Amorvia Extrasolar

Here is another important idea for you to review in preparation for the New Year.  Steve Job’s How to Live Before You Die

 
I have some great New Year ideas to share with you this Sunday and I’m looking forward seeing you! – Bryan

 
I love you – Bryan Martin

That was an amazing Christmas! I hope yours was full of family, food, gift giving and love. I especially hope that you tuned into the birth of Jesus and the theology of the incarnation, which is “God is with us.”

I don’t think it is coincidence that the New Year follows on the heels of Christmas. These few days between afford us the opportunity to gear up for the New Year. Did you read last Saturday’s Fresno Bee? The article by religion writer Ron Orozco about New Year’s resolution quoted me. Unfortunately he left out the main idea of my quote, which is my theme for the New Year. It is “Giving Back.”

Do you think it would make a difference in your life if you woke up everyday saying “Today is a Giving Back day and I will find at least one way to Give Back some of the goodness I have received”? You know it would because instantly your day would be transformed from a “worry about me and my problems” day to “thinking about Giving Back to others day.”

In preparation for a year of Giving Back I want you to make a list of all the goodness you have received this year. One way to do this is to make a list from 1 to 10 and indentify good things you received; your pay, a warm home, friendship in a crisis, someone to love. It will be really easy to make this list. Another way is to go through last year’s calendar and remember goodness as you recount every week of every month.

But maybe 2009 was not a good year for you. Perhaps you had a serious loss. I have friends that have lost jobs, homes, their good health, and even loved ones. What good can be found in the losses? I hate to be a Polly Anna but it is there, even in the loss. My friend lost her husband of 67 years in 2009. She is alone now and the transition is hard, no doubt. But like so many others she will make it through. She has a loving family. She has wonderful memories of a life time of love. Loss is not good, but there is goodness even in the midst of it. I saw her at church the other day and she had more than a few people come up to her and love on her, it was very touching for me to witness. She received comfort. In a year of Giving Back she will be able to comfort someone else.

So, go ahead… make your list of the good that has come into your life in 2009. Let’s get ready for a wonderful year of Giving Back. This is going to be great!

I love you – Bryan Martin

Love your neighbor – Help One

With all the busyness of the Christmas season winding down we finally have the opportunity to take a moment and remember the first and original Christmas. Today I present Saint Luke’s Gospel in the hopes that you will read it with your family and remember the birth of Jesus. I include a prayer I wrote that you can use at your gathering before your meal. God bless you and Merry Christmas, Your pastor and friend — Bryan Martin

Luke 2:1-20

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3All went to their own towns to be registered. 4Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see-I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14″Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” 15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The Christmas Day Prayer

Dear God, On the day Jesus when was born you came to live among us; this is the great event that we celebrate today. God is with us! You came from heaven to earth that we might know more of your love. While Jesus was with us he taught how to live and how to love. What an incredible gift of love Jesus’ birth is. Your love saves us.

These day when the holidays come we are so excited and busy with the traditions like Santa Claus, gift giving, eating and merry making that it is so easy to forget that Jesus was born, God’s gift to people, a long long time ago. So as we gather here today we pause and return our thoughts and our attention to the love of God in Jesus Christ, and we give thanks.

We are thankful for our friends and our family gathered here today.

We are thankful for taste food and a warm bed.

We are thankful for the costly peace and liberty which courageous men and women fought and died for, may your peace be upon them and we pray for peace in the world.

We are thankful for opportunities to help others here in this city and globally.

And we are thankful for so much more. (Add your list of thanks here).

Dear God, thank you for the birth of Jesus, for coming to our world and sharing your great love, which flows from your heart of love, through our hearts to our world; a world in desperate need of your saving love.

This we pray, in the blessed name of Jesus, AMEN! MERRY CHRISTMAS

(This prayer was composed by Dr. Bryan Lee Martin, pastor of St. Patrick’s Community Church for Christmas 2009)

It is an interesting question because the actual date of Jesus’ birth is not given in the New Testament. Prior to about 330 A.D. the church celebrated the birth and baptism of Jesus on January 6, the Eastern Church still does. 

