From Pastor John Benson (7/10/07): Choosing the BestIn the interest of full disclosure - I got this idea from Rev. Paul Meador,pastor of the Church of the Redeemer in Bowie, MD. In a recent newsletter, Paul cites a series of studies titled, When Choice is De-Motivating. One of the studies took place in a gourmet food store, such as we have in this area.Researchers set up a sample table with high quality jams to sample and purchase.The first group sampled from a selection of 6 jams. The second group had a selection of 24 varieties. For both groups, all 24 were available for sale. The results? Not what you would think. The common thinking among social scientists and the general public is that added options can only enhance our lives and make us better off. Contrary to expectations, only 3% of those who tasted the larger variety of jams actually made a purchase, compared to 30% of those who sampled the smaller selection! In addition, the first group showed more enthusiasm about the quality of the jams, while the second group grew weary of trying all the options. Does this tell us something about the stress of living in a land with too many choices? Do we really need more options to bring us happiness? Luke 10:38-42, the Gospel Lesson for Sunday, July 29, tells us otherwise. In this familiar story, Jesus tells Martha, “You are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.” For our own spiritual health and well-being, we need to pay more attention to what the Lord said to her sister, who was sitting at his feet, simply listening - “Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken from her.” None of these things will bring us happiness, until we consistently choose the best thing of all. ________________________________________________________________________ From Pastor John Benson: Virginia Tech - Three Weeks Out I was away when it happened, at a Conference in North Carolina. My wife interrupted our phone call with the news - “There’s been a bad shooting in Blacksburg, but Matt (our neighbor and a member of our congregation) is OK.” Since that startling word three weeks ago, many thoughts and feelings have gone through our minds and hearts. Like so many, I found myself almost instantly on my knees in the chapel, crying out, “Lord, have mercy!” There were no TV’s where I was, and few newspapers, so I spent more time talking with the Father that first week than I would have if I were here in Virginia. The old hymn is still valid - “Have we trials and temptations? Three weeks out, this is still something we all need to do. We need to talk to each other as well. I found myself drawn to the worship service of the Korean congregation which shares our building - not to make a speech, but just to assure them of our love and friendship by being present with them as they struggle with the significance of this for their community. There is not always a lot that we can say, or that needs to be said, but it is vital to somehow let each other know how much we care. I found myself talking over the fence to a neighbor who knew Leslie Sherman, the young woman from Springfield who was killed. Reading the account of her life and the memorial service in the newspapers, I was moved by what a remarkable person she was. No doubt the painful loss being felt by her family and friends underlines the absence of a gifted and energetic young woman. And there were so many others. Three weeks out and every week from here on in, make sure the people around you know how much you love them. _________________________________________________________________________ From Pastor John Benson (4/15/07): I have to admit I wouldn't know much about Don Imus if he hadn't said what he did. I'm not a commuter. I don't listen to talk radio. The "shock jocks" are not on my horizon. But now everyone knows what he called the Rutgers University Women's Basketball Team. Everyone knows and everyone has an opinion. As I thought about that, it occurred to me that Imus is very close to "animus" - one definition of which is "animosity" and "hatred" - and there's a lot of that not far beneath the surface of this controversy. It's not my purpose here to stir that pot. I'd rather try and shed some light by explaining why I changed the outside church sign yesterday to read: BE MINUS YOUR IMUS I'm more concerned about the Imus in all of us than I am about what happens to Don Imus or what should be done. I am a man of unclean lips, Isaiah admits, and I dwell among a people of uncle an lips. I know there is in me this tendency to say stupid things, hateful things, hurtful things - things which I recognize as wrong the minute I say them. James 3:5-6 is an accurate commentary on the imus in Imus and the imus in us and what happens when we say things we should not. I also shudder when I remember the words of Jesus, how he said in Matthew 12:36, that people - including me and you and Don Imus and the rappers and the media and the preachers and the politicians - will have to give an account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. Not just the "really bad things." Not just things that are-deemed to be "politically incorrect." But even-the careless things, the1houghtless things, things that seemed empty and harmless to me, but were out there, like sticks and stones, breaKing bones whether I intended them to, knew they were, or not. Where does it come from, this imus in us? What needs to change? When I think of Don Imus and what I'd like to see, when I think of the girls on the team, when I think of the deep hurt in all of us that needs to be healed - this is what I will pray for: a change of heart. Because it is out of the heart that all our words come. But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these defile you. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile you. (Matthew 15: 18, 19) The good news is - Christ can change our hearts. |