Dear Friends: Please join us for the first webstream broadcast of "Free of Encumbrance" to be held Sunday, January 22nd, at 3pm Pacific. Details to be announced soon.
What's in a Name?
Lectionary Scripture Focus – Luke 2:15-21 (NRSV)
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Lectionary Reflection:
The scripture above reflects blessings that follow on the heels of life-changing experiences. As those blessings continue and accumulate over time, we name and identify them by some means or another. As with Mary, we ponder them. We remember them. We retell them. We treasure them. In the end, the blessings mold and shape us. They lead us to do right by others in a world struggling to find its way.
For instance, many of us ponder and treasure names like Gandhi, Buddha, Mother Teresa, the Prophet Mohammad, Moses, Jesus, Martin Luther King. We equate these names with accomplishing much good in the world. Their names and memories exist as statements of faith and promise for what is possible in our troubled world, especially because of the great sacrifices each one made or endured trying to help the world be a better place for us all.
For me, I also think of lesser known prophets and teachers. Having returned to publicly funded mental health work this past August, I am in awe of my mental health colleagues where I work now. A staff of six hundred accomplishes a phenomenal amount of good every year for 16,500 people at or below the poverty level who need mental health and addiction services. Miraculously, the staff accomplishes that mission each year with very limited resource. For instance, most of their workspaces need repair, updating or outright replacement. An insufficient amount of equipment and up to date equipment challenge and frustrate work efforts almost daily. Office space lacks adequate climate control. In fact, my team calls our space “Siberia!” The word “cramped” describes everyone’s workspace. Storage space barely exists and the space that does qualifies for a TV episode of “Hoarders”. Many staff could command higher salaries elsewhere, but they stay with the organization out of commitment to a mission to help the poor who suffer addictions or mental illness. Overall, the sacrifices of these lesser known prophets and teachers are herculean. And when one asks the name for such an organization, one simply answers by saying, “LifeWorks NW”. What a name for a phenomenal community of staff and clients.
If we pause to consider what’s in a name as I did above with LifeWorks NW the answer is, “Everything!” In the shepherds’ case after leaving the presence of Mary and Joseph and Jesus, it was the very same thing. They went to make known to others what had happened to them regarding Jesus. If we stop to ponder everything in terms of you and me, the same results occur if we have been responsive to the blessings God has placed in our lives.
For instance, after applying last summer to LifeWorks NW and the agency subsequently decided it wanted to hire me, my references needed to be checked. In other words, LifeWorks NW needed to talk to people that had a history with me, i.e. people who had known and worked with me. One of my references later told me that when he was called by LifeWorks NW, he jokingly said, “What would you like to know? I can tell you about the time Brad walked on water or when he parted the Red Sea. Which one would you like to hear first?” My friend and I had a good laugh over the comments, but as you might imagine his remarks and affirmations touched me deeply. Most certainly his words helped me get the job.
So what’s in a name? Everything! Names obviously have influence. Names have power. Recently I met with a senior vice president of a corporation headquartered here in Portland, Oregon. The visit involved me seeking a charitable donation of several thousand dollars. When calling to request the appointment, I casually asked what most of us tend to do, “How are you today?” The executive replied, “Well, I’ll answer that question honestly if you will do the same in return.” Jokingly I replied, “Well before you start, let me warn you that you not only have a fundraiser on the phone but also a pastor and mental health professional, the last two of which I have been doing the past thirty years.” Laughing and delighted, the executive and I spent the twenty minutes visiting on the phone. At the end of our conversation, we made an appointment for a week later to further discuss the charitable gift. “Dennis” is the man’s name and his name will always have the power to evoke this initial first memory of him as well as the memory of the gift he later made. Both memories constitute blessings and I shall not forget them.
All the names noted above have power and influence because of the blessings associated with them. And lest we be confused over what constitutes a blessing, one religious scholar defined it best this past week when he said that “a blessing is when one commits oneself wholeheartedly to the well-being of another in tangible action.”
So here’s my request of you: Leave a comment here or on our FaceBook page describing a time when you committed yourself wholeheartedly to the well-being of another through tangible action. And if you can’t think of such a time, please feel free to share a story about someone else. I realize you may feel a bit self-conscious about such a request, but I’m asking that you trust yourself and get beyond that and share your story openly with the part of our world that visits here at Free of Encumbrance Ministries. In doing so, your tangible action will be a blessing to others. If you have difficulty posting your story, please email it to me and I’ll be sure it gets posted.
Blessings and Peace,
Pastor Brad Shumate, M.S.,M.A.,LMHC
Free of Encumbrance Ministries
Vancouver, WA
Please remember to mark your calendar for the first webstream broadcast of "Free of Encumbrance" to be held Sunday, January 22nd, at 3pm Pacific. Details to be announced soon.
Reader Comments:
Reader Comments:
In response to your request, I can’t help but relive the two years that I cared for my mom until her death a few years ago. Having not had the best of relationships with her for many, many years – I moved into my parents’ home. Doing so meant that I lost all freedom that I had. I now had no furniture of my own, no home, limited books, etc. My stuff had to go because of course it was their home. But more than the physical items that I lost, I also lost my freedom to worship in my own home. I no longer had a place for a worship center, I could no longer play the Christian music throughout the house every day. My life became a very routine, get up, fix mom and dad coffee and maybe breakfast, go to work, come home, fix dinner, attend to mom’s needs, spend time just talking with her and then going to bed. All to start again the next day. I felt alone and lost in this new lifestyle but there were those who cared enough to make sure I was fed some spiritual food on occasion. As I sat by her bed, as I watched her take her last breath, I said, “Mom, Jesus and Timmy are waiting. Can you see them?” She opened her eyes, looked up and smiled, then passed quickly. (Tim was my brother who was killed almost 30 years ago in a plane crash. Mom always called him Timmy and never really got over his death) Blessings did come from that experience, none the least of which is a firm belief that God does hear us and provide for our need. And, I now am more qualified as I care for my father in the same way. Blessings come in many ways. I found many in those few years – a new relationship with my mother, not as a child but as her friend and caregiver, a deeper understanding of the pain God felt as I watched her past to another place and a feeling of love as never before. Blessing still abound.
Cheryl
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