and earlier, and every year more and more people find that the joy and true spirit of the Advent and Christmas season eludes them.
Advent begins Sunday, December 3. We will begin the season with celebrating Holy Communion on that first Sunday in Advent. The theme for this year’s Advent and Christmas season is Finding Our Way Home. Everyone will most likely have a different definition of home and the places where we belong. Some people may find home not in physical spaces, but instead in belonging to a community that accepts us for what God created us to be. Advent and Christmas are a sort of homecoming: God found a new home among us in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ! The dwelling places where we find Christ today can be in our mangers, surrounded by parents, shepherds, and a variety of animals, but also through the movement of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes those dwelling places can take us by surprise, and sometimes those dwelling places will be where we experience the most comfort and joy, the places where we truly belong in creation. Each Sunday during Advent and Christmas we will explore a different aspect dealing with homecoming:
December 3: The End of the World as We Know It
December 10: Where the Wild Things Are
December 17: Coming Home
December 24: (Morning Service) Pitching the Tent
December 24: (Christmas Eve Service at 5:30 p.m.) At Home in the World
December 31: God’s Reign Coming About
I look forward to this season of Advent. I look forward to the unexpected moments when we can simply take a deep breath and have time to prepare our hearts, anticipate, and expect the unexpected.
I pray for a restful and peaceful season of Advent, and I wish all of us the best of a blessed Christmas.
Pastor Daniel Hofmann
Who is Coming to Dinner at Your House?
It seems only appropriate that as you read the November issue of our church newsletter we talk about hospitality and Thanksgiving.
As a family we made a conscious decision years ago to always keep open spaces around the Thanksgiving table for guests God laid on our hearts.
Over the years these may have been recently widowed women and men, or persons we knew would be alone because they had no family nearby, or simply people who had no place set for them around anybody’s dinner table.
This year, my wife and I have been invited to sit at our daughter’s table, and she is contemplating who else she might want to invite in her neighborhood and community.
I was struck by something Jesus said to a man who had invited him for dinner.
“When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14.13-14)
If I understand Jesus correctly, then the blessing is based not upon how spiritual or “good” of a person we are, but based upon the fact that people gather around the table who cannot repay us in any form, shape, or whatever.
Jesus asks us to get out of our comfort zone and interact with people who are often “invisible” to us. If we truly desire to look at one another the way God sees us, then we begin to see one another not from the perspective of “what’s in it for me if I interact with this person,” but instead appreciate one another as God incarnate, God among us.
Keep looking up: God is here and now!
May you be blessed as you will be blessing someone else this Thanksgiving!
Pastor Daniel Hofmann