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Our Brokenness Lets God Light In!

“We are all broken, that’s how the light gets in….”

Ernest Hemingway

“Kintsukuroi” is the traditional Japanese method of repairing pottery with precious metal so the repair becomes part of the history of the item.

Although you might see Hemingway and a Japanese repairman as opposites; I believe God has a defined purpose that intertwines both ideas.  We are all flawed or broken in some way, some minor, some severe. God’s healing power and presence come in through the cracks in our human armor; and as we are healed, our experience becomes a precious tool and reminder that nothing is impossible with God.  Those cracks then become the wisdom for us to help and heal others.

We are called to be healed and be healers.  Turn towards the light of God and feel the cracks fill in with Divine Peace!

Praying with you, and for you!

Pastor Lou Strugala

NJSP Chaplain

Photo by pixpoetry on Unsplash

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What are Miracles and Are They Real?

Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

Matthew [9:22]

One of the things I wonder and get questions about is; what are miracles and are they real? I have thought long and hard about this question many times. And sure I have seen my share, but always something so deeply personal, I am not sure my experiences are easily explained in words. Which is in effect part of my answer to those who ask. Miracles are deeply intimate and emotional experiences, something which can’t be explained fully in human terms.

Underlying each miracle is a private conversation with God through Jesus. Maybe by many people who pray together or perhaps just the individual. Each miracle is unique, easily recognizable by the person or persons affected, and always hard to explain to someone else.

As I recently studied miracles I started with, what is the practical definition? The Biblical definition of miracles in my research stated, Occurrences not explainable solely by natural processes, but which require the direct agency of God. Pretty practical answer, miracles are those things which cannot be explained by our human knowledge and involve God.

From ancient times we can get the voice of Augustine, who said; There is no impropriety in saying that God does something against nature when it is contrary to what we know of nature. For we give the name ‘nature’ to the usual and known course of nature; and whatever God does contrary to this, we call ‘prodigies’ or ‘miracles. Augustine is expanding the description by adding that we as humans have defined normal and how God works in our lives isn’t always normal and certainly not easily explainable in human terms.

So this creates another depth to explaining miracles, Augustine is stating; that what we define as miracles may not be that extraordinary in God’s eyes. Or in fact not that far out of the normal for God. When we are in deep distress, God’s intervention in relieving our stress is viewed in our eyes as a miracle. From God’s eyes, Augustine is implying that for God, what we call miracles, is a normal activity. I am very attracted to this explanation because we have a loving God and not a condemning God. And are we any different as parents towards our own children?

Another one of my favorite theologians is Karl Barth. You should know some consider him a radical liberal and others consider him a radical conservative. Just where I like my favorite theologians to be; in the middle. Barth says about miracles; We have one of two options: Either we believe them, or reject them; just don’t try to explain them. A very brief explanation from someone who is usually very long in explanation! And remarkably similar to Augustine in that as humans we will always struggle to define why and what are miracles.

Barth is implying those with strong faith, rely on the fact that miracles are from God. Those who don’t have faith will view the events around a miracle as circumstantial. Barth is also implying, that our human experiences can never explain them. They can only be explained with a strong faith that says, God was involved.

All this points to; miracles are things that we can’t explain through our own natural experiences and understanding. They are beyond our scope of comprehension and defy nature.

Some will say, there is no such thing as a miracle because they can’t be explained. Others will say that they are just superstitious or coincidental events.

I strongly disagree with these arguments. Because we can’t explain miracles, it doesn’t mean we can’t feel or have them. Here is what I mean. We will notice that unusually great joy occurs after a miracle. When a difficult moment has passed a lightness appears, and the dark tension is dissolved. Colors are brighter, music is sweeter, and the world is cheerier. This emotion can not be explained either, but it is real. A visit from God will do that. This intimate reminder that God is real will touch all human hearts that are open to God.

While we can’t completely explain miracles scientifically. I have found that I can get close through math. Here is what I do; I add up the odds of the circumstances of each event and each part of the miracle. Not to get to scientific, but this process is similar to a Venn diagram. As you keep laying the odds out and then multiplying the percentages from event to event. You end up with infinitesimally small odds of it being a natural occurrence. Leaving the scientific response to be none other than it more likely than not that it was a miracle. Do the math on your next miracle and you will see what I mean.

Miracles are always very personal and intimate. In those dark moments of life, when you are bare and hopelessly lost, you have conversations with God. Conversations pleading for help. Starkly real moments when you are physically frozen. In quiet desperation, you yield your inner thoughts to God. God hears and responds. Only we will know about the depths of this conversation.