Some have concluded that the Roman celebration of Saturnalia was Christianized and turned into the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Saturnalia was a celebration of the dedication of the temple to the god Saturn on December 17 around 217 B.C. It was marked by gift giving, eating, drinking and merry making.

Still others say that Christians turned the Solstice into Christmas. The Solstice is celebrated world wide as the day of the least amount of day light. There are dozens of rituals, many are still observed today. In ancient cultures the end of long dark days and the beginning of growing day light marked a new beginning, hope, and the anticipation of spring. Winter was often associated with shortages of food, disease and death among ancient people thus the end of darkness and beginning of light inspired hope.

Some have calculated that the birth of Jesus happened nine months after the announcement by the angel that Mary would give birth and this date they say is December 25. Jews did not celebrated birthdays as that was considered a pagan celebration.

The exact date of Jesus’ birth presents a conundrum for those who demand exact preciseness.

The modern celebration of Christmas is frequently celebrated by non-Christians, which seems to muddy the waters even more.

One thing that is for sure is that the modern celebration of Christmas has evolved from many sources. It was not just stolen from the pagans, as some would like to believe and it not just a Christian holiday as the Christians would like to believe.

It would be great if Christmas was celebrated on February 30 because it would be a completely unique day of celebration, but it is not. Today’s Christmas is an evolving melting pot of hundreds of different cultures over hundreds of years celebrating a variety of events. I think that’s great! Let’s party! Christmas is what you make it out to be.

This is what I make it out to be.

#1 Christmas is the celebration that God is with us. It reminds us that God plans life and love for us.

#2 Christmas is a fun exciting teaching opportunity for children of all ages.

#3 Christmas is a time of rededication to the principles and love of God that we embrace but unfortunately, we have let other things overshadow that light. For many Christmas is the first time to embrace the love of God in Jesus Christ as part of their own narrative; the beginning of new life in Jesus Christ

#4 It is incumbent upon all who have tasted and received this goodness to share it with the world, thus we give love and good cheer to our whole world. In that spirit of love and giving we especially share with those who are in need. The light of God’s love must flow from us into their darkness, whatever it may be.

#5 The story of Jesus’ birth embodies everything that God wants us to know about Christmas, more than that, it is a timeless story of love and grace that speaks to every heart.

I’m looking forward to sharing the love of Christmas with you this Christmas season. Joy the world… Love!

I love you – Bryan Martin

Dearly Beloved,

The future letters I am writing to future adults who are children today are being received very well. My goal is to write one for every kid at our church, plus some more. So I will be publishing those letters regularly. You can read what I have written so far below.

Today I want to encourage you to give back. “We give back” is my new mantra for our church. When people ask me what makes our church distinctive I want to say “We give back.” As Americans being born at this time in this place we have been blessed beyond what others in more desperate places could ever think of or imagine. It is our duty, honor and privilege to give back since we have received so much.

One family that needs giving help is the Richard Hernandez family. You probably remember him from the news. He was the 27 year old beverage delivery person who was killed Dec 7 in a random act of violence while he was delivering to a store at 6am. He was married with two children. There is no way to heal the family’s loss except by the grace of God.

His company, Sysco, set up a memorial fund which offered to match any giving. Then there was another matching offer also. So our church contributed $900 which with the matching funds generated $2700 for the family. That’s nice isn’t it? Yet I don’t think the money will go very far. What I hope will go farther is the knowledge the family has that people like us are thinking about them, praying for them, and feeling for them.

That $900 was money was part of the “give back” money from church last Sunday. The church gave every family $100 to give to some worthy cause. The reports I am getting back are fabulous! People are giving to many wonderful causes from helping underprivileged students to giving to the SPCA. One person figured out a way to feed 32 families with $100. Imagine that!

