The Man in the Mirror

The Guy In The Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn't your Father or Mother or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear up to the end,
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you've cheated the guy in the glass.

©Dale Wimbrow, 1934.

A Message for Teachers.....Be Like Mike

Vol. 1                                                       Issue 20

                WHY NOT THE BEST?

A young ensign, a recent Annapolis graduate, dressed impeccably in a new white dress uniform, sat nervously before a silver-haired Admiral who leaned forward to question this clean-cut Georgia farm boy of his qualifications to serve in the nation’s fleet of nuclear submarines.  They talked of world events, history, literature, duty, honor and country.  To each question, he provided the Admiral with eager and appropriate answers.  Then, at the end of the interview, the old Admiral finally asked of the young officer’s record at the Naval Academy.  With pride Ensign James Earl Carter, Jr., announced that he graduated in the top of his class.  "Very well, Mr. Carter,” replied Admiral Hyman Rickover, “But did you always do your best?”  Candidly the future President replied that he had not.  “Why not the best, Ensign Carter?  Why not the best…”

            Decades later another son of the south was asked to account for his performance leading the Chicago Bulls to their fourth NBA Championship.  Michael Jordan, the best athlete ever to play the game, with tears of emotion choking his words, dedicated the game, the series, the victory and his moment of elation to his late father, a victim of a senseless murder.  Such emotion, though touching and profoundly moving, was not unexpected. After all, it was Father’s Day – the young man’s memory of his last championship and his last celebration with his father merged with the moment at hand.  Yet, right in the midst of a most perfunctory interview, he said something else. “Those guys in the minor leagues, I want to thank them too…” Those unnamed minor league baseball players with whom he had spent an eighteen month sabbatical from the game he was born to play – an eighteen month reality check.  Michael Jordan, toiling with a bunch of major league wannabees.  Perhaps one in a hundred of these players would ever suit up for a big league team.  “I wonder why they work so hard?”,  Michael must have mused.  “That one can’t hit a curve ball; the blond headed boy could never beat out a bunt; the big guy from Brooklyn has a rubber arm.  Why do they give it their all every day?  Don’t they know that they’ll never make it?  Then one day he received an answer in the form of a question: “Why not the best?”

            We need to thank those minor league baseball players too.  While few of us have ever seen Babe Ruth hit a home run, or Jim Thorpe compete in an Olympic Decathlon, or Ben Hogan strike a golf ball in the U.S. Open, we have seen the very best basketball ever played by the very best basketball player who has yet to play the game.  He played not for money nor acclaim.  He gave his best for the love of the game – a lesson learned from some rubber armed minor leaguer whose name we’ll never care to remember. 

            Why did you elect teaching as you life’s work?  It certainly is not for the money nor the fame.  What then is it that brings you back every year?  Each of you are talented professionals who can make your way in this world in other professions.  What brings you back?  What keeps you going day after day, week after week, and year after year?  Have you stopped lately to think about what you are doing?  Perhaps you are afraid that if you do, you will never come back, but I am willing to take that risk.  If you are honest with yourself, you return each year for the same reason that you began teaching.  Inside each teacher is a spark, a small flame that burns incessantly.  You want to make a difference – a difference in the lives of our children.

            I recently heard a speech give by Charlie Davis, former Wake Forest basketball great.  He spoke about neighborhoods.  His neighborhood as a young boy was the streets of Harlem.  He described the poverty and the neglect, but surprisingly, he also described the love and attention that he received.  Even in Harlem in the 1960’s there was a neighborhood.  People knew his name, celebrated his accomplishments and cried with him over his failures.  “Where are our neighborhoods today?” he asked.  Even outside blighted inner cities, the streets of suburbia no longer resemble the neighborhoods that many of us grew up in.  Neighbors often do not know the person next door, much less care if anything good or bad happens to them.  Often our mobile society never allows any of us to put down roots anymore.  So where can we find our neighborhoods today?  “Right here in our schools,” Charlie Davis proclaimed, “may be the last vestige of neighborhood.”  It may be the only place where children find anyone who cares, or at least take time to care.  You know their friends, their frustrations and failures.  You pick them up when they fall and kick them in the tails when they slack off.  Most of all in this neighborhood, much as in the neighborhood Charlie Davis described, you share their dreams.  What a privilege it is to be a teacher!  You really do touch the future!!

           

In life, I have discovered that with every privilege you will find that there are corresponding responsibilities.  Few recognize it.  Certainly not the general public nor our politicians.  Occasionally a few parents think about it.  Yet, each of you knows it far too well.  Public education is the last best hope for a generation of our children!  The public rarely notices your successes in society, but your failures fill welfare rolls and prison beds.  If you do not succeed in turning on a child to learning by the time he leaves this school, chances are he will never find the spark on his own.  You are the last hope our society has for the future and it is a shame that no one else but your really understand how important you role is. 

