REMEMBERING MALCOLM

Remembering Malcolm

“We are here to dream great dreams, have great hopes and carry out a master plan for our lives.”    

Malcolm Miner, Healing and the Abundant Life

This is the most challenging reflection I have written in recent memory. It took much longer to write than your average tribute to a good man – probably because Father Malcolm Miner was not an average man! The most difficult part about remembering Malcolm is figuring out what not to remember about Malcolm: his was a rich, interesting, challenging and inspiring life.  He was a musician, writer, teacher, healer, and preacher.  He lived and ministered in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, California, Alaska, and Hawaii. He wrote three books. He served as the Executive Director of the United Way in Alaska. He lost a wife to cancer. He fathered a child at age 53. He found true love at age 67. He rode a motorcycle until he was 88.  He preached, prayed, and presided until the end. He was universal in his outlook and bold in his conviction.  He laughed and made us laugh. He left this world with a smile on his face. He was a kind of spiritual father to me, a Hawaiian kahuna and kapuna. I will never forget him. So, knowing that I’ll be preaching about his insights for the rest of the Easter season, if not the rest of my life, here’s a start to the lessons I learned from Malcolm:

1. Dream Great Dreams.  The power and presence of God in each of our lives is tangible, transforming, and real.  God moves among us and within us – enlightening, enlivening, reconciling, and healing. Malcolm talked about this in his first book, Healing is for Real. He believed that. But he also admitted that there is a lot we do not know and cannot know.  About two years ago, he sat with me in my study and prayed for me. I was looking at the possibility of major surgery for a serious injury.  Malcolm began by acknowledging that we would “probably” see some sort of healing, but he had no idea how God might accomplish it.  God might use surgery, physical therapy, or even his simple touch.  It might be a lengthy process, or I might have immediate results.  He did not know for sure.  “Bill,” he said, starting to laugh as only Malcolm could do while making a profound theological point, “the truth is, we don’t know a damn thing about anything!”  And then he laid his hands on me, waved them over my injury, and prayed for my healing. I never had the surgery and I got much better. I admit, with Malcolm, that I really don’t know a damn thing about anything. But I believe, with Malcolm, that God is present and powerful and real. And I dare to dream even greater dreams all the time.
2. Have Great Hopes.  Malcolm always hoped for – and assumed the best for – the world and for each person.  From childhood, Malcolm had a universal understanding of truth and salvation. He believed that truth is large and God is love. For Malcolm, the reach of Christ was inclusive, embracing, and empowering, revealed not only by outstretched arms on a cross but also by a stone rolled away from the tomb of our intolerance.  For Malcolm, there is no condemnation in Christ.  His accepting views of those traditionally marginalized, such as divorced or gay persons, were put in print years before the rest of the church began to catch on. One of the last times he read the gospel at St. Michael’s Church in Kauai, he paused beforehand and gave his editorial comments – as was his custom! When he got to the part in the Gospel of John, following the powerful sentiment that God sent Jesus not to condemn but to save, not to judge but to love, he paused before reading what does indeed sound like an editorial gloss: he read, “those who do not believe are condemned already,” and then he added a bold question mark, pointing out that many scholars believe Jesus never said that!  He once wrote, “It is essential to master one path to the truth, while keeping open to the insights of others.” Malcolm mastered the one path of God’s love as revealed in Jesus Christ but remained open to a truth revealed from many sources.
3. Carry out a Master Plan for Your Life.  A recurring theme in Malcolm’s life and teaching was that God calls each one of us to a special vocation and ministry. God has a plan and calling for each of our lives. In his first book, Healing is for Real, Malcolm put it this way: “God uses each one of us to perform His wonders” (43) and “God can make you the instrument that will bring new life to another person” (120). Although I enjoy pretty much everything Malcolm ever wrote or said, my favorite book is Healing and the Abundant Life. In this book, Malcolm exuberantly offers up “The Rejoice Plan.” The Rejoice Plan is a series of affirmations that remind us and help us understand where we come from, who we are, and where God is calling us.  The core truths Malcolm shares are that God has a plan for me; that what I am becoming continues to unfold in God’s mind; that I am a child of God who is created, beloved, and forgiven; that I receive power in Christ; and that God wishes for me to have abundant life: physical and relational health, insight, and inspiration.

Malcolm preached his first sermon, at age 18, on Easter Day. He died on the day after Easter. His ongoing message to us is really an Easter message, one of life, death, and new beginnings. But why not let Malcolm have the last word? After all, he’s used to it!

“The ‘new you’ is an exciting person, one who never stops having dreams and aspirations. The ‘new you’ is in reality the ‘original you,’ one clearly stamped in the image of God and strengthened by learning experiences in the ‘school of life’ but now alive with a new self-awareness. Whether you are a ‘new you’ or the old one revitalized, it does not matter. What matters is your future. There is still much to be done. You have more potential than you can ever possibly realize. It is time to open the doors and let it happen.  Remember, this is the day which the Lord has made. Let us step forward and rejoice in it!”   (Healing and the Abundant Life 104)