Jon C. Swanson's Blog, page 10

Learning about lessons. Or not.

The other day, our neighbor down the street was helping our neighbor next door shred branches that had fallen in the wind. And they were cutting up some other brush. Even suburban houses have seeds that turn into unwanted trees, and old trees that shed branches in the wind. 

Ben’s three. Ben likes to help. Ben likes machines. 

So we went next door. There were branches in several places that needed to go to the shredder. So I asked Ben to help me. I picked up a big branch. He grabbed one...

A prayer for the seventh Sunday of Easter

God-

We want someone to say, “Come.” To invite us in as if we are expected and wanted and welcome.

After a long journey, after a hard night’s work, after a fight, after a big, complicated celebration, we want to be welcomed.

We are thirsty from the desert of surgery and chemo, the desert of abandonment and rejection, the desert of struggle and meaninglessness, and we want a sip of life.

We want to be known.

We confess.

We confess that we know you tell us that we are loved bu...

The singers and their families.

For more than two decades, Nancy (my wife) has worried about the Fort Wayne Children’s Choir.

We can use words other than worry, of course. Cared about. Cared for. Thought about most of the time. And not just the choir. Mostly the singers. And their families.

She started as a volunteer and quickly became part of the staff in various roles. Though she understands music, she wasn’t working on the music side. She’s been on the logistics and money side.

Before a couple years ago, when sh...

In the waiting, we are not alone.

On the night before he was betrayed, Jesus was talking about leaving the disciples, about how bad they were feeling that he was going to the father. And he comforts them by saying, you are not alone.

You will go through hard times. You will not be alone. You will face the persecution I’ve talked about. You will not be alone. You will still have illness and death, you will have pain and miracles, you will have confusion and hard work and questions. You will not be alone.

Between the ans...

Baggage

Rich Dixon is getting ready for a big ride in a month.

+++

In cycling, weight is a big deal.

Some riders want to pack extra everything…and carry it on their bikes!

It’s good to be prepared, but too much extra baggage weighs us down and keeps us from riding to our potential. Often it accumulates slowly, one additional tool and spare part at a time.

There’s also invisible “baggage” that hinders our journey far more than unnecessary equipment on a bike. Anger, bitterness, jealous...

While waiting, direction and presence.

Between the answers, we are not alone.

I want to suggest three promises from the readings this morning.

There’s a promise of direction. But until we get that, there’s a promise of presence. And while we are living in the presence, there’s a promise of future meaning.

Let’s unpack those for a moment.

In the story we’ve been looking at, we can find a promise of direction. Paul was stopped, perhaps through voices and visions, but perhaps through circumstances. Paul made plans, and d...

The waiting before the calling.

We read a story about Paul earlier. That was the cool part of the story. It’s the kind of story that we love to tell when it’s about us.

In the middle of the night we wake up with a vision. We have a dream that doesn’t seem like a dream. It seems like a message from God. “A man from Macedonia, from the area northeast of Greece.”

It was so real that Paul decided that it was from God. And the team headed out. Several days of walking later, they got to Phillipi. It was a Roman colony. Ther...

A prayer for the sixth Sunday of Easter

God.

We do not like to wait.

We do not like to wait in line. To wait for answers. To wait for medicine to work, to wait for the end to come, to wait for the beginning to start.
Which means that we do not like to be where we are most of the time.
We do not like to be out of control, to be at the mercy of others.

We confess.

We confess that we don’t like to be at your mercy.
We confess that we aren’t sure about your control.
We confess that our hearts are often troubled and our minds ar...

Nudges, a little more.

A few months ago, I wrote about nudges, the tiny thoughts that come to us. Nancy and I decided to go to that one last thrift shop. I happened to look at the shelf of books. I discovered several volumes of a commentary series I use. Including one I needed a couple days later. It was, I said, about nudges. (A little about nudges and timing. – 300 words a day)

There’s an update to the story.

What I didn’t tell you is that I recognized the name written on the flyleaf. Diane W. Howard. She’...

Loving the aggravating.

On Monday, I talked about the way Jesus told his disciples to love each other.

On Tuesday, I talked about how this meant that extrovert Peter and reflective Nathaniel were told to love each other. Simon the Zealot and Matthew the civil servant were told to love each other. Thomas the loyal pragmatist and John, one of the sons of thunder, were told to love each other.

The circle of the ones God loves is bigger than we think.

But, of course, the circle of the ones God wants us to lov...