Trust and Responsibility

A friend of mine shared a story about having a rough week.  One of the challenges he faced was having to put down the family dog who, although loving and gentle with the family, would at times be overprotective and finally bit someone.

He shared with me how the dog had total trust with him as they went to the clinic.  Wagging his tail, with no real understanding of what was coming.  Even as they injected the deadly serum into his veins, the dog looked lovingly into his master's eyes, knowing that he was in good hands.

As men of God, we too are called to have that kind of trust and devotion.  To submit to His will, with total obedience.  If we believe that He knows what is best for us, and are willing to go where he takes us, "To whom shall I fear."  We follow, even when He takes us down what seems to be dark and scary places.

The other lesson I took from this story was the heavy burden of leadership.  Often times it goes unnoticed, but as men, we are asked to make tough decisions.  Decisions that aren't always popular.  In the case of my friend who put his dog down, his son didn't understand, and was furious that his loving father who let something like this happen to something he loved so dearly.  How often have we felt that way about our loving Father.

In the end, we learn to follow Him with the faith of a simple mind, and we lead those who are in our care with strength and courage.  It's isn't easy, and at times we fail at both.  But it is our great calling. Our path to heaven.  Our daily work.

So don't be discouraged, and no matter how tempting it might be to chart your own course, or avoid responsibility - stand firm.  There can be no victory without a battle, and every day we are given the gift of being able to chose.

Hollywood Gets It Right

It was a scary movie when I first saw it. The mysterious neighbor, the unforgettable trial, the attack in the woods, the innocence of children and the evilness of mankind. Even today, it is still epic. I see it much differently now than when I was a child. That's because I see the man I wish I could be. 

We first saw him in 1962.  Still today, he is one of the most steadfastly honest and moral characters that ever hit the screen. His character remains unchanged as an upstanding citizen who is respected and admired by his peers. He is a man of impeccable moral guidance, teaching his children and holding them responsible for their decisions and actions. In one important lesson that foreshadowed the movie, he taught them about courage and strength by telling them, "I wanted you to see what real courage is...it's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through, no matter what.". He sees the good in everyone and is committed to making his children feel the same way he does. No one questions his intentions or motivations. Is there not even one man who would desire to be like this?

In 2003, the American Film Institute celebrated 100 years of movie-making by voting him the #1 movie hero of all time. That's right - #1. Not Indiana Jones, not Rambo or James Bond. Instead, they picked a middle-aged lawyer from the tired old town of Maycomb, Alabama. Alas, Hollywood gets it right. The movie is of course "To Kill A Mockingbird". The man is Mr. Atticus Finch. It makes you wonder why we don't see more characters like Atticus in movies today. Especially now, when the world so desperately needs more men like him.

Atticus is fictional, but we've all seen his kind exist. Author Harper Lee created Atticus after her own father. God created each one of us in his own likeness and image - to have a strong moral compass with a sense of justice, conviction, wisdom and empathy.....to be leaders of our family like Atticus. Sometimes my family sees Atticus, and sometimes I keep him hidden like Boo Radley. The mind is willing but the flesh is weak. There's always time to get it right. I don't need Hollywood to show me, but it sure is nice to see. So here's to Atticus Finch. May he be in all of us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b05CMl4hwcc

a tribute

On February 9, 2015, parents identified a body as that of their daughter, Kayla Mueller, put to a gruesome death by ISIS.  As a young girl, Kayla initiated her life of service with Big Brothers Big Sisters, organizing a local Amnesty International chapter, and protesting genocide in Darfur.  After graduating in political science, this young woman served in orphanages in India, assisted Tibetan and African refugees, and the International Solidarity Movement.  Kayla returned to Arizona working in an HIV/AIDS treatment center and a homeless shelter for women.   Less than two years later in 2012, she returned to serve refugees in Turkey near the Syrian Border. 

“For as long as I live, I will not let this suffering be normal,” Kayla said in May 2013.  Three months later in August she was taken hostage by ISIS after exiting a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria.  Her father Carl shared his daughter’s words from a birthday letter, “I will always seek God.  Some people find God in church.  Some people find God in nature. Some people find God in love; I find God in suffering.  I’ve known for some time what my life’s work is, using my hands as tools to relieve suffering.”

Kayla’s loss of life as does so many beg the question, why do bad things happen to such good people?  I have no answer to that.  Man acts in imperfect ways and has since the beginning of time.  This original sin we inherit and contribute to as a community, … hatred, racial, sexual, economic biases, global warming, selfishness, inconsistencies with the protection and sanctity of life….  God did not create these, nor does He/She send natural disasters, floods, tsunamis, droughts as warnings or punishments to reprimand us or to test us.  We, as society, inflict ugliness in life, … war, greed, crime, prejudice … upon us and test each other in cruel, depredating ways.  Do we accept the injustices to others as unfortunate or inevitable?

Evil, death, and original sin does not define us.  We live in uncertain times.  God is devastated that a selfless, generous girl traveling the world serving the poor and suffering died alone in filth under horrific cruelty.  But rising from the Son’s degradation, humiliation, persecution and death of Good Friday, God created within us resilience coupled with grace to perform powerful, amazingly profound, compassionate acts.  Kayla did not die for the suffering.  The suffering found life in her!

Through Kayla and many in our own community, men, women, and yes, our children, God acts to co-create miracles within and among us bringing goodness and protecting the dignity of others.   

Easter is God’s promise, God’s victory over Good Friday!

The Horror of Sin

By Fred Vilbig


Look around at creation. The beauty and purity of a gentle snowfall. The color and activity of birds. The subtle and ever changing colors of sunrises and sunsets. The beautiful flowers of springtime. The explosion of colors in the fall.

If you look up in the sky, you see even more wonders. The ever shifting shapes and structures of the clouds with their likenesses to castles, butterflies, and dragons. On a clear night out in the country you can see hundreds of individual stars. If you’re looking at the Milky Way, you are actually looking at billions of stars. And we can only see a small fraction of all the stars in the sky.

All of creation shows a pattern, a rhythm, almost like a dance. The stars follow an annual procession through the skies punctuated by an occasional shooting star. The planets follow their own separate dance. Even at the microscopic level we can see beautiful patterns that escape our normal vision.

In all of creation there seems to be an order, a beauty, almost a purpose. And deep in our hearts, we feel that this is how things ought to be.

But take another look around.