Then we watch and slowly the veil of darkness is lifted. When we were alone in complete darkness, God responded. For me, this once occurred on a dark night, under a street lamp. A moment so memorable that it’s realness is as sweet today as it was back then. An answer from God, that didn’t make life better but made me know God was with me, which was what I needed. The events that followed created a cascading set of events; whose improbability assured me that it could be none other than God.

Only we know about the depths of these conversations. And when the stress is resolved, we can and should go back to these conversations. We will see how we were answered.

I suppose I should take Augustine’s and Barth’s advice, stop trying to explain miracles through natural terms. Give my faith the opportunity to believe when I see miracles that it was God. To allow the joy of knowing God’s involvement and God’s response to be more important than the explanation.

Our faith makes miracles real and our faith will let us know God was involved.

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by Miltiadis Fragkidis on Unsplash

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1^st Timothy: An Inside Look at The Development of the First Christian Churches

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer

1^st Timothy 1:3

1^st Timothy is one of the three Pastoral Epistles in the New Testament, attributed to the Apostle Paul. The letter was written to Paul’s protégé, Timothy. Tradition states that this letter was written in the mid first century. Most scholars doubt that this is the case and assign it’s writing to the mid second century. As such, most scholars don’t believe Paul wrote this letter. I take a different view; I believe both tradition and the scholars are correct. My view is that it is likely that Paul originally wrote this letter, and that it was later heavily edited up until the mid-second century. My research and reasoning for this position explains the value of the letter. In other words, both points of view are right, and this combining of ideas that spans almost one hundred years, make this letter an extraordinary addition to our Bible.

1^st Timothy is about the standards of conduct for the early church. For both those who have oversight and for the attenders. The early church in Ephesus, which Timothy was placed in charge; is used as the example by Paul. Paul originally wrote this letter to his protégé, Timothy, to help him keep the church in Ephesus on track.  There are three important themes arise out of the letter;  to avoid false doctrine, the qualities needed for those who run the church and  godliness for all.

The value for us in the 21^st century, is that in this letter we get a first-hand look into the growing pains of the early church and the issues that these pioneers had to deal with in creating the church we know today.

Paul is traveling to Macedonia when he writes this letter and asks Timothy to stay in Ephesus to help the church with its growing pains. One of the issues the church was dealing with was false doctrine. Like any new organization that starts to grow quickly, the new arrivers begin to add their own ideas. Sometimes good and sometimes bad. Paul knew that getting this right at the start was important, both for the church to grow and to stay sustainable.

An example of this false doctrine was how to view the law and specifically the Ten Commandments. When taken very literally the law didn’t leave room for the spirit of the law and Faith. As such, could easily be manipulated. In Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is very specific that following the law without a spirit of loving God and your neighbor, the law will be of little value. Some from the Jewish background or newly minted Jewish Christians desired more emphasis on the law. In effect, bringing their comfortable background into the new church, but not really understanding the importance of the spirit of the law and Faith .

This directive is best summed up in 1:4, where Paul states; Not to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith.

It isn’t that Paul didn’t believe in the law of Moses, it is the added emphasis of the spirit and faith that Paul sought.

Others from the Gentile world sought to bring previous pagan practices to the church. Keeping the purpose of Christ free from false doctrine, dominated the church for well over four hundred years. This letter provides a look into this struggle.

The letter also gives a strong message of the importance of the leader’s faithfulness. In 3:2 Paul states; Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach. Paul’s point here is to assign leadership to people who have the right attitude about how to live a Christian life. For even if leaders have strong organizational skills, without proper Christian conduct, they would weaken the church. Today, many ministers and priests are evaluated on these principles in 1^st Timothy.

One of the more interesting aspects of this letter is the use of the word godliness. Godliness only appears in the New Testament eighteen times and not one once is the four Gospels, Acts or any of Paul’s first letters. In 1^st Timothy Godliness appears twelve times. The reason I point this out is that Godliness is a critical theme to the book. As well as, it is one of the reasons scholars do not think this letter was written by Paul. For me, its inclusion is part of my support for why I believe the letter underwent heavy editing.

The Godliness concept applies both to the leaders of the new church and to the congregation. In the Bible; Godliness is mainly used to describe a positive way of life influenced by God, and inspired reflection in the tenets of the Christian faith. A person with Godliness was faithful, kind, generous, pious, and committed to Christ.  In 1^st Timothy, this standard is the aspirational goal for all Christians.

With these three themes in mind, I encourage all to read this book/letter. The total time to read is no more than fifteen minutes. In doing so, you will discover the issues that had to be resolved for the early church to grow. A wonderful gift for that helps us understand the struggles of the early church. A ministry centered on three things; adherence to the true message of Jesus, the right people to have in leadership and a commitment to godliness.

