More than Apple Butter...

    This week Bonsack UMC has carried on a tradition that has been a part of the ethos of this congregation for decades – making Apple butter.    On Sunday bushels of apples were purchased for the activity, and on Wednesday and Thursday many volunteers, men and women, showed up to peel, core, and slice the apples, placing the prepared product in large trash bags ready to be ground for cooking. 
    Tonight even more volunteers will show up at 6 PM to grind the apples into mush which will be placed into large copper kettles for cooking over an open flame.  The mush will be seasoned and cooked overnight, while at the same time constantly stirred to prevent burning.  Thus more volunteers will work shifts stirring, talking, and sharing in this activity of fellowship, fun, and work.
    Tomorrow morning a whole new set of volunteers will come in early to can the freshly made apple butter, sanitizing the jars, filling them with piping hot apple butter, then sealing them so they can set for 24 hours before being sold for consumption.
    As one can imagine, this is quite a process.  It takes much coordination, many volunteer hours, and materials, all to create a finished product that is wonderfully tasty and brings joy to those who receive it.  Many consume it themselves, but many give apple butter away as gifts.  All of it is intended to be a blessing.
    Not only does the blessing come in the tasting, however, for the funds that are received from the apple butter purchases is used for ministry and mission.   These funds have been used to help improve the facilities but most often used to help this church be in ministry to those outside this place through mission opportunities.  They have been shared locally, nationally, and internationally, but the blessing has come through the sharing of what God generated through this congregation’s efforts and care.

    Every year when apple butter comes about I am reminded, however, that this activity is about far more than just making apple butter.  As stated before, it is about raising funds for mission and ministry, but it is about even more than that, it is also about being the Body of Christ together.  It is about fellowship, sharing in a common task, and listening and learning things.  It is about meeting Christ as we work together.
    Around those tables when the apples are being peeled, cored, and prepared, conversations arise which otherwise would not take place.  The young mother sits across from the table from the new widow, and God weaves Godself into the conversation and connects their hearts and lives.  The pastor or staff member sits among the flock, laughing, learning, and celebrating the blessing of being a part of this part of the Body of Christ.  The outsider or new visitor to the church shows up and experiences something that is so easily lost, missed, or never experienced, community.
    Tonight around pots of steaming mush, children, youth, and adults will take turns stirring the pots while groups will share in conversations about life, sports, news, and mostly how God is moving among us.  We will stand under the stars, warming ourselves around open flames, and the scene enfolds us so that we experience what it’s like to be in the moment, in creation.  And slowly, patiently, as the mush boils down to the finished product, we are given an analogy for the Christian life being something that takes effort, coordination, and lots and lots of time.
    As the canning takes place, we capture a moment in time and pass it on to those who receive it.  We take all of that effort, love, and joy, and we try to bottle it, passing it on to those whom we love.  And God works among those who do the work to knit us together as community.  Indeed, this is about more than Apple butter.

    In Matthew 18 Jesus is waxing eloquent about how to live in community, and He is addressing what happens when community is broken down and there are divisions.  He talks about how, if we have an issue with someone, then we are first called to seek them out and seek restoration, then if that doesn’t help, bring some people from the community along to help, and if not, then release them and pray they will return.  Then Jesus ends this instruction by saying, “if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, then my Father who is in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there with them.” (Matthew 18: 19-20)
    That last line is used over and over again in many contexts, but what I find most interesting is the original context in which it was written.  Often we don’t use this phrase of two or three being gathered in the context of conflict, but instead we like to use it as a reminder that when we gather, God is with us.  And yet, in every situation, the truth of the original context is present, even if we don’t name it.
    Around those tables, kettles, and jars, there are folks that have been, or even are, in conflict.  They have not sought reconciliation nor been reconciled. They are hurting from life, as well as from each other.  They are not whole, and the brokenness can be laid bare.  And yet, despite such things, Christ is there.
    Even more powerfully, despite the pain, brokenness, and unspoken conflict, there can come reconciliation and understanding...among the conversation, the working together, the producing of something for the glory of God.  Indeed, in the midst of the activity, fellowship, and sharing of a common task, God weaves Godself among us, and we become the Body of Christ for each other and the world.

    This tradition of which I am blessed to be a part is about far more than apple butter.  It’s about God at work through us, among us, and in us, and for me that’s a gift God graciously lavishes upon us year after year after year.


Is there some activity or mission or class that is going on among your church or circle of influence in which you need to be engaged?  Are there folks with whom you need to be reconciled? 
Pray about it and listen.  Maybe God needs you to respond.  May the community of faith needs you to be more fully a part of the Body.

Walking Together on the Road

    One of the “themes” that I’ve become cognizant of lately is just how much individualism and self-preservation is played out in our world.  From dictators who refuse to be moved to community leaders who can’t see the forest for the trees to church folk who continue to believe that it is their time and money rather than God’s gift to be used for God’s purposes, we are bombarded by messages that encourage us to watch out for number one, rather than trusting in THE One.