            So what are you going to do about it this year.  All of you are excellent teachers.  You have proven yourself over the years.  Your students will, over all, be better than others in the system.  Most will pass and most will not menace society when they grow older.  At the end of the year, our parents and administrators will tell you what a good job you have done.  However, if you are honest with yourself, only you will be the judge of your success.  How will you measure it?

            The late Jim Valvano often said that in the final analysis there are really only two kinds of basketball players.  One kind is the player who shoots the ball and you expect it to go in and when it does not you are surprised.  The other kind is the player who shoots the ball and you don’t expect it to go in and you are surprised when it does.  The successful team is the one which has more of the former kind of players rather than the latter.  With schools a similar principle applies.  In the final analysis there are really only two kinds of teachers.  The first kind is the teacher who looks at a problem, a task or a student and asks “why?”.  The other kind is the teacher who asks “Why not?”  If  your school is to live up to its responsibility – If you really are the last vestige of a neighborhood – the last hope for a generation of children.  If you really want to share the dreams of children, you have to ask not “why?” but “why not?”

            Why do you return each year?  Why do you care so much?  What is it that drives each of you?  If you ask this question this year, do not be surprised if you hear Michael Jordan whisper – “Why not the best?”

THE NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION OF MAN

                                 

Vol. 1                                                Issue 19

  






                                   
                                                                    

                       JUST DO IT! 
                                           

Do you remember your first car? There is perhaps no other standard for modern day American freedom as the automobile. I don’t think anyone ever forgets his or her very first automobile. My first car was a 1972 Chevrolet Vega, the Motor Trend Magazine Car of the Year.  It was one of the very first sporty subcompacts, and was endowed with one of Detroit’s most innovative features - a motor with a light-weight aluminum block.    My Vega was four-speed stick shift. It was yellow - not sunlight yellow - and not mustard yellow, but a blend of the shade of yellow most often observed on a stop light.

My father purchased it for me from Modern Chevrolet in downtown Winston-Salem one cold February night.  He paid $1750.00 and made me promise that I would pay him back.  I think I still have the record of my payments. To date I still owe about $550.00.   I turned sixteen on April 11, 1973.  So, for three agonizing months, my father took me to the parking lot of Cooks Department Store, and attempted to teach me how to drive a four-speed stick shift.  It was the most patience I had ever observed my father exhibit in my entire life.   We both were determined that I would learn how to operate a straight drive car or die trying, the prospect of which, we came very close to realizing.  I washed and waxed the car almost every Sunday afternoon, and installed a really loud eight-track tape player.  I really loved that car!

This car was with me through High School and part of college.   If it could have talked, I may still be grounded.  I drove my yellow Vega to pick up Kathy Higgenbotham for our first car date.  We went to see the movie, Godfather.   I left the lights on, and the battery died.  My future brother-in-law, on his first date with my sister, came and picked us up.  How embarrassing?! It was the car Greg Alspaugh and I took to Appalachian State College one winter during the gas crisis.  We made it back home on gas fumes by coasting down the mountain from Boone to North Wilkesboro.  I took it with me to college and even though freshmen could not park a car on campus, Al Ray told school officials  his uncle purchased the car for him and using his standing as a senior he obtained a  resident parking sticker for me to use. 

In the summer of 1974, not long after Nixon resigned, the motor blew up on the way to Windy Gap Young Life Camp.  Pam Cranford and I were stranded at the Police Station in Black Mountain, North Carolina for five hours waiting for a ride home. Although at 36,000 miles, the car was well out of warranty, Chevrolet paid for the repairs.  It seems that an aluminum block motor made great sense to the engineer who designed the car until he considered how well aluminum conducted heat.  Unfortunately, aluminum conducted, and retained heat to an extent that no amount of oil could keep the engine cool enough to operate for more than 36,000 miles.  You see my Chevrolet Vega blew up the second time on Interstate I-85 in the winter of 1977.  It had only 65,000 miles on the odometer.  The rods welded to the crankshaft; Brenners Metal Recyclers paid my father $100.00 for the car - it might have been $150.00 if the engine block was not aluminum.  Since then time I have been quite skeptical of the Motor Trend Car of the Year!

So what is my point?  Americans for years have been subjected to countless advertisements for “new and improved” products.  Whether it is the latest stereo, panty hose or dish washing detergent, Madison Avenue advertising executives have conditioned us to purchase the latest, most improved gadget, device or product available.  I bet some of you have a Ginko knife in a drawer at home and some may even wonder how well that George Foreman grill cooks a hamburger.  For my entire life, I have watched as Schick Corporation has improved the razor blade. The engineers at Schick make it possible for Americans to receive the closest shave of any people in the world. Too bad the General Motors engineers did not spend a similar amount of time perfecting the aluminum block engine? !  

