Electricity, Hurricane Sandy and the Feast of Sukkot – Four lessons

Posted on November 2, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 6 Comments

After the brute force of Hurricane Sandy subsided, I had some time to reflect on what had just happened. I offer four observations in response to Sandy.

On the real meaning of stewardship

If you’ve spent any time in a church, there is a high probability that you have been exposed to the word stewardship. It is a great word and a great concept, but too often it is used only in reference to finances and giving.

Allowing God to be mysterious

As I have grown older, I have become increasingly comfortable with allowing God to be mysterious. This has relieved me of some of the pressure to provide explanations for particular events.

Internally focused and off track

When the world looks at the church and sees something different than the Christ we claim to worship they have a legitimate reason to criticize us. Neither our theology nor our practice should prevent us from emulating the Christ we see in the Gospels.

On having ears to hear

In western culture we are subjected to a constant barrage of noise and information. We have talking heads on the radio in the car. Music streams into stores as we shop. The television provides incessant babble if we allow it. The stream of information is unrelenting and we cannot possibly take it all in. We have to be selective in our listening.

In several places in the Gospels, Jesus make the statement, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” My paraphrase of this would be, “you’ve got the equipment required to hear, now use it and listen up.”

Dealing with the tares

Jesus warned us that there would be people in our churches with improper motives for being there. The parable of the wheat and tares is one place where Jesus makes this distinction.

An Easter Meditation for 2016

If ever I felt the need to appreciate and appropriate the meaning and the power of The Resurrection, it is today. I thought that perhaps you would also benefit from this meditation as we consider the empty tomb.