Nurture Faith with Dr. Doug Hood

 “A time for crying and a time for laughing.”

Ecclesiastes 3:4a (Common English Bible)

Samuel Butler said, “The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken seriously.” I remember early in my ministry a man took exception to my humor during worship, “Worship should be religious and not a time for laughter.” In fairness, he didn’t object to laughter. He had a wonderful sense of humor and his laughter was contagious. His contention was that laughter didn’t belong in worship. I suppose he could have built a sturdy argument from this lesson in Ecclesiastes. There is not present in this book of the Bible an objection to laughter. Only that there is a proper time for it and, perhaps, worship is not that time.

On the other hand, I remember the prominent preacher, Thomas Long once commenting that worship is “dress rehearsal” for life in the kingdom – for our eternal life with God following our resurrection from death. In the drama of worship we learn the vocabulary for that life, specifically, the language of praise and adoration of God, and the posture for that life, the posture of humility. But – and perhaps most importantly – we learn something of the nature of God and how God desires to be in relationship with us. Worship becomes a moment that provides a glimpse of ordinary life with our creator. If that is true, then laughter belongs in worship. Without it, we could easily lose it.

Naturally, we are to be serious about some situations. When someone becomes ill or suffers an injury there is simply no room for laughter. The death of a loved one or news of the devastating loss of a marriage, financial security, or estrangement from someone we hold dear present moments when we rather quickly become serious. Samuel Butler would concur with Ecclesiastes that these are moments not for laughing but for crying and mourning. Yet, we should not let these moments last for very long. Not any of the moments represent the sum total of a life. That is precisely the argument of Ecclesiastes. When we lose our ability to laugh, those other moments have the potential to tear our life apart.

Recently I learned of the work of artist Deb Minnard. She has completed nearly a dozen paintings of Jesus laughing. These works are a delightful contrast to the wide depiction of Jesus as serious or somber. On February 3, 2013 I stood in the pulpit to welcome the congregation to worship. That Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday and the Baltimore Ravens were facing the San Francisco 49ers for the NFL championship. With my own team, the Philadelphia Eagles eliminated for the season, I threw my support to the Ravens. In my welcome that morning I simply noted for the congregation that I was wearing a purple necktie – the Ravens’ team color. I believe that Deb Minnard captured in her paintings Jesus’ response.

Joy,

The following is from Doug Hood\’s upcoming book,

Nurture Faith: Five Minute Mediations to Strengthen Your Walk with Christ, Vol. 2  

“Train yourself for a holy life! While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come.”

1 Timothy 4:7b, 8 (Common English Bible)

Thoreau said, “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams…he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”[i] Advancement in a chosen direction is intentional movement, not simply a longing or a dream. One is aspirational; the other is a determined pursuit. One person may aspire to learn the Italian language; another enrolls in language class. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves, “Have I determined a pathway for realizing my dreams? Am I now pursuing that path?” Success, says Thoreau, belongs to those who begin to move in the direction that is right for them. That is when things start to go our way.

In this letter to Timothy, Paul uses an athletic metaphor to describe, “Advancing confidently in the direction of a holy life.” He urges the reader to “Train yourself,” that is, to advance intentionally and confidently in the direction for living as Christ. The Greek word Paul uses for “train” is the word from which we get “gymnasium.” It would be odd for anyone to go to a gym simply to watch others train. Gyms have value, not as “observation posts” for people who dream of better health, but as an “action center” for advancing toward better health. When Paul speaks about training in holy living, he is talking about activities that engage us – activities that make a demand upon us.

It is good for us to reassess our priorities from time to time. Often we speak of our aspirations: an aspiration to learn a musical instrument, an aspiration to travel, or an aspiration to return to school. Yet, without “advancing confidently in the direction of our dreams,” they remain aspirations. Absent is a commitment and plan to advance toward them. Someone once observed that our priorities are transparent for the world to see – they see our priorities in what we do each day. The mature person understands that what is important receives time, energy, and intentionality. If consistently arriving to work on time is important for job security, we arrive to work on time.  

