"A Christmas Carol" with Gerald Charles Dickens

For the past two days, we hosted Gerald Charles Dickens -- the great-great-grandson of author Charles Dickens -- who presented "A Christmas Carol" in our sanctuary.

The performance here at the Park Avenue Christian Church was both meaningful and appropriate -- it was an authentic theatrical experience (presented as it would have been in the mid 1800's), held in an authentic space (our gothic sanctuary is 100 years old), and performed by an authentic Dickens descendant!

Please listen to an interview with Gerald Dickens that was broadcast on WQXR. More photographs and videos will be posted soon.

Elizabeth & Zechariah

On this second Sunday of Advent, I'd like to tell you the story of an old couple living in the hill country of Judah 2,000 years ago.

His name is Zechariah. Her name is Elizabeth.

They have no children, and that was something of an embarrassment in that time and place. In fact, there was a name for it, a cruel, harsh word: barren, a word used exclusively for childless women.

Elizabeth and Zechariah had prayed for years for a child. Not having a child, an heir -- in Zechariah's case, a son to inherit his priestly responsibilities -- was grounds for divorce.

Luke tells us that these are good people. They have stayed together. They love each other. And now, over the years, they have adjusted, accommodated, accepted the status quo. They still say their evening prayers together but by silent, mutual agreement they no longer pray for a child.

But a miracle of miracle happened and an angel came to Zechariah one day and said what angels always say in the Bible:

"Fear not; don't be afraid. Something important, something new and wonderful is about to happen: Elizabeth will conceive. You're going to be a father! Furthermore, God has work for your child to do. Call him John and he will prepare the way for God's own son. And, by the way, he will be the source of great joy and gladness for you."

The sermon this Sunday will be the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and the hymn of praise, the
Benedictus, that Zechariah sang:

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people. He has raised up a mighty savior for us."

After the birth of John, Zechariah's first words included a little understandable boasting about his son:

"You child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, And you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways. . . . The dawn from on high will break upon us."

I invite you to read the hymn of praise -- Luke 1:67-79 -- and join me in celebrating this beautiful hymn.

This Is It!

A colleague of mine recently shared the story of Mildred.

Mildred was a fine lady. She was 64 years old when the doctors discovered that she had terminal cancer. She was in and out of the hospital several times receiving her treatments, and each time she seemed to be a little weaker than the time before.

Mildred was married to one of the roughest roughnecks in Oklahoma. He was a big, burly man, and one look at him told you that in his younger days, he was the kind of fellow who didn't step aside for any man.

However, around Mildred, he had become quiet and almost gentle. Every time she was hospitalized, Bill practically camped out at the hospital. He would arrive early and stay late.

It was obvious that 42 years of marriage had created a bond, a closeness between the two. Mildred summed it up one day when she said, "Although we were not blessed with children, we were blessed with each other."

Mildred was the religious one in the family. She had grown up going to church and when she wasn't too weak or too nauseated from her treatments, she still made Bill take her to church.

Bill had never been much of a church-goer, but he was willing to take Mildred when she felt up to attending. On one occasion, she said, "The only thing good to come out of my illness is that I'm finally getting Bill to church."

On one of my colleague's visits to see Mildred in the hospital, he began to talk with Bill about making a commitment to Christ and the church.

At first, he said he thought he was wasting his time. Bill's response to his inquiries was often anger. He couldn't understand why Mildred, who had lived such a good life, was having to suffer.

But, little by little, his attitude began to change. One day he looked at my colleague and said, "Robert, there seems to be a lot of rules to follow and a lot of beliefs to comprehend. Can you make it simple? Can you give me a thumbnail sketch that will explain religion in a nutshell?"

My friend thought for a moment. How can you explain the beliefs and the doctrines of our faith concisely? Other than just making a long series of statements, how can anyone possibly deal with the complex and essential doctrines of religion in brief? He could recite one of the creeds, like The Apostles' Creed, and say this is what we believe. As a matter of fact, the early creeds came into existence because people were trying to give a short statement of what was important in religion.

However, he thought the creeds might be a little too much for Bill to digest and understand. So, he said, "Bill, you have asked a very good question. It is a question that people have asked for centuries. In fact, it was a question that was put to Jesus. So, the best response I could give to you is tell you what Jesus said.

He said: "... Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength ... and love your neighbor as you love yourself."

Bill must have understood it because a few weeks later, he walked down the aisle of the church, and confessed his faith and was baptized into the faith.

