Deep Cleaning

By Rev. Tyger Penson

Luke 3:7-14

7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

Included in my spring cleaning this year is the sorting through of old treasures. I have boxes of scrapbooks and photo albums, oodles of loose pictures, and volumes of cards and pictures created by my children over the years. So, I’m sorting through them. Part of the joy of this tedious task is the memories they unfold. But there are also many items that seemed valuable at the time, but let’s face it, a cartoon from the 1960s is not so funny anymore and a “timeless” article about space travel is hardly “news” today.

So, I have chosen to throw away all the clutter that is of no value. At times it is a painful experience as I would love to keep it, just for the sake of history. Sometimes, I wonder if I throw it away, will I miss it next year. Then I remember that these things have been in my possession for forty, fifty, sixty years (or so). I have not missed them in the past ten, twenty, or thirty years, so I probably will be okay in disposing of them today!

We do this kind of deep cleaning in our homes. We move out furniture, wash window blinds, and check carefully for the year’s dirt in various crooks and crannies. Then we wash, scrub, and sanitize our homes until they sparkle.

I wonder if we are as diligent in cleaning out our spiritual and emotional closets. We like to store all kinds of hurts and troubles there. We tuck them away as material we can use against others just in case they should shoot a smart remark or unkind word at us. We have sort of “fallen in love” with the dark side of our pasts. What might it be like if we just got rid of those ugly but potentially useful memories and hatreds?

Maybe it is time to do a spiritual and emotional cleaning this month as well. To do that, we let go of all that restrains us from being the person God intends for us to be. We rid ourselves of the negativity that surrounds and defines us. We let God’s Spirit cleanse and heal us. We will discover new space to put in new positive experiences and people, and room for God to dwell.

The story about John the Baptist gives his suggestions of what to put into our souls after we have “deep cleaned our soul house.” John says we should share what we have with those who have little, we should be honest and considerate, and we should be satisfied with what we have.

Prayer: God, I need your help to clean my soul and my thoughts of that which is harmful and useless. Take my life and let it be repurposed for good. Amen

Mother's Day

by Rev. Tyger Penson

In Psalm 139, the Psalmist reflects upon God’s creative power—each of us is “knit together in our mother’s womb” and is “fearfully and wonderfully made!” God chose the woman to carry that child in her “womb,” her innermost being. It is hard work (I can vouch to that) but such a privilege.

We all have or had mothers. Sometimes a mother is not able to be the kind of mother she wishes she could be. Sometimes mothers fail in the parenting department or in love. But they are our mothers who want and need our love and respect. Sometimes, mothers are not able to care for a child, so a grandmother, sister, or foster mother gives the love and nurturing necessary for a child/youth’s growth and well-being. And, some mothers just get it! A woman, connected to God, is very special. Abraham Lincoln once said: “I remember my mother’s prayers. . .and they have always followed me. They have clung to me throughout life.”

A major memory of my mother, Julianne, is sitting in her chair, Bible on her lap, and her hands folded as she prays for a long list of people, events, and concerns. This was always her pattern to start the day before she had breakfast. Nobody bothered her during this time.

Similarly, there was a young woman in our church in Wilsonville. She had three small children who knew that when mommy was sitting in her rocker, they were to play quietly because mommy was praying! What a great example she was to her children and a blessing to all. I remember Todd’s mother, Vanja, going to the nursing homes to pray with the residents there.

A woman, mother or not, will feel honored to be remembered as a woman of prayer: a woman who knows her Bible, one who can sit quietly at early dawn or before bed with a Bible on her lap and her hands together in prayer and meditation.

Herb Brokering wrote a song that I’ve sung often and have taught to so many children through the years. I first met him at Holden Village in Washington State. At the time he was a pastor in Windsor. The song is

“Love, love, love”

Love, love, love. That’s what it’s all about.

’Cause God loves us we love each other,

Mother, Father, Sister, Brother.

Everybody sing and shout ’cause that’s what it’s all about.

It’s about love, love, love; it’s about love, love, love.

Prayer: Thank you God for my mother and all the mothers who care for us the best they can. Thank you for your abundant love. May we all, male or female, be people of prayer. Amen.