Thomas Long writes that if the holy life is our aim, we go to the theological gym to do curls, crunches, and run laps to train, not to run a marathon but in order to be people of love.[ii] Naturally, observes Tom Long, it does not take much training to love the lovable. However, when Christ calls us to love those who are difficult to love – or to love our enemies – then, that takes practice. That takes time in the theological gym. “Train yourself for a holy life!” writes Paul. The great Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung said that the supreme goal of men and women is to fulfil themselves – to honor their unique calling in life. The apostle Paul is asking that we now honor our baptismal vows – to become like Christ.

Joy,

“‘I really thought that I ought to oppose the name of Jesus the Nazarene in every way possible. And that’s exactly what I did in Jerusalem. I locked up many of God’s holy people in prison under the authority of the chief priests. When they were condemned to death, I voted against them. In one synagogue after another – indeed, in all the synagogues – I would often torture them, compelling them to slander God. My rage bordered on the hysterical as I pursued them, even to foreign cities.’”

Acts 26: 9-11 (Common English Bible)

 Snoopy, of Peanuts comic strip fame, was sitting on his doghouse writing another novel. No Ernest Hemingway, he begins his novel as he begins all his novels, “It was a dark and stormy night.” Lucy comes along, looks at Snoopy’s draft and begins to berate him. “How silly you are,” she says, “for such a beginning. Everyone knows that every great novel begins with, ‘Once upon a time.’” In the next frame, Snoopy starts again. “Once upon a time it was a dark and stormy night.” Perhaps you feel that way some days. In your heart it is a dark and stormy time. For many people, the inner storm is the result of guilt, guilt for failures that have hurt those we love. Lucy fails to understand that no turn of phrase can settle the storm.

 It seems to me that most people today live with some guilt. For some, the burden of guilt diminishes their posture, shoulders pushed down and eyes that are heavy. Guilt is felt for what has been done and for what has been left undone. In one church that I served a man confessed that he cheated on his wife during a business trip. He asked that I tell her for him, “She will take it better from you. She respects you.” Naturally, that comment was code that he no longer carried any self-respect. He was ashamed of himself, knew that his wife deserved better. He continued that there remained nothing his wife could do to make him feel worse. The shame would remain on his back forever, he told me.

This story from Acts is the third account of Paul’s conversion to the Christian faith. As in the previous two times the story is told, Paul details his persecution of the church. Paul holds nothing back. Paul does not gloss over the details. Paul locked up many of God’s holy people. When they were condemned to death, Paul voted against them. In synagogue after synagogue, Paul tortured Christians for their belief in Jesus and compelled them to slander God. When Christians ran to foreign cities to flee Paul’s persecution, Paul pursued them, Paul’s behavior often becoming hysterical. What is striking to the reader is that Paul confesses his evil but never demonstrates any sense of shame. Not one word of dark remorse is spoken.

 What is Paul’s secret to a life without shame? Well, according to the Bible, true guilt follows the judgment, not of others, but of God. It is our refusal to live in dependency upon God. That refusal results in behavior that harms our relationship with others. Shame is the felt condemnation of the brokenness that follows. Yet, pay attention to the moment Jesus confronts Paul with Paul’s sin – Jesus does not beat Paul down with shame. Jesus tells Paul to stand on his feet. It is only then that Paul can return to God. Jesus does not use Paul’s guilt to disgrace him but to change him. It is then that Paul learns that there is no condemnation for those in Christ. Without condemnation, without God’s judgment, there is no shame.

Joy,

“This is the day the Lord acted; we will rejoice and celebrate in it!”

Psalm 118:24 (Common English Bible)

 Here and Now is a high energy, uplifting country song by Kenny Chesney that muses on living in the present moment. The track begins with memory of things past, the skyline in New York City, fireflies in Tennessee, and enjoying the sun sinking into the sea from a dozen different islands, “Been there, done that, got the t-shirt and hat.” The track then moves forward to the “Here and Now.” This is Chesney’s favorite place, “Ain’t no better place, ain’t no better time than Here and Now.” Those familiar with Chesney’s work will recognize a regular message of savoring life in the present moment, free of longing for the past or waiting for tomorrow. Chesney’s contention is that the present moment is what we have now – why wait for something in the future and miss what is abundantly available now. The song weighs how we live now against what we want sometime in the future.