We live in a world that has become complicated in many ways. Times have changed and people have changed. But the response that Jesus gave to the question, "What is the greatest commandment?" is still clear and uncomplicated. For Jesus, religion in a nutshell was loving
God with an undivided heart and loving your neighbor as you loved yourself.

Jesus and Success

In his memoir, "The Good Times," former New York Times correspondent Russell Baker remembers his mother in a way that made me smile.

She has been gone for years, but his mother still roams free in his head and wakes him in the early morning before daybreak.

"If there's one thing I can't stand, Russell, it's a quitter," she says. He protests, "But mother, I'm not a child anymore. I have made something of myself. I'm entitled to sleep late." She responds, "Russell, you've got no more gumption than a bump on a log. Don't you want to amount to something?"

Baker remembers when he was assigned to cover the White House -- as close to heaven as a correspondent could get. At twenty-nine, he was puffed up with pride and went to see his mother, relishing the prospect of her approval and delight. He should have known better.
"Well, Russ," she said, "if you work hard at this White House job you might be able to make something of yourself."

Make something of yourself. 'Amount to something. 'Be a success. What does it mean? How can I achieve it? How can I be a success? Does my faith, my religion have anything to say about it.?

An Obsession with Success


Success is "the biggest American preoccupation." It is our obsession. That's one of the conclusions in a new book on the topic, "Just Enough: Tools for Creating Success in Your Work and Life" by Laura Nash. Nash is Senior Research Fellow at Harvard Business School.

The biggest misconception about success is that "achieving it will automatically bring satisfaction." It doesn't. "Nothing will be enough and success will never satisfy," Nash concludes.

What success does bring, more often than not, is anxiety -- anxiety that I won't be able to keep up, that I'll lose it all, that something terrible might happen to my business or the market or to me. That kind of anxiety actually stifles creativity.

Nash's extensive research with successful people -- high achievers -- produced some surprising discoveries.

When nearing retirement and asked what they wanted to do next, high-achieving men answered in terms of another achievement: "I'll get really good at golf." Many women high achievers, Nash discovered, responded, "I'll clean my closets, create some order and a space in my life for reflection," an approach that is clearly more healthy.

What Jesus Taught About Success

In the 10th chapter of the gospel of Mark, a new definition of success begins to emerge out of the teachings of Jesus.

I like to think of those teachings in terms of an alternate reality in which followers of Jesus live. He taught his followers to live in the world with a new set of rules, with a new vocabulary, with new definitions for common words.

He called this alternative reality the kingdom of God, and he said it is present on earth when ordinary people, like them -- like us -- -live it out.

Habakkuk's Vision

"I will stand at my watch post, and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint. Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith."
-- Habakkuk 2:1-4, NRSV


In the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, we find a word of encouragement for those who have grown impatient waiting on the promises of God. We find a word of hope for those who, even now, are struggling to make sense of dashed hopes, shattered dreams, and uncertain futures.

There is a word for people who, because of life's uneven journey, find themselves ailing and, therefore, in need of a prescription for hard times. Habakkuk is just what the doctor ordered.

What is going on in the world of this seventh-century prophet that ushers in his own season of waiting?

Habakkuk complains to God about the rampant injustice in Judean society. He asks God how long he would allow the oppression of the weak by the strong among God's own people, and he wonders how long it will be before God steps in and intervenes and changes things.

Finally, God speaks to him of a vision whose fulfillment awaits its appointed time. An appointed time indicates a set time in the future that can neither be rushed nor delayed. An appointed time means God has a fixed and ordered time to move decisively in our lives.

Its arrival and duration are ordered by God and not by us.
God does not even tell Habakkuk the contents of the vision. God simply assures him that it is a trustworthy vision that at the end shall speak and not lie. It is a vision in which Habakkuk can find security, for the one who reveals it is able to back up what it promises.

When you wait on that which God has promised, it is not a lie on which you have fixed your heart. It is not a vain hope that will bear no fruit. It is a promise that will surely come.

The one who makes this promise is none other than God: the Alpha and the Omega; the one who stands above the flux and flow of human history; the God who promises and cannot lie; the God who is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. This God says it will surely come. It is a vision that cannot be denied!

The Blessing of the Animals

We made many new friends at The Park during our Blessing of the Animals on September 27, 2009. We honored the special relationship between all of God's creatures in a beautiful service.

Who are the "Disciples?"

This short video, A Movement for Wholeness, is a look at the beliefs and practices of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as told through its members.

The video explains the Church's identity statement and its four priorities of witness and work.