Author: Vernon Dobelmann

What happens when we make choices in life that are less than ideal?  Some of these choices and decisions can be minor in nature and have very few negative consequences attached to them.  Major decisions, on the other hand, can have a much deeper and lasting impact that brings a lifetime of baggage that is hard to unload.  This is especially unfortunate if an indiscretion is committed at a young age and the stigma walks with you for the rest of your life.  If you become a “celebrity” in the process, it is even more devastating.

Our actions have consequences—and sometimes serious consequences—both now and for eternity.  Some would argue that it is difficult to prove anything regarding eternal consequences. Obviously, the gift of faith certainly plays a key role in our thoughts about heaven, hell, and eternal life.  To a person of no faith it would be a challenge to convince them of these eternal consequences.  However, in the here and now, consequences of actions are very evident.  We get glimpses into a variety of scenarios on a daily basis as we watch the evening news. 

Reflect upon what runs through your mind as I offer this simple birthday greeting.

Happy 40th birthday to Monica Lewinsky!

What are your initial thoughts after reading that greeting?  Take time to reflect upon it.

I don’t know what has happened in Monica’s life since she initially became a public figure.  I hope she has found some semblance of ordinariness in day-to-day living after the huge amount of public exposure she experienced in the wake of the scandal that engulfed her life. I am sure it has been a difficult journey for her, but I sincerely hope that she has been able to overcome the obstacles put in place by previous circumstances.

Is there any of us who wouldn’t take back some decisions we have made in life if we were given the chance to do so?  Let’s face it.  We all have our shortcomings and failings, and none of us want to be judged based upon our worst moments in life.  We look for acceptance, forgiveness and hope.  Let’s remember to extend these same considerations to others when they experience less than stellar moments in their lives.

The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all!

On July 22, 2011 there was a double attack in Oslo, Norway beginning with a car bomb and then a shooting rampage. There were nearly a hundred people killed and hundreds more were injured. According to Wikipedia, “It was the deadliest attack in Oslo, Norway since World War II, and a survey found that on average, 1 in 4 Norwegians knew ‘someone affected by the attacks.’”

The amount of violence that is exhibited all across the world is astounding. It grips up in a more profound manner when the attacks hit close to home, but the devastation is still real even when it happens half way around the world from where we are. Today let us pray for all the Norwegians who lost loved ones in these attacks. May they continue to find strength to carry on. Let us also remember in prayer all those who were physically injured. Some of these injuries were very serious and so we pray for continued healing and restoration of physical abilities. Finally, we pray for all those who are struggling with the emotional and spiritual turmoil that is left behind in the wake of such a tragic event.

Matthew 5:9
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let you hearts be troubled or afraid.”

John 16:33
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 12 verses 18 through 21 we see the words of the prophet Isaiah recalled from chapter 42 verses 1 through 4 in regard to The Chosen Servant. “A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Although I have read these verses many times, something was different yesterday when I reflected upon them. I have typically viewed these verses in the context of the gentleness and compassion of our Lord. However, there is also a tone of strength in these words.  Although the Chosen Servant will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoldering wick, he will bring justice to victory. That certainly gives the Gentiles reason for hope.

I believe the message in these few verses is very pertinent for believers today in regard to how we share the Good News with others. Are we faithful to the message while being gentle and compassionate in the delivery? There is plenty of pain and hurt in the hearts of many people. The world can sometimes be a very cruel experience. Reaching out to people with the Gospel message is certainly an admirable task, especially when they are hurting. Does the Gospel message bring hope for healing and forgiveness, or does it bring shame, guilt, and condemnation? What is the Gospel we proclaim in our words and in our actions?

Communication methodologies have changed immensely over the last 20 years and some key ingredients to effectiveness seem to have been lost in the process. Where is respect, honor, common courtesy, and tact? An abrasive personality in a face-to-face interaction is bad enough, but give that same individual the opportunity to communicate through e-mail and abrasiveness can be taken to a whole new level. The inability to hear the tone of one’s voice in electronic communications can be a detriment to realizing just how rude, crude, uncouth, and socially unacceptable the message may truly be. This type of experience can be devastating to an already spiritually and emotionally wounded individual, and if it comes from a person in a position of authority, the impact is even more catastrophic.

It is important for people of faith to build up the Kingdom of God through our words and actions. Even if the majority of the secular culture would prefer that Christians keep their worldview to themselves, we have a responsibility to continue to live our lives in faithfulness and fidelity to our Lord, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we have a responsibility to be a beacon of hope to others who are struggling. Are we willing to bring the love of Christ to others without breaking the bruised reed nor quenching the smoldering wick?