It is so exciting for me to hear the wonderful stories of giving back. Sometimes I wonder just how far these little acts of giving back will trickle through time and space. You know, don’t you, that your act of love will generate a tsunamic effect.?

I guarantee that you will have a giving back opportunity today. When you do I pray that you will let the love of God flow through your heart to your world.

I love you—Bryan Martin

Luke 6:38

Dear Emily,

Lately I have been writing letters to future people. Today is Monday December 14, 2009. I am writing this letter to the adult Emily while you are still a little girl.

I often have thought about how wonderful it must have been to grow up in your home. Your mother has such a wonderful voice. Hearing her sing everyday must have been an amazing part of growing up. You probably don’t realize or appreciate the incredible talent in your home. Fortunately for you I am sure it is a genetic quality you inherited. I’m sure your mother told you the stories about her musical heritage. Lucky you!

And it is not just on your mother’s side. You dad has more talent than just about anybody I have ever known. His musicianship, especially his guitar playing, is some of the best I have ever seen or heard… honestly. But more than that, his creativity is way out there. You have that in you.

I will always remember the carefree graceful girl who danced in church Sunday mornings. I think your dancing adds to the life of our church. When you dance the rest of us wish we could dance, too, but we are inhibited. When you dance other children come up and want to join you. This shows that even as a little girl you are a leader and other’s look to you as a model and example. When you dance it teaches us a little more about life and love. You are the best dancer, too.

Did you know that dancing is a form of worship? It is true. When you dance it is like saying to God, “Thank you for all your gifts in my life, and especially the gift of dance.” Your dancing honors God.

I don’t know if the adult you is still dancing. As we get older we become more reserved and we let those beautiful natural innocent things slip through our fingers, unfortunately. I hope you are still dancing.

Dancing is a beautiful metaphor. The other day I was watching White Christmas, you know, the old Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney movie released in 1954. What great entertainment! Even after 55 years the story, songs, and especially the dancing seem so relevant. In the movie they dance and sing their way through a difficult problem.

Emily I pray that you will be able to dance your way through life… through the good times and the not so good times. I pray that you realize that your growing up years perfectly prepared you for adult life. I pray that all the good stuff that God put in you, including all the great gifts you got from your mom and dad, will bless you.

And here is the kicker… I pray that as you dance you will help others to dance too, like you did at church when you were a little girl. Whether you dance as an engineer, or an educator, a business woman, or a mom, a physician or politician… what ever you do, where ever you go make a dance out of it. Dance and give thanks, dance and lead, dance and have fun, dance and express your giftedness. It seems like this is what God has been preparing for you.

Emily I have known you from the beginning and I have known your family for years before that. I look forward to being a part of your life for years to come.

And always know this… throughout your life people, like me, have been watching you grow, have been praying for you, thinking wonderful thoughts about you, and we believe that God has something wonderful to do through your life.

I love you – Pastor Bryan Martin

Deal Elric,

I have known you since before your birth. As the pastor of your parent’s church I have watched you in every stage of your growth and development. I am writing this letter to the future you and when you read this I pray that you will know how loved you are, what good thoughts we have had about you, and that you have always been in our prayers.

Let me comment on the beautiful name with which you were endowed. Elric means “noble ruler” or “wise king.” There is history and meaning to your name and I hope that you learn about it and appreciate the fact that your parent named you with something special in mind. I love your name.

I also love to see you at church. When you enter the room it lights up with your presence. You are a bubbly bright eyed child with such a friendly air of wonder and explore. I love the way you come up to me and greet me, “Hello Pastor Martin.” You are the only child that comes up to me and greets me like that every time you come to church. You are not very intimidated by adults, and if you are your sense of adventure and desire to explore override it. You do the same with Mr. Dietzel. Mr. Dietzel is a big impressive man and it would be easy for a little kid to be intimidated by his size and strength of being, but not you. You walk right up to him, too, to collect your “high five.” Nice!

