Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ;
Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ!
As a point of confession, I've been struggling during this Advent Season to reconnect with the Spirit of Christmas, or more succinctly, the Joy of the Lord. This particular advent season had been marred by some real "rogue waves" of tragedy... A colleague taking his own life... Two dear friends (both parishioners) battling cancer... The son of a dear friend (and deacon in our parish) having been killed in a car crash... have all added up to what could very easily be a bleak and joy-less Advent and Christmas season.
As I am writing this missive, I am spending a few days at Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, New York, on a silent retreat. My intention in coming here was (and is) to reconnect with the Joy of the Lord. This morning (at about 0600 hours) I went down to the refectory for a cup of coffee (this ritual is repeated at the Parsonage many times in any given morning)... however, God used one of my latent "hang-ups" to teach me a lesson on the quality of Joy. This particular hang-up has to do with the fact that my gag-reflex kicks in when I am in the vicinity of out-of-date milk... even one day out-of-date milk inspires a gag reflex that will cause my stomach to lurch and spasm in such a way that I can not explain, except to say that it can be downright painful.
Upon pouring my coffee, and doctoring it up with two splenda (splendas? splendi???), I reached for the milk carton, only to realize that according to the date on the carton, it had just expired... no cream in my coffee...
Not at all discouraged, I walked out onto the porch overlooking the Hudson River, and sat down in a rocking chair, and was treated to a glorious sunrise. As I watched the sun poke through the clouds, and as I sat and sipped my milkless coffee, that still, small voice seemed to capture my attention and I began to focus on the deep, rich, sikly flavor of the steaming-hot brew. Then, as the sun began to burn off the cloud layer, that still, small voice began to remind me that the Joy of the Lord was even deeper, richer, and sweeter than my cup of coffee, and even more capable of warming my heart than even the best-prepared cup of coffee.
The lesson for me this morning is that if I am open to it, joy can be found when you least expect it, where you least expect it, especially if I surrender my expectations to its warm, rich, sweet infilling. You see, if I had followed my original instinct, and declined that first cup of coffee, based solely on the fact that the milk was out-of-date, I would have missed out on a refreshing experience with a deep, rich, sweeter-than-expected cup of coffee... I would have missed out on a refreshing experience with the Joy of the Lord... I would have missed out on sharing this blog with you... and I would have missed out on this opportunity of fellowship with you this morning.
Joy often is found when we refrain from "doctoring up" things in our lives, and the presence of God in our lives when we superimpose our own constructs and our own religious expectations, and instead spend time basking in the deep, rich, sweet presence of the Lord.
In whose name, I bid you peace... and joy...
Dr. Ken+
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
We're Back In Business!
Good evening, Brothers and Sisters in Christ...
Just a quick note to let you know that Dr. Ken's Musings Over A Cuppa Coffee is back in business! Will be posting new musings starting with this week... have lots to share with you... many musings... and can't wait to share with you.
Meanwhile, you have a wonderful evening...
I Bid You Peace...
Dr. Ken+
Just a quick note to let you know that Dr. Ken's Musings Over A Cuppa Coffee is back in business! Will be posting new musings starting with this week... have lots to share with you... many musings... and can't wait to share with you.
Meanwhile, you have a wonderful evening...
I Bid You Peace...
Dr. Ken+
Monday, April 25, 2011
Hybrid
I'm not quite sure of when it happened - or even how it happened - but a while ago I came to the realization that some of the core values, and some of the systematic theologies that I had grown up with and espoused over the years just didn't fit anymore.
I had been steeped in some very judgmental precepts, and had come to the belief that as a pastor I was also called to be a judge, jury, and executioner, not only within the confines of my congregation, but also within my own microcosm. I had become increasingly intolerant of people who were different from me, and could readily ferret out ideas and concepts which did not mesh with my own rigid moral and theological parameters.
The day came - or, rather, a cavalcade of days came, in which I was met with the question "Why are you doing that?", followed by the companionate question of "so what?"
I do not believe that my conversion can be enumerated through a timeline, or a series of dates on the calendar, but rather through a series of indepth dyadic encounters and multiphasic exchanges which led me to the point of realizing that the wheels had fallen off.
If I were to give credit to a select group of people chiefly responsible for loving me into a new relationship with God, the list would include, but not be limited to the following: (please note here, the names listed here have been changed for confidentiality and security purposes, but the lessons that these people have shared with me are very real...)