On July 19, 1950  Pope Pius XII issued his encyclical, Summi Maeroris. You can see the full text here.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_19071950_summi-maeroris_en.html

It is interesting (and sad) to see how appropriate the message still remains today.  Paragraph 12 summarizes some of the challenges we face and what our response should be as Church.

12. As a matter of fact, there have never been lacking, either in ancient or in more recent times, those who tried to subjugate the peoples by the use of arms; on the other hand, We have never ceased to promote a true peace. The Church desires to win over peoples and to educate them to virtue and right social living, not by means of arms but with the truth. For “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty to God”
(II Cor. 10, 4).

World events make it clear that we are far from having a lasting and true peace. What will we, as individuals and as a Church, do in our local communities to promote this true peace for which we long? It has been 63 years since this encyclical was written. How well have we implemented the message contained in this document during all of those passing years? What progress will we make in the next 63 years?

On this date in 1970 major league baseball player Ron Hunt set a new record by getting hit by a pitch for the 119th time in his career. Although I was only 10 years old at the time, I can remember the discussions at our community ball park surrounding this “accomplishment”. As a young player, I had already had the experience of being hit by a pitch on a few occasions, and I knew that I had no desire to pursue such a record as the one Ron Hunt was holding. There had to be an easier way to make the record books.

Do not fear. Have courage. These are admonitions Christians have received for centuries.  Our response to the challenge of living a faith-filled life in the modern world can certainly require the gift of fortitude. Have we had the courage to stand up for truth and righteousness when we have been smacked down figuratively or even literally by those around us? Although it sometimes hurts, have we stood at the plate without bailing when the pitch comes sailing toward us? Have we stood firm on the promises of God?

The polarization of worldviews in contemporary society tends to create an environment in which an exchange of ideas in a thoughtful and orderly fashion is highly improbable if not impossible. Tolerance is preached as long as you agree with the views of the one preaching tolerance. Otherwise, the overriding sentiment seems to be that it would be best if you simply kept your opinions to yourself. Oh, and look out if you think there is an Eternal Truth. How unenlightened can you be?

As I continue to watch and listen to the many political discussions taking place across the country, it becomes more and more evident that Christians will be getting hit by pitches on a more frequent basis as the level of intolerance for traditional viewpoints grows. Are we going to be willing to stand firmly in the batter’s box when the pitches are coming at us wildly from a variety of directions? We may not be called to martyrdom for the sake of the Kingdom, but it is likely we will take some hits at least verbally, if not physically. At 10 years of age I will admit that I experienced fear in the batter’s box when the pitcher was lacking control, and there was no way I was going to emulate Ron Hunt. As an adult, I hope I can learn from his example and muster the courage I need to stand firm in the faith.

“Do not fear for I am with you.”
(Isaiah 41:10)

Have you ever had one of those days when it seems that everyone is angry or upset about something? No? Excellent! Then pretend with me for a moment that there are days when not everything goes exactly as planned, and let’s put it into the context of your local church congregation.

If disagreements arise within the church community which direction do people tend to go?

Matthew 5:48 (Expectation of others)
Luke 6:36 (Expectation of how I am to be treated)
John 8:7 (But he/she deserves it)
John 8:10 (What? You gotta be kidding me!)
Luke 23:34 (Hopefully, in all seriousness, we are here)

We are one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. May we live up to the ideal!

It’s summer! There is ample sunshine, plenty of social gatherings, and an overall opportunity to be fully alive. So why do I feel so exhausted?

In her kind and loving way my wife started the day off yesterday morning by looking at me and saying, “You look rough.” I responded, “That’s good. Then my appearance matches how I feel.” Obviously, that was the wrong answer for me to give because then we proceeded through the 20 question scenario. She proceeded to ask: 

1.      Why do you feel rough?

2.      Didn’t you sleep well?

3.      What’s on your mind?

I’ll spare you the remaining 17 questions, but you get the picture.

In reality, I had actually been pondering some of those questions for weeks. Specifically, why do I feel so run down and sluggish? I had even picked up numerous books at the library in my quest for shaking off the cobwebs that had seemed to gather on my psyche. One of these was entitled, The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry by Henri Nouwen. As I read the book I was looking for the key to moving out of the rut in which I had found myself?

Reading the insights of Henri Nouwen certainly reminded me of some things that were missing in my prayer life—especially silence and solitude. His words resounded in my head over and over about the need for solitude. I frequently sit in church all alone in front of the tabernacle during my lunch hour.  This provides the opportunity to maintain silence, but I became very aware after reading this book, that I am a long way from experiencing solitude. Silence on the outside may be present, but my inner world continues bouncing around all over the place and solitude isn’t anywhere in sight. Quietness in the depths of my heart seems to be only a dream, and without solitude there is no chance of truly praying without ceasing.