Your personality is a wonderful combination of your parents. Your dad is one of the smartest people I know. He is bright, intelligent, and his mind works quickly. Your mom exudes love and warmth. I love both of them. When I see you, I see them.

I am excited to watch the unfolding story of your life. All children are special, but there is just a touch of something very special about you.

I expect that you will experience some significant challenges in life. When you do I would like you to remember some things from your early childhood. Remember that we saw the strength and beauty of your character. Remember that you have not only the intelligence to deal with life’s challenges but that you have a grace about you, a strength, which will enable you to overcome well.

But life is more than overcoming challenges. Your gift mix, all those wonderful qualities that make you who you are, are not just for your personal benefit. Your life is a gift to the whole world. God has endowed you with light and empowered you to shine where you are. In a sense you are the ruler, the noble king of your immediate world. It has been entrusted to you for good and the well-being of those around you.

It would be an honor to sit with you on your thirtieth birthday and hear your stories. When you experience life and collect those stories always remember that you are surrounded by our love and our prayers.

I love you- Pastor Bryan Martin (Mark 12: 28-31)

Dear Meredith,

I doubt that you will remember much of me now that you are you are grown and have a busy adult life of your own. As I write this you are four years old. I was prompted to write the future you because your Grandfather Frank brought you to church last Sunday.  You and I had a brief but pleasant encounter at the refreshment table.

Our church has table of food which has a variety of goodies to eat while we socialize before the church service begins. I was sitting near it when you came in. I hadn’t seen you for months since you now live with your parents in the San Diego area. I greeted you warmly, “Well Hello Meredith!” You looked up at me with a smile even though I’m not sure you remembered who I was.

Your smiling face revealed a lot of information to me about you. Your eyes were wide open, alert as you reached for a paper plate. Clearly there was a lot going on inside your head as you scanned the table and targeted items you wanted. You were assertive, not aggressive, in your hunt. You had an idea about what you liked and didn’t like. You pick a some fruit but you really wanted some of those donut holes. Even though our church was not familiar you were comfortable being there. You were confident. I discerned that you were a bright, friendly, vivacious girl. It was fun to watch you.

Later I told my daughter Joanna about you. She told me that you were in her Sunday school class that day. After the lesson she talked with you and other about what the kids wanted for Christmas. You told her you wanted a Unicorn and some Legos. She said that you interacted well with the others and you had a good time.

You have what I call a “blended” spiritual heritage. Your dad’s family is Roman Catholic. Your mom’s family is a mix of what is known as Mind Science and Conservative Evangelicalism. It would be interesting to hear about how your spirituality turned out.

I believe that the future you will be a grown up version of what I saw last Sunday. You are smart, bright, friendly, and vivacious. You know what you like. You find small groups energizing and you are willing and able to share your ideas with other. You have real leadership qualities. Your blended spirituality will launch you into your own spiritual search, and you will find a way to express your spirituality.

Here is one way that I can help the future you and that is in the way you experience God. You will find God and experience God’s love when you think about your Grandparent’s love. Think about this; Frank could have stayed home with you last Sunday and just played with the four year old you. But he wanted to share something special about God. That is significant!

I often prescribe spiritual exercises for people so here is one for you. Sit down with your family members and ask them about their spirituality and how they express it. I think you will be delighted to hear their answers. Here is another exercise. Frank is a Bible reader so get a hold of one of his old Bibles and see how he marked it. That will tell you much!

There is a lot of empowerment in spirituality, not that you really need more. But here is encouragement from the past to grow in your knowledge and love of God and to give back some of that love which you were nurtured with to the world around you. I am sure that people in your world will need it.

Meredith, I envision a world of possibility and hope for you and just seeing you for a few minutes last Sunday inspired me to write to the future you and tell you that I will be praying for you. God bless you.

I love you – Pastor Bryan Martin

Mark 12:28-31