As I read C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity for about the eleventh time, it struck me that what he was describing when he talked about Christians as “New Men” was nothing more than another way of describing Christians as  “new and improved versions of man”.   As I considered the notion further, I realized that Paul describes Christians quite similarly as well:  “For if a man is in Christ he becomes a new person altogether - his past is finished and gone - everything has become fresh and new.” (2nd Corin.5: 17) In a strange way, it appears that Christians are living, breathing advertisements for this new and improved version of man.  Consider again the words of Paul:  “You yourselves are our testimonial, written in our hearts and yet open for anyone to inspect and read. You are an open letter about Christ which we ourselves have written, not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.” (2nd Corin 3:2-3)

So what is your idea of a new and improved version of man?  If I were to design this creature, this new man could eat whatever he wanted without gaining any extra weight.  He would never lose hair, nor grow hair in unusual places like the nose and ear.  His eyes would be perfect.  His heart would never need bypasses, and his sweat would never smell.  He would balance a checkbook, and say charming things to his spouse.  He would hit a driver straight every time and never miss a four-foot putt for par.  Yes, I would change many things about man, and even more about women, but you get the idea.

Our idea of a new and improved version of man is quite different from  that of our Creator.  God has a different viewpoint entirely. (see Romans 12:2)  He is changing us from the inside out.  We are being changed into something, or somebody, quite different from what we may imagine a Christian is supposed be!   Nevertheless, like it or not, He is transforming us.

So, just what is this new and improved version of man supposed to look like?  What attributes will we exhibit?  What attitudes will we have toward ourselves and others?  How will we know when we begin to change?  What can we do to help in the process?  We may benefit from the process if we stop to consider just what we are supposed to look like when the process is completed.   It would be much easier if God would give us some idea of what type of creature we are becoming.

I don’t know about you, but I have never understood the Beatitudes.  They are a compilation of many beautiful phrases and sermonettes that are pleasing to the ear, but seldom have I considered what they mean.  I remembered memorizing them in Sunday School, but no one ever explained what they meant. It is odd that the focal point of the most important words Jesus spoke to his disciples are never explained in terms that you and I can understand.  With that premise, I decided to teach a few lessons on the Beatitudes.  As I began to understand them, I began to understand some things about being a Christian I never understood before.   I begin to understand some of what it means to be a new creature in the eyes of God.  You see right there in the front of the New Testament, in the words of Christ Himself, is a description of the new and improved version of mankind!  There in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew is God’s own description of this new man He is creating in each of us.  It is as if He is speaking to us in the same manner he spoke to the Rich Young Ruler: “So you want to become the creature that God intended you to be?  Then, listen up and I will tell you what you will look like when I am finished with you.”

 I think it is very important for each of us to consider just what type of creature God really intends us to be.  In the Beatitudes we can find a checklist of the new and improved features we can acquire in this new version of man Christ is offering to the world. As we begin to understand the teachings of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, each of us should begin to recognize what God is doing for us.  “[A]ll of us who are Christians have no veils on our faces, but reflect like mirrors the glory of our Lord.  We are transfigured in ever-increasing splendor into his own image, and the transformation comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2nd Corin. 3:18)

The Gospels report that Jesus was an excellent teacher.  He could keep the attention of multitudes even as their stomachs growled with hunger.  His words caused debate among the most learned intellectuals of the day.   He was an inspirational speaker, and a person of great individual magnetism.  People wanted to be where he was.  His disciples literally walked away from their jobs and their families just to follow Him.  He explained the most important theological concepts, not to the most learned theologians, but to the peasant in the street. If we are to grow up in Christ, then as disciples of Christ, it is essential that we understand the teachings of Jesus known as the Sermon the Mount.

