Being Present in the Present...

is a Present

       The job description in this title is hard work. "Being present," truly present, to myself, to another person, or to God, is one of the most difficult things I do. Too easily, my mind jumps forward to tomorrow, or backward to yesterday. I find myself daydreaming about greener pastures; and I can be hung in the good ole' days of nostalgia.

       My plans and regrets, my should's and ought's, can cheat the present right out from under me.

       Rapid change also is a rug-puller. It is the crashing wave of the future (along with the 150 emails you get daily). The capacity to be present to one's own life has become an endangered species. And if we can't be present to our own lives, we cannot be present to anyone else's.

       One of the spiritual tasks of a church is to be present in the present. And boy is that tough. It seems harder than ever. We fear how much money will be needed for the future. We fear members dying-off without enough younger ones to take their place. We fear so much.

       The Christian spiritual marketplace has bottled and sold many good notions, borrowed from business, on how to temporarily tame fear. A short-list includes: long-range-strategic plans, customer-focused service, time management, competitive market share, motivational speakers, salesmanship, visible success, vision statements, and results-oriented goals. Plus, don't forget to have a purpose driven life.

       With a little cosmetic spiritual surgery and shape-shifting, Christian churches can mimic the ways of the world without trying hard. On good days, the customer base may be pleased.

       But, what about God?

       Oh. I forgot. We forget.

       God is both the creator and the customer. God created the church or the ecclesia or koinonia or whatever you call it. We answer to God; and according to the Bible, God is big on being present. It is the punch line of John's Gospel. Big news: God abides with us now! Right now.

       At this point, I want to brag on NDBC. We are called to be present as persons go through sacred rites-of-passage where the Holy One loves to abide. We attend to folk who give birth. We are there as believers claim their faith. We stand at the marriage altar and beside the hospital bed.

       The church is present with you as you die and when you are dead.

       In 1961, U.S. Congressman Sam Rayburn discovered that he was terminally ill, and announced that he was going back home to Bonham, Texas, to live and then die. Some wondered why he didn't stay in Washington D.C. or a large city for better medical care?

       He answered: "Because Bonham is a place where people know when you're sick; and they care when you die."

       In other words, he believed that they had learned to give their presence as a present.

       And so have we of NDBC."

Music from Arcadelt, Schutz, Monteverdi, Sullivan, Rutter*, Diemer, Faure, and PDQ Bach's The Seasonings (S. 1 ½ tsp.),

humbly edited by Peter Schickele*

*Not Your Mother's Madrigals
 

TICKETS
 Season Tickets (4 concerts) - $40.00
 Tickets for individual concerts - $15 per person

Seniors - $12 at door
Students - $5 at door
Group Tickets (10 or more) - $10 each

(advance purchase is required)

Email: tickets@cgatl.org or call 404-223-6362

 Sunday, May 5, 2013