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| Message from Amy Rev. Amy Lignitz Harken is a talented communicator - able to share ideas through both the written and spoken word. A former journalist and author, she tells a story well and it has a point. We share here some recent "Message from Amy" from the church newsletter. Message from Amy May 17, 2009
It’s getting down to the wire. There are now just five survivors left in the Brazilian highlands competing for the $1 million prize. Yes (I reluctantly admit), I follow the reality TV show Survivor. But in my own defense, I’ll point out that I am a recent convert. For many seasons, I avoided the show at all costs. The snippets I caught showed a hotbed of mean-spiritedness, cruelty, and backstabbing. To me, it was a twisted popularity contest in which the strongest, most likeable contestants were booted out and those who remained were the nastiest. Several seasons ago, however, I got hooked. Now in its 18th season, the show has evolved as contestants have come to have certain expectations and knowledge of the rhythms of the game. They’ve come to anticipate a certain amount of deception and to know how important social skills are. They don’t seem to get their feelings hurt as much, nor do they generally seem as nasty. In fact, it seems the meanest contestants don’t make it to the end. This season one contestant, “Coach,” has spoken loud and long about the idea of honor, and his desire to play an “honorable” game to the end. He is very public about his spirituality, which seems to be an amalgam of various faiths, including Christianity, Native American, and some Eastern religions. He has vowed never to lie. Coach isn’t my favorite by a long shot. But watching the show from the comfort of the family room couch, I’ve admired Coach’s conviction. I’ve also wondered, “How can you not lie and ever hope to win? This game is all about blindsiding and trickery! Survivor isn’t a situation in which you can ask ‘What would Jesus do?’ and expect to get very far.” Coach’s insistence on honesty and integrity (which, by the way, hasn’t always matched his actions) has given me much food for thought, especially about how different cultures have different notions of what constitutes “honor.” What might be honorable for one society might not be honorable for another. It’s been interesting to watch a “Survivor culture” emerge, and to see the contestants develop their own standards for “honor.” In Survivor, it’s generally not considered dishonorable to mislead another contestant because that’s how you win. It is, after all, basically a game, not a whole lot different than Monopoly or bridge. There are, however, some lines that really ought not be crossed. For example, in one season one contestant offered another a brand new prize SUV in exchange for loyalty. The other contestant took the keys to the SUV, then betrayed the other. Definitely not cool. So what can Christians make of Survivor? The trick for people of faith, I think, is to remember that real life is not a game. Sure, we like certain comforts and expect certain rewards for our efforts. But real life is not something to be played at the expense of others so that only one person, or a few people, wins the prize. For people of faith, we not only want to “win,” but our deepest desire is for others to “win” as well, since we know God to have a nature of abundance. Jesus told us to be “wise as serpents and gentle as doves,” so we have a mandate to not be naïve or make door mats out of ourselves. But Jesus also says we should always be mindful of the needs of our brothers and sisters, so that our successes are accomplished with real honor, and others don’t pay a heavy price for those things that benefit us. Being kind and generously mindful of others, even as we seek our own success, is how Christians can truly live well. Blessings - Rev. Amy Lignitz Harken
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| Jan. 14, 2007 As a Christmas gift, someone gave my niece in Delaware a little electronic game called “20 Questions.” The toy is small enough to hold in your hand, but kept us spellbound for hours as we tried to outwit it.
Here’s how you play: You think of a word, such as “goat” or “car.” The toy asks you seemingly random questions, and you answer “yes,” “no,” “sometimes,” or “unknown” by pressing little buttons. Questions might include: Do you use it at school? Can you hold it? Was it invented? Does it help you perform a task? Are there many kinds of it? Can you find it in an office? Can it be washed? Would it be used by a basketball player? After 20 questions, the toy makes a guess. If it’s wrong, it poses five more questions and guesses again.
We tried to stump it with words we thought were obscure, such as “tooth” (one of which Claire lost during the visit), “asparagus” and “ornament.” The little thing got it every time! It had an uncanny ability to sort out what word you had in mind simply by posing the right questions.
I thought I might try to trick it with some rare words used only in the Bible, such as “ephod” and “eunuch,” but to be fair decided to try words that were less obscure, but might be difficult to guess nonetheless. First I tried the word Bible. After 20 questions, the machine guessed “diary.” Not bad. Sometimes when I read the Bible, indeed I think I am reading my own diary.
Next I tried “God.” It came up with “air,” then after five more questions, “sunshine.” Again, not bad. Next I tried “sermon.” It came up with “song”, and then, “kiss.” Interesting.
But as I tried more and more words relating to faith or the church, the questions the toy asked started giving me pause: Does it involve contact with other humans? Can it affect you? Can you control it? Is it usually visible? Does it require specific knowledge to use it?
These are good questions to ask when we think about our relationship with God, and when we think about church. And, it’s worth bearing in mind that people who are new to the faith or new to our church are asking the same questions. Because, like the “20 Questions” toy, we humans try to figure out the unknown by asking questions.
So, maybe we can begin the New Year by taking a cue from an innocent little toy and ask ourselves some questions: In our life of faith, can we say that our prayers affect us? Does our spiritual life involve contact with other humans? Is our faith usually visible? When we talk about our faith to friends and family, do we give the impression that it “requires special knowledge to use it?” Does, in fact, our church “require special knowledge” in order to praise to God?
I hope our prayers do affect us, our faith is visible and our worship services are so welcoming that no “special knowledge” is needed. And I pray that each of us always keeps the wisdom to keep asking those questions, so that our walk with God will always remain vibrant and inviting to others.
Blessings - Rev. Amy Lignitz Harken
| | Jan. 21, 2007 “You have fixed all the bounds of the earth; you made summer and winter.” (Psalm 74:17)
Have ice, snow, and frigid temperatures kept you holed up for days on end? If so, winter may have started to look like the longest season of the year. If your household is like mine, the last of the Christmas decorations have been packed up, the last of the fruitcake has been eaten, and the last needles from the tree have been vacuumed away. And now it might seem like there’s nothing to do but wait until spring.
But, in terms of the church calendar winter feels a little short. In just over a month, we’ll begin our observance of Lent with our Ash Wednesday service on Feb. 21. Lent will guide our journey to Holy Week, culminating in our springtime celebration of Easter on April 8.
We only just celebrated the birth of Jesus on Dec. 25. That leaves less than two months before we start the journey to Jerusalem! So, we’ll make the most of our time by taking another look at some of the most significant, most memorable events in Jesus’ life, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke:
Jan. 21 – Jesus begins his ministry, Luke 3:21-23a
Jan. 28 – Jesus is tempted in the desert, Luke 4:1-13
Feb. 4 – Jesus gathers the first disciples, Luke 5:1-11.
Feb. 11 – Jesus gives the Sermon on the Plain, Luke 6:17-49
Feb. 18 – Jesus is transfigured on the mountain, Luke 9: 28-36 Luke’s gospel is perhaps the most beautifully written account of Jesus’ life. While you await the icemelt, make some hot chocolate, take out your Bible and begin reading again those wonderful stories. And take time to savor both!
Blessings, Rev. Amy Lignitz Harken
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