The Beatitudes are the center piece of the Sermon on the Mount.  They set forth the essential description of what a Christian is supposed to look like.  Unfortunately, as we translate the words of Christ from Aramaic to Greek to English, their exact meaning sometimes gets lost.  It is helpful that Greek is a very exact and descriptive language.  For example, each  Beatitude begins with the phrase: “Blessed are the . . .” The Greek word used here is “makarios”.  It is a word which means “happy”.  However, it describes special sort of “happiness”. It is a happiness associated with contentment.  It is a type of contentment in which all your needs are met, and you have no reason to want for anything.  It is that “Go with the Gusto” or “Just Do It” persona Madison Avenue proclaims their products to supply.  In truth, it is the type of life most Americans aspire. It is a life of personal peace.  Greeks used the word when they spoke of their gods of mythology.  Greek gods were happy and contented.  They had neither concern for their well-being nor sustenance.  They lived a special kind of life unknown to mortals.  Therefore, when Matthew writes makarios, the sort of happiness envisioned in the minds of the reader of the Greek text is a sort of bliss generally unknown to mankind.  It was as if Jesus is saying: “If you desire a type of happiness and contentment greater than anything this world can offer, then you must . . .” “As you consider each Beatitude, keep this point in mind. Jesus is making a very specific promise to those who follow Him.  He is exclaiming with the boldness of a Nike advertisement that his followers need not be contented with the happiness of this world.  Unlike others, the world is not the limit of the horizon of a disciple of Christ!  He is offering in this world a piece of Heaven itself in the form of a measure of joy unknown to mankind today!  

All we have to do is “Just do it”!

In Memoriam: Dr. David Burr, a Man of Peace

     Vol. 1                                                             Issue 18

BLESSED ARE THE PEACE MAKERS

FOR THEY WILL BE CALLED SONS OF GOD

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion,“your God reigns!”            Isaiah 52:7

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May they prosper who love you.

Peace be within your walls

Prosperity within your palaces”

For the sake of my brethren and companions

I will now say, “Peace be within you.”

Because of the house of the Lord our God

I will seek your good.       Psalm 122:6-9


And, O gracious God, we pray for peace, peace in the world, 
peace in our Nation, and peace in our hearts. 
                                Dr. David Burr

The Peace of Jerusalem

Kernersville Moravian Church dedicated a new sanctuary in November of 1992.  It was only the second sanctuary built in the history of the congregation. Much effort and work went into the dedication service. In fact, one of our members commissioned an anthem for the occasion.  The anthem, based upon Psalm 122, was beautiful and ever so appropriate.  “Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem….” were the words sung over again throughout the song.  It struck me how very few people understood the meaning of the psalmist prayer.  For throughout the history of Jerusalem, the city has been, and remains, the source of conflict, war and much bloodshed.  I have often wondered…what really is the “Peace of Jerusalem”?

Hebrews understand peace in the form of a concept known as shalom.  Shalom is a noun that comes from the root word shalem that means, “to be complete or whole”.  A person who is “at peace” is one who is both self-fulfilled and enjoying a good relationship with God and his fellow men.   Shalom is used as we may use the common greeting,  “How are you?”  It is also similar to the Hawaiian word, “aloha”, in that it is used both as a salutation and a benediction. The phrase literally asks the person whom you greet, “ Is all well with you?”, and implores to someone departing, “May things be well with you.”  Shalom is a concept that includes both personal well-being and success.  In both the salutation and benediction, the use of shalom imparts a hope for health, happiness and well-being.  The concept of peace then is more than mere absence of conflict, but truly is the affirmative presence of good and positive things, both temporal and spiritual.

President Bill Clinton used the occasion of addressing members of the Israeli parliament to display his New Testament acumen.  Proud of recent efforts to eliminate hostilities between Israeli and Palestinians, the President attempted to quote the seventh Beatitude. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall inherit the earth”.  It is easy to forgive the President for misquoting the Bible.  For President Clinton, and others who read the seventh Beatitude, the words may “sound like a mere conventional religious generalization, even a sententious platitude of the kind too often favored by people who are anxious to be edifying without having anything in particular to say.”(The Sermon on the Mount, by Emmett Fox, p.40)

It may have been politically expedient for President Clinton to bless Middle Eastern peacemakers with an inheritance of the earth, but Christ has chosen to bless peacemakers with a greater moniker, “for they shall be called sons of God”. The phrase, “Sons of…”, is a description of a personal characteristic.  For example, if you were called a “son of a lion”, you would be considered fearless; a “son of a dog”, you would be considered a scoundrel. Therefore, a maker of peace is a person who exhibits qualities of God Himself. Peace is a concept we all understand.  It is a condition of life we hope to maintain. “Peace be with you”, “Peace, brother”, “Make Peace not War”, and “No Justice, No Peace” are all slogans with which we are all familiar.   The Apostle Paul admonishes Christians “as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Rom. 12:18)  Christians should be peaceable people.  We must pray for those who make our lives miserable and bless those who curse us. Vengeance must be left to God.   Christians should avoid conflict for both temporal and spiritual reasons. On the other hand, peacemaking is not a concept so well understood. As with each preceding Beatitude, this is a word Jesus chose to describe His disciples.  Peacemaking, like poverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, hunger for righteousness, mercy, and purity of heart, is not an attribute naturally found within the human psyche.  Rather, it is characteristic of the new man Jesus is creating in each of us. With this in mind, let’s consider how we become peacemakers.