There are people who cling very tightly to the past. They are unable to let go. They hold on beyond anything that is reasonable. Consequently, they are unable to live fully in the present. The result is despair: despair for what is lost. Other people are very future-oriented. They carry a daily planner that contains pages for the present year and for the next year or two. I am that person. My wife and children tease me because I am presently planning our vacation for March of 2023 – two years away! It is tough for me to be in the present and enjoy the promise of what this day seeks to offer. Planning is not necessarily bad. In some respects, planning demonstrates responsibility such as planning carefully for retirement. However, thinking about the future can keep you from appreciating the only day we can live in and that is the present day.

Perhaps this is why Psalm 118 is one of my favorite Psalms. The twenty-fourth verse seems to leap-off the page – “This is the day!” Often, that is the reminder that I need to let the future remain in the future and to enjoy what God desires for me to possess today. It is true for all of us. This is the day that God gives for our work and enjoyment – for us to experience blessings and to bless. This is the day that we may notice God, rejoice, and celebrate. If we look in one direction or another, look to the past or look to the future, God sneaks up, taps us on the shoulder, and asks that we pay attention to the here and now. God softens the longing for what has past and asks that we trust what is to come to God’s care. The present offers pure astonishment, wonder, and delight in the pursuit of God’s ongoing activity in the world.

Kenny Chesney seems to acknowledge that it is tough to be present and to be “in the moment” and try to live with enthusiasm and wonder in that space, “Everybody’s waiting, but they’re waiting on what? Better get to living, ‘cause all we’ve got is here and now.” The best place, the best moment is here and now. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Not next year. Nor March of 2023. If we fail to claim this, we find that we miss everything that matters. The Lord is active this day, active right now. All of our yesterdays and all of our tomorrows are unable to offer the opportunity that is available in the present moment to experience life as it unfolds all around us. Chesney brings his song to a close, “A lotta people dreaming ‘bout a one-day-some-days waiting just around the bend. I used to be one, wonderin’ when they’d come. But now I’m livin’in Here and Now.” This Psalm invites the same.

Joy,

 The following is from Doug Hood\’s 

\” Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.\’\”

Matthew 5:3 (Common English Bible)

Crowds again gathered near to Jesus. Wherever Jesus seemed to travel, word would quickly move among the community and people would drop whatever activity that engaged them to listen for a word from Jesus – any word. Such was the power of the spoken word that fell from the lips of Jesus. That day was no different than today. As the old maxim goes, “Time is money.” If people stopped whatever they were doing to hear a word from Jesus, there was perceived value in that word. The value was simply that Jesus addressed life – life, as we have to live it. Jesus’ words were never dissociated from life. They were deliberate, vital, life-giving. Jesus never spoke to simply capture an ear. Jesus came to solve problems with living.

On this particular day, the first word spoken by Jesus was, “Happy.” It is not possible to over-estimate the significance of that beginning. This was not a chance word – a word chosen at random. Jesus could not begin his sermon that day with any other word. It was an inevitable word. The whole point of God coming to God’s people in flesh and blood, to live life as we lived life, was to experience life as we experienced life. Life is difficult. Daily, the determination to be happy, to experience life as God intends, meets with disappointment, inequity, and struggle. Our experience is Jesus’ experience. In the final analysis, Jesus sought to lessen the struggle. So, Jesus chooses this day to offer practical guidance for a happy life.

It is a welcomed word. The world is captive to an instinctive desire for happiness. Many may struggle for happiness day following day on what seems an endless journey. We might imagine that to be the story for many who gathered that day to listen to Jesus. Yet, the desire remains undiminished. However painful life may become, people cling to the hope – the possibility – that happiness might be claimed. Each of us believes in it, we seek it, the thought of happiness possessing us, demanding to be possessed. It is as though the great verdict of the world is that God intends that we are happy and Jesus has come do what is necessary to deliver on God’s intention.