Dr. Tony L. (showed me acceptance when nobody else would)
Rev. Janet C. (embrace all of God's children)
Dr. William A. (release the inner artist)
Rev. George C. (pray without ceasing, love your enemies)
Rev. "Wild Bob" P. (the importance of prayer and fasting)
Mr. Harold H. (value of a life-long friendship)
Mr. Caleb H. (a negative image of a christian)
Mr. Robert E. (genuine brotherly love)
Mr. Pantelis P. (the power of forgiveness)
Dr. Margaret E. (mentor/ role model)
Dr. Annabeth B. (mentor/ role model)
Again, I remind you that the names of these people have been changed to ensure their confidentiality, and the lessons they have imparted to me are very real. In the next few entries of this blog, I will valiantly attempt to examine the lessons that each of these saints have imparted.
To Be Continued...
I Bid You Peace...
Doc+
I had been steeped in some very judgmental precepts, and had come to the belief that as a pastor I was also called to be a judge, jury, and executioner, not only within the confines of my congregation, but also within my own microcosm. I had become increasingly intolerant of people who were different from me, and could readily ferret out ideas and concepts which did not mesh with my own rigid moral and theological parameters.
The day came - or, rather, a cavalcade of days came, in which I was met with the question "Why are you doing that?", followed by the companionate question of "so what?"
I do not believe that my conversion can be enumerated through a timeline, or a series of dates on the calendar, but rather through a series of indepth dyadic encounters and multiphasic exchanges which led me to the point of realizing that the wheels had fallen off.
If I were to give credit to a select group of people chiefly responsible for loving me into a new relationship with God, the list would include, but not be limited to the following: (please note here, the names listed here have been changed for confidentiality and security purposes, but the lessons that these people have shared with me are very real...)
Dr. Tony L. (showed me acceptance when nobody else would)
Rev. Janet C. (embrace all of God's children)
Dr. William A. (release the inner artist)
Rev. George C. (pray without ceasing, love your enemies)
Rev. "Wild Bob" P. (the importance of prayer and fasting)
Mr. Harold H. (value of a life-long friendship)
Mr. Caleb H. (a negative image of a christian)
Mr. Robert E. (genuine brotherly love)
Mr. Pantelis P. (the power of forgiveness)
Dr. Margaret E. (mentor/ role model)
Dr. Annabeth B. (mentor/ role model)
Again, I remind you that the names of these people have been changed to ensure their confidentiality, and the lessons they have imparted to me are very real. In the next few entries of this blog, I will valiantly attempt to examine the lessons that each of these saints have imparted.
To Be Continued...
I Bid You Peace...
Doc+
Once More, With Feeling...
This past Saturday (Holy Saturday, the day before Easter) I was in the middle of a home visit, when one of the people in the conversation asked me "Doc, what happened to your blog? I used to read it often, and suddenly you weren't doing it anymore?" I made a mental note (I call them "Mental Post-It notes") and placed it somewhere in the back of my memory. Then, yesterday, one of my best friends emailed me and asked me if I was going to go back to blogging again. Well... after much prayerful (and careful) consideration, I have decided to come back into the arena of blogging. The last time I took a foray into blogging was either earlier this year (February, I think... on my congregation's website) or in the fall of 2008 (again... I'm not sure which it was... )
So, what's in store for the 2011 season of this blog? Well, I've been on a spiritual journey of sorts for the past couple of years, and in the next few days, weeks, and months, I will be sharing with you some of the highlights of this journey. I hope that you will walk through this journey with me, and that, by sharing this journey, we may wind up growing together and learning together.
So, first and foremost, I would like to say 'thank you' for your patience with me... for allowing me the time off (okay... the protracted time off...) but most of all, for your prayers and your kind words.
I Bid You Peace...
Doc
So, what's in store for the 2011 season of this blog? Well, I've been on a spiritual journey of sorts for the past couple of years, and in the next few days, weeks, and months, I will be sharing with you some of the highlights of this journey. I hope that you will walk through this journey with me, and that, by sharing this journey, we may wind up growing together and learning together.
So, first and foremost, I would like to say 'thank you' for your patience with me... for allowing me the time off (okay... the protracted time off...) but most of all, for your prayers and your kind words.
I Bid You Peace...
Doc
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