The prophet Isaiah describes Jesus as the “Prince of Peace”.  Yet, history teaches that countless people have lost their lives in war and persecution in the name of Jesus.  Peace among men has not resulted from the presence of Christians in this world. How then is Jesus the Prince of Peace? Eschatological teaching promises an eternal kingdom in which the Peace of Jerusalem will reign in the hearts of all men. Theologically, Jesus is the “maker” of peace between God and man.  A rift exists between man and God.  Our sin, our enmity breaks down our relationship with our Creator.  Nothing we can do will ever restore the relationship.  Our differences are irreconcilable. God is God and we will not obey. Jesus makes reference to a certain type of peace that He brings to the world.  “Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give you.  Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid… Find your peace in me.” (Jn 14:27; 16:33)  Jesus is referring to a theological peace.  It is a peace between man and God.  His death and resurrection reconciles the Creator with His creation.  Paul calls Christ “our living Peace”. (Eph.2: 14)  In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul concludes: “Since it is by faith that we are justified, let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have confidently entered into this new relationship of grace, and here we take our stand, in happy certainty of the glorious things he has for us in the future.” (Rom 5:1-2)  By our faith in Jesus, we are made right with God. All is well with our relationship with our Creator.  The peace of Jerusalem is ours!  Shalom!

Becoming a peacemaker does not end with mere acceptance of the saving grace of Christ.  In fact, as Jesus sets forth the Beatitudes, He is not describing the results of justification.  Rather, He is describing attributes developed in each of us through sanctification. As Jesus is a peacemaker, so also shall we be instruments of His Peace. We cannot just bask in the reflection of His great accomplishment.   Instead, we must understand as we are reconciled to God, there are attendant consequences to such reconciliation. Consider the observation of the Apostle Paul:  “All this is God’s doing, for he has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ; and he has made us agents of reconciliation. God was in Christ personally reconciling the world to him…and has commissioned us with the message of reconciliation. We are now Christ’s ambassadors as though God is appealing directly to you through us.  As his personal representatives we say, ‘Make your peace with God.”(II Corin.5:19-20)

Peacemakers have a burning passion.  Seeing what God has done in their own lives, peacemakers have to tell others.  As disciples of Jesus, we are His living breathing advertisement.   We reflect His glory; we are His light in a dark world. Christians have something that the rest of the world is looking for.  We have the peace of Jerusalem residing within the walls of our hearts.  Merely coexisting with our fellow man in earthly harmony is not the type of peace Jesus brings into the world.  On the contrary, the peace of Jesus is apt to be unsettling to the status quo.  Jesus warns: “Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth?  No, I will tell you, not peace but division!” (Lk 12:51) If the peace of this world is based upon mutual coexistence and the absence of overt hostility, Christians are apt to turn the world upside down.   As an instrument of the peace of Jesus, we will be fostering a revolution. “I believe a real impact will be made on society through the life of one who passionately desires peace, who really longs to see peace, and to produce it in his or her own life.  Many Christians lack this heartfelt desire for peace. They prefer to settle for mutual coexistence . . . One of the basic characteristics of Christian character in a non-Christian world is a desire to see other people discover that peace.”(The Sermon on the Mount, Stuart Briscoe, p.40)   How blessed are those who as peacemakers work for the reconciliation of man with God!  Shalom!

Consider the father of the prodigal son.  A rift had developed between the father and the son. The rift was in no way the fault of the father.   The son was greedy, inconsiderate and rebellious.  He took his inheritance, sold it for cash and moved to a far-off country.  There the son squandered his money on the wildest of extravagance and soon found himself destitute and alone.  Knowing his father to be a good man, he decided to return home, hoping for mercy.  At worst, he would be killed; at best, he may be allowed to work as a servant. Seeing the son approach, the father had a choice to make.  He could reject the man as his son. He could accept the man as a servant.  He could embrace him as his lost child returning home.  The relationship with his son was broken through no fault of his own.  Yet, the choice he was to make would determine if rift would be mended and reconciliation would take place.  The father understood something about intimate relationships. Without hesitation, the father ran to meet his son. Embracing him, he led him home where he clothed him with his own robe and celebrated his return with a feast. The father is a peacemaker. As he watched his child walk up the road, the father was moved with emotion.  His son was a most pitiable sight.  Understanding the plight of his son, any father would have had compassion.  Unfortunately, emotion alone is not enough to foster reconciliation. Seeing the needs of his son and feeling compassion for him, the father could have exhibited mercy by allowing the son to work as a servant.  This act of mercy would have met the needs of the son, but would not have reconciled him with his father.  In addition to compassion and mercy, the father offered grace. Peacemakers must be more than compassionate, and must do more than offer mercy. 

