As Pastor Darren finishes up his final few weeks with us, he is having to prioritize his tasks and responsibilities and therefore has concluded his Wednesday article writings. Mahalo for your understanding and for your faithful readership throughout the years. 

November 27

“Figgy Pudding and God”

Figgy pudding dates to the 14th century. It was a wet, sticky, thick porridge with boiled figs, water, wine, ground almonds, raisins, and honey. It helped people sustain their strength when they truly had little to eat. Over the centuries it has evolved into a cake with different ingredients. One recipe calls for 13 ingredients to represent Christ and the twelve disciples.

What sustains our strength during troubled times? What keeps us going during the holidays when we find ourselves singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" out in public, while starving on the inside, and not for food?

The holidays are a time when people ask us what we want for Christmas, but what they really need to ask is, what can I do to help you get through the holidays?

Jesus knew what questions to ask. He also knew which people were being taken advantage of. Luke 20:47, “and he condemns the scribes who devour widows houses.” The Apostle Paul reminds us that God grants mercy, and hope, especially to those who find themselves in a “marginal” or distressed place in life. Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who is against us?” 

God through Christ stands up for us; the question is, are we willing to do the same for others? We may have a GoFundMe spirit when it comes to helping people, but when people are asking for figgy pudding, there is something deeper going on. Are we willing to look deeper into the lives of others to find out for which they are really starving? Or are we the ones who should be asked that question?

It is all too easy to find ourselves starving for something more in life, and not just for the glitter and cheer of the holidays. It is too easy to put ourselves down, as if we must live up to all but impossible expectations, whether at work or home.

Such a realization--although an honest omission--puts all the emphasis on us rather than on our loving God. God is the champion that is for us in our lives, the one we turn to and pray to. It all depends not on the one who prays but on the ONE to whom the prayers are offered.

Hope and assurance do not always come easy. It is a willed determination that God can be relied upon--even when we are all too conscious of our insecurity and lack the motivation to be in a better place in life. "If God is for us, who is against us?” 

It is okay to ask for figgy pudding. It is okay to ask for something more in life that will feed our soul. Luke 11:9, “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you." For God, the season of giving is year-round. Sing, ask, eat, and embrace a life with God. 

November 20

“God’s Love, People’s Hate”

Jesus knows there is another way to respond to hateful people than to return hate. He understands that a “normal” reaction is to hate those who hate us. He knows that irritation, anger, hatred, and retaliation only fuel the fire of conflict.

There is hope for people not to be hateful and to change; and yes, there are those who will go to their graves swinging, mad at the world, or at somebody. People at odds with each other can be transformed into friends, allies or at least to be respectful. However, we also know that history can repeat itself. People whom we marginally know can wrong us again.

Fortunately, Christ can work miracles and transform conflictive relationships into peaceful relationships. Yet, sometimes and often, peacemaking takes years. It is hard to accept that if somebody chooses not to talk to us anymore, that is their choice, not ours. It does not make us less valuable in God’s eyes.

Jesus says, we should do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28) Doing good or praying for those who have mistreated us involves intentionally attempting to see them through God’s point of view--to see them as a child of God despite how little they reflect the goodness and kindness of God.

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ​“Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” We love the hard-to-love because it is what Christ would want us to do; it has nothing to do with what they deserve or do not deserve.

Yes, it is hard not to play their game of hate, mistrust, retaliation, or talking “stink” about each other. Such resistance does not mean we become a doormat and lack backbone, but rather, to be a strong person in control of ourselves. We can respond thoughtfully and prayerfully, and not react emotionally. We can respond to haters on God’s terms, not the world’s.

Jesus tells us not to get caught up in fighting evil or hateful people. (Luke 6:29) Often, our discipleship with Jesus is tested not so much in extraordinary circumstances with people we barely know or trust, but in everyday living. We need to resist getting caught up in fighting people at home.

God gives us the power to love the unloving, for it cannot be done solely on our willpower. Dealing with hateful people is an opportunity to look at ourselves and ask how merciful we are. (Luke 6:36) Let us do our best not to be pressured by such people, not to be crushed, or not to let them emotionally put us in a cage. Stay true to the way of loving, do not give in to hate. God’s love nourishes us--if not transforms us--each time we choose love over hate.

November 13

Pastor Darren's article is on hiatus this week.

November 6

“Do We Need a Bobblehead of God?”

We are made in God's image and therefore we are images of God, which means we are called to reflect God’s care for creation and humankind (Genesis 1:28) in how we live and act toward one another. This role that we have becomes more refined as we sense God’s presence in our own lives and follow Christ’s teachings.

So, how do we stay true to reflecting God's image? What reminders do we need? Do we need a bobblehead of God on the dashboard or the kitchen counter? Or maybe we need one of those plastic Jesus figurines that was popular decades ago. There was a song about it: "I don't care if it rains or freezes, long as I got my plastic Jesus, sittin' on the dashboard of my car."

There is nothing plastic or artificial about our image of God, who created a world that was good from the start. Before there was evil, there was goodness. Before there was Original Sin, there was Original Blessing. God and creation are good.

Imagine what it would mean to believe in the goodness in all things and in all people in today’s culture that is increasingly numb to violence, war, and hate. If we believe that the world's default setting, my default setting, your default setting, is not evil, but radical, world-altering good, what a world it would be.

It would be great if our first response to each other was kindness without reservation, giving without stinginess, and trust without fear. No bobblehead can reflect that, only us. What would it be like to incarnate the goodness that goes back to the very beginning of creation? "God saw everything God had made; it was very good." (Genesis 1:31) That is where our hope lies.

We come from a God who makes new things. According to Genesis, God created something new each day for six days. God's creative work is not finished. There is still hope for the world to return to goodness. Yet, who knows how long the world will continue groping in the dark as we struggle to live with one another with decency and respect?

Do we not all rise in the morning with the same sun? Do we not all deserve to join the rising sun of hope in our lives as we do our best to not just survive but to strive? The realization that God is good, and the world was created to be good is an invitation to find treasures in one another and treasure each other. Dave Bland writes: “Being image bearers of God is also at the heart of how we see other humans, which results in treating them with dignity, regardless of race, age, gender, social or economic status.” God is good and so should we be.

Let us be illuminating images of God’s goodness, not bobbleheads that only move when life’s vibrations are directed at us. “Our individual happy life depends on a happy humanity,” says the Dalai Lama. God is good and so should we be.