    I distinctly remember being a child and walking with my father and brother, both of whom were much taller than I was and walked much more quickly.  As opposed to what happens with my own children who are easily distracted along the path and stop to inspect every rock and flower, in this memory, there was no time for dawdling.  The elders who I was with had to get somewhere, and I had to keep up.
    I remember being conscious of the fact that, for every one step they took, I had to take 2-2.5.  My little legs were booking, while my father on one side and brother on the other, were not even breaking a sweat!  I tried to keep up, but finally I had to say to them, “Can you slow down?”  They did slow down, and as they did I followed up with the question, “Why are you walking to fast?”  They didn’t have an answer.  We weren’t late for anything, just heading into a store.
    This memory popped upon into my head earlier this week as I took my children to the pool for swim practice.  Maybe it was because I was ready to swim laps myself, but I was ready to get there.  We weren’t really late, but I was moving forward and leaving them in the dust.  Before they could say anything, however, that memory bonked me on the head, and it prompted me to slow down and simply walk with them.  Walking together is one of the most important things one can ever do.
    It’s funny how we can become so focused on the next thing that’s on our plate that we trudge forward with tunnel vision, our feet and legs moving at the racing pace of our mind, while we miss the things around us – a flower, a rock, the hand or conversation of a child.  We can physically get in a zone where we just go, and when we do we can risk missing the journey.
    Of course, this happens in our lives on more than a physical level, but it happens on a relational and spiritual level as well.  How many times do our schedules get in the way of time with our family, or even more poignantly, our time with God?  How often do we become so focused on our own little worlds, that we miss what is going on in the lives of those around us.
    In my first congregation I was in charge of Missions, which meant that I took the phone calls for those needing assistance.  There was one week where I had a lot to do and not enough time to do it, and apparently God wanted to teach me a lesson, because I received more calls for assistance that week than I think I ever did up to that point at that church.
    After the fourth interruption of the day, before picking up the phone to talk to the person needing assistance I said aloud to God, “I don’t have time for this, God!  I’ve got work to do!”  As distinctly as God can speak to one’s mind, I heard God say, “This is your work.  This is my work, and the rest can wait.”  Ever since receiving that message, I have tried, and still strive, to worry less about what gets done and when it gets done, and trust that God will take care of it according to God’s time line and not my own.  (This is especially important in sermon preparation.)


    There are tons of references in the Bible of Jesus taking time away to be with God.  He would be in the midst of the crowds for days, healing and teaching, but there came a point when he had to step away to a secluded place.  There are references to Jesus seeking out the lost, lonely, sick, and outcasts, and in doing so Jesus’ connected with God and showed people that God was connected with them, even if no one else saw their pain and struggle.  There is even a story of the disciples trying to keep the children away from him, after all they were children and he was the Lord, but instead, Jesus stopped them and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Mark 10: 14)
    Jesus, because of his power and who he was, revealed to us that a key ingredient to abundant living is that we walk together on the road.  In reading story after story of His life and teaching, we are reminded that God is with us, but God also provides each of us, brothers and sisters for the journey.  Our job is to open ourselves up and let them in.  In doing so, we find that when we get out of ourselves and take off the blinders, place our schedules in right perspective, and seek to live among and learn from those around us, God transforms us in powerful and amazing ways.

    Every Friday morning at 6:30 I meeting with 15-20 men at a local restaurant for fellowship and a Bible Study.  We’ve been doing this for over a year now, and one of the great lessons it has taught us is that we are not alone, but we walk together on the road of life.  Even more importantly, through this weekly meeting we are able to place our lives and schedules in proper perspective, and that helps to align us with one another and Christ.
    At first there were some who were worried that they didn’t know enough about the Bible to give input, but soon we learned that we are all at different levels and that is okay.  What’s great is that the questions asked by folks at whatever level, reveal Truth to all.  It reminds us that we walk this road together.
    This past few weeks have been rocky in the lives of many in the group. There are folks who are grieving loss, some who are touched by illness, and others who find themselves facing things they don’t really want to face again, but through the fellowship, sharing, and cohesion of God’s love we persevere and are actually bolstered, knowing without a doubt that we are not alone.  We walk this road together.
    I could go on about this group, or other small groups in the church, or community groups, or wherever people are brought together, but what is so wonderful is that we were made to be in community.  We are made to walk the road together, and when we do a whole new world opens up to us – a world Jesus called, “The Kingdom of God.”

Who has God placed in your life to walk the road with you?  (Say a prayer of thanks for those persons)
Who is God calling you to walk with or what is God calling you to do, even if you are resistant?  (Say a prayer for discernment, courage, trust, and the ability to do God’s will.)