Peacemakers must be bridge builders.   “A peacemaker is a person who comes to that difficult point in a relationship – when it’s time to put up or shut up, stay in or get out – and decides to ‘make every effort to do what leads to peace’. A peacemaker refuses to give up on people they are tied to by blood or commitments or faith. To the best of their ability, peacemakers preserve the relationship by pursuing peace.” (Walk This Way, Tim Woodruff, p.161)  In a world of disposable families and unreliable friendships, how refreshing it is to see Christians working to restore broken relationships!  How blessed are those who work to reconcile relationships with family and friends! Shalom!

In 1992, Kernersville Moravian Church dedicated a new sanctuary. Because the structure was only the second in the one hundred twenty-five year history of the church, much attention was given to historical detail in the architecture.  One feature repeated was a weathervane atop the belfry. At the tip of the steeple of the old sanctuary, a weathervane has pointed the direction from which the wind is blowing for many years.  To the amazement of the building committee, the new weathervane pointed in the direction the wind was blowing!  Looking at the two sanctuaries, the weathervanes always point in opposite directions.   The architect explained away the snafu as providential, opining that the weathervane atop the old sanctuary pointed to the past, signifying the direction from whence the church had come, while weathervane atop the new sanctuary pointed to the future, signifying where the church was going.  A more seasoned member of the committee offered another explanation.  She stated that the weathervanes pointing in opposite directions accurately reflected the attitude that some church members had toward each other.  Sadly, isn’t this observation typical of Twenty-first Century Christianity?  Within the walls of every church exist simmering conflicts, big and small, gnawing away at the souls of believers. Be it from doctrinal disagreements or petty personality conflicts, Christian denominations pull in opposite directions as often as they pull together to further Christ’s kingdom.  What should “distinguish followers of Christ from the world are not perfect relationships or the absence of conflicts, but the way disciples treat each other when relationships become strained. Christians - serious Christians - take peace seriously.  They respond to the breakdown of relationship with a reflexive urge to reconcile.” (Walk This Way, Tim Woodruff, p.160) 

Christians must take responsibility for their own attitudes.   That is why Jesus instructs that, should a disciple have anything against another brother in Christ, such conflict should be confessed and the slate cleared immediately, lest the conflict interfere with their relationship with God. (See Mt. 5:24)  While a disciple cannot be responsible for the attitude of the other person, the disciple is responsible for how he or she may respond to that attitude.   A disciple can by confession and a desire for peace make sure that nothing separating the disciple from another person will come between him and God.  The relationship of Christian brethren is meant to last for an eternity.  Christians cannot afford to hold eternal grudges. Qualities of mercy and integrity are the salve for most all wounded relationships. Jerusalem is meant to be a city inhabited by citizens bound firmly together by a love of God.

Dr. David Burr died July 10,2011.  He was 90 years old.  A Navy Frogman in the Pacific during World War II, he knew the meaning of war. Because of this he chose a life dedicated to peace.  He became a Presbyterian minister and was the shepherd of the congregation of First Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, NC for decades.  He began ministries to help the homeless, started Crisis Control Ministry, Samaritan Ministries, Forsyth Jail and Prison Ministries, the Housing Authority of Winston Salem and Hospice.  He married scores of young people and represented Christ on earth to hundreds more.  He personified "Shalom" in his life and by reflection in the lives of others.  Never shy with an opinion, he was always gentle and kind.  Always an encouragement to others and a leader by example.  If you met David Burr, you became his friend.  Always called on for public prayer, Dr. Burr always ended his missive with a resounding "Hallelujah!".  Dr. Burr was a man vertically aligned with God and horizontally aligned with his fellow man.  He lived the concept of "shalom".

His son, Richard was elected to Congress and while there invited his father to open the legislative session with prayer Dr. Burr provided a glimpse at what gave him such peace. He understood the human condition.  Because of this he understood the role that a relationship with Christ plays in our lives.  Before Congress he prayed: "we are prone to all the weaknesses of human character. We are selfish and often think our ways best. Therefore, we ask for wisdom and guidance."   A newspaper writer aptly described Dr. Burr as a man who displayed the "better angels of our nature."


There is a bit of shalom in each of us. Whenever I was around Dr. Burr I was at peace.  I am a better man because the friendship I shared with Dr. David Burr.  May God grant unto those who mourn his loss His Grace and His Peace.


How blessed are we to enjoy the peace of Jerusalem!  Shalom!

           

            Lord make me an instrument of your peace!

            Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

            Where there is injury, let me sow pardon.

            Where there is doubt, let me sow faith.

            Where there is despair, let me sow hope.

