The Gift of Assumptive Saints

REFLECTIONS
December 19, 2010

Story has it that author, Lesbia Scott in the interest of teaching her children biblical theology, made up songs for them to sing. A friend upon hearing these songs, encouraged her to publish them. In the 1988 version of The United Methodist Hymnal, “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God,” can be found on page 712. The first stanza sings, “I sing a song of the saints of God, patient and brave and true, who toiled and fought and lived and died for the Lord they loved and knew. And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and one was a shepherdess on the green; they were all of them saints of God, and I mean, God helping, to be one too.” I do not know for certain she borrowed from Pauline theology, however, the Apostle wrote in Romans 1:7, “To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:” In each of these cases the phrasing is assumptive. Those saints we have known in either implicit or explicit terms are named. Then the call is put forth of the possibility in each of us according to the will of God, to move into the positions of those whom we love who are now present with the Lord.

One theologian refers to these folks as “balcony people.” Those who have impacted our lives and remain with us observant from the upstairs room of our existence. Note that the word attic was not used. For an attic is a place where you put things that you probably will never use again, yet can’t bring yourself to throw out. Whereas the best seats are often in the balcony. Often reserved for people of bearing and import.

Mrs. Scott and our Brother Paul knew this. They used loving language to express their appreciation for those souls who had nurtured and nudged them. They are not merely a message in Jesus, but a model. They experienced a call into something beyond individual ability. They wrote and sang of the power of grace to transform ordinary individuals into extraordinary artifacts in the name of God. If we take the words seriously, we may have to come to terms with this fact. In the name of the love of Jesus, we are all saints in waiting.

Dr. Joey K. McDonald

First United Methodist Church
4832 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601

Christmas In A Tree

REFLECTIONS
December 12, 2010

After my father died, a friend gave me a small framed needlepoint which reads: “After Loss Love Remains. ”The quote was said to be original from a sermon I gave reflecting
on Pop. To be truthful, I don’t recall saying it, then or now. However, the saying is true for me. My Father is gone twenty five years, my Mother twenty and yet I feel their love still.

Furthermore, my love and appreciation for them continued rather than merely being aggrandized. I hear them in some of the phrases (I swore to never use), and still use regularly. I see them in the features of myself and those of my siblings. I remember conversations as I look at belongings that were once theirs and are now mine. Gifts of a sort, a loving presence still.

Though I miss my parents usually at those times wisdom and experience would be helpful, I do not miss the suffering I watched them go through. Even as I matured enough to attempt to tell them, I am not certain they knew fully the gifts they gave in model and personality. In a season of gifts it seems some gifts fit better in the heart than under a tree.

Dr. Joey K. McDonald
First United Methodist Church
4832 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601

Criticism Does Not Burn Calories

REFLECTIONS
December 5, 2010

It has been said, we as individuals may be the only Bible some people will read. If this is true, what story will we tell?

What insight to the experience of faith do we provide in the way we live? We have heard of the forgiveness of God, but we judge quickly, ourselves and others. We have heard of the unconditional love of God, yet we fail to love ourselves and others, continuing to love with strings attached and conditions included. We have heard of the acceptance of God; however, we are slow to accept change and adjust expectations for ourselves, and others.

John the Baptist knew the message he wanted read from his life. He wanted the world to know the need it had of God, so he preached of repentance. To repent means to turn around. To those headed down the wrong road of life, John suggested a U turn. Not just any U turn, but one which leads directly back to God. To the judgment and forgiveness of God. This was the power of the baptism John offered. For in this act, John believed one died to his or her past and was born anew through the life giving symbol of the water. Furthermore, John was very clear on two additional points. First, that the agent at work was God, not himself. Secondly, and more significantly, greater works and grander love was yet to come. It still makes for good reading.

Dr. Joey K. McDonald
First United Methodist Church
4832 Tujunga Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601