Month: April 2018

by

For the Beauty of the Earth

(Author’s note: This article was written for the May 2018 Newsletter “The Cross and Tower” for First United Methodist Church Winnfield)

IMG_2117

Azalea cluster closeup from the author’s yard March 27, 2018

If you are a musician or even a fan of music, you probably recognize the title of this article. It is from a hymn by the same name, number 92 in the United Methodist Hymnal. The first stanza reads “For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies. Lord of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.” Each stanza of the hymn paints a picture of gratitude embodied in some aspect of God’s creation: the earth (stanzas 1 and 2), the senses (stanza 3), “human love” (stanza 4), the church (stanza 5), and the gift of God as manifest in Christ (stanza 6). (source: For the Beauty of the Earth History)  The writer of the hymn was Folliot S. Piermont in 1864 and the music by Conrad Kocher in 1838.

IMG_2173

White Bearded Iris from the author’s yard on April 15, 2018 

Indeed, it has been a beautiful spring. My neighbor, Mrs. Price, has some azaleas in the front of her yard that bloomed so profusely that the plants seemed ablaze with red flowers for several weeks. In my own yard, my bearded irises bloomed for the first time in several years, my azaleas bloomed beautifully, my roses are just now having their first flush of blooms, and I have flower scapes on my daylilies. The days have been markedly cooler, albeit too cool for some, (especially those in the Northern US who have received FEET of snow in April). But I’m trying to enjoy these cool days because I know that all too soon August will be here and it will be hot again. Even many of the sunsets and sunrises have been beautiful this winter and into the spring.

Sunday, April 22, 2018 was Earth Day. But God was showing His beauty through the earth, long before there was an earth day. Consider these scriptures. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” Eccleasiastes 3:11 “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Psalm 8:3-4. “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31.

These are only a few of the scriptures that speak of the beauty of God’s creation. The next

IMG_2158

Rose from the author’s yard April 6, 2018.

time you see a flower, or a sunset, or a flying bird, or the beautiful stars, or maybe hear a beautiful hymn, take a moment to enjoy and say thank you for the beautiful earth that God has graciously given to us. Even as we enjoy God’s creation, we know it is also our responsibility to protect the earth and pass all of these beautiful things on to those who come after us. Notice and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation, but protect it so that others can experience “the beauty of the earth” and experience God in the same way.
Noticing God all around me,

Kevin Smith

by

Eating With Ghosts

luke 24_36-48(Author’s note:  this is the introduction to my sermon “Eating With Ghosts” from Luke 24:36-48 on April 15, 2018 at FUMCWinnfield)

A company once hired a recent immigrant and put him to work in the mail room. To the foreman’s shock, the guy was a whiz. He stood in front of the sorting racks and shuffled the letters into slots with amazing speed. The foreman had never seen anything like it. At the end of the day, the foreman shook the new man’s hand, thanked him and said, “I’ve never seen anyone who could sort mail as fast as you.” The new immigrant smiled and said, “You think I’m good now, you wait until I can read English.” (source: The Jokesmith)

Maybe that explains some of the mail in my mailbox. My apologies to anyone who works in the post office. But the truth is that we are cynical and skeptical. Too many times we have been let down. Too many times promises have been broken. And yet, every once in a while, we get pleasantly surprised. Something that seems too good to be true.

That’s the scene in today’s scripture. The disciples are huddled together and Cleopas and his companion enter and add word of their encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus. (you can read that story in Luke 24:13-35). Luke describes the scene like this: “While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, and thought they were seeing a ghost” (v. 36). Imagine how we would have reacted to this first appearance of the risen Christ after his resurrection. This account picks us up at a point where — were we to be present at Easter’s ground zero — we also would have been “startled,” and “terrified.” But Jesus seeks to calm their fears. He reassures them that it is he, inviting them to touch him, and then does a simple act that no ghost would ever do- he asks them for something to eat, then eats the food in their presence. Suddenly it becomes evident to the disciples that this is no ghost that they are eating with. It is the resurrected and living messiah, son of God. How would we react? What would we say if Jesus suddenly appeared to us? If one that we thought was dead, was a ghost, showed up to eat lunch with us? Here’s how the first disciple’s reacted.

by

Surprise in a Graveyard

tomb-960x350(Author’s note:  This is the conclusion of my Easter message “Surprise in a Graveyard” at FUMC Winnfield April 1, 2018.  I have the source for this story listed as Rosemary Kadrmas in Jeff Cavins, et.al, Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart (West Chester, PA: Ascension Press, LLC, 2003), pp. 211-212.)

A woman named Rosemary works in the Alzheimer’s Unit of a nursing home. Rosemary and a colleague named Arlene brought the residents of the home together one Good Friday afternoon to view a movie called Jesus of Nazareth. They wondered whether these elderly Alzheimer’s patients would even know what was going on, but they thought it might be worth the effort.

When they finally succeeded in getting everyone into position, they started the video. Rosemary was pleasantly surprised at the quiet attention being paid to the screen. At last came the scene where Mary Magdalene comes upon the empty tomb and sees Jesus’ body is not there. The risen Christ comes and asks Mary why she is looking for the living among the dead. Mary runs as fast as she can back to the disciples and tells Peter and the rest with breathless excitement, “He’s alive! I saw Him, I tell you! He’s alive.” The doubt in their eyes causes Mary to pull back. “You don’t believe me . . . You don’t believe me!”
From somewhere in the crowd of Alzheimer’s patients came the clear, resolute voice of Esther, one of the patients. “WE BELIEVE YOU,” she said, “WE BELIEVE YOU!”

Well, Esther, I believe it too. I believe because we have many credible witnesses to Jesus’s resurrection, it has changed the lives of many including you and me, and it explains why there is so much suffering in our world. The evidence is overwhelming, and life makes no sense without it. Jesus Christ is alive and rose from the dead.  Hallelujah!  Amen!