            Where there is darkness, let me sow light.

            Where there is sadness, let me sow joy.   
 

         Shalom Dr. Burr!   Hallelujah!
           

                April 21, 1921-July 10 2011

PRAYER (House of Representatives - November 14, 1995)

[Page: H12201]  GPO's PDF

Rev. Dr. David Burr , pastor emeritus, First Presbyterian Church, Winston-Salem, NC, offered the following prayer:

O merciful God, in this season of thanksgiving, we humble ourselves before You and give thanks. Thanksgiving for this blessed land; thanksgiving for this special place and these chosen leaders; thanksgiving for the freedom to debate and represent the people; thanksgiving for our homes and families; thanksgiving for Your eternal presence.

As we give thanks O God, we acknowledge that we are prone to all the weaknesses of human character.

We are selfish, and often think our ways are always the best ways.

Therefore, we ask for wisdom and guidance; we ask for courage that we may be faithful; we ask for patience that we may be fair; we ask for health that we may complete the task before us.

And, O gracious God, we pray for peace, peace in the world, peace in our Nation, and peace in our hearts.

With thanksgiving. Amen. 

PRAYER (Senate - February 26, 1998)

[Page: S1035]  GPO's PDF

The guest Chaplain, Dr. David Burr , Pastor Emeritus, First Presbyterian Church, Winston-Salem, NC, offered the following prayer:
May I remind ladies and gentlemen, today there will be an eclipse of the Sun in the United States. We are always praying for light.
Let us bow our heads before Almighty God.
O God of light, the giver of every good and perfect gift. Our prayer today is that You will break through the darkness of our lives; that You will shatter the barriers of our blindness with the splendor of Your wisdom and presence.
In the beginning, You created the light that leads to green pastures and still waters; You gave us the wisdom to walk in truth and to live in peace with one another.
But, Father, we confess that our minds and hearts are so limited to our selfish ways, that we do not always heed that light. We confess that sometimes we prefer to linger in the shadows and in the darkness.
But make today the beginning of a new adventure for our lives and for the Senate of the United States. Guide us in all our ways and flood this place with the splendor of Your light.
And we will rejoice and we will give praise to you forever and ever. Amen.

---

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Ronald Reagan on God and Country

Remarks at an Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast in Dallas, Texas

August 23, 1984

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, very much. And, Martha Weisend, thank you very much. And I could say that if the morning ended with the music we have just heard from that magnificent choir, it would indeed be a holy day for all of us.

It's wonderful to be here this morning. The past few days have been pretty busy for all of us, but I've wanted to be with you today to share some of my own thoughts.

These past few weeks it seems that we've all been hearing a lot of talk about religion and its role in politics, religion and its place in the political life of the Nation. And I think it's appropriate today, at a prayer breakfast for 17,000 citizens in the State of Texas during a great political convention, that this issue be addressed.

I don't speak as a theologian or a scholar, only as one who's lived a little more than his threescore ten -- which has been a source of annoyance to some -- [laughter] -- and as one who has been active in the political life of the Nation for roughly four decades and now who's served the past 3\1/2\ years in our highest office. I speak, I think I can say, as one who has seen much, who has loved his country, and who's seen it change in many ways.

I believe that faith and religion play a critical role in the political life of our nation -- and always has -- and that the church -- and by that I mean all churches, all denominations -- has had a strong influence on the state. And this has worked to our benefit as a nation.

Those who created our country -- the Founding Fathers and Mothers -- understood that there is a divine order which transcends the human order. They saw the state, in fact, as a form of moral order and felt that the bedrock of moral order is religion.

The Mayflower Compact began with the words, ``In the name of God, amen.'' The Declaration of Independence appeals to ``Nature's God'' and the ``Creator'' and ``the Supreme Judge of the world.'' Congress was given a chaplain, and the oaths of office are oaths before God.

James Madison in the Federalist Papers admitted that in the creation of our Republic he perceived the hand of the Almighty. John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, warned that we must never forget the God from whom our blessings flowed.

George Washington referred to religion's profound and unsurpassed place in the heart of our nation quite directly in his Farewell Address in 1796. Seven years earlier, France had erected a government that was intended to be purely secular. This new government would be grounded on reason rather than the law of God. By 1796 the French Revolution had known the Reign of Terror.

And Washington voiced reservations about the idea that there could be a wise policy without a firm moral and religious foundation. He said, ``Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man (call himself a patriot) who (would) labour to subvert these . . . finest duties of men and citizens. The mere Politician . . . (and) the pious man ought to respect and to cherish (religion and morality).'' And he added, ``. . . let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion.''

I believe that George Washington knew the City of Man cannot survive without the City of God, that the Visible City will perish without the Invisible City.

