Abilene Reporter-News from Abilene, Texas • 74

wmmmwwwm iff iM 1 1 11 1 -H fc a s- Ij 6AA Sunday December 7 2003 I Sbilene IBleporter-etnsf wwwreporternewscom 1 '-'kAbi4MMill AUUMwSitfMlMMdMl rnl" 11 of seems to they discover that the realm of worldly power is inevitably corrupt a venue of hubris and greed where die powerful think they need not listen respect or show reverence God it seems works a different venue closer to home closer to life as we actually live it It was no accident that Messiah and his herald came toJ common folk not to the grand working for peace happens far from 4 the throne of worldly power peace isn't the absence of war headlines from Baghdad peace is one soul choosing humility over pride love over hate sacrifice over self-serving giving over taking-That peace appear on the nightly news peace must be 1 searched out and celebrated 1 Tom a writer and computer Coneultant managing largeecaie database Implementatloni An Episcopal priest he Ives in Durham NC Religion News Service 1 God doing to help us make better choices? One clue lies in die way Luke recounted the appearance of John the Baptist He grounded it In historical the era of Emperor and named the rulers whose decisions dispatched armies Similarly Luke grounded the birth of Jesus in the time of Augustus and Quirinius But then Luke shooed them all off the stage Rulers were merely a backdrop to the real story Whatever God intended through John and Jesus had nothing to do with changing the hearts of those named by Luke as dominating the public stage Even though emperors kings and presidents routinely try to coopt religion in order to wage their wars the making of peace happens elsewhere far from that brightly lighted stage where affairs of state are determined Even though prelates and famous preachers cozy up to heads of state contentment and joy of living I had as a These are more than "woe is questions more than partisanship wondering whom to blama They cut to the heart of faith Why does God seem so helpless? So distant so temoved? Why does God not deliver on Christmad jtaJmises? If we sing of peace but return to war what does that say about the rest of our hymns and prayete? Are they equally futile? When you cut through the partisan slants on this or that wan the same question tends to emerge: Why doesn't God fix things? One answer has to do with freedom 1 God has left us free to choose life or death blessing or curse The only lasting peace occurs when we rise above hubris find better ways to express fear master our bloodlust and give up our triumphal claims in other words repent not repeat our sins But the question remains: What is sang of on Earth" Jesus promised peace to his followers And yet peace remains elusive even among those who claim the Prince of Peace Of all the questions that readers have asked me peace nas been the most common topic One reader asked: find It Increasingly difficult to believe in a compassionate God when there seems to be no reachable peace on Earth I would ask God why He doesn't work on hearts so that they can love instead of hate seek peace Instead of war" One wrote of political leaders too to resist warfare and churches too caught up in "religiosity and bureaucracy" to make a differ ence A reader being brutalized by a greedy congregation asked are humans so awfUl to each other?" A reader whose denomination is fracturing asked you teach us how to live in Several readers yearned for what one called peace -y golfing partner and I are IV I tied coming to the final hole I 1 Our play Is better than yes-X JLterdax but short of adequate Still it is a gorgeous day I am over whelmed by a feeling of peaca Alas peace is fleeting Soon I am gnashing my teeth after depositing a shot in a lake Peace is far from universal While we golf bloodshed continues in Iraq and down the street Mayhem and meanness dominate many lives Wliy after all this time does warfare still rule human affairs? Long ago John the Baptist heralded return from exile and said that flesh shall see the salvation of God" Mary told of the night her son was born and angels IT'S NON-SUPPbRTNE NON-NURTURING- YOU KNOW IT'S LOADED VdlTH NEGATIVE CULTURAL BIAS Who has messed up marriage sacrament? PREACHERyOU'ftE SBLL USING-TMAT VJORD "SIGNERS INSTEAD OP THE SPlRtTUW-Uy CORRECT "PEOPLE OPPOISLES" rTAAAfcESYOUR CONGREGATION PEEL BAP ABOUT THEMSELVES i AND DAMAGES THEIR SELF 1 ESTEEM 3 T3 i return to the original Saint Nicholas Just about anybody can get married in this country Two atheists can rent a church and a preacher and get married with their hands on a Bible if they want ta Two strangers can get mar ried in weddings arranged by their parents their attorneys or the Unification Church A convicted mass murderer on death row can get married So can a convicted serial rapist child molester or spouse abuser A man can go on a TV show and choose his bride from