Yesterday, as I sat in the Lord’s presence, my mind was filled with the anxieties of the world. It was like a newscast going from one negative story to the next—the Zimmerman trial, the IRS scandal, protests over the Texas pro-life legislation, a judge overturning a pro-life law in North Dakota, the continuing challenges all across the country in regard to the sanctity of marriage, and on and on the newsreel kept going in my head. Although the church was completely quiet while I sat there lost in my thoughts, the noise inside my head made it quite evident that finding silence or solitude would be a monumental task. Why was it so difficult for me to pray?

I had also started reading another one of the books that I had checked out from the library. This one was entitled, The Cause Within You: Finding The One Great Thing You Were Created To Do In This World by Matthew Barnett. It is a fascinating book centered on Matthew’s ministry as a 20 year old pastor in one of Los Angeles’ most dangerous areas. Matthew provided a lot of food for thought in regard to the outreach of the Church to those who are hurting. In the midst of all of the stories, what worked and what didn’t, I found a nugget of inspiration that I am hopeful will be helpful in refocusing my energy. In one of his epic failures during his early ministry, God revealed to Matthew that he wasn’t to be pursuing success. He was simply called to be a blessing to others. This statement mirrors that of Mother Theresa of Calcutta when she reminded us that God doesn’t call us to be successful; we are called to be faithful. I summarized that if I am being a blessing to others, I am being faithful.

It is no secret that day-to-day life can take a toll on us. People involved in ministry are subject to the same difficulties and challenges as everyone else. We can become tired, disillusioned, disaffected, apathetic, etc. When this happens, the joy of the Lord cannot be seen in us. If Church leadership succumbs to complacency and indifference, the flock will certainly suffer the effects. Subsequently, it is important for all of us, clergy and laity, to keep our batteries charged and ready to go.

I will continue to pursue the opportunities to sit quietly before the Lord. Eventually, I pray that the outer silence will make its way more fully into the depths of my heart providing the solitude which is desperately needed to more readily hear the voice of God. It is with the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit that I will gradually move from spiritual sluggishness to spiritual fruitfulness in both my prayer and my actions. Anticipation now fills my heart as I eagerly embrace the rest of the day looking for the opportunities to be a blessing to others. Maybe tomorrow I won’t look as rough?

Do you see the world as a sinking ship on its way to judgment and hell?  Are you grasping for the lifeboat?  I have heard numerous comments today expressing sadness at the direction our country is going.  One person said to me, “It is futile to fight in the culture war.  We have lost.”  One blog post title even lamented that “Marriage is dead and so is the Church.”  As another individual so aptly questioned some time ago, “Where are we going?  And why am I in a hand-basket?”

Much has been written today about “same-sex marriage,” the Supreme Court actively legislating from the bench, and the continued erosion of religious liberty in our country.  The spin placed upon these topics will certainly depend upon which media outlet you are utilizing.  My expectations for the secular media are relatively low and so I am not surprised by most of it.  However, the disheartening moments are when I read statements from pastors representing a variety of denominations expressing their support of these initiatives to legislate and legitimize same-sex unions.  In times like these it is evident that we are far from being one flock under one shepherd.

Disunity in the Church diminishes our credibility to speak effectively on issues of faith and morals.  We are in serious trouble when leaders in the Church can’t even agree on basic life issues such as (1) marriage is between a man and a woman, and (2) life begins at conception.
If we struggle to agree on these basic premises of life, we simply become another opinion out in the world rather than a prophetic voice of truth and reason. 

Today has been a difficult day.  It seems that the Supreme Court initiated a celebration of sexual promiscuity by their ruling.  That is problematic for society on a number of levels, whether it is heterosexual or homosexual activity.  Going hand-in-hand with sexual promiscuity we see the issues of contraception, abortion, and infanticide.  Nancy Pelosi boldly stated that abortion is sacred ground.  If our government leaders in the legislative, judicial, and executive branch view the horrendous act of abortion as sacred, we are facing a serious moral dilemma.  When we fail to protect the weakest among us, it is easy to move into the realm of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.  These stepping-stones have laid the groundwork for becoming a society which gives implicit, if not tacit, approval to any lifestyle of choice.  Same-sex unions will not be the end of where this road leads us.

These are the questions in my mind.

*Do Christians have the moral foundation that is needed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth?

*Have we formed our own consciences correctly?

*Do Christians have the passion, zeal, and energy to engage the world and ultimately shape it for the better? 