As the people listened that day to Jesus, they heard God’s manifesto – they heard God’s singular concern for the well-being of all people. This would be the driving purpose, the driving force at the center of Jesus’ ministry. The absence of happiness was the cause of the world’s misery. The broken, the listless, the weary gathered at the foot of a mountain that day to be encouraged that hope remained in their grasp. Lives scorched by sin, lives on the cusp of despair nevertheless hoped against hope that there might be another day with beauty available to them. Matthew tells us that such a number gathered that they were a crowd. Looking at them, Jesus sat down and taught them. He began with one word, “Happy.”

Joy,

The following mediation is from Doug Hood\’s upcoming book, Nurture Faith: Five Minute Meditations to Strengthen Your Walk with Christ, Volume 2. 

\”Jesus was praying in a certain place.  When he finished, one of his disciples said, \’Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.\’\”

Luke 11:1 (Common English Bible)

“But Zion says, ‘The Lord has abandoned me; my Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget her nursing child, fail to pity the child of her womb? Even these may forget, but I won’t forget you.”

Isaiah 49:14, 15 (Common English Bible)

I was once told of a college professor who had been married for nearly thirty-five years when his wife became ill with dementia. Anyone who is familiar with this cognitive disease knows that eventually all memory is stolen from the individual. The professor did his best juggling his teaching responsibilities and caring for his wife until he could no longer do both. As he put it, he faced one of the most difficult decisions of his life when he placed his wife into a memory care center located nearly two hours from their home. Each day, following his last class, he would drive the two hours to share dinner with his wife. After some time with her, he drove the two hours back home to teach the next day.

Four hours of drive time each day eventually caught up with the professor. The emotional and physical toll was unmistakable as he realized that such drive time each day was not sustainable. Only one option presented itself – one option as the professor saw it. He would resign his teaching position at the college, sell his home, and move closer to his wife. When this decision was shared with the administration of the college and his students, they urged him to reconsider. With love and compassion, the administration and students told the professor that his wife no longer knew who he was, that she has now forgotten him. Perhaps make the drive less often – maybe on the weekends. Stay, they all asked. Stay with us.

With equal love and compassion, the professor refused. “Yes, my wife no longer knows who I am. She has forgotten everything. But I know who I am. I am her husband. Thirty-five years ago I made a promise to her. I intend to keep that promise.” That day the professor did more than demonstrate the worth of a promise made and a promise kept. Most powerfully, the professor taught his greatest lesson of all – that a loss of memory does not make any of us less a person. As long as his wife had breath, she was a person of value, a person to be cherished. Those who can no longer remember our names or of stories shared in the journey of life continue to hold a special place in our hearts and mind.

Isaiah asks, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, fail to pity the child of her womb?” Tragically, answers Isaiah, “Yes, sometimes yes.” Yet, Isaiah quickly moves the conversation forward and adds these words, “Even these may forget, but I won’t forget you.” Isaiah announces to us that, in the end, what ensures our worth – our value – is not what we can remember or fail to remember. What ensures our personhood is that God remembers us. Often our memories are so much a part of who we are that we cannot imagine an identity without them. What the professor teaches us – and Isaiah affirms – is that we are more than our memories. When our memories fail us they are held on our behalf by those who love us.

Joy,

The following mediation is from Doug Hood\’s upcoming book, 

Nurture Faith: Five Minute Meditations to Strengthen Your Walk with Christ, volume 2

“Meanwhile, Peter remained outside, knocking at the gate.”

Acts 12:16a

Here is a story for everyone; a story of someone who tried and failed, but refused to give up. Peter was one of Jesus’ disciples. At a critical hour, he failed Jesus by denying him three times. But Jesus never failed Peter. Following Jesus’ resurrection, him continued embrace and love for Peter launched Peter into a preaching ministry of considerable zeal and devotion. Up and down the countryside, Peter gave witness to the power of the risen Christ to change lives. Peter’s primary exhibit for his testimony was his own life. Soon he found himself enmeshed by hostile forces and, finally, preached himself into prison.

