BROWNIE POINTS: October 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Queremos Halloween

Most kids sang, Queremos Halloween (We want Halloween) for their sweets but a few said Truco o Trato (trick or treat).

Que scary!
The girls did some reconnaissance work in the neighborhood and brought back the following photos.

Notice the Marigolds, they are the traditional flowers for the Day of the Dead.

This family is ready for Christmas.

Some families build altars like this one to remember their dead. Food, flowers, and memorabilia of the departed adorn the shrines.

OK, so the Barbie graveyard is a little over the top.

A local resident made cotton candy. Don't let the smiles fool you, the girls said it was disgusting.

We must have seen a couple of hundred kids tonight.

Part of the stash the girls brought home. Notice the lack of chocolate!

Some seriously festive mom gave this prized treat out.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Live, Love, Loss

Some friends of mine have suffered through some loss this week, which has prompted the following thoughts.

We spent many weekend afternoons with my Uncle Bill’s family. Sometimes we hiked Sleeping Giant*, sometimes we traipsed the neighborhood park, and sometimes we just hung out at one or the other’s home. That weekend we were at my Uncle Bill’s home and after a lazy Sunday afternoon, we said our see you laters and I knew we would do it all over again the following week. Unfortunately, our next weekend together would be quite different.

A few days later, I arrived home after school to find my cousins at our house. My Uncle Bill, my mom said, had experienced chest pains and my aunt was meeting him at the hospital. I recall a blur of memories: a telephone ring, my mother stifling a cry, my aunt returning with the news that my uncle had died.

This cannot be, my mind objected, this simply cannot be.

But it was.

Death had assaulted our family already that year and it wasn’t even Easter. Just the month before, my aunt from the other side of the family died, now here we were again. My Uncle Bill died quite young and therefore left a relatively young family, my aunt of course and my two cousins who were barely 13 and 16. His youth only added to the tragedy of an already sad event. His death hit our family pretty hard. My sister shared an especially close relationship with my Uncle Bill and to my father he was more than a brother-in-law, he was a close friend.

Within the next couple of days, family and friends gathered at our home for the calling hours*. Co-workers, church friends, and extended family meandered through every room offering their condolences. I remember standing in the kitchen amid mountains of donated food not feeling the least bit hungry as the knot in my stomach hindered any thought of sustenance. But as my father sat at the head of the kitchen table, accompanied by my cousins, myself, and my brother and sister he began to encourage memories of my Uncle Bill. Remember when, he said and the memories flowed as well as the tears and even laughter accompanied our recollections. And slowly the knot in my stomach loosened up.

We live, we love, and we suffer loss. My father taught me an important lesson that day. There is no hiding from pain or grief because to do so we must hide from life as well. Neither can we banish or eradicate it for, as in the case of grief, we would have to eradicate every memory of the one we lost. Instead, let us cultivate healing by encouraging remembrances and sharing stories and allowing ourselves to remember when . . .

. . . a righteous man will be remembered forever. ~Psalm 112:6

*Sleeping Giant is a state park in Hamden, CT

*Calling hours in our part of the country sometimes replaced what is known as the visitation or viewing at a funeral home.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Response Time

I love the book of Acts. The more I read it, study it and teach it the more I learn. Luke, the author of Acts is a remarkable historian who writes from the unique perspective as a Gentile and a doctor.

In Acts 9 and 10, Luke creatively compares two distinct and interesting men by placing their stories side by side. Let’s look to Acts 10 first and consider the man Cornelius.

¹At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. ²He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. ³One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!"

⁴Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked.

In these few verses, we learn a lot about this remarkable man, Cornelius. I am especially intrigued by his response to the Lord’s call; even more so when we compare it to Saul’s response in the previous chapter. Let’s read the account in Acts 9.

¹Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest ²and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

⁵"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

Saul and Cornelius’ responses to the call of God are not their only differences. Saul was a Jew, a Pharisee, and a man devoted to the Law of God. Yet when we meet Saul, he is hunting down and persecuting Christians. On the Damascus Road when the Lord appears to him, Saul’s response is not “What is it Lord?” but rather “Who are you?” Saul has spent his entire life trying to serve God, yet when he meets him on the road to Damascus he does not recognize who he is.

Cornelius, on the other hand was a Gentile; an Italian not a Jew, a soldier, not a man of God. Although he serves the God of the Hebrews, he himself is not a full proselyte. Yet when we first meet Cornelius, we find him to be a man of prayer, a man of faith, and a man who gives generously to the poor and needy. When the Lord interrupts Cornelius, his response is not “Who are you?” but rather, “What is it Lord?”

As we consider the responses of these two men, dare we wonder how we might respond to the call of God when he shows up unexpectedly. I hope my initial response will echo that of Cornelius and not of Saul. However, we must not lose sight of something especially important in our comparison.

Indeed, Cornelius and Saul were two exceptionally different men with two initially different responses. Nevertheless, despite their differences in culture, religious training, and vocation we must not forget that when the Lord called upon each of them, they both responded and ultimately they both obeyed the direction of the Lord.

In our daily lives, we will meet Sauls and we will meet Corneliuses and in doing so we will encounter varying responses to the call of God. Different cultures, religious upbringing, and vocations may seem like obstacles when presenting Christ, but they do not have to be. After living in a variety of cultures, I prefer to view these differences not as obstacles but as opportunities for presenting the Gospel in a new way.

Our ministry in Mexico City will look different from our ministry in Jamaica. The people of Mexico have a different language, a different religious and political history, and a different culture to appreciate. All of these factors contribute to their uniqueness as a people and as a nation. Regardless, God will call and those who are listening will reply with either a “Who are you?” or with a “What is it Lord?” response.

I pray that in our daily encounters that we may be graciously prepared for either.

God isn't looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him. ~Hudson Taylor