Eden Prairie United Methodist Church
Connect with Us!
  • Home
  • Being Church
    • Crops For PROP
    • Serving Our Neighbors
    • Fellowship >
      • Women's Retreat
      • Church Directory
  • Children | Youth
    • Nursery
    • Sunday School (Preschool through 7th grade)
    • Especially for Families
    • Rooted (3rd - 4th grade)
    • Vacation Bible School
    • Middle School Youth (Grades 7-8)
    • Confirmation (8th-9th grade)
    • Higher Ground (10th-12th grade)
  • Music
    • Adult Music Opportunities
  • About EPUMC
    • Worship
    • Staff
    • Notes from Pastor Becky Jo
    • Lay Leadership
    • A Reconciling Congregation
    • Tumbleweed Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Annual Report
    • Sermons
    • Calendar
  • Prayer
  • Online Giving
  • Contact Us

Weekly Memo from Pastor Dan – February 13 2014

2/13/2014

Comments

 
Picture
I posted this picture of myself on Facebook while on vacation.  It’s a picture of me all bundled up for downhill skiing at Spirit Mountain in Duluth. My youngest brother (who is 50 himself) posted a comment that sent me unexpectedly reeling back with what both Johnny Cash and “Nine Inch Nails” describe as an “old familiar sting.”  He said something only someone who knew me 40 years ago could know, he said, “I remember that nose.”  

40 years ago I was at Worden High School. It was small, but like any other High School people often exploited a weakness.  In my case one thing that was exploited was the size of my nose.  Everyone had something to say about it.  Even my girlfriend back in the day, Lynette Jenkins who is the tall one in this picture, use to kid me.  My one time best friend who was something of an artist wrote his message in my yearbook in the shape of a huge nose. 

Picture
But the final humiliation came in the yearbook. As we all know the number of pictures of you in your senior yearbook is how one should gauge one’s popularity or lack thereof. And so I was thrilled at first to see a picture of me going in for a layup at a basketball game. I mean this was the highlight of my basketball career.  I was thrilled until I read the caption, “Danny, get your nose out of the basket.”  I carry the memory of everyone’s favorite teacher and the yearbook advisor failing at holding back her chuckle as she said, “I hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings.”

Well OF COURSE it hurt my feelings:  I was 17 YEARS OLD!

I like to think that in the 40 years since this emotional scaring I have overcome or moved on from the embarrassment and humiliation.  But then maybe not, if it only takes a kidding word from a brother who, if we added all the kidding up I’m still up on him, to remind me. And maybe that is a good thing.

It’s a good thing maybe, because I’ve learned especially in the last 10 years that you really miss out in life when you, as they use to say, “Cut off your nose to spite your face.” What is it that our faults and mistakes and oddities have to teach us? How can the memory of “Get your nose out of the basket.” do anything more than just make me glad that it’s been 40 years and that I’ve lived my adult life over 500 miles away from anyone else who would remember?

I’m not sure what that is, but if you ask me it is what Jesus is talking about in the scripture we will explore in worship this Sunday.  How we treat each other is important. It is important to God.  In fact some think it is so important to God how we treat each other that they have gone so far as to say that how we love each other is how we love God.  

You see it’s not that “Get your nose out of the basket.” isn’t funny, it is. And it’s not that God cannot take a joke, I believe she can.  It’s that someone else pays a price.  And the price that is paid is sometimes just too high. Ask Jesus about that one.

Keep the Faith!

Pastor Dan

Comments

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2012

    RSS Feed

Connect with us!
office@prairiechurch.org
(952) 937-8781

15050 Scenic Heights Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Picture
Picture