Prayers were made for Peter by the Christian communities that he started and were now growing, as a result of his preaching. One night an angel came to Peter, placed the prison guard into a deep sleep, released the chains from Peter’s hands, and opened the prison doors. An important detail of this miracle story is that the angel instructed Peter to place on his sandals. The angel was able to place the guard into a slumber, release Peter’s hands from the chains that held him, and open the prison doors. Yet, the angel holds Peter responsible for placing on his own shoes. Apparent in this small detail is that God will always do what we cannot do, but God will not do for us what we can do. Peter was capable of placing upon his feet his shoes.

Peter, now freed from prison, goes out into the dark, hiding in the thickness of the night from Roman solders, and makes his way to a home where he hoped to be received and cared for. When Peter knocked at the outer gate, a female servant went to answer. Recognizing Peter, and overcome with surprise and joy, the servant runs back into the house with the grand announcement of Peter’s release. Yet, in her amazement and delight, she forgets to open the gate and let Peter into the residence. “Meanwhile, Peter remained outside, knocking at the gate.” 

Peter does not shrug his shoulders and walk back into the night, commenting, “It’s no use.” Peter continues to knock. Peter is resilient. He will not give in or give up. By his persistence, Peter reveals the grandeur of his trust in God’s continuing presence and care. Many of us will stand – at some moment of our life – before a closed door. The closed door may be a job opportunity that never materializes, a romantic relationship that is never found, or an illness that lingers – health seemly more and more elusive. Before that closed door, life asks, “Will you continue to trust God in the face of bitterness and disappointment?” Peter stands before a closed door unafraid, determined to see it through. His strength is located in God’s fidelity, demonstrated in his past. That same strength is available to us when we stand before a door that is closed.

Joy,

“It’s impossible to please God without faith because the one who draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards people who try to find him.”

Hebrews 11:6 (Common English Bible)

The beginning of the matter is faith. Faith does not mean the absence of doubt. As Jesus spoke to his disciples for the last time, the Bible tells us that some of them doubted. Their doubt did not bother Jesus. What Jesus did was to command them how they were to live after he left them. Here, faith is the determination to live “as though it is true.” When two people make marriage vows to remain together “until death do they part” they are aware of the staggering divorce rates. They are aware of the possibility that their marriage may fail. Yet, they begin their life together on faith, the determination that they will remain together until death. Hebrews instructs that we begin the search for God “as though God does exist.”

Faith is not putting aside all doubt. It is determining to believe that God is there, just as we are present in the world. Faith is not putting aside all arguments against the existence of God but, rather, choosing to “accept as true” that God loves and understands and is interested in the smallest details of our life. A serious quest for God will put away all excuses for not beginning to seek God, excuses such as not having sufficient time to be alone with God each day, and sincerely strive to be in a personal relationship with someone as real and present as a spouse or dear friend. Faith is an acknowledgement that God is someone who is worth our worship, our love, our striving to learn from and a decision to follow.

Let the one looking for God then turn each day to a quiet place, a place free of the possibility of interruption and distraction. In silence, think of God as present. Perhaps make a mental picture of God standing directly in front of you or seated right beside you. If it helps, picture God as Jesus groomed as your favorite picture of Jesus, wearing the traditional dress of the Hebrew people of Jesus’ day. Some find sitting in a church before a stained-glass window of Jesus helpful, as do I. Imaginatively, look into tender eyes and see arms outstretched to embrace you. In that moment, confess how you have wronged others and God. Pour out your hurts, disappointments, and longings. Share with God your unmet needs.

Then, after the silence, accept the forgiveness of God, the forgiveness you have heard proclaimed from the pulpit, read in the Bible, or shared with you by those who believe in Jesus. Accept the forgiveness even if you find it difficult to believe that anyone can forgive you, even God. By faith, trust the promise that you are forgiven. Trust that God has taken all that you are ashamed of and removed it from you. As God has placed all of it behind you, now make a mental picture that your back is turned to it and you face forward with no guilt. In that new freedom – and in gratitude – resolve to learn from Jesus and to live as Jesus teaches us to live. Hebrews promises that God will reward you – promises that you will find God.

Joy,