Religion played not only a strong role in our national life; it played a positive role. The abolitionist movement was at heart a moral and religious movement; so was the modern civil rights struggle. And throughout this time, the state was tolerant of religious belief, expression, and practice. Society, too, was tolerant.
But in the 1960's this began to change. We began to make great steps toward secularizing our nation and removing religion from its honored place.

In 1962 the Supreme Court in the New York prayer case banned the compulsory saying of prayers. In 1963 the Court banned the reading of the Bible in our public schools. From that point on, the courts pushed the meaning of the ruling ever outward, so that now our children are not allowed voluntary prayer. We even had to pass a law -- we passed a special law in the Congress just a few weeks ago to allow student prayer groups the same access to schoolrooms after classes that a young Marxist society, for example, would already enjoy with no opposition.

The 1962 decision opened the way to a  flood of similar suits. Once religion had been made vulnerable, a series of assaults were made in one court after another, on one issue after another. Cases were started to argue against tax-exempt status for churches. Suits were brought to abolish the words ``under God'' from the Pledge of Allegiance and to remove ``In God We Trust'' from public documents and from our currency.
Today there are those who are fighting to make sure voluntary prayer is not returned to the classrooms. And the frustrating thing for the great majority of Americans who support and understand the special importance of religion in the national life -- the frustrating thing is that those who are attacking religion claim they are doing it in the name of tolerance, freedom, and openmindedness. Question: Isn't the real truth that they are intolerant of religion? [Applause] They refuse to tolerate its importance in our lives.

If all the children of our country studied together all of the many religions in our country, wouldn't they learn greater tolerance of each other's beliefs? If children prayed together, would they not understand what they have in common, and would this not, indeed, bring them closer, and is this not to be desired? So, I submit to you that those who claim to be fighting for tolerance on this issue may not be tolerant at all.

When John Kennedy was running for President in 1960, he said that his church would not dictate his Presidency any more than he would speak for his church. Just so, and proper. But John Kennedy was speaking in an America in which the role of religion -- and by that I mean the role of all churches -- was secure. Abortion was not a political issue. Prayer was not a political issue. The right of church schools to operate was not a political issue. And it was broadly acknowledged that religious leaders had a right and a duty to speak out on the issues of the day. They held a place of respect, and a politician who spoke to or of them with a lack of respect would not long survive in the political arena.

It was acknowledged then that religion held a special place, occupied a special territory in the hearts of the citizenry. The climate has changed greatly since then. And since it has, it logically follows that religion needs defenders against those who care only for the interests of the state.

There are, these days, many questions on which religious leaders are obliged to offer their moral and theological guidance, and such guidance is a good and necessary thing. To know how a church and its members feel on a public issue expands the parameters of debate. It does not narrow the debate; it expands it.

The truth is, politics and morality are inseparable. And as morality's foundation is religion, religion and politics are necessarily related. We need religion as a guide. We need it because we are imperfect, and our government needs the church, because only those humble enough to admit they're sinners can bring to democracy the tolerance it requires in order to survive.

A state is nothing more than a reflection of its citizens; the more decent the citizens, the more decent the state. If you practice a religion, whether you're Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or guided by some other faith, then your private life will be influenced by a sense of moral obligation, and so, too, will your public life. One affects the other. The churches of America do not exist by the grace of the state; the churches of America are not mere citizens of the state. The churches of America exist apart; they have their own vantage point, their own authority. Religion is its own realm; it makes its own claims.

We establish no religion in this country, nor will we ever. We command no worship. We mandate no belief. But we poison our society when we remove its theological underpinnings. We court corruption when we leave it bereft of belief. All are free to believe or not believe; all are free to practice a faith or not. But those who believe must be free to speak of and act on their belief, to apply moral teaching to public questions.
I submit to you that the tolerant society is open to and encouraging of all religions. And this does not weaken us; it strengthens us, it makes us strong. You know, if we look back through history to all those great civilizations, those great nations that rose up to even world dominance and then deteriorated, declined, and fell, we find they all had one thing in common. One of the significant forerunners of their fall was their turning away from their God or gods.

Without God, there is no virtue, because there's no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we're mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

If I could just make a personal statement of my own -- in these 3\1/2\ years I have understood and known better than ever before the words of Lincoln, when he said that he would be the greatest fool on this footstool called Earth if he ever thought that for one moment he could perform the duties of that office without help from One who is stronger than all.

I thank you, thank you for inviting us here today. Thank you for your kindness and your patience. May God keep you, and may we, all of us, keep God.

Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 9:26 a.m. at Reunion Arena. He was introduced by Martha Weisend, cochair of the Texas Reagan-Bush campaign.