SO SHALL THIS NIGHT END IN JOYOUS DAYOne of the toughest questions in all of the world has to be, how can life contain so much pain, suffering and challenge and still be a gift from a loving God? It’s a hard one. It’s very difficult to understand why pain and suffering are so much a part of life.

As remarkable and wonderful as life can be, there is no escaping the fact that tragedy and heartache are very much a part of it. Human suffering and misery is all around us. Everyday the news is full of stories of tragedies and challenges. We are often confronted with disturbing images of suffering and strife. Here lately, with the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, we are powerfully reminded of the unavoidable certainty of tragedy.

And sadly, although our thoughts have focused lately on these quakes and the unimaginable challenges facing those affected, Haiti and Chile aren’t the only places where people are confronting overwhelming difficulty.

The images from these quakes have been very disturbing. The attention the news media has given to this catastrophe has reminded us of the horrors so many of us face.

The images show the face of unspeakable tragedy, real human suffering. Think of it, lying in pain on the street with broken limbs, no one to help, no one to give you medication or water or food or move you or help you with toileting; lying in pain, infection setting in, crying out and no one to bring relief; dying a long painful death.
Read More

This Week’s Reflection

What if you could design your own God? What would he-or it-be like? I’ve titled our time together “Why Not Design Your Own God?” Notice I didn’t call this a presentation, or a sermon. What it will be, actually, is a spiritual rumination in the pattern of some of the great ruminators: Samuel Clements, Will Rogers, and Andy Rooney.

Before I start to ruminate, though, you need to know a little of my background. You see, I am a “recovering Christian.” And no, I don’t go to meetings and stand up and say, “Hello, my name is Vic, and I am a recovering Christian.” The irony is that here I am, in front of you dear people of Journey’s Community, saying just that. Well.

I’ve experienced a bunch of “passages” since I was confirmed in the Methodist Church in 1950. They have included confusion, concern, anger, renunciation, and letting go. There may be more passages on the road ahead. As Yogi Berra once said, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” I feel like I’ve forked fairly often in the 58 years since I was confirmed. And I suspect most of you have as well.
Read More