I recently had the privilege of having an in-depth conversation with someone about specific endeavors within the Church to evangelize more effectively.  In the process of our conversation we watched some video clips of new material available to parish communities.  I was particularly struck by a comment made in one of the clips as the individual speaking referred to the “inertia of the Church”.  I have often heard words such as apathy, indifference, and complacency used to describe the life of the Church, but I couldn’t recall a time when I heard the word inertia used.  It was somewhat sad for me to have another word added to the vocabulary list of negative descriptions to describe the life of the Church.

I did some research on the internet and found the word inertia connected closely to the word torpor.  A search on the word torpor revealed the following quote.

“We find the most terrible form of atheism, not in the militant and passionate struggle against the idea of God himself, but in the practical atheism of everyday living, in indifference and torpor. We often encounter these forms of atheism among those who are formally Christians.”
~Nicolai A. Berdyaev

Inertia, torpor, and indifference aren’t new struggles within the Church.  These elements have been around for a long time.  The question becomes, “Are we going to be content with having these elements firmly entrenched within our faith communities without trying to do something to lessen the detrimental effects of living this way?”  In searching for some insights in regard to this topic, I began reading a book entitled, A Faith Interrupted by Alice L. Camille & Joel Schorn.  It didn’t take long for the authors to address these topics in a very direct way.  They summed it up by using the word mediocrity.  On page 10 of the book the authors stated:

“With a deep sigh, we admit that the church displays its share of mediocrity (or worse) in local celebrations of Mass and the sacraments and in preaching most of all.  Those who come to the church looking for spiritual nourishment or moral guidance have sometimes been simply bored to tears by an indifferent and passionless ritual.  Some of what passes for religious instruction may also be badly led, poorly explained, or barely funded.  Adult religious education is often nonexistent.”

Since I am a member of the clergy and have a leadership position in the Church, this stinging critique certainly gives me plenty to ponder. It wasn’t that any of this was news to me, but seeing it in print and stated so succinctly made the point hit home quite effectively.  As I attempt to put this statement in proper context, I recognize that society and culture have changed significantly in the last 50 years.  In many ways people have dismissed, replaced, or ignored the norms and mores that were firmly in place for generations.  However, I do not believe that we can subsequently throw up our hands in despair and allow the Church to be an irrelevant institution in our midst.  Indeed, quite the contrary, it calls us to a renewed awakening of the power of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives and in the life of the Church.  This renewal isn’t just for the clergy and leadership; it is for all of us.  How do we resurrect an internal fire within ourselves if we have allowed a fire that once burned brightly to simmer to a faint glow off in the distance?  How do we change ourselves (before we start looking at ways to change everyone else around us)?   

As I sat down and began to write this post, I was a bit disheartened at the many ways we struggle as Church.  We certainly have our share of challenges to proclaim the Gospel faithfully and effectively.  The bright spot is that we can look forward in hope, because we know we have plenty of room to grow and improve.  We have not “maxed out” in our ability to share the good news of salvation.  There is ample room to replace some negatives with positives.  Move over inertia, complacency, apathy, indifference, and torpor.  Here comes a real zest for life.  Here comes vitality, vigor, and vivaciousness.

“I have come that you may have life and have it in abundance.”
~John 10:10

Have you ever had one of those moments when something happened or someone said something and you were impacted more profoundly than what you would have anticipated?  Another case in point, have you ever read a Scripture verse that you have read multiple times before, but now it suddenly sends your thoughts and emotions stirring? 

In the Catholic Church we celebrated the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time this past weekend.  The Responsorial Psalm which takes place after the first reading contained the refrain. “I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.”  Although I have heard these words many times before, on this occasion I found myself getting lost in a sea of thoughts about my need to be rescued.  It certainly wasn’t a new concept or a revealing theological insight that just occurred, but it was more of a somber realization and reminder that I needed to be rescued.  I need the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. 

Having an awareness of this need to be rescued is healthy.  I know that is contrary to what our society says, but it keeps me from falling into the trap of thinking I can simply pull myself up by my own bootstraps day in and day out and keep plugging away doing things my way. When I choose to go down that road I end up shutting off the flow of grace and the power of the Holy Spirit in my life.  (Yes, I have tried that a few times; it doesn’t go too well.)  Although I enjoy the admonition here in Wyoming to “Cowboy Up” when things are tough, I want my toughness to be rooted in the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  In order to do this successfully I may need to keep in mind another Scripture verse which says, “But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.” 
~1 Corinthians 1:23

Although I am still not certain as to why the Responsorial Psalm struck me so forcefully this weekend, I am grateful for the blessing.  Has Psalm 30 touched your life in any significant way?