Over the years I have kept much of the feedback I have received as a pastor – both good and bad. I do glance back over it from time to time. I look at the positive correspondence when I need a lift, when I need to be reminded of why I do what I do. The negative stuff reminds me to be humble, and that there is always room for improvement. Sometimes in seeing my failures, I can also see how they contributed to my growth.

As a pastor, I’ve noticed that some people have a hard time with criticism – even constructive feedback. Don’t get me wrong, it’s never pleasant at first. And, it’s true that some people are just bitter and angry and take that out on others. It is also true that people can be mistaken, they can get it wrong. But sometimes, if we sit with the feedback long enough, there is something to learn – some kernel of truth that can help us grow.

I pray that when you receive criticism, you would hang on to it a while. Give it a second thought, and try to see what is at the heart of it. Then, if there is nothing to it, lift up in prayer the person who shared it with you, and then let it go. But, if there is something to learn, give thanks.

Let us pray: Loving God, it is hard to look at our own mistakes and failures. It is hard to acknowledge that we are not perfect. We remember today that we are human and that there is always room to grow and learn. We ask for both insight and grace, and we thank you that in spite of our flaws and imperfections, you love us still. What a gift! Amen.

In an old Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy’s brother Spike who lives in the desert is sitting with his back against a cactus. He’s writing a letter, “At night the sun goes down, and the stars come out; and then in the morning, the sun comes up again. It’s so exciting to live in the desert.”

I love Spike’s sense of wonder and awe at the natural world. In our fast-paced world, filled with technological wonders, sometimes we take for granted the beauty that surrounds us on every side. Sunrises and sunsets, beautiful cloud formations and star clusters abound. But often, we fail to notice – much less be amazed.

In his book, This Sunrise of Wonder, Michael Mayne writes this to his grandchildren: “If I could have waved a fairy grandfather’s wand at your birth and wished upon you just one gift it would not have been beauty or riches or a long life: It would have been the gift of wonder.” (Michael Mayne, This Sunrise of Wonder, p. 11)

Today I invite you to recover your sense of wonder. Try to get outside even if it is for a brief moment. Breathe the fresh air. Smell the rain or marvel at the snow. Watch the clouds drift across the sky. Remember the words of the psalmist:

O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!… When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?

Let us pray: Open our spirits again, O God, that we might be moved and awestruck by your creation, and by the beauty of music and art, and by the love of friends and family.
Through this beauty, draw us closer to you. We give you all thanks and praise this day. Amen.

When I lived in Jamaica, a couple of my neighbors kept a regular Sabbath. One such neighbor was called Smith – though I think that was his last name. Smith worked two jobs and his wife was a full-time nursing student. She actually worked and attended school an hour away in Kingston. They led busy, hectic lives.

On their day off together, they would go to church in the morning. Then, their afternoons would be spent sharing food with family and friends. Sometimes they’d hang out under the mango tree. I remember lots of laughter from their house, lots of singing. They took this time of rest so seriously – and yet had so much fun with it. It was a pattern of holy rest, a ritual. And it was amazing to see every weekend all of their stress just disappear.

Looking back, I too had this day off. In fact, I had the whole weekend free. But I spent Saturday mornings doing my wash, the afternoons grading papers. On Sunday afternoons I’d make the lesson plans for the next week. There always seemed to be something that needed to be done.

One Sunday afternoon, I was sitting outside grading papers as my neighbor walked up. I’ll never forget the moment. With a big smile on his face, Smith asked, “Presbyterians take no rest mon?” I said, “Sure. But I’ve got to get this done.” He gently replied, “Even God rests, Joe. Are you more important than God?” He was kidding. But not really. He was right.

Today I pray for you – that you would be able to take one day a week and let go of work; let go of laundry or paying bills. Or, maybe for you it is simply letting go of worry. One day a week. Instead, fill that day with things that nourish your soul: family, friends, prayer and worship.

Let us pray: Loving God, We want to honor you, and we want to experience the abundant life that you offer. Help us, O God, set a healthy pattern of work and rest, that we may live a life that puts you at the heart and center. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.

Today I want to suggest an exciting idea – I want you to try giving yourself away.

I once knew a man who suffered a nervous breakdown, during which he sat for months in gloom and mental darkness. One day I suggested he try to turn off his dark, depressing thoughts by practicing thanksgiving. I said, “Start thinking of people who greatly helped you in your life.”

So, he wrote an elderly school teacher, a Miss Elaine Smith, who had been a positive influence on his life. A reply came, written in the shaky handwriting of an aged lady. “Dear Willy,” she wrote, “When I read your letter I was blinded by tears, for I remember you as a boy, and as I think of you now I see you as a little fellow in my class. You have warmed my old heart. I taught school for fifty years. Yours is the first letter of thanks I ever received from a student, and I shall cherish it until I die.”

Friend of Dial Hope, writing a letter of thanks – a project like that – may involve taking a little time – but it’s an opportunity to give a little of yourself, and really that’s the best you can give. Strangely, when you give yourself, you find yourself.

Let us pray: God of hope, we come to you when our hope is vanquished, and our faith is small. We come to you when the promise of the “good life” has been found lacking when clothes and cuisine, cars, and cappuccinos become insufficient nourishment for the hunger of the human spirit. We come to you because we have nowhere else to go. O God, save us from ourselves; from self-indulgence, and self-idolization. Heal us from the sickness of the body but even more from the sickness of the soul. May we get caught up in the current of your compassion, the flood of your forgiveness and so lose ourselves in the wide ocean of your love. In the name of the risen Christ. Amen.

Today, I am deeply grateful for those of you who have supported the Dial Hope Foundation with a financial donation. So many people benefit from your giving!

Francis de Sales was one of the most revered saints of French history. Back in his day, there was a bishop who intended to write a biography of de Sales so he planned an extended visit. Wanting to know what this man was really like, the bishop went so far as to drill a hole in the wall so he could spy on his conduct. What he learned from his spying was absolutely nothing! He discovered that de Sales was the same in private as in public. He was a man of integrity.

I once heard Christian scholar Martin Marty talk about why he liked a friend so much. He said, “Her inside matches her outside.” Again, that’s integrity. It makes me smile to think about it, and I have to believe it’s worth striving for.

May we all learn to live more in harmony with what we believe – in public and in private. And, in doing so, may we experience deeper peace.

Let us pray: Loving God, you know our hearts. You know we want to live lives that are more integrated, more whole, more in tune with you. Give us eyes to see where we come up short, but give us grace so we don’t get stuck in despair. And then, give us the will and the help we need to refine, readjust and renew our lives; through Jesus Christ. Amen.