I also strongly believed that the basis of this letter was Paul, as tradition suggests. However, I understand why scholars don’t feel it was Paul. Examples include; the use of the word godliness, and there are another 353 words that Paul never used in his other writings. Also,   the literary flow is different than in other of Paul’s writings. I see these discrepancies as the editing from the first and second century’s church leaders to fully capture the struggles of the emerging church and not just the church in Ephesus. But I also strongly believe Paul was the original author

I believe this is part of the beauty of this letter. And the reason it is included as one of the twenty seven books of the New Testament. What was created from this one hundred year process of writing and editing is a capturing of how the early church struggled. The resolution of these issues are so skillfully captured in 1^st Timothy, we in the twenty-first century are given a ring side seat to the how the early church grew and emerged. And we also are provided a basis to evaluate ourselves and our own church.

We don’t have to overthink this message; only remember to stick with Jesus’s teachings, strive to be above reproach and focus on our personal Godliness. Three simple messages!

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by John Cafazza on Unsplash

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Milking Cows is a Good Way to Learn Kindness

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentlenesses, and self-control. 

Galatians [5:22]

I usually speak to my mom once a day, by phone. We discuss many things; life, how she is doing, and the Boston Red Sox. Sometimes we ramble about little things, other times we venture into the profound. On a recent call, my Mom unknowingly gave me the clue to the roots of her kind and generous heart. Not in a bravado way, but through her eyes as a young teenager. She said; If you want to be a kind person, learn to milk cows!

My mom grew up during the Depression and World War II. Life was much leaner in those days and both parents sometimes had to work, as was the case with her parents. Each summer to help her parents out, my mother and her two siblings went to their grandparent’s farm to work. Some of mom’s favorite childhood memories come from spending her summers working on their farm.

Life is hard on a farm. There are fields to tend to, chickens to feed, and cows to milk. The day starts at dawn and isn’t finished until after dark. One of the hardest things to learn is how to milk a cow. Now it would seem that you put a pail under a cow’s udder, sit on a stool, squeeze the appropriate spot, and out comes milk.

Before today’s corporate dairy farms, in the mid 20^th century, milking cows was not quite that easy. The cow had to know you and be comfortable with you. If you tried just sitting down and milking, it wouldn’t work. What made it even worse, was if you were impatient and surly.

Today’s dairy cows are fed supplements to make them produce more milk and generally, the cows are milked mechanically. Over time they become used to the process or if not, selected out. In the 1940’s, when my mom milked cows, dairy farms were not that sophisticated, and cows had to be milked by hand.

As a young teenager, she had to learn all the nuances of milking cows. Some cows could be stubborn and others easier to milk. Some needed a little pat or maybe a treat, each cow was different. And each cow performed better when spoken to with a calm voice. Today, my mom takes great pride in this past ability. It was her way of helping out both her parents and grandparents; and she became very good at the nuances of milking cows. The most important nuance was kindness.

Many times on our daily talks, my mom will use the milking of the cows as an example of how to deal with people. It never quite hit me, that the root of her kindness was from milking cows those many years ago. I had heard her stories many times, but only on a recent call, I was able to connect the dots. We were talking about the deep polarization in our country, and then she exclaimed;  As a country, we lack kindness and If you want to be a kind person, learn to milk cows! There it was the solution to our national dilemma, kindness!

In today’s verse, Paul writes in Galatians about the fruits of the Spirit. He says; The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. I have always loved this verse. One of the things I try to do is to recite all nine fruits that are listed from memory. It is a long list and invariably I forget a few.

Kindness stands out in this verse and in many ways is strongly connected to the other eight. For instance, you can’t have an attitude of love, without kindness. To have forbearance, you must be kind.  Being gentle takes kindness as well. Try this association with all the fruits yourself and you will see that the critical component of kindness is integral to the other eight.

When I read or hear about the angry discourse in our country, I wonder how much of it would go away if we approached all people with a little more kindness. Certainly, we wouldn’t talk over people. We would listen with the intent of learning instead of rebutting. We would deeply want to know why the other person had their point of view. It doesn’t mean we won’t disagree, and sometimes we will. Instead, we will create a sense of openness and trust.

This may sound a little too simplistic, but when I think about most of my friends and their polite conversations, there is one common denominator, they all have kindness! It doesn’t mean we always agree, rather civility and kindness are very important ingredients in any conversation.

Maybe my mom is right, milking cows will make us kinder!

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash