A Reason to be Thankful

The noise in the hallways today has been a little louder than usual. The girls of St. Mary’s seem to be thrilled about the extended Thanksgiving Break. Each time one has walked in my office I have asked them if they are excited about Thanksgiving and I inquired about their plans. Although, I am pretty positive that almost everyone is excited to be out of school, some look a little terrified of their planned excursions.

“I have to go to my grandmothers, and there is no one my age, just my cousins who are a lot older and won’t hang out with me,” said one girl. I try to cheer them up but I understand exactly how they feel. We are forced to be around family and usually several more people than we are used to having invade our personal space. Holidays all around mean more family skirmishes, a lot more stress, and a hike in everyone’s blood pressure.

There is a special lectionary reading for Thanksgiving from the gospel of Matthew. In this Jesus says, “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what your will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.” This comes at Thanksgiving, when we seem to stress about so much. I am fretting dealing with the stress levels of the Burruss kitchen as my mother and father try to prepare the turkey feast. Someone is always getting in the way and upsetting everyone else, the meal never goes exactly as planned, and although the last few years have been pretty easy with just the four of us, this year we have out-of-town guests. And that always means chaos. We always have a fabulous time, but we certainly worry about our food and drink.

As Thanksgiving arrives this week I challenge us all to quit worrying and be thankful and focused during this celebration of the gifts of God. I am thankful for the chaos in the kitchen because it means that I have a family to be with. I am thankful for worrying about if the turkey is too dry or too overcooked, because it means that I have a dinner that I can share with others. I am thankful for having the family invade my personal space at my home, because it means that I have a roof over my head and a place to have family visit. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Listening to Youth

I had the privilege of being a part of a spiritual retreat this past weekend for high school students. The annual event is called Bishop’s Bash and provides a unique experience for youth where they engage in conversation with the bishop of West Tennessee. In years past, we have designated a time period for the bishop to answer questions from the youth. I was rather surprised this year when Bishop Johnson asked, if for a change, he could put the youth on the hot seat and ask them questions. He had a unique opportunity to get unsolicited advice from a quorum of youth.

Bishop Johnson has been asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury to be part of a group that will try to figure out if it is possible for dioceses to have oversight from a different primate other than the Presiding Bishop. This is a challenging topic which threatens to change the structure of the world wide Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church forever.

I was a little surprised when the bishop asked if he could ask the youth questions. I naturally assume bishops are bishops because they are more knowledgeable about the Episcopal Church than most, have very good judgment, and are called by God. Foolishly, I wouldn’t have expected a bishop to seek the advice of forty high school students on how to handle one of the most delicate problems that has faced the Episcopal Church in years.

So often, we are guilty of writing off the opinions and viewpoints of youth. Even I, who work with youth, find myself looking elsewhere for advice. I can think of only one Episcopal Church in our diocese that has youth on the vestry. Of the twenty-two dioceses in Province IV, only two let youth vote during the diocesan convention. At least two dioceses do not even let youth attend. What Bishop Johnson recognized was that youth need to be listened to. They have quite a bit invested in the church. It is not only their church right now, but the decisions that are made today shape the church of tomorrow, the church the youth are left to run. And sometimes a fresh perspective from someone a little younger is a very valuable thing. Imagine how our education system could be changed, if teachers and school boards asked not only the parents, but also the students what they were getting out of their classes and what was and wasn’t working.

for one more day

Best selling author Mitch Albom came to speak about his new book For One More Day last week at Holy Communion. Mitch kept hearing the theme of having one more day with a loved one when people talked about his other two popular books. He didn’t speak very long, but by the end of his talk, nearly the entire packed room was moved to tears and wishing they had one more day with the loved ones that are no longer with us.

I have a kid sister. She will be twenty three-years-old in a few months and still looks up to me like she did when she was ten. Mitch made me feel a little guilty about my attitude towards Ann sometimes. I love Ann as much as any brother loves a sister, but I guess I don’t do the best job of letting her know how much I care. When she calls, I often am in the mindset of “what in world do you want this time?” She usually is just checking on me or inviting me to dinner or lunch. Yet, I write her off. I almost always put her after my friends and I can’t seem to figure out why. Ann’s a neat girl, cool as can be.

Mitch talked about how we only beg for that one more day when it is too late. It’s not too late. There are so many wonderful people in our lives that we have another day with. I feel so foolish now after all those years of getting upset with my father for wanting the family to have a sit down dinner every night. I was always putting up a fight claiming I had to be out cruising the neighborhood with the local rug rats of my hood. Mitch reminded us of the importance of the personal relationships between people. Every day is a new invitation to spend one more day with those loved ones in our lives. John Wayne once said, “Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.” Tomorrow is my opportunity to tell my sister I love her.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Dear God,

Thank you for this wonderful and new day.

Thank you for the way that the cool fall breeze chills my skin as you let me know that you are with me.

Thank you for the friends that I have, who without their honesty, patience, and love, I would not be the person I am today.

Thank you for my family who shines when I do well, and helps me up when I fall down.

Thank you for the youth that I work with. Their willingness to embrace the world inspires me everyday.

Thank you for the light you provide in my life, for continuing to bless me when I turn my back, and your open arms that are always ready to accept me for me.

Thank you for the talents and gifts which I have been blessed with.

And thank you for all that I have in my life.

Thank you.

The Power of Love

I would say my friend Logan is deep into Christian spirituality, but I wouldn’t call Logan a Christian in the way that one would traditionally define a Christian. Logan is a very spiritual person who is taking classes to be certified as a spiritual counselor. Most of my friends spend a good portion of their day thinking about fantasy football, the Heisman Trophy watch, or where to meet nice girls. So, for me, it was a real treat to be able to spend a three hour drive home from the lake in profound theological debate.

Logan is turned off from Christianity because of how exclusive some Christians can be and by the use of fear in trying to spread Christianity. In sermons at different churches, he continually hears a message of “do this because Jesus says so.” Sometimes I hear that same message too. And even more often, I am guilty of spreading that message as well.

So often, I find myself coming up with rules and regulations for the world according to “John Burruss.” I judge others because they bend and break my rules. Sharing my rules seems to be the only logical way to have others conform to what I believe will make this world a better place. I forget the true value of what it means to be a Christian.

I often look at some of my friends and judge them. I think they party too much, they don’t have their priorities in order, or a plethora of other standards that I use to criticize their standard of living. And when I do this, I keep myself from doing the very thing I am called as a Christian to do; to love them, and love them unconditionally. Instead I let my own pride and ego separate me from my friends. Like everyone else, I want my life to be meaningful and important and to make a positive impact in this world. This story of Zacchaeus reminds me of the power of love.

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector in the Bible. Everyone hated the tax collectors and probably most people tried to change Zacchaeus by sharing with him their personal views of the world and why tax collecting was wrong. Yet Jesus loved Zacchaeus and he sold half of his possesions and followed Him. Love has the power to change this world. I only hope I can harness that power.

Changing the Routine

Since I work for a church, my week begins on Sunday morning at the 9:00 a.m. worship service. And this week started off on the wrong foot. After pressing my snooze button one too many times, I found myself arriving at church late and sneaking into the back of the nave for a seat just a few rows from the very back. As an Episcopalian, I have gotten in that routine of sitting in almost the exact spot every week, even to the point of feeling spite when someone snags my seat.

What I found by sitting in the back of the church was how powerful and magnificent our choir could sing. Our choir sits in the loft of the church, but their voices have a difficult time reaching across the nave. I was in for a real treat this Sunday with the children singing with the adults. It may be my sensitive side, but I was honestly moved to tears during the offertory.

I suspect that nothing was too special about Sunday. The choir probably always sings this beautifully and because I have fallen into the routine of sitting up front, every Sunday I miss out. Now I am not suggesting that we all get up and shuffle around our churches this Sunday. That might give some of the cradle Episcopalians that have been sitting in the same seat since the 1928 Book of Common Prayer was written a heart attack. But I am suggesting that when the actions in our lives become routine, we begin to miss the beauty of the world we live in. We drive to work the same way every day and ignore everything around us except for the path ahead of us. We recite the Lord’s Prayer without actually acknowledging what the words are saying to us or what we are really praying.

This week I challenge you all to be more intentional about the daily routines of your life. Take the back road to school or to the office. Look at your parents, your children, your wife, or your friends, and notice how wonderful a person he or she truly is. And if you are really feeling gutsy, find a new place to sit in church. See how the word reaches you from an entirely new place.

Sitting Still in Silence

I have been watching the television show Lost lately. The show is about a group of passengers on a flight from Sydney to Los Angles whose plane crashes on an island in the Pacific. Some how there are 48 survivors and they are alone on a beautiful island. The refuges become restless and bored with nothing to do but gather food and water and we gather the feeling that there is no entertainment or ways to keep their lives busy.

Watching Lost has made me realize, this is a feeling I have never had. We have established social systems that do not allow for idle time. From the earliest ages, young children have established schedules from 2-year-old schools following with play dates on Mondays & Wednesdays, and piano lessons once a week. Family dinners are becoming less frequent and stress levels are rising every year. High school youth are expected to play multiple sports, musical instruments, participate in social clubs, and somehow find time to participate in church youth groups, but only after everything else is finished.

Right now I am on our youth fall retreat on Kentucky Lake. We began our day with a short five or ten minute Morning Prayer service. Since the goal of this weekend is to have everyone slow down their busy lives a little, I was very intentional about silence after each prayer. I have obviously forgotten how difficult it is to be silent. I found myself unable to sit still for as long as I intended, but instead moved through the service faster than I wanted to. Silence and being still became a challenging task.

I think silence is important and reflection is necessary in our lives. The few times in my life when I have really been able to slow down, I have found it much easier to hear that still small voice in my head. I have been able to find my calling without feeling too helpless and lost. As we spend our time on Kentucky Lake trying to slow down our busier lives, I challenge anyone who reads this to do the same. Try sitting still for five minutes. It really is much more difficult than I ever thought.