Church of the Redeemer Update

We look forward to seeing you at the Party in the Park sponsored by Redeemer Kids this Saturday in Highwood. Come enjoy lunch with your Redeemer family. All you need to bring is a picnic blanket or lawn chair.

11:30 - 1:30 on Saturday, June 21, at Everts Park in Highwood (at Green Bay and Highwood).

On Sunday we delved into the subject of holy laughter—the mark of our movement from lament to celebration, from the desert to the promised land. Sarah's laughter in Genesis 18 was the door to that consideration, as well as the laughter of Abraham and the emerging reality of God's kingdom as Jesus sends out his disciples to carry forward his mission (Matthew 9 and 10). This is a journey we all are on, although we may at any moment be in very different places from each other.

A good friend of mine is mourning the loss of her mother. Jan Meyers is known to many through her books and speaking. She is also a daughter who has cared for and loved a mother through the various stages of illness, physical and emotional. In thinking of her grief, I also thought of her words related to laughter as expressed in her book, "Listening to Love". As a follow-up to Sunday, I would like to commend the following words to us, even as we offer prayers for those who do grieve and seek for the days of laughter once again—days that will come, in the Lord's gracious provision.

—Jay

"We like to think that as adults we have a 'higher calling', a calling to be mature about the business of God and people and to be intentional and methodical in our purpose. We're to leave behind the childish things, after all. Yes, we are called to maturity. But again, maybe we have our terms wrong. You can hear the difference between being childlike and childish.

Maybe maturity is the kind of trust that prompts belly laughs for its absurdity. When the seemingly ridiculous promise of a child was made to ninety-nine-year-old Abraham and ninety-year-old Sarah, these patriarchs of the faith did not line up in front of the angels and thank him 'maturely' for his proclamation. The accounts vary, but both of them laughed out loud—Abraham on his face, Sarah hiding behind the door. I have, at moments, tried to mimic…Sarah's voice as she laughed, and my friends say I do a pretty believable imitation—probably because I recognize this as the laugh inside my own heart at the thought of God's fulfillment of some of my dearest requests. Frederick Beuchner says this:

God intervened then and asked about Sarah's laughter, and Sarah was scared stiff and denied the whole thing. Then God said, "No, but you did laugh," and of course, he was right. Maybe the most interesting part of it all is that far from getting angry at them for laughing, God told them that when the baby was born he wanted them to name him Isaac, which in Hebrew means laughter. So you can say that God not only tolerated their laughter but blessed it and in a sense joined in it himself, which makes it a very special laughter indeed—God and man laughing together, sharing a glorious joke in which both of them are involved.

Yes. This is a God who is willing to laugh with us, knowing that his promises seem audacious to us. Only he can understand. It is a laughter that tells me, "I really do see how difficult it is to trust me, to follow me. But come along and do it anyway. There is something wonderful ahead." It is the cry of a Father to his child on the trail. "You really are strong." And we say, giggling, "Yes, yes, I am." This laughter is the lightness and innocence of the buried life that is brought to the surface and freed into the atmosphere of childlike trust. This is the kind of maturity I want to grow into. It is just so tiring to live otherwise.

Think of it this way. It takes effort to be proud and self-sufficient and prideful. It takes effort to make the clatter—even noble, honest, worthless clatter—that drowns out the laughter-filled, this-is-so-absurd-but-God-is-asking-it-of-me kind of maturity. Why? Remember, whenever we shut out love, we are shutting down the truest thing going on inside of us.

Did you ever get a blister while hiking and try to ignore it? To do so you must shut out the pain. Do you even try to keep pushing through a workweek on only a few hours sleep? To do so you must push the blur away from your eyes. Do you ever wake up on Saturday morning and try to ignore the smell of bacon? All of these things take energy, but they are nothing compared to the exhaustion of attempting to keep at bay the resurrection life of Christ that has raised him from the grave (Ephesians 2) and the fullness of the life and power of God that fills us who believe (3:19). It's a bit like trying to dam the Zambezi River. Good luck. We are alive in Christ, and when we expend our energy trying to deaden ourselves to this reality, we become hardened, bitter and plastic, but definitely not childlike. Love wants to care for us, to free us from our buried life. Love is the nudge that calls us to admit our need for a nap, a hug and a snack; to receive a cup of cold water; to have our knees bandaged; to have our feet washed. And Love wants us to burst out laughing as we realize the crazy things he is saying about the path to fulfillment of his promises."

--from "Listening to Love," Jan Meyers. Pp 56-57. Waterbrook Press

Just a note that Father Jay will be on vacation beginning this Thursday, 6/19, for one week. The Wednesday Noon Eucharist for 6/25 is canceled.

Father Jay will not be checking email or answering phone messages, so if you need assistance, please call the church office. Emergency pastoral care may be reached by calling the number published on the church’s voice mail, call 847-681-2872.

On Sunday every man (regardless of age) in our worship was given a nail—an antique-style nail, reminiscent of when each nail was made a little different from each other. The men were encouraged to keep this small nail in a pocket as a reminder of what they are called to build—a life, a family, a church. And that we all partner with the One acquainted with nails as we journey to the city whose builder and maker is God.

This is not to say that men and fathers are the exclusive builders in our midst, but men in our society do tend to struggle with issues of balance and priority when it comes to work. A recent online survey found that over half of the men surveyed said they would take a pay cut if it would allow them more time with their families. Here are a few practical tips in finding the balance:

1. Keep in touch -- While you're at work, make a quick call in between meetings and projects and let your children know they're top of mind.

2. Plan a kid-friendly potluck -- If co-workers in your department have kids, ask your boss if you can have a kid-friendly potluck for lunch on a Friday. Not only does this allow the kids to spend extra time with you, but it also gives the employees in your department time to get to know each other better.

3. Give your undivided attention -- When you're at home spending time with your family, turn off your cell phone, step away from the e-mails and give your undivided attention. If you bring work home, do it after the kids have gone to bed.

4. Keep one calendar -- Schedule baseball games and play recitals on the same calendar you use for meetings and travel to make sure you never double-book yourself. Save your vacation days for those special events in your children's lives, so you're there and in the front row.

5. Make time -- At least once a week, schedule a family activity that involves interaction such as a game, bike ride, trip to the playground, etc. Also, make sure to schedule a date night for you and your wife.

6. Model spiritual priorities -- This is an area, as in most things, where children do what they see, rather than what they are told. Spiritual leadership involves consistent modeling of authentic spirituality and commitment to the local church. Parents are the ones who help children learn how to set priorities in terms of activities, especially when they conflict with worship and the spiritual life.

If you didn’t get a nail on Father’s Day, they will be at the welcome table this Sunday. Be sure to take one, and take one for a friend.

Thank you for praying for God’s provision throughout the summer months, especially, and for your ongoing faithful investment in God’s work.

Average offering needed each Sunday: $6,900
Offering last week: $8,387
Budget shortfall at end of May: $11,000

Parents discussion meeting: Parents are invited to the Battaglia's Tuesday, June 24. This will be a discussion for parents only. We are watching a PBS documentary called "Merchants of Cool." If you are coming, please be there are 7:00 pm prompt. We need adequate time to watch the documentary as well as have a brief discussion about the subject matter. Bring your thinking caps, it’s going to be a good one!

Roseland Christian Ministry Center: I’ve contacted the coordinators of Roseland Ministry Center (which happen to be good friends!), and it looks like a possible date to serve would be Wednesday, July 15. Let me know if you're interested so that we can make arrangements for our day trip to the city to serve.