among 25 contestants just so a TV network can sell ads A woman can choose her groom the same way A 90-year-old man can marry a 20-year-old woman if she'd have him A 90-year-old woman can marry a 20-year-old man if she'd have him An 18-year-old man and woman can meet tonight in a bar drive to Las Vegas tomorrow rent Elvis and Priscilla costumes and get married at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel Jerry Lee Lewis who once married his 13-year-old cousin has been married six times His sister Linda Gail Lewis has been married eight times In fact people in this country can get married as many times as they want to As long as they don't marry someone of the same gender That may be changing and a lot of people happy about it Some people are pushing for laws that allow same-sex civil unions Others are pushing back trying to get laws that define marriage as a union between one man and one woman legalization of homosexual marriage is for gay activists merely a stepping-stone on the road to eliminating all societal restrictions on marriage and Dr James Dobson wrote in a recent fUnd-raising letter for Pocus on the Family -What restrictions? The only marriage restrictions that seem to exist for heterosexuals older than 18 is that they marry more than one person at a time Some still da not homosexuals who are threatening the sacred institution of marriage It's heterosexuals who turned marriage into a reality TV show It's heterosexuals who pushed the divorce rate to more than 50 percent heterosexuals who are co-habitating in record numbers I've been married to the same (unbelievably patient) woman for nearly 25 years I believe marriage Is a sacrament a gift from God But I won't pretend to know what God thinks of same-sex civil unions Maybe we should figure out a way to distinguish marriage as a legal right from marriage as a sacred rite Quakers do that They take care of all the government paperwork After all every marriage is a legal contract But a Quaker couple is married not by a church or government official After a period of discernment among family and friends in their community the couple marry each other in the presence of God and other witnesses What man joins together is one thing What God joins together is quite another Memphis columnist David Waters may be reached by email at watersOgomem-phiscom or by mail at The Commercial Appeal PO Box 334 Memphis Term 38101 Scraps Howard News Service one only had the dominant cultural icons of TV movies news media and retail stores my guess Is that the Martian viewing audience have a clue as to what Christmas was about might think it had something to do with snowmen or reindeer or retail-store sales And if any particular person rose to the top In the public's conscious awareness it would be a jolly secular guy at risk for stroke or cardiac arrest who liked to dress in red and let his beard grow" Rather than whine about what has happened to St Nicholas more churches need to remythologize" this hero of the faith said Parker Little solid historical Information is known about Nicholas except that he was born Into a wealthy family and after the early death of his pious parents he entered a monastery and became a bishop Some early writers claim he participated in the Council of Nicea and when theological debate failed that he punched a heretic who argued that Jesus was not frilly divine mental image of Santa Claus punching out Arius has to fundamentally change the way one would ever see Santa Claus again" said Parker I might not agree with his methods I certainly admire his passion for Christological orthodoxy" Nicholas was Imprisoned under the Emperor Diocletian tortured and then hailed as a because he reftised to renounce his faith He was released under Constantine and died around 350 AD Another detail in accounts of his life is The bureaucrats charged with turning Russia into a godless utopia had a December dilemma and a big part of their problem was St Nicholas The early Communists needed to purge Christmas of its Savior sacraments and beloved symbols including this patron saint of widows and children What they needed was a faith-free icon for a safe secular New season Digging into pre-Christian Slavic legends they found their superman Father Frost so said the Rev James Parker III of Louisville Ky In order to wrest control of Christmas "one of the things the Communists had to do was to get people to forget the real St Nicholas Here In America forgotten all about the real SL Nicholas because he has turned into this Santa Claus guy like taking a different route to the same place" It would not be unusual to hear Eastern Orthodox Catholic or Anglican clergy voice these sentiments In the days leading to Dec 6 the feast day of St Nicholas the fourth-century bishop of Myra in Asia Minor Parker however Is associate dean at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Still he is convinced time for more churches even Southern Baptist churches to embrace the real St Nicholas have often wondered how a Martian reporter would do a story on Christmas" he wrote In a Baptist Press commentary that Nicholas gave away his inheritance helping the poor One famous Icon shows him taking small bags of gold to parents who could not provide dowries for their daughters which meant they could not marry Thus the bishop would rescue the girls from lives as slaves or prostitutes by dropping gold coins through their windows during the night These gifts often fell Into their stockings which were hung up to dry This unforgettable image was especially popular with children Through the centuries this story blended with other legends in other lands The result was Father Christmas Pere Noel and many others including Sinter Klaas who came with the Dutch to New York City Now Santa is everywhere the smiling -face on one of American culture's most popular exports the holiday season formerly known as Christmas the circles that I run in people can get pretty worked up about things like this" said Parker are the people who keep saying that they want to put Christ back Into Christmas So while they're doing that why not put the real St Nicholas back into the picture as well? He was a bishop He cared for the poor He was a great Christian leader who defended the faith all good It? it be good to reclaim that?" Terry Mattingly (wwwMattnet) teaches at Palm Beach Atlantic University and Is senior Mow for journallwn at the Council for Christian Colleges Universities Scrlppa Howvd News Service Obit writers learn to take different look at mortality Ask God to reveal your spiritual gifts Question: How can I find out if I have any spiritual gifts? Our pastor has said several times recently that we ought to make use of the gifts God has given us so we can help others but not sure I even have any gifts Mrs TMcD Answer: The Bible says every Christian has at least one spiritual gift and one of the most important things we can do is to discover the gift God has given us and then put it into action The Bible lists a number of gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to people perhaps as many as 30 They run all the way from preaching and teaching word to music hospitality administration and encouraging others We all have the same gift and we shouldn't envy someone who has different gifts from us Ask God to show you what gift (or gifts) He has given you Then prayerfully look at yourself What can you do that others find difficult or want to do? What do others say about your abilities? Try doing different things in your church things that will stretch you and help you see where you are especially helpftd God gave your gifts to you and He wants you to use them for His glory by helping others Ask God to use you to help others in their spiritual journey and He will Reflecting on his work a few years ago he called it the perfect job In journalism beat is the world You might write about a mayor scientist soldier educator or football player" But Pearson also wrote about bus drivers bee- keepers barbers construction workers cooks and housekeepers I Newspapers get plenty of com- plaints about obituaries from femi-: lies of the deceased Claudia Levy admits that "sometimes obit writ- ers must take the brunt of families who are Just plain mad at fate and who are not In a mood to be asked biographical questions they con- sider rude and Intrusive" Which may explain why there are typically four times as many I paid death notices in the Past than obituaries written by the staff The only way to make cer- tain that the account of a loved life Is thoroughly compli- I mentary Is to compose it yourself and pay to get it in print David Yount Is the author What Are We to Dot LMng the Sermon on the Mount (Shaad fc Ward) he answer readers rt P0 Box 2758 WoodMdge VA 22193 'and tyounWwoisxom In Britain the writing of obituaries is considered an art It is not uncommon for the broadsheets to carry the posthumous biographies of men and women hardly anyone knew existed when they were alive But then the British have a love of eccentrics and a wicked sense of humor about life and death One might assume that a journalist who devoted his whole professional life to writing death notices would compose his own obituary but when Richard Pearson died recently at the age of 54 that Job was undertaken by Claudia Levy of The Washington Post Pearson started writing obituaries for the Post in 1977 and had been the obituary editor since 198a Is my assignment he liked to say and writing death notices "made my life an Send your queries to: Answer' co Billy Graham P0 Box 1270 Charlotte NC 28201 call (877) 2GRAHAM or viHt the Web site for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: wwwbillygrahamorl Tribuna Media Services Scripp Howard Newi Service.